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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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What is a thig?
A "thig" is:
a) A small branch, as per Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau
b) What a "yute" becomes when he lacks a strong father-figure, as per Joe Pesci's My Cousin Vinny
"Although you proport to be a big picture thinker, I believe you have missed the point."
I appreciate your feedback. I am an uneducated rank amateur when it comes to being a big picture thinker, so I am not surprised in the least if I have missed the point.
Alas I will keep trying, my only saving grace. :)
Thanks for opening this space COG. I especially appreciate the comments that follow. Sounds more like my tribe.Thanks to everyone for what you have added!
I used to be angry about all this stuff. Holding on too tight.
Then I just decided to check out from banking a few years ago, moved to Florida and became a tennis pro.
Screw it. Life's too short to think or try to reason one's way through this crap anymore.
Holding on with a death grip, and then...fuck it.
CD, you are a good man.
Many of us have experienced anger, disgust, and outrage since being unplugged...it is definitely NOT something that is good to hold onto or to share at dinner parties; early lesson learned. :-(
One of the things that I have found to be most troubling is not having any sense of confidence in my ability to make sense of the world anymore..to trust my lifetime of knowledge or the instincts that subconsciously feed off of that knoweldge. Being biased towards viewing the world from a 'Big Picture' standpoint has seemingly been a HUGE liability in my decision-making and investing decisions since 2009...my investing record was perfect...100% of my decisions were wrong. As a result, there have been more than a few nights filled with anger, sadness, and fear.
The old saying was definitely applicable in my case; "If you don't know who the mark is; it is YOU." Wall Street says that I am 'on the sidelines'...the truth is that I am never coming back. I am the seed corn that has passed throuh the bowels of wall street...only one kernel out of bags upon bags that will be eaten rather than planted.
You know what, though? Although I have learned some hard lessons, I feel more strongly now than ever that we are witnessing the end of an era rather than a strengthening trend of even more outrageous lies and corruption. The seed corn will soon be gone. The very definitions of 'capital', 'investing', 'economy' and 'labor' will soon be rewritten. How cool is it to live at a time like this...to witness a whole class of pundits, experts, and leaders to be cast aside and replaced with a generation of new problem-solvers. That's my dream, anyway!
Now is the time to let go of the past...to be open to the probability that the future will indeed be unlike the past that we have known or the present that we are experiencing. To consciously prepare for the OPPORTUNITUES that will arise in the vacum left behind. To lead by example...with morality and principle. To trancend without falling apart.
/raising a virtual toast to you, CD
Yes, yes, let the thieves go, so that the may steal from you again...
Just the same, I will remain long physical assets of real value and a dependable tribe.
They (tm) just spent half of a generation as a dupes and soon they will find new, young ones to fleece again.
We just see through the game, and that is dangerous ( for us)
Nice comment.
Until our apple cart is thoroughly upset we never really consider how much of what we do, think, say and believe is intertwined with so many other things we do, say, think and believe. Once you begin to pull on that loose thread of yarn the whole sweater starts to unravel. It can be extremely disorientating and I suspect the source of much of our emotional pain.
The problem is that we carry so many beliefs in our backpack, especially when we get up there in age, that in order to learn new things (in this case the truth about so many of the old things) we must first discard many of the old things to make room and sense of the new things. This takes an act of faith on our part, precisely when so many of us think we've got it all figured out and we can just coast in from here.
There are no halting places.
(Nice article)
there was a very popular hippie inspired verse in the 60s70s that advised one to think globally and act locally. locally, meaning you, is the smallest yet most powerful engine of change and retention of a bit of order out of a chaotic mind. the most simple of exercises is to be kind, pleasant and courteous to everyone you meet regardless of how they treat you. it really changes your personal environment and most people will respond in kind directly as a result of your behavior. you attain peace(transcendence) and they attain peace because of you.
one thing i pioneered in an urban neighborhood we lived in was the "hello wave". it was a limited access neighborhood so almost everyone that was seen in the neighborhood lived there. everyone ended up on the main street while entering or exiting the neighborhood and there was a walking path along the street. i took it upon myself to wave at anyone who made eye contact with me. it took more than a year but eventually enough of the neighborhood was waving at each other that it became a sort of trademark for the community. mind you, few of us knew who we were waving at but it became easy to engage people you recognized when out at the mall or grocery store. this simple act changed the entire social dynamic of the neighborhood into a real neighborhood.
it was not my original idea. it was a custom i learned from a rural area i used to live in.
Odd that we need to be reminded how to be civilized. Considering the length and breath of our programming it is amazing that we can (still) re-learn how to be civilized.
CD...Thank you! Please..KEEP COMING BACK!
Even though I now have my own place to hang out in I will never leave ZH as long as ZH will have me. This is where I began this portion of my personal journey and I owe a huge debt to Zero Hedge and to all of ZH's readers past and present.
Tyler took a huge gamble with me when he invited me to contribute my mostly non financial meanderings on a financial blog. I am very grateful that he did so because he gave me a forum to stretch my mental legs and raise my written voice.
It doesn't matter what Zero Hedge is or isn't, what it will talk about and what it won't. It only matters what we choose to get out of ZH and the people and personalities here. I have received, and will continue to receive, far more than I will have ever contributed to ZH.
Thank you Tyler and all of ZH.
i love this sight too. I found it because it was linked to an article on human events a couple years ago (i know, i know, and i don't go there anymore for obvious reasons). and i have since abandonded most of the other places i would go too. I come here and lewrockwell.com pretty much every day. I read the articles for a long time before actually registering, but finally gave in and registered to participate in the conversations i enjoyed reading so much. Often times the conversations are more enlightening and entertaining than some of the articles. And this was a great post too, CD. Its tough being the only 'awake' person in your family or group of friends. Or at work when this kind of stuff gets brought up. And it does make me angry when oterwise intelligent people willfully choose to remain ignorant, or cling to beliefs that have been proven false. I guess to most people ingnorance truly is bliss, for I ahve become more and more angry about what is happening in this world the more i read about it. But as you said, there is no going back into the matrix. I suppose the best I can hope for is at least give my son a proper upbringing, and make sure he doesnt become one of the zombies our public schools are intentionally producing. great read, keep it up
Great thing about ZH - you will be informed.
A lot of great articles (a few are crap, but what the hell?)
Often the comments are illuminating.. Rarely are they boring.
The exchange of ideas is what's important.
Anger CAN be a good friend, but without the letting go and transcending, as described here... it becomes self-destructive and impotent. We need to be far enough outside of the "matrix" -- to be able to choose wisely and see clearly -- exactly what needs to be done. No more; no less - just right.
Whatever enables us to hit bottom, be it anger, sorrow, despondency, depression, whatever gets us to the point where we suddenly become willing to do what we previocusly were unwilling to do, in this case to look deeply within and actively seek out inner peace and happiness, is a good thing IF we survive the bottom.
Some do not. I almost didn't.
"Hitting bottom" is a uniquely modern theme. It is born from the related theme of "progress forever" and likewise has at its core the idea that everything has to go in one direction all the time. Usually, toward some goal of unearthly perfection, total bliss, unending pleasure and of course absolute material wealth. Hitting bottom is just a kind of relentless progress in the other direction.
These are not viable goals. They are not even physically possible. Yet people are senselessly killed -- and the environment brutally violated -- every day for goals such as these.
A lot of your writing has it seems to me been about encouraging people to take a moment to reflect and think about the theater of operations and what we are after there. If we are after understanding then we will not run it down shouting and waving our hands. Truth is a timid animal, in effect, and you have to stop your thrashing around if you want it to approach close enough to see. Truth is not a pretty creature most of the time, but like anything rare is worth the trouble. And the pursuit of truth in its natural habitat -- the reflecting pool of the soul -- is a very viable goal and one that every age of man has taken effort to encourage.
Alas, truth is the first creature to suffer when the engine of progress-at-all-costs is loosed from its leash and allowed to trample the fields of our better angels.
I have given up on progress. I don't see the point anymore and regardless I don't think it can go forward the way it has as a strictly material measure of man. We have room to grow, but not the way we are now.
And not inwards either. We are 500 years away from having earned that luxury retreat.
Because you see we cannot all become monks and nuns and retreat to navel gazing.
We have fucked up the planet, and screwed each other over, and we have an ass load of reclaiming work to do as a result. But we don't have forever to do it, we probably don't even have a day to spare. The witches of consequence are going to rip our hearts out if we don't fix a bunch of broken shit, and fix it goddamned now.
-- Ahem -- Yes well as always, thank you for your kind thoughts for us all and your generous gift of your time and wisdom.
c@
I think the key is to decide who you ARE.
Everything in life is a compromise.
Choose carefully.
Rock and Roll always helps.
It does indeed. While sitting at my desk in my studio/pantry (you read that correctly) connected to the internet I keep my guitar strapped on all the time now. It has simply become the way I surf the web. When an article causes steam to pour out my of ears I simply play. I know it may sound wierd but it helps me stay calm and focused not to mention kiliing 2 birds with one stone (reading the news and a little extra practice time). Yes my avatar is one of the guitars I play while surfing. For anyone who gives a hoot it is a Schecter Damien Special.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJzLGltxibw
and for those angry moments!
drop your bombs between the minarets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ9r8LMU9bQ&list=HL1392686108
Especially if it's tuned to 432 Hz. :-)
http://omega432.com/432-music/concert-pitch-comparison/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gild6DAxh-I
listening to 440 vs. 432 reminds of the couple times i downed an anti-depressant, it feels like a layer of cellophane is tightly wrapped around my consciousness...makes me shiver just thinking about it.
tip from tip: the louder, the better
I just downloaded that yesterday or the day before, are you channeling me again tip e? You're like the NSA guy in my iPhone only way cooler lol.
I posted this a few days ago - The entire Tool 10,000 Days album in 432 Hz.
Looking into a program called Audacity to convert all my audio files from 440 to 432 Hz. It's supposed to degrade the sound considerably but... there is a premium Adobe program you can filter it through to retain the sound. Checking into how that all works together, but I have read good things about it. :-) Any further developments I find I will add to the above linked 432 Hz Forum at TIF.
It really is tremendously challenging as a human being to be aware enough for it to be truly painful. Excusing the potentially more sinister reasons, I think the many artists, writers, musicians, philosophers, scientists, politicians, etc. who we truly connect with and make themselves obvious in their own awareness and attempts to help us understand/deal with/grow in this awareness almost invariably suffer through short and tragic lives, and the few that "make it through" tend to either be almost comically sidelined/denigrated, or compromised to the point where it was almost worse to have known of them.
I do see a great deal of promise around the idea of critical mass, however. I think as our awareness builds, multiplies, and is strengthened by our connections with eachother, I do genuinely see a light at the end of a pretty absurdly dark tunnel. As for the more practical advice to the newbies among us:
1. Eat and sleep well, and do it intentionally. A healthy body is the key to a sharp mind.
2. Give 100% of a shit about having good relationships with people. Be kind and honest, and follow through on your promises.
3. Give 0% of a shit about your own self-aggrandizement/pride/accomplishment. Ask anyone who ever got a trophy how it felt 5 minutes after people stopped paying attention to them attaining that trophy.
4. Power is gained not from controlling outcomes, but in controlling your response to outcomes. You can't control whether you're even going to live the rest of the day, let alone control people or situations. Focus on the process, learn from your failures, and most importantly, be intentional in what you do. Part of that is owning up to your decisions that may seem automatic. Eating at McDonald's doesn't happen on accident. Drinking too much booze doesn't happen on accident (sorry fellow ZH'ers on that one, but it's a vice for a reason). Drifting away from your wife doesn't happen on accident. Not being present with your kids doesn't happen on accident. Continuing to bank at a TBTF, not an accident. Continuing to get further in debt, you chose that. Choose the different path that you know is right, by actively walking that path, and not just talking about it.
Your last sentence is the killer (as I sip my wine...). Do we all know inside what we should be doing? That little voice that we often choose to ignore? Not easy to do and I doff my hat to your personal strength. Thanks for the reminder!
Check out Mark Passio's natural law seminar (and his other work) on Youtube. It dovetails with the sentiments in this writing perfectly. For me it was absolutely liberating. Best of luck to all.
I shall. Thank you.
i tuned to it-mark, thanks again.
we are similar enough, yet are an extrem minority.
my hope is we are the carriers of the torch that evolves
to the better physical world when
the great purge of inept humanity
62 percent retracement
my reasearch indicates minimally...
so if you are into vengence
stay alive. truth says
water becoming scarse where critical to human life
gmo food will cause mnay new diseases faster than treatable-key in on sugar
6.7 billion approaching dim returns of substance
critical cycles of elements interrupted
the rain forest is dominoe one imo
drain of natures spounge=marches/clean potable water
list goes on.
these realities make me sad and very angry too.
these are truths being ignored with real consiquences...
I thought anger was good?
Anger is a gift.
I view anger like I view steroids. Short term they are wonder drugs. Long term they are killers.
Only if you let it run away with you.
observe the natural order on animals and you will get understand how anger should harbor isteslf!
http://madscienceunlimited.com/fiction/actsOfCharity.html
Anger. Reloaded.
CD's anger could be alcohol related. In time, that stuff will remove the shock absorber and have you running metal to metal at the slightest thing.
Best operating mode is feeling your breathing. It is the motion at the leading edge of time, and feels good. (god pushes that swing)
I've been clean and sober since 1990. But there is no doubt what-so-ever that I am still working through dozens of issues from childhood thru my drinking career and beyond. Those who have followed a similar path thru drugs and alcohol will recognize the signposts I erect along the way.
<Signed: A friend of Bill.>
Dear CD, my graduation ceremony was a 2 month acid bender in 73, the last day was when god said "HI". Realized I should research, graduated with the diploma reading one word, "forgive". And boy has that been used. Perhaps the most useful operating idea for a guy. But I still contend that "feel your breath" was equally useful.
I do have one bit of info that speaks to the part of your post about those that plan the wars, and other troubles- they forgive themselves- but I bet that does not mean that they are forgiven.
I wrote something about this back in 2011.
It was called "When The Times Comes Will We Be Able to Forgive?"
Congrates on sobriety since 1990
Last month I celebrated 24 years sober. The funny thing was that I had completely forgot about my anniversary that day. I was out in the woods cutting wood with my neighbor when for some reason he felt compelled to share with me that he was many years sober, something I had not known about him. Suddenly I remembered my anniversary and we laughed about it together.
Funny how certain people are mixed into our lives at certain moments in time.
about the same, but i have lost track of the exact date. not minimizing its importance though.
I detect tell-tale signs in the writing of nearly any of the recovery community. Progress, not perfection, and we certainly are not saints!
There is a saying in the fire/rescue service, "it's not your emergency, it's someone elses". Back in the day, I would tell that to my dept. so they would't get into, or cause a wreck responding to a tone out. I do admit to being a bit out of line here at ZH and should have taken my own advice. For that I do apologize and will take your advice. A lot of serious issues had happened during the Enron fiasco when I was in the energy realm and it still continues to this day but I digress..
Having seen some incredibly bad shit, we were able to respond and do the best that we could with very limited resources. Proudly, we never lost a soul but did lose a few structures due to the vast area we had to cover, which sometimes required 2 hours travel time or more to get to the scene. There was an occasion where funding for the mentally ill was cut (along with everything else) when the State itself had to shut down due to a budget crisis.
https://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/26/politics/maine-recalls-government...
leaving homeless those who needed help the most on the street. The protocol for law enforcement was that when they had received a complaint, they would pick up and transport the former patient to the next town/county line and set them on their way. We would occasionally get a tone out from dispatch regarding confused, wandering individuals (who were harmless) and respond. We also had people in our tiny community that would take them in and help them out. They really needed the help.
Since then I have alway done my best to help those who need it. It's been a rough road but I suppose that builds character, (then again too much of a good thing...). There are some here who have serious boots on the ground with diverse backgrounds that know what I am talking about, and like me, are blown away by the all this shit, and rightfully so. Others could give a damn and trade on that information. There is another old saying about "yelling fire in a crowded theater", and something that an old fire chief once said, "you have to stir the pot once in awhile or else it will burn". I somehow seem to be comforted by that, but will be a little more judicious from now on.
Thanks Cog!
Lovely article CD. I am a ZH "addict", and the more I read, and the more I observe what is going on, the more I conclude that I know nothing! I suspect it has to do with age. I seem to recall that you (as I) are in your 50s. You live in the coountry, have some close friends, and put more value in the close relationships that you have, than all the "noise" outside of your small circle. I too, in a way, have downsized my life, become more centered, and have realised that happiness comes from being centered and at peace with oneself. So I have shrugged my shoulders at the past, turned the page, let go of the anger of being mistreated, and take solace in knowing that I am a good person, that my life has touched in a positive way a lot of others, and belive that in this messy, angry, constantly changing world, the general trend (with big swings up and down) remains in a positive direction.
Peace
John
All the truly revolutionary minds over the last few millennium have discovered that the true path to peace and happiness is within and all the external bells and whistles are a very poor substitute. "They" can steal my wealth, beat, bloody and cage my body, but only I have the keys to my mind and spirit.
Only I determine if they will touch my spirit or not. I may have to surrender everything else, but the last thing they will have is 'me'.
...but the last thing they will have is 'me'. And that, my dear friend is what drives the terminal busybodies batshit crazy. They are so convinced that they know what's best for you, they will kill to prove it.
Enabled by a debt money juggernaut, their busybodyness knows no bounds. However, the one thing that presents as the silver bullet to the vampire to them, is your determined indifference.
The begining of this article gave me hope, in that CD described me to a T and it felt comforting to know someone else feels the same. I was hoping to find a solution to my anger. No such luck.