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peteyzen
30-07-2011, 04:28 PM
I`ve posted this article by Geoff Thompson, I believe it is something that every spiritual aspirant should read, and stop kidding themselves.

The enemy is not out there in the avenues and alleyways. He is closer than that. In fact he is as close as our neck vein. To paraphrase an old adage; ‘I have seen the enemy and he is us’.
I learned long ago that the unschooled thinking mind is our only enemy.
The mind cultivated and mastered is our only friend.
All the street savvy, colour codes of awareness, commentary walking, the big bag of physical tricks – as wonderful and as worthy as they patently are – will not help, not even a little bit if you don’t recognise that the enemy is your own projection. You could lock yourself in a padded cell and still be in clear and present danger because the unrecognised attacker (you) is the deadliest of all.
If you think that this is not true my friends you are in big trouble.
The devil was never as powerful as when he convinced people that he did not exist.
I have been around a few corners, I have created abundantly though not always knowingly, and certainly much of my early creation was not in the spirit of service. As an insecure man I enacted heinous violence, against myself and against others. At one stage in my life I could not leave the house without making a violent shape. I have literally destroyed realities with jealous projections, I have unconsciously cultivated illness in my body that was so real it showed up on X-Ray and in blood results, all with my diseased thinking. I have used fat thinking to take myself to a bloating sixteen stone, violent thinking has placed me in hundreds of street fights, and ugly thinking – for the longest time – moulded me into an unlovable ogre. I have burnt princely palaces by using my mind’s eye (consistently and emotively) to see lack and to create penury.

I ‘know’ how powerful the mind is.

I know, not because i have read it in the bibles, or heard it preached in the churches and synagogues. I know because I have witnessed it, not once but many thousands of times. And I see it all around me every day. People throwing out negative prophesy that becomes self-fulfilling. Folk seeing misfortune in their eye and selling misfortune with their tongue until all they see and all they hear is misfortune. People believe that they have to defend themselves against someone ‘out there’ when all the time the enemy is within.

And he is not really an enemy at all. Just an abundant and innate energy in need of a master.

How do you master him?
Conceptually it is so basic that, like the secret to the philosopher’s stone, it could probably be written on the back of a postage stamp. The knowing is simple, it has always been simple, it is so obvious in fact that, like all the great secrets, it is hidden in plain sight. It is so fundamental that people won’t and can’t believe it. So they wander off in search of a better secret, something more mysterious, something exotic and ostentatious.
People are always complaining that they need to be shown.
How many times do you need to be shown before you actually do something with what you see? How many times must you read it before you adopt it?
How often does the article, the book, the CD, the film. the teacher have to re-iterate the right direction before you turn yourself away from the wrong path?
People are complaining that they need to be shown. That they need to know.

They have already been shown many times. They are saturated with knowing.
It is it not the knowing that is hard, it is the doing.

How many people do you know that have a mastery over their palate?
I can count those I know on one hand. And yet that there is so much potency here that ‘when you control your palate you literally control the whole world (Ghandi).’
How many people do you know who have killed their addictions?

Most people are in denial, they are not self knowing enough to even acknowledge they have addictions. And yet all our power is locked into our addictions (the Kabala) and until we kill them we will not get it back.
How many people do you know – even amongst the (so called) rich and powerful – who understand/acknowledge basic cause and effect (what you give out is what you get back)?

Most are afraid to acknowledge what is not visible, even though its results are obvious. It is scary to recognise the reciprocal response, because to see that this universal law exists it to accept that all our past deeds - things we thought were forgotten, things that we hoped time would lose – are making their way back to us as we speak. In fact they are already in us, those old recordings, working their way to the surface, demanding their say.
Our vices have voices. If we refuse to hear them they will shout at us through illness and disease, they will scream at us through bad luck and catastrophe.
How many people do you know who access their Power, their God/Universe/Akashic through meditation?

Probably not many. And yet, it is THE technique for expanding consciousness, as recommended by the most influential members of our species throughout history. Of all the exercises I can offer meditation is the most potent because once you expand your conscious net through the practice of stillness, all the other disciplines, like palate, addiction etc will become easier. In fact it is in the still place that many of our karmic bads are able to surface and dissolve.
Things that demand tremendous will power at a lower level of consciousness will be very easy and natural at a higher level. But there will never be a point where you will not have to employ ‘will’ (which might be seen as the working arm of the true Self or the Atman)

People are complaining. They need to be shown. They need to know.

They have been shown. They already know. Knowing is not enough. You need to ‘do’.
So people come to my classes because they think they have a manifest enemy. They do not. The first lesson I teach them is that sovereignty over their own mind is more powerful than leadership of an army of 10,000 men. And if they can get their mind right, there will be no more enemies.

But developing sovereignty will not happen in a vacuum. And you will not be given power over the magnificent whilst you are still fumbling in the dirt with the mundane. Your level of power will be in direct proportion to your level of personal commitment and development. The weakest place to reside is in an area known as denial. It is a crowed location; its comfort draws the majority. Don’t be in denial and hope that you are going to grow. In denial there is only atrophy. And don’t sit there with your penchant for sexual porn (like I did) and your passion for pizza (like I did) and your self-pitying, judgmental, accusatory, jealous, angry, pointing finger (like I did) and pretend that you can change the world, just because you read it in a book.

How can you change the world if you don’t even have the will to change your socks once a day?
You can only change the world if you first change your mind.

I know how powerful the mind is.
I have been around many corners. I have created abundantly, at first unknowingly, and not in the spirit of service, but later as a disciplined and secure man I radiated profound love, for myself and for others. I find it hard to leave the house these days without making the love shape. I have literally created whole new realities with anabolic projections; I have consciously cultivated wellness in my body that is so real it is as though I am reversing my age. I have used healthy thinking to take myself from a bloating sixteen stone down to a sylph-like thirteen, peaceful thinking has eliminated violence from my life, and beautiful thinking has – for the longest time – moulded me into a lovable man. I have built princely palaces by using my mind’s eye (consistently and emotively) to see so much abundance that even when I take abundance from that abundance, abundance still remains.
Be well
Geoff Thompson

moke64916
30-07-2011, 05:09 PM
I don't agree. I think making the mind as an enemy will cause problems in the long run. And I don't believe in any devil. Tell me this, what is not the devil anymore? Some Christians believe the devil more than they do about God. Is love a trick by the devil, or is it mass insanity on the religion part? I say this to all Christians.

In the bible God says he is the "Alpha and Omega. Everything That Ever Was, Everything that Is, and Everything That Ever Will Be." You cannot believe in God and the devil at the same time. Because then the word God loses it's meaning. Nothing is separate from God. The story of the "Fallen Angel" is saying that there is something separate from God.

peteyzen
30-07-2011, 09:53 PM
i love it when folks pick one word taken out of context and miss the point of the whole damn text. read it again, its talking about DOING rather than provaricating

Internal Queries
30-07-2011, 10:15 PM
i have met the enemy and i made him my friend.

mattie
31-07-2011, 12:33 AM
I don't agree. I think making the mind as an enemy will cause problems in the long run. ....

Completely agree w/ this.

not human
31-07-2011, 12:53 AM
What the article said to me was ....know thy enemy & then thy enemy becomes thy friend. I'd agree with that.

Aquarian
31-07-2011, 02:04 AM
i love it when folks pick one word taken out of context and miss the point of the whole damn text. read it again, its talking about DOING rather than provaricating
Doctor heal thyself.

re: the Devil, imagine Him and God having roughly equal influence on everything...
... your body
... birth & death
... the internet

mattie
31-07-2011, 03:27 AM
i love it when folks pick one word taken out of context and miss the point of the whole damn text. read it again, its talking about DOING rather than provaricating

This is rather presumptive. Maybe they did get it. Others just might not agree. This doesn't mean they didn't understand it though or just picked one word out of context.

peteyzen
31-07-2011, 04:53 PM
ok mattie, let me explain....there is an old saying it goes ` The devil was never as powerful as when he convinced people that he did not exist` in the article geoff isnt saying he believes in the devil, he is quoting that old saying and relating it to an out of control mind, so he is actually saying that `Our minds` are never more dangerous to us than when we dont recognise that this lack of our control over our own minds is the real problem.
Now if you read Moke`s answer you will see he has just seen the word `devil` fixated on that, and not properly read the rest of the article.
If he had he would have recognised that the article is about actually `doing`, rather than complaining that we have no guidance, and Geoff is explaining how when we take back control of the mind we can fashion incredible lives for ourselves.

I hope that clarifies it for you, and just out of interest, did the article mean that to you, or something else?

Internal Queries
31-07-2011, 05:03 PM
Hamlet: Why then 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

if you think your mind is your enemy thinking thus will make it so.

Lisa
31-07-2011, 05:08 PM
peteyzen- Geoff is explaining how when we take back control of the mind we can fashion incredible lives for ourselves.
[/quote]

This may be true, but is that what we're here for- to fashion incredible lives for ourselves? We all lose in the end- in the grave. Surely there is something more for being alive on this earth. Like knowing who we are.

moke64916
31-07-2011, 06:33 PM
I think the whole devil thing was started in ancient times because woman had the power and men were seen as workers and good for impregnating woman. So the men wanted to gain power, and they used fear of the devil to gain that power. Then the men were the protectors for these goddesses(woman) and eventually the term Devil worked it's way to what religions refer to it today.

Mountain-Goat
01-08-2011, 02:52 AM
From the OP, which me likes by the way.

"And he is not really an enemy at all. Just an abundant and innate energy in need of a master." - Geoff Thompson.

My journey was one of healing a deeply messed up mind.
In this journey I became aware of the concepts of self mastery and self control.
I regard these as part of self healing.

Gee, doesn't the ol' mind get a bad rap from some spiritual people.
Many prefer to blame the mind. I found that I was evolving into a life of healing the mind, and on this journey I discovered this...

"Mindfulness refers to keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality. It is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves." - Thich Nhat Hanh

I so appreciate Eastern psychology.

Good OP.

peteyzen
01-08-2011, 06:33 AM
Hamlet: Why then 'tis none to you; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

if you think your mind is your enemy thinking thus will make it so.
Hi internal, this is one of my favourtie quotes, however i have a differnt spin to you on what the bard is saying. For me he was actually pointing out the problem inherent in a weak mind, he was saying there isnt any good or bad, its just the way the mind percieves things. What the article above is about, is taking soveriegnty over that weak mind thru spiritual practices, not talking about it, but actually doing it. Geoff is sending a wake up call to the unaware, he is saying that what ever you believe, the mind ALREADY is your enemy, because you dont control it, we are like a leaf blown around in the wind of its desires and fears.
I can see how the word enemy upsets people, but if something is trapping you through its habitual and destructive behaviour it isnt your friend. You are simply trying to bring this mind, under control, under your dominion, so that it cant run you aground on the rocks of habitual addictions like drink, drugs, apathy, fear anxiousness and other negative aspects.

peteyzen
01-08-2011, 06:38 AM
Lisa: good point, we are all at different levels spiritually, an incredible life for one person would be to strive for realisation, for another it would be to write a symphony, for the people on this site, I would hope their amazing life would be some kind of spiritual endeavour, what ever the endeavour, it is more easily achieved when we have control of our minds. How can we really `know ourselves` as you mention, when most folks live under the dominion of an aspect of themselves that they cannot control..

peteyzen
01-08-2011, 06:42 AM
alternate: glad u liked it. I was begining to despair lol

Eudaimonist
01-08-2011, 06:54 AM
I learned long ago that the unschooled thinking mind is our only enemy.
The mind cultivated and mastered is our only friend.

Well said. I agree.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Mountain-Goat
03-08-2011, 01:26 AM
alternate: glad u liked it. I was begining to despair lol
I can understand your leaning toward despair.
I don't hang out at here as much as I used to but it appears to me that the majority of spiritual people( of the posts I have read) aren't too impressed with the mind.

But back to your despair.
Please do not. Keep bringing what's on your heart and mind to others and if their ground is fertile, the seeds you sow will produce fruit.
Seeds sown may takes years to sprout forth all manner of goodness and beauty but if the seed ain't sown.....

I think the problem I have noticed with many people is they are so focused on their spiritual self, which is a good thing,
but have neglected the body and mind, as if they aren't that important.
I suspect because they view them to as temporal.
I think many forget that all parts of self, spirit, mind and body, are all made from the same energy.

Anyways peteyzen, don't despair over the apparent lack of enthusiasm.
Keep shining your light and sowing those seeds, that's what I do.

Sundialed
03-08-2011, 01:37 AM
i am not to shabby at staying mindful of my negativity and do my best to cure it with love.

the real war is inside oneself, as our true source of strength and weakness lie within.

peteyzen
03-08-2011, 10:55 AM
Thanks alternate,
Where I can, anything I think is useful to folks, I will put out there just as you do my friend. And dont worry, i dont ever really despair

peteyzen
03-08-2011, 10:56 AM
I agree totally symbiotic, your remarks along with alternates above and re reading Geoffs article, lead me to think that its time our education system started installing values and character rather than facts, to help us in this internal battle. But I guess thats another thread

moke64916
03-08-2011, 01:19 PM
Awareness and staying present will free you from mind. Also where enlightenment is found.

Sundialed
03-08-2011, 01:26 PM
I agree totally symbiotic, your remarks along with alternates above and re reading Geoffs article, lead me to think that its time our education system started installing values and character rather than facts, to help us in this internal battle. But I guess thats another thread

don't get me started on the edu system lol. you almost* have to shut off intuition to succeed.

the Kogi asked us if we would rather have laws and wars or morals and values.

MagnetEyez
03-08-2011, 04:41 PM
tried to send earlier...hope no duplicate

PeteyZen,
Something you said earlier brought this to mind.
The young peoples I see coming out of various educations (or not)...and the way many perform on the job is pathetic. A degree does not guarantee competence or even the sense to do a job when on the clock.
I know many are prepared and are appropriate on the job and have much value. These exceptional employees are becoming a rarity which is tragic.
OK the thing is what has happened to ethics, responsibility and wanting to achieve? Having respect for employer? Pride in satisfying clients & customers?
Seems in the past 20 years (or so) something has gone terribly wrong in peoples thinking. Perhaps I am not melding in with subject...if so am sorry.

But one more thing...do you differentiate between mind and brain? I consider brain physical vessel which a thought comes into from the mind...then the brain takes the idea/thought and adds biases to it because of experiences one has had and how they were percieved.
I consider mind universal and if you can snatch something from mind before the brain gets involved this is good.

I hope you understand me I have a hard time explaining.
cheri

Mountain-Goat
05-08-2011, 05:05 AM
Thanks alternate,
Where I can, anything I think is useful to folks, I will put out there just as you do my friend. And dont worry, i dont ever really despair
YAY ! ~smiles~

Docha
05-08-2011, 05:26 AM
I do believe the author of the article may have taken an objective approach when writting it, giving a 'negative' feel to the reader, which in turn puts many on the defense.

I have to admit my initial reaction was not positive. But it would be the writing style I reacted to, not the concepts portrayed. I had to read it a second time. Because I got hung up on the devil speak as well. It felt angry to me. 'Shrug'

Mountain-Goat
05-08-2011, 05:53 AM
I do believe the author of the article may have taken an objective approach when writting it, giving a 'negative' feel to the reader, which in turn puts many on the defense.
The classification of a thing is determined by the observer.
ie: Just because you interpreted it as having a negative feel to it does not mean the author intended to give it a negative feel.

I have to admit my initial reaction was not positive.
Then maybe the lesson for you is to not judge according to your first reaction.

But it would be the writing style I reacted to, not the concepts portrayed.
Same words yet I did not consider them to be negative.
it appears it's the observer's interpretation that creates the classification.
I had to read it a second time. Because I got hung up on the devil speak as well. It felt angry to me. 'Shrug'
Considering I do not consider the author intended it to have a negative feel nor any anger, does this not support the notion that it's your interpretation that has labeled it so?

I mean the OP is all about the mind and the tricksies it can play if one is not keenly aware of them.

Docha
05-08-2011, 06:28 AM
Oh I am aware. I pay attention to my first reactions well. If I was judging I wouldn't have read it a second time. Lol

What I take as negative doesn't mean at all that you must. However, it was an observation I made and felt I should share due to posts by others that seemed to have the same type of reaction.

Its more about being aware of others perceptions. I myself have shared similar topics in other places not at all expecting to get negative reactions and yet I did. I realised if I summed up what I took from it in my own words it made for a much better discussion.

Not everyone reacts the same way to the same authors or concepts.

Just because my reaction is less than desirable, doesn't mean I am not open minded or introspective. ;)

peteyzen
05-08-2011, 11:27 AM
very true Docha.
Knowing Geoff , the author, a man who has achieved amazing things, I think his intention was to put a fire under people, to make them consider that in fact their minds are not in their control and hence in a way they are endangered by their ignorance.
But I agree with you and having written both articles for magazines and a book myself, often what we intend to convey when we sit at the keyboard is not what is received lol. Its a kind of very short chinese whisper lol.
I posted this article because I think that this is the starting point for any journey into our truth. I hope it has liut a candle or two for some folks

Docha
05-08-2011, 05:44 PM
Well it definately made me pause a bit!

I have to think about it before I respond in regards to how it resonates with me. Initial reaction doesn't like the concept of not being in control of my own thoughts, or believing I don't know/ understand myself.

For instance, I understand the talk of the devil drew my focus because of experiences I have had with others trying to get me off satans path...its a reocurring theme in my life
So I need to step back and reassess the information objectively before I could add anything useful.

At one point in my life, I would have reacted without thought. Though eventually it leads to the same revelations its much better to stay calm and reflective. :)