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Vineeto’s Correspondence Correspondent No 11
RESPONDENT: Hope you are all keeping well. Still going through the site, ‘I’ is feeling a bit lonely, it is like being in a house after a party when all one’s friends have left. L VINEETO: It must be a feeling because it does not make sense, as actualists are wont to say. Look, here is what you wrote about your first impression of the list when you were not feeling lonely –
Now your feelings of loneliness have suddenly turned this ‘agitated crowd standing at the entrance’ into ‘friends’ at a ‘party’? As for ‘I’ feeling lonely, this is where the actualism method is eminently useful. If simply noticing the feeling and recognizing how silly it is to spoil the enjoyment of this moment is not enough to disperse it – and in the beginning it seldom is – then you can investigate the feeling, understand when and how and why it occurs and how the feeling of both connectedness and its absence – loneliness – are feelings that are generated by ‘me’ and serve to keep ‘me’ in existence. All I can say is that after a few months of practicing actualism I haven’t felt lonely ever again … and just as well because setting about on a course to leave humanity is not very likely to make you any friends at all, it’s a rather scary business for most people and they will do anything in their power to bring you back into the fold. From my experience I can only say that you will have enough to do to overcome your own reoccurring resistance to becoming free – if you try to pull someone else onto the path for company’s sake it won’t work, will be an additional burden and will only backfire. Nobody can free anyone else and no one can do it for you either. RESPONDENT: I know how you feel about e-mails so I’ll keep it short. VINEETO: I enjoy receiving emails from you, I just may not respond in length, or at all – although now that the list is closed I have a bit more time and maybe even some inclination to write. RESPONDENT: I am getting some idea of a PCE, as I don’t remember ever having one before, but little by little they are coming through, along with some very big challenges. VINEETO: Good on you, a memory of a PCE or a fresh PCE is essential if you want to be able to experientially understand what actualists are talking about – and it will give you the confidence to proceed on this thrilling journey into new territory. RESPONDENT: I would just like to thank yourself, Peter and Richard for making these massive values available freely on the net. I would like to make an exchange. If you would like I could send you a copy of my book, it is a bit Da Vinci codeish, except it all based on received history, if you like that stuff, but it does shake things up a bit. Unfortunately, I don’t have any hard copies at the moment (sold out) but I could sent it via the web (attachment) it takes about fifteen minutes to download. Or, if you want to wait I will send you a hard copy, but I don’t know how long that will be. VINEETO: You are welcome to send me the download link if you wish – let me know if you want any comments on it. RESPONDENT: Just one more thing, have you thought about doing some sort of (paid) instruction on the basics of AF? I know it is all on the site, but that can be a bit intimidating for new people. Anyway, just an idea. VINEETO: No, there won’t be any paid instructions, as this would defeat the
purpose of becoming free from the human condition in toto, by yourself, for yourself. An actual freedom can by its very nature
never be a group process. The Whatever anyone needs to become free is explained in the ‘Introduction to an actual freedom’, in Richard’s articles and in both journals. The archived correspondence and the excerpts of correspondences by selected topics are a non-essential extra, both for understanding how the human condition plays out in practice and for clarification of some sticky points one may encounter during the process. As for actualism being intimidating – I can understand that well from my own experiences at the start and in this pioneering stage an actualist will need great courage and determination to steer away from the crowd, swim against the stream and eventually leave humanity altogether. For me though the excitement of finally having found the genuine article, the freedom I had been looking for all my life that was neither imaginary nor unliveable like all the other solutions presented before (as confirmed in several PCEs) was motivation enough to investigate my fears and/or to proceed in spite of them. At the end of the day, fear is only a feeling and will inevitably pass, rather sooner than later – it can’t prevail if one stays at all attentive to how one experiences each moment of being alive. Having said that, it has been of great benefit to me – and heaps of additional fun to boot – to have had (and still have) a playmate with whom to start the process of becoming free, with whom to discuss the ins and out of the human condition and it was also a great test if I was really becoming more able to live in harmony with a fellow human being. As you have probably read in Peter’s Journal, this is exactly why Peter ventured out to find a suitable woman – but if you don’t find one or are not inclined to then actualism works just as well when on your own. To sum it up – don’t let these initial worries discourage you as they are all part and parcel of the human condition – ‘me’ trying to resist change and stay in power and control. Once you recognize them for what they are then the old ways – together with their associated feelings – are rapidly loosing their power.
RESPONDENT: Just a quick note to let you know I am still digging into AF’s website still learning, and still being amazed at the knowledge you three have put together. I told you I had investigated the mystic path for over thirty years, what I didn’t say was I was a Rosicrucian student for those years. A few weeks ago I put all my monographs (thirty years worth) in a box and returned them. It was if a large part of my identity went with them. To be honest it wasn’t just because of AF, I had been having doubts for a long time, it was AF that is putting it together for me. I am not saying anything negative about the Rosicrucian Order, as they teach an ontology I learned so much from them about life and the Universe, however, at the heart of it all is the self and enlightenment. Thank you, once again for all your hard work. I think you three should receive The Nobel Fun Prize. (: VINEETO: I am pleased to read that you are getting rid of some very old and assumedly deep-seated baggage. You seem to be doing a great job in removing old beliefs, as well as the morals and ethics that always come with these beliefs. What relief if was for me when I started to dare to throw away of beliefs that no longer made sense to keep! As for the Nobel Fun Prize – someone has to start the Foundation and Funding for it yet and actualists being pioneers, I don’t think it’s going to happen very soon. But thanks for the chuckle. The project I said had delayed my response to you is finally finished and I had a week of delicious doing nothing. Then the correspondence with you that I had postponed seemed so long ago that I had not much motivation to get back to it. I don’t think I will comment on your book either, your theories seem built on myths upon myths and as a non-Irish person I have not much interest to investigate those myths that refer to the particular identity of people born and raised in that area. But you are welcome to keep writing, asking questions and reporting success – it is always a pleasure to hear someone else can make sense of my making sense of the world. I wish you all the best in your journey out of the human condition and into the actual world of the senses. From that ... to this and this
VINEETO: Good to hear from you. RESPONDENT: Hello Vineeto, I had an experience the other day I would like to tell you about. I ran into a friend, in my local town who I had not seen for a while, but did know she had been ill. This girl, a nurse, is only about 25 years old, but seems to have had her share of troubles. Anyway, as we stood there, and she was relating her troubles to me I suddenly got that this person standing in the space in front of me was a body, nothing else. For a few moment I couldn’t figure out where all her problems where coming from, because here we where standing in a lovely seaside town and there was nothing to actually to be worried about. It seemed to me, at the time, all her concerns where either in the past or a perceived future. I don’t know if I have gotten this across to you the way it happened, but I found it a very weird and wonderful experience. VINEETO: Did you also experience yourself as ‘a body, nothing else’? If yes then that would mean that in that moment you also were aware that you ‘couldn’t figure out where all [your] problems where coming from’ and that there is ‘nothing to actually to be worried about’. This is the experience in a pure consciousness experience. There are practical challenges and necessities of life, of course, but no worries as the ‘worrier’ has temporarily gone missing. Then the centre or reference, i.e. the self-centredness, disappears and leaves one to marvel at the wonder of it all. And this is what life is all about – in such a moment this is crystal clear. RESPONDENT: About my book... ‘your theories seem built on myths upon myths’ LOL. You are right of course. But do you know how many lives myths have caused? I was challenging local, and some international, myths, which has caused a bit of a stir. It went quite well, however, I discovered I didn’t like the limelight and so didn’t push it. VINEETO: Yes, I know from my experience with the mailing list that limelight has its own inherent problems particularly when one is talking about unpopular things which contradict fashionable beliefs. I learnt a lot from sticking my head above the parapet in all those years on the mailing list and despite a sometimes-rocky ride it all went well as long as I stuck to facts and the things I knew from my personal (PCE-) experience. But I do enjoy the quiet times now; such a delightful anonymous life, such peace and tranquillity … and the words are out there anyway for anyone who wants to find the answers to what it is to be alive as a conscious human being. Be well.
VINEETO: Good to hear from you. RESPONDENT: Thank you for your response I realise these depend on your time, and inclination. I have a million questions about AC, but knowing you have limited time I will spread them out over the next hundred years. (: VINEETO: You are welcome to spell them out, and you might even find that they diminish as you go along. At first there seem to be many, many questions but given that an actual freedom is 180 degrees opposite to spiritual (and secular) beliefs it only takes *one* radical turn in order to see the actual world as it is … and PCE gives you the glimpse of how things actually are, devoid of the distortion caused by the human condition. RESPONDENT: Seriously, I do read a bit on the site, and continue to dip into my books, on a daily basis, it is amazing how much is missed at the first, or second, reading. VINEETO: Personally, I had to read Richard’s journal paragraph by paragraph and often contemplate about each paragraph because the experience of not being an ‘I’ was simply not something I was at all familiar with … until I had several PCEs and based on that could remember some previous PCEs as well. RESPONDENT: I find most questions answered there eventually, still it is good to correspond with you because I am able to gage my progress on a more personal level. I am now clearer as to what a PCE is, for instance, and realise I have been having mini ? PCEs for a while now. VINEETO: I’ve collected RESPONDENT: However, I am finding some aspects of the journey quite challenging, (no one said it was going to be easy, I suppose) but the benefits I am receiving, less neurotic for a start, LOL is making the difficult challenges worth while. VINEETO: In a way I am pleased to hear that the journey is challenging (and of course that the results are worth while) … if it wasn’t challenging you would just be continuing what you’ve been doing before while fondly imagining becoming incrementally free. Actualism is so challenging in fact that on his homepage Richard warned that actualism is ‘not for the faint of heart or the weak of knee’ –
But hey, isn’t it utterly thrilling and rewarding to be at the pioneering front of human endeavour! RESPONDENT: Anyway, to a question. Some years ago I did a course in a Buddhist Monastery, in Thailand (long story), they practised an older form of Zen. (Can’t remember the name, and probably couldn’t spell it). VINEETO: Dzogchen? Not that I know anything about this form of Buddhism (Zen), just an unpronounceable name I came across. RESPONDENT: One of the disciplines was to acknowledge the feelings we were having every moment, not to repress, or to express them, or let them go, but just acknowledge them. Do you think this is similar to HAIETMOBA? If not, how is it different? This would be really useful to me. VINEETO: You’ll find a lot of answers to this in In essence, what you need to take into account is for what purpose and aim you were asked to ‘acknowledge the feelings [you] were having every moment’. There is no point of taking this method, or any other method for that matter, out of context because a method is only as good as its underlying aim and philosophy and Buddhism in whatever form (and that includes Zen) aims to bring the cycle of life and death to an end in order for the ‘ultimate freedom’ to occur – for the spirit to be free from having to be born again into the ‘prison’ of a flesh-and-blood body. Whereas in actualism you become aware of the feelings that are happening each moment when they interfere with you being happy and harmless in order to be able to return to being felicitous/ innocuous again. In contrast to good feeling (such as love, beauty, rapture, bliss and compassion) and bad feelings (such as malice and sorrow) felicitous/ innocuous feelings don’t feed your ‘self’ but leave it unemployed, so to speak. When you persist in choosing being happy and harmless on each and every occasion where the ‘self’ attempts to assert itself with worry, aggression or grandeur, then the ‘self’ becomes eventually so thin and weak that ‘I’ can hardly maintain myself and sensuous awareness of being alive becomes the predominant experience of life. In other words, as the ‘self’ diminishes what you are, a flesh-and-blood body brimming with sense organs, unbridled intelligence and awareness of its processes, becomes more and more apparent. RESPONDENT: Maybe an example would help... On my way out of Thailand, at the airport, there were a few plain clothes police parading about, these guys had a reputation of planting drugs while searching ones luggage. I found myself feeling paranoid, so I began acknowledging how I was feeling. This began with ‘feeling nervous’ ... ‘feeling fear’, and so it went on until the feeling came up... ‘I am having an adventure’, all the other feelings disappeared and I felt relaxed. VINEETO: Yeah, it’s always a good idea to find the thrilling aspect of fear should fear grip you and it is definitely important to become aware of and acknowledge your feelings as they are happening. But Zen recommends the method you described in order for you to realize your true body-less ‘Self’ whereas in actualism you aim to leave all aspects of the ‘self’ and ‘Self’ behind in order to be what you are – this flesh-and-blood body – 180 degrees opposite. And in my experience this is absolutely delicious.
RESPONDENT: Thanks, again for your reply. I have been rereading it, there is a lot of food for thought in it. I find the deeper I go – into my psyche – the more murky things become, and the ‘wide and wondrous road’ becomes a rickety path. (: VINEETO: Well, Richard used to point out to me on similar occasions that when the path seems arduous or ‘rickety’ that I had in fact left the path and inadvertently had returned to the narrow and predictable path of malice and sorrow. Yet I do understand what you are saying, because the very act of paying attention to one’s experience of this moment can and inevitably does uncover many murky and scary things from under the carpet – that’s why we had swept them under the carpet in the first place. RESPONDENT: Your direction to Richard’s home page was very helpful because I though I was losing the thread, but reading what Richard had to say made me realise what I was experiencing was just part of the journey. I see there are some audio dialogues referred to on the site. Do you have any of these for sale? VINEETO: No, the quality of the tapes was really bad, done with low-quality home
equipment, that’s why there are only the transcripts of those meetings available. If you want to hear Richard’s voice as well
as see him talk to a fellow human being I can RESPONDENT: I will go and put my wet suit on again. One of these days I am going to dive in. I have made a few comments below. VINEETO: Well, if you find the waters murky and rickety, you’re probably already well submerged. It’s also useful to keep reminding yourself that what you are discovering and experiencing is not a personal flaw but the human condition in action, i.e. everyone is, of no fault of their own, inflicted with the same instinctual passions of fear, aggression, nurture and desire. * RESPONDENT: Thank you for your response I realise these depend on your time, and inclination. I have a million questions about AC, but knowing you have limited time I will spread them out over the next hundred years. (: VINEETO: You are welcome to spell them out, and you might even find that they diminish as you go along. At first there seem to be many, many questions but given that an actual freedom is 180 degrees opposite to spiritual (and secular) beliefs it only takes *one* radical turn in order to see the actual world as it is … and PCE gives you the glimpse of how things actually are, devoid of the distortion caused by the human condition. RESPONDENT: I am seeing this, however, I, like everyone else I suppose, like to complicate things. I came across a reply from you to a respondent, you told them to refer to the Introduction to Actualism. When I did this – I had skipped over it before – I found answers to some questions that had been bothering me. VINEETO: Peter wrote the introduction fairly soon into our exploration with actualism, about year 2-3 while I looked after the illustrations and publishing. I am pleased to hear that it is of use to you. * RESPONDENT: Seriously, I do read a bit on the site, and continue to dip into my books, on a daily basis, it is amazing how much is missed at the first, or second, reading. VINEETO: Personally, I had to read Richard’s journal paragraph by paragraph and often contemplate about each paragraph because the experience of not being an ‘I’ was simply not something I was at all familiar with … until I had several PCEs and based on that could remember some previous PCEs as well. RESPONDENT: I am going to have to do that because as I go deeper old fears and insecurities surface. Scary sometimes. Did you ever have dark dreams when you first started investigating AF? VINEETO: I don’t remember any dreams but I very likely had them. I didn’t bother to interpret any of my dreams but I took notice of the fact that something had not been sorted out in my waking hours and that therefore my brain was still busy with unresolved, maybe even unnoticed, feelings during my sleep. The more I allowed myself to become aware of the feelings while they were happening, enabling me to lessen their grip over me, the less dreams interfered with my sleep. As for old fears and insecurities, there were plenty of them. Some of them were so old they dated back centuries and more – the archaic fear of being burnt as a witch, for instance, for daring to question the existence of god, heaven and afterlife and the archaic fear of expelled from society or of being executed for daring to lift the taboos of sexuality and begin to enjoy it for its own sake. Such fears can appear really dark and dense but when all is said and done, they are only feelings, not actuality – as long as you keep your hands in your pocket. A good sense of humour is as useful as an enterprising spirit ready to look for the thrilling aspect of fear, which Richard jokingly says, is found ‘down at the bottom left-hand side’. Besides, if becoming free from one’s genetically encoded instinctual passions was all plain sailing then everybody would already be free … and not behaving, to quote your own apt description, like ‘an agitated crowd standing at the entrance to a ‘wide and wondrous path’ discussing with each other as to how to proceed’, if searching for and noticing the possibility at all. * VINEETO: Zen recommends the method you described in order for you to realize your true body-less ‘Self’ whereas in actualism you aim to leave all aspects of the ‘self’ and ‘Self’ behind in order to be what you are – this flesh-and-blood body – 180 degrees opposite. And in my experience this is absolutely delicious. RESPONDENT: The little I have experienced I would whole heartily agree. As I have said before, after thirty years of searching I have never came across anything like this and I thought I had investigated most paths (for the want of a better word). What still puzzles me is I took to it so readily, even after seeing some rational arguments against it, I know there was also a lot of malicious criticism, on your bulletin board. VINEETO: Yes, I know. When I came across Richard I took to his report pretty much right away, seeing that what he described made perfect sense and that a lot coincided with my own experience. Of course I still had to investigate and let go of a lot of beliefs but his tale had hand and foot, so to speak, and appealed to my common sense. That’s why I was utterly flabbergasted, is in highly surprised, that none of my spiritual co-seekers and friends was interested in Richard’s discovery or Peter’s Journal and that loyalty to the master and the tribe of followers was more important to them than finding the ‘ultimate truth’ as I called it then. (I’ve since learnt that ‘truth’, even the ultimate truth, is a very subjective perception and thus prefer to use fact or actuality instead.) In hindsight, what appealed to me most in Actual Freedom, particularly after I had a few glimpses of it in several PCEs myself was, and is, the utter purity of actuality when ‘I’ am not here to muddy the waters. This seducing quality of the unmitigated purity of the universe is what drives me to completing the task even though life is already very, very good. RESPONDENT: I have gotten a few friends, who I usually meet up with once a week for coffee and to have a good chin-wag as we put the world to rights, interested. One of the guys, an older man, in his 80’s I think, who I loaned my books to reckons it has given him a whole new interest in life. Before I give you the wrong idea, I am not trying to convert anyone LOL We have been meeting up for coffee for quite a while, I just introduced them to Actualism, which caused a few forehead wrinkles. To end, thanks again for being the pioneers for AF the world certainly needs it, whether it accepts it is the question. VINEETO: Thanks for the feedback. It is absolutely wonderful to hear, apart from your own successes, that actualism has given an 80-year-old a new interest in life. It’s been a pleasure to chat.
RESPONDENT: I had intended to reply sooner, because your insights into Actualism really inspire me, and your replies, always seem to be serendipitous. However, I fell ill (Ahh) ... again! And have been a touch lazy. If one wants to be aware of the less attractive aspects of the human condition in action, although not recommend, being ill is one way. VINEETO: As you have mentioned ill-health a few times, is it too personal to ask what it is you are afflicted with? Whatever it may be, Richard’s comment on physical afflictions is that it is bad enough to be sick, injured or handicapped but to add resentment and misery to one’s physical condition is to be unnecessarily aggravating the situation and as such a silly thing to do. Personally I can report that, although it was not so easy at the start, when I manage to separate being sick from my associated feeling responses such as worry and resentment, it makes being sick far more bearable, even enjoyable sometimes, not to mention the fact that by eliminating stress (aka worry) I alleviate the burden on my immune system and thus actively aid recovery. RESPONDENT: I would like to point out that I was not comparing Actualism and Zen, per se, it was the actual exercises that I was asking about, which was to give me an idea if I was understanding HAIETMOBA correctly. VINEETO: Whilst I appreciate your intentions I’d have to say that you were in fact ‘comparing Actualism and Zen, per se’ – the ‘actual exercise’ of both actualism and Zen is only meaningful when seen in context with their relevant goals and, in the case of Zen, in context with the philosophy that underpins it and in the case of actualism, with the understanding about the nature of ‘me’. RESPONDENT: Is there an example of this exercise being explained from beginning to end that I haven’t came across yet? VINEETO: Possibly. There are several descriptions of the method of actualism –
I can recommend all of Peter wrote about the method in the Additionally there are the RESPONDENT: Maybe I could make this a little clearer ... When I label the feeling and investigate it, is there a further technique for getting rid of the feeling that I am having? VINEETO: Here is an excerpt from the originator of the method –
RESPONDENT: Or is it observing the feelings as they happen that lessens their grip? VINEETO: Personally, observing the feeling was not enough – I had my fair share of this observing business in my spiritual year and the only result was detachment. In actualism I look for the cause that prevents me from being happy and harmless in this moment and mostly, seeing and understanding the cause, coupled with sincere intent, is sufficient to get me back to feeling happy again. If not, then I need to dig a bit deeper why my feeling of worry, misery, anger, love, loneliness, etc persists, for instance I need to look for a particular pattern, or habit, or a perceived advantage that persuades me to choose to be miserable. * RESPONDENT: I have a million questions about AC, but knowing you have limited time I will spread them out over the next hundred years. (: VINEETO: You are welcome to spell them out and you might even find that they diminish as you go along. RESPONDENT: Indeed. Most times when I attempt to ask a question I serendipitously find the answer. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have attempted to send this e-mail. I have also noticed, since I finished my book, a mammoth task for me, I have trouble disciplining myself to write anything. VINEETO: I can understand this quite well. Why would you want to write (make a definite statement about something) when you are in the process of throwing overboard most of what you have learnt as true, good and right in your previous life? RESPONDENT: BTY, Vineeto, would you recommend keeping a journal? I have noticed you are the only one who doesn’t mention it. VINEETO: I don’t know what works for you – keeping a journal might help you to organize your thoughts more efficiently than thinking would. It may even be of benefit to someone else later on. I don’t mention keeping a journal myself because I had, and have, the good fortune to have a companion to talk things over with, which was my way of sorting out my thoughts and feelings, with the additional benefit of getting sensible feedback into the bargain. * VINEETO: As for old fears and insecurities, there were plenty of them. Some of them were so old they dated back centuries and more – the archaic fear of being burnt as a witch, for instance, for daring to question the existence of god, heaven and afterlife and the archaic fear of expelled from society or of being executed for daring to lift the taboos of sexuality and begin to enjoy it for its own sake. RESPONDENT: Whoa! this sounds almost like reincarnation. I assume you are referring to genetics, passing the memory on from one gene-ration (never noticed before how this word broke down- love words!) to another. VINEETO: I was not referring to genetics, the hardware, so to speak but to the collective software of the human condition, something that in spiritual circles is known as the Akashic Records or etheric knowledge. When a child is conditioned, parents, teachers and peers not only pass on their personal knowledge, their morals, ethics, beliefs and experiences but also impart, on a non-verbal emotional-instinctual level, the taboos, fears and rules of survival that they themselves have imbibed, going back to the beginning of humankind. Additionally, in an altered state of consciousness one can consciously access those records of various cultures and explore the ancientness of human ‘wisdom’ and experience and its instinctually-based fibre. RESPONDENT: I know Richard mentions this in his book, but is there anywhere on the site, were it is expanded on. I find this subject fascinating. VINEETO: Here is one example –
You find a little bit more in Richard’s catalogue on RESPONDENT: I still have not had a full blown PC, I do get, what I call mini ones, which are amazing. I know this is not an easy path, to stay on? (: but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I almost feel sorry for the guys on the list who just wanted to debate, and slag you off, as they crowd around the gate to the wide and wonderful path, (good metaphor eh?) VINEETO: Yes, I did like your metaphor. RESPONDENT: … they have missed a great opportunity. I think there is more to AC than even what you three say or is it I am starting to get it? LOL VINEETO: Does this story Peter told to Gary once answer your question? –
And you may be able to relate to this quote from Peter’s Journal –
RESPONDENT: In closing I would just like to report a couple of things that may be of interest. I am now running with the question wordlessly, most times. I am also getting a deeper understanding of people, and therefore myself, sometimes it takes my breath away. VINEETO: Yes, with a deeper understanding of myself I also got a deeper understanding of other people and of humanity at large and as I became more and more friends with myself – i.e. stopped blaming myself for being afflicted with the human condition – I noticed that I began to accept people as they are and that I began to like them as my fellow human beings. It also helped that I was less fearful of being found out because I already had admitted to myself that I was as bad and as mad as everyone else, in other words, I had nothing more to hide. RESPONDENT: Once again, thank you to yourself, Peter and Richard for the great values you are dispensing. I find it a great privilege being, what seems to be, the vanguard of this great discovery. VINEETO: Ha, it’s not so much a privilege but having the necessary gumption to embark on this thrilling enterprise. RESPONDENT: I watched a film on the box last night, it was called Equilibrium. Set in a future were all emotions are outlawed, ever see it? VINEETO: You do know, do you, that actualism is not about not having emotions, let alone outlawing them? Vis –
RESPONDENT: Another film I saw recently, which showed the human condition in action, was ‘Touching the Void’, true story and great film. VINEETO: I try to remember looking for it when I go to the video-store next time. Myself, I’ve been busy following the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. Yesterday at lunch they started from Sydney Harbour and it was a great spectacle – helicopter footage of 78 yachts with their sails set, sunny weather, and a huge spectator fleet of little motor boats giving them a send off. Later I follow their trails on Google Earth and the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race website. It’s one of my annual favourites, showing human beings at their best, having fun with the latest technology in boat-building, playing in wind and weather and with each other. (http://rolexsydneyhobart.com//yacht_tracker.asp) It’s been a pleasure talking to you. Be well.
RESPONDENT: Thank you for being so generous with your time. There is enough here to keep me busy for some time as you said Actualism is not something to skim over. VINEETO: Oh, I have plenty of time because that is my choice of lifestyle and now that the mailing list is closed, I am writing less than ever. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoy passing on my experience with the actualism method and enjoy swapping notes with those interested in how to be more happy and harmless. * RESPONDENT: I had intended to reply sooner, because your insights into Actualism really inspire me, and your replies, always seem to be serendipitous. However, I fell ill (Ahh) ... again! And have been a touch lazy. If one wants to be aware of the less attractive aspects of the human condition in action, although not recommend, being ill is one way. VINEETO: As you have mentioned ill-health a few times, is it too personal to ask what it is you are afflicted with? RESPONDENT: I think I have mentioned it twice in our exchanges. No, it is not a problem to ask. About twelve years ago I developed lung cancer (a life time of smoking cigs, they told me). I had to have my lung removed, which was not a completely disabling procedure as I was back at work, and the gym, within three months. What came next was the problem. I contacted an infection in the cavity where the lung was, which eventually (long complicated story) developed into a chronic infection, which although not fatal, is more of a headache than the original cancer. This is where I am at the moment. VINEETO: It is certainly not a pleasant condition to live with but I am always amazed how much modern medicine is able to accomplish in dealing with such potentially life-threatening situations. Your father in your situation, for instance, would not have had half the chance you are having today. RESPONDENT: This is the one thing about Richard and Peter I cannot understand, that is, why they smoke tobacco. I have put this query on the back-burner as there are so many more things to think about, as far as AF is concerned, which I am finding fascinating, and tough going sometimes, and what they do with their health is none of my business. VINEETO: The dangers of smoking are, due to the human condition, greatly exaggerated and in fact very often imaginary, similar to many other health-scares such as the supposed danger of high cholesterol, overweight, diabetes II, HIV, not to mention the all-pervasive alleged dangers of global warming. I am not saying that smoking is good for you, and neither does Richard or Peter, but the diseases attributed to smoking have simply never been proven to have a direct cause-effect relationship. As far as I know, four types of cancer have been traced to be caused by bacteria/viruses and already cures/vaccines are being applied and tested. This indicates that other forms of cancer may have similar causes (viruses/bacteria) and are not, as is generally believed, caused by one’s environment, life-style or even a particular state of mind. Human history shows that whenever people do not know the cause of a disease, such as typhoid until the 19th century, a plethora of superstition arose, quite understandably, as to what supposedly caused this life threatening affliction and more often than not unknown and/or untreatable diseases were considered punishment from one’s God for bad behaviour. Today is not much different. Fear produces the most fantastical deductions and correlations, not to mention the profit that can be made from channelling people’s fears into a certain direction. If you are interested in finding out more about the facts of smoke, Richard has
answered * RESPONDENT: I watched a film on the box last night, it was called Equilibrium. Set in a future were all emotions are outlawed, ever see it? VINEETO: You do know, do you, that actualism is not about not having emotions, let alone outlawing them? RESPONDENT: Yes, I do now, but for a time I was misinterpreting this concept. VINEETO: So did I at first. RESPONDENT: There is one thing I definitely know, and that is I have a lot to learn about AF, and how to communicate that clearer. VINEETO: I noticed that the more I tried to be clear and precise in communication, the more clear I became in thinking it out for myself as well. RESPONDENT: I thought the film was interesting in its concept, that is, how the workings of the human condition can be misunderstood and manipulated. VINEETO: At a certain point all the films and soaps I watched became lessons in the workings of the human condition and I must say I have learnt a lot from them. Nowadays I also notice thanks to the wide variety of information and research available on the internet that the so-called documentaries and ‘factual’ reports are often not much more than an imaginary drama full of fears and lies, due to the distorting effects of the human condition in action. * VINEETO: As for old fears and insecurities, there were plenty of them. Some of them were so old they dated back centuries and more – the archaic fear of being burnt as a witch, for instance, for daring to question the existence of god, heaven and afterlife and the archaic fear of expelled from society or of being executed for daring to lift the taboos of sexuality and begin to enjoy it for its own sake. RESPONDENT: Whoa! this sounds almost like reincarnation. I assume you are referring to genetics, passing the memory on from one gene-ration (never noticed before how this word broke down- love words!) to another. VINEETO: I was not referring to genetics, the hardware, so to speak but to the collective software of the human condition, something that in spiritual circles is known as the Akashic Records or etheric knowledge. When a child is conditioned, parents, teachers and peers not only pass on their personal knowledge, their morals, ethics, beliefs and experiences but also impart, on a non-verbal emotional-instinctual level, the taboos, fears and rules of survival that they themselves have imbibed, going back to the beginning of humankind. Additionally, in an altered state of consciousness one can consciously access those records of various cultures and explore the ancientness of human ‘wisdom’ and experience and its instinctually-based fibre. RESPONDENT: Am I misinterpreting what you are saying? I came to this from one of your links...
Going by Richard’s explanation could the fears and insecurities not then be carried forward in the genes? VINEETO: Yes, the propensity for the basic human fears and insecurities is carried forward in the genes just as the propensity for the basic human aggression, nurture and desire and that’s exactly why human beings find it so unbelievable that human nature can, or should, ever be changed. But this propensity can be mitigated to the point where one is virtually free from these passions and this propensity can even be permanently eradicated. From recent gene-studies I understand that it is not only the genes, which determine what we are and ‘who’ we are but the way genes are activated. The ‘Human Epigenome Project’ is just at the beginning of mapping out this fascinating story. ‘Genes are silent unless activated. To have them is not necessarily to be under their influence’ says Jill Neilmark in her article about this topic. (http://edge.org/q2007/q07_14.html) I admit that I am an absolute layman on the topic of genes but what I understand is that whilst instinctual passions are genetically inherited in animals, the ‘self’ that they form themselves into in human animals, including all feelings and emotions, can be deleted using the human brain’s ability for intelligence and apperceptive awareness. Richard has done just that and I am determined to prove that this process is repeatable. What is deleted in this case is software, not hardware. Here is how Peter described the process from a scientific viewpoint –
* VINEETO: I’ve been busy following the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. Yesterday at lunch they started from Sydney Harbour and it was a great spectacle – helicopter footage of 78 yachts with their sails set, sunny weather, and a huge spectator fleet of little motor boats giving them a send off. Later I follow their trails on Google Earth and the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race website. It’s one of my annual favourites, showing human beings at their best, having fun with the latest technology in boat-building, playing in wind and weather and with each other. RESPONDENT: What a wonderful picture you paint of how humans can enjoy themselves living to their true nature (just glad is wasn’t cricket LOL). VINEETO: Why? RESPONDENT: Hopefully this will be true for most in the coming years. VINEETO: With increasing wealth and leisure human beings will have to learn how to enjoy themselves doing nothing and how to live in peace and harmony with each other. RESPONDENT: Addendum: … was thinking about your descriptive comments about the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. I was trying to figure if you were describing something that was happening in the Real World or the Actual World, and were the people experiencing actualism, as in not being aware of them-‘selves’, or were they being unconsciously actual? Or were you the only one experiencing actualism? If you know what I mean. Could you describe it the way you were experiencing it? I got they were playing in the Actual World without being aware of it, and therefore creating a reality for themselves, but that would be the Real World, would it not? Sorry for the rant but it makes it clearer for me... I think /: VINEETO: Nothing so complicated. I was just enjoying watching them having fun. Every body is actual, as such everybody is unconsciously actual. However, only in a pure consciousness experience is this body conscious of actuality because only in a PCE ‘I’ am not interfering with actuality, i.e. overlaying ‘my’ reality over the actual world. * RESPONDENT: Thanks for the links. As I say I have a lot to be getting on with, as far as AF is concerned. VINEETO: What about the lot you already got on with? It’s good to count the successes sometimes, particularly as in this business nobody else will do that for you. Don’t you notice any changes from a month ago, two months ago, from before you encountered actualism? RESPONDENT: Not being able to have a job it is what is keeping my interests engaged, because what I miss is not creating values while I reorientate myself. VINEETO: Could you rephrase the last part of the sentence for me, I don’t quite understand the double negative.
RESPONDENT: I am a little confused ... I came something you wrote about emotions, this morning, which seems to contradict what you wrote earlier. Putting it into context it is like this...
But then this from: http://www.actualfreedom.com.au/actualism/vineeto/selected-correspondence/corr-180.htm...
? VINEETO: Ok, to put all of this in context –
VINEETO: … I am always amazed how much modern medicine is able to accomplish in dealing with such potentially life-threatening situations. Your father in your situation, for instance, would not have had half the chance you are having today. RESPONDENT: Very true. Without antibiotics, for instance, I would be dead, really. Although not pleasant there have been some good happenings. I wrote my book – a life long goal – which sold very well, and in fact could be a best seller with a little effort on my part, which I don’t feel like giving at the moment. I also meet a very special lady, and I kid you not, had the best sex of my life. All this after becoming ill, and after passing 50. VINEETO: Personally I think that the time after passing 50 (I’m 53) is the very best time of life – one has made most of one’s mistakes, can rely on lots of life-experience and start doing things the right way up. That is to say that life wouldn’t be so perfect hadn’t I come across Richard, Actual Freedom and the Actualism method. RESPONDENT: Of course AF has helped considerably. VINEETO: Helped having the best sex of your life? J * RESPONDENT: This is the one thing about Richard and Peter I cannot understand, that is, why they smoke tobacco. I have put this query on the back-burner as there are so many more things to think about, as far as AF is concerned, which I am finding fascinating, and tough going sometimes, and what they do with their health is none of my business. VINEETO: The dangers of smoking are, due to the human condition, greatly exaggerated and in fact very often imaginary, similar to many other health-scares such as the supposed danger of high cholesterol, overweight, diabetes II, HIV, not to mention the all-pervasive alleged dangers of global warming. (…) RESPONDENT: I agree all of the above are manipulated, for whatever reason. I thought the research on smoking was more honest, but then again why should it be? I found your, and Richards, take on it compelling and the links very informative, I passed them on to a friend who smokes and has always insisted the fears were overrated and has no intention of stopping. I will have to give it more thought because I still think it constitutes irrational behaviour. VINEETO: I thought that finding out about the facts of smoking and what effects it has or better doesn’t have, could relieve you from the burden of supposedly having caused your physical condition by bad (irrational) behaviour (as the doctors certainly wanted you to believe). Ascertaining some particular facts for myself (and not just taking someone’s word for it) has done wonders to my confidence. In many cases replacing my beliefs with factual evidence has eliminated the quiet underground worry that was part and parcel of theories and beliefs that I had taken on in good faith. RESPONDENT: I would never smoke again as I feel so much more hygienic and healthy having quit. VINEETO: Interesting you should say ‘I *feel* so much more hygienic and healthy’ – a give-away that within the human condition one’s feelings are generally the arbiter for what is right and wrong, pure and impure, good and bad. Even the judgement of what is healthy and what is unhealthy is based on what we affectively feel, which in turn is based on what we are taught by our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, teachers and the whole superstitious profession of traditional (the so-called alternative) medicine. In this new dark age medicine which relies less on scientific processes and bows to public pressure parroting unproven hypotheses and Eastern spiritual beliefs and raises ancient quackery life psychic healing, Acupuncture, homeopathy and the like to proper medical practice. * RESPONDENT: Thanks for the links. As I say I have a lot to be getting on with, as far as AF is concerned. VINEETO: What about the lot you already got on with? It’s good to count the successes sometimes, particularly as in this business nobody else will do that for you. RESPONDENT: LOL. That is typical of ‘me’ always beavering away without looking at the gains. I just felt I was misinterpreting some of the basic and was getting a bit frustrated, when this happens I usually work harder. VINEETO: Don’t you worry, in actualism the ‘basic’ is all there is. I’m still getting some of it wrong out of a personal life-long habits combined with the general thrust of humanity’s beliefs and actions. And before the frustration leads you off the wide and wondrous path it may be time to scrutinize this particular reaction to making a mistake – a reaction which I can understand very well, by the way, as I still sometimes fall under its spell. * RESPONDENT: Not being able to have a job it is what is keeping my interests engaged, because what I miss is not creating values while I reorientate myself. VINEETO: Could you rephrase the last part of the sentence for me, I don’t quite understand the double negative. RESPONDENT: I think what I was trying to say was, I have not got used to lazing around, without feeling I should be doing something ... creating values as I put it. In previous studies this was seen as an aspect of the true nature of ‘man’. VINEETO: Ah but you forget that in learning how to do nothing really well (not being driven by the instinct6ual survival passions) and in incrementally becoming happy and harmless you are ‘trampling the grass’ (as Peter calls it) on the path to an actual freedom for others to follow you suit – if they wish. What better legacy could you create both for others and for yourself? * VINEETO: I’ve been busy following the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. <snip> RESPONDENT: What a wonderful picture you paint of how humans can enjoy themselves living to their true nature (just glad is wasn’t cricket LOL). VINEETO: Why? RESPONDENT: I think cricket is the most boring game ever invented, and at the moment we are getting wall to wall coverage of the test matches. But basically I was joking because of the whitewashing England are talking. VINEETO: Are you loyally British?
RESPONDENT: I am a little confused ... <snip> VINEETO: Ok, to put all of this in context – <snip> RESPONDENT: I contemplated on the motivation for asking the last couple of questions and I came to the conclusion that ‘I’ was kicking back – at one point ‘I’ felt quite irritated. VINEETO: I did not notice, either in words or vibes – but I appreciate your candidness. RESPONDENT: It felt like instead of being on the wide and wonderful path ‘I’ was by the wayside amongst the weeds looking for faults. However, I am, after receiving your last reply, glad I asked, again much food for thought. From here on in I think I will ease back on the questions; as they are largely answered somewhere on the site, and try to enter into more of a discussion, and [hopefully] report on any progress. Talking about that ... a couple of weeks ago while walking through a shopping centre I had an experience of being a body only. It only lasted a minute or so, but it was startling. VINEETO: Diving into one’s ‘self’ with the method of actualism can result in all sorts of strange and wonderful experiences. Just the other night Peter and I were discussing experiences of two friends, which by their own judgement were not pure consciousness experiences, but nevertheless a very sensuous, appreciative experiencing of the splendour of their surrounding with the senses heightened and the ‘self’ diminished. What can also happen is that ‘I’ start identifying as ‘this body’, which at the start can easily be confused with a ‘self’-less experience but when examined turns out as just another trick of cunning ‘me’ to remain in charge. I’m talking of my own uncovered tricks here and I am merely reporting all this in order that you can possibly more easily distinguish between your various experiences and eventually make sense of them. One outstanding quality of a pure consciousness experience is that when you have it then you have no doubt about it – you know that ‘this is it’, ‘this is how I want to experience the rest of my life’. You also might find a PCE strangely familiar like a faint memory of some magic land visited before – PCEs occur more easily and more often in childhood before the incrustation of socialization and its accompanying seriousness of life have fully set in. RESPONDENT: Here is one I have been sitting on for a while ... after reading what Peter said about living in the skin of the eyes, something like that, … VINEETO: This is presumably the quote you are referring to –
RESPONDENT: I remembered doing a similar exercise when I was very young, can’t remember the context, what I do remember is repeating to myself, ‘there is nothing inside, it is all outside’. I am not putting any interpretation on it, just thought it was a nice coincidence. VINEETO: As I said above, as children we seem to know a little more about the actual world than as adults and my own remembrances of such early PCEs confirm this – after I had a few PCEs I knew where to look and these memories popped up again. Looking forward to more progress reports and discussions.
VINEETO: Don’t you worry, in actualism the ‘basic’ is all there is. I’m still getting some of it wrong out of a personal life-long habits combined with the general thrust of humanity’s beliefs and actions. And before the frustration leads you off the wide and wondrous path it may be time to scrutinize this particular reaction to making a mistake – a reaction which I can understand very well, by the way, as I still sometimes fall under its spell. RESPONDENT: Well, thank goodness for that. (: I was beginning to think I just wasn’t ‘getting it’. Why is it encouraging to know someone else is stumbling now and then ... the human condition? I can really relate to this ... VINEETO: Yes, it is one way to get a hint that your ‘stumbling’ is not a personal fault but part and parcel of the disease called the human condition. Once you get your mind around the fact that everyone is afflicted with the same instinctual passions and their ensuing emotions and beliefs you can stop looking for faults in other people, and you can also stop blaming yourself – you then simply get on with the business of disempowering the human condition in you. * RESPONDENT: It is easy to concentrate on the mistakes one makes (most time now I just shake my head and smile when the old habits kick in) but there is so much in AF to be excited about, which I sometimes lose sight of when dealing with the more difficult aspects of the human condition. VINEETO: Ah but you forget that in learning how to do nothing really well (not being driven by the instinctual survival passions) and in incrementally becoming happy and harmless you are ‘trampling the grass’ (as Peter calls it) on the path to an actual freedom for others to follow you suit – if they wish. What better legacy could you create both for others and for yourself? RESPONDENT: I don’t think it is a matter of me forgetting I think I am still learning how to turn the ‘tried and tested’ (tanker) around 180%. VINEETO: O.K. I noticed that when I stopped blaming myself for not being perfect (how can ‘I’ ever be perfect?!) then ‘the tanker’ started to turn around almost by itself. But I admit that I found it a bloody hard habit to root out. * RESPONDENT: I think cricket is the most boring game ever invented, and at the moment we are getting wall to wall coverage of the test matches. But basically I was joking because of the whitewashing England are talking. VINEETO: Are you loyally British? RESPONDENT: LOL. I was at one time, I even fought for them, but then I did the research for my book and everything changed. VINEETO: I asked because I found that whenever I felt the urge to defend my countrymen against any kind of blame, embarrassment, accusation, discouragement or dislike in any field of life, there was my social identity as a German at work. The same was true when I took sides of one spiritual group against another, one social class against another, one political group against another, and so on. RESPONDENT: It may be interesting for you to dip into my book now and then; there are some interesting concepts (about how the human condition has always been the same, or how the sixteenth century set the societal foundations for our modern form of governance, for instance) in it. I think the research I did prepared me for AF, possibly the reason I took to it so readily. I researched philosophies/ ontology/ psychologies/ like Rosicrucianism, Neo-Tech, The Bicameral Mind, The Matrix (the film) and Zen Buddhism. Nothing like AF of course, but they did get me thinking ‘outside the box’.
RESPONDENT: If you get a chance I would like your opinion on this unusual audio programme by my good friend Fintan Dunne. http://breakfornews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1647 VINEETO: Your ‘good friend Fintan Dunne’ has a nice sonorous voice but the content of his dissertation is deeply steeped in mysticism and metaphysics. Here are a few things I wrote down from what I heard – [quote]:
His belief in life after death is based on his belief in something that is non-physical, non-tangible, ephemeral and non-actual (like God, super mind, an immortal non-physical personal identity). In a ‘self’-less pure consciousness experience you come to understand that anything supernatural and metaphysical is solely born of the feverish imagination of human beings only, based on our fear of death and our desire for immortality in some form or other – it has no existence outside of the human mind. To use Fintan’s words – in a PCE ‘the natural projector that produces the holographic image that we experience as the world around us’ temporarily stops functioning and stops producing those affective images of the world around us, stops interpreting, imagining and repressing. Then these eyes can directly experience the world around me, these ears can hear the unmitigated sounds around me, this nose experiences the smells in the air without interference from ‘my’ objections or desires, the skin directly enjoys the sensation of warmth or cold, wind or touch and so on. The ‘projector’ is turned off and with it any ‘holographic image’, psychic perception or affective interpretation … in a PCE ‘I’ don’t interfere at all with the direct experiencing of the actual world. It is a wonder-ful, amazing, delightful and utterly fearless way of experiencing the world we live in.
RESPONDENT: Why is it encouraging to know someone else is stumbling now and then ... the human condition? I can really relate to this ... VINEETO: Yes, it is one way to get a hint that your ‘stumbling’ is not a personal fault but part and parcel of the disease called the human condition. Once you get your mind around the fact that everyone is afflicted with the same instinctual passions and their ensuing emotions and beliefs you can stop looking for faults in other people, and you can also stop blaming yourself – you then simply get on with the business of disempowering the human condition in you. RESPONDENT: This is the first time I have seen the human condition referred to as an actual disease, which makes sense, because if everyone has it (the disease) then how would anyone know about it, or they had it? I notice this when talking to people about AF. I mean; they get confused (so do I sometimes). AF has given me a much deeper understanding of people, I love listening as they talk about self. Most of the people I have talked to so far have been interested, as long as I don’t go too far too soon. I made that mistake early on and found people, friends I have had for a long time, getting irritated and wanting to change the subject. VINEETO: The human condition is indeed a disease shared by everyone and once you make a start in moving out of it you become a threat to everyone’s status quo. Of course I was enthusiastic of having finally found the solution to the human dilemma and in the beginning I wanted to tell everyone, specially my fellow seekers, but I soon learnt that they were not interested, in fact they felt threatened by my discovery. Their very worldview was at stake by what I told them and quite naturally they chose to stick to their worldview. * VINEETO: I noticed that when I stopped blaming myself for not being perfect (how can ‘I’ ever be perfect?!) then ‘the tanker’ started to turn around almost by itself. But I found it a bloody hard habit to root out. RESPONDENT: It must have been great for you to be in personal contact with Richard and Peter. VINEETO: Yes, it was very exciting and a great help to be introduced to
actualism by Peter and Richard. It was also great to be able to discuss in person with Peter and Richard all the questions I had
and discoveries I made. Additionally, interacting with Richard in person allowed me to cut out all the usual suspicions you find
in the 101 commonly raised objections (48 have been categorized) as I could plainly see that he was indeed walking the talk. For
this very reason we made RESPONDENT: I recognise of course you have to do it yourself ... still. After thirty years of mysticism I have a lot of bad habits to jettison I am finding some of them harder to get rid of than others, and although tough sometimes and I have not yet had a PCE, I have received a lot of benefits through the study of actualism. VINEETO: From my own experience remembering a PCE, or inducing a fresh one, should be at the top of your laundry list. You could take a day off normal life to spend in nature and maybe read some of the introductory descriptions at each chapter in Richard’s Journal while you are all by yourself with no one around to reinforce the old ‘you’. With as much an open mind as possible you may be able to experience the world the way Richard experiences it. Be your eyes, your ears, your skin, and your other senses instead of looking out (as me) through the eyes, listening through the ears and sensing via the skin. The more you experience your surroundings as a physical body only the closer you come to experiencing the delight and sensual abundance of being here and from there it is but a short jump to slip out of ‘your’ skin and experience everything unmediated, directly, without separation. For some more hints I recommend RESPONDENT: Just the other day I was talking with a very close friend and realised I was trying, very subtly, to change her (pointing out a perceived fault) ... soon stopped that. This particular girlfriend and I are very close but to begin with she didn’t want anything to do with AF, she was concerned about me, thought I was ‘losing it’ LOL, but the more she hears about it she is, gradually, becomes more accepting. What was your experience of other people, especially friends, at the beginning. I know you have mentioned it before but not specifically. VINEETO: Let me warn you before it is too late that actualism is a most risky business to get involved in. I lost *all* my friends on the way as I ended up having nothing left in common with any of them – no common beliefs, no common sorrows, no complaints about life, people and the world at large, and no common enemies either. What I gained was the most reliable friend, myself, as I learnt to stop blaming and beating up myself and started to like myself. It was not only a bad habit I had to get rid of but also the natural consequence of cleaning up my grotty self into a person delighted being alive. * VINEETO: Are you loyally British? RESPONDENT: LOL. I was at one time, I even fought for them, but then I did the research for my book and everything changed. VINEETO: I asked because I found that whenever I felt the urge to defend my countrymen against any kind of blame, embarrassment, accusation, discouragement or dislike in any field of life, there was my social identity as a German at work. The same was true when I took sides of one spiritual group against another, one social class against another, one political group against another, and so on. RESPONDENT: Yes I still ‘feel’ this, although intellectually I see how silly it is. However, it is becoming thinner. VINEETO: I found that some ‘habits’ of my conditioning were so deeply ingrained that mere intellectual understanding did not change me. I had to look at the feelings that were connected with some particular conditioning, become aware of the generally accepted morals and ethics surrounding it and the fear imbedded in it, become aware of the perceived danger of stepping outside of society’s norms and then, when I’ve seen and experientially understood it all, take one bold step out of it. This is of course true for many different conditioned behaviours, opinions, beliefs and feelings. * VINEETO: Just a hint – you may quicker succeed in fully understanding the paradigm of actualism if you focus on finding the differences to what you have taken to be truth before, rather than looking for any similarities … because there aren’t any. In other words, the spirit-world people are living in is always only *inside their minds* whereas the actual world is out here, always here, tangible and corporeal, reliable and safe. RESPONDENT: I notice this is another thing I do, compare and look for similarities. Ahh! Some bad habits are hard to break. VINEETO: Recognition is half the job, hence ‘How am I experiencing this moment of being alive?’
RESPONDENT: If you get a chance I would like your opinion on this unusual audio programme by my good friend Fintan Dunne. http://breakfornews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1647 VINEETO: Your ‘good friend Fintan Dunne’ has a nice sonorous voice but the content of his dissertation is deeply steeped in mysticism and metaphysics. (…) RESPONDENT: Yea, I know, what I meant to write was ‘my good, but quirky, friend’, Fintan Dunne. Great character all the same, he reminds me of the famous film star, Groucho Marks. LOL.VINEETO: If you knew he was deeply steeped in mysticism and metaphysics why did you ask my ‘opinion on this unusual audio programme’? Don’t you know that an actual freedom is utterly non-spiritual?RESPONDENT: I was thinking about your last e-mail. I cannot see how Neo-tech is ‘spiritual’. It may well be within the human condition, but spiritual? I don’t think so. As for The Matrix, I use that to remind me of some of the concepts Richard, and yourself, propounds without comparing if that is possible. For instance, an early scene in the film, which I told you about, shows, metaphorically, the ‘reptilian’ brain being programmed. I don’t see it as a science fiction film, as Richard does, but as a metaphor, and a commentary on the nature of reality. We must really have a telephone chat some time. (: VINEETO: I only have a mobile phone – it would be very expensive! RESPONDENT: Addendum – I just remembered that Neo-tech talks about an inner world. If I had the inclination I would look at it again to check the context, may do in future. VINEETO: If you don’t have ‘the inclination to look at it again’, why did you asked *me* to listen to Fintan’s metaphysics oif immortality in order to give you my comment? In other words, a thorough understanding just where, how and why your own favourite worldview is spiritual and metaphysical is paramount for removing the impediments to your direct experience of actuality. For some of the context of Fintan’s philosophy – a few things I wrote down from what I heard –
His belief in life after death is based on his belief in something that is non-physical, non-tangible, ephemeral and non-actual (like God, super mind, an immortal non-physical personal identity). And from the Neo-Tech website (founder Frank R. Wallace) –
‘Who’ is gratified by the senses? Good emotions are not even questioned, let alone understood as being part and parcel of the instinctual passions.
It is obvious that Neo-Tech is a preferred mind-set that supposedly allows you to exert control – separation is taken as a given whereas in a PCE you are aware that you *are* the universe experiencing itself as a human being, there is no separation, no control, not even gratification.
Whereas actualism recognizes that emotions and instinctual passions of any kind are the problem, not part of a solution. In virtual freedom, with one’s instinctual passions disempowered, one’s doesn’t need to plan nor use rational thought to live in harmony – being sensible is eminently sufficient.
Nobody is innocent as all human beings are born with the instinctual survival passions, however much they might repress them and that’s the very reason morals and ethics have been put in place. A person without instinctual passions (Richard) has no use for either morals or ethics as he/she is never driven by their passions. Why should anyone produce values for others to follow? Those ‘Nonmystics’ are merely replacing one world-order with another and in this process are executing immense power over their fellow human being by claiming to know right and wrong, good and evil.
Whereas in actualism I become a happy destroyer of values and ethics and a happy and harmless diminisher of my instinctual passions. I also stop interfering in other people’s lives as one is prone to within the human condition because I know by experience that everyone can experience the actual world for themselves in a pure consciousness experience.
Whereas in actualism it is understood that the desire for power arises out the instinctual survival passions. The Neo-Tech philosophy tripod (http://attitudeadjustment.tripod.com/Images/neo-tech.jpg) illustrates the fundamental difference between this (unliveable) philosophy and actualism so conspicuous, unconcealed, overt, pronounced, transparent, prominent, unmistakable and indisputable that I wonder how you can find any similarities at all –
One obviously needs a preconceived ideal and imagination to idealize ‘what is’. One also needs the arrogance and blindness of ‘self’ to want to improve the perfection of the physical universe.
When ‘I’ disappear there is no relationship at all, let alone business. The only business I do is trading some of my time in exchange for some token to pay for food, clothes, shelter and toys.
‘Relationship’ clearly indicates a separation between man and his mind. Inside man there is a ‘who’ imagining this relationship with his own mind. In actuality thoughts are the functioning of the physical human brain usually interfered with the emotions and instinctual passions.
Neo-Techs purport a production of values whilst actualism suggests stepping out of my ‘self’ in order to recognize and experience that this infinite and eternal universe is already perfect and has no need, let alone use, for man’s petty produced values.
Ha, is this the best interaction they can come up with, free competition? It’s still a dog eat dog world, one human being competing against all other human beings. Whereas in virtual freedom and of course in actual freedom I can actually live in peace and harmony with my fellow human beings because I am no longer driven by fear, aggression, avarice and nurture.
In a PCE one recognizes that beauty is a man-made, a ‘self’-produced value just like ugliness is, produced by the instinctual reaction of attraction and repulsion, whereas the physical universe in its infinitude is perfect, flawless, incomparable, pristine, abundant and benevolent. Your turn!
RESPONDENT: This e-mail refers to a question I asked you a while ago about how Zen compared with Actual Freedom. Quite rightly you replied there was no comparison, however I had trouble actually understanding this. After, some contemplation I came up with an explanation that I understand better, unless you know better (: It is this... Actual Freedom: How am I experiencing this moment of being alive? Answer: (example) I am experiencing feeling sadness, or whatever, explore the source and return to experiencing felicity/ innocuity as soon as possible. VINEETO: Yes. Exploring the source means the bright light of awareness is shone onto the ‘self’/an aspect of the ‘self’ and ‘I’ cannot maintain my existence when brought to the light of awareness – ‘I’ have to give way to sensibleness/ felicity and innocuity. RESPONDENT: Zen: How am ‘I’ feeling in this moment? Answer: (example) ‘I’ acknowledge ‘I’ am feeling sadness, or whatever, keep repeating (acknowledging) until feeling (usually a different, ‘deeper’, feeling than the one first acknowledged) disappears and self is comfortable again within the body. VINEETO: The feeling doesn’t really disappear with practicing Zen (if you do it right and quite a lot of Westerners misunderstand the true meaning of ‘chan’ (Zen) and get it wrong as a consequence). In Zen the feeling is transformed into a function of the Higher Self; sadness into Compassion, fear into Love, desperation into Awe and so on. And yes, ‘self is comfortable again within the body’.
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