Sending love, strength and comfort to you, Dear Friends!
YES, THEY CAN!
(The Obamas Win Back Europe)
A Damn Fine Way to Start the Day!
check it out.......
DANCE OF A THOUSAND HANDS
This dance would be breathtaking, in and of itself. What makes it more so is the fact that all 21 of these dancers are DEAF. They co-ordinate their movements through signs that are given to them from four corners of the stage. Its first major international debut was in Athens last year at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled Person's Performing Arts Troupe, which has traveled to more than 40 countries.
Illusion?
I got a letter from a friend today.......sharing about a conversation she had a few skeptical friends......who were criticizing her for her belief in Oneness. Apparently, her many recent statements about the world "being her mirror" led them to believe that she had fallen victim to some cult, specializing in Metaphysical Solipsism. She included the following definition of the term, from Wikipedia:
Metaphysical solipsism is the variety of idealism which maintains that the individual self of the solipsistic philosopher is the whole of reality and that the external world and other persons are representations of that self having no independent existence (Wood, p. 295). More tersely, if more vaguely, it is expressed by the assertion "I myself only exist", in other words, it is the doctrine that no reality exists other than one's self (Angeles, p. 284).
My friend was concerned about this, as the term does NOT resonate with the core of who she is, especially in dealing with areas involving Shadow Work. If everyone is a "fragment" of who you are, then does that mean they have no independent existence of their own?
My answer to her was as follows:
"Your friends have interpreted statements about your Oneness with everything and everyone as being statements that everyone besides YOU is an illusion.
Another word used for that kind of philosophy is "Nihilism"............which is the root word of "annhilate." Also from Wikipedia:
Metaphysical nihilism is the philosophical theory that there might have been no objects at all, i.e. that there is a possible world in which there are no objects at all; or at least that there might have been no concrete objects at all, so even if every possible world contains some objects, there is at least one that contains only abstract objects.
An extreme form of metaphysical nihilism is commonly defined as the belief that existence itself does not exist. One way of interpreting such a statement would be: It is impossible to distinguish 'existence' from 'non-existence' as there are no objective qualities, and thus a reality, that one state could possess in order to discern between the two. If one cannot discern existence from its negation, then the concept of existence has no meaning; or in other words, does not 'exist' in any meaningful way. 'Meaning' in this sense is used to argue that as existence has no higher state of reality, which is arguably its necessary and defining quality, existence itself means nothing. It could be argued that this belief, once combined with epistemological nihilism, leaves one with an all-encompassing nihilism in which nothing can be said to be real or true as such values do not exist. A similar position can be found in solipsism; however, in this viewpoint the solipsist affirms whereas the nihilist would deny the self. Both these positions are forms of anti-realism.
Somehow, they are getting the idea that your idea of "Oneness" means that THEIR "Oneness" doesn't matter or doesn't exist. That's quite a limited view. EVERYONE'S Oneness is important. Each person is his or her own "Universe".......uni = one. It's all PERCEPTUAL, at that personal level. What you see is always influenced by your Core Beliefs and Essence. It gets fed through a "grid" or filter that colors the images. As Anais Nin put it: "We don't see the world as it is. We see the world as WE are." And each person experiences the world is his or her own way. Each perception is what it is............and it's also a MIRROR of the beholder.
That would be my way of explaining it: "Everything is what it is. Everything is "real." That's the opposite of solipsism. Everything is real, but not everything is RELEVANT to YOUR personal life path. And so, at key times, you choose to FILTER OUT, or BLOCK OUT knowledge of those things that don't apply...........so you can focus more intensely on what DOES apply to your purpose in life. Filtering images out does not mean they're not there. EVERYTHING is there, both independently and personally. But not everything is perceived. No human mind could hold it all."
Reality! What a concept! Coming soon to a UNIVERSE near you!
DJ. 3/17/2009
These Dolphins make rings, underwater, and then dance with them.
Do Something BRAVE today! (And then
run like hell!)
Izzat Phunny, or What?
Speaking of Giraffes...........
Here's an opt-tickle
Illusion. Look closely, and continuously into
this abstract picture. Soon,
you'll be able to make out a giraffe among the clouds.
