--- In [email protected], "tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > TurquoiseB writes snipped: > > It seems to me that being uncomfortable with oneself > > spiritually seems to go hand-in-hand with the > > tendency to become a spiritual fascist. The more > > "rules" one imposes on onesself, the more you feel > > comfortable imposing on others. The less tolerant > > you are of your own faults, the less tolerant you > > are with others. > > > > And vice-versa, of course, which is why I brought > > up the subject... > > Tom T: > One of the things that has come out of the 12 step journey, > for me, is the understanding that most of the time whatever > the purported "other" accuse me of doing or having or whatever > the issue, is their own deepest, darkest, denied secret. Pay > attention, it becomes pretty evident if you notice.
I've always found this to be true. And vice-versa. I have a certain amusement for those who *don't* realize the vice-versa thang to be true, and that they're projecting the things they don't like about themselves onto others, because they're denying themselves a wonderful technique of self discovery. One of the things I started doing some years ago, and still do without fail every month, is to go back and reread every post I made to a spiritual group during the previous month in which I gave advice or complained about a perceived fault in someone else. Then I read those posts again carefully, this time assuming that the person I was really talking to at the time was myself (my self). I've learned a lot from doing this, and highly recommend it. Compare and contrast to the people who bristle and get all defensive when someone suggests that they are projecting the things they don't like about themselves onto others. That's their right, of course, but I think that in taking that stance they're condemning themselves to a lifetime of staying pretty much the same, and never learning much from life. > The other thing I have noticed is that part of the function > of this chat is to a be a 12 step for seekers program. > The addicition to seeking can get broken here or become > more Self evident. Interesting way how it all works, isn't > it? YMMV Tom I couldn't agree more. When I posted the rant at the top of this thread to the other chat group, the first reactions were subdued. But then the people who are majorly *addicted* to seeking and to being down on themselves started coming out of the woodwork, and started yelling at me for having missed the whole point. I found it pretty fascinating -- these folks have been in the mindset of believing that there is something essentially WRONG with them for so long that they get angry when someone suggests that there is nothing wrong with them, and that they might make more progress if they just relax and stop beating themselves up. Bottom line is that I agree with you 100%. The real function of discussion groups such as this one is that they allow us to get over ourselves. :-)
