I'm reading "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder. What we all do grows freedom. Very good.
🔸️Do not obey In advance🔸️Defend institutions🔸️Beware the one-party state🔸️Take responsibility for the face of the world🔸️Remember professional ethics🔸️Be wary of paramilitaries🔸️Be reflective if you must be armed🔸️Stand out🔸️Be kind to our language🔸️Believe in truth🔸️Investigate🔸️Make eye contact and small talk🔸️Practice corporeal politics🔸️Establish a private life🔸️Contribute to good causes🔸️Learn from peers in other countries🔸️Listen for dangerous words🔸️Be calm when the unthinkable arrives🔸️Be a patriot🔸️Be as courageous as you can
Thank you, Dr Lee. I appreciate you. That you are a scientist and a seeker makes perfect sense to me. I love your clarity and compassion. I hear you. Thank you for your Light in this collective hot-mess moment.
For subscribers to this substack they are recorded, at least the first part where Dr Lee speaks for about 20-30 minutes...After registering for the talk, you will get the notice of the Zoom link and after the meeting you will get a recording in your email...I am not sure if the Q and A following Dr Lees talk is recorded...
I should have been more specific- you have to be a paid subscriber...To do this go to Substack and then get to the top right three bars icon which will take you to your subscriptions (or use the search bar- I really find Substack hard to navigate so I may not be giving you the exact correct steps)...Anyway find Bandy Lee (or you can get there by a previous email of her newsletter maybe)...The cost is either $7 per month or $70 for the year...Then you should start getting the links...I hope this works for you and that you can be there for the Friday discussions...This past week was really excellent...
"Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate to the sound of our purpose." - Deng Ming-Dao
The paragraph about scientists listening to angels and psychiatrists with a divinity degree is a wonderful summary of how both approaches are necessary to wrestle with the dilemmas that we currently face.
"The greatest hindrances to compassion [are] anger and hatred. As we all know, these are extremely powerful emotions and they can overwhelm our entire mind. Nevertheless, they can be controlled. If, however, they are not, these negative emotions will plague us - with no extra effort on their part! - and impede our quest for the happiness of a loving mind.
So as a start, it is useful to investigate whether or not anger is of value. Sometimes, when we are discouraged by a difficult situation, anger does seem helpful, appearing to bring with it more energy, confidence and determination.
Here, though, we must examine our mental state carefully. While it is true that anger brings extra energy, if we explore the nature of this energy, we discover that it is blind: we cannot be sure whether its result will be positive or negative. This is because anger eclipses the best part of our brain: its rationality. So the energy of anger is almost always unreliable. It can cause an immense amount of destructive, unfortunate behavior. Moreover, if anger increases to the extreme, one becomes like a mad person, acting in ways that are as damaging to oneself as they are to others. It is possible, however, to develop an equally forceful but far more controlled energy with which to handle difficult situations.
This controlled energy comes not only from a compassionate attitude, but also from reason and patience. These are the most powerful antidotes to anger. Unfortunately, many people misjudge these qualities as signs of weakness. I believe the opposite to be true: that they are the true signs of inner strength. Compassion is by nature gentle, peaceful and soft, but it is very powerful. It is those who easily lose their patience who are insecure and unstable. Thus, to me, the arousal of anger is a direct sign of weakness.
So, when a problem first arises, try to remain humble and maintain a sincere attitude and be concerned that the outcome is fair. Of course, others may try to take advantage of you, and if your remaining detached only encourages unjust aggression, adopt a strong stand, This, however, should be done with compassion, and if it is necessary to express your views and take strong countermeasures, do so without anger or ill-intent.
You should realize that even though your opponents appear to be harming you, in the end, their destructive activity will damage only themselves. In order to check your own selfish impulse to retaliate, you should recall your desire to practice compassion and assume responsibility for helping prevent the other person from suffering the consequences of his or her acts.
Thus, because the measures you employ have been calmly chosen, they will be more effective, more accurate and more forceful. Retaliation based on the blind energy of anger seldom hits the target."
"On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy" by Lee McIntyre
Ten ways everyone helps stop disinformation in its tracks are in Chapter 6 "How to Win the War on Truth" as long as we all do everything we can.
🔶️Confront the liars🔶️Be a truth teller🔶️Resist polarization🔶️Realize the zombie foot soldiers are victims too🔶️Tune out the BS that there's nothing you can do🔶️Don't fall for false solutions that take 30 years to do🔶️It's false to claim good information stops bad information, it does not🔶️Engage in political activism🔶️Know you are not alone🔶️Keep learning more how disinformation works
My husband was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 17 years in Kathmandu, Nepal. As a result, I became very aware of Buddhist teachings. One thing that has always stayed with me is a statement made by H.H. the Dalai Lama. When asked if he hates the Chinese, he paused, then answered, "Almost not. What I do is, I take in their hatred, their anger and turn it into love. Then I give love back to them."
"A miracle is a miracle... until it becomes science..." Maybe a super smart guy w a high IQ called Jesus just intuitively knew CPR & "raised Lazarus from the dead" like Einstein intuitively knew/discovered E=mc2? Maybe the Biblical Egyptian Plague that "spared" the Jews has an unknown backstory? Maybe the Jews had some Indiana Jones guys or some science-nerds in their tribe w excellent problem solving & critical thinking skills/imagination & said to each other: "We need to stay away from the sick/dying Egyptians; let's ISOLATE ourselves!!! Let's put blood on our doors so the 'Angel of Death" (aka the Bubonic Plague), will spare us bec. who the hell in their right mind would enter a front door of a home that's dripping in blood!!?? Problem solved! Isolation "spared" the Jews. And they all had some wine & celebrated PASSOVER... w/o having Purell, Masks or Microscopes! Seriously... The "very smart" amongst us are the "real" Angels as they're attuned or are connected to the QUANTUM FIELD more than the rest of us... They resonate at the FM band & we are at the frequency of "stupid" when we can't follow Mother Nature's rules... So we can just talk the language of Religion or the Language of Science; same coin, different sides... and Yes... sadly... the "Battle Between Good & Evil" aka "The Battle Between the Psychopaths & Non-Psychopaths" has just begun... Pick up our "Swords of Truth" & the "Swords of Knowledge" & "Swords of Creative Problem Solving" and let's get our heads in the game People! We have no other choice... May The Force Be With Us...
With one exception, everything in today's newsletter is in harmony with my understanding of reality. The one exception is Descartes' "I think therefore I am" philosophy. To me, it's as if he had an insight and got interrupted part way through writing it down. What if he did? Maybe his initial intent was to write "I think therefore I am ... making potentially erroneous but testable assumptions." If everyone adopted that philosophy, the world would be a much better place. Instead, way too many people behave as if their philosophy is "I think therefore I am ... right, anyone who disagrees with me is wrong, and this conversation is over."
Thank you, Dr. Lee, for the inspiring glimpse into cross-cultural friendship during World War 2, which can be World War Last, with perseverance from clear-minded, ethical persons. Certain political and military persons who have soiled their legacies with military atrocities and genocide would look better through a slide into World War 3, for lack of contrast. I also appreciate the reference to Descartes and "je pense, donc je suis...Cogito ergo sum... I think, therefore I am," which assures us, as thinking creatures, that we are not an illusion but in actual existence. There may also be a suggestion that thinking, particularly right thinking, extends existence, whereas as not thinking and bad thinking have the opposite effect. Jesus Christ is famous for his "I am" statements ("ego eimi"), particularly in the gospel according to John. He also asked his opponents in John 10:34-36:
"Is it not written in your law, 'I said, You are gods"'?
"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
"do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?"
One may infer that, in the Bible, writings written "with the finger of God," and writings which "cannot be broken," are both physically and ethically superior to ordinary longhand, and cannot be cancelled out once set out and properly computed. The scripture being referenced by Jesus is the 82nd psalm, and one may particularly consider verses 6 and 7, which state:
"I said, 'You are gods [/god],
And all of you are children of the Most High.
'But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes'" [insertion, alternative rendering of 'elohim, mine].
Note: English Bible references from the New King James Version (1992).
I'm reading "On Tyranny" by Timothy Snyder. What we all do grows freedom. Very good.
🔸️Do not obey In advance🔸️Defend institutions🔸️Beware the one-party state🔸️Take responsibility for the face of the world🔸️Remember professional ethics🔸️Be wary of paramilitaries🔸️Be reflective if you must be armed🔸️Stand out🔸️Be kind to our language🔸️Believe in truth🔸️Investigate🔸️Make eye contact and small talk🔸️Practice corporeal politics🔸️Establish a private life🔸️Contribute to good causes🔸️Learn from peers in other countries🔸️Listen for dangerous words🔸️Be calm when the unthinkable arrives🔸️Be a patriot🔸️Be as courageous as you can
This is absolutely excellent and essential advice.
Thank you, Dr Lee. I appreciate you. That you are a scientist and a seeker makes perfect sense to me. I love your clarity and compassion. I hear you. Thank you for your Light in this collective hot-mess moment.
Are these events ever recorded. Dr. Lee is terrific and I have previous plans. I just discovered her on Substack and am so glad I did….
I believe she has a YouTube channel, too!
Yes, she does.
I do follow her but I rarely use X any more, so I don’t know how active she is.
For subscribers to this substack they are recorded, at least the first part where Dr Lee speaks for about 20-30 minutes...After registering for the talk, you will get the notice of the Zoom link and after the meeting you will get a recording in your email...I am not sure if the Q and A following Dr Lees talk is recorded...
I did not get either a Zoom or a replay. As I’m fairly new to Substack,,I don’t know how to let her know. Yes, I am subscribed. Thanks!
I should have been more specific- you have to be a paid subscriber...To do this go to Substack and then get to the top right three bars icon which will take you to your subscriptions (or use the search bar- I really find Substack hard to navigate so I may not be giving you the exact correct steps)...Anyway find Bandy Lee (or you can get there by a previous email of her newsletter maybe)...The cost is either $7 per month or $70 for the year...Then you should start getting the links...I hope this works for you and that you can be there for the Friday discussions...This past week was really excellent...
BEGINNING
"Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate to the sound of our purpose." - Deng Ming-Dao
Mark 10:44 KJV
And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. Thanks for sharing your heart Dr. Lee. You are displaying the love of God!
The paragraph about scientists listening to angels and psychiatrists with a divinity degree is a wonderful summary of how both approaches are necessary to wrestle with the dilemmas that we currently face.
"The greatest hindrances to compassion [are] anger and hatred. As we all know, these are extremely powerful emotions and they can overwhelm our entire mind. Nevertheless, they can be controlled. If, however, they are not, these negative emotions will plague us - with no extra effort on their part! - and impede our quest for the happiness of a loving mind.
So as a start, it is useful to investigate whether or not anger is of value. Sometimes, when we are discouraged by a difficult situation, anger does seem helpful, appearing to bring with it more energy, confidence and determination.
Here, though, we must examine our mental state carefully. While it is true that anger brings extra energy, if we explore the nature of this energy, we discover that it is blind: we cannot be sure whether its result will be positive or negative. This is because anger eclipses the best part of our brain: its rationality. So the energy of anger is almost always unreliable. It can cause an immense amount of destructive, unfortunate behavior. Moreover, if anger increases to the extreme, one becomes like a mad person, acting in ways that are as damaging to oneself as they are to others. It is possible, however, to develop an equally forceful but far more controlled energy with which to handle difficult situations.
This controlled energy comes not only from a compassionate attitude, but also from reason and patience. These are the most powerful antidotes to anger. Unfortunately, many people misjudge these qualities as signs of weakness. I believe the opposite to be true: that they are the true signs of inner strength. Compassion is by nature gentle, peaceful and soft, but it is very powerful. It is those who easily lose their patience who are insecure and unstable. Thus, to me, the arousal of anger is a direct sign of weakness.
So, when a problem first arises, try to remain humble and maintain a sincere attitude and be concerned that the outcome is fair. Of course, others may try to take advantage of you, and if your remaining detached only encourages unjust aggression, adopt a strong stand, This, however, should be done with compassion, and if it is necessary to express your views and take strong countermeasures, do so without anger or ill-intent.
You should realize that even though your opponents appear to be harming you, in the end, their destructive activity will damage only themselves. In order to check your own selfish impulse to retaliate, you should recall your desire to practice compassion and assume responsibility for helping prevent the other person from suffering the consequences of his or her acts.
Thus, because the measures you employ have been calmly chosen, they will be more effective, more accurate and more forceful. Retaliation based on the blind energy of anger seldom hits the target."
His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
Thank you Dr. Lee. The seeds that were sown by Kamala Harris’s campaign of Joy and clarity will pay off. I’m proposing a Joy League!
MOSF 19.22: Did the Ivy League Break America? Can the Joy League Save it? https://eastwindezine.com/mosf-19-22-did-the-ivy-league-break-america-can-the-joy-league-save-it/
I'm reading
"On Disinformation: How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy" by Lee McIntyre
Ten ways everyone helps stop disinformation in its tracks are in Chapter 6 "How to Win the War on Truth" as long as we all do everything we can.
🔶️Confront the liars🔶️Be a truth teller🔶️Resist polarization🔶️Realize the zombie foot soldiers are victims too🔶️Tune out the BS that there's nothing you can do🔶️Don't fall for false solutions that take 30 years to do🔶️It's false to claim good information stops bad information, it does not🔶️Engage in political activism🔶️Know you are not alone🔶️Keep learning more how disinformation works
https://youtu.be/54zYLJnB5vk?si=jN_PqD5hrpCVc3kt
My husband was a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 17 years in Kathmandu, Nepal. As a result, I became very aware of Buddhist teachings. One thing that has always stayed with me is a statement made by H.H. the Dalai Lama. When asked if he hates the Chinese, he paused, then answered, "Almost not. What I do is, I take in their hatred, their anger and turn it into love. Then I give love back to them."
Just when there seemed to be no outer solution, inner transformation became possible. (Dr. Lee)
Yes.
"A miracle is a miracle... until it becomes science..." Maybe a super smart guy w a high IQ called Jesus just intuitively knew CPR & "raised Lazarus from the dead" like Einstein intuitively knew/discovered E=mc2? Maybe the Biblical Egyptian Plague that "spared" the Jews has an unknown backstory? Maybe the Jews had some Indiana Jones guys or some science-nerds in their tribe w excellent problem solving & critical thinking skills/imagination & said to each other: "We need to stay away from the sick/dying Egyptians; let's ISOLATE ourselves!!! Let's put blood on our doors so the 'Angel of Death" (aka the Bubonic Plague), will spare us bec. who the hell in their right mind would enter a front door of a home that's dripping in blood!!?? Problem solved! Isolation "spared" the Jews. And they all had some wine & celebrated PASSOVER... w/o having Purell, Masks or Microscopes! Seriously... The "very smart" amongst us are the "real" Angels as they're attuned or are connected to the QUANTUM FIELD more than the rest of us... They resonate at the FM band & we are at the frequency of "stupid" when we can't follow Mother Nature's rules... So we can just talk the language of Religion or the Language of Science; same coin, different sides... and Yes... sadly... the "Battle Between Good & Evil" aka "The Battle Between the Psychopaths & Non-Psychopaths" has just begun... Pick up our "Swords of Truth" & the "Swords of Knowledge" & "Swords of Creative Problem Solving" and let's get our heads in the game People! We have no other choice... May The Force Be With Us...
I substituted swords for words.
Mileva Einstein? (Marie Benedict)
With one exception, everything in today's newsletter is in harmony with my understanding of reality. The one exception is Descartes' "I think therefore I am" philosophy. To me, it's as if he had an insight and got interrupted part way through writing it down. What if he did? Maybe his initial intent was to write "I think therefore I am ... making potentially erroneous but testable assumptions." If everyone adopted that philosophy, the world would be a much better place. Instead, way too many people behave as if their philosophy is "I think therefore I am ... right, anyone who disagrees with me is wrong, and this conversation is over."
ACTIONS BY EVERYONE GROWS FREEDOM
How to Prevent "MASS PSYCHOSIS - How an Entire Population Becomes MENTALLY ILL"
❤️ Discredit totalitarian propaganda everywhere
🤣 Mock worship of dictators
❤️ Grow joyful unifying structures
❤️ c 1st 📈
https://youtu.be/09maaUaRT4M
Appreciate the recommendation as well as all your thoughts on things going forward in the crazy impending Rump world
Thank you, Dr. Lee, for the inspiring glimpse into cross-cultural friendship during World War 2, which can be World War Last, with perseverance from clear-minded, ethical persons. Certain political and military persons who have soiled their legacies with military atrocities and genocide would look better through a slide into World War 3, for lack of contrast. I also appreciate the reference to Descartes and "je pense, donc je suis...Cogito ergo sum... I think, therefore I am," which assures us, as thinking creatures, that we are not an illusion but in actual existence. There may also be a suggestion that thinking, particularly right thinking, extends existence, whereas as not thinking and bad thinking have the opposite effect. Jesus Christ is famous for his "I am" statements ("ego eimi"), particularly in the gospel according to John. He also asked his opponents in John 10:34-36:
"Is it not written in your law, 'I said, You are gods"'?
"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
"do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?"
One may infer that, in the Bible, writings written "with the finger of God," and writings which "cannot be broken," are both physically and ethically superior to ordinary longhand, and cannot be cancelled out once set out and properly computed. The scripture being referenced by Jesus is the 82nd psalm, and one may particularly consider verses 6 and 7, which state:
"I said, 'You are gods [/god],
And all of you are children of the Most High.
'But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes'" [insertion, alternative rendering of 'elohim, mine].
Note: English Bible references from the New King James Version (1992).