living authentically

[bug]

Well, my ONLY concern when I was 15/16 was how was I going to get fucked up (Or con my mom into buying me an 8 track tape). Don't apologize for your pursuit of truth(s) b/c it's quite impressive. I work with "adults" who are not asking the questions you are asking.

teehee, 8 track  8-)

For me ... I try not to think about this kind of stuff and just live right.  I think if people just follow the golden rule things kind of fall into place.  The hardest thing for me has been to not worry about things and trust myself, that I can handle whatever comes at me.  So far, so good.

[ycartrob]

and thanks for the kind words Brian, I feel the same towards you and
so many others here.

I have been doing a lot of soul work lately, and a couple of things that
have struck me:

Humans are the only animals who try to be something we are not. Imagine
a lion trying to be a chipmunk or a raccoon trying to be a cardinal; doesn't
work. The key is to find your gifts and live them as your soul dictates, not
as society, family, friends, money, etc...dictates. That there is a monumental
task. (and we could talk for days about that thought). However, I feel we
are born with gifts and talents, but from day 1, we begin to lose them to feel
accepted or "normal" or to survive family dysfunction (some of us, not all of us). Frederick Buechner challenges us to find a place where our deepest gladnesss
and the world's hunger meet.

I have learned recently that I should not try to change the world, rather,
I should find where I truly fit, then the world around me will change. Parker
Palmer talks about living an undivided life (ie, a whole life rather than compartmentalized into work self, family self, vacation self, etc...) For me,
this takes a huge amount of patience, love and forgiveness. I am further along
this path than before and I will not reach the end in this lifetime; this is a hard concept for our western society to grasp b/c we are judged by accomplishment
and reward, rather than an inner search for truth. Our society wants results! Now! Produce!
All that has my qi all out of whack...

A couple of books I am reading during this journey (one of the most important
and rewarding times of my life, which is why I am going back to Bear
Butte, South Dakota next week). Please pick one of these up if anything I have
said rings truth.

A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life- Parker Palmer

Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche- Bill Plotkin

Undiscovered Self- Carl Jung

Touching Peace- Thich Nhat Hahn

Little Book of Peacemaking Circles- Kay Pranis

Peacemaking Circles: From Crime to Community- Barry Stuart, Mark Wedge, Kay Pranis

The Way of Council- Jack Zimmerman, Virginia Coyle

[The DARK]

Great post Tracy! I'll see what I can do about those books.

[EC]

there's no way of saying this any different, but i love you people so much, and there is nothing nicer than reading a big long thread about love and questioning and figuring out how to be good by passionately kind and generous people.  

this has given me so much to think about, and i happen to be in a time where i'm enjoying thinking about things.  brian, i love what you said about replacing the word god with love, and the weird thing is that i was thinking that the other day.  i was walking around this lovely little town, and this man was wearing a tshirt that had something religious on it, and i remember thinking that we both looked like we were feeling the same (ie kind of ok and content), and i thought that he says jesus, and i say love, and it's all the same thing.

and i'm wearing my my morning jacket t-shirt today.

yeah, jenny, the other thing is that because you're still physically growing, you have a lot of different chemicals running around going crazy and causing your brain to go on overdrive.  i used to sit with the big headphones on in our living room and listen to music that made me cry in order to release some of what i was feeling (melanie, pink floyd, cat stevens, emmylou harris, bob dylan, you get the picture).  i found that really helpful to just get shit out.

ok, fuck it, i still do that.  ;)  i do. seriously.

[thebigbang]

just for curiosity's sake,
what do all of you think defines an authentic life? what do you think the most essential points are, in successfully leading an honest, genuine, true life?

Hmmm. My user ID reflects the GREAT RIDDLE about what came before the big bang (and of course, it also relates to an MMJ show).

Recognizing when reason is abandoned is the key.  Far too often people "want" things to be what they are not.  This clouds reason.  When you can regularly see and understand this sort of rationalization in others, and yourself, you can pursue the success you seek.

[megisnotreal]

I've been thinking a bunch about this picture lately and about what is going on in it.  I'm so frustrated with religion and the term "God" that I decided that we just need to replace the word "God" with the word "Love" I think that LOVE is something that everyone can understand.  I mean the word "God" seems to spark such a debate amongst cultures, I think Love is much more universal.  It seems to me God would be much more pleased if we just worshiped "Love".  

i couldn't agree more.
thanks for such a beautiful post.

[Jenny]

and thanks for the kind words Brian, I feel the same towards you and
so many others here.

I have been doing a lot of soul work lately, and a couple of things that
have struck me:

Humans are the only animals who try to be something we are not. Imagine
a lion trying to be a chipmunk or a raccoon trying to be a cardinal; doesn't
work. The key is to find your gifts and live them as your soul dictates, not
as society, family, friends, money, etc...dictates. That there is a monumental
task. (and we could talk for days about that thought). However, I feel we
are born with gifts and talents, but from day 1, we begin to lose them to feel
accepted or "normal" or to survive family dysfunction (some of us, not all of us). Frederick Buechner challenges us to find a place where our deepest gladnesss
and the world's hunger meet.

I have learned recently that I should not try to change the world, rather,
I should find where I truly fit, then the world around me will change. Parker
Palmer talks about living an undivided life (ie, a whole life rather than compartmentalized into work self, family self, vacation self, etc...) For me,
this takes a huge amount of patience, love and forgiveness. I am further along
this path than before and I will not reach the end in this lifetime; this is a hard concept for our western society to grasp b/c we are judged by accomplishment
and reward, rather than an inner search for truth. Our society wants results! Now! Produce!
All that has my qi all out of whack...

A couple of books I am reading during this journey (one of the most important
and rewarding times of my life, which is why I am going back to Bear
Butte, South Dakota next week). Please pick one of these up if anything I have
said rings truth.

A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life- Parker Palmer

Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche- Bill Plotkin

Undiscovered Self- Carl Jung

Touching Peace- Thich Nhat Hahn

Little Book of Peacemaking Circles- Kay Pranis

Peacemaking Circles: From Crime to Community- Barry Stuart, Mark Wedge, Kay Pranis

The Way of Council- Jack Zimmerman, Virginia Coyle

try "man's search for meaning: an introduction to logotherapy" by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl
this was the best, most complete piece of literature i have read in a long time.  from the voice of a holocaust survivor he reflects on his time during WWII and also afterwards, including a thorough analysis of his experience...

or a hero's journey by joseph campbell. more of an introductory reading, actually. just found it very interesting...

[vespachick]

This is a fine example of why I love this board.  Thanks for the reading list to both Face & Tracy, I'm sure I will pick up one or two of the suggestions here.  And, Brian, truly: great post. Reading all of your words makes me realize how much more I need to discover about myself as well as what I'm doing to benefit the world we all share.

Kind of sort of along these lines of pondering living authentically, did you guys see 60 Minutes last night?  One of the stories aired was a repeat about the Moken tribe, a nomadic boat people who live in the seas of Thailand/Burma.  They said that they are the most untouched by modern man.  They are the people who new the tsunami was coming because they're so in touch with their surroundings and consequently were able to flee to higher ground before the waves started.  Anyway, an interesting point to the story is that there are some words/ideas that are not in the Moken vocabulary: Want, Time, Hello/Goodbye.  The reporter was asked to try to take the word "want" out of his vocabulary just to be able to recognize how often it comes up.  It's an interesting perspective.  Turns out I "want" a lot.

[The DARK]

Something happened to me recently that helped change the way I look at the world. I was at a local arts festival with my family, and they convinced me to look at an art gallery, consisting mostly of nature pictures. And they were great pictures that must have taken a long time to make, but I never once felt that any of them truly spoke to me beyond what I saw on the canvas. On the way back to the car, we passed by an abandoned building. The wall of the building was covered stickers, most of which were half-torn. But the thing was that every sticker that I saw on that wall had something to say. Some were about global warming, some were anti-war, and some that I may not have agreed with, but they all were for a good cause. And as I passed by that wall I saw more art in it than any of the paintings I had seen in the gallery.

I'm tired of people on the street getting less respect than anyone else. They seem to be more caring than the rest of the world.

[Ghosts_on_TV]

I've been thinking a bunch about this picture lately and about what is going on in it.  I'm so frustrated with religion and the term "God" that I decided that we just need to replace the word "God" with the word "Love" I think that LOVE is something that everyone can understand.  I mean the word "God" seems to spark such a debate amongst cultures, I think Love is much more universal.  It seems to me God would be much more pleased if we just worshiped "Love".  

The sad thing is I bet Jesus felt the same way...and then people got involved.

[Jenny]

someone told me about the "Long Count" of the Mayan calendar counting down to 2012 and it actually got me really depressed and stressed.
They predicted when Katrina and the Tsunami were going to happen. They were considered "minor" cycles while the predicted happenings in 2012 are considered "major".  
I'm not even going to graduate college by the time the world is going to have some major catastrophe.
Earths magnetic field will be reversed.  Supervolcanoes will erupt. Meteors will strike the surface.
I really don't mean to be so morbid. This is just all fucking crazy... :-/

(I didn't want to start a new topic 'cos that'd be sort of depressing, so I just recycled.)

[EC]

I'm tired of people on the street getting less respect than anyone else. They seem to be more caring than the rest of the world.

hear, hear.  

face, the change might also be for good...
i find that human beings usually need a catastrophe to help set things right.  otherwise, we don't seem to do much... x

[ratsprayer]

what will happen (whatever it might be) will greatly benefit the earth and the people who break on through to the other side.  the present powers that be will crumble, and the strong survivors will re-shape this planet in to a more caring and humane place.  find your sanctuary now (physical and/or mental), it's bound to be a rough road to get there.  

:) :) :)

[Jon T.]

"Learn to swim"  MJK