The gift of negativity & defensiveness

Kathy, I have two tabs open for this blog: on this one, I'm commenting, and on the other, I'm seeding [and waiting for the page to reload while I get back to commenting!!]

I'm in awe of the way you have voiced what many of us have felt; in such a clear way. Opened up the spiral [which is something I wanted to post at 50 stars, come to think  of it!].

We'll all keep developing our sensitivity and empathy and ultimately let's hope, get wiser or happier or whatever we're looking for, through our real and unreal friendships. And I'm not saying which is which!!!

Excellent post. Thank you!

And it also relates in my mind to the topic of conversation and listening…and also waiting, as mentioned in the QAR today. The way we generally converse is very quick without pauses. I bet our communication would really change if we started pausing before responding. It allows for more thought, better listening, and more processing like you discuss above. (I am reading a book on listening now.)

this would make a great thread starter, sweetie, if you're game: how about posting it here: http://pods.gaia.com/is_there_a_god/discussions/board/7820

(you don't have to link it to the blog unless you want to, you can just paste the content, up to you!).

That's actually hilarious you know if you take it literally. Fucking Care Bears. Haha!

Love you!

Speaking of Nicole's invite, i did the same for you. This is part of a blog entry that relates to your theme:

There is a long line of cars with an opportunistic gap that I take advantage of by pulling out into the lane. I do so with a polite blinker well in advance, but the person in the car behind me advances and lays on his horn–and he does not let up from his horn for an entire block! Okay, breathe, I tell myself as I lift my fingers to a peace sign. I turn left to get away from this enraged person to which he responds with an amazingly loud shout, “Learn to drive you fucking bitch!” Too bad I got to see his head protrude from his car window as he yelled this out…A pretty site it was not. But I keepmy cool and make eye contact with a woman who witnesses his attack as she walks into a church. We lock eyes, we smile, wave, and that is all I needed as an island of sanity and serenity while under assault.

(from:http://maryrives.gaia.com/blog/2008/6/day_from_hell–part_3_of_3_road_rage_attack)

gotta run–I'm at work and it calls!

Hey Centria,
Thanks for sharing this. 
I've found some gems here on Gaia… fellow souls with a deep appreciation of truth…
And Gaia is our vehicle for inspiring eachother… 
If anyone thinks or says it is not real…. cool… they can think that….
If they say that to me to try to make themselves superior to me…. They can do it….
What IS real?
Love

Hey my daughter had care bear decour, they alaways made her feel happy, safe, cheerful, they were colourful, bright, playful and '' caring ''
Well just a few good things about the CB's sure there's lots more,
guess its all down to how you perceive…:)
And of course its all about ones self..

Power to the Care Bears!

Thank you, Centria, for writing this blog.  Negativity, arising from various sources, is something which many of us encounter on a daily basis.  I don't always deal with it well.  It generally sets me bristling.  I deal with negativity that comes from strangers better than that which comes from close friends or relatives.  With strangers, I can react as Mary did, with a smile, a peaceful gesture, and words which deflect that negativity.  Somehow, I expect much more from close friends and relatives, so their negative comments are more cutting and hurtful, and more difficult for me to handle in a kind, compassionate way.

This is funny care bear, for I was thinking of blogging on the shadow work I've done-owning all parts of myself.  Anything that strongly activates needs some investigation.  Well you just did it for me, at least for today.  And as a fellow 4:30 am person this morning, I'll just finish with a shirt that my wife use to have that said:
What you think of me is none of my business
And really so little is personal.  So I try not to get attached to negative comments and try even harder to not get attached to positive comments.  It's all inside.  Good night!

Kathy, your friend is indeed correct.  I am not real.  I am actually an advanced computer program masquerading as a human.  My plan was to take over Gaia but it has been foiled…

end silliness

Anyway, even though I am only 31, computers and the online experience have been a part of my life since 1992 or 1993, and I can tell you this, I've met some of my best friends and people who have helped me through the most difficult times in this world through the computer…my first girlfriend and I met up on something common in the early 1990's, what they called a BBS (dial in and chat with local people).  One of my best friends and I became very close sitting around and playing online games in a computer lab.  I've met people through online dating sites.  I suppose for me the line between the computer and real life has blurred, and I think that's ok.  The example I always have in my mind is that when I was growing up, everyone thought the same in the town I lived in…we were all white, from a rural area, and there was nothing to do.  I went off to college in 1995 and discovered diversity, and I love it.  I wonder how much people with different viewpoints, people with different upbringings, people with different passions would have affected me as I grew up.

As I think of “little Eric”, I also think of the way things are here.  Why are you friends with people in the real world?  Sometimes it is something like “we went to the same elementary school”.  Were there any common values that brought you to that school?  Common interests?  Or was it that parents lived in the same town and luck came about?

I think if there is ever going to be a way to meet people of like-mindedness, this is it, not geography.

Such a great discussion and a beautiful post that started it.   It's happened so much that now I also try to see a gift in everything, especially the things that “get” me.  Very often I've found that the gift is seeing a rejected or judged part of myself hiding out in me until it was just outed by the recent uncomfortable experience. 

The bottom line for me is Oneness in back of everything…and when I peel back my ego and judgment, I see without blame and I feel only love and joy (kinda like a Care Bear.)

Love you so much Kathy! and really great comments, great discussion.

My mother is a scorpion.  I kept picking her up and she kept stinging me, and I would get hurt and angry, and then It finally hit me.  This is not about her, she is what she is (at least in this lifetime), so why should I expect a different outcome from the same action over and over?  A true definition of insanity.  So I no longer pick her up, physically if you will, and I have a virtual relationship with her thats wonderful (not even through the computer by the way).  And that allows me to take care of myself and to keep my heart open and send love.

Now, your friend, once you took responsibility for your feelings changed her mind, with no force on your part.  How interesting is that?  Holographic universe.

Finally, I've discovered the most important parts of my life right now I can't  prove in any scientific fashion-my connection to the earth, God, family and friends, my soul and love.
They are all virtual relationships if you will, but I can't imagine life without them.
And the Internet gives me great hope, for exactly these kind of connections and sharing as we have had on your blog.

Hi Centria,
I saw some of my friends commenting on your blog so I got curious and checked it out. :)

First off, as long as you feel that your Gaia friends are real and there for you when you need them, there certainly is no need to get defensive because that's what counts, isn't it?

I have to admit that I still have mixed feelings towards some people seeming to be head-over-heels in love with Gaia, spending almost all their time here, getting up at night to log on to Gaia etc. because I think clearly, there is something lacking in their lives that they find here… but is an “online world” really the right substitute? But then I'm like - wait a minute. To Gaians it must clearly look like I'm spending most of my time on Gaia, too, and yet, I do have an offline life and just enjoy hanging out here talking to people. And yes, I'm filling gaps, too, one way or the other - and does that really feel wrong? (For me personally it does sometimes and that's when I take time off from Gaia).

As for people you meet online not being real… well, I guess there's always “fakes” to be found (just as in real life!). Me personally I'm still cautious about online romances because to me it's very important to see how people move, hear how they talk, smell and “feel” them to know whether I could actually fall for them but I know quite some people who are very happy with the partners they met online or hooked up with on dating sites. I have quite some “email penfriends” I met online and have met some of them face to face and usually did get on well with them. Even though eventually I realized that I probably wouldn't be close friends with them if we met in the real world and after our meetings the contact kind of broke off, too. (Weirdly enough though back in the penfriend days, when meeting penfriends I usually found them to be just as cool in real life as in their letters and with most I got on sper-well and we're still in touch today after 15-20 years!).

Anyways, there are pro's and con's to meeting people and spending a lot of time online but as long as you enjoy it and even feel like you grow through Gaia - enjoy!!! Just don't forget to live your “other life” over it! :))

I can attest that the friends i have made here are real . Real people with real lives that affect me in a real way.
You are real for me,and in the end that's all that matters how you feel,how i feel. Your spirit so real and beautiful and real funny too. Thank you for posting this.

Cyber friends - Real or unreal?

Interesting blog.  On another recent post that I read, someone referred to the Gaia Community as their family.  It kind of amazed me that they could equate a bunch of talking heads as their family.  Throughout my life, real life countless relationships have been formed.  My joy is in getting together with these friends and learning the nuances of their reality…their expressions, their body language, what they like to eat, the music they like to listen to, sharing road trips, emotions, etc.  To hear their voice, share the laughter, the tears, the dark side.  The opportunities to deepen through knowledge of each other on the most fundamental level that for me is much deeper than keystrokes and a pretty picture for a face.  Being a very tactile person makes it difficult for me to engage in on-line relationships.   Of my eight “friends” on Gaia, 5 are personally known to me and the other three share a common interest.  My choice to decline “friendship” invitations on Gaia is the result of not wanting to be connected to 25 or 50 or 2500 people to whom there is actually no connection.

Care Bears - ha, ha.  That's too funny but so true.  Reality is not only about the warm and fuzzy and too much is missed in chat rooms where people usually only put their best foot forward and refrain from participating on a level that exhibits their true feelings or current state of being.

This afternoon a real, “physical” friend will join me on a road trip to attend a spiritual gathering six hours away from my home with a whole bunch of “real” people present.  This, to me, has the potential to result in friendships, relationships, community.  Having driven , perhaps, thousands of combined miles over the years to enhance my life experience with other people has been my joy, a passion, an amazing experience!

On another note, what haunts me is the amount of people who only forge relationships on line.  Where does that leave them in the real world.  A lot of younger people's realities only consist of chat rooms, my space, facebook, YouTube and the false knowledge that may result from the internet vs. knowledge through actual experience.  Too many times someone has shared with me a “point of knowledge”.  When asked about their experience that provided that knowledge the response, more often than not is, “Oh, I learned about it on the internet”.  Yuck.  Talking heads.

This is not meant to be negative by any means, just taking an opportunity to participate in the “conversation”.

Hi Centria,
[Nice to meet you, too]. Yeah, I guess you could be right there with the assumption that our online friends don't ever see our offline lives or us in our offline lives, they only get to experience us online (even though recently there seem to have been quite some face to face meet ups going on among Gaians). :)  [I meant to write the following: “Maybe it's also because Gaia is not really the site where you talk about what you did last night, which show you went to see, what you had for dinner etc.” concluding with the site being more about spitituality, inner growth etc. but then I realized - no, I do see a lot of talk about every-day-things, too, and it's refreshing].
I think those on Gaia know about their friends' lives even if they have never seen them 'live' but maybe that is hard to grasp for those who are off Gaia, i.e. our offline friends.

Very good point about defensiveness. I need to work on those things a lot. I'm too impulsive often and talk before I think esp. if I feel someone has done me wrong or is judging me or others. I get defensive right away but in a non-reflective way often mixed with anger. Still some way to go here… :))

Hi Cloud,

I'd like to respond as well, though Kathy did a beautiful job, as one of the most “addicted” and “Care Bear” Gaians here, always saying I love you and hugs to everyone I know. :)

My God Pod is the most active discussion group on Gaia, and it is also a place where we attempt to be as positive and caring and accepting as possible toward each other. Far from not being real, though, we engage fearlessly there with politics, disasters like Burma and China, environmental concerns, and discuss and come to terms together on issues like guilt,  sexism, doubt, fear, violence, abuse, and so on… in other words, whatever our members are wrestling with in their day to day lives.

It looks like I don't have a “real life”, I'm sure, to many on Gaia who see how many comments I make on blogs, and how many times I leave a grapevine post or make a post to a discussion in the God Pod or one of the other Pods I'm in.

But I have a very full and intense life offline which includes running a learning centre of about 250 students and an International Association of Kumon Franchisees, being the mother of 3 children, visiting friends and spending time on the phone with them (including a growing number of my Gaian friends who I am meeting up with gradually and getting to chat with regularly on the phone)… and just being with myself, listening to music, thinking, walking out in the fresh air alone, going on silent retreats…. and up till recently included being in a longterm relationship with someone. That was very real, I assure you, in every way! :) It felt like he was always always there (he works for me too, so it was a real 24/7 thing.)

Life is full and rich and exciting, and for me it is enhanced by the genuine, deep and caring contacts both online and offline with my Gaian friends.

It's important not to make the mistake of believing our own experience or mode of relating can be quickly or readily generalised into others' lives. You have 8 Gaian friends - I have about 250 of which at least 50 are very active and significant contacts for me, not all every day or every week, but as people's lives flow. On a daily/weekly basis I keep in close touch with about 20-30 Gaians.

Like Kathy I want to have it all, and do, and enjoy it tremendously.

Vive la difference!

Greetings, my dear Care Bears : )

I am the “negative” and “defensive” person who is the source of the “Care Bear” label which you have adopted in this thread. I find it funny to be labeled as “negative” and “defensive”. Negative how? Defensive about what?…lol… How silly.

What is a “care bear” in my mind? It is a person who separates and labels things into neat categories like “positive” and “negative”, “good” and “bad”, etc. and then accentuates the “positive” while avoiding the “negative”, labeling things like anger and conflict as “negative” and “bad”…

Here is my latest post from my care bear thread:

I'm sure everyone has heard the saying that goes something like: “Courage is not the lack of fear, but how one responds to it.” Fear is a tightrope, and we must keep moving forward or perish.

How about anger? Is anger to be feared, avoided, swept under the rug, labeled as negative and bad? I feel that avoiding anger is escapism, and it limits our growth as human beings. What is so bad about being angry, enraged, superfly TNT?

Anger unbalances most people, because they run away from it by disapproving of their angered state. Why not approve of our anger and explore it? Why not try to discover the root of this feeling, no matter how terrifying and ugly it may be?

Yoda said: “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Yes, but there is also fear of anger, fear of hate, and fear of suffering. If we give in to the fear of anger, we become hateful. We become hateful because we don't stick around long enough to explore our anger and discover its origin. We react to our anger instead of owning it, becoming its slaves. We judge anger as “negative”, and run away to our “positive” no-fly zone. What could be more unbalanced than this?

If one doesn't journey through their anger and face its source, their anger turns into bitterness, which is the dark side of anger. Bitterness is the corrupter of souls, the ambassador of hate. It brings no liberation or enlightenment, only slavery.

However, if one doesn't judge anger and explores it, then one has a good chance of understanding that it is themselves they are angry with. Not just the individual self, but the collective self as well. It then becomes a matter of either accepting the state of affairs which caused the anger, or doing something about it. This is the way to freedom, one must choose. Take the blue pill, or the red pill… The choice is yours. But don't run away from the choice and pretend that you can live with your fellow care bears in some blissful happy crystal cave that is safe and separate from the rest of reality…

We live in a very terrible and ugly reality. We live in a world controlled by an amoral and mostrous elite who have enslaved us through social engineering, war-profiteering, genocide, collectivism, totalitarianism, statism, religion, nationalism, central banking, enslavement through debt, centralized globalization of critical resources (food, water, fuel), etc…

These people RUN shit… The system is totally rigged, and we are on the path to global collectivist totalitarianism, a neo-feudal nightmare controlled by elitist slave masters. Voting Democrat or Republican, recycling, boycotting so and so, buying organic products, joining the PTA, meditating, having a sing along around the camp fire, playing the flute and dancing in a field, etc. is not going to change this. I wish it could, but it won't.

Believe me, I care, I really do. There is nothing wrong with the activities that I've listed above, but being a “good person” is not enough to save our world from a very dark future. We face a system of control that is totally amoral and ruthless, and would not think twice about killing 90% of the world's population if their monopoly on power was legitimately threatened. Playing nice and safe within the rules of a system which has been created to enslave us is to basically do nothing.

Anyways, to each his/her own. More power to you either way. If anyone is interested in understanding where I'm coming from, then feel free to explore these links when you find the time:

Websites

Global Research

F.W. Engdahl

Henry C.K. Liu

The Market Oracle

Ludwig von Mises Institute

Campaign for Liberty

Europe2020

Guerrilla News Network

Freedom Force International

LewRockwell.com

Prison Planet

Asia Times

Shadow Government Statistics

Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars


Videos

Money as Debt

Zeitgeist

The Corporation

Why We Fight

Iraq for Sale

Fiat Empire

Endgame

Alex Jones Interview with Aaron Russo

The Money Masters


Peace : )

Hi Centria, it's my pleasure. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and starting a very thought provoking conversation.

I just wanted to clarify that I don't feel that you in particular labeled me as “negative” or “defensive”. I salute you for exploring and questioning what it is to be “negative” and “positive”. I said that only because I've been labeled “negative” etc. on more than one occasion. Oh shit, wait a minute, that is being defensive. Oops…

I've often judged some of my own responses to certain things as “negative”, only to discover that it was a “negative” response only because I backed away from it and failed to explore it properly. Of course, sometimes I degenerate into the bitter side of anger, and behave like an asshole. I'm working on it…lol…

Anyways, good luck in your journey through the electromagnetic spectrum. Ciao ; )

Oh behave!

And if we are all all things, which I believe, perhaps there is a little disowned care bear inside of you lucid????  Just see if you can say it 10 times to your self in the mirror “I am a care bear”, and if you have not energy arise when you do it, than you own it.  If you have difficult with this you might want to cuddle this bear a little and see where it leads you.  This part is as valuable as the angry part.
As some say, maybe the quote was missing a comma “I am that, I am”.
Just a thought…..

Dave, you're right, of course… I have an inner care bear, he is very much alive. It's just that he sharpened his claws after the park ranger privatized his water supply and sold him to a zoo ; )

Hi Centria,
Going back to your second comment bubble in this gathering of friends….

The response ” they can think that”   came from reading your blog in that moment…
Who knows how I would respond in future moments to future happenings : )

lucid, maybe we have more in common than you think… i have inner claws too LOL!

lucid, maybe we have more in common than you think… i have inner claws too LOL!

Right on, I believe you ; ) I believe I have more in common with people than not, and I'm sure everyone on this thread cares and wants to see a world where being enraged at injustice is something that's difficult to imagine. Being that the world is actually the opposite of this, I tend to be suspicious of optimism. I'm all for optimism, but not at the expense of realism. Keep in mind that I'm not speaking of anyone here in particular. When I made the “care bear” statement in my original blog post, I was referring to the general focus of this community in general, and how a great many people here are blind optimists who seem to think that good vibes, optimism, organic products, meditation, healthy living, peace and love, donating to charities, boycotting China, voting for Obama, driving a hybrid, reading Deepak Chopra, signing petitions, 8 minute Zen, etc. is enough to “change the world”. It's not… It's like putting a band-aid on someone who's been cut in half with a machine gun.

I'm reminded of a scene from The Matrix:

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

Positive/negative, optimism/pessimism, good/bad, real/fake, ad infinitum… Like I said before, to each his/her own. My approach is simply this: Question everything…

Hi, Centria. I can’t believe I’m just getting in on this now. It’s so my type of thing to talk about!

First, I’d like to say that your friend probably made those comments because a) she hasn’t had this experience and, therefore, can’t relate to it b) she might feel threatened by it (your deep friendships here) and c) she might have some general insecurities (shown by her need to compare/be negative).

Second, I’d like to say that (and I can only speak for myself) that I see most of the friends on my list as “real friends.” (Some–the not-so-active ones–aren’t just because we don’t interact that much.) Also…the quality of my Gaian friendships is very real…(so real that my life has been changing as a result of that realness).

Overall, I’m beginning to separate/distinguish between online and offline less because the edges have begun to blur. Here’s why:

–I’ve met several Gaians in person (and plan to meet a bunch more over time). There was no real difference between how they came across online versus in person. The authenticity was quite remarkable. Our friendships continue and are better than ever. As with good offline friends, I believe that I could reach out to the online ones at any time and receive the same type of treatment I would offline (and maybe even better in a few cases).

–I’ve talked to several Gaians over the telephone and found the same thing.

–I have now introduced some of my offline friends to Gaia (and they’re now on my friends’ list here), so I have offline friends who happen to now be on Gaia. As a result, I now know them better than before–and I feel incredibly close to them. I see other facets to them that I didn’t see before. And I love it.

So…for me, it’s all kind of merging into one thing.

The bottom line–I don’t see my friends here as “just online friends”; I see them as real friends who I happen to know through a different dimension (the Internet). It’s really that simple, I think, for me.

Ah, this is fun.  At least for me.  I want to take one more learning opportunity from Lucid.
“I am Lucid, I am Lucid…”  I'm enjoying you comments Lucid, so I know I'm definetly  Lucid also.  I can own this part of me.
So, Lucid, you say you question everything, but do you questions your version of reality?  Is your reality of injustice just another form of the matrix that you are lost in?  Who's to say if your perception of injustice doesn't serve on some level we don't understand?  If nothing else, to give our Lucid's something to tilt at?  And I don't blame you for tilting, I can appreciate and understand it.  I myself have been tempted to grab the pitch fork and a torch and storm the castle gates. 
For me though (and again we all have our own paths, with multitudes of opportunities offered by this matrix), I find the state I am in, and the energy I focus on increases.  So if I focus on negative stories and angry actions, that's what I see more of, experience more of and create in my own life.  And if I focus more on seeing beauty, practicing love and looking for kindness that is what I see more of, experience more and create more in my  own life.  So, I guess it is a matrix, but there is no spoon.  We create our reality by our judgements and reactions.  For me, I have to be the peace inside of me to create the peace outside of me, and it is the hardest work I do.  On my path, today, that is the way that is in alignment with who I am and what works for me.  So, I do most of the things on your list-own a prius, buy organic, etc. and I would have you question everything, as you offered, and perhaps see that is enough, at least for Dave.

I think we disagree on very little, except how to enact change. Enjoy the ride!
ps I probably would not spend much time with you on the outside world, but this virtual world offers an opportunity for experience that is unique.  And I'm glad of it….even (yikes) hopeful.  Thanks for letting me share.

So, Lucid, you say you question everything, but do you questions your version of reality?  Is your reality of injustice just another form of the matrix that you are lost in?  Who's to say if your perception of injustice doesn't serve on some level we don't understand?  If nothing else, to give our Lucid's something to tilt at?  And I don't blame you for tilting, I can appreciate and understand it.  I myself have been tempted to grab the pitch fork and a torch and storm the castle gates. 
For me though (and again we all have our own paths, with multitudes of opportunities offered by this matrix), I find the state I am in, and the energy I focus on increases.  So if I focus on negative stories and angry actions, that's what I see more of, experience more of and create in my own life.  And if I focus more on seeing beauty, practicing love and looking for kindness that is what I see more of, experience more and create more in my  own life.

Hi Dave, thanks for sharing. This is fun, isn't it? ; ) Yes, I question my own reality. Maybe I'm a super-advanced computer simulation. Maybe it matters what I do, maybe not. Maybe DNA is a seed which an advanced inter-dimensional race has planted much like we plant wheat seeds, and our life energy from this dimension is their harvest. Maybe we're just super-smart wheat stalks. Who knows?

As for focusing on “positive” over “negative” energy, I must say that energy is energy and the division is a construct of human linear perception.

Anyways, let us think this problem through. Let us imagine that we are in a house that is on fire from the ground level up. The people on the ground level are about to burn alive, as the fire has spread through most of their level. There are people on the 1st floor watching football and doing kegstands, and they smell the smoke but are too drunk to give a shit. On the 2nd floor there are people meditating on organic yoga mats while listening to Tibetan chanting music, content in their anti-bacterial crystal cave of aromatherapy. And let's not forget the roof, where a guy wearing an Armani suit named Brad is jumping on to a helicopter with a briefcase full of gold certificates.

Now, the fire will eventually engulf the entire house unless the people on the 1st and 2nd floors take immediate action. These people must do everything in their power to put the fire out. Thinking happy thoughts and focusing on “positive” energy will not have any effect on the inevitable spread of the fire. That's a fact.

Lucid, love your analogy [or is it metaphor?] Ah, love that example!

OK, now that that's sorted out, I'd like to extend the thought you put out:”Now, the fire will eventually engulf the entire house unless the people on the 1st and 2nd floors take immediate action. These people must do everything in their power to put the fire out. Thinking happy thoughts and focusing on “positive” energy will not have any effect on the inevitable spread of the fire. That's a fact.”

Thinking happy thoughts and focusing on “positive” energy is not meant to take away from the action required; but if we look at the flip side, thinking sad thoughts and focusing on “negative” energy will not help the situation. But thinking positively [rather than positive thinking —a little bug-bear of mine]– will help the right action to be taken, as it frees energy from resistance to outward flow.

Hi Meenakshi, I agree with you, there is nothing wrong with thinking positively as long as it leads to action. I think sad thoughts, happy thoughts, angry thoughts, beautiful thoughts, ugly thoughts, compassionate thoughts, indifferent thoughts, tormented thoughts, self-defining thoughts, etc. and after all this I still believe that we live in a magnificent world which is worth living in and for.  I like the thinking positively point you made, that's exactly right, to make optimal use of one's resources…

http://princesamwise.gaia.com/blog/2008/6/transformations
: )

Reading this took some time, but the conversation is well worth it; thanks, Centria, for guiding/shaping it.

Another line from the Matrix, spoken by Morpheus to a newly-awakened Neo, reminds me that “our minds make it real”.  I say all of us are sovereign beings who choose our reality.  Parents influence their children and so on, but in the final analysis, the responsibility is our own alone.  And this message can occur as “good news” or “bad news”, depending on your version and flavor of reality.

As far as online vs. “real” friends. I seek out my family.  If I sense resonance with someone's beauty, personal shares, etc.,  I go with it and see what happens.  Don't we all?  Who am I to limit someone else's experience by my words? 

Care bears are welcome in goodly measure.  My life is full of such bears.  And I prefer you tell me the truth about who/what/how your life is occurring; even you don't always, I'll love you anyway in the end.

Hi everyone, I previously stated this:

Thinking happy thoughts and focusing on “positive” energy will not have any effect on the inevitable spread of the fire. That's a fact.

What I really meant to say is something more like:

Thinking happy thoughts and focusing on “positive” energy is not enough by itself. “Positive” thinking should be followed through with action if we wish to extinguish the fire.

There is nothing wrong with being angry at injustice, just as there is nothing wrong with centering the individual aspect of one's being in peaceful and harmonious thoughts. If peace and harmony is what we want for the individual self, then what about the collective self? It's easy to think positively from a position of comfort and safety. What about the countless millions of people ravaged by war, disease, starvation, genocide, debt slavery, etc… What should we say to a young Iraqi man in Baghdad whose entire family was killed when the US military dropped a “smart” bomb on his sister's wedding? Think positively, meditate, and everything will be alright? Plant flowers and give hugs, and our troops will pack up and leave?

The world would be a much different place if people gave as much importance to the collective self as we give to the individual self. Not more importance, not less importance, but equal importance… If this was so, then what individual could say with a straight face that they truly feel peaceful, harmonious, and balanced?

Again, I can relate to the idea of “thinking positively”. If I was “thinking negatively”, then I would just declare that it's completely hopeless, accept that humanity is doomed, sell all my possessions, and pursue a hedonistic lifestyle on some tropical island. The fact that people care and are willing to work together to find real solutions is the first step of a long and insanely difficult journey. It is a journey that requires the investment of one's entire being, much like the climb to Mt. Everest. It requires many people to give up their addiction to comfort and safety, because the nature of the landscape which we must traverse is hazardous and unforgiving…

MorningStar gets the credit for me seeking this one out, she's great at, um, promoting blogs of note. :-)

When I hear ”Thinking happy thoughts and focusing on “positive” energy is not enough by itself. “Positive” thinking should be followed through with action if we wish to extinguish the fire.”, I think of integrity between thought, word and deed.  Lucid, this is wisely stated, but incomplete, in my opinion.  I believe that each influences the others, hopefully elevating in turn.  And what shall we “do” when we realize the greatest “fire” is in our thoughts?  Pick up shovels and beat our heads with them??  I doubt it.  I repeat the words of MKG, “Be the change we wish to see in the world.”  Allow kindness, connection, wholeness and beauty in all that is to flow and we will scarcely recognize our new world.

I have enjoyed sitting through this class,
I must say it is a circling wonder,
I did feel as though the ride took us through many experiences with beautiful and honorable expressions, I did feel a completeness with reading the last blog, the words chalked up on the blackboard left me with feelings of understanding, compassion, balance, centered and all the rest above,
ll the great contributions were serving to create balance….

Such a wonderful read
thanks for this Centria:)

yes, thanks, Centria, and thanks everyone else for such a tremendous discussion! Lisa is great at blog promoting indeed :) just a natural ambassador… What I love about these kinds of conversations is that together we have a more complete picture, like the blind men and the elephant, if we combine the pieces we see we start to get a better view of the elephant.

like synchronicity, miracles happen every day, dear one. so, when are we finally going to talk on the phone? I am longing to make that connection. you are so very interesting… PM me?

Just want to give you my blog promotion options:

–Light promotion within a thread=100 seeds
–Major promotion via a status announcement=200 seeds
–A blog devoted to promoting your blog= 400 seeds
–All of the above=600 seeds (a summer special); get special promotional tags for free!

:)

Obviously we'll need to band together to get this 600 seed summer special.  I've got about 70 with more accruing quickly because of the Gaian Humor pod.  Will you jump into the pod and send me some more seeds so we can finally get this special before Lisa's west coast trip happens?  I promise to re-seed you back, Centria!

gasp! no, don't forget friends. hi! waving :)
it's so hard eh Kathy? all these enticing pods and blogs jumping up and down like the Bunny saying read me read me!

yes, all those things are very very good! i will be out much of today i think. i feel like jazz festing haven't yet!

I've actually forgotten the original topic here (LOL)….as for the seeds, what I can do is this–drop the final 0, leaving us with:

–Light promotion within a thread=10 seeds
–Major promotion via a status announcement=20 seeds
–A blog devoted to promoting your blog= 40 seeds
–All of the above=60 seeds (a summer special); get special promotional tags for free!

And then, cut 50% from the above. I think that would make it much easier to take advantage of this summer's special promo rates!

Kathy,

Looks like no one should doubt the realness of the friendships we have here at Gaia.  They are one of my greatest treasures.  Kathy, you are one of those petals on the beautiful flower of my Gaian experience.

Deborah

i find it so interesting how many of us are connecting by phone and in person. it seems to be snowballing. what better way to illustrate how real our friendships are eh Kathy? no need for egativity and defensiveness. let's love each other and enjoy every moment together in the many different ways we have to do so. hug hug!