Feeding on Greed

I need a greed feed now!

I need a greed feed now!

Ah greed, one of the 7 deadly sins. According to Merriam Webster, greed is a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed. I like Carol’s definition: greed is an empty energetic promise of satisfaction that can never be achieved. In this model, greed sets up an expectation vortex – to wit, the more we get, the less we think we have and the more we seek to compensate for the deficit as a result.

As in the tapeworm metaphor (see the Tapeworm Metaphor), greed is a parasitic thought process that demands minimal input from itself and a maximum outflow from its host. The parasite  consumes ever more energy from its host, yet is never satisfied in the end. Unaware of its existence, the obedient host mechanically serves the parasites demands and unconsciously nurtures its growth. As the parasite increases in size and strength, its appetite and expectations grow even more voracious and demanding.The will of the host eventually becomes that of the parasitic feeder within as a last chance survival effort.

Continue reading

Validating a Feed

Comparisons and Standards

My Seal of Approval is all that counts.
My Seal of Approval is all that counts.

We each have standards we live by. Standards are important for measuring and comparing. Without standards we have no knowledge of progress, of completion, or of compliance.

We compare everything to everybody and everything else. Blue is blue as compared to something less or not blue. Up is compared to down, left to right, in to out, etc. Few things are absolute, so much of our comparison is likewise not absolute. However, sometimes we erroneously assign an absolute value to something that is only comparatively less or more than another.

Continue reading

Fishing for a Feed

Going to the light could cost you dearly.

Going to the light could cost you dearly.

When they get hungry, some creatures run after their food, others browse for their lunch, while others still ambush their prey. A select few angle for their supper.

The concept of luring in exists today in humans. Oh, yeah, I’ll bet you’ve enjoyed a time when someone lured you into a conversation, a behavior, or a place that when you came to the realization of the “jig”, you were fish food – you know, down the proverbial hatch.

Just as in the wild, we humans use all sorts of methods to feed our insatiable emotional appetites. One method is the LURE.

Oh, yes, just like angler fish, we sometimes will dangle out there a bit of lighted “bait” hoping to snag the unwary. And when we feel they are close enough, WHAM! We let them have it – or, rather, suck them in entirely. Digestion usually follows.

Let’s face it, just like the angler fish we live in a world of darkness. We think the lights are on, but mostly, we’re busy fooling ourselves about it because we fear the dark – for good reason, mind you. The dark, figuratively representing the unknown, is all around us. A few individuals exhibit some light (scientists, poets, psychics, luminaries of all sorts), yet some of those “lights” are lures.

How many and which ones are lures? How should I know – I’m a bottom feeder!

Feeding on Scraps

There are times when things seem to be going well. I like those times. Serene, comfortable, easy… nice. BUT! (there’s always a butt)

It never seems to fail, something or someone will go haywire and require me to come to the aid. It doesn’t seem to me that I caused this problem. I see no direct evidence of my involvement in its creation. It’s not my fault!

And yet, a problem is in my lap and I have to deal with it. My serenity is disrupted, my inner peace is disrupted, and my mood is disrupted. And for what? Somebody else’s problem!

What the f*** is going on here? Why can’t life just flow along smoothly without disruption?

It eats at me now and then. Hmmm? Could that be a hint?

Continue reading

I Predict a Feed

I like to think I perceive the world as it is. Funny, huh? Even my three year old granddaughter knows not to trust her senses all the time. Sometimes we’re fooled by them.

Why don’t we perceive our universe as it is?

Can you perceive an electron flying around in an atom? Or perceive a single flutter of a hummingbird’s wings? Our senses are so slow and limited, we must rely upon our brains to make up for the limitations in real perception.

That’s why slight of hand magic tricks work – because our brains discount what our eyes see in preference for what we EXPECT to see. Our predictive powers of thought get in our way sometimes. It’s not all bad – sometimes predictions work out fine – like when we watch a bird traverse across our visual field – part of that flight is literally invisible to our eyes, but we see the entire flight path anyway with no loss of apparent visual acuity. We PREDICT the flight path and our brain creates the rest. It’s an astounding ability – that has limitations.

Continue reading

Married to a Feeder

Feeding can be smooth but strangely unsatisfying.

Feeding can be smooth but strangely unsatisfying.

I’m married to a feeder and so is she. We’ve been together for quite some time and I love her deeply. I’ve given my life over to US rather than ME and I like it quite a bit.

So, where’s the feed for us feeders?

Human interaction is a feeder’s delight. No matter how well humans communicate, there is always miscommunication and tension. Yes, that’s right – TENSION. Marriage, the bringing together of two (very different) human beings “for life” means a lifetime of tension. Oh, yes, it’s not all daisies and roses and cupcakes for breakfast. Marriage is TENSE and REWARDING. Huh? Tense AND rewarding? How’s that?

Continue reading

What Would You Do?

Shhh ... don't talk while I'm feeding!

Shhh … don’t talk while I’m feeding!

“What would Jesus do?”

I’ve heard it a gazillion times – the real meaning being, “reconsider your own behaviors and beliefs and do as I want you to do” or “Do as you’ve been told by your [Christian Church] authorities.”

There are many such sayings that appear on the outside to mean what they say but instead carry hidden messages or meanings intended to coerce or to reinforce prior conditioning or to take advantage of common thinking errors (see http://powerstates.com/10-cognitive-thinking-errors).

Continue reading

Who Am I Really?

What really goes on at the cellular level.

What really goes on at the cellular level.

My body is made up of some 10^24 cells. For those who can’t count that high, let me put that into perspective – it’s a WHOLE LOT of cells! A few of those cells – like those in my gut – are not human. They are single-celled bacteria, fungus, and plants living on my body and the food I intake. These tiny organisms have their own “consciousness” – they appear to have volition and the ability to hunt, gather, escape, and etc.

How much of my body is human and how much is non-human, then? According to Paul Hawken of the University of Portland, “In each of you are one quadrillion cells, 90 percent of which are not human cells.”

WHAT?!!! MOST of “me” is NOT ME?!!

If our consciousness is derived from the individual consciousnesses of all the cells in our bodies – a world within a world where each cell, creature and plant within that world contributes to the consciousness of the whole – then…

Hmmm… I wonder…

WHO THE BLAZES AM I REALLY?

Stranger Bedfellows

Judgment and Revenge - strange bedfellows.

Judgment and Revenge - strange bedfellows.

Judgment and Revenge – strange bedfellows.

Judgment with revenge is an interesting survival adaptation in humans. It consists of several parts:

  1. Consideration of “evidence” in the light of negative judgment (“They did something wrong”)
  2. A sense of personal injury (“They did it to me or someone I care about”)
  3. A need for balance or personal justice (“someone must pay”)
  4. A plan to balance the scales (“I’ll get them back for this”)
  5. A behavior that satisfies negative emotions of those seeking vengeance.
  6. Satisfaction (“Now we’re even”) justice has been served – seldom actually achieved, BTW
  7. Rationalizing retributions (“They deserved what they got!!”)

Continue reading

Levels of Awareness

How many levels of awareness are there?

How many levels of awareness are there?

I THINK I am who I am – and you are who you are – and every creature or plant is what it is – separate from me. That makes me wonder if there is a hierarchy of awareness involved here. Basically, I’m aware of myself (roughly my mind – and to a lesser extent, perhaps, my body) as “level1”. Level 1 might be thought of as “inside me.”

I’m also aware of the other humans and animals in my immediate vicinity (maybe “level 2”). I might add to level 2 the awareness of germs that affect my body – not a direct awareness as I can’t sense that level directly, but through education. Level 2 might also include earth (in my immediate vicinity), the sun and stars I can see. Level 2 might be thought of as “outside me.”

I’m unaware beyond that – or am I? Level 3? What would that include? Maybe such things as “sixth sense” – whatever is beyond “inside me” (level 1) and “outside me” (level 2).

How many levels are there? Can I become aware of more than 2?

I’m pretty sketchy on level 1, let alone level 2 (mostly unaware).