Congratulations on being awake! Step two is to become free.
Posted August 26th, 2008 by Michael Nystrom
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This is a response to takeaction's lovely and honest missive "WHY Did I have to wake up? How did you awake?" that appeared this morning on the Daily Paul.
Just like in real life, after waking up, many people want to go right back to sleep. The alarm clock goes off, you are warm and groggy in your comfy bed and the world outside is cold and uninviting.
* * *
Since our awakening, I think we have all, at some point, experienced the same pain and confusion that takeaction honestly summarizes with his words, "Sometimes I wish I never understood..."
What I hope to express here is encouragement. Like in real life, waking up is not the end of the journey, it is only the first step of the day! There is a beautiful life out there to lead, much joy to experience, and much work to do.
Imagine this if you will: Imagine that the entire population of the United States is in a giant, dimly lit room, and everyone is asleep on the floor. Some of us wake up. We're groggy and tired, but we try to nudge those people around us. "Hey - are you awake? Hey - wake up!" Most of the people get angry with us. "I'm asleep! Leave me alone! I don't want to wake up," they say.
Undeterred, you choose courageously to get up by yourself. In fact, to you it does not feel courageous at all - it feels like there is simply no choice in the matter. This means you are truly awake. There is no going back to sleep.
You get up, walk around the room, and notice that a few others are awake and moving about as well. The vast majority remains on the floor. Some are blissfully asleep. Others are half awake, struggling in nightmares. You kneel down, shake them, talk to them, try to awaken them fully. Some choose to get up; others choose to keep sleeping. You continue to walk around the dimly lit room, perhaps now in small groups, still confused and disoriented.
It is then that you see him. Out of the darkness, you see someone - a man, talking to those who come by. He is holding a candle, brilliantly illuminating the space around him. It is Dr. Paul! Crowds throng around him to learn more. "Spread the Message!" he says.
But as you move back into the dimly lit room of sleeping people, it seems almost more scary and difficult than before. "Spreading the message" is not so easy. Dr. Paul made it look easy the way Michael Jordan made basketball look easy, or the way Michael Phelps made winning Olympic gold medals look easy.
Nothing is just "easy." Jordan's and Phelps' and Dr. Paul's results come from years of learning and practice. In Dr. Paul's case, it comes from a deep understanding of what it means to be personally free.
* * *
In the forward to Rollo May's
Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of the individuals who make up that nation, no liberty of a nation of conformists, no free nation made up of robots.
We cannot create a free nation unless we are free ourselves. Many of us are in debt, and therefore not financially free. We may have addictive behaviors, emotions or relationships, and therefore are not free from our desires. But most of all we have fear. To have fear is to be human, but to be free from fear's grip is to have courage. With courage, you are free from your fears.
Without freedom, you have very little power.
We all know that Dr. Paul is often the lone dissenter in congressional votes. We see a vote of 435-1, and we might feel warm in knowing that the one dissenting vote is Dr. Paul.
But put yourself in his shoes for a moment and imagine the tremendous amount of courage it takes to be the lone dissenter. Imagine if he was afraid of what people thought of him. Imagine if he was afraid of being ostrasized. Imagine if someone came to him with a bribe of money, power or sensual temptations (as I'm sure happens all the time in Congress). How is it that Dr. Paul is able to resist all of this when nearly everyone else in our government is not?
Do you remember the peaceful power that Dr. Paul displayed in the Fox debate in North Carolina, when he went head to head with Giuliani? The entire auditorium laughed at him, dismissed him, and cheered wildly for his opponent.
Did he lose his temper? Did he cry and give up? Was he devastated by the incident, or by all the snickering going on while he was talking? Not one bit. He responded with grace, integrity and the kind of power only available to someone who is truly free. As a result, he won many new supporters.
That is the power of inner personal freedom. It is power that all of us have access to.
* * *
Since most of us are just waking up from a very long slumber, it is only natural that we are still groggy. Seeing the new world, it appears confusing and dangerous. I recently became fully aware that my fears about the world were having a negative impact on my life. There was a cloud following me around, made up of all the things takeaction listed, and more! (He forgot financial collapse, second great depression, terrorist attacks, bird flu, anthrax, total global war and marshal law!)
This weekend I was away at a personal transformational seminar called the Landmark Forum. Through it I was able to have insight into what I described above, and to recognize the fears that were holding me back.
In the process of keeping our fear hidden from others, we also hide them from ourselves. Within the context of the Forum, once I shined the light on the deep fears that I had been hiding and acknowleged them, they disappeared. Because those fears were so fundamental to my worldview, they constrained what I believed was possible. With that old worldview gone, a new realm of possibility has emerged.
* * *
Have you noticed how Dr. Paul always says to have fun? In spite of the gloom and doom that appears to surround us, Dr. Paul is a very cheerful, warm and kind man.
On the day before the Revolution March, while riding down the highway in the back seat of his car (Dr. Paul was driving and Tom Woods was riding shotgun) I asked him, "Dr. Paul, do you ever get depressed by all of this stuff?"
I fully expected him to say, "Oh, I get terribly depressed by all of these things," or some such nonsense. That is because, at the time, that would have been my answer. But Dr. Paul surprised me.
"Nope. Never," he said.
I couldn't understand it. Here we are on the brink of disaster, and he doesn't get depressed by it? I know people for whom these problems are so debilitating that they literally cannot get out of bed in the morning. For me, the problems expressed themselves as a kind of constant, low level anxiety: that disaster was looming and could strike at any moment.
Until I heard what Dr. Paul said, I thought that the kind of fear I had was just the price of being awake, but he demonstrated that my idea was clearly wrong. I wanted what Dr. Paul had.
In the gigantic, dimly lit room of sleeping people that is life, we need many more individuals like Dr. Paul illuminating the room for others. So now that you are awake, congratulations! Welcome! Continue to wake others up. This is step one.
Step two is to free yourself. As you do, you can achieve the type of power we see on display in truly extraordinary individuals like Dr. Paul and his heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi.
This kind of power is available to all of us through freedom.
Michael Nystrom
My thanks to takeaction, for giving me the opportunity to share this.
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Michael,
It is very admirable that, despite your fears and anxieties, you had the courage and foresight to create this incredible blog, the Daily Paul, and be such a key part of the Ron Paul rEVOLution.
Yes, nice post Michael. It made me think of Harry Browne's
book How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World.
That is an awesome book, and
That is an awesome book, and very hard to find now
- - -
Support the Daily Paul - buy an exclusive, limited edition poster!
I bought it for $70 on ebay
I bought it for $70 on ebay maybe... 4 months ago.
Like only thing left..
Anyway, I gave it to a friend to read... like 3 months ago. :| LOL.. should be getting that back..
Thanks Michael, that was truly awesome and I needed it ...
Thanks Michael! I really needed to read that post!! I'm going through a rough time here not knowing if I'm going to retain my job and am having a terrible time being that guy that goes around and wakes people up. People in my sphere of influence just want to continue to hit the snooze bar....and with my newly found knowledge of all these "scary things" it's so frustrating to have people not "see".....
But my scenario sounds eerily familiar to yours--as I decoupled myself from the boob tube and began to actually read books and learn about all these dreaded things, I did slip into a "dull and constant anxiety" that the "last days" were just around the corner. It definitely was affecting my life and my outlook on the future--and I was not "having fun."
But, seeing this post as well as other spiritual things I've read in the past several days has made me change my outlook. I have a new outlook about when the Lord says "...prepare and ye shall not fear..." He means it and my constant low level anxiety was not warranted so long as I did "prepare." So I am doing what I can to intellectually prepare myself (so I can spot things that are "wrong") by learning, have prepared myself and my family temporally with food and other resources, and have prepared financially to the best of my ability. There are places that need some polishing, but I know now that my constant dull anxiety was not productive. I thank you for sharing your personal story about what Dr. Paul said. It's these bits of wisdom (as well as the "news" I find here) that keeps me coming and enjoying DP. Thank you sincerely for your efforts to bringing it to us and giving us all a forum to share our experiences, problems, and in this case, help.
Shall be subjugated - nevermore! A Poetic moment in History.
Once on an election dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious desecration of the Law,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping with a practiced jaw.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `rapping with persuasive jaw -
Only this, no moral flaw.'
--
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in a bleak September,
And each slaughtered Ron Paul member writhing on convention floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From our plans surcease of sorrow – plans, the nation to restore -
For the rare and radiant nation whom the angels may restore -
‘ere Freedom die for evermore.
--
And the silken soft uncertain rustling of each grassroots burden
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic opportunities ne’er felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'
--
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
Faintly you attempted tapping our delegation’s strength on the Convention floor,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.
--
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
calculating pecuniary motives that we’ve seen before
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lew Moore.'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lew Moore'
Merely this and nothing more.
--
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a rapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Perhaps we’ll all go to coffee and this mystery explore; -
'Tis a friend and nothing more!'
--
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped an old consultant of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of agent shady, leaned against my chamber door -
Perched with an RNC name badge, just beside my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
--
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by evil spirit whose feet tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Sir,' I cried, `thy god hath lent thee – for some message he has sent
thee, tell me now, do not repent thee what’s the memo, I implore.’
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the man whose bleary eyes now tranquilized my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
Til at last he said, while whining, “Above all we must avoid a war!”
Then he spoke for another hour with furrowed brow and countenance dour
He thought our consequences sour and almost brought me to a snore.
--
Much I marveled at his seeming wisdom to be simulating,
Though his answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing RNC hack by his door –
R3volution on his card, but John McCain boots on the floor,
Still repeating `I’m Lew Moore.'
--
Then this counselor, beguiling curiosity to smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance he wore,
`Though thy post be high and lofty, thou,' I said, speak much too broadly.
Can it be you think that “errors” drove the curse that we all bore?”
Subtle, sly, venal adviser wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me of they true objective on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the agent, `I’m Lew Moore.'
--
But the agent, sitting lonely on the fence betwixt, spoke only,
This one phrase, as if his soul in this one phrase he did outpour.
Not much further then he uttered – tried to speak but only stuttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have lied before -
On the morrow he’ll deceive me, with concessions I abhor:'
“Don’t enjoin a Party war.”
--
Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
`Doubtless,' said I, `what he utters is his only stock and store,
Having left his prior master whom electoral disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his fate one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore:
“The only thing I love is Moore”
--
But the agent still beguiling my perplexity to smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat to listen to this purchased whore;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous hack of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous hack of yore
What this grim, ungainly, representative for the RINO corps
Meant in croaking `Flee a War!'
--
This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the man whose bleary eyes now tranquilized my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
Almost brought me to a snore.
--
Then, I cried, `thy god hath lent thee – for this message he has sent thee: “Above all we must avoid a war!”
Do not quaff this cruel nepenthe, and forget this lost Lew Moore!'
`Manager!' said I, `of evil! – staffer, both, of man and devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this candidate enchanted -
On this people by Slander haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Do you not discern your evil? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the agent, `Nevermore.'
--
`Manager!' said I, `of evil! – staffer, both, of man and devil! -
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God that I adore -
Will you not repent your evil: changing sides in moral WAR?
Will you not reach out to save him whom the RNC calls Moore -
Quoth the agent, `Nevermore.'
--
`Be that word our sign of parting, former friend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no ink here as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my commitment still unbroken! - quit the mission I deplore!
Take thy arrow from my heart, and take thy shadow from my door!'
Quoth the agent, `I’m Lew Moore.'
--
And the agent, still unwitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
With a photograph of Quisling, just outside my office door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a neocon that’s dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
But my soul, beneath that shadow and the treachery it bore
--
Shall be subjugated- nevermore!
--
Now THAT is
Poe-etic justice!
BRAVISIMO!!!!
BRAVISIMO!!!! Most excellent and stirring! Thank you for converting a most excellent poem into an even better poem. I love Edgar Allen Poe...but that rendition is Oh So Sweet...the flow so nice...mmmmmm
=======
Federal Reserve to the American People:
"Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam."
Wow..did you write that? I
Wow..did you write hat? I am reeling,
and I can't escape the feeling
That in spite of all this "raven' "
You, indeed, Sir, are a maven.
give me a beer
and point me to the snooze button.
Some of us have never been asleep.
Support for minimal government has been a part of me all my life.
It's nice the Dr. Paul is helping some people to understand the benefits of small government and everything that means, including no income tax, no welfare, no minumum wage, no antitrust laws, non-interventionism, and support for elimination of regulations on business, including no regulations on the banking and financial industries, and so on.
But there is clearly a lot more waking up that has to be done. I find that the economic aspects of the liberty philosophy are not getting through as well as hoped.
----
Don't blame me if there's no voice for liberty opposing McCain and Obama in the Presidential debates. I donated to Ron Paul Libertarian, Bob Barr's campaign.
And some have yet to really wake up
I imagine "minimal government", to you, would be just about where we are right now --- plus additional laws, or reduced laws, as the case may be, to allow even more concentration of power among the giant mega-corporations.
Go look up Karl Hess, who was a speechwriter for Nixon, later a libertarian, who eventually realized that the enormous power of corporations is not only unnatural in a true free-enterprise economy, but inimical to freedom as well. He opened my eyes to the fascism inherent in corporatism, when up to that time I had been blinded by Ayn Rand's paeans to big business.
How true..."and some have
How true..."and some have yet to really wake up."
The truth of the matter is that our current "government" is a private corporation owned by a foreign power - that being the IMF. The evidence is recorded as a matter of public record and law in the Statutes at Large and the U.S. Code.
If you pay your income taxes with a personal check, look at the back to see who the final endorsing party is...the IMF.
Can you not read?
I said I was for minimal government. If there is minimal government, how are you going to have corporatism? You have corporations with minimal government, but you don't have corporatISM beause there's not enough government in existence to collude with.
----
Don't blame me if there's no voice for liberty opposing McCain and Obama in the Presidential debates. I donated to Ron Paul Libertarian, Bob Barr's campaign.
Judging by the responses
I'm starting to wonder if orvul et. all are the same person. It may be annoying, but you're getting more succinct your points. The people on the street will be much easier.
We needed this reply...
to the post about "waking up".
I too went through several months of depression after fully "waking up". It doesn't help that I'm going through a divorce and I just lost my job.
For a long time there, everything seemed hopeless. The more I learned, the worse things seemed... at first.
But...
You're right. Dr. Paul is a fine example of a great leader. He's shown us that there is no reason to be afraid, and that the truth will set you free.
Ignorance is Bliss...
But this has been one wake-up call that I'm sooo glad that I hadn't missed! Waking up with so many RonPaulians...I can think of much stranger bedfellows! =)'
This is one of the most insightfull and inspiring
posts I have read in my 5 or 6 months of being around here veryday in the morning , after work , and befor bed ....
You have givin me a spark to understand that I am only one man , and I can make a difference. The beauty of this rEVOLution and the truth has opened my eyes beyound what I could have imagined over 1 1/2 years ago when I first herd of the lies on 9/11 and the realiation of Dr. Paul not to long after.
These past 2 years have been the most enlightening and inspiring moments of my 19 years on this earth and with that being said , I bealive many others have felt this way as well... and many many many others will fallow in our footsteps to understand the truth and understand ersonal freedoms....
We are the people of these United States of AMerica, and We can change the path we are on. Not with depressed overwhelming feeling , but with confident loving and understanding of OURSELVES and of ALL others....
May the powers with awaken and the world see that WE are stronge ... stronger than these liars in congress and in political possition ... powefull evil people trying to misslead us and bring us down with this country ...
we will stand and fight untill the end , and I bealive the multiplication of this rEVOLution of truth will never stop growing ...
peace - love - freedom
RP '08
We Are Change
That's right. Just look at what those great patriots are doing with the Great American Walk for Freedom, holding grassroots town-hall meetings to discuss the Constitution and that Great Declaration. Now imagine if we could make something like that happen all over the several states. We can accomplish big things if we continue to persevere.
----
The Antidote to neoCon Koolaid: www.dvds4delegates.com
"We really do have...a once in a lifetime opportunity to take the Republican Party back to where it was." -Kent Snyder, 1959-2008
Indeed, step two: free ourselves
1. Get debt-free, then financiallly free (see http://www.DaveRamsey.com). Dave is very much against usury practices, offers free advise about how to get out of debt using a simply fool-proof plan. It will require you to grow up a bit though. Anyway, the more financial power we have, the less the big Bank, corporations, and the government have.
2. While we are talking about big Bank, let's move our accounts from Big Banks to local banks.
3. Get healthy. Which people is easier to manipulate? Addicted lard butts or a strong fit people. Getting healthy frees you from addictive drugs, foods, etc. It improves every aspect of your life...especially your emotional maturity which will result in stronger family relationships. Ultimately, it deflates big Pharm...and their agenda. This step requires obtaining an extensive education in food and food preparation...exercise is very important but pretty easy to learn.
4. Rethink your life goals so that they are YOUR goals and not your employer's. Your manager cares about you to the extent of his job security...after that, screw you. Relying on an employer for anything other than to get paid for last week's work is insane. Doing step 1 replaces the need to waste one's life toiling to make other's rich.
5. Here's a sensitive area. Improve or dump bad relationships. I advise trying to improve it first. Usually the problems evolve around money (see step 1), differing relationship expectations, insufficient boundaries, and no marriage goals.
6. Become God-realized without depending on a church. Don't allow anyone to become a middle-man between you and God. Of course, churches and other sources can provide insight that improves your relationship with God, but think for yourself.
7. Get rid of your clutter. Clutter enslaves you...it prevents people from coming over...it is bad for your psyche. Rip clutter off like a bandaid...just get rid of it. The show Clean House provides the perfect way to declutter one's home.
8. Buy guns and learn how to use them. This goes a long way in developing a free person's mind. That is why the globalists attack gun ownership. While you are at it, learn a martial art and how to use a knife.
9. Grow food. Like gun ownership, this goes a long way in developing a free person's mind.
10. Learn about and perform basic carpetry, vehicle maintenance, hunting, fishing, basic medicine, etc.
After these things, we can make incredibly strong organizations that would massively and benevolently change this country.
Important note: some say the globalists are free, but that is wrong. Instead of seeking power over their own lives (freedom), they sought power over others' lives (slavery). Not only is the borrower slave to the lender, but the lender, over time, become slave to the borrower.
In sado/masicistic terms, the globalists are the dominant group and everyone else are the submissive group. It would seem that the dominants have power over the submissives. However, the submissive group can choose to utter the 'safe' word at any time and end the relationship. Thus, the submissive group has the real power.
The 'safe' word is "Freedom".
To me the 'safe' word is "God" for to me: to be God-realized is to totally detatch oneself from the trappings of man's world...and that includes steps 1 through 10. If that word bothers you, you can stick with "Freedom" or even "Wisdom".
Heh, I need to come up with two more steps to make a Fools Anonymous Twelve Step program. "My name is McCain/Obama/Clinton and I am a fool."
carpetry
I imagine I could put down some carpet if I needed to, but why is that so important to freedom?
Freedom.
The war on your mind -- http://www.youtube.com/wa...
Great Analogy and Thought Provoking
This is a great analogy:
"Imagine this if you will: Imagine that the entire population of the United States is in a giant, dimly lit room, and everyone is asleep on the floor. Some of us wake up. We're groggy and tired, but we try to nudge those people around us. "Hey - are you awake? Hey - wake up!" Most of the people get angry with us. "I'm asleep! Leave me alone! I don't want to wake up," they say."
And, reading the rest of the post, it really made me think quite simply, in terms of government;
Fear results in a loss of freedom. When we fear things, we seek help from the government.
Courage results in a gain of freedom. When we are courageous, we do things on our own.
A nice post, but part of the
A nice post, but part of the premise is skewed. Not the quote, but your interpretation seems to be, slightly. Sorry, Michael, but true freedom of self in NOT freedom from debt, nor freedom to be secure in our privacy. Not freedom from family, nor location, etc, etc.
Many people, (one's name started with a "V") have spoken about being free while kept in a jail cell, with many, many civil rights removed. True freedom can never be taken away from those who possess it. Only killing us will end it, because true freedom is found inside each one of us. We all possess it,
Each one needs to find it, even imprisonment can NOT remove it.
That is the freedom meant in the quote.
The delegates to St. Paul are the Anointed Ones. They should go to the GOP convention in peace and clarity, with courage, for us.
Throw some money their way...
Yes,
You are correct. May speaks of those who find freedom in the tightest physical confines, such as in prison.
The analogy that I am trying to make, is that for many, being in debt is like being in prison. Overwhelming fear is like being in prison. It is not physical confinement, but mental confinement.
What I am NOT saying is that you have to be Donald Trump, or even out of debt to be financially free.
What I am saying is that until a person finds that true place of freedom within themselves, it is difficult (if not impossible) to effectively hold the candle and illuminate the way for others.
Regarding prison + inner freedom
Have you guys heard of Nick Sand? He spent 5 years in prison...
Check out this incredible podcast!
hmm i can understand the
hmm i can understand the analogy, but i think the ultimate cause for people to want to go to sleep is the fact that theyre waking up in a lair with a 300 ft dragon waiting to devour them whole and all they have to fight back with is a twig. If theres anything thats more painful than watching the sea of blue shirted saps sitting in attendance at the DNC, knowing that the ship for 90% of them has already set sail, please let me know so that i can live on for the rest of the week with a little more hope.
That 300 ft dragon you speak
That 300 ft dragon you speak of.
It's an illusion.
Tell that to Randy Weaver or Ed and Elaine Brown...
...or the Branch Davidians (and countless others). This "illusion" is quite capable of terrorizing, murdering and imprisoning. And one doesn't even have to be afraid of it, for these things to happen...
http://groups.yahoo.com/g...
That is true, but look. #1
That is true, but look.
#1 Everyone will die. This will end for us one day.
#2 There is a place inside you where peace and freedom resides.
#3 IF those Davidians or whatever they were were free, their death is of no consequence because their lives were fulfilled.
Yes there are murderers, and yes, we humans are VERY frail, and YES, probably with each new invention brought into the world, another way to die comes with it. We still, however, need to realize that debts and regulations are not our chains. We can just go on our happy way, not pay them and it would not make us less or MORE free. Freedom is a state, where you put your mind. Like the birds, you know you will be taken care of when you put out effort, daily, unattached as possible to outcomes. Of course there is the occasional bird flu, but those things are overcome, or it is your time to go.
Caution is good, but fear is silly. All should fear you, really, because you know you are free, and that can never be taken away from you.
"No one is as hopelessly enslaved..."
"...as the person who thinks he's free."...Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
http://groups.yahoo.com/g...
That German is right I
That German is right I suppose, but there is a big difference in thinking you are free, and knowing that you are. And, whoever mentioned the cops shooting, I would try not to be in their or anyone's line of fire. But they could arrest me, they could handcuff me, and I guess beat me. But they will never get to the part of me that is free, anyway (unless they kill me). If they do, they could find that my molecules return to the earth, grow a tree, and someday stick their personal billy club up their butts.
all evil is mere appearance
Break through the ignorance of people and evil will disappear.
Uh-huh...
...I'll be sure and try that approach if and when the cops start shooting at me.
http://groups.yahoo.com/g...
I agree, although the
I agree, although the illusion is pretty darn vivid.
But in truth, they want to be feared, and sometimes we help them in that cause.
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
Exactly! - - - Support the
Exactly!
- - -
Support the Daily Paul - buy an exclusive, limited edition poster!
Okay; wait...
Step 1: Take the blue pill
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Illuminate the room for others cheerfully, without being personally weighed down with any foreboding or doom or gloom.
Would you kindly explain how you get from Step 1 to Step 3?
/Lifespring graduate and facilitator, 1990 - LP LA-39 :)
//similar to Landmark; a spin-off of Werner Erhard's organization
I'm not sure I understand.
I'm not sure I understand. We all took the red pill, not the blue pill.
I assume you just got that part confused.
So 1. We take the Red Pill.
2. If you did Lifespring, then I would think that you'd understand. There is no single world "out there." The "world" each of us inhabits is our own, and is made up of the meaning we give it. For example, once humans believed, no we knew the world was flat. It was commonly accepted wisdom. But it wasn't true. And that belief was disempowering to anyone who wanted to sail around the world!
If you accept the truth that we create the world that we live in with our minds, then you can change that world, in your mind. You can create a world that is empowering, rather than dis-empowering. Once you are empowered, proceed to your step #3.
Does that clarify things?
Kind of, except, not so much
Pill color = yes, yes; I got that part confused. My bad; etc.
#2 - Indeed, we can -- and should! -- craft our own realities (without living in some sort of psychotic faux fantasy) by consciously deciding what is relevant and real to us individually. Perception is something we ourselves have the power to control. Contemporaneously, we are to help spread the message; yet, there is no message to spread (no solution to offer) to those who do not recognize that there are threats to liberty (an existing problem).
This is why every commercial you see has the introduction of a problem, and (quite handily) a solution, which just happens to be the advertiser's product.
Therefore, in order to "sell" the solution, there seems to be the very real need to "sell" the problem, to put all this in the shallow landscape of marketing terminology. It's what the current administration has been doing all along: introducing the problem ("fear via terrorism") and the solution ("surveillance, all the DHS stuff, loss of Habeus Corpus, etc.).
How do we go along in our personal reality mindsets while attempting to awaken those who do not even recognize there is a problem to be solved?
A significant portion (certainly not all) of my major absences here have been due to tending to preparations, so my family and I can be safe and whole as we move into the next stage of our nation's life. That has been very empowering. The challenge is in informing others without scaring the bejeezus out of them, and that's without bringing topics such as CFR, 9/11, FEMA camps, etc. into play.
Given that premise, how to travel from #2 to #3?
You don't want to take the blue pill...
That puts you back to sleep. :-)
http://groups.yahoo.com/g...
Oh, for heaven's sake...
Whatever color. The "wake up" color. 'kay?
/ saw the movie once long ago
// is lucky to remember own name at this point
///hours-later edit: didn't mean to sound so terse, there!
At first I wanted to go back to sleep...
because my new-found knowledge filled me with fear and worry. After stepping back, just trying to live day-to-day, while simultaneously digesting this knowledge in little itty-bitty bites, I am at a much better place. Yes, the facts that filled me with fear/worry initially are still true, but so much of it, I have come to realize, has been going on for decades or hundreds or years, or centuries, or since the dawn of man....realizing this really calmed me down (I believe the Internet with it's planetwide access to data has accelerated the Awakening) (But, realizing that I was oblivious to it all has also been cause for consternation). I think, for some, the awakening has to be done in small increments...otherwise one's whole being is put into shock/overload....so that one's stress level can be effectively managed... There are some issues I still absolutely, positively will not and cannot deal with, handle, think about...but I am certain when the time is right, I'll be able to face these things, as well.
Thank you for an inspiring post!
and reminding us all to keep our chins up.
Libera me, let the truth break, what my fears make--Leslie Phillips
brush fires in people's minds
In addition to the Campaign for Liberty, there are also other organizations dedicated to "illuminating the room for others" --like the Lone Lantern Society and Aaron Russo's Restore the Republic to name a few.
----
The Antidote to neoCon Koolaid: www.dvds4delegates.com
"We really do have...a once in a lifetime opportunity to take the Republican Party back to where it was." -Kent Snyder, 1959-2008
Michael! So you "GOT IT!" Congratulations!
I did the first Forum back in 1985. I started the courses back in 1984 before it was called the Forum. I worked in the NYC Landmark office too.
It was a nut buster but it was a blast.
My whole family did it except for my Dad. My Mom died happy and free and my Dad almost died scared and afraid... in the last few minutes he was alive we were face-to-face. I was crying like a baby. But he got it. And he slipped away peacefully.
There was nothing to be afraid of.
What an opportunity it is for you Michael, given the work you've done so far.
I expect you'll take many quantum leaps going forward.
Living the "conversation" and the possibily" that is Michael Nystrom.
"Committed To The Eradication Of Poverty Among Patriots"
YEAH!!!!
DaddyWarBucks,
I knew there was going to be someone out here who had done the Forum before!
This was actually my second time. The first time was back in Seattle in 2002. It really helped me to quit smoking. I'd been a smoker for about 12 years and couldn't kick the habit, and after the Forum, I just quit.
I got even more out of it this time because I didn't spend half the time being so skeptical, resisting it, or thinking they were trying to brainwash me! It was a fabulous weekend! Tonight is the final Tuesday night session, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Thank you for the inspiration and the support, Daddy.
I am no longer afraid.
Michael
Darn..I know secrets of the
Darn..I know secrets of the universe, but I can not do anything to stop smoking without excruciating, prolonged, discomfort which I cannot bear..
Oh wait...Did I hear you say...
You are 'no longer afraid'?
You will always deal with fear. It's now about not letting it stop you or keep you from taking action.
The choice has always been ours. Now we know it from a different place.
The bigger the game the bigger the bears.
Rock on!
"Committed To The Eradication Of Poverty Among Patriots"
To be more precise:
The fears that I had no longer have power over me.
First you must get people to exist ....
Then you must convince them to choose freedom...
You know what to do ...
We all have our roles.
WAHOR!!
http://www.dailypaul.com/...