Would it not be better if instead of being concerned with who we might offend; we get to the point where we simply can't offend? Acceptance of everyone for exactly who they are.

I never claimed hate was a good teaching tool, I said you can learn from it. Everyone here has felt it before, they probably learned something from that moment or else it wouldn't have occurred.

Also I never claimed or felt like I was attacked. Honestly I always felt like we were just arguing philosophies, I was defending my perspective hoping to put it in question. You have all helped me achieve this, thank you.
I can say I've learned new things from this thread.

Rally for hate? No way. I think you have exaggerated this a bit Olympus.

Edit: More likely is I exaggerated it, I was stoned and recovering a loss of serotonin. My mood was worse than I believed at the time, but that's no excuse.

ok cool, im glad you feel this way because it sounded to me like you felt picked on. no worries then.

yea that came out kind of dramatic no? yup like you said were all just human

p.s. i debate people occasionally but i never hold any grudges.

It's all good friend, grudges are only weights to hold us down.

I picked the wrong time and place to rant, but I learned from it. Thank you everyone.

Great post...
This is kinda why I've not spent much time here and left for a while. I already feel like leaving again... But I'm glad it's being adressed.
I deal with enough ego and negativity daily I don't need to seek it out.

I've encountered this hard, judgemental tone here as well.
In a certain Topic one nexus member came at me quite offensive, rediculing and respectless. I was tempted to react in a negative, cynical way.
I then realised this cynical negative response was the Unconscious Egoic mind in me reacting to the Unconscious Egoic mind in this nexus member.
This realisation did away with this negative response and made me explain myself, where the other nexus member had just misunderstood me.

This ego-less, fact-based reaction appearantly worked miracles, because the very next post this member posted was him/her apologising for having been rude and saying he/she would be glad to help me.

So what I advise anyone to do whenever they encounter Unconscious behaviour in others; Do not condemn them, do not feel tempted to engage them.
Respond to them kindly, patiently. Don't take it personal and just clarify the misunderstanding in a self-less way.

Good post SKA.

I'm sure many of us have made the mistake of letting our emotions get the better of us at one time or another. Mistakes are useful though, they teach us what not to do in similar future situations

powerful stuff, and it works

not on everyone, but it does on someone who has realized he/she was acting like an ass.
the realization is the moment of clarity.

In my view, this flippant and rude attitude of "oh, I thought you were enlightened?" breeds resentment on the otherwise beautiful and loving online pontoon that is the nexus. in my opinion, there's only one intention with it, and that's to try to bring someone down.

I would like it alot if it was removed, or the title renamed.

Do you feel this Topic is meant to try bring people down Shoe?
I see this Topic as an attempt to make people conscious of the fact they aren´t very kind or respectfull towards eachother here lately.
If people realise this of themselves, then they may be more aware of their behaviour and be more kind and respectfull with others. More patient and tolerant of their weaknesses and differences.
That would make this forum a more peacefull and pleasant place. And I welcome that.

I reckon the nexus could certainly use this Topic as a reminder to be patient, tolerant and respectfull towards other people, no matter how wacky, geeky, dumb, childish or loonatic they seem to you.

You're right, People treat each-other like shit everywhere I go. What the hell is wrong with the world? Also, I see that you're trying something, It's not about you and me.

I haven't made a whole hearted posted in a long time, and it could even be the bowl of cannabis I smoked an hour ago making me say this, but after reasonable thought, I felt like saying it anyway:

It remains difficult to say just how much I have actually come to learn about myself, and the world around me since having discovered DMT-Nexus, quickly thereafter Spice, and with them, the astonishing motivation that helped me in changing every aspect of my life.

I feel goofy saying that I lost 40 pounds after changing my perspective of the world, and that I practice healthy eating as a now seemingly permanent life style choice.

But it wasn't just DMT that taught me how to look at things from a million different perspectives, it was fueled by the uniqueness, the comfort, and the solidarity of Nexus.

I've seen a lot of people here go through possibly the worst chapters in their lives. I know the vast majority of us have waded through shit in this reality, and the rest have waded through shit in DMTs hyper-reality-space. I know we all have the ability, in some form or another, to imagine everything we dislike in a different perspective to allow us to come to enjoy it.
"You too could now enjoy Country Music!" (*This is not a guarantee)

If you do not enjoy something, at least respect others enjoyment of it.

Remember that the ego isn't something to be ignored, or fueled, but listened to. It is something to learn from. If you learn to spot your ego, you may just discover that self perpetuating path of never ending enlightenment. Enlightenment isn't an award for completing a certain path in life, try to view it more as that continuous source of common sense.

I love all of you. you are all beautiful people in your own way. Even in your moments of great pain and harm you are still a beautiful human and your life is never wrong, for you are life itself and for you to be wrong life itself must have first been wrong, and we all know that word wrong was a human development and is not found anywhere else in nature but inside our own heads. I'm not a super smart person, i just love every piece of what i am, and i have found that i am EVERYTHING! including you, and you are too.

Ever knowing,
Never and always questioning,
Love all ways,
Interesting development,
Going to and fro,
Holding nothing but everything,
Time stops,
Ending and starting,
No unknown,
Everybody's everyone,
Death to the self?

Everything in the following post is strictly my personal opinion and based on nothing but my own distorted perceptions over time:



Hahahahahahahhaha. Great essays Vovin, I bow to you.

To be brutally honest, my observations of my own and others' behaviors here leave me feeling cold vis a vis this post.

Examining the content of replies just within this thread, as well as understanding how people's good intentions last just as long as the next irritating post, the next precipitating incident at home (off Nexus), the next opportunity for a "joke" (sadistically at the expense of some other group or individual), the next opportunity to attack reflexively without taking any time at all to think things over, the next opportunity to act like an attack dog because we think maybe a poster has done or thought or said something that goes against our majority culture (or even our stated rules), . . . but without even gaining clarification. Watching the physical growth, but the lack of cultural development over time . . . . In other words, we remember the ideals of this post, of "enlightenment" when it suits us, when we feel good, when we are NOT challenged. Well, how about that, Nexus is like any other group or entity in the world. People are people. They are wonderful. And they are no darned good.

Yep, I stand by everything I have ever said about enlightenment. Which can be summarized basically as: Anyone making serious claims about it is either a charlatan/rip-off artist, a fool or excessively deluded.

I havent ever read somebody claiming to be enlightened on the Nexus (except maybe She/It , remember that? ).

I think you paint a too dark picture imo pand, there's only the negative portrayal of the forum without any of the positive. If its so bad, why are you here and not in any other forum? I would guess you also see the positive side of at least some people, and somehow consider this a special forum ?

All the Nexians I have met in person are fantastic people, really some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Are they enlightened? No, but I dont think anybody is. I certainly think they are more ready to admit their mistakes and looking for self-improvement way way more than the average joe (or even the "nice-joe". I also feel the interaction level in the Nexus is far more interesting, deeper, honest and respectful than any other forum I've been a part of or read. Does that mean there are never any negative posts? No, but whenever there is, the overal majority of responses will be incredibly patient, calm, respectful, and the overal great attitude will be maintained. Im sure you remember how patient people were when fwaggle was treating everybody bad, plus many other examples of threads we could dig up. So I think thats pretty clear that people are not jumping at the next opportunity to act wrongly, even if at some points we may not be flawless.

So instead of saying that people are this or that, how about being pragmatic about it and looking case by case? Is there a post that you dont agree with, feel its negative, etc? Why not point it out calmly and respectfully why? I mean, dont get me wrong I think you have all the right to voice your general opinion, but I personally think its way more effective to use energy to post specific arguments, point out inconsistencies, try to help people out, try to be patient when I am affected negatively myself, than to say that Nexians are this or that in a broad way. You know, being the change we want to see and all of that, its hard but I think possible, step by step

What you're saying is basically that sometimes we fail to be morally perfect.

But you're right. I often respond very agressively, for instance, when i'm under the impression that someone is saying something that would go very much against something consider important. Like an attack-diog indeed. And i wouldn't let an opportunity pass by to have a good laugh, even if it would sometimes be at the expense of others. Though i think i wouldn't bother either, if people sometimes had a good laugh at my expense.

What about trying to do the right thing? does that count as well?

You are very right about how easy it to behave in an 'enlighted' manner, when you're not challenged.
So sometimes i fail the challenge, like yourself.

When this post was made it was a time when the forum was in a fit of chaos. There were quite a few arguments many downright rude. I made the post on a whim and did not imagine it would be stickied. The title of the post was meant to make people think about what they wrote, does their reply embody that which they claim to seek to be.

The reason behind the title is simple. Wanna be enlightened? fake it.

Seriously.

If you go through life acting and mimicking the actions of a enlightened individual. It in essence forces you to walk the walk. In time you will eventually begin to think as a wise one would. The old saying fake it until you make it really does work

But first before you start a flamin' let me be clear just acting as if you are enlightened is not going to work for anyone. It is but one piece of the puzzle. I choose to utilize this tactic to ensure that during everyday life I do not fall back into old habits. This is easy when you are relaxed among friends. But if they see you as one who is more spiritual or "enlightened' your gonna have to act like that all the time arent you and eventually you become that which you embody.

I learned this tactic in the army I overheard some doctors at lunch stating that if you lie enough you eventually will begin to believe it.

During basic training I informed everyone I was from a town in Virginia. I spoke of this in such detail and so often that during large road marches when my mind would wander I found myself drifting back to my home but in memory I would recall it as Virginia. I think it is important to note I haven't even been to Virginia. My mind simply merged my 'new reality' with memories of youth. I found it quite disturbing at the time to see how easily my own mind was manipulated.

Basically if you embody the persona as a 'enlightened' person then it will infiltrate every aspect of your life and you will have to become it to sustain it. In time you will begin to think in this mode of thought and in time perceive in it as well.

Keep in mind my perception of enlightenment is that it is a path not a destination. All who follow the path are enlightened from the very beginner to the wisest of us all. It is the dedication and determination to self betterment that denotes enlightenment not a rank or status awarded after completion.

honestly im staring to think that the very word enlightened cant be used without drawing aggression on the nexus. off hand i cant remember the last time the topic enlightenment didnt end or begin in disagreement or hostility.

People who are not very much in the grips ego of easy have a very easy time identifiyng similiar individuals.

Still, everyone is on a different point of the journey, so hostility can arise because "spiritual progress" is something many people on the nexus aspire. Unfortunatly, it seems like you can't force it..so this is plenty of reason for the ego to be agressive.

Great post! I love it.

I have to admit words like enlightenment, ego, spirituality etc. were for me, for a long time, very difficult. They seemed to embody esoteric principles, undefined, and sometimes used to fuel feelings of superiority...

I've come to a different view of these topics now, especially the terms enlightenment and spirituality. I think the are in a certain context valid terms and worth approaching / worth thinking about, but one must first free oneself of the all the esoteric and charlatanry associations that come with them. Because at the core of these terms lie IMO principles that touch upon the nature of our beings, and how we interact with what we are. So in that sense I find these things are worth striving for, very much like Vovin suggested, by aligning oneself with these principles as though they were already manifest in us, thereby manifesting them in us continuously and appropriately for every situation...



As for the hostility that we encounter in the discussions that include claims or accusations of claims... I guess it's ok for criticism to arise now and then - it keeps everyone on their toes. No matter what it is we strive for or how far we've gotten in our development I think we remain fallible, the room to err or react out of an impulse that is less than optimal to transform the situation into it's most positive potential is always there. We can acknowledge this and not take aggressions personally.

We can try to always respond to every instant to the best of our knowledge and from the highest perspectives we can reach, but certainly there will be moments when entities meet and are not in resonance with each other, from which misunderstandings and even feelings of injury can arise. As part of an interaction-field that uses communication and is called community or society or whatnot we can see it as our responsibility to dissolve these turbulences, not by avoiding them entirely, because I doubt this is possible, and possibly not entirely desirable either, but by transforming these energies (aggression, hostility, belligerence, injuries, pride, ...) to again allow full communication and resonance.

I think this is what we are doing here continuously and very effectively. Sure we lose some on the way towards progressing our abilities to deal with these situations, and it's always sad. But I think here too we have to move towards improvement in an optimistic fashion rather than nourish excessive criticism and pessimism/bitterness towards the subject.

The idea of a permanent stage of enlightenment is something that could better be abandoned.

On the other hand i find the notion that enlightenment is something that either doesn't exist or if it does, would be totally out of reach for normal human beings like you and me absolutely wrong and fatalistic.

Every human being experiences moments of enlightenment every now and then.

For those who say that anybody who claims to be enlightened must be a charlatan i would say that your definition of enlightenment is probably false: if you define it as a superhuman quality, like being able to walk on water or something, then your fatalistic view will proof right at all times.

But with that attitude towards life and enlightenment, you withhold yourself the chance to ever act in an enlightened way, to face the challenges that are part of this life and to ever stick out your neck for something or someone.

Cynism may be right when it's about the world we live in, but it's wrong when it's about yourself.

Saying that enlightenment cannot exist is only a lame excuse for not trying to make something out of life. You turn yourself into a machine when you truly believe this.

As pandorra said, we often fail to act in an enlightened way when we're being challenged.

I would say that this is normal and rather obvious: eventually everybody will break when under stress. And life is stressfull for virtually every human being on this planet.

To be able to remain enlightened, even under great stress is the challenge life is all about if you ask me.
And it's a challenge because it's not an easy thing...or it wouldn't BE a challenge.