Sunday, May 18, 2014

Dropped my fantasies, found peace.

Fantasies change reality by projection.
What you think you see, you get.
Bring fantasies to truth - peace!


Editor's note:
I wrote the haiku above based on a verse from A Course In Miracles from Chapter 17, Forgiveness And The Holy Relationship, Section 1, "Bringing fantasy to truth." The two verses are:

"Fantasies change reality. That is their purpose. They cannot do so in reality but they can do so in the mind that would have reality be different." T-17.1.1:9-10

One of the primary 7 values of Unitarian Universalism is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Where does this search take us ultimately but into our own mind and awareness. If we are on the right track it gives us peace, and if we are on the wrong track anxiety. As the bumper says, "Don't believe everything you think."

2 comments:

  1. Rather than the word "fantasies" I sometimes use the word "delusions". In psychology a delusion is defined as a "fixed false belief". The need to be right is very powerful and most people are reluctant to change their beliefs even when provided with clarifying information because they don't want to lose face or they, themselves, truly believe what they believe and become paranoid about anyone who would try to dissuade them differently. These delusions contribute to all kinds of prejudice, discrimination, and even war.

    When groups of people share the same delusion we have what is called a "folie au deux" or a delusion shared by two or more. Seneca, the stoic, encourages us to avoid the "mass crowd". He writes to his friend Lucilius "When a mind is impressionable and has none too firm a hold on what is right, it must be rescued from the crowd; it is so easy for it to go over to the majority." Most people are immature and easily swayed by "peer pressure". We would like to think as Unitarian Universalists that we are more mature than that, but I find most UU churches are consensus driven and have a great deal of difficulty managing any kind of conflict and so people wind up struggling to be "nice" rather than to be true to themselves and what they believe is the right thing.

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  2. I agree that most people are delusional. If you ask them what makes them tick they can't tell you. They have been so conditioned that they think their thoughts and choices are their own but they are programmed and have never given much thought to what their own values, beliefs, opinions, and practices are. They will tell you they that believe what they believe and do what they do because that's the way they were raised.

    My Unitarian Universalist faith tells me that it's okay to question authority. That being a heretic is a good thing as long as it's not in my church congregation but questioning anything outside is okay.

    I am pleased to see that you are becoming more active on this blog again. I always enjoy what I read here because usually I learn something.

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