Spirituality is the only way out of "the Matrix"

The realisation that the matrix is within and without is key.

The matrix of which you speak is essential to physical and spiritual existence, both of which are able to experience the dimensional aspects of the Universe.

Certain levels of sensitivity enable spiritual 'freedom', obtainable to the transcended.

Transcended in the experience of harmonising with the absolute truth of the Universe, the infinite energy to which all matter and consciousness belong.

a reply to: borntowatch

"So the balance becomes living within it on another set of rules. "- borntowatch This is the key, feel this one for a while.

I went through a stage where I thought the sky was falling. There was alot of hype around the whole 2012 date, and years earlier my fears revolving around conspiracy theories of different kinds, had me asking some very tough questions. Things were very chaotic, and bringing children into our world just added to my worries.

Looking for answers, I was tired of feeling like life was survival instead of living. Exploring spiritual teachings and going within, gives those who feel that way the tools to empower themselves. It's easier to let anxiety and fear to get the better of us, but that same energy is better directed in personal growth.

I feel the awareness one cultivates in this journey is an advantage, because otherwise it remains in the subconscious. Hell, even if it remains that way for others, the knowledge gained can be priceless for leadership and reaching out.

a reply to: Profusion

I realize that the term "the Matrix" is corny but it's a simple way to express "five sense reality" and simultaneously the prison of societal mental patterns and the overall "reality" of society. When I use the term "the Matrix" in this post, I'm referring to both simultaneously.

Saying something is a cliché is a cliché. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes a cliché to say that saying something is a cliché is a cliché.

I don’t know what you mean when you say “five sense reality”, but I’m going to describe what I think you mean and if you disagree with my definition, you can fight me tooth and nail over the technicalities of it to avoid the issue being discussed.

What I think you mean is the things that exist independent of human awareness – trees, rocks, etc. Things you can see with your five senses.

Likewise, I don’t know entirely what you mean by the “overall ‘reality’ of society”, but I’m guessing you mean things that only exist through human awareness (so far as we know); the value of money, religious ideals, and things near and dear to the hearts of individual people living in a society. If either one of those definitions are wrong or need clarifying, please correct me. I’m not going to comment on things that happen after human awareness ends (so far as we know), because no opinion is worth anything in an area without any experience in it.

If my definitions are correct, the only way to stop operating within it would be to stop thinking completely and become deaf and blind. Language and art are all products of society. It’s not much of an escape, if you ask me, but it is technically feasible if one longs for a seemingly excruciatingly long life.

you cant live outside of it and you cant pretend you can.

This attitude really bothers me. What makes people think they have the right to put limitations on what others can accomplish?

I agree completely, pretending to live outside it is totally within the realm of possibility.

The best hope that I believe we have of breaking free from "the Matrix" is described in this "joke" of an article...

… If you want to break free from "the Matrix", you have to go inward.

They have a name for people who cope with their problems by shutting themselves out of life. It’s called Schizoid Personality Disorder, and in case you haven’t done any research in the area, it’s not the most fun of personality disorders. You don’t even get to have sex with numerous emotionally problematic individuals.

Do you know what that joke article was making fun of? Psychosis. It was written from the perspective of a jailed inmate. Because I’ve been raised to think that everyone has the right to stupidity, I don’t blame you for holding up an inmate who has probably suffered numerous catastrophic mental breakdowns both within solitary confinement and outside of it (quite possibly being what led up to the solitary confinement and the jail sentence) as a model to follow. It’s just not my ideal role model, personally.

The opinion above is based on a limited understanding (as we all have). How can one with a limited understanding think that they know the limits of reality? What an egotistical worldview to believe that you have a grasp of what's possible for every human on earth.

How can someone with a limited understanding be so quick to dismiss the limited understanding of another? You can’t, in the same breath, dismiss someone for having a “limited understanding” while also possessing a limited understanding (unless you want to be called a hypocrite).

originally posted by: zackli
a reply to: Profusion


They have a name for people who cope with their problems by shutting themselves out of life. It’s called Schizoid Personality Disorder, and in case you haven’t done any research in the area, it’s not the most fun of personality disorders. You don’t even get to have sex with numerous emotionally problematic individuals.

That's mighty helpful of you to warn the O.P. not to take any chances with his mental health zackli. I do though detect a kind of mocking tone in the form of a rebuttal towards how Profusion interprets reality. I don't think that he is currently suffering the type of mental illness you have cautioned him against developing, so he could be open to benefit from your greater maturity and insight.

I mean the $6,00,000 question surely is: what exactly is it that Profusion hopes to extract from this "Matrix"? What is it that is not part of the matrix that is capable of being extracted? And by who? Be kind whyncha?

unless you are......

a reply to: Golden Rule

What was it that gave away my mocking? Was it the line about not being able to have sex with emotionally stunted people? You are right. I should be ashamed of myself.

Realizing that the "matrix" is simply a metaphor is all that is required to arrive at this level of condescension towards people who "believe" in it. It has no more reality than the word "reality" in the conversational use of the word. No one has access to an unfiltered perspective on the world. People who blame a person's "bad" attitude on their "biased" perspective have a hilarious misunderstanding of the words they're using.

I don't think that he is currently suffering the type of mental illness you have cautioned him against developing, so he could be open to benefit from your greater maturity and insight.

I don't think that is the right word, but it will suffice.

From Wikipedia:
"Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and apathy. Affected individuals may simultaneously demonstrate a rich, elaborate and exclusively internal fantasy world."

The aspect of Schizoid personality disorder that I was talking about was the lack of interest in social relationships. If someone "gets everything they need from within themselves", what is the point of being friends with other people? The tendency towards a solitary lifestyle would follow logically.

The rich and elaborate fantasy was another part of what I was talking about.

A book I started reading called "Fantasy Bonds: Structure of Psychological Defenses" has some fairly interesting bits related to this. In the first chapter, the author (Robert W Firestone) posits the existence of a "fantasy bond" which develops to protect an infant with a less-than-ideal environment.

The author explains it better, if slightly wordier, than I do.

(P36) "The basic tenet of my theoretical approach is the concept of a fantasy bond. The "primary fantasy bond" is an illusion of connection, originally an imaginary fusion or joining with the mother's body, most particularly the breast. It is a core defense and is protected by other patterns of thoughts and behaviors (secondary fantasies).

(P36-37) "It is important to differentiate this specific use of the word "bond" from its other uses in psychological and popular literature. It is not "bond" as in "bonding" (maternal-infant attachment) in a positive sense nor does it refer to a relationship that includes loyalty, devotion and genuine love. Our concept of the fantasy bond uses bond rather in the sense of bondage or limitation of freedom."

(P37, cont) "For the infant, this fantasized connection alleviates pain and anxiety by providing partial gratification of its emotional or physical hunger. In other words, the fantasy bond is a substitute for the love and care that may be missing in the infant's environment. The more deprivation in the infant's immediate surroundings, the more dependency the infant will have on this fantasy of fusion."

(P35) "Psychological defenses that protected people from suffering emotional pain and anxiety when they were children later play destructive limiting roles in their adult lives. An individual's defense system acts to keep him or her insulated, mechanical, and removed from the deepest personal experiences."

The fact that it is referring to infants in the book is irrelevant. The same thing would happen to an adult. If you don't immediately see the connection, it is this: if you "look within" yourself for the answers, you will become more and more dependent on this "fantasy bond" you have with yourself, which I think will turn into something resembling the asocial aspects of SPD.

Which is fine if that's what you're after, but like I said. Not a very "fun" personality disorder.

a reply to: zackli

Hello again Zackli. Thanks for voicing your concern about mental illness. I think your heart is in the right place. But, there is another (and in my experience, better) way to look at all this.

Maybe 'normal' society is entirely backwards about mental illness, mysticism, and enlightenment...and maybe our insane backwardness is slowly destroying us. Maybe we are living in an insane world, a world in which the technological prowess of a spiritually backwards species imperils its very survival.

The Spiritual Gift of Madness: The Failure of Psychiatry and the Rise of the Mad Pride Movement

A bold call for the “insane” to reclaim their rightful role as prophets of spiritual and cultural transformation

• Explains how many of those diagnosed as schizophrenic, bipolar, and other forms of “madness” are not ill but experiencing a spiritual awakening

• Explores the rise of Mad Pride and the mental patients’ liberation movement

• Reveals how those seen as “mad” must embrace their spiritual gifts to help the coming global spiritual transition

Many of the great prophets of the past experienced madness--a breakdown followed by a breakthrough, spiritual death followed by rebirth. With the advent of modern psychiatry, the budding prophets of today are captured and transformed into chronic mental patients before they can flower into the visionaries and mystics they were intended to become. As we approach the tipping point between extinction and global spiritual awakening, there is a deep need for these prophets to embrace their spiritual gifts. To make this happen, we must learn to respect the sanctity of madness. We need to cultivate Mad Pride.

Exploring the rise of Mad Pride and the mental patients’ liberation movement as well as building upon psychiatrist R. D. Laing’s revolutionary theories, Seth Farber, Ph.D., explains that diagnosing people as mad has more to do with social control than therapy. Many of those labeled as schizophrenic, bipolar, and other kinds of “mad” are not ill but simply experiencing different forms of spiritual awakening: they are seeing and feeling what is wrong with society and what needs to be done to change it.

Farber shares his interviews with former schizophrenics who now lead successful and inspiring lives. He shows that it is impossible for society to change as long as the mad are suppressed because they are our catalysts of social change. By reclaiming their rightful role as prophets of spiritual and cultural revitalization, the mad--by seeding new visions for our future--can help humanity overcome the spiritual crisis that endangers our survival and lead us to a higher and long-awaited stage of spiritual development.

👣

a reply to: BlueMule

Azure Mul'e- Greetings- I swiped the hero journey and will cut & paste some LL Bean threads on the Sherpa..

If One were to look at this from a Taoist point, You wouldn't have to travel far down 'The Path' "The Tao that can be told is NOT the eternal Tao..." I guess that is because when We meld back to 'whence We came' ALL that there is, We are elated and either decide to incarnate (again???) or travel on... We could also add "The Tao teaches Us that there are far too many "names" already" What words would describe it??

And The Great Buddha Himself would tell You "If You see Buddha on the road kill Him" But He'd say "If You see Me on the road kill Me"...

namaste

a reply to: Profusion

A description of the origin, nature and purpose of the Matrix, as well as the means of stepping outside of it, is to be found here: i-uv.com...

originally posted by: BlueMule
Here is a chart illustrating the hero journey out of the Matrix.

Note the return. Of course, you don't have to return, but a hero does.

It's not quite a full circle. It's more of a spiral that keeps going up and up...

*insert inspirational music*

👣

There is no HERO JOURNEY, and this is not a Matrix.

The only ways out of here are NOT within, but a combination of the earthly and non earthly.

I wonder when I will see someone who has not looked at this and used preconceived notions, but actually TRIED to see what works to go beyond the NORM.

Really tough when everyone is afraid of upsetting some all powerful source that they encounter along the way, that is when most stop DEAD.

This narrative is fed by sources that do not care at all whether or not you accomplish anything, this is what must be learnt by the foolish who have pushed hard enough to know something IS THERE.

But most of them do not, they have been programmed irreversibly to fail in all the tasks given to them, and so the only way to succeed is to fail.

Looking outside of all of this, I can see power of immense proportions, and NONE of it is given to those who claim they are SPIRITUAL.

Spirituality and physicality are NOT ying and yang either, this bipolar lie works all too well.

a reply to: BlueMule

I'm sure your heart is in the right place

I assure you, all of my bodily organs are in their correct places (or they're all arranged in some other way that amounts to the same thing and doesn't alert doctors). Assuming positive intentions on the part of someone who has read a book on human relations isn't going to work.

Maybe 'normal' society is entirely backwards about mental illness, mysticism, and enlightenment...and maybe our insane backwardness is slowly destroying us.

I'm quite confident that society is ass-backwards in regard to mental illness. I'm not so self-assured I'm going to comment on an area in which there is no verifiable evidence and in which I have no personal experience, however. Everyone is mentally ill. There is no way to live sanely as a human being, because our childhood experiences in most cases don't line up with our current experiences, and that is when we learned how to live. Some people are just good at hiding their dysfunction.

A society can't have a bunch of mass murderers on the loose. Even if society is ass backwards in regards to mental health, I don't want someone who just murdered his entire family to move in next door to me. They can use whatever justification they want for locking him up. It's easy to feign sanity, but not so easy to feign insanity.

PS If that "mad pride" movement is in any way similar to the "fat pride" movement, nothing else needs to be said on the matter, because it speaks for itself.

a reply to: BlueMule

That's the Joseph Campbell monomyth template. Jesus, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Frodo, Neo, King Arthur. All reasonably parallel stories. Why it has resonated with so many cultures is an interesting discussion. I think folks latch onto the Matrix is because it's laden with psychologically significant (by Jungian standards) archetypal figures and concepts. The idea of "breaking out of the Matrix" is analogous with "seeing the light" or "using the force". Just a function of human beings seeking out greater wisdom, hoping to unlock information that creates order in what can feel like chaotic reality.

Perhaps it'd better suit us to establish better comfort with the necessary chaos, rather than seeking to explain it away.

a reply to: zackli

Waxing philosophically about Solipsism does not equate with schizoid personality disorder. I'm not big on stigmatizing benign philosophy/religious beliefs as inherently pathological. I don't see anything in the OP advocating for total withdrawal from society.

Believing that reality doesn't exist outside of one's own personal experience isn't new, and Descartes was an interesting enough character.

What I don't understand is where this became integrated so heavily into new age spirituality.

I'm... I'm gonna add that defining a mental illness as a spiritual awakening is trivializing the pain and suffering these diseases cause and creating stigma around treatment. I've heard plenty of admonitions against medications for disruptive, legitimately painful disorders that can be effectively treated, and encouraging those who would need help to spurn it by touting their symptoms as a spiritual awaking is an ignorant, and socially destructive practice. Glorification and sexualization of mental illness is part of the problem.

Dimethyltriptamine. Its already within us (and almost every other living thing). The ancients were well aware that you don't need a spacecraft to traverse the stars. The universe is within you and without. The red pill.

originally posted by: Oannes
Dimethyltriptamine. Its already within us (and almost every other living thing). The ancients were well aware that you don't need a spacecraft to traverse the stars. The universe is within you and without. The red pill.

there are many chemicals capable of manipulating our senses and generating compelling hallucinations.

a reply to: Oannes

'___' is exerted by the body only during the REM part of sleep as well as when the body is under enough stress to cause death. That is why when people almost die they talk about hallucinations and seeing #, they are actually just tripping the hell out on '___' - T.Labonte

www.cracked.com...
Maybe when this body dies the dreaming continues?

originally posted by: hearows
a reply to: BlueMule

That's the Joseph Campbell monomyth template. Jesus, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Frodo, Neo, King Arthur. All reasonably parallel stories. Why it has resonated with so many cultures is an interesting discussion. I think folks latch onto the Matrix is because it's laden with psychologically significant (by Jungian standards) archetypal figures and concepts. The idea of "breaking out of the Matrix" is analogous with "seeing the light" or "using the force". Just a function of human beings seeking out greater wisdom...

Exactly. The Matrix = Womb

We are not waiting to die, we are waiting to be born.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I am sure that the reality we live in is being steered or controlled but identifying the ones or thing doing it is hard.

Well said post. As far as this part is concerned though (see above quote) I have always wondered what if it isnt hard but impossible? Consider: What if the entity/entities responsible for steering our world do not manifest within the "matrix" and never have or will? They could be plugged in as well, the illuminati being the best example of a scenario such as this but the setup could just as well be more of a one-way mirror type deal which is a simple analogy to explain the theory that other dimensions may exist in the same space as we do (like the ghost dimension or the world of the faeries or demons) so our minds and eyes work on the side WITH light...the interrogatio! Room if you will. Other entities minds and eyes are tuned to act as the side of the mirror withOUT light...the cops observation side basically. But the whole idea of the thirteen families or the global elite and their reptilian ancestry, the NWO, the shadow government and goal of depopulating...all of these common theories which often incorporate the "prison dimension," the "matrix," the "shift of conciousness," or the "awakening" beliefs could be imaginations run wild and in reality, the ones controlling us could be like when we play the Sims 2. Sure it can be played forever, how revolutionary, but i can say with certainty that if you played it every second til the end of time, no magic change would come to be in which your Sim ever turned and looked at the screen and was able to see you on the other side playing. It just wont happen. And u can say, "well, those are just animated characters that simulate personality and life and sentience, were different!" But. Really though, are we? One of the CREEPIEST. hypotheses which are similar to the matrix one but so desperately pointless and hopeless reers its head at this point, the simulated universe theory. I just cant let myself entertain that since, at least in my eyes, it removes all meaning there could be in life. (For those not familiar with this theory says that since we began to write software and make games with simulated people (like the Sims), it only makes sense that another race who progressed in a similar manner as we did would ALSO have simulated worlds on a computer and as technology grew and simulations became more and more lifelike, they would have made millions of simulated worlds to the point where if you are a sentient being, for example if youre reading this, the chances youre a real being in the real world (of which there is one) are microscopic and most likely you are just simulated sentience "existing" in just one of these millions of worlds on one of these millions of computers.

a reply to: AlexandrosTheGreat

In the Matrix, wall of text reads YOU.

👣

a reply to: Profusion

If you want to break free from "the Matrix", you have to go inward. There's no other way I can see. Anything going outward is feeding the "five sense reality" in my opinion and with that comes the "reality" and mental patterns of society as well.

Yes inward is a path to take to break free from whats out.

However one can create their own prison inside themselves if they dive in head first without getting a feel of the water before hand if you know what I mean.

This attitude really bothers me.

Then you have been manipulated by an agent of the matrix so to speak,

Let go, live and let be when it comes to instances like that, if it bothers you and give it recognition it only empowers what bothers you and gives it the knowledge that has that ability.