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Infectious Madness by Harriet Washington
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<blockquote data-quote="New Leaf" data-source="post: 669970" data-attributes="member: 19522"><p><span style="color: #336600">“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly. Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them - while they last. All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.” </span></p><p><span style="color: #336600">― <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4493.Eckhart_Tolle" target="_blank">Eckhart Tolle</a></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="color: #ff0000">Okay Cedar, you have me researching this fellow and here is what I found. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/28/1064687666674.html" target="_blank">http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/28/1064687666674.html</a></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">excerpts from article-</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #006600">Tolle asks the reader “not to stop thinking, but to step out of being completely entangled in the stream of thinking”. This, he believes, “is the the real meaning of spirituality. People still think spirituality is having certain belief systems — in God or angels — but ‘spiritual’ means to be able to step beyond the conceptual reality in your head. In other words, accessing the dimension of stillness within yourself.”</span></p><p><span style="color: #006600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #006600">Brought up near Cologne in Germany as Ulrich Tolle, he had a miserable childhood, largely because his parents constantly argued. “Even aged 10 or 11 I was trying to figure out ways I could commit suicide.”</span></p><p><span style="color: #006600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #006600">Refusing to go to school, he was taught at home and learnt several languages, as well as studying philosophy and astronomy. At 19, he moved to London where he worked in a language school teaching businessmen.</span></p><p><span style="color: #006600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #006600">But “suffering from depression, anxiety and fear”, he started “searching for answers to life”. Believing these lay in philosophy and literature, he took evening classes, and then went on to King’s College, London. He was 27. “For a moment I thought, ‘I’ve finally made it’. And then after a few weeks I got depressed again.”</span></p><p><span style="color: #006600"></span></p><p><span style="color: #006600">One night shortly after his 29th birthday, Tolle says he was in a state of suicidal despair. “I couldn’t </span><span style="color: #006666">live with myself any longer. And this question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void. I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved.”</span></p><p><span style="color: #006666"></span></p><p><span style="color: #006666">He pauses and reflects. “The next morning I woke up and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no self. Just a sense of presence or “beingness”, just observing and watching.” He laughs lightly. “I had no explanation for this.”</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Interesting, because we are discussing mental illness, and it's causes, as well as how our experiences with our FOO shape our lives.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #59b300"><a href="http://www2.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Mental_Illnesses/Depression/Depression_Symptoms,_Causes_and_Diagnosis.htm" target="_blank">http://www2.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Mental_Illnesses/Depression/Depression_Symptoms,_Causes_and_Diagnosis.htm</a></span></p><p><span style="color: #59b300"></span></p><p><span style="color: #59b300">Traumatic experiences may not only contribute to one’s general state of stress, but also seem to alter how the brain functions for years to come. Early-life traumatic experiences have been shown to cause long-term changes in how the brain responds to future fears and stresses. This may be what accounts for the greater lifetime incidence of major depression in people who have a history of significant childhood trauma.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000">So Tolle was able to overcome his depression, by his studies and by ultimately living in the state of "now". </span></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000">I find it intriguing that he studied the Greek philosopher, Epictetus, because his writings influenced my Dad greatly. Below are a few quotes-</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="color: #00b300"><strong><em>Enchiridion </em></strong><em>("that which is held in the hand")</em><strong><em> of Epictetus- </em></strong>Ad c 125</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><span style="color: #00b300"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300">"Seek not to have things happen as you choose them, but rather, choose that they should happen as they do, and so you shall live prosperously."</span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300"></span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300">"Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions. "</span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300"></span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300">"APPEARANCES to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim, in all these cases, is the wise man’s task. Whatever unduly constrains us, to that a remedy must be applied." </span></p><p><span style="color: #00b300">- Epictetus</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Yes, Cedar, I see what you mean. It is that we have no control over events and circumstances, yet, we have control over how we react to them. To know this and gauge our responses accordingly with enlightenment, love, forgiveness, is to become the unperturbed moon.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000">Presence, higher thinking, spirituality. Overcoming.</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000">Indeed- In tribute to my fall trip, the language with which Vivaldi describes fall. What feelings it invokes while listening....</span></p><p></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]Q8AN0jWNrJA[/MEDIA]</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Then there is Tchaikovsky.....</span></p><p></p><p>[MEDIA=youtube]BQVd_N1xdVM[/MEDIA]</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000">Thank you Cedar, how beautiful life is, even in the misery of it, there is something to be thankful for. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Infectious Madness, was the start of your discussion. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #59b300">One might suppose that we have veered far off topic, but I dare say that we have delved very deeply into the inner workings of the mind and spirit. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff8000">Who is to say that the great thinkers, composers, artists, theorists, mathematicians, dancers, etc. were not somewhat "mad" themselves? </span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #336600">To have such talent, focus. Drive.</span></p><p><span style="color: #00b359"></span></p><p><span style="color: #00b359">To be able to touch others very souls, this is no ordinary mind at work. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Thank the good Lord for all of the beautiful variations in our world, and those sharing their gifts!</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #59b300">Leafy</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="New Leaf, post: 669970, member: 19522"] [COLOR=#336600]“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly. Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them - while they last. All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.” ― [URL='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4493.Eckhart_Tolle']Eckhart Tolle[/URL][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][COLOR=#ff0000]Okay Cedar, you have me researching this fellow and here is what I found. [/COLOR][/SIZE] [COLOR=#ff0000][URL]http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/28/1064687666674.html[/URL] excerpts from article-[/COLOR] [COLOR=#006600]Tolle asks the reader “not to stop thinking, but to step out of being completely entangled in the stream of thinking”. This, he believes, “is the the real meaning of spirituality. People still think spirituality is having certain belief systems — in God or angels — but ‘spiritual’ means to be able to step beyond the conceptual reality in your head. In other words, accessing the dimension of stillness within yourself.” Brought up near Cologne in Germany as Ulrich Tolle, he had a miserable childhood, largely because his parents constantly argued. “Even aged 10 or 11 I was trying to figure out ways I could commit suicide.” Refusing to go to school, he was taught at home and learnt several languages, as well as studying philosophy and astronomy. At 19, he moved to London where he worked in a language school teaching businessmen. But “suffering from depression, anxiety and fear”, he started “searching for answers to life”. Believing these lay in philosophy and literature, he took evening classes, and then went on to King’s College, London. He was 27. “For a moment I thought, ‘I’ve finally made it’. And then after a few weeks I got depressed again.” One night shortly after his 29th birthday, Tolle says he was in a state of suicidal despair. “I couldn’t [/COLOR][COLOR=#006666]live with myself any longer. And this question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void. I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved.” He pauses and reflects. “The next morning I woke up and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no self. Just a sense of presence or “beingness”, just observing and watching.” He laughs lightly. “I had no explanation for this.”[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Interesting, because we are discussing mental illness, and it's causes, as well as how our experiences with our FOO shape our lives.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#59b300][URL]http://www2.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Mental_Illnesses/Depression/Depression_Symptoms,_Causes_and_Diagnosis.htm[/URL] Traumatic experiences may not only contribute to one’s general state of stress, but also seem to alter how the brain functions for years to come. Early-life traumatic experiences have been shown to cause long-term changes in how the brain responds to future fears and stresses. This may be what accounts for the greater lifetime incidence of major depression in people who have a history of significant childhood trauma.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff8000]So Tolle was able to overcome his depression, by his studies and by ultimately living in the state of "now". I find it intriguing that he studied the Greek philosopher, Epictetus, because his writings influenced my Dad greatly. Below are a few quotes-[/COLOR] [SIZE=4][COLOR=#00b300][B][I]Enchiridion [/I][/B][I]("that which is held in the hand")[/I][B][I] of Epictetus- [/I][/B]Ad c 125 [/COLOR][/SIZE] [COLOR=#00b300]"Seek not to have things happen as you choose them, but rather, choose that they should happen as they do, and so you shall live prosperously." "Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions. " "APPEARANCES to the mind are of four kinds. Things either are what they appear to be; or they neither are, nor appear to be; or they are, and do not appear to be; or they are not, and yet appear to be. Rightly to aim, in all these cases, is the wise man’s task. Whatever unduly constrains us, to that a remedy must be applied." - Epictetus[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Yes, Cedar, I see what you mean. It is that we have no control over events and circumstances, yet, we have control over how we react to them. To know this and gauge our responses accordingly with enlightenment, love, forgiveness, is to become the unperturbed moon.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff8000]Presence, higher thinking, spirituality. Overcoming.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff8000]Indeed- In tribute to my fall trip, the language with which Vivaldi describes fall. What feelings it invokes while listening....[/COLOR] [MEDIA=youtube]Q8AN0jWNrJA[/MEDIA] [COLOR=#ff0000]Then there is Tchaikovsky.....[/COLOR] [MEDIA=youtube]BQVd_N1xdVM[/MEDIA] [COLOR=#ff8000]Thank you Cedar, how beautiful life is, even in the misery of it, there is something to be thankful for. [/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Infectious Madness, was the start of your discussion. [/COLOR] [COLOR=#59b300]One might suppose that we have veered far off topic, but I dare say that we have delved very deeply into the inner workings of the mind and spirit. [/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff8000]Who is to say that the great thinkers, composers, artists, theorists, mathematicians, dancers, etc. were not somewhat "mad" themselves? [/COLOR] [COLOR=#336600]To have such talent, focus. Drive.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#00b359] To be able to touch others very souls, this is no ordinary mind at work. [/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Thank the good Lord for all of the beautiful variations in our world, and those sharing their gifts![/COLOR] [COLOR=#59b300]Leafy[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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