Circumstance and Words

[Within Silence]

Everything we say is a reflection of us, not that which we are pointing to with the words we use to describe it. If one says; “I hate this place” they are revealing that they hate. Their statement is not about “this place” but rather reveals the dislike they have about it. All circumstances are neutral, what’s positive or negative about the circumstance is only your perception of it, thus revealed by your description (the words you use) of it. Thus, the words you are using to describe the circumstance reveals how you are inside, not anything about the circumstance. In other words, you may label a circumstance as bad, and someone else may call it good, thus revealing that the circumstance itself is neither, hence its neutral, because if the circumstance itself held absolute power then both partakers in the circumstance would describe it the same way. Another principle I'd like to point out is that regardless of how you label a circumstance it cannot change what's taken place, or "what is." For example you're watching a sports event and a player does something in contrast to what you "thought" he should have done and so you express your discontent with many negatively charged expletives. What this is revealing is that you're suffering because of your own un-acceptance of "what is". Notice that the basis for your suffering is the result of an attempt to change the past, which cannot be done, the player did what he did and all your expletives and suffering in the world cannot cause it to be any other way than it actually is. These principles are what the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus was revealing in his statement; “Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself” and others I would add, those of us silent observer types. And also his statement: “People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” Hence, its your perception about the circumstance which causes you to feel the way you do, not the circumstance itself.

Going a step further, what about those things we use to describe circumstance, those things that have humanity so enchanted and spellbound, to use Alan Watts description? Let's have a look.

Is not the pen far mightier than the sword? For is it not only after the word is given that the war begins? Is it not only after the word is heard that our reaction happens? So then by this deduction words are a cause and we are their effect, which reveals the immense power mere words seem to hold, as, do not humans kill for them, do harm because of words? Take a moment if you will, and just imagine all the emotional and physical harm caused by the hand of words. Please reflect upon all the blood that’s been spilled by the hand of words, and realize that the words themselves have never said or done a thing! To recognize the truth in those statements may send shockwaves of alarm through its reader, and it should, as the realization sets in that it is you and I who are behind how we react to words, that it’s you and I who do the harming, not the words themselves, as we are the ones moved by and reacting to them. Thus, we, the entity that both speaks and hears the words, that which is moved to action by them, yes even the awareness which is ever prior to them and reading these words written here right now, this entity is truly that which holds the immense power behind words, not the words themselves. For it is you and I, all of humanity in fact that has the choice to choose what words we are going to speak and how we shall or shall not react to the words we hear. Hence, the only true power words have is that which you and I grant them, so let this revealing serve as a giant wake up call for all of us to see just how truly powerful we are, as the state of ourselves, how we shall feel as we go through life is the direct result of our own understanding of the words we use and hear in relation to how we identify ourselves with them, and how we choose to react to them. If one looks deep enough into them self, into the origination or words, it may see that no word has any power inherent within itself to cause one to be moved, for all words arise from silence and return to it, thus words are a temporary phenomenon which serve only to point to something, hence no word is the thing it points to and that which it points to is not the word used to describe it. Words are symbols, abstractions of reality used to help us through this world, yet we, you and I are the only power words have, for without our belief in their validity they hold no power of their own. This is easily seen when one asks itself; “from where do words come from?” Are there words growing out of the ground? Are their words swimming in the water? Are there words flying in the sky? Can we touch and hold them? Then from what magical source is their power derived? What is it that generates words and gives them their power? We do, the collective consciousness. Thus, we hold all the power for the type of world we shall create, for we create with words and thus we have no one else to blame for the present world we are living in. Now, going forward, how do you want to feel as you go through life, and what type of world do you want to create? The type of world we create resides in the words we choose to speak and how we respond/react to the words we hear. “For God spoke the world into existence,” this statement is pointing to something very profound! Wake up! This creative/destructive process is an ongoing one, for we are created in the image and likeness of God, thus we must possess this same awesome power to create or destroy with the words we choose to speak and also our reactions to them. As one so eloquently stated: “It is not what goes into your mouth that will defile you, but what comes out of it.” Choose your words carefully, once spoken they cannot be taken back. One who understands the purpose of words, which has moved beyond the limitations of words, who is no longer enchanted or spellbound by them, this one is truly free.

[Timothy]

Originally Posted by Within Silence

“For God spoke the world into existence,”

The power of the argument being dross (in particular scum formed on the surface of molten metal) and yet spellbinding metal into form.

[Somnia]

Originally Posted by Within Silence

These principles are what the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus was revealing in his statement; “Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself” and others I would add, those of us silent observer types. And also his statement: “People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” Hence, its your perception about the circumstance which causes you to feel the way you do, not the circumstance itself.

I don't have much to add, other than to tell you this deeply resonates with me...

[Within Silence]

Originally Posted by Somnia

I don't have much to add, other than to tell you this deeply resonates with me...

Yes, truth has a way of resonating with us. We can either resist it or accept it, the result of one is suffering, and the other peace.

[FallingLeaves]

even wielding the pen brings harm to the wielder you find after a while... but even then, withholding words just to get some apparent effects of withholding words seems just as bad. And choosing the politically correct words to try to get somewhere doesn't seem very good either.

Trying to bring peace, trying to avoid suffering, these are things humans do but IMO it is the wrong path. Is it not as harmful to one's beingness as wielding a pen, or being the victim of some pen's flowery words?

So where do you go with this?

But isn't that the point, we are trying to go somewhere with all this? But all roads we have traveled lead to the same dead end? Maybe an answer then is just to stop traveling?

But that seems like the same thing, trying to do something to get somewhere, only now the something is nothing and the somewhere is nowhere. A lot of people have made entire lives out of something like that and I noticed they haven't gotten any further than I have.

So it just feeds on itself. Idly, I did notice that any advice I could give is immediately voided by fact if I give it. Because just by saying the advice I am definitely not living it, and i've become hypocritical.

One observation is that the truth hurts, it is never written as a song people actually want to sing along to. When you've had enough of flowery meaningless words, listening to it can become illuminating; later, trying to figure out why the songs of truth are written this way can be freeing.

But all this is a big mess. Rather than deal any of it now I'd just as soon do as I please, face the consequences, and trust it when God said his words will not come back to him void.

[Within Silence]

Yes, the wielder of the pen may bring harm to itself, but it may also inspire, shall we live in fear?

Words eventually run out their usefulness, their power is extremely diminshed for those who see through them, yet there are those who have yet to get this far, and thus I feel I must use words to bring about the end of words.

Its funny I think, that words are the one thing that can be used to reveal their limitations. Perhaps that's why Lao Tzu said; "Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know" and yet he wrote a work of over 5,000 words/characters. My guess is that he believed it was worth the risk.

I don't know where all the roads go, and so I choose to live the mystery.

Yes the truth hurts, but its not a bad thing, but rather it hurts because its burning away all that is false, kinda like a broken bone hurts while its actually healing, hence truth heals while its hurting.

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by Within Silence

Yes, the wielder of the pen may bring harm to itself, but it may also inspire, shall we live in fear?

the idea of inspiring others is often a reason for caution... the whole thing is a vapid mess where up is down and left is right and on and on. but living in fear actually starts to look good once you know what to look for.

Words eventually run out their usefulness, their power is extremely diminished for those who see through them, yet there are those who have yet to get this far, and thus I feel I must use words to bring about the end of words.

Its funny I think, that words are the one thing that can be used to reveal their limitations. Perhaps that's why Lao Tzu said; "Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know" and yet he wrote a work of over 5,000 words/characters. My guess is that he believed it was worth the risk.

the path of using words to debunk words or logical inference to debunk its own antecedents or science to debunk how people do science etc... is a time-honored approach... paradoxes do exist and how you relate to them can be more interesting than just saying 'go away'.

when I speak about how people should act I find that I can't give any advice without immediately being hypocritical just for having offered the advice. And speaking about how things are... there are a zillion ways of thinking about how things are and not even the scientists have it right... why should I push another idea of what is now especially when I know I'm as full of **** as anyone? But more than that there is a whole other way of living and speaking just muddies the water so to speak.

I like to think it was actually that Lao Tzu found himself badgered and the only way he could make the badgerer go away was to give into the demands...

I don't know where all the roads go, and so I choose to live the mystery.

Yes the truth hurts, but its not a bad thing, but rather it hurts because its burning away all that is false, kinda like a broken bone hurts while its actually healing, hence truth heals while its hurting.

yeah hurt isn't a bad thing I don't think.

[secretscribe]

Originally Posted by Within Silence

These principles are what the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus was revealing in his statement; “Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself” and others I would add, those of us silent observer types. And also his statement: “People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” Hence, its your perception about the circumstance which causes you to feel the way you do, not the circumstance itself.

What is called Stoicism is really not just one possible interpretation of the world, but a name for the truth about how life is, which is essentially the same regardless of whether it is called Christianity, psychology, Stoicism, or something else. There was a time when all of these systems were equally unrealized by me, but now they are all equally welcome to me.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by Within Silence

Everything we say is a reflection of us, not that which we are pointing to with the words we use to describe it. If one says; “I hate this place” they are revealing that they hate. Their statement is not about “this place” but rather reveals the dislike they have about it. All circumstances are neutral, what’s positive or negative about the circumstance is only your perception of it, thus revealed by your description (the words you use) of it. Thus, the words you are using to describe the circumstance reveals how you are inside, not anything about the circumstance. In other words, you may label a circumstance as bad, and someone else may call it good, thus revealing that the circumstance itself is neither, hence its neutral, because if the circumstance itself held absolute power then both partakers in the circumstance would describe it the same way. Another principle I'd like to point out is that regardless of how you label a circumstance it cannot change what's taken place, or "what is." For example you're watching a sports event and a player does something in contrast to what you "thought" he should have done and so you express your discontent with many negatively charged expletives. What this is revealing is that you're suffering because of your own un-acceptance of "what is". Notice that the basis for your suffering is the result of an attempt to change the past, which cannot be done, the player did what he did and all your expletives and suffering in the world cannot cause it to be any other way than it actually is. These principles are what the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus was revealing in his statement; “Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself” and others I would add, those of us silent observer types. And also his statement: “People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” Hence, its your perception about the circumstance which causes you to feel the way you do, not the circumstance itself.

Going a step further, what about those things we use to describe circumstance, those things that have humanity so enchanted and spellbound, to use Alan Watts description? Let's have a look.

Is not the pen far mightier than the sword? For is it not only after the word is given that the war begins? Is it not only after the word is heard that our reaction happens? So then by this deduction words are a cause and we are their effect, which reveals the immense power mere words seem to hold, as, do not humans kill for them, do harm because of words? Take a moment if you will, and just imagine all the emotional and physical harm caused by the hand of words. Please reflect upon all the blood that’s been spilled by the hand of words, and realize that the words themselves have never said or done a thing! To recognize the truth in those statements may send shockwaves of alarm through its reader, and it should, as the realization sets in that it is you and I who are behind how we react to words, that it’s you and I who do the harming, not the words themselves, as we are the ones moved by and reacting to them. Thus, we, the entity that both speaks and hears the words, that which is moved to action by them, yes even the awareness which is ever prior to them and reading these words written here right now, this entity is truly that which holds the immense power behind words, not the words themselves. For it is you and I, all of humanity in fact that has the choice to choose what words we are going to speak and how we shall or shall not react to the words we hear. Hence, the only true power words have is that which you and I grant them, so let this revealing serve as a giant wake up call for all of us to see just how truly powerful we are, as the state of ourselves, how we shall feel as we go through life is the direct result of our own understanding of the words we use and hear in relation to how we identify ourselves with them, and how we choose to react to them. If one looks deep enough into them self, into the origination or words, it may see that no word has any power inherent within itself to cause one to be moved, for all words arise from silence and return to it, thus words are a temporary phenomenon which serve only to point to something, hence no word is the thing it points to and that which it points to is not the word used to describe it. Words are symbols, abstractions of reality used to help us through this world, yet we, you and I are the only power words have, for without our belief in their validity they hold no power of their own. This is easily seen when one asks itself; “from where do words come from?” Are there words growing out of the ground? Are their words swimming in the water? Are there words flying in the sky? Can we touch and hold them? Then from what magical source is their power derived? What is it that generates words and gives them their power? We do, the collective consciousness. Thus, we hold all the power for the type of world we shall create, for we create with words and thus we have no one else to blame for the present world we are living in. Now, going forward, how do you want to feel as you go through life, and what type of world do you want to create? The type of world we create resides in the words we choose to speak and how we respond/react to the words we hear. “For God spoke the world into existence,” this statement is pointing to something very profound! Wake up! This creative/destructive process is an ongoing one, for we are created in the image and likeness of God, thus we must possess this same awesome power to create or destroy with the words we choose to speak and also our reactions to them. As one so eloquently stated: “It is not what goes into your mouth that will defile you, but what comes out of it.” Choose your words carefully, once spoken they cannot be taken back. One who understands the purpose of words, which has moved beyond the limitations of words, who is no longer enchanted or spellbound by them, this one is truly free.

That was refreshing. I really do find things that are thought through akin to digging much soil so as to find a jewel, and because I'm interested in the discursive construction of society, and all of its symbolic artifacts, the words about words represent, not our creation of them per se (for who exactly creates them), but their power as shared social emblems.

In so saying, what we refer to as freedom is what other than freedom from the discursive construct, but also necessarily, the freedom to construct discourse - to share the social emblems which define our participation in, or marginalisation from, human society.

Even saying 'our' implies the assumption that bodies are symbols that represent individual entities that are intangible in themselves... that I am such a vacuum and so are you, and our various, dynamic bodily and psychic forms in fact symbolise this same... nothingness. What is this other than that which itself both makes and manifests the distinction meant, ironically, in the word 'our'?

This reminds me of Foucault's (1969) essay, What is an Author, in which he quotes Bennet: "What does is matter who is speaking," someone said, "What does it matter who is speaking". Contrary to your claim that 'we' create words, he persuades us that "the mark of the writer is reduced to nothing more than the singularity of his absence".

[naturesflow]

Originally Posted by Within Silence

Everything we say is a reflection of us, not that which we are pointing to with the words we use to describe it. If one says; “I hate this place” they are revealing that they hate. Their statement is not about “this place” but rather reveals the dislike they have about it. All circumstances are neutral, what’s positive or negative about the circumstance is only your perception of it, thus revealed by your description (the words you use) of it. Thus, the words you are using to describe the circumstance reveals how you are inside, not anything about the circumstance. In other words, you may label a circumstance as bad, and someone else may call it good, thus revealing that the circumstance itself is neither, hence its neutral, because if the circumstance itself held absolute power then both partakers in the circumstance would describe it the same way. Another principle I'd like to point out is that regardless of how you label a circumstance it cannot change what's taken place, or "what is." For example you're watching a sports event and a player does something in contrast to what you "thought" he should have done and so you express your discontent with many negatively charged expletives. What this is revealing is that you're suffering because of your own un-acceptance of "what is". Notice that the basis for your suffering is the result of an attempt to change the past, which cannot be done, the player did what he did and all your expletives and suffering in the world cannot cause it to be any other way than it actually is. These principles are what the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus was revealing in his statement; “Circumstances don't make the man, they only reveal him to himself” and others I would add, those of us silent observer types. And also his statement: “People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.” Hence, its your perception about the circumstance which causes you to feel the way you do, not the circumstance itself.

Going a step further, what about those things we use to describe circumstance, those things that have humanity so enchanted and spellbound, to use Alan Watts description? Let's have a look.

Is not the pen far mightier than the sword? For is it not only after the word is given that the war begins? Is it not only after the word is heard that our reaction happens? So then by this deduction words are a cause and we are their effect, which reveals the immense power mere words seem to hold, as, do not humans kill for them, do harm because of words? Take a moment if you will, and just imagine all the emotional and physical harm caused by the hand of words. Please reflect upon all the blood that’s been spilled by the hand of words, and realize that the words themselves have never said or done a thing! To recognize the truth in those statements may send shockwaves of alarm through its reader, and it should, as the realization sets in that it is you and I who are behind how we react to words, that it’s you and I who do the harming, not the words themselves, as we are the ones moved by and reacting to them. Thus, we, the entity that both speaks and hears the words, that which is moved to action by them, yes even the awareness which is ever prior to them and reading these words written here right now, this entity is truly that which holds the immense power behind words, not the words themselves. For it is you and I, all of humanity in fact that has the choice to choose what words we are going to speak and how we shall or shall not react to the words we hear. Hence, the only true power words have is that which you and I grant them, so let this revealing serve as a giant wake up call for all of us to see just how truly powerful we are, as the state of ourselves, how we shall feel as we go through life is the direct result of our own understanding of the words we use and hear in relation to how we identify ourselves with them, and how we choose to react to them. If one looks deep enough into them self, into the origination or words, it may see that no word has any power inherent within itself to cause one to be moved, for all words arise from silence and return to it, thus words are a temporary phenomenon which serve only to point to something, hence no word is the thing it points to and that which it points to is not the word used to describe it. Words are symbols, abstractions of reality used to help us through this world, yet we, you and I are the only power words have, for without our belief in their validity they hold no power of their own. This is easily seen when one asks itself; “from where do words come from?” Are there words growing out of the ground? Are their words swimming in the water? Are there words flying in the sky? Can we touch and hold them? Then from what magical source is their power derived? What is it that generates words and gives them their power? We do, the collective consciousness. Thus, we hold all the power for the type of world we shall create, for we create with words and thus we have no one else to blame for the present world we are living in. Now, going forward, how do you want to feel as you go through life, and what type of world do you want to create? The type of world we create resides in the words we choose to speak and how we respond/react to the words we hear. “For God spoke the world into existence,” this statement is pointing to something very profound! Wake up! This creative/destructive process is an ongoing one, for we are created in the image and likeness of God, thus we must possess this same awesome power to create or destroy with the words we choose to speak and also our reactions to them. As one so eloquently stated: “It is not what goes into your mouth that will defile you, but what comes out of it.” Choose your words carefully, once spoken they cannot be taken back. One who understands the purpose of words, which has moved beyond the limitations of words, who is no longer enchanted or spellbound by them, this one is truly free.

I have nothing to say really.

You have said it all.

So I will just share I enjoyed reading it.