Work Concepts in a Nutshell: The C's and STO Concepts in plain English by JP Sears

[Cosmos]

I'm following JP Sears on YouTube for a while now. Besides his hilariously funny videos, I think he also delivers a fair amount of wonderful insights into some concepts we are familiar with "in the Work" and/or what what the C's have told us about what it actually means to follow the STO [Service To Others] path. I intend to post a number of other videos of JP in the future below. Every video touches upon some concept we are familiar with "in the work" and from what we have learned through the C's. While he might be wrong here or there, I think overall the message is quite in parallel with what we have found out. I will also provide a full transcript below each video for those of you who want to read it instead. As far as I know, I think this should be the first time that his insights in those videos are written down. They should be recorded. Note; What I've [written in brackets] is to make it clearer what he is meaning to say (and actually doesn't say in words in the video), like for example things that don't come across in text form, since you don't see JP's body language, facial expressions and lingual emphasis and so on.

So without further ado, here is the first video. It touches upon the way we interact with others and the world around us. It is about free will. What he is getting at, might be one of the big "simple karmic lessons" the C's talked about, that we probably all have to learn on this level.

Transcript of "Are You Making This Mistake? - Agreement vs Acceptance Mindset":

"I want to ask you a question. Do you have an agreement based mindset or an acceptance based mindset? Because it'll change your life depending on what you are. Here's the difference. With an agreement based mindset we go around life in our heads, looking at other people [in the following way]; [we are] asking [ourselves]: "do we agree with each other? With our beliefs and our values?"

And if we do agree, if our heads agree [meaning; agreeing with the other person], we say [or rather think]; "cool, you can be in my life!" It'll be a shitty shallow connection [though] because it's all [only] head based, it is not heart based. [What we basically say to ourselves, is;] "you can be in my life!" [while also sending that message to the other person]. And when we're in the agreement based mindset, when we disagree, we look at other people and say [and think] "you can't be in my life, I have to reject you because we don't believe the same thing; [like] our values, our political beliefs, where we come from, what we eat, it's all different, you can't be in my life, because we disagree with each other!"

But if you have an acceptance based mindset you've transcended agreement and disagreement, and we look at other people and say [and think]; "oh, what do you believe? Oh, that's different than me and I accept you...". [It is in this mindset] where we look at other people and we realize it actually doesn't matter if we agree or disagree and we accept them anyway! So, we create more Union in our lives, in the world around us, when we have the acceptance based mindset and heart set.

But when we're stuck in the old way of only letting people in our lives when we agree with each other, or rejecting a lot of people [when we are in the agreement mindset] - because God knows, most people in this world don't agree with you! - [...] that means, we're creating a lot of division in the world [with this mindset] and we attack people, accuse them of being wrong, because they see life different than us! So we start behaving like cancer, we start attacking things that we don't agree with; that's how cancer behaves...

But with the acceptance based mindset we don't live in our head, we live in our heart, and we accept people for who they are... We don't try to change them, we don't make them wrong for being the way they are; we accept them. And I dare say, that allows us to have a richer life experience! Because if you only surround yourself with people you agree with all the time, you don't learn! [Of course] you're comfortable [if you do it like that], sit[ting] around [seeking agreement, thinking/feeling things] like; "hey, we agree with each other, that is a great: cool, I'm not being challenged here!" But when you allow people in your lives who have different opinions [or] different views, you get to learn a lot more than if you're just sitting around agreeing with other people that you agree with all day!

So with that said, I'm going to ask you to consider a moment-to-moment decision [that you implement in your life]: You're either choosing acceptance based mindset or agreement based mindset [in any given moment and situation in your life].

If you choose agreement you'll probably find [that] you always have more stress, [that] the world's never going to be the way you want it to be and [that] you [are trying to] make the world and other people wrong! What does that do to you on the inside? [It] elevates our suffering. But if you choose the acceptance based mindset, now the world seems like a much more supportive place because you don't have to make it wrong... You realize [that this] is great, [and you start to be in the mindset of] "there's a lot of diversity here [on this planet/universe] of thoughts, opinions, beliefs, values; this is beautiful and I accept the world and other people as they are...." Which allows you and I to have more peace... It's a moment-to-moment decision; are you choosing agreement based mindset or acceptance based mindset? The choice is yours."

 

[seek10]

f you choose agreement you'll probably find [that] you always have more stress, [that] the world's never going to be the way you want it to be and [that] you [are trying to] make the world and other people wrong! What does that do to you on the inside? [It] elevates our suffering. But if you choose the acceptance based mindset, now the world seems like a much more supportive place because you don't have to make it wrong... You realize [that this] is great, [and you start to be in the mindset of] "there's a lot of diversity here [on this planet/universe] of thoughts, opinions, beliefs, values; this is beautiful and I accept the world and other people as they are...." Which allows you and I to have more peace... It's a moment-to-moment decision; are you choosing agreement based mindset or acceptance based mindset? The choice is yours."

He expressed the complex concept in to simple to understandable way. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Esprit]

You realize [that this] is great, [and you start to be in the mindset of] "there's a lot of diversity here [on this planet/universe] of thoughts, opinions, beliefs, values; this is beautiful and I accept the world and other people as they are...." Which allows you and I to have more peace... It's a moment-to-moment decision; are you choosing agreement based mindset or acceptance based mindset? The choice is yours."

Let me be the party pooper here !

Acceptance does'nt mean going along. It's not all find and dandy most of the time at least not to me. The way I see it, the path is narrow in almost all situations and while I work on accepting others behavior, it's a constant battle between the yes and the no.

By associating with people who are not aiming at the higher good, you kinda feed the beast. Most of them have good intentions but they pave the way to hell. It seems very pessimistic but the Work, or at least one aspect of it is that: Work. No free lunch. Constant struggle of trying to be the Observer and watching a part of yourself that is STS oriented in nature and the second you are not paying attention it falls back in old habits.

So unless you suround yourself with truthseekers, you can't point them in a favorable direction, puting someone on the step behind you, as that would be giving unsolicitated answers abridging freewill.

It's somehow sad but by peeling the onion of lies inside you, you can see those all around afterwards but also, thankgoodness, the ones that stand out with their good values, the exception rather than the norm.

So yes I agree that you can still find the beauty amongst the chaos, I hope this did not come across as a downer but it was rather meant as a warning to not let your guard down we know how 'feeling good' might lead us astray.

And those 2 options, agreement or acceptance, why would'nt there be a third option ? I tend to look for that, ties in with: "Don't think 3D". Osit.

 

[3DStudent]

It sounds like being judgemental. But aren't there clear cases, like psychopaths, pathologicals or simply malevolent people that you don't want to associate with? Or is simply saying, "You're trouble, and I'll not associate with you." a method of acceptance?

On the forum we have separate individual interests, but we are unified by our knowledge and acceptance of the material. Just saw
Esprit's post and I think it has to do with who you spend time with. They say something like you are the amalgamation of the top 5 people you've spent the most time with in life.

 

[Cosmos]

I think JP might be oversimplifying things and the danger could be right in that over simplification. There are a number of different things to consider I think. Accepting that some else has this or that worldview/thinking/idea etc. doesn’t necessarily equate to accepting the worldview/thinking/idea itself I would say. In fact, most often it doesn’t and that is good I think. I don’t know if JP sees it that way though, but my tentative guess is that he does.

In allegorical terms, in the most extreme cases for example, you can still accept the parasite/alligator/psychopath (for what he/it is) while not accepting what he does as part of who you are, what you do, value and what you are striving towards. You can have non of it while still accepting things for what they are for example without feeling the need of changing others or the world.

 

[bianca etezete]

Thank you, Pashalis, for posting this. I loved it! I think what JP is doing here is a gentle slam in the face of every SJW and alikes.

 

[bianca etezete]

Funnily, right after writing this comment right above I turned to the coronavirus thread, reading the last post which was of Gandalf. Read it. I am talking about this post:

While reading the book "Plague of Corruption" by Dr Judy Mikovits and Kent Heckenlively, I found that passage that I thought was interesting and could be helpful in those crazy times.



So, for me, I would change the "we give order to a chaotic universe" for "we send a message to the Universe".

And I would also change the last sentence and re-write it : Knowing Laura's story, the issues, the stakes..., it is still time to be part of the solution. Put our shoulders to the stone with Laura, Ark and all the team.

And especially about the quote that is left out here. It matches perfectly the subject here.

 

[bianca etezete]

Oh man, I hope that this is not seen as noise, but the coronavirus thread is full of reports of peeps who just underline the importance of having this differeciation right: Are you the Accepting type or are you the Agreeing type. Just read @loreta s post about her sister. oh my.

 

[Saman]

In trying to explain it in simple terms, the way I see it is like it this: the Universe is a cosmic school. Don't judge the Universal school or "God" by judging its lessons and students.
The school has potentially infinite students all on various points of lessons on the learning cycle or One cycle. In the 3D, simple and karmic understandings is what is required to pass the curriculum to progress in the One cycle. To pass these lessons, associate with individuals who are also in the process of being aware of the necessity of learning these lessons by networking, and at the same moment accept that other students in 3D STS are not yet at this point in their lessons, just like you were not in other life cycles. So don't judge against the lessons of other students and don't judge against the school, but work towards becoming aware and learning the lessons of your soul's lessons on this life cycle for the aim of more balance with the All
And seeking balance with the All brings joy to the One, or so I think.

 

[Rhansen]

By associating with people who are not aiming at the higher good, you kinda feed the beast.

Reminds me of how much I dislike doing (contract) work for certain corporations/people.

 

[Alejo]

Thanks for starting this thread Pashalis,

I actually agree with you, in think JP has found an amazing way to get through to people with a lot of concepts that may be too complex, in a very effective way. He’s probably not going to be right about everything, but he hits the nail in a lot of things and not only with comedy.

it reminded me of this one here (I’m not sure if I am intruding in how you wanted to post these videos or if you had a plan) but it was a very interesting one.

In this one he talks about narcissism or narcissist and I like how he turns the idea around and instead of encouraging people to simply become defensive and flee or fight, he posits the question, “how is a narcissist right for you?”

which I thought was splendid as it removes the victim mentality and it actually drives the question into your own subconscious programs and drives. It asks you to question yourself and find out what truly brought you here and how to truly remove yourself not from the situation, but from the dynamic entirely. Truly wonderful I thought

 

[Alejo]

I just finished watching the video that you shared initially here Pashalis, it reminded me of something the C’s said once:

.'Life is religion. Life experiences reflect how one interacts with God. Those who are asleep are those of little faith in terms of their interaction with the creation. Some people think that the world exists for them to overcome or ignore or shut out. For those individuals, the world will cease. They will become exactly what they give to life. They will become merely a dream in the 'past.' People who pay strict attention to objective reality right and left, become the reality of the 'Future.' -- Cassiopaeans, 09-28-02

And it occurred to me that this is another way to express the dichotomy or acceptance and agreement that JP is discussing, on the one you see to overcome the disagreeing aspects of life or the parts that you disagree with, on the other you’re more learning about them and accepting and choosing your own actions whether you agree or disagree.

 

[Navigator]

That's an interesting quote Alejo, I do think it has a point or relation to the video. I think if you seek to "overcome, ignore or shut out" the world, you are basically basing your actions on agreeing/disagreeing the way the world should be. And if on the contrary, you are accepting it as it is, then you accept the objective reality as it is.

 

[Cosmos]

Here is another one. "Do what it doesn't like" and "there is no free lunch"comes to mind for me here, although JP might be oversimplifing too much here, especially in regards to taking action on your feelings. In general though, I think what he is getting at is a good advice. He also talks about blessings (from the "universe" maybe?) usually coming our way if we get outside our comfort zones.

Shattering the Addiction to Your Comfort Zone - Authentic JP

The secret code to unbound happiness is learning how to shatter your addiction to your comfort zone. No joke...

Transcript:

"Let me ask you a question. How much of your time do you spend protecting yourself? Now, the reason I ask you this is because so many people spend so much of their time protecting themselves staying in their comfort zone to protect themselves from the discomfort of physicality, emotional discomfort, social discomfort and relational discomfort. Here's a problem with that: What we do to protect ourselves eventually becomes our prison. So we stay in our comfort zones because like we inherently want protection, we don't want to feel in danger. But what if I told you your protection eventually becomes your prison.

Now, that's not really a problem if the purpose of your life is self-preservation, meaning; [if] your only goal is to stay alive. That means you're living a life of self-preservation. However my guess is if you're watching this you don't want to settle for a life of self-preservation you want a life of self-realization. When you live a life of self-realization your goal isn't to just stay alive, your goal is to thrive, your goal is to be happy, be fulfilled and contribute to the betterment of other people... But, most of us live a life of self-preservation but desire a life of self-realization. So if you want a life of self-realization here's what you need to know.

[...JP joking cut out here...]

So, for a life of self-realization keep Brené Brown's words in mind. She has said; "he or she who's willing to be the most uncomfortable is not only the bravest but also rises the highest". What does Brené Brown mean by that? [JP joking for a sentence now] Well, who better to tell you what she meant than me.

I think what she means by that is when you're willing to get the most uncomfortable by rising the highest, she means we get genuinely the happiest, the most fulfilled. So here's a secret that super freakin successful people, that live a life of joy know, that you and I definitely want to know [too].

Happiness isn't found inside your comfort zone. Safety is [found in there] you know, [which is] a sense of "I'm not afraid". That's what's inside of our comfort zone. But living a life of "I'm not afraid" is far different than happy! I would dare say; you can only be as happy as you allow yourself to get afraid!

Here is why: We have to go outside of our comfort zone to get happy, we have to grow to get happy, and you can't grow if you stay in your comfort zone. But when you leave your comfort zone, now you're growing! And some would say you got to grow to be happy.

But here's the challenge with that: You're outside of your comfort zone! So if you're outside of your comfort zone, even though you might be getting happy, you realize you have to get afraid because it's uncomfortable. So maybe by definition what all the successful people know, that you and I definitely want to know, is, you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone to grow and you have to be willing to be afraid to get out of your comfort zone to grow, which means you have to be willing to get afraid, to get outside of your comfort zone to grow, in order to be happy.

Now, let me tell you a little story about my life [JP joking cut out]. I look at the great blessings I have in my life, that bring me the most joy, fulfillment, income to an extent for some of these [things]; [...] they are: doing stand-up comedy, making YouTube videos and my marriage with my wife! Here's the scary thing! Each one of those things (stand-up comedy, YouTube videos, meeting my wife, dating or telling her how I felt about her, marrying her) all of those things were incredibly uncomfortable for me... I had to go through unimaginable fear... Like the first time getting on stage to do a stand-up comedy show or the first time putting out a YouTube video...! [I was] like; "Oh my god, everybody is going to hate me [JP joking cut out] and they won't think my videos are funny". Or approaching my wife, [I was] like; [saying to her] "hey, I really like you..." [JP explaining how terrible simple/stupid/uncommunicative he is when dating a woman because of anxiety and such]. That's how terrible my dating mind is when I like it girl: "I really like you!" So I had to get very uncomfortable doing these things that have become my greatest sources of joy and fulfillment, which meant I had to be willing to get very scared because I was going outside of my comfort zone.

Here's the cool thing. When you and I go outside of our comfort zone we are literally expanding ourselves... So, when I look at the expansion these beautiful things have given to me, I realize, my greatest blessings have come when I've gotten the most uncomfortable... And personally, I believe it's the same for you. You might say, "well JP, [but] I have a lack of blessings...". I would say what you really have [there] is a lack of willingness to get out of your comfort zone and get uncomfortable! Like Brené Brown said, that's what will allow you to rise the highest! There's no one that has a lack of blessings... I think [those who think that way are] only people that have a lack of willingness to get out of their comfort zone and get uncomfortable.

So I don't think it's just me, I think [this is the case] for all of us: Our greatest blessings come on when we get the most uncomfortable. And if you do have great blessings in your life that you can count, I would ask you to reverse engineer those [blessings] and look at what discomfort did you have to be willing to go into in order to give rise to the greatest blessing... Because I think when you can reverse-engineer what you've already done and celebrated, it trains you how to do it even more going into the future, so you can create even more blessings for your life.

So here's what I want to ask you to consider and take action on. Maybe the only thing you have to protect yourself from is your own protection. So I mean you live in a first world country, maybe that's the deal. Maybe the temptation to protect yourself is really what now you have to protect yourself from, and when you can do that, I dare say, you get to free yourself from the prison that you've created out of your own protection. [JP joking cut out] And then the second thing I'm gonna ask you to do is the next time you have the impulse to take action on a feeling of aliveness or excitement, even if there's a lot of fear in there, but if there's simply a drop of excitement or aliveness, I'd ask you to take action on that impulse. Now, will it be scary? Yes. Will it take you out of your comfort zone? Yes. Will it help you grow? Yes. Will it likely bring blessings into your life? I would dare say, if it's a feeling of aliveness, excitement, passion, that you're acting on, even if there's fear there, it will absolutely bring blessings into your life.

I think if you can do that and have the courage to take action on your feelings rather than protect yourself from the actions that your feelings are trying to motivate you to do, if you can do that, you'll be shattering your comfort zone and living a life of expansion, happiness, fulfillment and contribution."

 

[Cosmos]

Thanks for starting this thread Pashalis,

I actually agree with you, in think JP has found an amazing way to get through to people with a lot of concepts that may be too complex, in a very effective way. He’s probably not going to be right about everything, but he hits the nail in a lot of things and not only with comedy.

it reminded me of this one here (I’m not sure if I am intruding in how you wanted to post these videos or if you had a plan) but it was a very interesting one.

In this one he talks about narcissism or narcissist and I like how he turns the idea around and instead of encouraging people to simply become defensive and flee or fight, he posits the question, “how is a narcissist right for you?”

which I thought was splendid as it removes the victim mentality and it actually drives the question into your own subconscious programs and drives. It asks you to question yourself and find out what truly brought you here and how to truly remove yourself not from the situation, but from the dynamic entirely. Truly wonderful I thought

Yeah, a pretty interesting take on the problem that fits very well in this topic I think. I'll make a transcript of that video too and post it here. I think the most important thing he is getting at there is that dealing with a narcissist first and foremost has to do with the idea that we have to learn something about ourselves and work on ourselves. Another important point he brings up is the foolish idea to "fix the narcissist" instead of fixing ourselves. What comes to mind is what Castaneda talked about dealing with petty tyrants as being the perfect way to become a warrior (or better person). I think his point of there being a specific reasons why you are finding yourself in a situation with a narcissist in the first place, also fits quite well. Basically saying that there might be lessons for you to learn there and that the universe presents this situation as an opportunity to learn exactly those lessons. What he is saying is that we have to work on ourselves and that a narcissist presents a perfect mirror in order for us to learn. He also makes the point that if we are honest, we can make rather unpleasant discoveries about our own behavior/thinking in the process. Which is so true! He also brings up one of the most unpleasant realizations in that regard (that can be quite shattering to the sense of self): that we ourselves might not be all too different from the narcissist himself. The book "the criminal mind" comes to mind here and how there are degrees of criminal mind thinking we all seem to engage in on this level, that we can discover in ourselves, which is a very painful realization.