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Transcendence
Transcendence
By
Cognitive Dissonance
It’s a simple enough word and one that should be familiar. A quick check of an online dictionary reveals an obvious definition, especially when we consider the root word ‘transcend’. “Exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence” and “to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects of; to overcome”. Simple……right?
From the very beginning, well before I selected Cognitive Dissonance to represent my online personality and certainly before Tyler plucked me from the Zero Hedge peanut gallery (aka the comment section) and offered me the opportunity to become a ZH contributor, my one and only desire when I wrote was to add perspective, to offer up what I thought was a bigger picture point of view. That purpose remains just as pronounced today as it ever was. But I feel stronger headwinds than normal buffeting me and the collective anger and loathing is rising, dangerously in my view.
But please don’t be mistaken. Not for one moment do I consider myself the Oracle from Delphi, nor some wise and giving man here to shower you with wisdom and healing. Not in the least. What I’m actually doing is simple and in many ways self serving. I’m faking it until I make it with the hope that if I give away something that I don’t really feel is fully within me, that I may further develop my empathy, compassion and perspective muscles, that I may grow stronger by offering to others what I feel lacking in myself.
This concept, my method, isn’t as counter intuitive as it might seem at first blush. Of course I am quite capable of empathy and perspective. The problem isn’t necessarily a lack of ability, but rather at times a lack of desire. You see……I was, and can still be, a very angry man. A very, very angry man. And it was slowly killing me. It wasn’t an epiphany that compelled me to begin to look within, but rather raw unbridled desperation to find something, anything, that would relieve my inner anguish and pain.
The thing was that at first I didn’t realize how much pain I was in. All I saw was my all consuming anger and indignation, righteous indignation in fact, the worst kind because it ‘allowed’ me to wallow in my own self pity while nursing my hurt ego. How dare those bastards ……… fill in the blank, there are plenty of outrages to choose from. ‘They’ were subverting the American Dream and hurting me and my own in the process. It was horrible and glorious at the same time. No critical thinking needed, just point and shoot both barrels at once. But over time it was eating me alive from the inside, and I didn’t know what to do about it. Or even if I should.
The best analogy I can find of the damage done to myself by my slow burn anger is that it was similar to eating every meal at McDonalds. While our belly is full, it’s never really satisfying and we wind up feeling more and more out of sorts with each subsequent meal, somewhat sick to the stomach and bloated. Over time we grow fat and distorted on all those empty calories while simultaneously wasting away from the lack of quality nutrition. Keep it up long enough and we will degrade both physically and mentally, resulting in a shorter life span and a marked decrease in quality of life on the way to our early grave.
I could go on describing the fallout from my lingering dysfunction (yup, still there, though less so each day) but that’s not the purpose of this article. The point is to explain the measures I continue to embrace to overcome my issues and to warn my loyal readers that I am recognizing the same dysfunction in you. Zero Hedge has always been about letting go, of speaking truth to power and venting frustrations, of finding comfort when huddled with like minded others who share a common goal, to oust the corruption and return to a more fair and equitable social order.
The thing is that the longer the social order remains……well, disorderly……the more intense our inner personal dysfunction can become. But rather than believe that society is coming unglued because of the creeping (rushing is more like it) political and financial corruption, consider that the process is actually reversed, that as we personally come apart at the seams, so does our society which in turn pushes society’s dredges (aka sociopaths) to the top of the heap in the form of thieving bankers, abusive multinational corporations and too-numerous-to-count hanger-on’s, enablers and sycophants.
Regardless of whether you agree with my analysis of the source of the cancerous lesions or not, the purpose of this train of thought is not to be ‘right’, but to (re)gain our mental and emotional health and to make this our number one priority now and forever. Regardless of whether we feel we must ‘do’ something now (anything for God’s sake) or that it’s hopeless and futile (or more likely something in between) if our inner self, our essence, is not centered and at peace, at best we will be ineffective and at worst just a miserable person.
As well there is no going back, no unlearning or forgetting what we know, no return to blissful ignorance. In fact any attempt to go back to before, to forget all we know, will only feed our dysfunction and anger that much more. We cannot be plugged back into the Matrix, at least not without a frontal lobotomy. So let us acknowledge our inner madman and begin the process of self help and healing, then move forward individually and collectively.
02-17-2014
Cognitive Dissonance
Introducing a new portal into the mind of Cognitive Dissonance www.TwoIceFloes.com
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"TPTB are not going to suddenly realize that they were wrong"
Neither are "We the people"!! Keep in mind that TPTB were put there by the masses, and have been supported by the masses. The masses ARE the "cronys" of the leaders you wish to dismantle. They are not going to suddenly realize they were wrong.
Anger and action on the part of the masses, without their understanding of what they are railing against or what they are fighting for? Is that really what we want? A mob to slaughter whoever they see as "guilty"?
I think you need to be careful with the use of "they". "The more THEY get away with..." etc. Who are "they"? The people you wish would rise up and fight back and take action, they are part of the bigger THEY of which you speak.
I think what CD is saying is that the calmer we are, the more we are able to enact real change on a person-by-person and mind-by-mind level. To show more and more people the truth. Because if they don't know the truth, any violence will just result in more of the same, or possibly worse. Many a dictator has risen up out of the chaos left by violent action.
...to add the above though, I often struggle with the questions of when I would turn to violence.
I suppose I've always thought of violence as justified in defense of myself or loved ones. First, I think that it is justified now, since I am now actually under attack in a way, slow and indirect as that attack may be on the part of TPTB (picture slowly boiling frog here).
But then I realize that all of human history involves power rising up and being abused by one group or another. So should we always be at violent war? Is this really beneficial? Or can we at times just take the battle to a less violent theatre, and fight it in words and ideas? Is this not better? Physical violence makes men angry and vengeful and blind -- it makes them act in ways against their fellow men that they might later be ashamed of. It kills them a little inside. I've never been to war, but I have people close to me who have -- its not something you come out of as a victor, a winner. It leaves something within you that you spend the rest of your life fighting.
I can't help but think that whatever portion of the fight we can do with words/ideas, will reduce the harm done to our culture/society/inner selves throughout the war. The fewer people that violence touches the better. Or, if violence is going to happen, the more people who are mentally prepared to endure it the better. Finding inner peace in a war zone is no small feat.
"I can't help but think that whatever portion of the fight we can do with words/ideas........."
Add Actions! Without such the rest is mental masturbation. Actons on the smallest scale can make a difference. I may never see the impact of a kindness I do another.
Ridicule is essential. The PC movement is partly about silencing this essential safeguard of our freedoms.
My friends tell my wife, you have known him how long and you still hold hopes that he will attain social respectability?
"So should we always be at violent war? Is this really beneficial?"
No, but it is very human.
Absolutely wrong interpretation. When you are at inner-peace, you have no fear. When you have no fear, you ACT without consideration for ego. How the hell do you think Teutonic Berserkers were so damn fierce, if not the most feared warrior in the history of the world? BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT. That, my friend, is transcendence.
"When you are at inner-peace, you have no fear."
Until your inner peace is threatened of course.
You supply proof that everything is relative. What you describe as transcendence, others would call a dangerous level of apathy. I would call it predictable human behavior.
Have you read Beowulf? Apathy is not a term I would ascribe to him. He is the quintessential Alpha Male. He pisses in the faces of the gods, flips the bird to the fates, and downs Grendel with his bare hands while other armed warriors cowered. Eliminating fear is not the same as apathy. It is the recognition of one's own mortality and realizing that when the time comes, it comes and there is nothing you can do about it IF IT IS OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. But, always be glorious. Is it better to die on your knees or on your feet?
And do you think Genghis Khan was apathetic? He left behind such a legacy that around 10% of the population of Mongolia descend directly from him. That's a lot of women ravaged.
And how many of us would have the balls to do what Felix Baumgartner did, jumping from a hight of 140,000 feet to earth?
I will die someday. But goddamnit I will die on my feet with a smile on my face. Always be glorious.
Ummmmm.......this was your comment that I responded to:
"Absolutely wrong interpretation. When you are at inner-peace, you have no fear. When you have no fear, you ACT without consideration for ego. How the hell do you think Teutonic Berserkers were so damn fierce, if not the most feared warrior in the history of the world? BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT. That, my friend, is transcendence."
No mention of Beowulf, Ghengis Khan, or Felix Baumgartner in that comment. So your reply to my reply to your comment makes little sense. The statement "BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT." is likely inaccurate. I know nothing about Teutonic Berserkers, but humans rarely fight to the death because they don't give a shit. However, that was your statement, and it definitely fits the definition of apathy.
What are you even talking about? Apathetic people don't even bother fighting. Not giving a shit had to do with no fear of dying. There is zero logical connection to apathy.
And it seems the entirety of everything I stated went way over your head.
If you are that lost, to discuss it further with you is pointless. Try re-reading the comments in chronological order and put aside your egotistical self absorption for a moment.
"everything is relative" is post modern culture and family destroying non sense. Whoever sells that is part of the problem. Truth is discoverable. Relativists want to get in your pants, and your wallet, and your head.
TBT, you seem to be relatively hostile toward relativity. Just kidding. Maybe saying that everyting is a matter of perspective would be better. And all perspectives are relative to the point of view. ;)
"Your article seems to advocate being a sheep."
I guess we need to establish your definition of 'sheep' because the commonly understood definition used on ZH is of mindless, unaware or ideologically blinded, complacent and compliant followers or financially compromised people who are dependent upon the government/corporations/status quo etc.
Is this what you mean by saying "Your article seems to advocate being a sheep."?
"Is this what you mean by saying "Your article seems to advocate being a sheep."?"
No. I was attempting, poorly it would seem, to make the point that using history and human nature as a guide, remaining calm and exercising "passive" resistance is rarely effective when an entrenched authority abuses it's power and it's constituents. The persons wielding said authority are unlikely to surrender their powers, and resulting wealth, without the real and immediate threat of genuine harm. Take the "Occupy Wall Street" movement for example. At first TPTB took no decisive action against the protests, but I can assure you they were evaluating the situation. Once the protestor's gathered enough steam to gain the MSM's attention, TPTB took action. They seem to follow a simple playbook with movements such as this. They either find a way to co-opt said movement and use it for their own purposes, or destroy it. They have the MSM at their disposal to form public opinion. They have legislators at all levels of gov in their pockets to provide cover for their actions. They have successfully derailed the Tea Party movement using the same strategy.
I respect your philosophy, and am the kind of person that feels an individual should be free to do, or believe in, whatever they suits them, as long as it does not negatively impact their fellow citizens.
My point is this:
We are at a point where the only effective tool that will bring genuine change to this totally corrupt system is violence. I do not advocate violence and do not want to participate in violence, but violence is inevitable. An examination of human history and the evolution of our society supports my contention. A reading of news headlines from around the world supports it as well. I fear for our children, but I do not fear for TPTB. Nor do I fear TPTB. I, and probably "they", are well aware of where this all ends. I am quite sure "they" are quite busy taking actions to ensure their survival, and continued dominance, after the SHTF. How soon will the SHTF? I have no idea. Based on history, citizens will sometimes tolerate horrific abuses from their leaders for centuries. Our modern society seems to operate at a faster pace, but TPTB have become masters of manipulation and have very effectively dumbed down the masses. If they had been just a bit less greedy, we would probably not even be having this conversation.
TBTF is well aware and I suspect quite prepared for escalating violence. They are not prepared for wisespread peaceful tactics that could take them down just as easily. Which would be the winning tactic. But then you have to have a coheasive agreed upon plan with enough people to implement it. O.K. so thats out.
Violence that is not directed against people would be the next step. Then again, agreed upon plan and people to carry it out.
All plans would involve agreed upon plans and people to carry them out. Fly in the ointment eh?
+1
For...
They are not prepared for wisespread peaceful tactics that could take them down just as easily. Which would be the winning tactic. But then you have to have a coheasive agreed upon plan with enough people to implement it. -- akarc
Trust is a difficult (if not impossible) commodity to establish in these forums. But, there may be a way to create a plan for people to cooperatively resist and make their political will peacefully known...
I think the most realistic way to implement change through non-violent means is to use TPTB's own tools against them. I have speculated here before that if one of these movements, or like minded groups of citizens, would all relocate to a sparsely inhabited region of the country where they could form a voting bloc that would outnumber the existing residents, and thereby elect their own members to public office, and proceed to build from that platform, they may be able to achieve some level of success. Maybe. The problem with this idea is that humans seem to be genetically inclined to NOT cooperate with one another.
+1
For...
I think the most realistic way to implement change through non-violent means is to use TPTB's own tools against them. -- Toolshed
We agree. And the method you describe may be viable... but it will take a fair bit of time and cooperation to implement. Moreover, it will be subject to all the usual temptations TPTB can bring to bear against it. Not to mention the resentment the locals' may feel upon becoming a political minority...
How about this; next election walk into the voting booth and write "No Consent" on your ballot. Big bold letters. Tender it and walk out...
Better than voting for Tweedle-Dum or Tweedle-Dee from the red & blue twin party. If enough folks do it, might just mean something...
Since most are dissatisfied with the government. Many for opposing reasons. Then an example may simply be, all who are dissatisfied with the government stay home one week. Buy nothing, pay no bills, etc.
There are those who obviously can not do so. They can go to work and wait on nobody while the get paid and there employers take the hit.
Simple messaage to the government. YOu are not going to work together, neither are we.
They don't get it together try two weeks. If they can shutdown the government why can't we.
Probably to simple, I know.
+1
For... a boycott.
Since most are dissatisfied with the government. Many for opposing reasons. Then an example may simply be, all who are dissatisfied with the government stay home one week. Buy nothing... -- akarc
Boycotts can be very effective tools in the non-violent arsenal. And no tactic is too simple... simplicity is elegance in disguse.
Indeed, why not try to shutdown the government? Or at least call its legitimacy into question...
Politics is war by other means.
No viable avenue of non-violent political resistance ought be foreclosed without serious consideration. But tactics require strategy.
If they can shutdown the government why can't we. -- akarc
CD, ever consider looking into ancient esoteric/mystic warrior-based mystery cults? They were the epitome of transcendence and shedding of all fear. Hermetic mysteries for example. Warrior cults like those of Odin, Mercury, Mithras, Dionysus, etc.
I have conducted some initial reading on what you call "ancient esoteric/mystic warrior-based mystery cults" and I found them fascinating. To be frank I am still trying to gather knowledge and understanding and I wish to cast my net as wide as I can while trying to connect pieces here and there.
My concern, and I admit that it might be unjustified, is that if I zero in on one discipline or practice, that I might be missing another avenue of exploration. I do not wish to guide my path as much as I wish for my inner knowing, that root of knowledge I feel we all have access to, will guide me instead.
Meaning that whenever I drive the bus it ends up upside down in a gully somewhere. For the last several years I have tried to contain my ego (ignore it is a better way to explain) and leave the driving to someone/something else. Up to now that has worked out pretty well.
Thanks for the feedback.
The biggest mistake people make on this journey is looking for "self improvement". As was the most salient point of Fight Club, the righteous struggle is self-dissolution. It is the identified and seemingly seperate nature of ego/self which is our collective problem.When we, as a species , address this issue ( a majority of people individually realising the nature of " identified self") the tide will turn. Humanity and the planet might begin to recover and then thrive. You are, of course, spot on about change coming from within then moving without. Otherwise, we go in a circle. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"!!
As for the fearless mystic warrior, I only know ancient historical recollections are sorely devoid of fact. Mostly, they are myths designed to impart a lesson. Mostly, that lesson gets lost in translation. But anyone who has ever made a serious effort at observing the ego with mindfulness and equanimity, knows what it takes to be a warrior.
The ego has its place, albeit subservient to the greater inner-self.
Esotericism (or, warrior cultism) is about self help self improvement. It is about the acceptance of the soul-crushing reality that we all die and we'll end up as fertilizer for daisies. The only thing that will matter are your DEEDS. Do the right thing, be glorious about it, and damn the rest.
"I do not wish to guide my path as much as I wish for my inner knowing, that root of knowledge I feel we all have access to, will guide me instead."
And therein lies a possible barrier. Our root of knowledge may not be what we think it is and probably bias our inner knowing. A question, do you really know what you know about you.
Again it is just my terminology that might be tripping us up. All I know is that when I look within for answers I find answers. When I look around me all I get is confusion, lies and deceit. So I tend to look within.
"A question, do you really know what you know about you."
No I do not. Working the problem. Please hold. :)
I do believe it is terminology that is tripping us up. At least in some respects. I could write volumes on this shit. My experience is most do not want to hear it. We have a little tape that has been runniing in our heads since birth telling us what reality is. To violate the tape, i.e. accept that what our programmers installed is to violate our reality. Most will run like hell from that. It is very uncomfortable and leads to much cognitive dissonance <G>.
You can make great money as a psychologist who affirms dysfunction.
Needless to say I spend much time on the problem myself. I also spend much time wishing I didn't.
I would recommend the writings of Julius Evola. He was the foremost writer and philosopher of the past century in dealing with esoteric matters like Alchemy, Hermeticism, Mysticism, and warrior cults. Also recommended are the writing of Carl Gustav Jung, specifically his essay Wotan.
And if you want to go Berserker-tier hardcore: Hermes Trismegistus.
That's why I said I prefer the drastic measures routine. I think things have gone too far. I also think this is a time-sensitive opportunity and one that being calm and cool headed won't have time to take root. I'm convinced the phycopaths would love nothing better than for us to turn into a bunch of dope smoking nature lovers (which I am on occasion lol) all the easier to slip that dick in when we aren't paying attention. But for what it's worth there does have to be a change in our behaviors if we had a clean slate i'm convinced that thru human nature we'll eventually end up right back to where we are now.
So let Gary Bussey tell you the time and put your head on the railroad track?
OK.
Clearly I'm missing the message. Could you explain?
Thanks. :)
Cog, I believe kurt is making an attempt at humor regarding the photos of Bussey with the clock and the railroad tracks. I must say, while on this topic, I do not understand your meaning behind those photos either. It is probably kurt's lack of understanding which prompted his comment.
Regarding the image of the clock, most people think of midnight as the end of the day or the beginning of the next. I ended the paragraph above with the sentence... "But over time it was eating me alive from the inside, and I didn’t know what to do about it. Or even if I should." I was implying that time was running out if I did not deal with "...my all consuming anger and indignation, righteous indignation..".
The railroad track simply represents the path on our own personal journey.
Ok, I get it. Nice imagery.
speaking of transcen-dance .....?
It's a little like Wang Chung's Safety Dance, but more repetitive, longer, and best enjoyed with MDMA and lots of water amongst pulsating lights in a giant sweaty tent set up in a muddy field.
Joni Mitchell- Little Green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZurmFcUOJpc
.
there it is.
mighty quiet right now. on this ..
Steve Earle - Guitar Town (Live in Sydney) | Moshcam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBCvD_LUVu4
.
" wonderin' why it don't stop." s.e.
.
Hey pretty baby are you ready for me
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on
.
There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town
.
Nothin' ever happened 'round my hometown
And I ain't the kind to just hang around
But I heard someone callin' my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway
Everybody told me you can't get far
On thirty-seven dollars and a jap guitar
Now I'm smokin' into Texas with the hammer down
And a rockin' little combo from the Guitar Town
.
Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant wonderin' why I don't stop
.
Gotta keep rockin' why I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
But when my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand
.
And hey pretty baby won't you hold me tight
We're loadin' up and rollin' out of here tonight
One of these days I'm gonna settle down
And take you back with me to the Guitar Town.
anger is the face of the coin
with the obverse being fear.
.
the coin has currency in these times
as worthless as it may be.
.
the other coin has a face of joy
and an obverse that is love.
that is the one that is kept
under the mattress, or on the mattress?
depending i guess?
.
anyway poems *tm
ALABAMA 3
Peace In The Valley Submit Correct Lyrics
SUBMIT CORRECTIONS CANCEL
"For whatever reason you refuse to feel this space we're in,
To know its insanity, really know it,
Whatever your particular anaesthetic is, that you hold onto so desperately,
The thing I mean that makes you think you know who you are,
Whatever that thing is that you allow to keep you sane,
Your ace in your hole,
The psyche that keeps you from trying to guess what your pimp has in store for you,
Whatever keeps you from screaming out at this very moment in absolute and sheer horror,
Whatever you fuck your brain with, whatever that is,
Whatever that is,
It's a lie,
It's a lie."
Read more: A3 (Alabama 3) - Peace In The Valley Lyrics | MetroLyrics
cs
"anger is the face of the coin
with the obverse being fear."
This is key and explains our current state of affairs
Fear to the Dark Side leads. Seductive it is. Buy Star Wars merchandise you must!
Archie Fisher - The Witch of the Westmerlands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwRnKeFOhVQ
"When you do things right, people won't be sure
you've done anything at all."
God from Futurama (TV series)
.
"Atheism is rather in the lip, than in the heart of man."
Francis Bacon
.
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
.
"You are not on this planet to produce anything with your body. You are on this planet to produce something with your soul. Your body is simply and merely the tool of your soul. Your mind is the power that makes the body go. So what you have here is a power tool, used in the creation of the soul's desire."
God from Conversations with God (Book 1) through Neale Donald Walsch
.
"Atheists and Evolution
In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order."
Carl Jung
.
"The world is a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell "God" with the wrong blocks."
Edwin Arlington Robinson
.
http://www.randomterrain.com/favorite-quotes-religion-and-spirituality.html
Good stuff! The Blindman sees. I had forgotten that that quote was from de Chardin.
Come join us at twoicefloes.com. We need you.
i may just do that but ..
no one needs a thing they don't
already have except the children,
the elderly and the disabled and
that is not cd's target audience.
.
no one needs me 'cept my baby.
.
Billie Holiday "One for my Baby (and one more for the road)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7llu2aQRSQ
Blindman,
"The world is a kind of spiritual kindergarten where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell "God" with the wrong blocks."
Edwin Arlington Robinson"
Your rockin today. Ever try to write a song only to find the music keeps getting in the way <G>
.