When The Reach Exceeds The Grasp

[Ominous]

Out of curiosity...what happens to those of us who don't have the "Shaman" gene, or have the time or intellect to do this "work?" I, for one, keep plodding along as best as I can in the time permitted me, grasping at what little I can hold onto while the rest slips away...I seem to have the desire, but alas, I fear I lack the intellectual capacity to fully comprehend this stuff.

 

[Mr. Premise]

Ominous,

First, you don't really know what genes you have. Sometimes, for example, a shamanistic calling comes with a serious disease or injury when there was no indication of it before.

Second, the Work doesn't require "intellect," it requires stopping lying to oneself and fusing the magnetic center so that you can Do. External shocks, a group, and true effort, paying all in advance, make this happen. None of that requires high level intellect. In fact, sometimes "intellect" gets in the way (via self-importance). But time? 4th way work is designed for those who are in the world and hence don't have time. As Laura says, you have to do the Work like a lover who can't help but think of the beloved at many times during the day. In other words, you can't help but make the time, OSIT.

So the desire will eventually take care of the "intellectual capacity to fully comprehend this stuff." No doubt "this stuff" can be really difficult to understand. A lot of it is 4th density thinking, which of course is beyond our grasp. But the important thing is to learn our 3rd density lessons, simple karmic lessons. As the C's said, you don't have to learn 4th grade lessons to graduate from 3rd grade.

One step at a time...

Out of curiosity...what happens to those of us who don't have the "Shaman" gene, or have the time or intellect to do this "work?" I, for one, keep plodding along as best as I can in the time permitted me, grasping at what little I can hold onto while the rest slips away...I seem to have the desire, but alas, I fear I lack the intellectual capacity to fully comprehend this stuff.

 

[anart]

Well, it seems to me that if all there is is lessons and there is no 'time' - then 'what will happen' is that we will learn. Even the C's said 'you will do what you will do' - so I really think that the point is that one uses the time they have to learn. The future is open, after all, and one never knows what effect learning certain things might have on the future. I know that's not a 'concrete' answer - but, fwiw. =)

 

[Ominous]

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't looking for something "concrete," just for a little hope. I don't know anyone outside this forum who knows anything about this, & doing it in almost total isolation can get me down at times. PEACE

 

[j0da]

Hi Ominous. I certainly know your fears, for I share them from time to time, in moments when I forget all those things which were just brought by Anart and Donald.

For a long time I tried to grasp everything at once, keep track of every forum thread, every link provided, and understand it all - it was frustrating, time consuming and left almost no energy for anything else. But then one day..

While the signs forum is here to help people deal and question current events, to have engagining and open discussions of what we are sometimes calling "Objective" reality, the signs page is not to be a crutch for real doing and real seeking. We can see that this forum and the signs page has become a crutch for many people, allowing them to continue to limp while they think that they are walking, now this is not so good, in fact it is very bad.

Each man must really undertake to do something that is his own doing, without it being recommended or required or influenced by others. That is a man must use his own real creativity to find a doing that he can do which does something that really affects the world in his understanding of good.

It was a hard truth to swallow and a requirement which I have found frustrating, since I was always expecting from myself too much in too short time. However, another clue helped me out..

You see the point is not to understand everything, but to understand something. And then, when we understand something - to apply it. Sometimes it takes years before we learn to apply these things that we already understand. Only then, perhaps, we will be able to understand the next thing.

That was it! For the first time in my life I decided to really slow down. Not that I succeded in doing so from the start, nor that I haven't fallen back into "rushing" again every once in a while, but gradually I worked out my firm intention to take one step at a time.

In certain sense, maybe it's good to try to be like a child in a toy store. One cannot have all the toys at once, but surely one can pick up one toy, venture into the sandbox and have a really good time playing it. It's not a secret, that children learn very fast while playing, when they enjoy their activities, when they are not stressed by some tight obligations.

For me it works - picking one thing that I'm capable of understanding, vanturing into the world and playing with it, testing it, exercising. And it's really fun! Today I play with small toys, tomorrow, I hope I will be strong enough to handle bigger ones.

To give an example.. There's big craze around something like "meet your classmates" webpage in Poland nowadays. One can find one hell lot of people in there, from one's primary and secondary schools, from universities, etc. People meet up after long years of not seeing each other, share stories, photos, or just talk. Sweet!
One could say it's meaningless socializing, but why not use it for Work? Why not take my "toy" there and see how well I can play with it? What better place one could find to exercise external consideration, evoke and confront lots of memories (pleasant and unpleasant), all the while giving many occasions for negative introject to show up (only to smack the bastard whenever he raises his head)? Kinda like removes the isolation feeling as well!

After having some fun one can get back here to share and have some feedback:

Once a man does such a doing then he must observe the results done by his doing and be open to input about his doing from others who have done, and in doing so he may construct a world view that is more or less objective according to himself and those helping him.

Hope this helps a bit, Ominous.

 

[Ryan]

Out of curiosity...what happens to those of us who don't have the "Shaman" gene, or have the time or intellect to do this "work?" I, for one, keep plodding along as best as I can in the time permitted me, grasping at what little I can hold onto while the rest slips away...I seem to have the desire, but alas, I fear I lack the intellectual capacity to fully comprehend this stuff.

Funny - I think this as well, sometimes. I just keep on going, and try not to let it bother me. After all, what would I do otherwise? Go back to sleep? Nope... tried that. Doesn't work so well for me for some reason. ;)

 

[Ominous]

¡Oda, thank u for the input & amazing insight. Sometimes I feel a sense of impending doom which spurs me on to learn this stuff ASAP in order to save my family. This in turn leads to a deep depression when I realize my intellect doesn't have the tools to "get" it. The reason I don't think I have this "shaman" gene is because I've never had a startling revelation, nor have I ever witnessed the paranormal/ufo phenomenon. I digress; thanks again ¡Od. PEACE

 

[j0da]

FWIW, I wouldn't hold "the paranormal" in such high regard, for so often these phenomena mislead the seeker. So often one mistakes such experiences for real growth, considers such occurences as a proof of one's "specialness" or "being advanced", while in fact one is merely being played by forces which are far beyond one's grasp.

On the other hand, the absence of such personal experiences of "paranormal" isn't any proof for the lack of one's potential..

 

[Ominous]

I am very wary of those who come off as aloof or elite - and I am far from "special." Matter of fact, I am spectacularly unexceptional. So I suppose THAT's something lol. My feeble attempt at levity. All I know is I have an intense desire to LEARN that consumes me daily to the extent that other areas of my life sometimes suffer (family). This is selfish I know because family IS my #1 priority in life - they're the main reason I study this Work. PEACE

 

[Nawd]

Exceptional or unexceptional? I don't think you really have to put yourself into either box.

I am very wary of those who come off as aloof or elite - and I am far from "special." Matter of fact, I am spectacularly unexceptional. So I suppose THAT's something lol. My feeble attempt at levity. All I know is I have an intense desire to LEARN that consumes me daily to the extent that other areas of my life sometimes suffer (family). This is selfish I know because family IS my #1 priority in life - they're the main reason I study this Work. PEACE

 

[Peam]

For a long time I tried to grasp everything at once, keep track of every forum thread, every link provided, and understand it all - it was frustrating, time consuming and left almost no energy for anything else. But then one day..

Thanks for this Joda. What you say here is more or less similar to what I’ve been experiencing.

I’ll come on this forum, try to read all the posts since last time. Then even if I feel I could contribute something I’ll put it off until I’ve waded through all the rest of the new posts on every thread. By that time, especialy if there are some long posts, I seem to have lost that initial urge to contribute, or forgotten what I was thinking.

So I’ll go over to the sott news site and read the stories which takes my interest there. By this time I’ve got some sort of input overload, I’ve no energy left. All I can muster is to come back to this forum to read any new posts.

I’ve realized that trying to read everything like that might be just another program running. Must read everything, get tired, loose energy, become too weary to do anything, go to bed. Get up. Groundhog day starts again.

Seeing it is the first step though. I MUST WAKE UP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
Thanks to you all for being here.

 

[Color]

All I know is I have an intense desire to LEARN that consumes me daily to the extent that other areas of my life sometimes suffer (family). This is selfish I know because family IS my #1 priority in life - they're the main reason I study this Work. PEACE

Being a single parent I find this particular problem to be the hardest one for me to solve. Simple saying how I KNOW my daughter comes first doesn't make it always true. Many times I simply feel like a necessity, like breathing, to learn/read intensively and putting her at second place. And being aware of it, at the same time. And it's accompanied with a great amount of guilt, for not having anyone else, a partner or some family member to 'replace' me, during that time. But I 'can't help it.' And it doesn't last long. A day or two. In extreme cases it lasted a week and maybe even more, but those were times when I needed to almost completely change some basic understandings - if wanted to be able to look into a mirror - my daughter eyes. Then - I make en effort and put the same amount of time into her. Practicing my new understanding at the same time. Not quite sure why everything I do/experience has to come in waves. Maybe it has to do with my nature when exploring something tends to fully surrender to it? Not sure...

And I find the same contradictory within your words - the one I was expressing for many years:

This is selfish I know because family IS my #1 priority in life - they're the main reason I study this Work.

And although I'm not trying to say how you're not motivated into Work because of your family - I would like to say how I see it now, after years of analyzing somehow similar situation and my 'take' on it.

I always had strong feelings about 'family' and many dreams about the one I'll create, with somebody, one day. When it all happened and I decided to stand alone, for the sake of my daughter, not me - it brought up many issues into consideration. And I've managed to go through that extreme period of my life - because of my daughter. And while trying to figure it out how to survive and make a living in this world and aloud her to grow up more or less 'protected' - I was forced to learn a lot, if wanted to provide the best for her. Or what I thought to be 'the best'...

My wake up call happened while introduced with an explanation why a parent, during the potential airplane-crash, has to put oxygen mask on his/her face first, then put one in child's face. It was such a simple and logical thing - yet I failed to understand it until that very moment. And that was a huge turn in my perception of what's right/wrong thing to do. You can't help someone if you're not doing the right thing yourself, in the first place. It's just blind leading blind. And you both lose. :/

That changed perspective of my role as a parent and changed my take on why and how am I going through life. And even if you call it a slight change in details - cause, at the end, you're doing the best for your kid, family - still, it changed my approach and the very formula for my acts, leading to the same goal - benefits for my kid. But it's more than that, it gave me freedom not to feel selfish when taking time to understand and learn and also - stopped me for saying 'I do it all for her.' I can now say - I'm doing it for myself - without filling guilty of 'neglecting' my daughter. I don't want to lead her the wrong way and so - I have to do my Work ;)

Also, about wondering on missing the intellectual capacity or paranormal experiences - none of those equal Work. I was actually laughing when reading Laura's words on how most important new level, for her, was managing the intellectual center ;P It's a great inside on what Work really is (I'll look more for that thread, not being able to locate it at the moment. ) For 'paranormal' part, it's more of misleading then real revelation, on our level of existence. With proper group support - it can lead to some new understandings, but as a simple 'proof' of one 'growing' - I seriously doubt that.

All the best and keep up fallowing your learning desire :D

 

[Ryan]

Must read everything, get tired, loose energy, become too weary to do anything, go to bed

This raised a red flag for me. Reading the sott page should not be draining - it should energize (although that energy may come at the cost of a little discomfort). If you are tired afterwards, then your machine has most likely worked out a way to buffer the shocks that the page provides. In this state, there is much less benefit in even reading the page at all.

Or there is simply the more prosaic explanation that you are leaving it too late in the day to read the page. By the time you start reading it, your body may already be giving you clear signals that you need sleep NOW. Yet you push on because you feel "you must", and lose most the benefit you might otherwise obtain from reading the page with a fresh mind.

As a simple step, I recommend simply changing that routine. Read the SOTT page first thing in the morning when you get up. Or read it during your lunch break. But try not to fall back into the same "just before bed" pattern again. I have no doubt your machine will fight you on this - we are indeed creatures that love our habits. ;)

 

[herondancer]

One could say it's meaningless socializing, but why not use it for Work? Why not take my "toy" there and see how well I can play with it? What better place one could find to exercise external consideration, evoke and confront lots of memories (pleasant and unpleasant), all the while giving many occasions for negative introject to show up (only to smack the bastard whenever he raises his head)? Kinda like removes the isolation feeling as well!

After having some fun one can get back here to share and have some feedback:

Once a man does such a doing then he must observe the results done by his doing and be open to input about his doing from others who have done, and in doing so he may construct a world view that is more or less objective according to himself and those helping him.

Hope this helps a bit, Ominous.

Hi Joda and Ominous,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think everyone goes there now and again. It's only the psychopaths that never question themselves, after all.

Joda, your use of something "frivolous" as Work made me smile, plus gave a little encouragement. I've taken up an activity recreationly in the last year that is somewhat akin to what was my profession until ten years ago. It's was the sort of "useless" activity similar to sports that can consume a life. I used lament the time and the emotional energy I wasted. (maybe not? all is lessons, right?) Retiring seemed to be the intelligent, rational move. I had more energy and time available for job that actually had a dental plan! But still I missed it after all this time. It seemed like "well, maybe I can use it for Work" was a justification to do what I wanted (go back to class), but it's turning out to be true! It's been a great opportunity to observe the negative introject which played a big role the first time around and to exercise self-observation at practice sessions. It has stirred some very deep emotions and memories which have been great for recapitulation. And this time, I'm really am enjoying it. :)

So Ominous, what is it in your life that you really love to do, and how can you turn that into Work?

Herondancer

 

[Peam]

This raised a red flag for me. Reading the sott page should not be draining - it should energize (although that energy may come at the cost of a little discomfort). If you are tired afterwards, then your machine has most likely worked out a way to buffer the shocks that the page provides. In this state, there is much less benefit in even reading the page at all.

Or there is simply the more prosaic explanation that you are leaving it too late in the day to read the page. By the time you start reading it, your body may already be giving you clear signals that you need sleep NOW. Yet you push on because you feel "you must", and lose most the benefit you might otherwise obtain from reading the page with a fresh mind.

As a simple step, I recommend simply changing that routine. Read the SOTT page first thing in the morning when you get up. Or read it during your lunch break. But try not to fall back into the same "just before bed" pattern again. I have no doubt your machine will fight you on this - we are indeed creatures that love our habits.

Oh my gosh. You’ve given me a big clue here Ryan. I think I realize now what’s been happening. It’s something I’ve sort of thought about before but not really acknowledged. It’s not so much that I become tired and weary, if I’m honest with myself it’s more a case of I feel tired and weary most of the day in the first place!

For quite some time now I’ve had a very much more sedentary lifestyle than I used to have. I used to have quite a physical manual industrial job.
But since then, I’ve avoided any exercise which might have mitigated, gradually put on a lot more weight, and maybe that is a contributary cause of why I can never seem to get a decent good nights quality sleep. It’s crept up on me like the frog in water effect. I've become a sloth. If I suddenly had to do just one days work now which I used to do then I would surely collapse and die before finishing it.

I think I might have neglected the coach a bit, let it go rusty. Starting right now I’m determined to loose weight and get a bit fitter.

Ryan, thank you.