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Separation and self


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2017 Dec 27, 8:34am   3,287 views  16 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

Separation of the world into "self" and "not self" is the first requirement for life. The immune system must detect that which is foreign and remove it, or suffer an infection which will consume and destroy the whole organism.

The birth of a child is the separation of its own body from it's mother's body.

Our thoughts are a continuation of the same story. We separate everyone into "our people" and "other people". Those we can trust, and those we cannot. Even when our own people betray our trust, we quickly give them another chance, because we see them as part of ourselves.

The word קָדוֹשׁ ("kadosh") in Hebrew means both "holy" and "separate". The Jews are expert at separating themselves from others. It is central to their religion.

Goodness is not an inherent property of anything. "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Good is that which is good for my self, where self includes those you love. What is good for you and yours may be evil for others and theirs. Wolves find the flesh of deer to be very good, and think nothing of the suffering they cause the deer. Nor can they, or they would starve.

"If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

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1   justme   2017 Dec 27, 8:55am  

There is separation, and then there is its close cousin, demonization. There is demonization on a grand scale in the world today. It is on a level not since since the 1930s. No wonder there is so much war, and so much casual talk about nuclear war.

That phrase "casual talk about nuclear war" was heard last night on #amanpourPBS, spoken by an old Japanese man that survived the 1945 nuclear bombing of Hiroshima (or Nagasaki).
2   anonymous   2017 Dec 27, 11:12am  

Ironic isn't it ? Learning or teaching about the ego, in the age of Trump.



"A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe'; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest: a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."
 Albert Einstein :
:
:


There are two parts of you, at odds with each other. The ego, that tries to create separation by judging, and the Spirit that only wants to love. Ego may say "There, but for the Grace of God, go I" and think itself compassionate, but it is really expressing a negative judgment about the other person, and congratulating itself on its superiority. Ego creates a separation out of fear, and is pleased not to be too close to another. Ego seeks to measure itself against other people and create hierarchies and beliefs of superiority and inferiority.


:
http://kundalini-teacher.com/awakening/ego.php
3   anonymous   2017 Dec 27, 11:13am  

Let me guess. Sounds like a bunch of new age (LIBERAL) mumbo jumbo right ?
4   Patrick   2017 Dec 28, 7:14pm  

justme says
There is separation, and then there is its close cousin, demonization.


Demonization is the flip side of the coin. Those not part of the self are part of the other. It's is perhaps essential to group identity.

anon_08dee says
Ironic isn't it ? Learning or teaching about the ego, in the age of Trump.


Trump is a great teacher in this way. A supreme egotist, and yet ironically a champion of the common man against the coastal elite. Or so he presents himself, but the common man is so thirsty for any representation at all that he is willing to drink sand if necessary.
5   Ceffer   2017 Dec 28, 11:03pm  

KILL THE DEMONIZERS! KILL THEM ALL!
6   anonymous   2017 Dec 29, 7:03am  

rando says
champion of the common man against the coastal elite.


Realists see him as a pathological liar and nothing like a champion of the common man.

Even regular politicians will often lie about what they are going to do for their voters, but Trump took this to levels that were light years beyond satire.

"You're going to get tired of winning." Actually this might be true of his true constituents, the wealthy.
7   HappyGilmore   2017 Dec 29, 7:22am  

anon_08dee says
Realists see him as a pathological liar and nothing like a champion of the common man.


This whole "common man" vs. the coastal elite narrative is ridiculous at best, and dangerous at worst.

I can't believe that seemingly intelligent people are falling for it. This is Sarah Palin "real America" type nonsense.

I've lived a large part of my life in rural America and, believe me, there is nothing romantic or nostalgic about it. If you want to see welfare queens, look no further than Rural America. If you want to see folks that complain endlessly about big Government until they use their WIC card at Walmart or cash their Government Agriculture checks--look to Rural America. Oh--sorry, I mean "REAL" America. You know--the places with "common" men.

wtf is a common man anyway?
8   Y   2017 Dec 29, 7:24am  

Trump and 'regular politicians' are all liars by definition, with their 'levels' being roughly equal.
The difference being trump makes no attempt to hide his lies...which drives the libbies crazy...(TDS)


Ceffer says
Even regular politicians will often lie about what they are going to do for their voters, but Trump took this to levels that were light years beyond satire.
9   Patrick   2017 Dec 30, 2:56pm  

HappyGilmore says

wtf is a common man anyway?


Let's say the common man is in the middle 80% in terms of assets, income, and education. Not the top 10% or bottom 10%. Did not go to Ivy League school. Does not have big inheritance.
10   HappyGilmore   2017 Dec 30, 3:00pm  

Patrick says
Let's say the common man is in the middle 80% in terms of assets, income, and education. Not the top 10% or bottom 10%. Did not go to Ivy League school. Does not have big inheritance.


And you don't think those folks live in coastal areas?

And vice versa? Charles Koch lives in Kansas. Buffett lives in Omaha.
11   Patrick   2017 Dec 30, 4:15pm  

HappyGilmore says
And you don't think those folks live in coastal areas?


Sure, but the distribution of wealth is very skewed toward the coasts.

HappyGilmore says
Charles Koch lives in Kansas. Buffett lives in Omaha.


They are extreme outliers, because they are inland, lol. Most of the richest people are in big coastal cities.
12   HappyGilmore   2017 Dec 30, 4:19pm  

fyi--here is the actual data:

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-states-with-the-wealthiest-residents-2015-3

At first glance, looks much closer to expected density (by population) than clustered by the coasts.
13   Patrick   2017 Dec 30, 4:47pm  

It seems to prove my point nicely:

New York City has the largest amount of high net worth individuals in the United States with a population of 8,655. It was followed distantly by San Francisco with 5,460 and Los Angeles with 5,135.
14   HappyGilmore   2017 Dec 30, 8:02pm  

Patrick says
It seems to prove my point nicely:


Maybe I misunderstood your point. It seems the wealthy are distributed throughout the US approximately the same as the general population. I didn't think that was what you were saying.

NYC, LA, SF, Chicago are all among the largest cities in the US so they naturally have the most wealthy folks.
16   HappyGilmore   2018 Jan 1, 9:37am  

Good find Patrick. Interesting results--would not have expected Alaska or Hawaii so high, or California so low.

In any event, the spread is not very high.

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