Grasping for relevance is an energy sink
getLOST Weekly #3
Like a mixture of toxic chemicals that when combined in the body amplifies lethality, we as a species have found ourselves drinking a cocktail of chaos. There are at least three ingredients: the growth of techno-centric & corpo-centric thinking, the bombardment of polarizing propaganda, and the dangling carrot of potential recognition.
The interplay of these flavors are intoxicating to our individual pride. It blows air into our sense of productivity—keep writing catchy tag-lines, people need products! It amplifies our sense of self by “othering”—we feel good about being us because we don’t believe what those people believe!
We drink the poison because it keeps us narrowly focused on maintaining relevance in a hyper-connected, and ever-changing world.
It makes us feel like we have something to hold while we’re laying down the necessary bricks for our personal and collective futures. But what kind of reality do we wish to walk and does the path we’re on now really feel all that safe?
It seems to me that the bricks we are laying are merely compressed sod, painted red, and although they build paths, they only last so long. With enough rain and traffic, we soon may not have anything to walk on at all.
Are factory-compressed sod bricks, mass produced at our convenience, really what we want? Or do we want expert craftsmen building our bricks for the integrity of our individual paths?
We want our bricks to be as healthy and sustainable as the cells in our body.
They need to be dynamic, adaptable to the major shifts of the earth (and the universe). They need to be durable and flexible to weather storms, and have the ability to evolve to meet uncertain futures. Without such bricks, we inch our way closer to the pathless realm of chaos.
I don’t mean to provoke. We all house chaos within us. It’s not just the locust plague on the horizon, it’s the ever-flowing stream of opportunities being thrown at us in every moment.
Life is a series of choices. Choices that can align or contradict with what we want as individuals. If we were to make most of our decisions in alignment with our true sense of self, then as a society we might begin seeing our collective future as not a place of darkness or oblivion, but overwhelming light and infinite potential.
One of the old, rotting parts of our culture, is the importance pressed upon us that to be seen is the ultimate goal of any human endeavor. That the game must be played with wit and determination in order to be connected with by people and applauded for our glorious contribution to society.
Within the vast difference between creating for the benefit of life and creating for the benefit of relevance, our humanity and culture seems to be challenged by a toxic need for relevancy.
It doesn’t have to be like this, though.
We can peel back the corrosive film laid over us by modern culture and genetically modified by the powers of governance. Our greatest protection from feeling the cravings of relevancy and its subsequent traps is through the seeking and knowing of our incorruptible self.
We must see beyond what has obscured our vision, to begin deepening our sense of what we are and what we want. Our contributions to society will reflect what we’ve learned about ourselves. With a strong sense of self, we will naturally choose rebellion over conformity and the health of humanity over personal reputation.
We were raised in a world of established “truths,” and then inspired to engage with a society built by those truths. We were told to grab the baton and run faster than everyone else, while being persuaded that society isn’t crumbling all around us.
“It’s not so bad! Why don’t you just try winning the race? It’s the only way to succeed. And if you don’t win, you might as well finish the race. What else are you going to do?” they might say.
The world is connecting more quantitatively but less qualitatively. The internet has developed more tissue between us, but the blood flow of our connection isn’t keeping that tissue healthy. More information doesn’t make us more human.
However, more information and access to people does provide more opportunities to seek relevance. This has developed a kind of gamification element to life, whereby people consume more media to strategize and plot new ways to obtain and maintain some kind of status.
Many people play life like a game. That isn’t a problem, but oftentimes, “players” tend to see other people as NPCs (non-playable characters, soulless wandering code).
A problem arises when the game of life is played to “win” and be seen by a society that falters in its obligations to preserve and empower individual, autonomous expression. By playing the man-made game of life rather than our own authentic version, we face becoming pawns that someone else plays.
If we struggle to be recognized or valued, and motivate ourselves based on a sense of lack, then we risk willingly giving ourselves up to be used like batteries.
Grasping for relevance is an energy sink.
comment-wise
Strangers sharing wise, heartfelt and relevant words with other strangers.
This week’s comments are a bit out there! It’s for those interested in psychedelic experiences, the difficult-to-explain, zany nature of tripping on power plants.
eso-excerpt
A sample of secret knowledge.
We’re jumping back into Carlos Castaneda’s work. The fourth book in his series of eight covering his experiences with Don Juan, a Toltec master seer.
The following excerpt illuminates the “the warriors need to believe” and comes from Part Two: The Tonal and The Nagual, Hard to Believe:
“Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge,” he said. “A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.”
His tone was dry and severe, but his smile was warm and disarming.
“Now that you are here, what we’ll do is wait for an omen,” he said.
“What kind of omen? I asked.
“We need to find out whether your power can stand on its own,” he said. “The last time it petered out miserably; this time the circumstances of your personal life appear to have given you, at least on the surface, all the necessities to deal with the sorcerers’ explanation.”
“Is there a chance that you might tell me about it?” I asked.
“It depends on your personal power,” he said. “As is always the case in doings and not-doings of warriors, personal power is the only thing that matters. So far, I should say that you’re doing fine.”
…..
“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge,” he went on, “while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse. The fact that you’re here today indicates that you have tipped the scales in favor of the warrior’s way.”
…..
“…the secret of a warrior is that he believes without believing. But obviously a warrior cannot just say he believes and let it go at that. That would be too easy. To just believe would exonerate him from examining his situation. A warrior, whenever he has to involve himself with believing, does it as a choice, as an expression of his innermost predilection. A warrior doesn’t believe, a warrior has to believe…”
“What I’ve been trying to tell you is that as a warrior you cannot just believe this and let it go at that. With Max [a cat that escaped his death at the vet], having to believe means that you accept the fact that his escape might have been a useless outburst. He might have jumped into the sewer and died instantly. He might have drowned or starved to death, or he might have been eaten by rats. A warrior considers all those possibilities and then chooses to believe in accordance with his innermost predilection.”
“As a warrior you have to believe that Max made it, that he not only escaped but that he sustained his power. You have to believe it. Let’s say that without that belief you have nothing.”
substack love
My reading rec for a piece written (or spoken) by another writer on substack.
Hue-man from The Hue-Man Experience has built an oasis on the internet. I’ve traveled the far corners of the web and with every expedition I come back to myself parched, with cracked lips and an unbearable fatigue.
Ever since finding his page on substack I’ve been greedily dipping my bucket into the waters of THE. When I get back to the world IRL, I’m refreshed and empowered—no need for chapstick and a nap!
What I enjoy about the above piece is that it contains all the wisdom I’ve grown accustom to, but with the added benefit of hearing Hue-Man speak his words. His voice is like whip cream, smooth and cheering, but without all the sugar that rots your teeth!
“Learning to let go,” is a major theme of getLOST. Hue-Man lovingly offers his knowledge of “loss” as an undeniably powerful, catalytic aspect of personal expansion. Check it out, ASAP!
larkonthelam update!
My trials, tribulations and transparencies as I explore self-liberation.
CURRENT SITUATION
My tiny community is planning on moving! We have another two weeks before we make a decision on where to go. We have an opportunity to temporarily live and co-steward a 100+ acre vineyard in Hopland, CA, closer to the coast than where we are now.
That means we need to clear out the random things we’ve accrued over the years and clean up the wilderness of our yard! We know full well that “wild gardening” is not as pleasing to other people, ha! Luckily for us though, we might have a friend taking over the place.
SPIRITUAL PROCESS
Severe tooth pain on the left side of my mouth. Nothing physical helped (hot water, ice, clove oil). Too painful to meditate through it. Asked for help. My friend tuned-in. This is what she helped me see:
Energetic trauma: The energy was trying to show me the pain and frustration (teeth-grinding induced trauma) of my failures of “being a leader.” My soul has spent many lifetimes with good intentions, wanting to help people, but ultimately becoming a tyrant, an abuser of people. No wonder I’ve shirked away from being a leader in this lifetime! I almost have an irrational fear of it.
Realization: I’m becoming a co-creator of my reality rather than a researcher and analyzer. I’ve spent many years tuning-in to the universe for answers and direction, asking how I might position myself to receive appropriate and worthwhile experiences. I realized that I am becoming a great collaborator to the universe and there is no decision-making necessary. There is only the creative flow between myself and the unknowable.
WORK & MONEY
Current work
Two garden clients: pruning, weeding by hand, planting, irrigation maintenance, general planning. $25 an hour.
Income ($200)
Garden client #1
$50 one day
$75 one day
$75 one day
Expenditure ($130)
Coffee/Tea
$15 total
Microphone
$70 total
Dine out
$15 total
Car Insurance
$30 total
Bank Total ($169)
Before this week, $99
SPECIAL EVENTS
None to report!
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I think it all comes down to whether your action in this world is motivated by feelings of abundance or, as you said, lack.
People who feel abundance flowing through them tend to serve themselves through their service to others. They recognize how we are each pieces of the same Divine Puzzle which fit together perfectly.
People who are motivated by feelings of scarcity try to make sure they get "what is theirs" and often step on others in the process.
I love reading trip reports to hear about the experiences others have on DMT, mushrooms, and other psychedelics. It's so fun to see the similarities between so many folks, and how many of them go to the same place as the others.
Write on, homie. I am enjoying each piece you put out. And thanks for the hat tip! Your kind words put a big smile on my face this morning.
Yeah, I think I’m drawn to writing about lack-motivated behavior because of how familiar I am with it at this point in my life. Just as much from my individual experience as what I’ve witnessed from others.
I think I’m still “trying on” behaving with a sense of abundance. It’s difficult to maintain. It’s a way of life, an energy that I know can be self-perpetuating, but I think the breaking down and the building back up has taken the lion’s share of my focus.
My process is ultimately leading me to wisdom and compassion and the total awareness that there is no lack within me. I still have pieces to bring together to fully grasp though, and then to truly see myself in the “Divine Puzzle,” as you wrote.
Yeah, trip reports fascinate me to no end. Had a small group of psychedelic explorers that I rolled with for a couple months in NYC. DMT provided some profound experiences--otherworldly, inner-worldly, it put the magic and mystery of the universe back in focus in my life!
The Hue-Man Experience is an awesome place. You’ve built something of substance and should be proud. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I tip my hat to you!