Spiritual Prison

Most of us live trapped in a world most unnatural. It cuts off our freedom, and locks us into a cell, where we dine on misery, and drink deep of fear. Most of us never get to see the light of day...Most of us don't even know we're locked up. We're out of touch with nature, out of touch with others, and worse yet, out of touch with ourselves.
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The interconnectedness promised by a few is looked upon by the masses as yet another unsatisfactory fairy-tale. Just another gimmic, another way to extort more of our hard-earned money. "No thank you."

There is nothing else out there. We've heard these stories before. We were promised a number of things, but none of them have come to pass. We were promised freedom, but we need to be indoctrinated for 12 years on basic trivia, and then another 2-10 years in advanced trivia first. Then we need to be able to eat, and have shelter, so we must work. So we spend 8-12 hours a day obeying. Then we get home, there's dinner, some time staring at a glowing box, then it's time for bed. Yes, this is the freedom promised.

We were promised happiness. But we're miserable at school, we're miserable at work, get home, and yell at the family because YOU were working all day, and they don't appreciate it. But it's ok. Cause you're off this weekend. That means you have more time to do the things you want. However, during the week, a number of chores have caught up to you. have to pay the bills, wash the car, do the laundry. Can't go very far, because by the time you get there, you gotta hurry back. Worried all weekend about deadlines. But once that new gadget comes out, it'll save a lot of time, and you'll be happy. But then, it needs the accessories to be worth the money anyway, so that's more slipping out of the wallet. Then you know, that guy sideswiped you last week, and you still gotta get the car into the shop. That's gonna take time, and with that detuctable, looks like you won't be doing to the shore this year. If only you had more money, and more time. Then you could do more of the things you want. Join a gym and lose that spare tire. Then you won't be looking at that bloated slob in the mirror anymore.

Even better, we have people promising us that when we finally die, if we give money to their God, we get to go to the sky palace, and we don't have to work anymore. What could be better? Man, can't wait till I'm dead. I bet they got HBO up in Heaven, and God pays for it. How sweet is that? But if I don't give money and a good part of my week to their God, then I get to go to this hot ass place with no a/c where dogs with flaming penises rape my constantly while I watch videos of my wife doing my best friend. Man, I better open up some time on Sunday...

We are as pieces in a game of chess. However in this game, every player on the board claims the same pawn. What is this? I got some dude with nice hair telling me he's gonna lower my taxes and keep me safe if I vote for him. I got another guy with a microphone who likes to see how many "Lords" he can fit into a sentence, and is always askin for money. I got a bunch of commercials telling me I'm gonna die horribly in the next month if I don't tell my doctor I need Savomex ZR. Then who'd pay for my funeral? The wife don't make much as is.

So basically, I have people telling me I need to vote for them, and give them money, or the country is gonna be corrupt forever. Then I got some people saying their God needs MY money, or else it's gonna suck when I die. Then I got people saying that eggs are bad for me again. God damn it I like my eggs....Then I guess cause I wake up at night that my liver's gonna explode. I better get some Vertizox...Then I got the tax man raping my wallet saying we need to be safe. Well that leaves the rainy day fund..they don't know about that yet...What's that honey? JR broke his leg?! son of a bitch! there goes the rainy day money....

Man, I can't wait until I'm dead. an eternity of nothing would be better than this...But hey, this is THE GREATEST COUNTRY EVA! I'd hate to see what those suckers in Europe are doing with their 38 days of paid vacation, 4 hour break in the middle of the afternoon, and free healthcare.. They don't know how bad they have it, stupid foreignors..
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This is very much the style of life many of us find ourselves in. Truely, how many times can you say you've been happy? The vast majority of you, I bet you can count those moments on your fingers, the lucky ones may need to use their toes.

Yet, we are told this is all there is. It can't get any better than this. When you mention God, it automatically conjures up an image of a petty schizophrenic old dude who has infinate love for all of us, but seems to be very jealous, and can't wait to sentence us to an eternity of hellfire for infractions that occured within minutes. However, if we kill for him(cause he likes killing) or give him money and deovotion, he might let us into his secret club.

Yet we have those guys on 24/7 who talk to him, and have standby choir, and operators ready for donations at all times. They perform miracles constantly, pfft and Criss Angel gets a show for floating, he never took away anybody's cancer.

Then we have people looking in telescopes or under microscopes, or digging on mountaintops looking for this old holy dude. Of course, they'll never find him. And if they can't find some dude on a throne sitting on a cloud, or something, surely, there is no God! Ask the atheists here, there's never been a hubble picture of a golden castle floating around in space.

So, without that, there can be no God, right? Right?

Unfortunately, when you talk about God, or the spiritual, this is what everyone automatically thinks. They have this image. The atheists surely aren't pleased with this imagery, and those of the Judeo/Christian/Islam religions were programed to believe it.

Ask a child why they believe in God, and they'll say mommy and dady taught them, and they wouldn't lie. But who are mommy and daddy to judge?

I am not an atheist myself. I believe in God, but not the way it has been presented to us. Much of what is taught or thought about this God character comes from people who want power, and who want money. Who wrote the bible? Amazingly, there are many who say "God." But that's obviously not true. There's quite a detailed account of how the current bible was assembled by a committee in Rome, what books were rejected, which ones were included.

But then there are people who will say that it was all divinely inspired. The work, the assembly. But who began the teaching of divine inspiration? The Vatican. The people who want your money. The people who want you to fight their wars, so that you conquer new lands, and get them more money. The people who ban homosexuality and contraception, because they want you to breed more good little Christians.

It is much the same, before the Vatican, there were Jewish priests who were controlling the information. Well after all that, then, came the birth of Islam. From that, many people used those same teachings to get themselves money.

Now, I am not saying those religions are evil, however, I am saying the movements of these various faiths that we know today were shaped by people who want power.

As a side note, you notice how Jesus always hung out with the poor people, and turned his more wrathful side to the wealthy priests? Well now his christian leaders have castles, and towers. Totally his style, right?

Besides religion, we have politics. Of course, they all wnat your money, and they all want your vote. Money, and position=power. So they will say whatever they think you want to hear.

Again, like religion, there are a lot of good people involved in the process, but it's engineered by those who wish to consolidate power, and amass wealth. A politician telling the truth is the butt of every joke. How sad is that? But it's another truth. Again, we have another institution making a power play for your paycheck.

How many here have said or have heard the phrase "This government is so corrupt, I can't take it."?

These people use fear, and promises to earn your vote, and with it, they simply do as they please.

Now I'm going to take yet another controversial turn. The medical industry. This includes doctors, surgeons, pharmaceutical companies, insurance agencies, etc.

When was the last time we cured something? It's been awhile. That's because it's not profitable. You see, the goal is to keep people alive as long as possible, in a miserable state. This will then assure that every patient has been thoroughly milked from all sides.

We don't look for cures. All of the money goes into research and development. We treat the illness, but it does not go away. This way, we go back for more medicine, return for more doctor visits, pay a higher insurance premium, etc. If everyone was very healthy, this wouldn't be a trillion dollar industry, and you can't tell me that the people up top care more about people than money. Religious leaders don't, politicians don't.
It's all about the money.

In the east, if you travel to china, or other parts of asia, look at the elderly. You don't see canes. You'll see them darting around through markets, carrying heavy items, being physically active. That's because they eat better, they stretch, they breathe. Look at the West, particularly the US. Our elderly cart themsleves around in powrchairs. Heck, we even have a lot of middle aged people there. In fact, we start going downhill in the 30's, meanwhile, they have 80 year olds doing forms of gymnastics. Tell me there isn't something better about the way they do things. 70 year old men doing handstands and splits in the park are as common over there as 30 year old men with wheelchairs are here.

Then there's our education system, it's a wreck. We're taught all sorts of fallacies. In Christopher Columbus' time they thought the world was flat. In reality, they had globes for hundreds of years before that. George Washington was the first president, actually, he was like, the 8th.

Imagine what else they are teaching us that's entirely false.

History is written by the winners. if Germany won WW2, Hitler wouldn't be an evil Dictator today. He'd be a Godlike savior of mankind.

Oh, and then there's the ever encroaching reliance upon technology. Everything needs to be quick and easy. Instant gratification. There's no need to develop skills anymore, or to be uncomfortable. No development of willpower of discipline. We have contraptions doing the work for us.

However, as we rely on these things, we are further isolating ourselves from our true nature. I believe I've painted a bleak enough picture. Now, I can move on to the point of this thread.

In a sense, this is the Matrix. We are in an enviroment that is controlled. Our perception is programed. What we see, and understand makes up less than 1% of reality. Yet we are taught that this is all there is. All of science can only observe and understand this 1%. That's what makes people think the rest does not exist. Because it cannot be cut open or put into a chair.

Take a moment..Picture yourself sitting on a beach, warm, sunny, soothing...

Now, that really happened, you really had that image in your mind. But there's no way to prove it. Yet, the experience was real. As real as anything else. Yet our senses are dull, and that image seemed shabby and weak in comparison with the beach we can experience in the 1% That is because this is all we are used to seeing, feeling, experiencing. This is it. However, people would tell you that anything else is not real, yet, you did have that image of the beach, you just cannot prove it. There's no way to do it. No way to dmeonstrate what just occured a few moments ago.

Normally, I would offer a number of techniques to try. But I've been doing that a lot lately. So instead, I'll just give your mind some things to consider.

I'm going to describe one method of getting in touch with the other 99%. I'm going to do it in a very roundabout way. Just deal with it.

Consider, for a moment, your relationship with nature. You're not very comfortable with it, are you? You don't like being outside. It's boring. It's about as exciting as "watching the grass grow." As far as being hot or cold, stinky, sweaty, wet, dirty, bug-bitten, you want to be as far from that as possible.

You hurry from your car to your home, that brief interaction with the outdoors is about all of nature you can stand. It's fun looking at through a camera's lens, but besides that, no thank you.

Yet, think of our ancestors. They had no choice. They could hunt, grow food, skin game, make their own clothing, hide. Their senses were sharper. Our ancestors had to be able to observe nature, or else, their crops wouldn't grow, or they'd suffer livestock loss from a storm, or they wouldn't save enough food for the winter.

They had an understanding that we, today lack. First and foremost, the understood that nature was their provider. They needed to be careful about exhausting their resources, or else they'd need to move. If food would come their way, they wouldn't waste it. Then, if possible, the bones would become tools, the flesh would become clothing. Everything had to be utilized to it's maximum potential. You couldn't go to the store and pick up food or supplies, you had to obtain it from nature.

Today, we take for granted that we can exhaust a supply, and in turn, damage nature, which we are a part of. We think of animals now, instead of fellow creatures in the circle of life, they are sub human moving pieces of meat. So we keep them in unsanity conditions, and in turn, we get sick.

Our ancestors understood that hardship and difficulty forged strength, and taught valuable lessons. Being comfortable was not a priority. Getting the job done was.

Today, being comfortable is the priority. No reason to develop discipline. If I have a hard time with anything, there's either a gadget or a pill that'll clear that right up. However, in this, we lose the determination to see things through when things are not pleasent. Working out does not feel good. So, how many of us work out for a week, then take 6 months off.

When we were more connected with nature, we understood, that unless a practice is continued, we will not recieve or maintain the benefits. If you eat healthy for a few months, and then stop, you'll begin to slide right back downhill. If you think and act positively for 2 weeks, you won't see any benefit. You had years of gunk built up, obstructing it. The opposing force was simply too great.

Our ancestors did not need cars, computers, phones, or any of this to be happy. We have all of that, and we still are not happy, but if we are lacking ANY of it, we are miserable.

There is much to be said about that. How is it, we have so much, yet we are not as happy as people who had nothing in comparison? We have ease, we have comfort, we have instant results, so why aren't we all thrilled to death?

We forget, that we were designed as part of nature. We were designed to interact with nature, eat natural things, be active. They weren't ruled by artificial things like schedules and tv screens. They did their work when it was suitable to do it, and then they were done for the day.

You need to be able to adapt with changing conditions. Say you survive on a certain crop that only exists in one season. The rest of the time you had better be able to do something else.

When we eat things that are not natural, we are not healthy. When we are not physically active, we are weak, and cannot perform as well. When we rely on the same comfortable conditions without change, ours lives become stagnant and miserable.

The ancient peoples could appreciate a river, a plant, a tree. They Respected the animals that fed and clothed them.

Whenever we talk of nature, everyone jumps out of balance right away. They start saying "I'd rather live at in a heated home, than a cold cave." There is most certainly a balance! You can live with nature, appreciate it, and not have to struggle.

You can have the benefits of technology, without being ruled by it. However, it is difficult to find this balance. You can have phones, and tv, and music, but you should also eat well, learn to enjoy being outside in various conditions, be active. If you can learn to appreciate the change in nature throughout a given day as much as a television program, and maintain that attitude, that is enough.

However, once your life starts to revolve around convenience, then, you are drifting away from nature.

The less you have, the less you NEED. However, it is possible to have things, and not be dominated by them. Once you're able to learn things from the plants and animals through observation, once you can percieve lessons in nature, and appreciate everything you experience as new and different, then you're intercating with the 99% of spirit.

The more we depend on technology and comfort, the more out of balance we become. The more our physical selves deterioate, and we begin to head the way of the alien grey, who are entirely enfeebled, and reliant on their technology to survive. They have evolved in a manner that relies upon their advanced technology. If one even tripped, it is likely to die without immediate medical attention.

We must find the balance, and in doing so, we can live in harmony with nature, and technology. but if I had to choose one, I would choose nature. It's what I was designed to work with. Technology is a convenience, not a necessity.

Let's take a look now, at our relationships with other people.

These relationships can be some of the most fulfilling experiences that we can ever know. Being out with your friends gets an interaction going. There's a certain level of mutual understanding there. An exchange, a give and take.

When you have a child, it is the same. You learn the joys of giving, and being responsible for another's wellbeing. You appreciate that child's growth, and you get a certain level of satisfaction for being able to say you had a hand in that growth.

When you are in love, you have that wonderful feeling, where everything feels right, you're giving of each other, a mutual exchange. You support one another, and thoguhts drift from the past and future, to now. Just being in the moment and enjoying.

These are examples of the positive side of a relationship. When there's a balance between give and take. Sometimes, one gives more than another, these things happen. When you are in love, and you're having a passionate moment(especially in the begining, less as time progresses unfortunately) your mind is in the present. You are focused on now. The only concern may be of when that moment must eventually end. Your mind is present things are as they should be, you are experiencing a part of the 99%.

Relationships turn sour when:
#1 There is a certain level of expectation.
#2 The proportion of give and take is out of balance.

When we have an expectation of another person, and they do not meet this expectation, we become hurt, upset. You may lash out at them, or ourselves, internally. In these situations, we must learn to be forgiving. Things will not always work out as we wish. Our relationship with nature teaches us that.

Or, when one person is giving way too much to another, with an exchange. For example, you're always listenign to a friend's problems, bailing them out, helping them when things are sour, yet you realize that they have not returned the same kindness. This then hurts.

People like to interact. but there must be a give and take. When a boss has high expectations of you, this is fine, but when they do not give back for all that work, then you begin to find misery in your job.

We all like to express ourselves. Whether it's in conversation, threads, art, song. We all want to express something. Even loners, they act out, or dress a certain way to subliminally, at some level, convey something.

In society, we all have many expectations on us. We are expected to be hardworking employees, loving parents, pleasent friends, good patriots, etc.

However, there must always be a fair give and take. If I vote for a politician, I expect them to represent my views. If I work for a company, I expect them to pay me well, and treat me fairly. If I make a post on ATS, I expect a certain level of respect, or at least, courtesy from those who respond. We all like acknowledgment. We all like to feel important, and we are.

However, when "one side does all the talking" then problems arise. That balance must be preserved. When all is working in balance as it should, things will be going well, and more of that 99% will show through.

Let me use Martin Luther King as an example. There's a reason he is considered by so many to be an extraordinary man. He spoke up, and represented a cause. Those people who looked up to him, those people he spoke for, needed a voice, and he said what he felt needed to be said on their behalf. He provided leadership, championed a cause that was quite unpopular in many places. But the give and take was balanced. He didn't attack others, though he was attacked. He gave a voice, and took recognition.

When a person becomes more than a person, but a symbol of an idea, then they are in touch with the 99%. They go beyond themselves, and become a manifestation of a collective will. This collective will can be used for constructive, or destructive purposes. The 99% is neutral. It is infinate. It can take any form, so long as there is a balance.

Let me illustrate. The Third Reich fell. Hitler accessed the 99% by taking on a collective will. However, he was defeated when the collective will to defeat that ideology surpassed his.

In contrast, King's message lives on today, because the collective will was strong enough to overcome the supressors will.

There must always be a balance. There are reasons dictatorships don't last forever. #1 Nothing lasts forever. But #2 the will to not be dominated and controlled is very strong. The collective mind can endure it for a time, but then it builds up, and something must happen to change. More harmonious situations tend to last much longer, due to the fact that the natural balance is not upset as greatly as with dictatorship.

Now, back to interpersonal relationships in general. When you have a friend, you let them talk, then you talk, and this goes back and forth. We all have a certain level of need for how much we want to express. If I say what i want, and you say what you want, there won't be a problem. However, if I do not let you do much talking for several meetings, you will not like me as much.

When our love lives are working out, we each are fulfilling the appropriate level of give and take. However, when things start to go wrong, you can be sure either someone didn't meet an expectation, or the give and take seems out of balance.

When all is as it should be, we are in touch with the 99%. However, when we start being harsh on others, or when we start falling out of balance, then we slip back into our normal world, which is not so pleasent.

Much more can be said about interpersonal relationships, however, if you try to be understanding, and forgiving, as well as being mindful of give and take, you will have fewer problems.

Again, it is through balance and harmony that we find our true nature.

Now, let's take a look at an often misunderstood, and overlooked relationship. That which we have with ourselves.

Right off the bat, let me hazard a guess. You're not happy with yourself. You look in the mirror, you think you're ugly. You're not as smart, strong, or healthy as you'd like. Not too thrilled about the monetary situation. You have a hard time finding more than a handful of redeeming traits, if any.

Many of us have this terrible concept of ourselves. We go in for a job interview and think "Oh man, they won't hire someone like me to work here..."

You meet someone attractive and think "What could they possibly see in a creature like me?"

Many of us will even start saying that we deserve this, don't deserve that.

It's terrible. But we get this idea from the way people look at us, or past experiences. We often can't forgive ourselves for one petty thing or another.

Alot of what we take to heart is really circumstantial. For example, I like this girl. I ask her out, but she goes "Hell no, get away from me!" It could simply be she was in a bad mood. It could be she just got off a rough relationship. You don't know. Besides, you can't win everytime.

Now, for some people a "Hell no!" experience would prompt them to start examining themselves. They look at themselves as if their hobby is beating orphans and pushing old ladies into traffic. We're terribly hard on ourselves.

When we're successful in some area of our lives, when we're carefree, and just going with the flow, we're in touch with the 99%.

Now, we get ideas, or try things, and everything we try to step out of the dingy situation we're in, we'll have tons of people wanting to "help" us. Telling us it won't work, it's a stupid idea, this is the real word.

Many people, just hate to see us succeed. Or, actually think they're helping, but giving us "the straight talk." If we all listened to that, no new business would ever start, and nothing good would ever be accomplished. Everything that has ever changed the world, began as a venture of a small group. So, there's a great deal of success going around.

Here's an experiment.
You have 10 minutes exactly. Write down everything you like about yourself.
Now, in another 10 minutes, write down everything you don't like about yourself.
At the end, compare the list. I'm sure that list of things you don't like is much larger than the first list.

These are all things that effect us. It's all about attitude, and feeling. When we have the feeling that we're a walking abomination, chances are, you won't be recieved too well in most situations by people you don't know.

I've written a lot about self-image, for more just read my other threads.

Now, look at your relationship with nature, with others, and with yourself. When these are in harmony, you're in balance, and in touch with the 99%. When you're out of balance, there are problems.

In every relationship, there must be a give and take. Often one will always give a bit more, that's ok, but it there must be a balance. In relationships, you cannot take advantage of the other party.

Give respect, or at least courtesy.

Combine, the relationship with nature, others, and yourself, and you have your relationship with God. If you're out of balance at any level, you're not utilizing the relationship to it's full potential. Make full use of every opportunity, waste nothing, you'll soon find your life changes. But remember, when you expect the best, you must also give the best.

If you live in balance with any of these for a short time, you may see no change. But after a month, or a year of any of these 3 relationships, your life will improve tremendously.

To have a fulfilling relationship with God, your other relationships must be balanced. Your mind must be present. You must be forgiving of yourself and others, accepting of hardships, willing to adapt with change.

God is present
God is balanced
God changes
God is infinate


When you're accessing the 99% and experiencing fulfillment, you are touching God. God exists in all of these relationships. As I say constantly, God is as the ocean, we are as the drops in the ocean.

Your patterns need to change to be free of this spiritual prison you live in.
It won't happen in a day, or a week, or a month, but it happens over time.

Lemme explain it like this. Fill a tub with water. Now, put your hand in the water, and trace a clockwise circle in the water 100 times. After the 100 times, the water will churn in that direction, even without your hand for a good while. If you want to change the direction of the water, it takes more effort to change, than it took to start it. Now imagine if you rotated the water clockwise your whole life. You may not even believe there's another direction, your arm wouldn't be able to do it. It'd be jerky, awkward. Once you eventually got your hand moving in the water in the right direction, it still wouldn't change the direction of the water right away. It will take effort, and time, but eventually, the direction of the water will change. It takes effort, and patience.

The more your work on these relationships we've discussed, the more glimpses outside of your cell you'll get. Then you might get time out of the cell and in the yard. Eventually, you will be free. But it will take time.

You can break free.