I've been invited to join many different pods throughout Gaia and I've joined some on my own. Some invitations I accept since I don't like being rude (well, most of the time). Unfortunately, most of the groups tend to rely on an ideology and expect the discussions to adhere to that ideology. Some groups are about 'doing' or action. Others adhere to a Buddhist or Integral ideology and some adhere to a spiritualized Christian viewpoint.

Problem is, that ideology tends to hem in and channel thought and this often occurs under the radar. Usually these pods originate with a "cultivator" who clearly has a particular bias in relation to a worldview (of course not all).

Many of the pods that I've joined, over the past approx 2 years, that adhere to an ideological perspective I've pretty much made myself scarce. That's because i don't adhere to any precise ideology and enjoy, as the integralists call it, "juggling perspectives." Yet, this has a tendency to rain on the parade.

Of course, if folks can't pin you down to any specific opinion or way of thinking they then tend to get mighty perturbed. They then indict you as playing the game of "devils advocate" and, lets face it,  nobody likes the devil.

In addition, what tends to occur, based on my brief study of pod member relations, is that certain pod regulars acquire a 'reputation.' This is because they often veer off course from the preordained path originally laid down by the pod originators. I have noted that frequently these folks are asked to exit or, most likely, they finally exit on their own since they feel their ideas are somewhat unwelcome and, like old soldiers they tend to just fade away.

"GroupThink" has been studied fairly extensivley by the psychological sciences and WIKI defines it as:

"a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. Individual creativity, uniqueness and independent thinking are lost in the pursuit of group cohesiveness as are the advantages of reasonable balance in choice and thought that might normally be obtained by making decisions as a group. During groupthink, members of the group avoid promoting viewpoints outside the comfort zone of consensus thinking."

Ahhh... good 'ole "comfot zone"! This seems to be an afflicton of many of the pods particularly those that rely extensively on some ideological basis as foundation for all discussion. In fact, as I write this I opened a gaia email, of a response to a previous comment I had made, asking me not to contribute any more "negative crap " HA! Gotta love it.

You see critical, analytical thinking which digs into ideas and "parses" perspectives (another accusation leveled against me) to discover the richness below the surface. However, digging in the dirt is not pretty and many would prefer we not do that!

Notice that the groupthink's chief defining property is the reduction of conflict. Therefore, making comments of a negative nature (and I don't mean offensive or attacking which are not welcome in any conversation) are anathema to most pod agendas.

In fact, this post will be construed in just such a manner by many of the 'positive' folks and because of its negative undertones will most probably be ignored.

Anyway, enough rambling. I haven't been posting for awhile, so I thought I'd simply jump in as my old controversial self and let 'er rip!

because....every rose has its thorns!

Peace Angels,
mike

 

Mike: That's it! I've had it with you! I want nothing more to do with your sheit!

ego: Gosh, Mike, what could be the problem?

Mike: You know darn well what the problem is! Every time I write a post, you tell me "this is it! this is the one that's gonna trip out the entire world and everybody will think you're a genius." You get me all friggin' hyped up, only to realize that nobody reads it. Nobody's interested. It's a flop!

I'm sick and tired of this roller coaster ride you've been takin' me on my whole damn life. My whole life you have consistently jacked me up, only to crash every time. I can't be happy listenin' to you and doing what you say.

So, from now on, we're through. I'm done with you! From now on you need to stay out of my life!

ego: But, Mike, I can't stay out of your life....I'm you.

Mike: Whaaa!?.....well...I guess that's true. But it doesn't matter... because I'm on a spiritual path to enlightenment. Ya know what that means, don't ya? It means your done. Finished! Because once I awaken to enlightenment your gone, dude. Your days are numbered. That's what "enlightenment" means... NO MORE EGO! No more you.

ego: That's fine, but if your going on a spiritual path to enlightenment, then, unfortunately, I'm gonna have to come with you. At least until you get where you're going. You do understand that, right?

Mike: Well...fine! I suppose you do have to tag along, at least until I get my enlightenment. But just stay outa my way, you hear! I can't have you buttin' in while I'm trying to become an enlightened master. This is a spiritual path I'm on, not an ego trip!

ego: OK. But since I have to be here... maybe I can help?

Mike: Help? You've been no help so far, so I can't see what you could do to help me get enlightened. How could you possibly help?

ego: Well, I could help you find the right books to read, the right groups to join and I could even assist in finding the best guru. I could even help you schedule your spiritual practices around the rest of your life and remind you when you're thinking too much and not meditating correctly.

You got to admit, we have learned a lot along the way and it seems a shame to trash it all now. Besides, you still need me to do other things like make money, get sex, justify your anger when others piss you off, make it seem like your intelligent when you're not, show you what to get serious about and what to ignore...

You've got to admit that I have helped you many times in negotiating that cold, cruel world out there. In fact, who would you be without me? Who would protect you?

Admit it...you know you love me.

Mike: Well...ok... I guess you can help sometimes. But I'll let you know when I need your help so don't be buttin' in when I don't need you.

ego: Ok, you got it, buddy! from now on I'll only take direction from you. Otherwise, I'll be as quiet as a mouse. Oh, this spiritual path to enlightenment will be such fun!

Mike: WOW! Unbelievable! HaHa! I now finally realize what "Awakening" is!

ego: Oh? And what's that, mike?

Mike: It means that I don't need to seek "Awakening" anymore, because I am already Awakened!

ego: Uh, Ok... that's fine, but...we don't seem to feel any different than we did a moment ago.

Mike: Ack! You don't understand. It's not about any state of mind it just IS!

ego: Uh...what just "IS"?

Mike: Awakening!

ego: I'm not sure I get it. What have we "awakened" to?

Mike: "We" ! no, no no, I have "awakened to my True Self.

ego: Your true self...does that include me?

Mike: Well, no...actually, I have to "transcend" you and you have to dissolve or be annihilated or something like that.

ego: Well, you better be clear on this mike, because...I'm still here...are you sure you're awakened? Maybe I'm just supposed to hang around a little while longer.

Mike: Huh? ...No! my awakening is supposed to be egoless. Don't you get it?! You're the whole damn problem...all your striving and desiring...you're the cause of all my suffering and to be awakened is to be without YOU!

ego: But, Mike, who would you be... without me?

Mike: Free! Finally free of all my suffering. All the suffering that YOU cause.

ego: Uh, ok then... I'll just step back here awhile, out of the way, and let you enjoy this "awakening." But when you need me, just go ahead and give me a shout.

Mike: HA! Need you!? You just don't get it. Our relationship is over, kaput, no more!

ego: Ok then, but......oh yeah, I almost forgot, don't forget to pay the electric bill cause you're now 5 days late. Oh and don't forget, you're supposed to pick up your daughter after school today and make sure you stop and pickup your prescriptions on the way home. Hey, look at your hair! Aren't you due for a haircut? By the way, shouldn't you be thinking about getting something for your wife's birthday and another thing...............

Mike: (sigh)

Frequently, within the pods, intense and somewhat heated exchanges occur between members. Usually, this is handled with civility, however, often it tends to create bad feelings amongst certain members and, although, this may rise up occasionally, most tend to seek out greater civility and make apologies as necessary.

Guess what? This is life, boys and girls! These discussions are microcosmic representations of life itself, merely abridged and abbreviated within the threads.

So many frightened Gaian's around here. Always sensitive to the negativity of darkness.

Yet, lo and behold, we have the charge of the Light Brigade! Because they refused to engage in the dark depths of discussion, and often are disenaged from most conflicts of life, the lighworkers come to our "emotional rescue." They seek to spread peace and light in the hopes of redirecting hostilities, but merely make the participants feel even more guilty for their conflictual engagement. Who could not feel guilty when the interaction they recently engaged in was anything but "peace and light"?

Thank god for the lightworkers and their clichés of peace and godliness; with their comfortable pithy quotes from the master teachers of light.

Sometimes I want to ask, are you real? But that would be too controversial and so, It would go unanswered.

I sense their presence always, out there in the margins, rarely enaging except to post a quote from the venerable in the hopes of saving the thread from death by negativity. Disagree with their means and you instantly indict yourself as in league with the postivity sucking devil of darkness.

Conflict is anathema to the lighworkers who define life as merely the spreading of positive "vibrations" and all the time we must remain positive. Philosophical negativity is shunned because, as their creed demands, negativity in all its forms can never have any value and can only lead to more negativity. Negative interactions can have no cathartic effect in aiding individuals in seeing more clearly the views they hold. Life is chock full of conflict and most is of our own doing, individually and collectively. Yet, we tend to grow through spasms of pain and suffering. We watch others struggle to make sense of anger and depression and we identify with them, because their struggle is ours.

Most of us that is, but not the lightworkers. They seem unusually immune to the conflicts the rest of us poor folk plod through. But if only we would just seek the light, all our troubles would be gone, "come into the light, Caroleanne, come into the light!"

But we are!

For the lightworkers, dirty laundry stinks and so we must quickly wash away our issues and problems with lots of soap and water. Remember when you mother washed out your fowl mouth with soap? You continued to use the ‘F' word even more ferociously! ( well, maybe that was just me)

No, dear friends, we must always shed our light upon the world as if darkness had no value. Ahh... but without darkness to define your seeking the light, how would you define your "self"?

Forget the deep-seated ancient issues and the wounds crying out to be healed. Just pour pink paint over them and everything will be all better. In fact, many pods insist in their guidelines that any posts indicative of conflict will be summarily deleted. I avoid such pods like the plague, since they deny us our struggle, and merely seek to      'lip-service' the aphorisms of the ancient lightworkers.

They deny LIFE.

These frightened folks tend to rile me more than the complex exchanges between ideological opponents seeking common ground. It's almost as if they have no problems that their positive thinking can't solve.

I meet these individuals in my practice on a daily basis and have come to see this as a feint, a delusion, a foil, because under all their peace and light is a boiling cauldron of emotion just waiting to come to the surface and murder everyone in their path.

They scare me...

"Don't you dare," they seem to say, in their desperate need to hide from their own emotional self.

Here ye, oh, lightworkers of the world.

You are not saving the world by spreading your light. The light comes from intimately understanding one another, not from deflecting that understanding through platitudes that seek to offset negativity. Face your fears through another. Intimacy demands discomfort in vacating all our pretty ideological boxes and packages. Your light merely prolongs the inevitable intimacy that our conflict has the potential to bring.

Throw away your pithy quotes and your scripts from the "masters."

I ask... WHAT SAY YOU!

So here's the preamble for my new pod:

Mature conflict is encouraged in the often painful search for the truth that is discovered by all differently. Even immature conflict is warranted as long as adults can apologize for their mistakes of the mouth. If you are afraid of conflict, you are asked to risk you plastic sense of peace and seek the intimacy that true depth of engagement brings. Real peace is not born of new age platitudes and clichés, but of engagement. Swim in my depths and I will join with yours in our own Intimate Awakening. Spreading of light allowed only through depth of engagement.

Ha! Good grief! Aren't we all lucky that I have no intention of ever starting a pod. But with all these pods and their restrictive guidelines, I have actually been considering such a risky venture.

But, with so many lightworkers, who would participate in reality?