Post No. 485 - Speculations - control, opposites attract vs. like unto like, group think and infrastructure

Occasionally I get a back log of topics and ideas I want to write about, and - since I lack the time to write about them properly, individually - I'll bung 'em all together into a single post. This is one of those posts. 


Symptoms of being (psychically) controlled 

This is one of those topics I've thought about largely as a result of reading Jim  Butcher's Dresden Files series of books. I recently read Turncoat, where the subtle psychic manipulations of one character were a key aspect of the story line, along with a minor story point about one of the 'good' people (shades of grey all through these books - nice and realistic in that aspect :) ) who struggles with this issue. In the final wrap-up section of the book, a comment is made that mind's struggle, initially on a subconscious level, to free themselves from something that is externally imposed. And then I read the following, in "White Night":

"And over the years . . . I've had problems with crowds. With enclosed spaces. With wide-open spaces. Panic attacks. Paranoia. God, sometimes it seems like there's nothing I haven't had a phobia about."

What Elaine described was about what I would have expected from someone whose mind had been invaded by an outside will."

(It is clear to me that Mr Butcher is well read on Celtic, North American Indian and other mythology and 'fairy tales', and I think I recall seeing one exchange on one his forums suggesting he is well advised on Wicca and related magickal thinking, but writing of this nature ... is it a case of him being very well guided, better informed than I realise, and just another result of being an excellent writer? Who knows - not me, so I'll just go on appreciating the books :) )

That got me thinking: what, specifically, are the signs and symptoms of being controlled? There's plenty written about the signs and symptoms of psychic attack, but what about being controlled?

Well, after some thinking, consultation and meditation, it seems to me that the key response is going to be along the lines of what has been written about in these books - a struggle based on an awareness at a level other than your normal consciousness. It's not so much our subconscious as our innermost essence - our Soul or Higher Self or Atman, the part of us that exists on a plane so far removed from this physical level of reality that it is impervious to such attempts - much as the peak of Mt Everest is impervious to small waves on the South Atlantic ocean ...

So, we all have this inbuilt inner defence against being controlled or manipulated. It doesn't mean that we can't be controlled  we're here to learn, and that means, to some extent, making mistakes so we can avoid them in future. But it does mean that, eventually, an alarm will go off and start warning us that something is wrong. It may take a lot of time to recognise and respond effectively to that, but it will eventually happen.

So, what are the signs and symptoms?

Well, I consider it will be a negative emotion that you cannot place your finger on the source of - in my case, anger, but in other cases, fear, or depression, or some other emotion that has the same significance to you as anger does to me.

What do you do about it?

Become stronger, and more in connection with your innermost truest self.

How?

Well, that varies  it's different for each person. In my case, meditation and breathing exercises - but in many cases, it will involve getting a good counsellor, just as if the problem had it's origins within you, as conventional Western medicine would claim it does.

Oops - I've just advocated for ordinary, common, garden-variety doctoring ...

Ah well :) That's the problem with such a problem: if it is well done, it would be impossible to tell the difference between something from outside (i.e., control) and something from an inner injury or problem. Fortunately, in this case, the cure is the same, or almost exactly the same.

One thing I would urge caution about, though, is that, given the enormous variety of counsellors and counselling techniques, is to look around until you find the right one for you. There's narrative therapy [2], mindfulness, etc, etc, etc - see the list of 139 techniques at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychotherapies - which I know is not complete.

It's a little bit like meditation: most people assume that means being still and quiet, but Tai Chi and gardening can be moving forms of meditation ... and meditation does not suit everyone, just as the alternate nostril breathing technique that I have found so invaluable does not necessarily suit everyone, either.

For more on this, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.


Opposites attract, or like unto like

 In magickal theory, there is what is called the Law of Attraction, where something of a similar nature has the capacity to call out to something of a similar nature. In my case, I've often found that, when I persistently, regularly do at least twenty alternate breathing cycles most days, I can draw spiritual people, those on a similar path to me, into my life. This is also the basis of certain magickal workings - e.g., setting something related to earth in the earth 'quarter' to help draw those energies in to a magickal circle, or trying to dowse for something (which is often done with a small sample what you are trying to find on a pendulum, and the length of the cord/string/chain of the pnedulum adjusted to the optimal length for that material/object - see Lobsang Rampa's book "Candlelight" [pages 12 - 29 inclusive, so the section is reasonably comprehensive]), or psychometry.

But we know also, from life and science, that opposites attract - for instance the north and south poles of magnets.

So ... what gives? Are these two laws or principles just random, unconnected and applied in different situations, or ... is there a broader principle at work here?

Well, I'm going to propose a hypothesis that - metaphysically speaking, at least - the Universe is up to more tricks than we at first realise.

To explain this, consider the taijitu - the so-called 'yin-yang' symbol. This shows one polarity on one side, and the opposite polarity on the other, with a few swirls showing interconnection. More importantly, it shows a small drop of the opposite within the centre of each half. To illustrate that with an example, consider the notion that we all have the 'opposite' gender within us - which I think goes back to Jung's concept of the . It's a flawed theory, owing to its basis being the wrong notion that there are two genders, and doesn't take account of the changes which happen over a series of lives, nor the non-stereotypical expressions of gender which exist (and will proliferate, if the future changes for the better), but it illustrates what I am thinking of here. Within each of bit of 'X' there is a tiny bit of its opposite 'Y' (which, in the long term, drives the dynamism of life which keeps everything fresh and alive), so if that piece of 'X' attracts another piece of 'X', it could be using the Law of Attraction or it could be using the 'opposites attract' principle on the piece of 'Y' inside the other piece of 'X' - or vice versa. Perhaps, if we see people whop appear to be opposites, they're really responding to some part of character in the other that is the same ...

Hmm. Interesting - I'll have to think and meditate upon this idea further. I understand that it doesn't apply to physical things like magnetism (I don't think there is a tiny piece of south magnetism inside the north end of a magnet, is there?), but it's another way to start looking at situations to gain an understanding of what could be going on.


Group think

Group think can be an insidious problem. I'm a lurker on some sailing forums for the types of dinghies I used to sail when younger, and a comment made on one of them recently - and I apologise in advance for the fact that so few of you will understand this - was that, when bearing away (see here, about half way down) around a windward mark, it was necessary to ease the vang first (try here, to get an understanding of what I'm talking about) to ensure the end of the boom didn't dig into the water. When I read that, my first reaction was that they were either not easing the mainsheet quickly enough, or not hiking out hard enough. It turns out that it is actually connected to changes since I stopped sailing those types of dinghies which have led to vangs with much higher purchases now, but it reminded me that I want to write a book about sailing so I can re-introduce some concepts such as having masts that are very stiff sideways - in this particular type of dinghy, the changes that have happened since I stopped sailing it are all based on sailing on relatively flat water, and have resulted in boats that would be useless in the sort of conditions I enjoy - which is winds up to 40 knots and waves, on occasion, over 20' (6 m - I took a surfer out once in moderately rough conditions, and he thought I underestimated the heights of waves, but I could judge that against the height of sections of mast on multiple other boats quite well, actually).

More importantly, and relevant to this blog, it is so easy for people to become so consumed with their experience that they don't other options exist. At work, for instance, we're expected to know all the wastewater treatment options which exist, and, whilst we do know a great deal (and have done quite a bit of innovating ourselves), it is impossible for anyone to know it all. Similarly, I've seen people in management expect others to know everyone who is competing against their companies, but that also is not possible (I have good examples of that every time I work in other states, not to mention when I work overseas).

Insularity is the seemingly obvious name of the problem here, but it's also due largely to the enormous variety of Life itself ...

And on insularity ...


Some thoughts on the film "The Gift"

I was extremely disappointed with this film - actually, no, I was flat out annoyed by it.  The lead character, played by Cate Blanchett, comes across as a complete wimp. I can understand her being brow beaten by the town's hostility (although all of the psychically grannies I know would have instilled a bit of fierce steel in their grandchildren), but to allow her children to be threatened like that? Well, I know of situations where that can occur as well, but I consider the film, overall, sacrificed credibility on psychic matters (Zener cards for divination???) and a few other things to build dramatic tension. It becomes a little inconsistent as a result -for example, when the lead character is told that she is the soul of the town, well, that just isn't believable.

I won't be watching this film again, nor will I recommend it.




... and finally, some thoughts based on something that is happening in everyday life ...

Governments outsourcing infrastructure in bad economics

Here in Victoria, water Authorities used to have what is called a depreciation fund - basically they were saving money so that they would sufficient funds to replace assets when they reached the end of their life. A Labor government saw these not inconsiderable savings, and decided to grab them - with the result that, three decades later, major truck sewers are past the end of their life, and water Authorities are struggling to find a way to pay for them.

Three decades ago in Queensland, water Authorities would take out a loan to pay for infrastructure. Yes, a certain amount of interest was paid, but the repayment of the loan meant that true user-pays principles applied, because future generations paid their part of the loan.

And infrastructure was maintained.

The argument - by a 'Liberal' (that means conservative, for those outside Australia) government - in favour of outsourcing three decades ago was that private industry is 'more flexible' around labour hire and thus could get people to do work more sensibly. That means workers' family lives were stuffed up because they had to work odd hours more often, and lived and worked under greater stress - thereby stuffing their health. But what it also meant was that ways of cost-cutting were implemented - aggressively, by economists with the gift of the gab working against tradies who had the knowledge but not the gift of the gab. I've recently heard of things that have to be replaced, at a cost of millions of dollars, because some moronic bean counter pushed paint maintenance back from annually to every two years, then every five years - and oops, so sorry, it's all rusted out and has to be replaced.

I've been following a debate on public transport vs. roads on an engineering forum, and EVERYONE agrees that rail infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate since it was privatised - whether that is Government not doing its share or the Contractors fault is IRRELEVANT: that the problem has occurred is a MAJOR problem.

On that, I hear that the rail line to Bairnsdale will be shut down again, after an extended shut down for safety maintenance, so a bridge can be replaced. Did no moron think to try and coincide the two items? Or do the cretins who run the rail genuinely think that buses are equivalent to rail?

Or are they trying to shut down the rail service? Again.

Another argument about privatisation is that it enables access to more money.

Bull dust. What that is about is politicians trying to improve their - perceived - chances of re-election by being able to claim they kept taxes low. And NO-ONE seems to have enough brains to challenge them on that. We NEED infrastructure in order for society to function - roads, rail, water, wastewater, power, schools, hospitals. Idiotic credit ratings agencies see loans taken out to pay for infrastructure as a bad debt, which - in my opinion - makes those organisations utterly evil. Or stupid.

If we still had the SEC running power generation in Victoria, Hazelwood power station would have been shut years ago. All those advocates for privatisation - including the stupid / evil credit ratings agencies of the world - have therefore directly, actively contributed to the problems we are having with climate change.

There were problems with the old system. But you don't BEST fix those problems by trying to circumvent them with a brand new system that has - historically - clearly failed in key ways. You identify and face up to the problems.

Clearly, we need politicians with vision. Why don't we have them? Because we vote for the ones without vision ... oh.



[1] BPF = Balanced Positive (spiritual) Forces. See here and here for more on this.

[2] Please see here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). 

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr 
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux?)

My "blogiography" (list of all posts - currently not up to date) is here.  

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ...  See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "pagans for peace" project (and join me at 9 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag.

• One size does NOT fit all. 
• May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
• Ban the dream interpretation industry! 
• A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
• Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master. 
• "Following the crowd" is not "going with the flow".
• Armageddon is alive and well and happening right now: it is a battle between the indolence of "I only ..." and/or "I just ..." and/or "Everyone knows ... " and/or "they can ..." and what Bruce Schneier [2] calls "security theatre" on one side, and perspicacity and the understanding that the means shape the end on the other. Indolence vs. perspicacity, and expediency vs. honour.
• The means shape the end.  
• Sometimes you just can't argue with a biped that is armed with a sharp stick, a thick head and not too much in the way of grunts.
• As words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
• My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi". However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films.

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [people]. JOHN F. KENNEDY (quoting 19th century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)

Jesus loves you.  Odin wants you to grow up. (Facebook meme, according to John Beckett)

Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent. Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious. JANE ELLIOTT 

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing. (based on writing by) EDMUND BURKE

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." EINSTEIN

We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Those whom we cannot stand are usually those who we cannot understand P.K.SHAW

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change." SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY (US Attorney General 1966 Speech) 

Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." ROBERT F. KENNEDY 1968

Tags: attitudes, attraction, awareness, control, economy, emotions, group dynamics, healing, meditation, society, strength,

First published: Laugardagr, 9th November, 2013

Last edited: Saturday, 9th November, 2013