The Upanishads, The Mystery of Mankind

The Upanishads
By Subhamoy Das, About.com Guide


The Upanishads form the core of Indian philosophy. They are an amazing collection of writings from original oral transmissions, which have been aptly described by Shri Aurobindo as "the supreme work of the Indian mind". It is here that we find all the fundamental teachings that are central to Hinduism — the concepts of 'karma' (action), 'samsara' (reincarnation), 'moksha' (nirvana), the 'atman' (soul), and the 'Brahman' (Absolute Almighty). They also set forth the prime Vedic doctrines of self-realization, yoga and meditation. The Upanishads are summits of thought on mankind and the universe, designed to push human ideas to their very limit and beyond. They give us both spiritual vision and philosophical argument, and it is by a strictly personal effort that one can reach the truth.

Meaning of 'Upanishad'

The term 'Upanishad' literally means, "sitting down near" or "sitting close to", and implies listening closely to the mystic doctrines of a guru or a spiritual teacher, who has cognized the fundamental truths of the universe. It points to a period in time when groups of pupils sat near the teacher and learnt from him the secret teachings in the quietude of forest 'ashrams' or hermitages. In another sense of the term, 'Upanishad' means 'brahma-knowledge' by which ignorance is annihilated. Some other possible meanings of the compound word 'Upanishad' are "placing side by side" (equivalence or correlation), a "near approach" (to the Absolute Being), "secret wisdom" or even "sitting near the enlightened".

Time of Composition

Historians and Indologists have put the date of composition of the Upanishads from around 800 - 400 B.C., though many of the verse versions may have been written much later. In fact, they were written over a very long period of time and do not represent a coherent body of information or one particular system of belief. However, there is a commonality of thought and approach.

The Main Books

Although there are more than 200 Upanishads, only thirteen have been identified out as presenting the core teachings. They are the Chandogya, Kena, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Katha, Mundaka, Taittriyaka, Brihadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, Isa, Prasna, Mandukya and the Maitri Upanishads. One of the oldest and longest of the Upanishads, the Brihadaranyaka says:

"From the unreal lead me to the real!
From darkness lead me to light!
From death lead me to immortality!"

The crux of the Upanishads is that this can be achieved by meditating with the awareness that one's soul ('atman') is one with all things, and that 'one' is 'Brahman', which becomes the 'all'.

Who wrote the Upanishads?

The authors of the Upanishads were many, but they were not solely from the priestly caste. They were poets prone to flashes of spiritual wisdom, and their aim was to guide a few chosen pupils to the point of liberation, which they themselves had attained. According to some scholars, the main figure in the Upanishads is Yajnavalkya, the great sage who propounded the doctrine of 'neti-neti', the view that "truth can be found only through the negation of all thoughts about it". Other important Upanishadic sages are Uddalaka Aruni, Shwetaketu, Shandilya, Aitareya, Pippalada, Sanat Kumara. Many earlier Vedic teachers like Manu, Brihaspati, Ayasya and Narada are also found in the Upanishads.

The human being is the central mystery of the universe holding the key to all other mysteries. Indeed, human beings are our own greatest enigma. As the famous physicist Niels Bohr once said, "We are both spectators and actors in the great drama of existence." Hence the importance of developing of what is known as the "science of human possibilities." It was such a science that India sought and found in the Upanishads in an attempt to unravel the mystery of human beings.

Science of the Self

Today, we see a growing urge in everyone to realize the 'true self'. We are keenly feeling the need to make our knowledge flower into wisdom. A strange yearning to know about the infinite and the eternal disturbs us. It is against this background of modern thought and aspirations that the contributions of the Upanishads to the human cultural legacy become significant.

The purpose of the Vedas was to ensure the true welfare of all beings, worldly as well as spiritually. Before such a synthesis could be achieved, there was a need to penetrate the inner worlds to its depth. This is what the Upanishads did with precision and gave us the science of the self, which helps man leave behind the body, the senses, the ego and all other non-self elements, which are perishable. The Upanishads tell us the great saga of this discovery — of the divine in the heart of man.

The Inside Story!

Very early in the development of the Indian civilization, man became aware of a strange new field of human experience — the within of nature as revealed in man, and in his consciousness and his ego. It gathered volume and power as years rolled on until in the Upanishads it became a deluge issuing in a systematic, objective and scientific pursuit of truth in the depth of experience. It conveys to us an impression of the tremendous fascination that this new field of inquiry held for the contemporary mind.

These Indian thinkers were not satisfied with their intellectual speculations. They discovered that the universe remained a mystery and the mystery only deepened with the advance of such knowledge, and one of the important components of that deepening mystery is the mystery of man himself. The Upanishads became aware of this truth, which modern science now emphasizes.

In the Upanishads we get a glimpse into the workings of the minds of the great Indian thinkers who were unhampered by the tyranny of religious dogma, political authority, pressure of public opinion, seeking truth with single-minded devotion, rare in the history of thought. As Max Muller has pointed out, "None of our philosophers, not accepting Heraclitus, Plato, Kant, or Hegel has ventured to erect such a spire, never frightened by storm or lightnings."

Bertrand Russell rightly said: "Unless men increase in wisdom as much as in knowledge, increase in knowledge will be increase in sorrow." While the Greeks and the others specialized in the subject of man in society, India specialized in man in depth, man as the individual, as Swami Ranganathananda puts it. This was one ruling passion of the Indo-Aryans in the Upanishads. The great sages of the Upanishads were concerned with man above and beyond his political or social dimensions. It was an inquiry, which challenged not only life but also death and resulted in the discovery of the immortal and the divine self of man.
Shaping the Indian Culture

The Upanishads gave a permanent orientation to Indian culture by their emphasis on inner penetration and their wholehearted advocacy of what the Greeks later formulated in the dictum "man, know thyself." All subsequent developments of Indian culture were powerfully conditioned by this Upanishadic legacy.
The Upanishads reveal an age characterized by a remarkable fervent of thought and inspiration. The physical and mental climate that made it possible is the land of plenty that was India. The entire social milieu of the Indo-Aryans was ripe with great potentialities. They had found leisure to think and ask questions. They had the choice to utilize the leisure either to conquer the outer world or the inner. With their mental gifts, they had turned their mental energies to the conquest of the inner world rather than of the world of matter and life at the sensate level.

The Upanishads have given us a body of insights that have a universal quality about them and this universality derives from their impersonality. The sages who discovered them had depersonalized themselves in the search for truth. They wanted to go beyond nature and realize the transcendental nature of man. They dared to take up this challenge and the Upanishads are the unique record of the methods they adopted, the struggles they undertook and the victory they achieved in this astonishing adventure of human spirit. And this is conveyed to us in passages of great power and poetic charm. In seeking the immortal, the sages conferred the immortality upon the literature that conveyed it.


The Principal Upanishads

In the Upanishads we can study the graceful conflict of thought with thought, the emergence of more satisfactory thought and the rejection of inadequate ideas. Hypotheses were advanced and rejected on the touchstone of experience and not at the dictate of a creed. Thus thought forged ahead to unravel the mystery of the world in which we live. Let's have a quick look at the 13 principal Upanishads:

Chandogya Upanishad

The Chandogya Upanishad is the Upanishad that belongs to the followers of the Sama Veda. It is actually the last eight chapters of the ten-chapter Chandogya Brahmana, and it emphasizes the importance of chanting the sacred Aum, and recommends a religious life, which constitutes sacrifice, austerity, charity, and the study of the Vedas, while living in the house of a guru. This Upanishad contains the doctrine of reincarnation as an ethical consequence of karma. It also lists and explains the value of human attributes like speech, will, thought, meditation, understanding, strength memory and hope.

Kena Upanishad

The Kena Upanishad derives its name from the word 'Kena', meaning 'by whom'. It has four sections, the first two in verse and the other two in prose. The metrical portion deals with the Supreme Unqualified Brahman, the absolute principle underlying the world of phenomenon, and the prose part deals with the Supreme as God, 'Isvara'. The Kena Upanishad concludes, as Sandersen Beck puts it, that austerity, restraint, and work are the foundation of the mystical doctrine; the Vedas are its limbs, and truth is its home. The one who knows it strikes off evil and becomes established in the most excellent, infinite, heavenly world.

Aitareya Upanishad

The Aitareya Upanishad belongs to the Rig Veda. It is the purpose of this Upanishad to lead the mind of the sacrificer away from the outer ceremonial to its inner meaning. It deals with the genesis of the universe and the creation of life, the senses, the organs and the organisms. It also tries to delve into the identity of the intelligence that allows us to see, speak, smell, hear and know.

Kaushitaki Upanishad

The Kaushitaki Upanishad explores the question whether there is an end to the cycle of reincarnation, and upholds the supremacy of the soul ('atman'), which is ultimately responsible for everything it experiences.

Katha Upanishad

Katha Upanishad, which belongs to the Yajur Veda, consists of two chapters, each of which has three sections. It employs an ancient story from the Rig Veda about a father who gives his son to death (Yama), while bringing out some of the highest teachings of mystical spirituality. There are some passages common to the Gita and Katha Upanishad. Psychology is explained here by using the analogy of a chariot. The soul is the lord of the chariot, which is the body; the intuition is the chariot-driver, the mind the reins, the senses the horses, and the objects of the senses the paths. Those whose minds are undisciplined never reach their goal, and go on to reincarnate. The wise and the disciplined, it says, obtain their goal and are freed from the cycle of rebirth.

Mundaka Upanishad

The Mundaka Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and has three chapters, each of which has two sections. The name is derived from the root 'mund' (to shave) as he that comprehends the teaching of the Upanishad is shaved or liberated from error and ignorance. The Upanishad clearly states the distinction between the higher knowledge of the Supreme Brahman and the lower knowledge of the empirical world — the six 'Vedangas' of phonetics, ritual, grammar, definition, metrics, and astrology. It is by this higher wisdom and not by sacrifices or worship, which are here considered 'unsafe boats', that one can reach the Brahman. Like the Katha, the Mundaka Upanishad warns against "the ignorance of thinking oneself learned and going around deluded like the blind leading the blind". Only an ascetic ('sanyasi') who has given up everything can obtain the highest knowledge.

Taittiriya Upanishad

The Taittiriya Upanishad is also part of the Yajur Veda. It is divided into three sections: The first deals with the science of phonetics and pronunciation, the second and the third deal with the knowledge of the Supreme Self ('Paramatmajnana'). Once again, here, Aum is emphasized as peace of the soul, and the prayers end with Aum and the chanting of peace ('Shanti') thrice, often preceded by the thought, "May we never hate." There is a debate regarding the relative importance of seeking the truth, going through austerity and studying the Vedas. One teacher says truth is first, another austerity, and a third claims that study and teaching of the Veda is first, because it includes austerity and discipline. Finally, it says that the highest goal is to know the Brahman, for that is truth.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which is generally recognized to be the most important of the Upanishads, consists of three sections ('Kandas'), the Madhu Kanda which expounds the teachings of the basic identity of the individual and the Universal Self, the Muni Kanda which provides the philosophical justification of the teaching and the Khila Kanda, which deals with certain modes of worship and meditation, ('upasana'), hearing the 'upadesha' or the teaching ('sravana'), logical reflection ('manana'), and contemplative meditation ('nididhyasana').

TS Eliot's landmark work The Waste Land ends with the reiteration of the three cardinal virtues from this Upanishad: 'Damyata' (restraint), 'Datta' (charity) and 'Dayadhvam' (compassion) followed by the blessing 'Shantih shantih shantih', that Eliot himself translated as "the peace that passeth understanding."

vetasvatara Upanishad

The Svetasvatara Upanishad derives its name from the sage who taught it. It is theistic in character and identifies the Supreme Brahman with Rudra (Shiva) who is conceived as the author of the world, its protector and guide. The emphasis is not on Brahman the Absolute, whose complete perfection does not admit of any change or evolution, but on the personal 'Isvara', omniscient and omnipotent who is the manifested Brahma. This Upanishad teaches the unity of the souls and world in the one Supreme Reality. It is an attempt to reconcile the different philosophical and religious views, which prevailed at the time of its composition.

Isavasya Upanishad

The Isavasya Upanishad derives its name from the opening word of the text 'Isavasya' or 'Isa', meaning 'Lord' that encloses all that moves in the world. Greatly revered, this short Upanishad is often put at the beginning of the Upanishads, and marks the trend toward monotheism in the Upanishads. Its main purpose is to teach the essential unity of God and the world, being and becoming. It is interested not so much in the Absolute in itself ('Parabrahman') as in the Absolute in relation to the world ('Paramesvara'). It says that renouncing the world and not coveting the possessions of others can bring joy. The Isha Upanishad concludes with a prayer to Surya (sun) and Agni (fire).

Prasna Upanishad

The Prashna Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and has six sections dealing with six questions or 'Prashna' put to a sage by his disciples. The questions are: From where are all the creatures born? How many angels support and illumine a creature and which is supreme? What is the relationship between the life-breath and the soul? What are sleep, waking, and dreams? What is the result of meditating on the word Aum? What are the sixteen parts of the Spirit? This Upanishad answers all these six vital questions.

Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad belongs to the Atharva Veda and is an exposition of the principle of Aum as consisting of three elements, a, u, m, which may be used to experience the soul itself. It contains twelve verses that delineate four levels of consciousness: waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and a fourth mystical state of being one with the soul. This Upanishad by itself, it is said, is enough to lead one to liberation.

Maitri Upanishad

The Maitri Upanishad is the last of what are known as the principal Upanishads. It recommends meditation upon the soul ('atman') and life ('prana'). It says that the body is like a chariot without intelligence but it is driven by an intelligent being, who is pure, tranquil, breathless, selfless, undying, unborn, steadfast, independent and endless. The charioteer is the mind, the reins are the five organs of perception, the horses are the organs of action, and the soul is unmanifest, imperceptible, incomprehensible, selfless, steadfast, stainless and self-abiding. It also tells the story of a king, Brihadratha, who realized that his body is not eternal, and went into the forest to practice austerity, and sought liberation from reincarnating existence.

Out of the Blue, my cat was returned. His name?

Mouse

A picture from 2003.  

Why God's future depends on science

Why God's future depends on science
The Washington Post
03/21/2011
By Deepak Chopra

Which will be more important in shaping your future, science or spirituality? For any number of people this sounds like an empty question. Science has shaped our age; religion is a declining force in the West, as it has been for decades. A clock could be placed behind every pulpit ticking off the thousands of people who leave organized faith behind every hour of the day. But there is a growing movement that is repairing the rift between science and religion. It has nothing to do with the noisy band of atheists who continue to foment discord between faith and reason. Rather, science has reached a point where certain basic mysteries cannot be solved without resorting to the one thing that spirituality has always specialized in: consciousness.

On that basis, groups of scientists have begun to eavesdrop on the future by looking into the worldview that we broadly call spiritual. One such gathering was recently held near San Diego, the second annual Sages and Scientists Symposium sponsored by the Chopra Foundation. Its purpose was to bring together not just the brightest scientific mind but also the perspective of a spirituality that is consciousness-based. It's hard to speak plainly about such things without stepping on toes. Science is dominated by materialism, a worldview that traces all activity, including our imagination and creativity, to physical processes in the brain, and these processes are either chemically determined or random, depending on which strain of materialism you confront. Spirituality, which is much broader than religion, is based on the assumption that a transcendent reality exists beyond the physical world. This is the domain of higher consciousness, or if you are conventionally minded, the home of the soul and God. It's hard to credit that either side would find much common ground.

But as the various talks offered here testify, there are enough mysteries to go around. Scientists who are willing to venture into speculative thinking, joined by sages from the world's wisdom traditions who are willing to look beyond arguments about God, face the same primal questions. Where did the universe come from? What preceded the Big Bang, before there was either "where" or "when"? A century after the quantum revolution in physics, science has to face up to the vanishing act that the physical universe pulled, as matter and energy were both seen to emerge from a timeless state that is either an empty void (which no one accepts) or a field of infinite possibilities, a veritable womb of creation (which almost everyone is beginning to accept, however offended science may be by learning that the world's ancient sages and spiritual teachers knew about this timeless domain long before physics arrived with its exact measuring devices.)

The reason that your future and mine depends on the settling of these questions isn't what you might think. Science can proceed perfectly well in everyday affairs without thinking about "metaphysics," as materialists like to call spirituality. For its part, spirituality can keep appealing to individuals one at a time as they arrive at personal crises, revelations, and awakenings. But what will be shortchanged is reality. Ultimately, worldviews are secondary. If X believes in Buddha and Y in thermodynamics, their two worlds can sit uneasily next to each other or simply not interact. But reality is a shared concern. It's also a topic we can't afford to leave to specialists. Where the cosmos came form means a great deal, because the answer will tell you where the human mind came from, and where it's going.

Is the universe conscious? If so, then our minds are embedded in the cosmic mind. Is the universe evolving? If so, that casts human evolution in a new light, along with the origin of life. These are not specialist questions. They go to the heart of the human condition. In that spirit, take a look at the attached talks by various illustrious, curious, open-minded speakers. Don't pigeonhole anyone as sage or scientist. Try not to join a camp for ideological reasons. There is a struggle going on between science and spirituality that will shape everyone's future, and if we each decide to join in, a blending may occur with magical consequences. What could be more fascinating? Together a complete engagement of the human faculties promises a more powerful and realistic basis for humanity's next evolutionary leap.

The Washington Post

Believe, The When, Was Where We're

I have lived my Life in Mortal Fear.

All because of what I had expected to have,

 to have, to Live thru Here!

It Was like a dream,

but Moreover, 

this Nightmare came True.

To See, What is, From where I've Been,

instills a strong belief-of-sin.

As You condemn what is Now,

I beg to differ with you still!!!

For When I Was and Saw from Then,

the hatred of yourselves, Drove-In!

Remembering That,

I know I'll go,

and be free of what I tow!!

No worries will I keep,

for people that I'll never meet.

To Work Oneself,

to set a snare,

to Know that Lives are Kept from There!

On occasion,

I Stop to stare.

Disbelief will cause Dispair

I Welcome All,

the rest of mine.

For I am sure,

 and you seem blind.

In keeping from The Begin,

I do believe, we must Ascend.

I know that I will be again.

Without the strife or dealings from Then.

A small Relief from knowing Them,

please remember not to Sin.

For with all Certainty,

and without Mend, 

I simply know that we have been.

Lovingly,

 a  dear and very old Friend.

Yoga is the work of the devil, says Vatican's chief exorcist (and he doesn't like Harry Potter much either)

• And you'll never guess what his favourite film is...

By NICK PISA
UPDATED: 12:50 EST, 25 November 2011

Father Gabriel Amorth has carried out more than 70,000 exorcisms in his capacity as Chief Exorcist at the
Vatican.
The 85-year-old can boast 25 years in the post after being appointed by the late Pope John Paul II.
At a conference today, he surprised the delegates by revealing some of his greatest dislikes - yoga and Harry Potter.
Father Amorth, a colourful and often outspoken personality, said:'Practising yoga brings evil as does reading Harry Potter. They may both seem innocuous but they both deal with magic and that leads to evil.'
He added:'Yoga is the Devil's work. You thing you are doing it for stretching your mind and body but it leads to Hinduism. All these oriental religions are based on the false belief of reincarnation.'
Father Amorth, speaking on the subject of People And Religion at a fringe event at the Umbria Film Festival in Terni, spoke of his distaste for JK Rowling's young wizard.
He said:'People think it is an innocuous book for children but it's about magic and that leads to evil. In Harry Potter the Devil is at work in a cunning and crafty way, he is using his extraordinary powers of magic and evil.

 




















Satan is always hidden and the thing he desires more than anything is for people to believe he does not exist. He studies each and everyone of us and our tendencies towards good and evil and then he tempts us.

'My advice to young people would be to watch out for nightclubs because the path is always the same: alcohol, sex, drugs and Satanic sects.'

It is not the first time that Father Amorth has raised eyebrows with his forthright views - last year he said that the ongoing child sex scandals rocking the Catholic Church were evidence that 'the Devil was at work in the Vatican.'

While in 2006, Father Amorth, who was ordained a priest in 1954, gave an interview to Vatican Radio in which he said that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Russian dictator Josef Stalin were both possessed by the Devil.
According to secret Vatican documents recently released the then wartime Pope Pius XII attempted a 'long distance exorcism' of Hitler but it failed to have any effect.

It is also not the first time that Father Amorth, who is president of the International Association of Exorcists, has spoken out against Harry Potter saying in the past that it opens children's minds to dabbling with the occult and black magic

Today Vanda Vanni, of the Italian Yoga Association, said:'A Satanic practice? Pardon the pun but that is an accusation that is neither in Heaven or on earth. Father Amorth's accusation is completely without foundation.

'It is an outrageous thing to say - yoga is not a religion but a spiritual discipline. It is about freedom and a search to find one's inner self. It does not touch religion and has nothing to do with Satanic sects nor does it encourage people to join them.

Giorgio Furlan, who runs the Yoga Academy in Rome, said`:'There are some paths of yoga which do lead towards Hinduism but other paths are more philosophical but their is no direct link with religion and certainly no link with Satanism.

'To say such things shows you have no idea of what you are talking about - yoga controls violent impulses of the nervous system and subconscious - to be honest with me it had the effect of bringing me closer to Christianity and in particular the Catholic Church which I had abandoned as a youngster.

Horrific: Satan at work in the 1973 film starring Linda Blair which is perhaps unsurprisingly Father Amorth's favourite film

___________________________________________________________________

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2066289/Yoga-work-devil-says-Vaticans-chief-exorcist-doesnt-like-Harry-Potter-either.html#ixzz27P3N8cuz
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A Game Of Long Time Past. Surreal Proves To Be Real!! How Scary

The temptation of the lies,

I watched and then I cried,

as the ripped away at my sides,

I stood and didn't die!

How easily a narcissist creates,

what they need and never gave.

Lessons in a cover-up,

no truth was taught, umbrella bought,

as lights shone in their Home.

Publicly they trend,

to UN-do your mend.

Speaking half-truths so this may end,

just to attack me once again.

Hidden Men, lurking women!

a driven madness from the begin.

Confessions made from a Member then,

"I followed you for them!"

Scary thoughts, of this I knew,

when I caught the first glimpse of you.

Difference lies in Truth he Told,

made me know I wasn't old.

I was a Teen

It is Something to wonder WHEN!!

It is Something to SEE back THEN!!
But the reality of such a claim,
makes you know;
It was all so Insane.

Should I have asked the question back in the day,

I would have been beaten for what you say.

~

Thank you for telling Me what You did.
It is appreciated and a very long time coming!

7/13/2011

Ambient Abuse

Ambient abuse is the stealth, subtle, underground currents of maltreatment that sometimes go unnoticed even by the victims themselves, until it is too late. Ambient abuse penetrates and permeates everything - but is difficult to pinpoint and identify. It is ambiguous, atmospheric, diffuse. Hence its insidious and pernicious effects. It is by far the most dangerous kind of abuse there is. 

It is the outcome of fear - fear of violence, fear of the unknown, fear of the unpredictable, the capricious, and the arbitrary. It is perpetrated by dropping subtle hints, by disorienting, by constant - and unnecessary - lying, by persistent doubting and demeaning, and by inspiring an air of unmitigated gloom and doom ("gaslighting"). 

Ambient abuse, therefore, is the fostering, propagation, and enhancement of an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, instability, unpredictability and irritation. There are no acts of traceable explicit abuse, nor any manipulative settings of control. Yet, the irksome feeling remains, a disagreeable foreboding, a premonition, a bad omen. 

In the long term, such an environment erodes the victim's sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Self-confidence is shaken badly. Often, the victim adopts a paranoid or schizoid stance and thus renders himself or herself exposed even more to criticism and judgment. The roles are thus reversed: the victim is considered mentally deranged and the abuser - the suffering soul. 

There are five categories of ambient abuse and they are often combined in the conduct of a single abuser: 

Inducing Disorientation 

The abuser causes the victim to lose faith in her ability to manage and to cope with the world and its demands. She no longer trusts her senses, her skills, her strengths, her friends, her family, and the predictability and benevolence of her environment. 

The abuser subverts the target's focus by disagreeing with her way of perceiving the world, her judgment, the facts of her existence, by criticizing her incessantly - and by offering plausible but specious alternatives. By constantly lying, he blurs the line between reality and nightmare. 

By recurrently disapproving of her choices and actions - the abuser shreds the victim's self-confidence and shatters her self-esteem. By reacting disproportionately to the slightest "mistake" - he intimidates her to the point of paralysis.

Incapacitating

The abuser gradually and surreptitiously takes over functions and chores previously adequately and skillfully performed by the victim. The prey finds itself isolated from the outer world, a hostage to the goodwill - or, more often, ill-will - of her captor. She is crippled by his encroachment and by the inexorable dissolution of her boundaries and ends up totally dependent on her tormentor's whims and desires, plans and stratagems. 

Moreover, the abuser engineers impossible, dangerous, unpredictable, unprecedented, or highly specific situations in which he is sorely needed. The abuser makes sure that his knowledge, his skills, his connections, or his traits are the only ones applicable and the most useful in the situations that he, himself, wrought. The abuser generates his own indispensability.

Shared Psychosis

The abuser creates a fantasy world, inhabited by the victim and himself, and besieged by imaginary enemies. He allocates to the abused the role of defending this invented and unreal Universe. She must swear to secrecy, stand by her abuser no matter what, lie, fight, pretend, obfuscate and do whatever else it takes to preserve this oasis of inanity. 

Her membership in the abuser's "kingdom" is cast as a privilege and a prize. But it is not to be taken for granted. She has to work hard to earn her continued affiliation. She is constantly being tested and evaluated. Inevitably, this interminable stress reduces the victim's resistance and her ability to "see straight". 

Abuse of Information 

From the first moments of an encounter with another person, the abuser is on the prowl. He collects information. The more he knows about his potential victim - the better able he is to coerce, manipulate, charm, extort or convert it "to the cause". The abuser does not hesitate to misuse the information he gleans, regardless of its intimate nature or the circumstances in which he obtained it. This is a powerful tool in his armory. 

Control by Proxy 

If all else fails, the abuser recruits friends, colleagues, mates, family members, the authorities, institutions, neighbours, the media, teachers - in short, third parties - to do his bidding. He uses them to cajole, coerce, threaten, stalk, offer, retreat, tempt, convince, harass, communicate and otherwise manipulate his target. He controls these unaware instruments exactly as he plans to control his ultimate prey. He employs the same mechanisms and devices. And he dumps his props unceremoniously when the job is done. 

Another form of control by proxy is to engineer situations in which abuse is inflicted upon another person. Such carefully crafted scenarios of embarrassment and humiliation provoke social sanctions (condemnation, opprobrium, or even physical punishment) against the victim. Society, or a social group become the instruments of the abuser. 

 Cliques of Bullies 

Of course, ambient or stealth abuse and manipulation can exist in the context of any kind of relationship and intimacy whatsoever. However, sly abuse of power and underhanded manipulation, with bizarre paranoid malicious gossip and all manner of Sadistic instigators and their eager and foolish proxy pawns, are only all the easier given distance, even shunning and social isolation as experienced by targets of relational bullying and harassment, scapegoats, dissidents and whistleblowers. 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_ambient_or_stealth_abuse

A Breeze To Be Me

In the furthest most reach of this galaxy,

a universal breeze blows ever so gently.

To breath in the air of the calmness of such beauty,

I rest.

The explosion of a Star,

bursts into a fiery spread of suns in the distance.

The developing moons are ancient in construction.

I move to know my fear,

so I may know myself.

Bursting at the seams of these Mortal Boundaries,

I yearn for more of the abundance that Nature gives so freely.

Without hesitance, I accept,
 that I build a Life,
One day at a time.

The Anger Within Reveals, I've been.

An Atrocity?!!?

I passed away.

As not to succumb or be,

 in the way of Country,

 whom tossed and blew Human Beings onto.....,

I speak.

Intimidation can be strong.

It often pushes back.

Do you want to be whom stood?

Or be whom saw and balked?

Regardless of your sight-full wound,

it is the ones we cannot see.

Those Injuries that bleed us dry,

that requires such surgery.

There is no drug,

no doctor's knife,

to cut this Wound from Us.

But for Reasons;

I believe,

it may bring....

 "Unique" 

to Trust.

However hard.

Whatever scene!

In that Movie that is played,

the one that rounds your mind.

It seems to play,

 in equal time,

to rate the Play in You!!

To be Afraid?

Or just to Fear....

the Sight of Disbelief.

A Natural State Affair!!!

This is not "Bust"

nor a fix.

It could just be,

 "What is"

P.T.S.D.

is not for ME!!

I'm sure I Volunteered. 

"To SURVIVE?"

Regardless,

"Hi!"

I'm here to remember..... 

"All of Thee?"

Belittle this or make this less,

than what......

 ! THIS REALLY IS !

You will find,

nightmares get worse,

 and cures elude your Mind.

The interest in,

or,

the research of,

Post Traumatic Stress

Inferred.

Survival of our Minds!

Our Souls!!

Let alone,

our Bodies hold.

Not a Primary Goal.

So, as it grows,

Suicide that is...

no-one seems to...

 !! "NO" !!

! WAKE-UP OLD-Soul !

Wake Your-Self!?! 

just to know....

...,  your value is untold !!

!! But !!

Take your life? 

You'll cause us strife.

!! Confusion not yet told !!

I've see what is.

For snuffed I was...

stuck staring at myself.

Just a Girl.

Not three-feet in length...

I worry myself....still.

To understand the acts of man,

I wonder why I am.

Jumped back in,

my coldest-Self,

took off that bag of fear.

For what I saw,

and why I jumped,

I'm selfish, not "A Dear."

This "Thing,"

it streamed behind my neck,

   !!! I'd missed my ride from here !!!

So...

I did jump back in Myself,

gasped for breath to be.

Now stuck with YOU!!

but gone straight through.

"This RAGED in ME for YEARS" 

A Child I was,

so close to be....out of this Mess....

 .... of Humanity!

How can I not,

look back at "Tot,"

and wish for any other lot?

"Throw the Bones"

....than to Escape,

and become,

any other thing,

that's been.

But, I am,
 what has been.

And, I was born to be,
 "A Sage" and "A Seer"

I have the ability
"To Know."

A Natural Knowledge,
"To Answer."

It is,
The Why,
which eludes me.

James Blunt - I Don't Believe It

I Don't Believe (It)

I don't believe in what they say,
I don´t believe in the morals the set
cause I believe I don´t have to regret,
Whatever happens when we have met,

And can't you see that you are stuck,
in this poor world where life is luck,
and no one really gives a damn,
what you want or who I am.

And, oh I think I've had enough,
Your attitude is really rough.
stop getting high on all this shit,
you can't hide in the corner to escape,
from it

Oh, I can't see whay I should,
carry on not understood.
By moralistic people who,
don't believe in what I do.

You seem to think that you are free,
living in democracy,
but the other people all around,
will talk about you, and put you down.

And, oh I think I've had enough,
their attitude is oh so rough.
Let's quit this moralistic crap,
leave me alone and get off my back.

Well, the image conscious who reject me,
have their rep but they're not free.
Setting standards for a show,
but do they live life,
oh no.

They talk about being cool,
stick like sheep, and play the rules.
You've heard their morals and you agree,
stuck with them and not with me.

I don't believe in what you said.
I don't believe in promises
But I can believe you let me down.
lovin' life over now.

Over now, over now, over now.

I don't believe in what they say,
I don't believe in the morals they set.
Cause I believe I don't have to regret,
Whatever happens when we have met.

And can't you see that you are stuck,
I this poor world where life is luck.
And, no one really gives a damn,
what you want or who I am.

And, oh I think I've had enough,
your attitude is really rough.
Stop getting high on all this shit,
you can't hide in the corner to escape,
from it
from it.

A Progressive Thought, is an Atheist Thought?

Releasing the bind of our relations upon this Earth to envelope that which may have come before our existence here....... may allow us to interest ourselves in what has been lost and/or destroyed for the sake of modern day religion and the success thereof.  

Much of what seems to remain unknown to us due to the lack of our ability to translate old text, may have contained answers for today's lack of Innocent Faith.

In order to maintain structure in any civilization or society, there must be a Main Vein of driven mentality for the sake of growth and prosperity.

Who will process the Laws that dictate the Belief at Hand?

Is religion what sustains this type of understanding?  If so, is a Pagan or is Paganism accepted in it's whole or rejected as being not worthy, or, of the quality to be a Self-sustaining belief, recognized as such and in turn considered for measurement against the standards put forth today and in the most recent past?  

It has been such in my life, that even the entertainment of such a concept as a Spiritual Belief, has been rejected out-of-hand, threatening the balance of popular belief, i.e. Christianity.

A Quote from a person in my past.

"Progressive Thought is an Atheist Thought."

I do not believe that this is true.  How about YOU??

For The Wisdom Of Sake

In the Worth of your Mind;

A suggestion.

Be kind to Yourself.

Be Wise and Prudent in such an act.

Avoid a miserable demise,

in a life full of lies.

To practice Candor with One's Self,

is a Peaceful Approach.

A desire to Think with Independence,

to Structure your Mind,

creates a Foundation of Strength.

 Jurisprudence

Blindness to the Progression of Thought,

will deliver only Bought.

Develop a Broader View.

Know your Measure!

Seed your Understanding,

 with a Balance of Acceptance.

Thoughts of Difference,

create a Singular Mind, 

of "Matters."

To cause a rift in the tides of the rivers that flow with no philosophical mind,

is to fight the pen delivering this ink to write with.

Where are the lessons of life recorded?

Are there only Commands to be followed?

Is it only in the study of Old that you can even find the Theory of Philosophy in Thought?

Is it only in the rule of religious law that such messages are taught of Historical plight?

Let alone sought. As it seems past history of such things has all but disappeared.

Do you not fear, a life so near, that speaks with no breath to announce our end?

A silent passing to a place that today's mindless faith has no question as to how.

~ or ~

What to do if?  

Believe? or even think? should the next move come in less than a blink.

To never consider the action,

or the act to bring to Conscious Thought and Practice Of,

 the reality that death will bring to you the finality of your existence in this place,

is simply ignorance of the next.

For in this very idea or lack-thereof,

neither must be and yet, both are a reality to me.

The stubborn persist of a stoic mind.