a tale of the sea for restless voyagers
Tom Leafeater
One day in my travels as a very young man, I came across a most enchanting
inlet along the coast of a distant land. I had been sailing alone through
storms, and I was weary. I had grown tired of the constant vigilance required
in storms at sea, and needed refuge in which to rest my fatigued mind and
aching body. Though I had found the inlet while sailing through the darkness of
night, I chose to enter, though it is well known to sailors that one should
never enter an unknown harbor in the dark. I decided to trust my eyes, as I
usually have excellent night vision. Creeping in with barely enough motion to
remain underway, I strained to see any obstructions that may lie before me, and
I did manage to maneuver safely through a long, twisting channel, and then
around the many vessels already anchored about the small, secluded bay. Finding
a good spot, I dropped anchor, which I firmly tested to insure its holding
power in the unfamiliar bottom sediment. Then I went to bed, thankful and
relieved I had found refuge at last.
During the night I had the most intriguing dream of a translucent being who had
come to give me insights to the new world I had entered, though I couldn't
recall what she had said. When I awakened the next morning, I noticed the
ship's radio had been left on during the night, possibly contributing to my
dream, since the Harbor Master sometimes communicated with vessels by this
means. I arose, stiff and sore from the hard days at sea, and went up onto the
deck to get a look at my new anchorage.
The light almost blinded me, as the sun had already risen, and shown golden and
radiant through a cloudless sky. The rolling buff-colored hills rose up from
the seashore, and were adorned with a village of little adobe homes clad with
red-tiled roofs. Tropical foliage lined the cove. An aroma from cooking pots
over fires filled the air, and promised fine cuisine and open air dining. The
faint sound of exotic music wafted over the warm expanse of the turquoise-blue
water of the bay, and gently rocked my elegant vessel in concert with the
lapping wavelets reaching in from the far sea beyond. I was struck beyond words
by the beauty of this place. I sat in stillness of the moment, letting the
dawning realization of my good fortune penetrate the thawing numbness of my
sleepy brain. As it turned out, locals informed me that my having entered the
bay at night without any one to guide me past the treacherous reefs and other
dangers was nothing short of a miracle. It was my destiny to have arrived, they
remarked with genuine awe.
Over the days, weeks, and yes, months, that followed, I learned more and more
of this charming haven. I visited its homes, its churches and temples, its
stunning vistas at the summits of mountains. I conversed with other
inhabitants, and attended to civic duties I had volunteered to oversee. In a
couple of years I became a responsible person in the social structure, a valued
participant or link in the chain of the community order. I slowly became
intertwined and immersed with all that was here, having taken it in to the
innermost reaches of my mind.
Family and friends were unable to send any mail, since there was no post office
that communicated with the outside world, nor were there any telegraph or
phones to the outside. But I didn't care about that, for I had learned to be
content, having transcended any real need for the ordinary ways of humanity I
had once depended on for happiness. I had outgrown my previous reactionary
states and embarrassing sentimentalism.
Over a period of years, I was introduced by degrees to what I thought seemed
strikingly familiar: It was a discipline the inhabitants practiced, what could
be considered a kind of subtle yoga. Strangely, the discipline had always made
me think of an allegory written by, who was it? Ah, yes. Herman Hesse in his
novel, The Glass Bead Game. Though there were no actual glass beads used, I
felt as if I were a part of such a vast and unparalleled creative discipline,
though perhaps this is an incorrect comparison. The goal here was a state
resembling an exalted form of enlightened sagehood.
In time though, a strange dissatisfaction began to gnaw at me. Doubts began to
creep in. I had begun to notice strange inconsistencies in my adopted world. I
ignored them for years, so inoculated was I from such intrusions to my mind. I
sometimes thought of leaving my refuge, to return once again to sea, to again
sail the ocean freely and unencumbered by what more and more seemed to be a
confining world of fixed awareness and convention. Our lives were not merely
standing still or timeless, but were stagnant. No one had ever really found the
Enlightenment. But the thought to leave never took root, due to the warnings
and stories about those who had tried to leave before. This was all explained
in the charts of the waters drawn by the Harbor Master, who was the recognized
leader of the community. It showed sandbars, shoals, submerged rocks, and
treacherous tides. It showed wrecks of former vessels hidden beneath the
surface. You see, the storms raging outside the harbor entrance that drove
wayfarers to seek refuge in our haven, also prevented restless ones from
leaving. The passage is too dangerous to risk, due to the many hidden reefs and
dangerous underwater pinnacles. We were all told it would have been better not
to have ever put our feet to this sublime shore, if our intention was not to
stay, for to leave would undo all that we had been blessed with, so great was
the gift of finding our way into this rarely discovered domain. So I dispensed
with such disturbing thoughts and doubts. I lived my life as best I could,
determined to be satisfied with the world I inhabited.
One evening, while rowing back to my anchored vessel, something happened that
made my heart tremble with crippling fear. I had noticed something floating in
the water that caught my attention. Having retrieved it with an oar, I removed
the contents from the sealed tube. It looked like a chart of the local waters,
but was unlike any I'd seen before. It had drawings and depth soundings that
were at odds with the official published charts from my village. The beacons
and lights were all in different places. The channels were wider than I had
been told. The weather patterns were different. In fact, the chart explained
that all we had been told was a lie, a fabrication intended to entrap and
enslave, that one could leave anytime without fear of any rocks or shoals, or
dangerous reefs. It shattered my conception of the world, and frightened me.
Was our revered Harbor Master in error? Or worse, was he a conspirator in a
deceitful scheme to entrap us all? Impossible, I cried! Unimaginable!
Unthinkable! I do not accept this! I do not! I frantically rowed to back to my
anchored abode, and went below to lie in a dark berth away from a world that
was now bathed in the multicolored rays of the setting sun. I cried and
shuddered inside, but real tears would not flow. After a few days a dreadful
emptiness crept into me, but I didn't take notice of its arrival.
I reasoned, I stewed, and as I compared the data, I used what I told myself was
common sense mixed with a good dose of inner awareness and transcendental
knowing to reconstruct my treasured reality. After a week or two, I was back to
my normal self again. I rose out of bed, and got to work. I cleaned the galley,
the salon, the head, and used precious fresh water to clean the topsides. After
the intense day of exhausting work, I felt purified of the ordeal that had
threatened my long-practiced contentment. I left the salon carpet to be cleaned
later, though its underside was badly in need of sweeping. I had done enough
for one day. I went back to my world, and served out a few more years,
submerging my memory to never think again of that horrible period.
But the doubts crept in again, gradually, until they couldn't be ignored. I had
now become one of the long time inhabitants. I had seen the fringes, the rough
edges, the inner sanctum that was not so enlightening after all. I saw the less
than noble motivations, the flaws all too prominent in even the most respected
ones of the community. I saw the conformity that undoubtedly comes about in
such a closed, insular world. I saw the ignorance, the blindness, the pretense
that we all took part in and mutually reinforced in one another. I became
restless to grow again, to nurture my needs to explore. I began to look seaward
without even knowing I was thinking of a voyage. I began to truly observe my
surroundings, seeing the harbor objectively for the first time. I studied the
inhabitants, and their ways and habits. I studied the Harbor Master's charts
with truly open eyes. And I saw the lies, the deceptions, the incorrect
sightings, the absence of longitude and latitude or any true bearings, the
contradictions, the conflicting messages that were under my nose all along. I
was no longer afraid to look, and now they were plain to see.
One clear morning, I awakened with a bold, cool, fire of determination.
Climbing up onto the deck, I let the clean air rush deeply into my lungs. The
gentle wind blowing across my face strangely awakened old memories of my past
long before. The sun was out, the sky was clear, and I had a seaward breeze to
my advantage. I raised the mainsail, winched in the anchor, and headed out of
the harbor to the dismay of the others within sight of me. Using no charts to
guide me, I followed my own reason, senses, and experience for the first time
in years to wend my way through the channel. It was surprisingly easy. After a
time, the vast expanse of the ocean suddenly came into view, and I was free for
the first time in a long, long while. No rocks or uncharted shoals were there.
No disasters or wreckages were found. No deadly storms awaited me, though there
was a light squall or two. All was well. I sailed away from there on a
gradually freshening breeze, and lived yet another day to tell my tale.
Thereafter I enjoyed rich, novel experiences for the first time in many years,
as my life took on an entirely new direction and promise. In time, I discovered
new purpose that far surpassed my previous existence. Life for the first time
began to be fulfilling. I began to think of those who might become as entrapped
as I did, and spend too long in the illusory dream of that world before they
learned the truth. So on occasion I still sail back to the inlet, and toss into
the ingoing tide a sealed glass tube with the accurate truthful charting of the
waters, to pass on what had been given to me by an unknown source many years
before. In this way I express my everlasting gratitude to those who helped me
find my path to freedom.
-Leafeater
Sam
Write, my friend...there is a book inside you. You have the gift!
Some books I highly recommend for this:
All the books in the Writers Digest "The Elements of Fiction Writing
Series".
Your Life as Story - by Tristine Rainer.
The Art of Fiction - by John Gardner.
Self Editing For Fiction Writers - by Renni Browne and Dave King
Show, Don't Tell - by William Noble.
There are many others I could recommend. This is some of what I've been
trying to tell you folks. WRITE. Most people who post here are very
intelligent people. Perhaps more than the average. Discipline yourselves and
WRITE.
Go ahead, plagiarize me, I don't care. As long as you good folks keep
posting here, I too will mine you for your insights. That's REALITY. We're
all in this together, united in SPIRIT.
But don't forget to contemplate our CREATOR. Above all, the creator of all
of this must be considered the SUPREME. Keep the faith, folks. It's well
worth it.
BIG CHEERS, WITH TRUMPETS BLOWING, RESONATING INTO ETERNITY!
Sam
Tom Leafeater wrote in message
<20020106034707...@mb-me.aol.com>...
Colleen Russell
--
Colleen
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/execkankar
"Tom Leafeater" <tomlea...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020106034707...@mb-me.aol.com...
wernertrp
> Good stuff, Leaf, in context. I know what you are conveying, my friend.
> Write, my friend...there is a book inside you. You have the gift!
>
> Some books I highly recommend for this:
> All the books in the Writers Digest "The Elements of Fiction Writing
> Series".
> Your Life as Story - by Tristine Rainer.
> The Art of Fiction - by John Gardner.
> Self Editing For Fiction Writers - by Renni Browne and Dave King
> Show, Don't Tell - by William Noble.
>
>
> There are many others I could recommend. This is some of what I've been
> trying to tell you folks. WRITE. Most people who post here are very
> intelligent people. Perhaps more than the average. Discipline yourselves and
> WRITE.
>
> Go ahead, plagiarize me, I don't care. As long as you good folks keep
> posting here, I too will mine you for your insights. That's REALITY. We're
> all in this together, united in SPIRIT.
>
> But don't forget to contemplate our CREATOR. Above all, the creator of all
> of this must be considered the SUPREME. Keep the faith, folks. It's well
> worth it.
>
> BIG CHEERS, WITH TRUMPETS BLOWING, RESONATING INTO ETERNITY!
>
> Sam
>
Henry Purcell
Alto Solo and Chorus
Allegro comodo
1. Natural Trumpet in C
Come, come, ye sons_ of Art, come, come a - way,
Come, come, ye sons of Art, come, come a - way.
Tune all_ your voi-ces_ and in - stru - ments play,
to ce - le - brate, to ce - le -brate this tr i- um - phant day.
Tune all_ your voi-ces and in - stru - ments play,
to ce - le - brate, to ce - le - brate this tri - um - phant day,
to ce - le - brate, to ce - le - brate this tri - um - phant day.
Tom Leafeater
-Leaf
Rosencrantz wrote:
>tomlea...@aol.com (Tom Leafeater) wrote in message
>news:<20020106034707...@mb-me.aol.com>...
>> A Tale For Restless Voyagers (pure fiction, folks)
>>
>>
>> One day in my travels as a very young man, I came across a most enchanting
>> inlet along the coast of a distant land.
>
>I've seen that place:
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/fools/fools.jpg
>
>
>
>
>
Tom Leafeater
>Good stuff, Leaf, in context. I know what you are conveying, my friend.
>Write, my friend...there is a book inside you. You have the gift!
>
>Some books I highly recommend for this:
>All the books in the Writers Digest "The Elements of Fiction Writing
>Series".
>Your Life as Story - by Tristine Rainer.
>The Art of Fiction - by John Gardner.
>Self Editing For Fiction Writers - by Renni Browne and Dave King
>Show, Don't Tell - by William Noble.
>
>
>There are many others I could recommend. This is some of what I've been
>trying to tell you folks. WRITE. Most people who post here are very
>intelligent people. Perhaps more than the average. Discipline yourselves and
>WRITE.
>
>Go ahead, plagiarize me, I don't care. As long as you good folks keep
>posting here, I too will mine you for your insights. That's REALITY. We're
>all in this together, united in SPIRIT.
>
>But don't forget to contemplate our CREATOR. Above all, the creator of all
>of this must be considered the SUPREME. Keep the faith, folks. It's well
>worth it.
>
>BIG CHEERS, WITH TRUMPETS BLOWING, RESONATING INTO ETERNITY!
>
>Sam
All the a.r.e. nonsense aside, Sam, sincere thanks for your feedback and for
taking the time to list the books. Sometimes I find writing in other, alternate
forms easier for me to convey my thoughts.
-Leaf
Sam
Tom Leafeater wrote in message
Cool. I suppose we all have our niches. Personally, I love a good story that
sets my mind and heart on fire.
Cheers
Sam
Tom Leafeater
Rosencrantz. An enjoyable read. And now I have a name for the land the
character in my story visited: Narragonia! This is perfect!
-Leaf
Rosencrantz Wrote:
>tomlea...@aol.com (Tom Leafeater) wrote in message
>news:<20020107024535...@mb-mi.aol.com>...
>> Ha, ha, hee! Ship of fools. How fitting!
>>
>> -Leaf
>
>More on The Ship of Fools here:
>http://www.adh.brighton.ac.uk/schoolofdesign/MA.COURSE/LFool01.html
>
>What makes your choice of metaphor so appropriate, besides its
>precedence in Western literature, is Harold Klemp's fondness for
>nautical stories, and the ESC's use of the "ship" conceit. Some of
>these people are particularly fond of certain perceived past lives
>operating within the Catholic hierarchy that first employed the ship
>symbolism. The church remains the most dominant architectonic feature
>of villages and towns in Europe.
>
>The main section of the church is called the nave (after the Latin
>navis, meaning ship). The ceiling has a single beam running the full
>length of the nave, like a ship's keel, and ribs coming out of the
>main beam, again like a ship. While the ribs were a very important
>part of the roof for strength the entire appearance of the ceiling was
>calculated to resemble a ship-just as Christ's Church was often called
>the "ship of souls."
>
>Brandt was a satirical poet whose work Das Narrenschiff -- The Ship of
>Fools-- is the most famous German literary work of its time. Published
>in 1494, it tells the story of a sailing vessel taking a shipload of
>fools to a fool's paradise. Each of more than 100 characters embodies
>a particular facet of foolishness: drunkenness, lechery, greed, etc.
>Das Narrenschiff was very popular and gave rise to a movement of
>"fool's literature."
>
>The work to which Brant owes his fame is the "Narrenschiff" (Ship of
>Fools), a long didactic, allegorical poem, in which the follies and
>vices of the time are satirized. All the fools are loaded in a ship
>bound for Narragonia, the land of fools. But this plan is by no means
>carried out systematically, many descriptions being introduced which
>have no connection with the main idea. The resulting lack of unity,
>however, has its advantage; for it enables the poet to discuss all
>kinds of social, political, and religious conditions. Not only follies
>in the usual sense of the word are satirized, but also crimes and
>vices, which are conceived of as follies in accordance with the
>medieval way of thinking. Hence among the fools appear such people as
>usurers, gamblers, and adulterers. A chapter is devoted to each kind
>of folly and there are one hundred and twelve chapters in which one
>hundred and ten kinds of fools pass muster. As a work of art the poem
>does not rank high, though its tone is serious and earnest, especially
>where the poet pleads for his ideals, as in chapter xcix, entitled
>"Von abgang des glouben" (on the decline of faith). Knowledge of self
>is praised as the height of wisdom. The "Narrenschiff" enjoyed a
>tremendous popularity in Germany, which is attested by the numerous
>editions that appeared in rapid succession. But its fame was not
>confined to Germany. It was translated into Latin by Jacob Locher in
>1497 (Stultifera Navis), into French by Paul Riviere in 1497 and by
>Jehan Droyn in 1498. An English verse translation by Alexander Barclay
>appeared in London in 1509, and again in 1570; one in prose by Henry
>Watson in London, 1509; and again 1517. It was also rendered into
>Dutch and Low German.
>
>Caps & Bells,
>
>ROS
wernertrp
> tomlea...@aol.com (Tom Leafeater) wrote in message news:<20020106034707...@mb-me.aol.com>...
> > A Tale For Restless Voyagers (pure fiction, folks)
> >
> >
> > One day in my travels as a very young man, I came across a most enchanting
> > inlet along the coast of a distant land.
>
> http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/fools/fools.jpg
What I can see and what I cannot see on the hyronimus bosch.
The journey is done by idiots of the following order.
Idiots of the first order stay at homeland a lifetime.
Idiots of the second order climb the ship.
Idiots of the third order get homesick while passage.
Idiots of the fourth order jump into the sea half way shipping done
and try swimming the rest.
Idiots of the fifth order jump into the water after seen the shore of
shirazali 3 miles ahead.
Idiots ot the six order reach the secure shore with dry feet and establish
in the new home shirazali.
Idiots of the seventh order climb the crown's nest to have a better look and
see shirazali first.
Idiots of the eigth order make a mutiny dethrone the captain.
Idiots of the ninth order eat cats and rats while passage without fodder.
werner winzig witziger wahnwitz welten zoo. ;-)-
Tom Leafeater
reached that initiation!
All in fun,
-Leaf
Paul Olson
so many of us.....especially those of us who have been to your inlet and gone out
again to explore......Wonderfull story...and posted exactly where it is needed
Sworddancer
Rich
Paul Olson wrote:
> Simply spectacular Tom!!!.....and how appropriate......I KNOW that this will touch
> so many of us.....especially those of us who have been to your inlet and gone out
> again to explore......Wonderfull story...and posted exactly where it is needed
Being a sailor I really enjoyed it too. It reminded of real sailing
that I have done, finding a protected bay to shelter in out of a
storm off the coast of Mexico.
It also reminded me of leaving Christianity for the open sea of the
Eckankar teachings, where I have always been free to explore new
horizons.
--
o
|
~/|
_/ |\
/ | \
-/ | \
_ /____|___\_
(___________/
Rich~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sailing the CyberSea~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Doug Marman
I was out on a business trip this last week, so I just had a chance to read
this. It was a wonderful story. Thanks for writing and sharing it.
Just one question, if I might ask it of the Restless Voyager:
If I were coming back to the inlet, after having journied out into the wild
and dangerous ocean and then returned, I would expect that some would stay
clear of me or try to label me as evil due to their own fears of what I had
done. On the other hand, there would always be some who would be eager to
learn of what I had seen and discovered. What lay out there in the great
beyond?
So, if you are the Restless Voyager returning to the inlet, and you wanted
to help those most interested and most open to your journies, why not spend
most of your time enchanting them with your discoveries and the benefits
gained through voyaging beyond their borders? Is that not the best way to
encourage them to strike out on their own?
Why spend your time with those who fear and criticize you, and who don't
want to hear your wonderful stories anyway?
In other words, why not more stories like this one, instead of arguing over
the depths of the inlet at such and such a place with fearful ones?
I have heard many ECKists here on ARE ask for stories of the what others
have found in their journies beyond the borders. I still think this is the
best way to communicate the great benefits of leaving comfortable
surroundings and seeing the whole of Life. When the restless voyagers seem
to have nothing else to talk about except how stupid the villagers are, it
doesn't seem quite as effective.
What say you, O' Restless One?
Doug.
"Tom Leafeater" <tomlea...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020106034707...@mb-me.aol.com...
Sam
Rich *rsmith*@aloha.net> > wrote in message ...
>Doug wrote:
>
>>I have heard many ECKists here on ARE ask for stories of the what others
>>have found in their journies beyond the borders. I still think this is the
>>best way to communicate the great benefits of leaving comfortable
>>surroundings and seeing the whole of Life. When the restless voyagers seem
>>to have nothing else to talk about except how stupid the villagers are, it
>
>This is a telling characteristic of the hard core detractors. Tonight, as
I do
>once in a while, I read what was going on at Sharon's anti-Eckankar group.
A new
>member, who had been an Eckist for one year and then left about ten years
ago,
>sent in his first post. He said "I have missed God in my life, so I
recently
>decided to check it out again." He then came across the anti-Eckankar stuff
on
>the internet and was now "confused, broken-hearted, disillusioned and
wanting".
>Having recognized the spiritual truths in Eckankar and still being a
seeker, he
>wanted to know where he should go now. He wanted to know where _they_ had
all
>gone. In other words, what path could replace Eckankar. Although many
answered
>him, no one had any path to suggest but two, who suggested that
>Christianity(guess who) wasn't too bad. This of course has lead to some
>Christianity bashing...
>
>So obviously the detractors have not found an organized path with Western
>sensibilities that can replace, with the same freedom and spiritual truths,
the
>path of Eckankar. I also know of a few long time Eckists who left
Eckankar, yet
>returned because, dispite it's flaws, they still find value in membership.
So
>I'm curious if anyone here has any suggestions. Or is the only option
striking
>out on your own?
>--
> o
> |
> ~/|
> _/ |\
> / | \
> -/ | \
> _ /____|___\_
> (___________/
>Rich~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sailing the CyberSea~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
Well, it can never be said that Sam has not tried hard to walk the middle
path and given what he think are good alternatives. But noooooo, hardly
anybody ever stops to say, well thank you, Sam, for your efforts. Of course
not. Sam's an idiot, they seem to say, he doesn't walk with God. He's just a
dumb Canuck, what would he know? He's a suckup, he would love Hitler too. Oh
well.
Anyway, for what it's worth.....
http://www.religioustolerance.org/u-u.htm
http://www.google.com/search?q=unitarian%2Buniversalist&btnG=Google+Search
Sam
Sam wrote in message ...
course
>not. "Sam's an idiot," they seem to say, "he doesn't walk with God. He's
just a
>dumb Canuck, what would he know? He's a suckup, he would love Hitler too."
Oh
>well.
>Anyway, for what it's worth.....
>http://www.religioustolerance.org/u-u.htm
>http://www.google.com/search?q=unitarian%2Buniversalist&btnG=Google+Search
>
http://www.uua.org/principles.html
cher
of the totalitarian influences of the anti-cult culture first. This
culture has a life deadening effect that is significant to say the
least. Glazed eyes in what appears to be an indication of emotional burn
out from so much hatred and venom. Perhaps there is a system somewhere
that is in place to help these people in the transition to a normal
happy life? Sardonic mistrust has such as vilifying effect on the soul.
Rich, *rsmith*@aloha.net> wrote:
>
> Doug wrote:
>
> >I have heard many ECKists here on ARE ask for stories of the what others
> >have found in their journies beyond the borders. I still think this is the
> >best way to communicate the great benefits of leaving comfortable
> >surroundings and seeing the whole of Life. When the restless voyagers seem
> >to have nothing else to talk about except how stupid the villagers are, it
Sharon2000
> Doug wrote:
>
> >I have heard many ECKists here on ARE ask for stories of the what others
> >have found in their journies beyond the borders. I still think this is
> >the best way to communicate the great benefits of leaving comfortable
> >surroundings and seeing the whole of Life. When the restless voyagers
> >seem to have nothing else to talk about except how stupid the villagers
>
> This is a telling characteristic of the hard core detractors. Tonight,
> as I do once in a while, I read what was going on at Sharon's
> anti-Eckankar group.
Yes, Rich, every few weeks or so when you get bored and desperate, you pop
into my hate group. <ggg> It inspires you to go out there & spread more
luuuuv, doesn't it?
A new member, who had been an Eckist for one year
> and then left about ten years ago, sent in his first post. He said "I
> have missed God in my life, so I recently decided to check it out again."
> He then came across the anti-Eckankar stuff on the internet and was now
> "confused, broken-hearted, disillusioned and wanting".
Sort of an extreme reaction, don't you think?
>Having recognized
> the spiritual truths in Eckankar and still being a seeker, he wanted to
> know where he should go now.
You know, I forgot...I could've just said to check out the original
sources that Twitch plagiarized.
>He wanted to know where _they_ had all gone.
Well, *I* haven't gone anywhere! <ggg>
I'm simply enjoying where I am!
> In other words, what path could replace Eckankar.
Silly Rich, what you & other cult members don't seem to understand, and
heck...this poster may have even been a current member working on a new
"tactic" ... well, when you get a malignant tumor removed, you don't need
to replace it. Although actually, you *could* replace it by joining
another one of the many eckanclones out there...
But...your cultic mindset can't comprehend this.
Although many answered
> him, no one had any path to suggest but two, who suggested that
> Christianity(guess who) wasn't too bad. This of course has lead to some
> Christianity bashing...
>
Yeah, well...some people can get out of the cult, but it's not as easy to
get the cult out of people. Amazing how your cult's anti-everything sticks
with people.
Hey...some beautiful T.S. Eliot poetry was posted here recently. Didja
know T.S. Eliot was a Catholic? Didja know that some Catholic scholars say
that Eliot shows where C.S. Lewis (another Catholic) was going?
I've been reading G.K. Chesterton. Pretty awesome!! Another Catholic.
Oh...and let us not forget Tolkien!!!! Yep...Catholic.
And I *do* want to get back to more of Thomas Merton...you know, when I was
an eckankult member, I thought damn, in his next incarnation he'll surely
be an eckist, maybe even LEM!! God, was I brainwashed!
Your cult is a joke, Rich.
So many of the world's greatest spiritual writers for almost 2,000 years
have been Catholic (or christian) and they didn't have to join any silly
little "eck writers group" to do it. What they shared with us came from
within...a *genuine* inner, inspired by Holy Spirit and their connection to
and understanding of God from a true personal relationship with Him.
> So obviously the detractors have not found an organized path with Western
> sensibilities that can replace, with the same freedom and spiritual
> truths, the path of Eckankar.
Silly Rich!! As I said, does one need to replace a malignant tumor once
it's removed? Or a toothache?
>I also know of a few long time Eckists who
> left Eckankar, yet returned because, dispite it's flaws, they still find
> value in membership. So I'm curious if anyone here has any suggestions.
> Or is the only option striking out on your own?
What you and people who return to the cult don't understand is, what you
think is a lifeline is actually a noose around your neck. The lack of
oxygen has affected your brains and ability to think, but has also produced
some effects you think are "spirichul" ... I'd say the stuff you consider
"proof" is more like those people who get off with oxygen deprivation
during sex. And like them, well...sometimes people just die from it.
Sharon
--
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ECKANKAR, SEE:
Sharon2000
> I would suggest that if these people are seeking a new path, to step out
> of the totalitarian influences of the anti-cult culture first.
But, Grundie, the anti-cult culture is just *wonderful* with a lot of
diversity in it!! I mean, tne anti-cult stuff can be done from *many*
viewpoints, and there are *so* many cultie things to pick on!! Endless
variety!! Never a dull moment!!!
> This
> culture has a life deadening effect that is significant to say the
> least.
Nope, it's not life-deadening at all. And believe me, I *know*!!
>Glazed eyes in what appears to be an indication of emotional burn
> out from so much hatred and venom.
Nope, glazed eyes are what you generally see in cult members...although you
may not notice them when you're just focusing on the silly self-satisfied
smile & zombie-like state that passes for "spiritual detachment" and stuff
like that.
Personally, I *thrive* on hatred and venom!! I feel *so* alive!!
The only problem is that foaming-at-the-mouth stuff. Gets a bit messy
sometimes. Maybe I'll get a bib and embroider "eckankarsucks" on it.
Maybe I'll also use the infamous "no ek" symbol!!! YES!!!
>Perhaps there is a system somewhere
> that is in place to help these people in the transition to a normal
> happy life?
A normal healthy life like *yours*? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Hey, Grundie, remember...according to your cult's "teachings" we have
reverted to the consciousness of rocks, are doomed to endless astral hell,
death comes more swiftly, etc.
Sorry, I'd rather die in freedom than live as a mindless cult recruiter,
living only for my next discourse and hoping I'll get an opportunity to do
a bookstore intro.
>Sardonic mistrust has such as vilifying effect on the soul.
As a cult member, Grundie, you shouldn't use "the". Don't you know that?
Did you ever realize that what your cult tells you is "soul" is actually
a mindless eckanborg state?
You're dead, Grundie, and you don't even know it.
Sharon
--
Rich
Sam wrote:
> Well, it can never be said that Sam has not tried hard to walk the middle
> path and given what he think are good alternatives. But noooooo, hardly
> anybody ever stops to say, well thank you, Sam, for your efforts.
Thank you Sam. I do remember you writing about this. Thanks for the
effort to post the link too, seriously.
> Of course
> not. Sam's an idiot, they seem to say, he doesn't walk with God. He's just a
> dumb Canuck, what would he know? He's a suckup, he would love Hitler too. Oh
> well.
Well... I'd like to agree you...:-> So I'll go along with the Canuck
part. :-D
> Anyway, for what it's worth.....
> http://www.religioustolerance.org/u-u.htm
> http://www.google.com/search?q=unitarian%2Buniversalist&btnG=Google+Search
Tom Leafeater
I am glad that you enjoyed my little story, Doug. In answer to some of your
well considered points:
First, let me comment on a few misconceptions some may have of my intentions on
a.r.e. Please understand that I don't prefer to spend time arguing with Eckists
over the shortcomings of Eckankar, though I find myself engaged in such debates
here from time to time, as I am doing even now when I respond to your post. I
have no interest in dislodging anyone from Eckankar, especially those who may
be so immersed in the experience that their lives would be severely disrupted
or even damaged by shock. No, this is definitely not my intent, whatever others
may have assumed. Forcing my views on others is not to my liking or personal
philosophy. I have no desire to push an unwilling person anywhere they don't
want to go. I can't stress this point too strongly.
The world is full of illusions, traps, deceptions, and lies, and it isn't my
purpose to go about prying people loose from their chosen addictions or to
disillusion anyone from their treasured views. Those whose temperaments are
suited to belong to a group such as eckankar, and who therefore have no
interest in peeking behind the curtain to see the hidden mechanisms at work,
are not the audience I would care to direct my comments to.
The reason I write what I do, in the way that I do it, is to make available to
those, who, like myself, do not have the temperament for belonging to groups
such as eckankar, but yet remain lodged in it due to various influences, as has
been documented in various posts here and which every eckist versed in the
writings will have come across, such as the entrapping rhetoric that spiritual
repercussions will occur by leaving, or that a negative lord or entity, such as
Kal Niranjan, is whispering devilish thoughts in the ear of the doubter.
For every blithely contented eckist, there will be another who could benefit,
as I did, from hearing alternate points of view from those who have seen
through the hoax that Twitchell perpetrated. It is to these folks I primarily
direct my "message in a bottle," even if others, who would submerge the
message, manage to get to it first.
If you didn't notice, Doug, the character in the story went only to the mouth
of the inlet, and tossed into the ingoing tide the glass tube, to be carried on
the current into the further reaches of the cove. The character didn't actually
sail into the inlet, drop anchor, and begin spouting out undermining,
contentious arguments.
Frankly, I would rather convey my thoughts via the former method, that is,
merely make the message available without the ongoing rancor. However, I don't
see my posting on a.r.e. as equivalent to going into the inlet itself, as would
be attending a worship service to argue with good folks about their religion.
But posting on A.r.e. is more of a neutral ground, it seems to me. This is the
internet, and therefore a.r.e. is not a kind of "home territory" I am invading.
On the contrary, it is the World Wide Web, a network created to allow
international forums to exist for any and all comers to the dialogue. In fact,
a.r.e. was intended to be an international outreach for eckankar, wherein
eckankar takes its message out of the inlet to spread it to the open, free
world. I am not in the inlet here, rather eckankar is in everyone's study, in
every home with an online computer. People tend to forget this is the intention
of an open, online, unmoderated forum such as a.r.e., that is, to go beyond
small little inlets to reach out to the world. You have come into my home with
a.r.e., and it is from my home that I write this very post. Eckankar has come
to the world, and the world is merely responding.
Another point you raised, is the suggestion that more be written about the
discoveries made on voyages outside of the confines of eckankar. I find this
notion interesting, since most eckists don't feel there is anything beyond
eckankar, in the sense that they feel eckankar liberates them from confines,
rather than imposes them. Most eckists would only claim such discoveries to be
already covered by the eckankar experience. Still, I think it is an intriguing
suggestion.
In any case, I think I have written quite a bit about the panoramic view that
awaits those who dare to leave the eckankar dogma. I have spoken about the
newfound freedom I have experienced, and the feeling of being able to breath
again without any subtle background stipulations about the manner of my
breathing. Despite the many claims by eckists that they are free from the
scriptures and writings of eckankar, the ideas, concepts, phrasing, and
rhetoric peculiar to eckankar that most members are steeped in will inevitably
work their way into the subconscious, becoming an inextricable part of the
eckist's life. This is evident in the similarity of jargon, thought processes,
speech, and expression most eckists share. The principle eckankar doctrines are
not transcended by eckists, but rather are inhaled as deeply as the lung
capacity will permit. The doctrines enter into the energetic bloodstream of the
eckists, and travel to every cell or particle of their energetic system. They
live and breath the concepts in everything they do, and are profoundly
influenced by the eckankar teachings as expressed in talks, satsangs, seminars,
discourses, books, scriptures, tapes, worship services, workshops, videos,
online chats, book discussions, journals, newsletters, mystic worlds, wisdom
notes, and more. This pervasive stream of information becomes melded into a
synthesized pattern of thinking through which all flow of perceptual input is
filtered, including even those experiences that derive from the inner formless
consciousness.
Yes, I have written about the incredibly significant experience of liberation
from dogma and psychic control I found when I freed myself from these subtle
yet profoundly powerful influences.
It is, in fact, rather difficult to put into words to those who feel they have
found a spiritual liberation that elevates them beyond the worlds greatest
sages, and feel they couldn't possibly be so bound as I have suggested. So this
is why I speak mainly to those who are already more than half way there, to
those who will find themselves identifying with the experiences I describe, to
those who will recognize they have been going through the same process of
leaving eckankar as I did, but perhaps were not yet fully cognizant of the
unexpressed longings of their own hearts. These folks exist, and I wish there
were a way to have my words go only to them, and spare those whose temperaments
will never allow the mere thought of leaving eckankar. Unfortunately, it isn't
possible to have such control over which direction the currents will take the
message, and there will be those who become quite agitated upon becoming an
unintended recipient of the words of persons whose views are not flattering of
eckankar. This can't be avoided, and thus, we have the conflicts which arise on
a.r.e. or any other forum where people can express themselves freely. Such is
life.
Frankly, I find debate in a free society to be healthy, and I don't think the
conflicts at a.r.e. or elsewhere to be as unspeakably evil as some here have
expressed. It is only evidence of the free world we live in. The danger lies
when those who, upon learning they can't exert what has become to them (at
least within their own group), an accustomed measure of control over the
content of discussion, resort to crossing over the sometimes invisible, thin
line into intent to do actual harm to persons by deliberate distortion of the
character and nature of those they disagree with, or by taking the issues
beyond discussion into personal action against individuals in their private
lives. This behavior marks the beginning of religious fundamentalism and cannot
be tolerated by a free society (nor, by the way, do I condone any similar
behavior, i.e. the intent to do actual harm against an individual, on the part
of those who have a beef with eckankar).
As to sharing with folks here replacements I may have found for eckankar, as
some have asked about: There seems to be a revealing assumption on the part of
eckists that those who leave eckankar are desperately in search of a
replacement for eckankar, as if it is unthinkable to live without some group or
path to follow. This kind of thinking reveals the underlying paradigm quite
widely believed, that one cannot go far in spiritual realization without a
distinct path to follow. Perhaps it is true, as some have said, that needing a
path is a stage. In any case, I'm in no hurry to find more masters and
teachings to follow. I'm quite ecstatically happy to merely do my own reading
of that which interests me, and come to my own conclusions about life. I
realize this would not work for everyone. I will never again follow exclusively
a part of the whole, whether in the form of a person or a namable entity. It is
the nameless that interests me. If this sounds pretentious to anyone here, this
is precisely the reason I rarely speak of my own spiritual leanings.
There are things to learn in this world, and I don't claim I learned nothing at
all from eckankar, though the most important principles I had learned of before
having become a member. I am having to unlearn a great deal of things I'd
learned in eckankar that have proven to be false. One of the worst things
eckankar teaches is fear. Fear of a host of things subtly built into the system
which escapes the attention of many for years. So I will end by stating what
I've said before:
One need not ever fear kal, or karma, or any dark force, or fear retribution,
or incurring more lives, or falling from Spirit, or fear of the mind, or the
voice of reason or logic, or doubts of the mahanta, or of leaving eckankar. God
is formless, endorses no religion, has no personal opinions of anything, and
punishes no one with more incarnations for not following this path or that
path, or chanting this word or that. God elevates no one above anyone else
through initiations, or designations of status. God has no inner circle of
devotees it recognizes. God has no followers. God has no supplicants. God has
no teachers of Itself. God has no masters. God has no teachings. God has no
knowledge. God has no philosophy, techniques, writings, or favorite sayings.
God has no morals, duties, or petty rules to obey. God is not (a mental concept
of) love, or anything thing else you can name. There are no experts of God.
There are no official writings of God. God has no official representatives. God
has no hierarchy. God has no trademarks, copyrights, or secrets to protect, or
people to sue. God has no temples, no churches, or other separate real estate
holdings. God has no enemies, therefore God has no friends. God doesn't even
exist as a thing you can talk about or name. God cannot be packaged, sold,
labeled, promoted, or advocated. God cannot be condensed into new age
workshops, or encapsulated in silly books by Deepak Chopra with titles such as
"Eight & ½ Practical Ways to Know God."
(A little humor goes a long way after such a long ramble as this.)
-Leafeater
Ken
<big snip>
> The world is full of illusions, traps, deceptions, and lies, and it isn't my
> purpose to go about prying people loose from their chosen addictions or to
> disillusion anyone from their treasured views. Those whose temperaments are
> suited to belong to a group such as eckankar, and who therefore have no
> interest in peeking behind the curtain to see the hidden mechanisms at work,
> are not the audience I would care to direct my comments to.
Lots of what you said makes sense Tom. Organizations are not for everyone,
and many individuals do not see the need for a teacher . . . this seems to be
the heart of your philosophy.
However, regarding your comment above about peeking behind the curtain to
see the hidden mechanisms at work . . . have you ever peeked behind the
curtain that's behind those mechanisms? If so, what did you see?
Tom Leafeater
>Tom wrote...
Ken, what an argument you make. One could go on forever with such statements of
blatant one-upmanship, with each of us claiming there is yet another curtain to
open the other hasn't seen. I give up. You win the curtain game.
-Leafeater
Ken
Ken wrote...
> >Lots of what you said makes sense Tom. Organizations are not for everyone,
> >and many individuals do not see the need for a teacher . . . this seems to be
> >the heart of your philosophy.
> >
> >However, regarding your comment above about peeking behind the curtain to
> >see the hidden mechanisms at work . . . have you ever peeked behind the
> >curtain that's behind those mechanisms? If so, what did you see?
>
Tom responded ...
> Ken, what an argument you make. One could go on forever with such statements of
> blatant one-upmanship, with each of us claiming there is yet another curtain to
> open the other hasn't seen. I give up. You win the curtain game.
Well, I do see what you are saying but I wasn't trying to win any game. I
was just wondering if you had given any thought to the motivating force
behind the machinery you had imagined.