| Hey yāall, happy to be back.
Launching right in with...
Upper limit overwhelm šµ
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Relateful Camp was so good. It was better than even I expected. Better even in the ways Iād hopedāthe wholeness, where people were resolving dark patterns and also relaxing, transforming and also resting, coming from nowhere to get, and getting so much. It was connected, peaceful, full, and healthy. Healthy most of all; healthier than any other event Iāve been to, embracing a much fuller range of the human experience, mundane and sublime, simple and complex, superficial and deep, playful and serious. And so much music! We are an insanely talented group!Ā
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There were a few moments where I found a (rare-for-me) āupper limitā overwhelm. Reaching my window of tolerance, but from so much simple goodness. One time I was simply walking down a path in the woods, but fully present to the event in its wholeness. Normally people notice overwhelm when their identity doesnāt know how to make sense of the violence, or boundary violation, or uncertainty, of something stressful or "negative" in their experience. āThe bottom drops out.ā This was more like āthe top flew off;ā something so good it questioned the self-and-world I normally hold to be stable.
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I wonder if this āupper limit overwhelmā is more common than we realize, particularly in the face of love. Unconditional love undoes our self-concepts, particularly the ones of being not OK, sinful, having to earn worthiness, connection, etc. Iāll be looking out for these, and actively surrendering into more love.
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(Ethics of) Endosymbiosis š«
I've been obsessing over this concept of "Endosymbiosis" from cell biology, where an individual entity (like a mitochondria) becomes fully integrated into a larger collective (like a cell), creating a mutually beneficial relationship. Both the individual and the collective are better off.Ā
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I believe we should strive for endosymbiotic relationships with each other, humanity, and consciousness as a whole. Itās not an obvious defaultāthere are systems (like current social media) where individuals can benefit at the cost of the collective. Similarly, there are systems that require individuals to sacrifice themselves for the collective (like feeling guilty for privilege).
However, endosymbiotic relating is a viable option. It may take investing time and creativity to discover these potentials, but I believe we can create dynamics where your well-being enhances the whole, and the whole's well-being enhances yours. I think itās a good ethical compass to measure action against. Let's aim for nothing less.
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Micro-transformation: Space š«§
We often stare into space, weāre always looking through it, but how often do you look at it?
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Iāve spent my whole life looking at stuff, hardly ever looking at the space the stuff is in. You can try it now. Look at something, like a tree. Then notice how much space is between you-the-observer, and that tree. Then notice how itās surrounded by space, thereās so much of it! The space is everywhere!
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Then for me another cool thing happens, maybe it will for you too. The distinction between tree-ness and the space gets a little blurryāwhile still maintaining their difference!ālike the old optical illusion of the faces and the vase, but 3D. And then instead of observing it, I put my āIā into it and become this happening, and everything flattens from all directions.
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I guess this is the visual equivalent of seeing the emptiness between thoughts, the silence that holds sounds, the awareness that everything arises in, but if you donāt worry about all the spiritual jargon you might have a neat shift in your state that you can find your own language and uses for.
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