Nice article; "Individuation, Jung’s 2nd Personality, and the Freak"

Very well worth a read; recommended.

I made comment on base of page; copied to base of this post below.

Enjoy...!!

http://appliedjung.com/jungian-themes/the-freak
  
Consider for a moment the utterly and overwhelmingly absurd nature of our existence.
We send our children to school to learn what? Their capacities or their limitations? What they are capable of or incapable of? I would argue the latter. Here I think one must agree with Freud’s very astute analysis of the human condition that psychic castration is an essential developmental stage. Without the recognition of our limitations we become monsters. One has only to encounter a precocious teenager and extrapolate that into the sociopathic adult such a little monster is likely to become, barring divine providence, to appreciate this.  And such divine providence should it occur can only come in the form of disaster (castration) if it is to be a medicament for the hubris of the uncastrated individual.
If you doubt the wisdom of this perspective you need only look around the world today to see the results of the failure to castrate. The disastrous global fallout of capitalist greed over the last decade. The notion that it’s not only okay but necessary that my net worth or the net worth of my bank/company/institution double every five years, extend beyond the merely impressive, to the spectacular or, if you’re a truly committed capitalist, the stratospheric. This in the face of widespread global poverty is a truly special and perverse kind of hubris.
Or, another example, fundamentalism, particularly of the ilk we encounter today, one which disregards the value of human life, is also precisely a failure to be moderated by any normative paradigm. Another instance of a failure to be castrated.
So then we are left with the inescapable conclusion that a “good education” has a castrating effect on the child. Assting him or her to give up childish illusions of infinitude, or endless possibility, of a world filled with nothing but love, enchantment and wonder. Replacing it with a “rational”, measured, limited, scientific, secular world. A world governed by numbers and measurements, where quantity wins out over quality, where substance trumps soul every time. An education designed to crush the soul, or if you prefer the stupid, antiquated superstition that a soul even exists, and elevate the (rational) mind. Who would you rather your daughter marry, a theoretical physicist or a musician, an actuary or an artist?
Where, we may ask, does such a salubrious education lead? This wondrous modern education of ours.
To a life of great love, governed by the principles of truth, beauty and goodness? To profound and deeply meaningful connections with other human beings? To a life of ongoing exploration and enduring curiosity? To harmonious and engaged social cohesion? To a life filled with hope, wonder and joy? To the experience of sublime pathos?
Well, I guess, once can never discount the power of the human spirit to rise above the sea of prosaic, formulaic, reductive and soul destroying world views. I wager however that such individuals constitute a truly small minority. Here I would side with Kafka, in the struggle between the individual and the system always bet on the system.
Possibly I am guilty of being an idealist with these views. Let us consider some more pragmatic trajectories.
Firstly by virtue of the fact that you are reading this, you are a member of the global population who:

Is literate.
Has access to the WWW.
Have sufficient affluence, education and leisure to indulge in the reading of such a post.

Now I’m not sure of the ratio of the global population that these criteria pick out, but there are one hell of a lot of less privileged people out there. People who do not possess the luxury of reflecting on the existential anguish of our existence. People who are either too busy keeping body and soul together and/or lack the education to comprehend such ideas. Not through any choice of their own I assure you.
But let’s leave the fate of those less privileged than ourselves and reflect on our outstanding destinies.
So let’s assume you swallow all the horseshit they feed you at school. That you contort your body, compact your mind and shrink your imagination to please the man. Where does that get you exactly?
Into a half decent university if you’re sufficiently privileged, or otherwise a second rate university, college, trade school or some such. At what pray tell will you learn there? You will learn a trade. You will learn how to become a productive member of society. Any areas of compromise ideology not sufficiently drilled into by your parents and teachers will be corrected at this tertiary level.
Okay so onward and upward! What comes next?
A job, assuming you can find one. That of course is when this idyllic youth terminates in the profoundly abysmal experience of adulthood, with all its commensurate rewards:
Disillusionment, the idealism of youth is remedied.
Loss of wonder.
The anesthetisation of the soul (whatever survived your education).
Typically lots of routine, mundane tasks that have to be endlessly repeated.
I could go on of course, but by now you may thinking me a little cynical so I’ll stop there. In face of this accusation, like Rust for True Detective in defence of the charge of nihilism, I would say I’m less a cynic a more a realist.  Actually I would describe myself as an optimist. To bother writing a post like this, itself an act of existential defiance, can only be motivated by a high degree of optimism.
Here my hypothetical interlocutor may intercede and speak of the joys of marriage and family life. [1]
Yes married with children. This truly is a great joy – and here I am only minimally ironic. Still it comes at a price doesn’t it? Responsibility, loss of freedom, lots of hard work, undoubtedly a loss of romance, a loss of youthful joie de vivre and so on.
But still worth it, definitely worth it. Provided you are willing to watch the long hand of the clock count down the years of your life. [2]
But that is not all life is surely?
There is so much more to look forward to. Buying your first home – and paying the mortgage. Then slowly but incrementally ascending that ladder of social status, respectability, personal achievement, no doubt dreadfully mediocre – but all the same, one can always spin it a little on Facebook, putting the kids through school – now there’s something to really look forward to, to take pride in, recreating our miserable selves in our children – what a wonderful source of pride that is.  The list of these innumerable joys goes on of course, I only list the highlights here. I don’t want to get into the bad stuff, the really grim stuff.
And all this effort, the daily grind of our lives, it has its compensations, there is always TV, retirement, travel. Well perhaps not so much travel these days, the world being what it is. I reminisce about the time, the time before our time, when travel was actually romantic. These days not so much. Unless you find navigating the bureaucratic minefield of mindless and infinite red tape involved in international travel, full body searches at the airport, traveling cattle class and praying you flight is not on the ISIS radar, fun. Some do I guess, not me.
Finally then what?
Old age, decrepitude, loss of our faculties, loss of vitality, loss of the lust for life and then mercifully the anesthetisation of death, not too soon mind you, chances are there will be a good deal of suffering, pain, humiliation and loss of dignity first.
If you remind me, one day I’ll tell you one the story of the old man who died in an old age home in Old Road. I won’t get into that now, but it is a story illustrates the point here quite well.
Do you get it?
We are fed a world view which idealises reason, but live in an irrational world.
This is a rigged game. It cannot be won on its own terms. Rationally there is no happy ending, it’s a simple as that.
A world and a life that worked on or was governed by rational principles, that made sense, a world where the rewards were commensurate with input, efforts, capacities and sincerity, a world where there was a steady, albeit gradual, evolution toward a more egalitarian, harmonious, humane global community would be nice. This however is not that world.
I suggest we have a good case for a class action against life and our progenitors. Some equitable compensation for being thrust into this absurd situation seems only fair. Or in the absence of equitable compensation, we might suggest to our parents that they shove this gift back up where it came from.
Whilst I make these suggestions tongue in cheek to a degree, trying to counter absurdity with absurdity, there are serious philosophical treatise along these lines. Schopenhauer being perhaps the most well-known.
Nevertheless, in the absence of legal remedy and the fact that the primal father and mother have long since departed what are we to do?
Kill ourselves?
That we are already doing, just by being alive we are of course in the process of dying. Every breath you take is one breath close to your last breath. Some may exit before others but we share the destination with an absolute certainty.
Naturally I have no definitive answer to offer. [3]My own philosophical sympathies are with Steiner (man must complete himself)[4] and Sartre (existence precedes essence)[5] on this point. In other words, there is not nor can there ever be a definitive answer to this question. The radical nature of our spiritual freedom is such that no definitive answer to this dilemma is possible.  Were such an answer to be provided we would be un-free, which really is the only fate worse than this one – the absurd nature of our existence.
I can and will however give you the very best answer I have been able to come up with based on my own philosophical investigations, study of psychoanalysis (most especially Jung) and observation of the human condition.
Every rational system in order to be self-sustaining must contain an irrational belief at its core. An axiomatic assumption that is held to be self-evident and from which the consequent rational proofs are constructed.
In the case of your life, that is and can obviously only be you.
In other words, in order for the world to make perfect sense you must of necessity be in-sensible.  In order for your world to be rational and reasonable, you must be irrational and unreasonable. Perhaps at first blush this seems counter intuitive. Because this post is not intended as a philosophical treatise I am not going to provide proofs to support this claim; you can either accept it or reject it.[6]  Either way my life will proceed pretty much as it did before; yours however may be radically changed if you listen to what I have to say and at least create the reflective space for its possible veracity (i.e. consider that it may possibly be true).
The idea that I lay out here is by no means original. It is at best a systemisation of Jung’s original work on this topic.[7]
Let me lay it out as simply and bluntly as I can.
You are not, by nature, a reasonable phenomenon motivated by rational, normative, civilised principles. This is only something you have learnt. [8] We (i.e. society) have socialised you. And such socialisation has, arguably, been done for good and legitimate reasons, for the most part. It seems better to live in a civilised society, than and anarchistic one. Albeit that such civilisation is sustained by an illusion (a heart of irrationality) which is that life makes sense, when as I have tried to show you, it most certainly does not make sense.
The price however for such socialisation is high. In order for it to stick, it is taught as though it were true. In other words, this is truly who you are (a civilised man) when quite clearly, as evidenced by the world, you most certainly are not civilised. Your true nature is primal, instinctive and motivated by the dark grounds of the unconscious, personal and collective. You are at heart, at essence, wholly irrational. You are by nature a type of freak, at least measured against normative social standards, which idealise a normative construct of personhood rather than who you actually are.
Mythological traditions, such the Western religious practise, seek to externalise the irrational element in the form of the existence God and the angels etc.  If you sincerely subscribe to such a belief, then truthfully, this post is not for you. Religious tradition is an answer to this question – life doesn’t make sense on its own terms, but if you consider life framed by this (insert any religious myth here) then it does make sense.
If, however, like so many in the age of science, in modernity and post-modernity, you have ben rudely ejected from participation in these collective myths, how then are you to proceed?
The only answer is to become your own religion. To treat yourself, your personhood, your values, your desires etc. as a religious phenomenon. To recognise the sacred character of your true nature. To take yourself, your nature, seriously. But in order to do this, you need to abandon, or more properly reject, the determination of that nature by rational principles. You need to be the irrational core, the irrational heart, at the centre of the cosmos.
I claim, if you are able to fully embrace your inner freak, as it were, what was not sensible – the world, will start to make sense. This is the intention of the work we do at The Centre for Applied Jungian Studies, and it was the focus of Jung’s approach to psychotherapy. That is our interpretation of his work and its seems broadly consistent with Jungian psychotherapy as it is interpreted and practised in the world today – at least by the Jungian analysts that still subscribe to the notion of individuation.
Jung himself does not use this term “the Freak”, which we have coined for this purpose, he speaks about individuation[9], the second personality[10], the (big) Self[11] (as opposed to the small self – which is the ego identity, prior to its encounter with the (big) Self and the individuation imperative). For my part as invaluable as Jung’s work is, and I do not use the word “invaluable” here lightly, I have found it necessary to rephrase this idea so as to make it more tangible and hopefully more imaginatively provocative. I take this idea very seriously and so the intention of my work as a teacher of Jungian theory is actually help my students plot a way to individuation, as opposed to merely theorising about it.
With is minimal context then, let me rephrase the imperative I gave you earlier on.
The only way this world and this life can ever truly make sense is if you incarnate your freak. If you live from the perspective of your freak. The freak being fundamentally irrational is not governed and constrained by rationality, ergo the irrational nature of existence is countered, balanced and perhaps even transcended.
What exactly it means to live from the perspective of the Freak is our ongoing work at the Centre. I do not propose to give you anything approaching a complete guide to the Freak here. I will however share some of the characteristics that are essential elements of the Freak, in my understanding at least.

• The freak is analogous to the second personality.
• A personification of the unconscious.
• It is a counter position to your ego identity and ideally you are in dialogue with it.

• It is objective and transpersonal.
• It is a force of nature, or one could simply say it is nature; it’s a natural impulse or a manifestation of nature.
• it is a bridge to the collective unconscious.
• it is the carrier of your myth and authenticity,
• It is the path to individuation.
• it is the carrier of your archetypal impulse.
• It is Non-rational.
• Distinct somatic character
• Distinct feeling-tone
• Stepping into the freak is captured quite well with the metaphor of stepping into the void, another useful metaphor from Žižek on this is the “catastrophe of falling in love”. Both of these metaphors describe a release from a defensive posture.

I list below some posts I have written on the topic you may look at if the idea interests you.

http://appliedjung.com/jungian-themes/you-are-a-freak
http://appliedjung.com/jungian-themes/individuation-project
http://appliedjung.com/book-and-movie-reviews/man-on-wire
http://appliedjung.com/book-and-movie-reviews/searching-for-sugarman
http://appliedjung.com/jungian-themes/becoming-a-human-being
http://appliedjung.com/practically/becoming

Until we speak again I bid you adieu,
Stephen.

Comment made to above:

Great article; thanks be from my version of freak.
Suggest reading The Myth of Sisyphus, by Albert Camus; ref's 'absurdity'. I have also been strongly influenced by Jung since reading a book about him/his theories in Laos in 1998.
My personal myth/religion I have been very haltingly developing over last 10+ years has irrationality at both its centre & periphery, because it is based on that most eternal of irrationality's - love.
I call it philerosophi-e.
It is clearly an amalgam of the Greek philia, eros, to be dealt with sophia/wisely & the '-e' is symbolic of agape a.k.a a gap-'e'. The 3 loves with wisdom,  respectively, love/friend, love/body, love/of god= trinity. The 'e' is also symbolic of a spiral, that leads us to return to 1, thus "out of the 3rd comes the One as the 4th"; 'phi'leroso'phi'-e. However, as Jung noted, the 'missing 4th' element is tricky, & this is where I am trying to spiral the 3 loves back into the 1, using agap'e' so that the 4th is written as 1+, making the whole formulation cyclical One Love...& if that makes any sense then I am making progress...!! Phil also signifies as male, eros 'the body', sophi female & a-gap'e' as the 'communing of humanity in God'.
The bsic aim is to 're-include' the body/eros back into philosophy, which what with post modernism etc, has often become (alas, once again) somewhat descending into sophism; e.g. neo-conservatism/neo-liberalism.

03/05/13; War Free Proposal #2

-->

I'm grateful that you feel it has 'legs' as a concept & glad you feel it's worth pursuing, as I think there is definite potential- thanks Lisa.

...after a period of active_imagination the following emerged...it's just surfing the intuition wave with a bucket & bringing back a small sample of the Akashic Records...so take with a grain of salt...or 3…probably needs lots more editing…

An angle would be to perceive & use 1984 --->1987 as symbolic of 2014----> 2017 in a cyclic way, a returning of the spiral to climb the next level in our re-evolution.

Sometimes/often, it seems to me that consciously co-evolving people are still yearning for 'more', even as 'more' awareness is birthed daily, & 'more' is still ever being magic'ed up.

But more what, & for what purpose?

If we had to choose one thing?

My punt; intriguingly, a popular one…more authenticity, through personal responsibility & authority.

The medium is the message has mutated & now it’s just become ‘media’- 24 hour a day un-reality.

 In the midst of the mega manipulated GFC & the whole wider situation on Gaia, what is certainly widely desirable is to choose more authenticity.

It's fairly self-evident to ANYONE who does even a modicum of research that the tip-top of the pyramid is a (largely/not wholly) corrupted super-elite, supported by a binary base of money & power.

Paradoxically & powerfully, the ‘public’ is also the base of the pyramid.

As was said multiple times at Monday’s meeting we need to wake up, re-awaken, etc.

But it’s all so ‘big’; where to start?

We would be wisest, I feel, to celebrate peoples positively twined emotional intelligence & compassionate rationality, by inviting them into joining the conscious evolution of 2014-2017.

This is a proposed period of 'national conversation' whereby we encourage a NZ wide debate about ‘what’s best for us, & our place in the world?’, with a goal of becoming a ‘violence free nation’, in all the senses of the phrase.

The Peace Foundation (& many other org’s) have been planting the seed for 40 years through schools.

Lets consciously graduate that existing youthful education into the wider adult community that has grown up through this period.

-->

The spiritual taproot is the natural values of children towards fairness & laughter loving enthusiastic fun… that sadly often diminishes as we get older, sometimes somewhat joyfully, consciously enjoying being healthy & well, sometimes lovelorn, cynical & twisted.

Here is another inspiration: The Charter for Compassion.

People KNOW we’ve got to ‘get real’, however many are semi-consciously in denial - I still fall into it - & need but that gentle invitation to grow into what we are meant to be; unified diverse divinity, not just divided individuality; both/&.

People want to have a new temple, as the 'Church of Consumerism' message of 'more stuff' has turned into a cannibal circus.

People KNOW money & power is being funneled to the apex of the pyramid, as it's their money & power that’s’ getting stolen, along with their souls.

Unlike the Germans in the 20’s & 30’s, & ‘Western Culture’ as a whole in the 70’s & 80’s, we now do have near 20/20 vision from hindsight, via the development of the internet in the 90’s-‘00’s, of pretty much ‘what is really going on’.

Now we’re in the 10’s, soon 20’s, & our choice is starkly visible:

‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’

The apocalypse CAN BE a positive unveiling of revelation, as I’m sure Jesus & all the other prophets & saints, East & West have meant it to be.

My deepest sense is that with this growing collective realization, public cynicism may have paused, just a little, as if a cooperative light is slowly being turned on, & people are realising that 'WE all need to do something within the One, intensely important & loving, & very soon,' as the tipping points are all converging.

Just as the 'Limits to Growth' report said in 1972.

However, the un/predictable difference is what is known today, compared to 72.

We’ve experienced an ongoing huge paradigm shift as Kuhn put it, & it's shifted the parameters of what is materially achievable over the last 40 years.

What to do with today's nexus of now, is to choose our collective path.

We’re all in this together on Spaceship Earth says the Bucky boy fan-club !

We're now smart enough to choose 'more' of compassionate spiritualised creation, over 'more' materialised corruption, but we need encouragement & enthusiasm, yes we do, & we all struggle at times.

Let's crowd-source that re-evolving distributed base of public money & power, share the load, & breath into the recognition of the benefits & privileges of our ongoing evolution into Love, for if we don't, well, it might not be pretty...

Well there’s my 2 cents worth, time for bed again…above might be all far too frothy; hard to know…some idea’s to throw around for us though.

If you got to the end, well done…!

01/15/13; Give Peace a Chance; A Proposal for Awareness Party.

Thinking more on meeting last night with 'branding & logo's'...

Perhaps we need to build on a 'brand' we have been world famous for since 1984- 'NZ; Nuclear Free Zone'.

Why don't we be BOLD & launch the 'NZ; War Free Zone' for the 30th nuclear free anniversary in 2014, with an aim for enacting legislation by 2017, as 2nd anniversary of original 1987 law?

Would need to be phased in over say 5-10 years I suspect in order to convince the 'old guard', but in the heightened consciousness of the 21st Century, war is clearly NOT the solution any more; its blindingly self-evident humans are more than ready to evolve past organised mass violence. 

Lets 'complete' the transformation of our military into a purely community building civil defence & disaster relief force, who's training & equipment goes towards the reduction of the 'violence of poverty' in NZ & around the world...isn't this what we've just been more or less demonstrating for 10 years in Afghanistan?- ignoring the SAS for the moment!

http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/operations/overseas-deployments/afghanistan/nz-prt/default.htm

Use the war mongers- Bush the Elder & Thatcher -own political propaganda & make the much delayed 'peace dividend' happen for all of us, & our poor long suffering mother Gaia; finally...!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_dividend

Have it publicised widely how each tank, bomb, gun, etc, not replaced = another school built, another 50 quality houses, 500 children fed & educated, etc, tracked by statistical analysis of the positive policy effects shoved in the face of every war-monger we can find...a true 'hearts & minds' campaign, materially demonstrated for all to see, in the fullest sense.

Lets get past the historic, mythic 'egalitarian NZ' we all pine for- make it a renewed reality for today.

Needing a logo?

One idea is 'War or Peace? Your Life on the Front Line'

Legislation key point to back this logo up?

Make it compulsory that those who advocate for war & violence have to serve on the front line as 'cannon fodder'- NO exceptions; you want a fight, then you have to actually fight where injury & death are real. No more back room deals for corporations & businesses who produce weapons of war either; same rule applies.

This could be tricky to get passed, as war & violence are extremely profitable, however humans are plenty smart enough to make peace profitable by now- 'just give peace a chance' as Lennon said!

Maybe someone in the Green Party can put a proposed bill together after the nuts & bolts have been thrashed out?

...a few thoughts there to digest before I go to bed...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand%27s_nuclear-free_zone

28/03/13- Why do we Have Wars??

24/02/13; Bradley Manning petition & WRH suggestion

Impeachment & trial in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity are the ultimate destination for those politicians who suppress the truth in order to further the hubristic agenda of the paranoid psychopathic death-worshiping war-profiteers who have taken over the corridors of power.

Most of our so called 'leaders' are addicted to human sacrifice in thrall to the power of crazed international banksters, who in turn are addicted to the printing of trillions of bits of worthless paper in a diseased competition to see who can collect the most worthless, illusory $$$$$, whilst the true value of human relationship, nature, & Gaia herself, have been designated for destruction in order to satisfy their fear-filled blood lust…this 2 minute video clearly illustrates the enslavement of liberty that has occurred in only the last few decades by our consumer culture embrace of greed:

http://www.boreme.com/posting.php?id=35391&utm_source=scribol.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=scribol.com

Ironically, in a morbid manner, most of these sick & diseased death dealers are fully aware of what they are doing & continue to attempt to desperately control the situation as they dizzily sprint backwards & forwards through the revolving door of the global corporatocracy, even as it spirals further out of control on a daily basis.

NOW is the time to embrace the inevitable!

These maniacs must surrender to Love as the Universal power & share the burden we will all have to carry just to survive the next 100+ years, avoid global cataclysm & the extinction of human & most other species from the planet.

The world is rapidly descending into chaos, but we have the uniquely human conscious opportunity to recognize patterns in the hurricane, find the still centre of the maelstrom, & surf the fractalised waves of synchronicity into a unified, loving future…but only if we are courageous enough to harness our scientific & compassionate genius to this epic task & embrace the infinite power of spiritually inclined community building on a local, regional & global scale.

Can we do it?

The jury is out, but if ‘hero’s of the people’ such as Bradley Manning & the many other brave self-sacrificing whistleblowers who have been targeted – John Kiriakou, Julian Assange, Sibel Edmonds to name just a few – by rigged show trials, persecution & suppression, are not allowed to freely disseminate the truth of corruption & abuse of power in industry & government in the ‘mainstream media’, then it would seem our chances are poor at best.

What can we do?

Independent internet based media must be vigorously supported, ‘truth in journalism’ laws enacted at the earliest opportunity, while early childhood/ongoing depth education & adult literacy programs both need massive funding. We must stop serving the ‘beast’ of predatory capitalism & find a new economic paradigm that fairly shares all types of ‘property’ to thus put an holistic, healthy society first, second & third, by choosing a path of ‘conscious evolution’ to bring this all about.

Only after these steps, as a minimum starting point, are at last seriously & sincerely embraced (many, MANY, more intelligent solutions will be required), will the vast waste of human & planetary resources that pours into the meat grinders of the ‘war machine’, begin to be diverted to go towards the very long overdue PEACE DIVIDEND, to hopefully rapidly bring about a drastic reduction in the extreme yawning maw of wealth distribution both locally & globally, that is extremely, urgently important for a movement towards global justice & equality, to have any chance of success.

http://nation.time.com/2012/10/24/with-war-ending-when-should-we-look-for-a-peace-dividend/

Only then will the diseased need for war become recognised as an aberration to be consigned to the dustbin of history, as we welcome the true New Age of a healthy, loving compassionate, vibrant humanity, in One Love & Peace, planet-wide.

From there, we can really get motivated, & reach for the stars…to potentially discover other intelligent life forms & ultimately confirm, beyond any doubt, that it is consciousness that drives the universe…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9bVd3BspIQ&feature=youtu.be

 

POSTED ABOVE & BELOW ONTO MY FACEBOOK AS WELL TODAY; 23/2/13.

VDO- The Biology of Belief:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jjj0xVM4x1I

 

Thanks for friending me Mike. I'm a 10+ years fan of WRH, & often share various items onto my FB page. Keep up the great work you're doing- you are a true American patriot, as everyone who is familiar with you would know!!

By reciprocation, I love Bruce Lipton's stuff for reinforcing self-empowerment & a fantastic VDO link is included below, if you are not already familiar with his ground-breaking long term research into the science of ‘epigenetics’.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_lipton

This 1 hour lecture VDO is brilliant in showing people that 'personal perception management & control' are VITAL in order to see outside our own self obsessed ego's, grok the big picture, & focus on feeling your way into health, with the result that you can feel vibrant & confident enough to create a new reality, starting with your own physical body, & moving outward into the community & upward into ongoing, dynamic, loving growth from there.

For anybody who watches the VDO, it gets a bit technical in middle for 10 mins or so, but persevere- it's worth it!!

The following is an idea of mine for you to ‘up the ante’ & tweak the interest of more of your Rangers to abandon victim-hood, & pursue growth.

Taking my initial cue from the Bruce Lipton VDO, the following concept occurred & unfolded to me after meditating on the implications of what I had seen & heard.

THE IDEA:

The power elite efforts to ensure 'the masses' stay ignorant & even celebrate a sense of victim-hood(!!), which allows their easy manipulation, as many of your own posts highlight.

You should consider doing more 'Rivero Rangers' style posts so that people can positively harness their anger, rather than let it fester; a trap which I fell into for a number of years.

But how to inspire more people to ‘take action’ & how could you measure it’s effectiveness?

This could be achieved by turning being a Rivero Ranger (RR) into a challenge to people to do the best/most, say, monthly(?) petition signing/submission writing/power elite confrontation vdo's, etc, etc, type actions, in an ongoing collaborative competition. This would likely over time build another level of online community into WRH as well.

RR's could be encouraged & rewarded by your WRH advertisers giving away discounts, freebies, etc, on their products to the winner/s, whilst advertisers would then take & display testimonials from the RR winners, posting these on their own websites, & then linking back to WRH, showcasing the RR's win with a VDO clip explaining what the winner did, all the while having them holding the product of the company who awarded the prize.

RR’s are then concurrently supporting independent small business's prospering, & thus further inspiring our ongoing conscious evolution as a species.

Everybody can then benefit by the virtuous cycle of positive energy.

A nice byline could be - "Product placement for truth & justice!!"

As we all know, 'personal recommendations' from friends & family are one of the best ways of growing business, & apart from the awesomeness of getting people more involved, the 'new chic' in the search for status, is to be at the forefront of global change for good...and why not?

Status seeking is a MAJOR driver in all warm blooded animal & human motivations, but we can't all be Alpha Males, in the broken traditional sense. Its fine to have a 'genetic imperative', but humans have so much MORE potential than that!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_imperative

I would be delighted for people who encourage conscious human evolution, & the sustainable diversion of  money energy away from the oligopolies that are currently trashing Gaia, to be recognised & celebrated as high status individuals.

This is a VAST improvement from having status flow to the current corrupt model of revolving door executives, politicians & banksters that we are currently suffering under, whilst being constantly encouraged to fawn over vacuous celebrities at the same time- why should they have high status?!?!?. Time is well past for change here.

'Energy flows where the attention goes.' 

Everybody is then a winner, & who knows what opportunities may flower from more people synchronizing their efforts!

The Muse; 08/12/12

'The resolution was approved on Monday by a vote of 174-6 with 6 abstentions...'

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/12/05/israel-rejects-un-call-to-open-nuke-program-to-inspections/

...there's confident, arrogant or dominant, & then there's hubris...

Israeli FM spokesman called the overwhelming global consensus 'meaningless mechanical vote'...

...The UN General Assembly “has lost all its credibility regarding Israel,” Palmor said, implying that as soon as the international community does something Israel doesn’t like, it loses credibility.

One definition: extreme pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubris

...& for my 2+2 cents worth...Jewish people are awesome; I love my Jewish friends & family...however there comes a time when you have to speak out, not in opposition, but from deep awareness, recognize the need to switch drivers on the steering wheel, & move into love, truth, compassion, One Love...

...what is that famous statement attributed to pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came ...

...it truly is a struggle between One's who love & the many who fear...

…will our slimey & slippery reptilian brain win the competition, or will our nimble limbic system embrace with the challenge, such that those two converge into the third level, that of mind, & as I then intellectualize this whole exercise, it is by observation, obvious to you & me, myself & I, to muse… that One must also embrace the fear, be reborn as 1+, suchness/dharmatā…

…so it flows, in but a thrice, into two, thence trinity, for I Am, less, but equal to deity...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity

...so just relax now...be as I; your own muse…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse

...& then Be at One with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe

...why choose anything less...???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_Universe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_energy

...& then back into The All...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_All

At One again...1+...i+...I+...or...4...

This is to intellectualize, absorbed into the stream...

Jews know this, secular & mystical alike, the 2 poles of the Chosen People...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_as_a_chosen_people

…you know, made in the image of this diversity of One God…

http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=0&gs_ri=hp&cp=14&gs_id=7&xhr=t&q=gala+diakonova&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=39650382&biw=1440&bih=693&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=T8nBUKuTBIPtqQGB9IDgCQ#um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=god&oq=god&gs_l=img.12..0l10.30760.35230.0.37052.16.13.1.0.0.7.331.2746.2-8j2.10.0...0.0...1c.1.jGNBZBSKonw&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=17b7d3d3a5f77366&bpcl=39650382&biw=1440&bih=693

…so many can be seen to be at One with God, or on reflection at One with Dog…

http://www.google.co.nz/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=0&gs_ri=hp&cp=14&gs_id=7&xhr=t&q=gala+diakonova&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bpcl=39650382&biw=1440&bih=693&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=T8nBUKuTBIPtqQGB9IDgCQ#um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=dog&oq=dog&gs_l=img.12..0l10.150.6427.3.9042.6.4.1.1.1.0.318.1100.2-3j1.4.0...0.0...1c.1.mJ5pyewAwlQ&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=17b7d3d3a5f77366&bpcl=39650382&biw=1440&bih=693

…just for a laugh…because God; the Greatest Spirit, the Friend, is indeed One with man’s other best friend, dogs…from the stars to the gutter, the I Am is…

15/09/12...but forgot to add link it refers to...!!

An elegantly written blunt object, that thrusts to the centre of the matter...*potentially challenging read for some*...but reasonably even handed when it comes to religion, & not as extreme as some others with a 2nd look...I mean really, Muslims may be upset at some depictions of The Prophet, but at least they feel it, whilst so-called Prince of Peace loving Christians are all but mute on the world stage at the atrocities self-professed 'Christian' politicians commit in the name of their numbed populous...many millions dead in only the past 40+ year expanse of my life...& Judaism believes they are the chosen race? Why them in a infinite Universe?...even if it were true, the hubris is extraordinary to the rest of us goyim...hardly democratic; not a single one of them(!!!)...in the East, Hinduism is Ok'ish, Buddhism better, Tao streamlined, but this article argues for Gnosis...I agree, but who judges? Is culture able to 'progress' if there is no way to tell progress from regression...???

30/06/12...discovered if you click on image brings up link @ base which mostly work; yay!

-->

...got me pondering & wandering...then wondering with understanding... YES...!!!......excellent illustration, the tripod & bunsen burner below, & it clearly shows you, you CAN turn the flame of fear down, way down, or off altogether, & hate would slowly or quickly fade away...this is OUR CHOICE as humans....!!!...why is this so hard for most people to understand...???...oh, that's right...!!!... we're force-fed the fear factor by the power elite controlled MSM - that's why...& it is indeed difficult not to get sucked into the, like, yawning, jagged, toothy maw of consensus reality, where, once you are immersed in the illusion, it is now VERY difficult to extract yourself from its emotional animal magnetism...yet if one can (somehow; choose your vector!!!) focus on alchemically transmuting the randomised chaos of consumer culture, into the synchronised order of the dance into the freedom fused energy of enlightenment...well, if you can do that, then we'll all soon be laughing all the way to the bank, where we could expose the mammon worshipers for what they truly are; EVIL...but QUICK...!!!... if you look in the mirror of NOW...!!!... & THEN LIVE what is reflected, YOU CAN, overturn the moneychangers tables in the temple of y/our heart of hearts, & embrace in love for one another…YES…!!!...lets support the courage in each other to let love shine the way forward into a golden age of peace, compassion, justice, & forgiveness as we heal ourselves in union with the planet, & Gaia's children will have finally made it through those 'difficult teenage years', & we can continue ramping up the power of love to serve for One & All...   … J …   …if you’ve got 9-10 hours to invest in semi-self directed & motivated research then cast your eyes over these educating media resources…the 3^rd one is ‘Why We Fight” BTW…enjoy…that is the point of course, after All; One Love…to be…in…joy… !!!...if not now, when...???...WHY NOT 21/12/2012 if you have to nail a date to the masthead...let it be so...!!!... let the illusion be gone, for reality is NOW TURNED ON...& if you've only got 2 hours, then just watch the Thrive movie, as this distills the bulk of the previous 3 into this 1 anyway…if you are on the cusp & don't need much convincing that is...if you need convincing then you should watch them all...

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-century-of-the-self/

http://metanoia-films.org/psywar/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_VD0pE37vo

http://www.thrivemovement.com/the_movie

…AND… this one is the BONUS…if you want to go the whole way down the rabbit hole…

http://ae911truth.org/en/evidence.html

...excellent illustration, below, & it clearly shows you, you CAN turn the flame of fear down, way down, or off altogether, & hate would slowly or quickly fade away...this is OUR CHOICE as humans....!!!...why is this so hard for most people to understand...???...oh, that's right...!!!... we're force-fed the fear factor by the power elite controlled MSM - that's why...& it is indeed difficult not to get sucked into the, like, yawning, jagged, toothy maw of consensus reality, where, once you are immersed in the illusion, it is now VERY difficult to extract yourself from its emotional magnetism...yet if one can (somehow; choose your vector!!!) focus on transmuting the randomised chaos of consumer culture, into the synchronised order of the dance into the freedom fused energy of enlightenment...well, if you can do that, then we'll all soon be laughing all the way to the bank, where we could expose the mammon worshipers for what they truly are: EVIL...but QUICK...!!!...if you look in the mirror of NOW...!!!... & THEN…!!!; LIVE what is reflected, YOU CAN overturn the moneychangers tables in the temple of y/our heart of hearts, & embrace in love for one another...YES...!!!...lets support the courage in each other to let love shine the way forward into a golden age of peace, compassion, justice, & forgiveness as we heal ourselves in union with the planet, & Gaia's children will have finally made it through those 'difficult teenage years', & we can continue ramping up the power of love to serve for One & All...… ☺ …   …if you've got 9-10 hours to invest in semi-self directed & motivated research then cast your eyes over these educating media resources…the 3rd one is ‘Why We Fight” BTW…enjoy…that is the point of course, after All; One Love…to be…in…joy…!!!...if not now, when...???...WHY NOT 21/12/2012…???...if you have to nail a date to the masthead...let it be so...!!!...let the illusion be gone, for reality is NOW TURNED ON...& if you've only got 2 hours, then just watch the Thrive movie, as this distills the bulk of the previous 3 into this 1 anyway...if you are on the cusp & don't need much convincing that is...if you need convincing then you should watch them all...

24/06/12...but pictures aren't copying...damn it...

...something so precious & to our knowledge unique soul

http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/basics/basics_article2.shtml

Integration Tips

Ideas for improving integration of a strong psychedelic experience and/or crisis

by C.J. Barnaby and Other Contributors

v1.0 - Nov 27, 2006

Integration is the part of a psychedelic experience where the experiencer gets to take some of the journey back into their normal day-to-day life. It can take months or even years to fully integrate a powerful trip. Some tips and techniques for integration are presented here. This document is an adjunct to the Psychedelic Experience FAQ and the Psychedelic Crisis FAQ.

The beginning of a trip: Setting an intention

Setting intention is framing your experience, or guiding toward a desired outcome, or "programming" it. Setting intention can be as simple as stating inside one's mind or aloud what one would like to happen during this experience, or as complex as a personal or group ritual.

Some things that can complement this phase:

·  Writing down the intention(s)

·  Playing a musical instrument

·  Vocalizing

·  Listening to specially selected recorded music

·  Looking at pre-selected photographic images

In the case of a group experience, setting the intention together (as in an "opening circle") can be a powerful way to influence the cohesiveness or theme of the experience.

During the trip (all dependent upon dose)

If the person is able to manipulate tools effectively and their motor control is not too impaired, they may want to make a note of any ideas or concepts that occur, attempt to draw or paint, or otherwise express creatively. The higher they are, the harder this becomes. If anxiety crops up during the attempt to express oneself one way, finding another or waiting for later during a less intoxicated moment may be wise.

Some thoughts:

·  "I personally like to have a blank notepad and a pen about just in case."

·  "Sometimes I like to speak about what is happening so I keep a recorder handy."

·  "A blank canvas can be so inviting to some paint in some spaces."

·  "Even when my motor control is lacking a pencil and paper is still entertaining."

As the trip is ending: Considerations for the sitter

Checking the person occasionally for personality recognition can give clues on how ready they are to engage in post-trip integration ("coming down" and moving on). Occasionally asking them their name, where they are, etc., can cue them to everyday reality. If these questions are causing stress, then they are not close enough to baseline to converse on these issues and this line of questioning is best left alone. During this period, care can be taken that they stay warm, free of anxiety-causing stimulus, and that they have access to someone if they want to interact.

Some thoughts:

"Once they give an answer that is concurrent with whom you know them to be, you can move on to gaining an understanding of what they believed happened during their experience." - Aquapan

"If they seem to be asking for reassurance, remind them with an unworried, calm tone and few words that everything is OK! Everything is going just fine, and perfect. Don't ask too many questions, because it can be confusing. If they seem very agitated, gently reminding them to breathe from their belly can help." - Samanthe

After the trip

A strong trip can be physically exhausting. Taking the time to contemplate the "heroic adventure" can later become an advantage, as this is when new hard wiring of the self can occur.

The sitter can help with integral changes in the person's being. Negative patterns may surface on the way back to baseline and can manifest many ways, from crying to absolute sobbing and negative word patterns about the self being spoken aloud.

"I once heard a friend say... "i kissed _ and he was a good kisser!" and then went into abreaction to the memory saying, "shame on you!" as if being reprimanded by a scolding parent. A quick reaction on my part was to clearly say that there is no shame here and you can let that flow away with the river. The tension upon their face instantly eased." - Mist

Once the person is down enough to express themselves, writing, singing, painting or other expressive arts can allow for greater understanding of what happened. The suggestions below don't necessarily come in this order.


Sleep
Sleep is key to recovery and integration. Not only does it give the mind and body physical rest, but it allows the tripper to let go of any paranoia and doubt they may be feeling after a crisis episode, and importantly lets the subconscious start dealing with all the new information they've experienced.

"My dreams immediately after were incredibly warm and informative and it was here that I was able to process a lot of the information from the experience in a gentle and ordered way. (I ended up sleeping for 24 hours with a couple of food and writing breaks)." - Mist (after LSD and 24 hrs awake)

"I wanted to fall asleep, I really did! But my mind was so wound up I was convinced that if I did fall asleep I would die, because clearly I'd completed all my karmic agreements and there was no reason I was still needed on this earth. That's how huge that trip was. Finally I took 10 mg of Valium to knock me out and give my brain a rest. I was still high when I woke up, but it helped a lot." - Samanthe (after LSD + P. cubensis)

Food
Food is necessary for both physical and mental grounding reasons. Fresh and good food and water are a great idea if the stomach can bear it; things like soup, fruits, crackers. After an experience in which MAOI's were used, it's important to avoid eating anything that is high risk (see Foods to Avoid). Experienced groups and guides prepare food before the trip so that the mess and complication of preparing good, healthy food is taken care when people start to get hungry. A pot of soup ready to go is used as a classic example of a grounding, but easy-to-digest meal for after strong psychedelic experiences.

"Before I was even able to gather the energy to sleep peacefully I had to eat some food. Everytime I woke I had a ravenous appetite which I completely gave into each time, and which continued for days! I ate whole foods with an emphasis on fresh fruit and veg, particularly root vegetables (carrots, potatoes etc) which were recommended by a friend for their grounding earth energy." - Mist

"My sitters had warm soup and bread waiting when I was ready. Even though I was still really looped, it helped mark the return to normalcy, and it also communicated to me a very important message of 'take care and nurture yourself and others; comfort is important!' I was very hungry and could have eaten more." - Samanthe

"At a trance party once I was approached by a man who really needed grounding. He was spinning off into the realms and didn't know what to do about it as he started to gain fear from all the elements around him. I went to a friend's van and pulled out something as simple as a carrot and said, "Go sit under a big cool tree alone or with close friends and eat this whole carrot slowly". He came to me hours later and thanked me profusely for helping through that tight spot. I know I was only part of the help, as a lot of the grounding came from the carrot being in his stomach and the act of eating. His body was probably low on blood sugar and he needed something to concentrate on rather than his own fears and the slow carrot eating task was perfect for this" - Aquapan

"I find that the healthier I feel the next day, the more I can take from the night before... there's less noise. And a warm meal (even a small one) and some sleep (even a disco nap) really helps with that. When I wake up and I feel like I'm inside of an old fluorescent light bulb -- everything is too bright and there's an annoying buzzing and flickering -- I get almost nothing positive from the night before. It takes nutrition, hydration, and restfulness to really be able to learn." - G.S.

Grounding
After a crisis episode grounding one's energy is essential to recovery. "Grounding" is making one's conceptual framework of oneself and body energies connect again with the earth and this third dimensional reality. Showering helps with grounding, as does bare feet on dirt or stone, a swim in a safe water zone like a river or at a beach, or simply having an oil and herb-enriched bath.

"I spent a lot of time on the grass meditating and picturing red earth energy surrounding me and earthing all the stray energies I picked up during my adventure 'out there', and drawing all my own essence completely back into myself. Hugging trees also works!" - Mist

"I used to make a point of laying on my stomach on the earth under a tree in nature where I could barely hear cars or city noises. When I lay there I imagined the earth's energy entering me and rebalancing my soul. I dreamed with the planet. It was always a cathartic experience to do this." - Aquapan

Writing
There may be parts of the journey that have been forgotten due to the amount of processing that occurred. Writing out an experience can help in discovering all that happened during the night.

"Write it down! Writing is very therapeutic and allows lots of ideas to be sorted out and put in order. Plus it gives some tangibility to an intangible experience. Writing it down preserves details and feelings that may fade over time. Writing it down is also a good way to share your experience with others who you may not get to relate it to verbally, and gives you something you can post on the internet if you like so others can read it too and maybe use it to help them integrate their own experiences into everyday reality. If you are into art... express your experience in whatever way you prefer." - Aquapan

"Write things down as soon as you can! Do not put it off! You may think you'll remember salient details, but often they leak away quickly. Writing things down, even in sentence fragments or bits of descriptions of visions, has been a really important way for me to remember insights that I got from trips that reverbate with me to this day." - Samanthe

Support in Crisis

Not all experiences are free from negative emotions and thoughts. In cases where crisis (bad trip, freak-out, panic, etc.) occurs, it can affect people in unexpected ways. In some cases, people experience crisis in the company of others -- sometimes even their good friends -- who have no context for how to handle it, and who are not at all supportive or present to it. This in itself can exacerbate a situation, requiring more attention to the integrating at trip's end.

If people are not aware of what is happening or cannot lend support during the time of crisis, it may be best that those people are taken to another safe zone so as not to become "infected" with crisis themselves. Otherwise crisis can escalate to others who are not able to handle it well.

Sitters (or whomever is helping handle the situation) may want to explain carefully to others that to keep "whomever" safe and to help them it is best "whomever" is left alone until such time that they are able to gain full understanding of what is happening. Casual explanations like, "'whomever' is having a 'god moment' and needs to go through it alone", may help at this time. If there are volunteers who want to help the sitter then the sitter must assess the others as to their ability to assist in the situation. They have to be given clear instructions on what to or not to do (see Psychedelic Crisis FAQ).

At the finale of a situation, discussion with a seasoned journeyperson is a good idea. Reflecting ideas off of them can help with understanding what has happened and putting it in context.

"Understanding, love and support from others, particularly those who were there during the crisis was possibly the most important thing for allowing the experience to be a positive one. Knowing I had someone whom I could talk to openly and at anytime with no judgment, just love and understanding..." - Mist

"It helps if you're able to talk with someone who has been there before as going way 'out there' to the infinite is a place that's hard to relate to unless you've been there, but of course any one friend who will listen without judgement and just offer love and support is great. Also, if you need to explain or apologise for anything you may have done (eg: really naughty or destructive behaviour following unplugging from consensus reality), it is best to do so in an honest and forthright way as soon as you feel up to it as otherwise paranoia can start overtaking what can be an amazing experience and very positive time for learning (if you let it). Don't expect too much of people's response or reactions though, just accept with the same love and understanding you want them to show you." - Aquapan

Deeply negative stuff can come out in a trip, and once that zombie is unearthed, you can't always love it back into the ground. I think that there is a place for talking about the black marl that pours off the soul while tripping, and a sitter can really help with that. I think it's important that the sitter figure out what they or the tripping person can handle, and surf as best they can. - G.S.

My personal belief is that negatives are best dealt with on the down side, not after a trip. Not while ascending. Ascension is not the place to set things straight. - Scruff

Patience is key: attempting to articulate the breadth of the experience can be anxiety-causing if one's verbal faculties are not all the way back yet. If it's too hard to describe, it may be too soon to try to. This is where the sitter can be a huge help.

Something that really moved me once when I was still really high but trying to make sense of it, my heart was beating fast and it was worrying me, and I shared this with my sitter. She replied, 'You're feeling your heart, like maybe it's too big for your body?' Her intention was to get me to think symbolically about my heart and love, I think. Framing a thought as a question to ponder, rather than as a set idea, got me contemplating a beautiful open-ended idea ("My heart is so big I have a lot of love to give"), rather than focusing on my biological fear response. Other useful things she said that helped anchor the experience for me were 'just remember, there's a beginning, a middle and an end' and 'if you get lost, pick one note of the music and follow it.' Which I realized of course once I was sober, is a Grateful Dead lyric." - Samanthe

[For the sitter] "Go over the experience in ways that will enable them to integrate whatever happened to them positively. Listen for any negativity over what they have done and whom they may have affected and turn it toward the positive. Don't push them to acknowledge any commonly socially unacceptable behaviors that they may have been expressing throughout the experience. It is highly likely that during the intensity of the experience they were not relating to consensus reality in ways that are considered 'normal'. Keep steering the conversation toward a positive understanding of what happened to them; as at this stage this could influence their whole life. Be very patient with them and allow for them to express themselves at whatever pace they need." - Aquapan

Seeking Professional Help

If you find that you want more help with self understanding after a huge experience you can contact a transpersonal psychologist (transpersonal psychology acknowledges extraordinary states of mind as part of the human experience), local psychedelic elder if you know of one in your area, minister, or professional mental health worker.

If there are serious emotional or psychological disturbances lasting long after the effects of the drug have worn off, please consider helping the affected person find trained, professional psychological counseling.

Summary

"Going in exhausted and scattered will bring exhausting and scattering experiences."

-- C. J. Barnaby

The key to NOT having a psychedelic crisis is to look after yourself and your body. Although you may not want it to happen, sometimes the party has to end for your body to be healthy before your mind is ready to let go of the experience. The body and brain need to recover before you can intrepidly leap off into the universe again. Doing good for your body does good for your mind.

Essential keys to all of this is are mindset ('set'), setting and dose. The mindset that you take in with you when you go, the setting you are doing it in, and the dose appropriate to the intention. Be clear with yourself and those around you, be healthy, and your experiences will be clear and healthy for you. Going in exhausted and scattered will bring exhausting and scattering experiences. Remember these are powerful tools so use them wisely with appropriate respect.