john morgan wrote:Whether a person writes a chart or not they are worthy. This is not Gyan and it is not srimat, it is survival!
You are right, and I amplify that the effects on a child, told that she is not worthy, are devastating. I know several people sharing this devastation at the hands of the Catholic Church. One calls herself a Catholic survivor! (When I have a chance I will post excerpts of an article by Phillip Roche on the early development of a child's sense of self.)
The ability to pick and choose thoughts that work for us is essential.
The is bread-and-butter Gyan, taught in the first lesson in every course given in the BK world.
Here is one place that I diverge in my personal choices. Basically, in the real world, at the speed of life, the teaching that my first summation -- spontaneous integration of all I have learned and experienced up to now -- needs to be delayed and filtered before being expressed so that there can be an additional process of selection ... For a person such as myself who already (out of fear of being rejected?) over-inhibits his spontaneous child crazy goofiness, which is his natural response to the world, and can be lovable and childlike ... such teachings are toxic. My mother says that the shine left my eyes while I was a BK. People who are hyperv-igilant already do not need such teachings! Beware of sin! Beware of evil!! Or your karma will come to get you and you will be torn into pieces by demons.
Now obviously it was me who practiced and created this. I could have ignored all that and just remembered Baba. "The teaching is perfect, but the practitioners are numberwise, i.e. varying degrees of perfection." Only one became perfect, we are told. "The problem is not the teaching, the problem is you and me, although the teaching works for everyone. Maybe you need to emphasize a different part of it." So what was a unique path with attainments unique in the human world, genuine brotherly vision, purity, is an individual chaotic process with no guarantee whatever: it is their own karma if they try and fail. One size fits all, except for those for who it does not.
So as far as being fulfilled and rounded as a person, I have as much chance as a Christian or in any other path or religion I might choose. "We are unique. God teaches us directly. Only here does the Father speak directly to the children." Yes, that sounds convincing, yet many other cultures experience God manifesting in their midst. Blessing to you and your path. Yours is but one of many, respectable in many ways, not uniquely successful.
That out of my system I agree with much of what follows:
The continuous pressure to be perfect, virtuous and a model for others should not but can lead to all kinds of stresses and strains that do not serve the individual.
Ain't it the truth!
Arrogance is rife in Gyan, each Gyani is proud of his knowledge, knows best and is superior to the rest of the world. Students are encouraged to listen only to the Kumaris as they know srimat and the rest of the world knows nothing. If just one of the Kumaris decides that you are trouble you are out! Out of the Confluence Age, the Golden Age, the receipt of the Murli and the company. I never experienced a comfortable sword of Damocles unless I closed my eyes and forgot about it! This is not to be advised!
I think these are organizational dynamics inherent as a group grows larger, now matter how charismatic and wise the founder.
What is so bad about making the best of ourselves? To learn that we create ourselves everyday, to do our best, be creative and happy is all that is necessary.
Yes, make the best of your life. Those who practice soul-consciousness are also creating their life experiences. One path of many.
These so called world servers who will leave their students or ex-students floundering in negative thought have a lot to learn. And what happens if you take advice and the language used doesn't hit the mark? You are a Bhagat! You are out! Now all this may seem a little dramatic but the language the BKs use can be a little like the limited vocabulary used by computers, how many times have you come across a computer problem for just a useless error message to appear on the screen? No offence given or taken here, the purpose of this writing is not to attack anyone, it is to point our the dangers of negative thinking. If we are in a position where we cannot pick and choose our thoughts how can we learn to do that?
Japanese attempting to speak in English attempt to pick and choose their words, delaying their responses in what should be conversational rhythms anywhere from tens to seconds to minutes and longer. Many have no idea of how much time has passed when they come back with their carefully crafted sentence. Taking time to pick and choose our thoughts ... is for me, at this moment in my life, something similar. Stopping myself and going away, hoping to come up with something to do, be or say. In contrast with the feeling of jumping into the river of life, the river of relating to others. You respond
right now and that is what your response was. That is something different from taking the time needed for decisions of consequence and involving commitments.
Here is a technique for doing that very thing
You imagine a sun in your heart and a moon a few feet away from you. The sun is warm and yellow and the moon cool and white. Slowly and deliberately move the moon towards the sun, watch as it yellows and warms. Eventually merge the moon with the sun.
It has been said that the person that masters this technique can pick and choose his or her thoughts. It is a matter of trial and error. This technique has helped me.
I am glad to hear you share this, creating the warmth and images internally. Our power to influence ourselves. I am sure it has been very valuable to you, which I don't mean to diminish by my personal process preferences.
Thanks to all.
Namaste!