An Epiphany, on Ego

In another thread about a zuckerberg wanting to eliminate all anonymity online, I commented that I enjoyed my anonymity, in fact because I did not have to pretend to be someone I was not when anonymous. Anonymous, I act generally without pretense, do not censor my opinions, and all and all, allow my true character, thoughts, and feelings to shine through, because as I know no one on this board, and no one on this board knows "me", why put on a show to preserve something that is not "me"?

"If I was using a "real" name, Id be concerned about keeping a specific image."

I started thinking just how ludicrous that concept truly was, and how much incredible damage such a concept has inflicted upon this planet, but more specifically, Western society, the place where the vast majority of us live.

Without realizing it, I have been worried about damaging a false "me"; the mask that I wear offline; the ego, and I prevent that damage from being done by taking it off, and allowing myself to just be who I truly am without filtering beyond being relatively polite about how I phrase things.

Im more worried about how people see the false me (offline image), than the true me, ATM more closely resembled by the uncensored online version.

That is simply not healthy from a mental, emotional, nor spiritual stand point, and is a recipe for deception, delusion, and the burying of truth. This mentality is all pervasive among our society. Most friendships are built upon it; governments and entire societies are built around it; families defined by it; everything is essentially a masterfully veiled lie.

From an intellectual and even intuitive perspective, Ive always known that. Though Ive caught glimpses of this before, from a solid experiential perspective, this is something new to me. Its "clicked", and sunk in now.

I consider it a step forward upon my journey. But how does one proceed from here, having this experiential knowledge? My family knows *"real" name*, not me. Same with my friends, employer, and society in general. The problem with that of course, is that Im 10 times more Caticus Maximus than I am *"real" name*, and I value truth above falsehood. Living a lie is a heavy burden on the soul.

This is a bittersweet revelation. With the trifecta of perspectives all pointing to the same conclusion, I feel I have found the exit to a vast and noxious subterranean labyrinth; however upon reaching the surface, I just find a wilderness of thorny thicket, devoid of others, and all directions fraught with pain. There appears no easy way forward, as everything Ive built, and indeed, society as a whole has built, is back underground. To stay above ground means to forsake and allow to potentially collapse all that youve built below. To return below almost seems a sin; to turn your back on the light of truth, and the truly unlimited potential waiting to be realized here; only to return to what is familiar, but not necessarily good nor true.

-

You know, underground empires be damned; if they cannot stand in the light, they are not worthy of saving. To my own self I must be true; it is the only way forward for me. Imagining if all pretense was dropped out of our society conjures a wonderful image for me. As Gandhi said, "you must be the change you want to see in the world".

The sun sure feels good up here. Now... into the thicket....

reply to post by CaticusMaximus


I understand what you mean. Feeling the freedoms of anonymity is priceless! Thanks for sharing!

If anonymity is freedom why would anyone fear losing it? It's a false freedom; a construct of ego. The freedom of truth can never be taken from us.

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus
But how does one proceed from here, having this experiential knowledge? My family knows *"real" name*, not me. Same with my friends, employer, and society in general. The problem with that of course, is that Im 10 times more Caticus Maximus than I am *"real" name*, and I value truth above falsehood. Living a lie is a heavy burden on the soul.

This is a bittersweet revelation. With the trifecta of perspectives all pointing to the same conclusion, I feel I have found the exit to a vast and noxious subterranean labyrinth; however upon reaching the surface, I just find a wilderness of thorny thicket, devoid of others, and all directions fraught with pain. There appears no easy way forward, as everything Ive built, and indeed, society as a whole has built, is back underground. To stay above ground means to forsake and allow to potentially collapse all that youve built below. To return below almost seems a sin; to turn your back on the light of truth, and the truly unlimited potential waiting to be realized here; only to return to what is familiar, but not necessarily good nor true.

You know, underground empires be damned; if they cannot stand in the light, they are not worthy of saving. To my own self I must be true; it is the only way forward for me. Imagining if all pretense was dropped out of our society conjures a wonderful image for me. As Gandhi said, "you must be the change you want to see in the world".

The sun sure feels good up here. Now... into the thicket....

As far as how to proceed, try not to become too enamored with the idea that you've "broken through" to anywhere whatsoever. Most people, once they've lost enough to learn how to lose without sh*tting themselves, are already camping out where you just arrived. It's called maturity and it's where you're supposed to arrive once you've finally gotten over yourself.

As to why you've never noticed this in other people, most don't do an end-zone dance when they arrive. A good idea is to not do one yourself. That end zone dance just tips everyone off to the fact that you're a greenhorn, and causes the grown-ups to move away from you on the bench.

Just an FYI.

Originally posted by NorEaster

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus
But how does one proceed from here, having this experiential knowledge? My family knows *"real" name*, not me. Same with my friends, employer, and society in general. The problem with that of course, is that Im 10 times more Caticus Maximus than I am *"real" name*, and I value truth above falsehood. Living a lie is a heavy burden on the soul.

This is a bittersweet revelation. With the trifecta of perspectives all pointing to the same conclusion, I feel I have found the exit to a vast and noxious subterranean labyrinth; however upon reaching the surface, I just find a wilderness of thorny thicket, devoid of others, and all directions fraught with pain. There appears no easy way forward, as everything Ive built, and indeed, society as a whole has built, is back underground. To stay above ground means to forsake and allow to potentially collapse all that youve built below. To return below almost seems a sin; to turn your back on the light of truth, and the truly unlimited potential waiting to be realized here; only to return to what is familiar, but not necessarily good nor true.

You know, underground empires be damned; if they cannot stand in the light, they are not worthy of saving. To my own self I must be true; it is the only way forward for me. Imagining if all pretense was dropped out of our society conjures a wonderful image for me. As Gandhi said, "you must be the change you want to see in the world".

The sun sure feels good up here. Now... into the thicket....

...That end zone dance just tips everyone off to the fact that you're a greenhorn, and causes the grown-ups to move away from you on the bench.

Whoa!

Yes, that's a brutal truth, but letting him figure that one out on his own would have been polite.

reply to post by NorEaster


Wouldn't you want the grown-ups to move away from you on the bench? At least that way you avoid being used. Why would you want others to sit close? All they are going to do is manipulate you. So make a fool of yourself if you have anything of value to offer, because if society grasps you, everything you aim for will be turned to evil. People with ideas or mental capacity to make breakthroughs in science should be the first to boycott the system because they are smart enough to. Every significant scientific advancement since nuclear power has been turned into military nightmare technology by governments.

reply to post by NorEaster


I feel like Ive taken a step forward, and see things more clearly than I previously did. I wouldnt call it a "break through" in the usual sense of the word.

I dont plan on doing any dances, but Ill definitely keep a look out for those "grown-ups". They sound elitest, but if thats who they are, its better they live without pretenses than pretend they are someone who they are not, which was one point I understand better now.

But... if I did plan on doing any dances, and the "grown-ups" planned on distancing themselves from me, so be it I certainly wasnt looking for anyone to follow or make a guru of as it was

Ill find my own path, like Ive always done.

Welcome to the narrow path my Brother. May you find what you are looking for.



With Love,

Your Brother

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus
reply to post by NorEaster

 

I feel like Ive taken a step forward, and see things more clearly than I previously did. I wouldnt call it a "break through" in the usual sense of the word.

I dont plan on doing any dances, but Ill definitely keep a look out for those "grown-ups". They sound elitest, but if thats who they are, its better they live without pretenses than pretend they are someone who they are not, which was one point I understand better now.

But... if I did plan on doing any dances, and the "grown-ups" planned on distancing themselves from me, so be it

I certainly wasnt looking for anyone to follow or make a guru of as it was

Ill find my own path, like Ive always done.

Well done/said. There are others who haven't yet found this sort of self reflection, and thus hopefully the more they see others going through it the more they will think to themselves "I wonder if there is something up to what they are saying... maybe they aren't crazy". None of us would make progress if we didn't have others to observe and interact with, ja?

I hope to continue hearing of your exploration of yourself and enjoy the breath of fresh air for yourself for a change!

Namaste!

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus
reply to post by NorEaster

 

I feel like Ive taken a step forward, and see things more clearly than I previously did. I wouldnt call it a "break through" in the usual sense of the word.

I dont plan on doing any dances, but Ill definitely keep a look out for those "grown-ups". They sound elitest, but if thats who they are, its better they live without pretenses than pretend they are someone who they are not, which was one point I understand better now.

But... if I did plan on doing any dances, and the "grown-ups" planned on distancing themselves from me, so be it

I certainly wasnt looking for anyone to follow or make a guru of as it was

Ill find my own path, like Ive always done.

edit on 30-7-2011 by CaticusMaximus because: (no reason given)

My point is that the individual exists everywhere and while it is an accomplishment to finally open your eyes, it's an accomplishment that simply lifts a person into the realm of mature human beings. Not elevated to any remarkable heights of knowingness. Relax and embrace it. We're all just adults and welcome to adulthood. Some of us don't see anything special about it, and simply carry on with the business of responsible existence as the rest of this carnival spins like a drunk-room around us. The elitists are idiots. The adults present like furniture for the crazies to jump around on. Doesn't bother us what they do as long as they don't hurt someone we love. We're pretty nondescript actually.

reply to post by CaticusMaximus

zuckerberg wanting to eliminate all anonymity online,

Who is this zuckerberg and why does he think that there is such a thing as anonymity online. Is he part of anonymous.

You all should know that all your base are belong to us. And so there is no such thing as anonymity on the world wide web if you really wanted to know you could, but really that kind of knowing in overrated. Since everybody is some guy in a basement with there tin foil hat up on this site, anyways.


I like the internet like this. People talk and express themselves more freely when they think that nobody knows who or what or where they are. It does make things more interesting and funny.

Im more worried about how people see the false me (offline image), than the true me, ATM more closely resembled by the uncensored online version.

Now that is the question? Who is the real you? The one that must conform to the norm or the one that does not have to? Most people your really get to know them when there is nothing holding them back from being who they are. And so who is the "real" you?

An Epiphany, on Ego

We are all ego, the ego is part of our individuality. And so some of us know that and accept it, and some of us do not, and some of us are so lost in our ego that we do not believe that there is an ego, or even that we have transcended it.

Though the ego can be gotten rid of as well. But in this ego ridden world that will not be a very good thing to do because if you remove the ego especially in some people then there is nothing left to them. Its kind of like if you remove there clothes and find nothing underneath, no only is the emperor naked without clothes.

But the emperor is nothing but clothes.

The ego is like the veneer that we don. And most are attracted by different types of veneer, so we all chose our illusions. Some would say that there is nothing but veneer and ego in this world.

Cant say that they would be wrong. And so the ego is never the same all the time, and those who have the biggest ego and are always the same are merely the slow who have a hard time changing there veneer.

Some in love with ghosts and some with blood but all alike in love with there illusions. Merely ego is what we are, it would be better said.

The persona of "System Resistor" does have its own character, however, expression of that character should not be seen as a lie, the assumption that there even is a "real me" could simply be the sum of my fears of being ridiculed by others, thus, each individual is multiplistic in thier expression of self.