Friday, November 9, 2007

The Dark Side Of Creating Our Own Reality


Well, like shit in a shoebox, look what just popped up on my front door:

Blair Warren (above) is the author of The No-Nonsense Guide to Enlightenment, and a great writer; but not only that:

He has to be one of the best writers dissecting New Age thinking - and it's consequences - that I've ever read.

He doesn't ramble, or use big words, or go on too long. He writes little pieces that "say it plain". Below is one of his latest ones, which reminds me of the pickle my ex, Karine Brunck, and her New Age homeopath, Robert Wohlfahrt, left me with (when I think about how I must look to friends and family, here, and, probably, in France: I HAD to have done something, right?). It also triggered two memories:

1) After she was gone and I was listening to a cassette tape of one of her Psychic Friends (gay type) who was telling her "'Good' is when you get your way and 'bad' is when you don't." and I heard Karine start to laughing, saying "I knew that!" The revelation, of her total self-interest, just crushed me.

2) That the last time I spoke with Karine was when I finally showed up, unannounced, at one of her cult gatherings and actually found her sitting "in a seminar room surrounded by like-minded people." (That was creepy. I'd never thought of her that way before,..as just another total weirdo fruitcake type. Even after all the "I can walk through walls" crap,....she was just My Karine. Love is powerful shit - and my love is strong. I was so damned blind. Like Stevie Wonder,..)

Anyway - enough about me and my romantic side - check this guy out (and visit his site):

The Dark Side Of Creating Our Own Reality

by Blair Warren

"Many in the self-help field tell us that, “We create our own reality.” And, I must confess, I believe it myself - to a degree.

To be more accurate, I believe that we participate in the creation of our own reality. In addition to our contribution, there are countless other contributions as well: other people, nature, circumstance, luck, etc.

Still, regardless of the validity of the idea of “reality creation,” the notion itself can be exhilarating. I know this because when I first “got” this idea, after decades of struggling with personal demons, I felt invincible.

I could decide how things would go for me. I could decide what things meant. I could decide what was important to me.

You get the idea.

So, it’s no wonder that this idea has been taught - and bought - by so many.

But while many extol the merits of this mindset, few discuss its dangers. Yes, dangers. Here are just a few:

First, to believe one is the sole creator of his or her reality is to set oneself up for a giant fall. No manufactured reality stands a chance for long against the reality that is ever-patiently waiting outside our door. Natural disasters, disease, old age, etc.

Second, the plausibility of the idea itself is largely dependent upon your surroundings. That is, it’s easy to believe you create your own reality when you’re in a seminar room surrounded by like-minded people. It’s when you leave the room and re-enter the real world that the idea begins to seem a little less valid.

Now, if the dangers ended here, with the individual only hurting him or herself, that would be one thing. But they don’t. There is at least one other danger that can, and too often does, affect everyone the “reality creator” comes in contact with. And that danger is this…

When one lives by the idea that “we create our own reality,” it becomes very tempting to play fast and loose with what society accepts as the truth.

For example, one might feel entitled to play with generally accepted definitions and understandings to suit one’s own purposes, knowing full well that others will be misled in the process. Then, when others cry foul, the “reality creator” need only dismiss the accusations as others’ points-of-view.

This gives the “reality creator,” in essence, a license to lie without ever feeling any guilt for doing so. After all, if each of us is solely responsible for creating our own reality, then why should the “reality creator” ever feel guilt for something other people feel?

Given this philosophy, they shouldn’t. And apparently they don’t.

In fact, rather than feel guilt, the “reality creator” feels justified in his or her actions and justified in passing judgment upon those who “misunderstood” the situation.

For me, this is the greatest danger of taking the “we create our own reality” philosophy to the extreme.

It is one thing for us to be disappointed occasionally when we’re going after the things we want. But it is quite another to destroy the trust and goodwill of others in the process.

No matter how great the rewards may be, I want no part of that reality."

1 comment:

  1. Blair rocks! Like me, he used to be good friends with a certain New-Wage guru I've written about a few times on my blog. We've both learned from the experience...

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