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Curiosity and Questioning is Our Nature
No Self for Self Help
The self help industry is certainly a lucrative enterprise and in my view suspect in it’s motivation. While this doesn’t apply to all ventures, like all answers to our life struggles, personal experience is the key determinate of the validity of any approach. As always consumer caution needs to be exercised.
I have seen, on whose watchful list I am not sure, that close to ten billion dollars annually is spent in the halls and bright lights of the self-help industry. What an amazing amount of energy expenditure! From sham to shameless; from wisdom to worldliness, from the simplicity of what matters to blatant materialism. Self-help gurus are shouting from the rooftops that the planet is awakening and that people are flocking in droves to embrace the lights of human and spiritual freedom.
I know I am not the stiff neck of the party and never have been but let’s stop and get a grip on reality. There are rich people getting richer on the supposed sick neuroses of society. I am not implying that society is not in constant need of a good tonic or that most of us don’t walk beside the animal realm more often than we stroll with the angels but, this is more an acceptance of the human condition of ignorance and growth than a fundamental flaw based on sickness or some notion of Christian like original sin. From the self help perspective, we would not require the help of the growing list of gurus if we realized we weren’t fundamentally flawed to the core of our being. The human condition is without question a world of struggle, pain and continuous uncertainty and because of this pain we seemingly conclude humanity is flawed otherwise our world would be a lot easier. This conclusion has existed from time immemorial and is accounted for in religion with the Christian notion of sin as one example. But the creation of a work of art can be emotionally painful, a struggle and completely uncertain yet there is no starting premise that the creative process is flawed. So let us look a little closer.
This twist of the truth called the fundamental flaw seems apparently self serving to the help industry. We will get back to this but first let us start with some social data. I am not going to cite all the sources for the following, after all I am not a reporter, rather expanding on a message that I hope falls on compassionate ears and eyes. You want to argue and debate - then I am sure you can find your own counter sources. While I am contemplating these words from Canada, everyone knows the big stage is in the USA, so most stats come from this population.
The numbers of rape and murder statistics are relatively flat across the board for the last twenty years except to note that the age of the offender continues to get younger. The average number of violent incidences are constant with the exception of property crimes which were up substantially. The increasing, “I want what you got mentality.” As an abrupt aside, one million children took guns to school in 1998. Who knows what number that is today. Homelessness continues to increase especially considering the relative lack of government resources to address the fringe elements of society. Three million cases of child abuse and neglect were reported in the year 2000. Lastly, the majority of moms are back in the workforce and mothers spend 30 percent less time with their children than 30 years ago.
Is it also no surprise that the USA has the highest percentage of the industrialized nations of people that fall below the poverty line. I realize that I don’t know a heck of a lot about too darn much but one thing I have come to believe because I have witnessed it on many occasions is that moments of wisdom, real enlightened being, walks hand in hand with compassion. As we unfold and become more open, concern with self falls away and opens to the richness and vulnerability of the surrounding pain and suffering. If we are truly growing as enlightened individuals would I not also expect to see signs of an enlightened society. In conclusion, where are the increasing numbers of spiritually enlightened people engaging in socially conscious behavior.
When I look at the self-help industry and many, many of the self-help gurus and adherents, one undeniable result is the need to continually remain wrapped up in this great delusion of I, me, what I need and want, what makes me feel good, my relationships and hell, even my growing ability to love more. All I can say is oh my, my, my, my....Of course, the self help industry is capitalizing on a strong and undeniable truth, that we are called to heal the woundings of our spirit deep within our wisdom being.
As I said above, there is the obvious ignorance of humanity and of our selves. The difference is that we are not fundamentally flawed, rather we are inherently wise, loving and open. The sickness is not at our core which the industry doesn’t want us to unfold, but it is on the surface of our being, wrapped in this lovely cloak of identity. For example, when I look at the absurdity, called The Secret with its lovely marketed parchment paper and remaking of time honored truths, I see the depth of desperation wherein we all want to be rid of the burden of pain, sickness and the torment of suffering. In the midst of this pain we are crying to be healed. But who is at the base of this cry? Where does the voice to be healed come from?
When I focus on what I want and is rightfully mine according to the self help gurus, then of course I will obtain it. The old proclamation of “Ask and you shall receive” taken to the absurd extreme. So when a militant Islamic extremist reads The Secret and focuses on the annihilation of the western propaganda machine he is told he is not wanting bad enough if his dreams remain unfulfilled. Likewise, when the white supremacist hopes to rid America of the supposed 'plague of Blacks and Jews' reads The Secret... well you get the point. Maybe, just maybe the attachment we have to this notion of self with all its needs and desires is the main culprit to be called into question. Not that we can destroy the ego as some self help gurus advocate, which is an impossible task, but to see our openness as rich uniqueness versus isolated self. And hasn’t this been the wise call of Buddhism for the last 2500 years.
Of course, now we have the real heart break of Buddhist truth. There are no quick fixes only hard work and dedication to uncovering our illusions and false notions, the fundamental psychology of how to understand and better appreciate the ignorance of the human condition. Sure, we would like to fool ourselves to finding some short cuts around the intricate web of self deception, but in the end, serious spiritual searchers realize the joy of the path and not some pseudo materialistic gain as the answer to our prayers.
Some people would say we are fundamentally lazy and don’t want to work to understand. Really! There is no such thing as lazy; just resignation in the face of fear and being overwhelmed. Sounds more akin to a definition of social indoctrination to me. And why are we so overwhelmed? Because we are kept feeling inadequate by such forces as the like of an Opray Winfrey spin machine that flogs the latest ten steps to success or seven principles of spiritual happiness. In my not so humble opinion, I don’t believe these social forces are any less demeaning than other forms of supremacy. Is there really any difference between the smiling shiny-teethed right wing Christian who condemns the non-believers to the fires of damnation and the self-help movement gurus telling people who aren’t successful that they just don’t have the right amount of faith in self.
So what is this deep spiritual secret law of attraction revealed by The Secret. Without question we have responsibility for what happens in our lives. I don’t care whether the words used are karma or carrying the burden of our choices but we do need to wake up to accepting this responsibility and as the Dalai Lama reminds us, we can do much to create happiness in our lives. But this is a far cry from the perverted sense of confusing happiness with the pleasure seeking of material rewards.
What we are inspired by we aspire to. I’ll stop for today.
I know I am not the stiff neck of the party and never have been but let’s stop and get a grip on reality. There are rich people getting richer on the supposed sick neuroses of society. I am not implying that society is not in constant need of a good tonic or that most of us don’t walk beside the animal realm more often than we stroll with the angels but, this is more an acceptance of the human condition of ignorance and growth than a fundamental flaw based on sickness or some notion of Christian like original sin. From the self help perspective, we would not require the help of the growing list of gurus if we realized we weren’t fundamentally flawed to the core of our being. The human condition is without question a world of struggle, pain and continuous uncertainty and because of this pain we seemingly conclude humanity is flawed otherwise our world would be a lot easier. This conclusion has existed from time immemorial and is accounted for in religion with the Christian notion of sin as one example. But the creation of a work of art can be emotionally painful, a struggle and completely uncertain yet there is no starting premise that the creative process is flawed. So let us look a little closer.
This twist of the truth called the fundamental flaw seems apparently self serving to the help industry. We will get back to this but first let us start with some social data. I am not going to cite all the sources for the following, after all I am not a reporter, rather expanding on a message that I hope falls on compassionate ears and eyes. You want to argue and debate - then I am sure you can find your own counter sources. While I am contemplating these words from Canada, everyone knows the big stage is in the USA, so most stats come from this population.
The numbers of rape and murder statistics are relatively flat across the board for the last twenty years except to note that the age of the offender continues to get younger. The average number of violent incidences are constant with the exception of property crimes which were up substantially. The increasing, “I want what you got mentality.” As an abrupt aside, one million children took guns to school in 1998. Who knows what number that is today. Homelessness continues to increase especially considering the relative lack of government resources to address the fringe elements of society. Three million cases of child abuse and neglect were reported in the year 2000. Lastly, the majority of moms are back in the workforce and mothers spend 30 percent less time with their children than 30 years ago.
Is it also no surprise that the USA has the highest percentage of the industrialized nations of people that fall below the poverty line. I realize that I don’t know a heck of a lot about too darn much but one thing I have come to believe because I have witnessed it on many occasions is that moments of wisdom, real enlightened being, walks hand in hand with compassion. As we unfold and become more open, concern with self falls away and opens to the richness and vulnerability of the surrounding pain and suffering. If we are truly growing as enlightened individuals would I not also expect to see signs of an enlightened society. In conclusion, where are the increasing numbers of spiritually enlightened people engaging in socially conscious behavior.
When I look at the self-help industry and many, many of the self-help gurus and adherents, one undeniable result is the need to continually remain wrapped up in this great delusion of I, me, what I need and want, what makes me feel good, my relationships and hell, even my growing ability to love more. All I can say is oh my, my, my, my....Of course, the self help industry is capitalizing on a strong and undeniable truth, that we are called to heal the woundings of our spirit deep within our wisdom being.
As I said above, there is the obvious ignorance of humanity and of our selves. The difference is that we are not fundamentally flawed, rather we are inherently wise, loving and open. The sickness is not at our core which the industry doesn’t want us to unfold, but it is on the surface of our being, wrapped in this lovely cloak of identity. For example, when I look at the absurdity, called The Secret with its lovely marketed parchment paper and remaking of time honored truths, I see the depth of desperation wherein we all want to be rid of the burden of pain, sickness and the torment of suffering. In the midst of this pain we are crying to be healed. But who is at the base of this cry? Where does the voice to be healed come from?
When I focus on what I want and is rightfully mine according to the self help gurus, then of course I will obtain it. The old proclamation of “Ask and you shall receive” taken to the absurd extreme. So when a militant Islamic extremist reads The Secret and focuses on the annihilation of the western propaganda machine he is told he is not wanting bad enough if his dreams remain unfulfilled. Likewise, when the white supremacist hopes to rid America of the supposed 'plague of Blacks and Jews' reads The Secret... well you get the point. Maybe, just maybe the attachment we have to this notion of self with all its needs and desires is the main culprit to be called into question. Not that we can destroy the ego as some self help gurus advocate, which is an impossible task, but to see our openness as rich uniqueness versus isolated self. And hasn’t this been the wise call of Buddhism for the last 2500 years.
Of course, now we have the real heart break of Buddhist truth. There are no quick fixes only hard work and dedication to uncovering our illusions and false notions, the fundamental psychology of how to understand and better appreciate the ignorance of the human condition. Sure, we would like to fool ourselves to finding some short cuts around the intricate web of self deception, but in the end, serious spiritual searchers realize the joy of the path and not some pseudo materialistic gain as the answer to our prayers.
Some people would say we are fundamentally lazy and don’t want to work to understand. Really! There is no such thing as lazy; just resignation in the face of fear and being overwhelmed. Sounds more akin to a definition of social indoctrination to me. And why are we so overwhelmed? Because we are kept feeling inadequate by such forces as the like of an Opray Winfrey spin machine that flogs the latest ten steps to success or seven principles of spiritual happiness. In my not so humble opinion, I don’t believe these social forces are any less demeaning than other forms of supremacy. Is there really any difference between the smiling shiny-teethed right wing Christian who condemns the non-believers to the fires of damnation and the self-help movement gurus telling people who aren’t successful that they just don’t have the right amount of faith in self.
So what is this deep spiritual secret law of attraction revealed by The Secret. Without question we have responsibility for what happens in our lives. I don’t care whether the words used are karma or carrying the burden of our choices but we do need to wake up to accepting this responsibility and as the Dalai Lama reminds us, we can do much to create happiness in our lives. But this is a far cry from the perverted sense of confusing happiness with the pleasure seeking of material rewards.
What we are inspired by we aspire to. I’ll stop for today.