Theos-Talk Archives (October 1996 Message tl00079)

There are a lot of things happening to me that have nothing to do with
theosophy, except I am trying to use a theosophical perspective in dealing with
some very difficult life issues.  Either theosophy is applicable to daily living
or it is an attempt to escape the reality of our lower vehciles by promising a
hazy killing of our lower vehicles or maybe it is away to control them and
MASTER them and put the lower in service of the HIGHER by the use of POWER, LOVE
AND WILL.   You help me decide.

I am thinking about the issues of addictions which include:

1. obviously opiates like opium, heroin and morphice etc.
2. alcohol
3. cocaine

Less obviously:

1. food (excessive and compulsive disorders like overeatting and
anorexia/bulimia
2. sex
3. relationships (some call it love)
4. money
5. power
6. stagnation and self-satisfaciton for no reason (laziness and pride)
7.  self-pity

These have been variously called demons, sins (seven or so deadly), addictions,
character defects, instincts, and neuroses.  I feel that if one actively tries
to deal with them as in meditation, occult study, 12 step programs and
psychotheraphy something will eventually happen.

Some have focused on addiction in the individual which is obvious and some have
looked to society as teaching addictions through group mindsets such as
religions, ideologies, technologies of control, educational and entertainment
media and military forces including propoganda, spying etc.

We live in a "souless" age where there is information about every religion and
ideology past, present and possibly future at the touch of an electronic search.
Yet we are caught in a world wide web of illusion that is as close as our
breathing and as far away as the stars - it is the illusion that we know what we
are doing and that we are in control - that my free will is more powerful than
the karmic wheel (what a joke, but one that every addict believes).

In the past addictions were dealt with largely by burning people at the stake.
I think many, many millions over the years have been burned at the stake by the
inquistion for being too strange or not politically correct.  The Knights
Templar is a good example of mass extermination.

I guess a theosophy study group is not really the place to deal with these
issues as personal issues yet I wonder if theosophy can not help in the
understanding of the hidden forces that at work in all of us whethere we
acknowlege our addictions or not.

I just got back from a planning meeting for our Lodge and what struck me, was
that most people were not only convinced, but accepted it as an apriori
assumption that what we need is MORE MONEY - more money would get us more
members which would increase our POWER, which would increase our SELF-ESTEEM and
this would somehow make the whole world a better place to live.  I wanted to
shout:  N O T   !!!

What is needed is a freeing from these restlessness and searching for outside
answers,  MONEY is the MAHAMAYA of the human microcosm.  It is not even paper.
It is an idea.  A magic idea that enslave millions into doing long hours of work
for things that they are not even sure of, but are told that are good for them
and their families.  The families have largely been forced into this addictive
scheme, by being redirected toward more and more focusing on WORK NOW FOR MORE
TECHNOLOGICAL FUN  TOMORROW.  How many people live in a household where the
mother stays home and takes care of the children  and extended family of
grandparents, old maid Aunts, handicapped Uncles and retarded nieces, so to
speak.  This idea is as foreign as a horse and buggy.  We have been convinced
that we are at WAR since 1939. Great systems called the military-industrial
complex have convinced everyone that great sacrifice of freedom and personal
dignity and choice is necessary so that women, children, the poor everywhere can
be made EQUAL- equal  to what is never said.  What they are being made is
equally addictive;  women have rights, children have rights, the handicapped
have rights and they are all fighting to do more, buy more, use more, make more,
want more,  It isn't that there is anything wrong with allowing all equal
access, but equal access to what - bossing, manipulating, exploiting, ordering,
controlling.  What ever happened to equal access to will, choice, love and
unconditioned self-esteem that one had merit outside one's ability to work more,
earn more, control more, use more etc.  There is always more and more "outs"  to
be rescued by ever fewer and fewer "haves".

>From what I have heard, there is so much borrowed money, that is used to back
"money" that is re-lent and the interest on this non-existent money is
"value-magic" a black magic where by nothing  is stretched and stretched and
streched. Those really in the know have gone to Montana or Chile ;)  I hope I am
joking.


The outlook demands either a head in the sand approach of addictions:  I will
blot out the pain of reality that I cannot control because I am an impotent
individual  or a willingness to wake up, being empowered  to personal growth and
societal renewal..  Sounds real preachy, but these ideas are all over the place,
in one form or another.

I know I sound preachy, but how many of us are focused on toys - valueless
markers like money, stocks, bonds, interest rates, debts, credit cards, credit
ratings, job evaluations, job titles and other "illusions" of temporary power -
the temporary power is to enslave our minds and attention and focus our lives
away from real community, art and personal growth.  I have to put away the toys,
even the toys of money and government solutions  and face the karma of the
consequences of my mass and collective karam surrounded by maya that I haven't
begun to pierce.

Take it from one who know, giving up an addction of any kind is that last thing
anyone wants to do.  It is a type of demon that haunts one just out of sight,
but secretly guiding bad actions under the guise of motive of survival and even
"altuism" (those people can't do it for themselves, we have to make it easy for
them)  This making it easy - becomes a co-dependent addiction for the helper and
the one helped.

The only hope would seem from an attempt to intelligently cooperate with the
guiding healthy archetypes that are hopefully guiding constructively, as the
negative archetypes are guiding destructively.  People go where the rewards are.
How many want to be really liberated from the VOICE OF THE ADDICTIONS in order
to hear the VOICE OF THE SILENCE.  The spiritual choice is not easy and many
turn back at the last moment.  Alan Watts famous in the American Zen community,
died of alcoholism after years of being a world teacher.  Not many are called,
and even fewer, it seems, are chosen.

If you think I am overly pessimistic, have you ever read some of the internet
advertisements.  I must get 4 or five a day.    How do you block them?  Most all
are some variation of let's exploit the internet together by making more monye
"easy" or some form of cyber-sex from blow up dolls to porn or occassionally a
spiritual exploitation of "best psychic for success - dial 1-900 -)  Maybe there
should be a 1-900 for those who want to get away from all this.  If one a 900
number would do it.  As for me, I am looking forward to working in my garden and
going to Krotona and just BEING and not DOING all the time.

Namaste
Keith Price