Actual Freedom – The Actual Freedom Mailing List Correspondence

Richard’s Correspondence

On The Actual Freedom Mailing List

With Correspondent No. 105


January 05 2006

RESPONDENT: It [the goal of being happy and harmless] seemed contrived because I thought the there was some effort involved, a working up of happiness in oneself ...

RICHARD: If I may ask? What was it that occasioned you to think that [quote] ‘a working up of happiness in oneself’ [endquote] was involved when the actualism method is so remarkably simple in practice? For just one example:

• [Richard]: ‘It is really very, very simple (which is possibly why it has never been discovered before this): one felt good previously; one is not feeling good now; something happened to one to end that felicitous/ innocuous feeling; one finds out what happened; one sees how silly that is (no matter what it was); one is once more feeling good’.

January 05 2006

RICHARD: I will re-post the operative words, which are just sitting there in plain view, in the section you snipped from the above response of mine: [Richard]: ‘In short: if it be not either easy (effortless) or fun (enjoyable) then there is something to look at until it is again’. [endquote].

RESPONDENT: Ok, forgive me, but I am bit confused. When you say ‘in the section you snipped from the above response of mine’ are you referring to this bit that I did not include: [Co-Respondent]: ‘I have my OWN commitment to integrity in this investigation, that depends not a whit upon yours. [Richard]: ‘If I may suggest? Sincerity is the key to unlock one’s innate naiveté, the nourishing of which is essential if the wondrous magic of life itself is to be apparent, which naiveté effortlessly provides the integrity you say you have your own commitment to. (...) I might add, though, that naïveté does away with all that ‘heavy lifting’ you spoke of in an earlier e-mail. Vis.: [Co-Respondent]: ‘From what I can glean so far, virtual freedom is a period of ‘heavy lifting’. [endquote]. Where you have gleaned this diaphoretic impression from has got me stumped ... here is but one of the many ways I describe the actualism practice: [quote]: ‘... the wide and wondrous path to an actual freedom from the human condition is marked by enjoyment and appreciation – the sheer delight of being as happy and harmless as is humanly possible whilst remaining a ‘self’ – and the slightest diminishment of such felicity and innocuity is a warning signal (a flashing red light as it were) that one has inadvertently wandered off the way. One is thus soon back on track ... and all because of everyday events’. [endquote]. Or even more specifically to the point of your ‘heavy lifting’ comment: [Respondent No. 12]: ‘If it is the experiencer that makes efforts to be aware and stay aware, the centre is strengthened, not dissolved, right? [Richard]: ‘Since when has naiveté been sudorific? [endquote]. In short: if it be not either easy (effortless) or fun (enjoyable) then there is something to look at until it is again’. [endquote]. Because that is very plain and I understand that.

RICHARD: Just so there is no misapprehension: are you saying that you plainly understand there is no [quote] ‘working up of happiness in oneself’ [endquote] involved such as to occasion you to think the goal of being happy and harmless seems contrived?

RESPONDENT: In the examples I copied and pasted from the AF site, all of which I thought were written by Peter, speak of effort ...

RICHARD: Aye ... yet nowhere do those examples speak of [quote] ‘a working up of happiness in oneself’ [endquote], such as to occasion someone to think the goal of being happy and harmless seems contrived, do they?

RESPONDENT: ... and it is not clear to me why it takes effort as in: [quote] ‘but it does take ‘effort’, commitment, drive, ambition, stubbornness and sheer will power to get there’ [endquote] and: [quote] ‘to suppose that one can become free of being a psychological and psychic ‘self’ without ‘mental effort’ does not make sense’. [endquote].

RICHARD: Yet is it clear to you that there is no [quote] ‘working up of happiness in oneself’ [endquote] involved in that effort such as to occasion you to think the goal of being happy and harmless seems contrived?

RESPONDENT: When you say the exact opposite as in: [quote] ‘in short: if it be not either easy (effortless) or fun (enjoyable) then there is something to look at until it is again’ [endquote] is the ‘looking until it is again’ the effort that is referred to in the passages I copied?

RICHARD: I will first draw your attention to a section of the above text:

• [Richard]: ‘... the wide and wondrous path to an actual freedom from the human condition is marked by enjoyment and appreciation – the sheer delight of being as happy and harmless as is humanly possible whilst remaining a ‘self’ – and the slightest diminishment of such felicity and innocuity is a warning signal (a flashing red light as it were) that one has inadvertently wandered off the way. One is thus soon back on track ... and all because of everyday events’. [endquote].

Then I will re-post the relevant part of the first of those quotes you provided:

• [Peter]: ‘It is amazing that I now get up in the morning and take it for granted that I will again have a perfect day. But it does take ‘effort’, commitment, drive, ambition, stubbornness and sheer will power to get there. I called on every one of those attributes whenever I needed them’.

Now, when Peter writes of it being [quote] ‘amazing that I now get up in the morning and take it for granted that I will again have a perfect day’ [endquote] do you reckon he is on the wide and wondrous path to an actual freedom from the human condition (a path marked by enjoyment and appreciation) or has he inadvertently wandered off the way?

And when Peter writes of it having taken [quote] ‘effort, commitment, drive, ambition, stubbornness and sheer will power to get there’ [endquote], whenever he needed them, do you reckon he was writing about what it took, on occasion, to get back on the wide and wondrous path to an actual freedom from the human condition (a path marked by enjoyment and appreciation) after having inadvertently wandered off the way or is he writing about what it takes to stay on that path marked by enjoyment and appreciation (the sheer delight of being as happy and harmless as is humanly possible whilst remaining a ‘self’)?

There is no need to answer ... these are rhetorical questions designed solely to draw attention to what is patently obvious (once seen).

*

RICHARD: Furthermore, what Peter is saying in those quotes which you have provided is a far cry from [quote] ‘attempting to be happy and harmless’ [endquote] and [quote] ‘making an effort to be here now’ [endquote] and [quote] ‘trying to force ones self to be happy and harmless’ [endquote] is it not?

RESPONDENT: Ok but you did not explain specifically what he does mean by that.

RICHARD: I will say this much: he does not mean that [quote] ‘a working up of happiness in oneself’ [endquote] is involved.

RESPONDENT: I realize I can ask him, but I figure you guys are on the same page since he is writing on your site.

RICHARD: It is not my site ... my portion of The Actual Freedom Trust web site is clearly indicated on the homepage under the linked title ‘The Third Alternative’. Vis.:

• ‘The Third Alternative: An actual freedom from the human condition. This website encompasses selections from the writings of the ‘discoverer’ of actual freedom and includes a substantial, wide-ranging correspondence. The journey into the institutionalised insanity of Spiritual Enlightenment and the emergence of actual freedom is clearly described in unambiguous terms’ [endquote].

Thus any page with my name in the URL is by me. Peter’s and Vineeto’s portion of The Actual Freedom Trust web site is also clearly indicated on that homepage ... under the linked title ‘Actualism’. Vis.:

• ‘Actualism: The wide and wondrous path to Actual Freedom. This website contains Peter’s Journal, Vineeto’s writings, a précis of Actualism, an advanced guide and extensive correspondence on mailing lists. It documents the on-going happiness and harmlessness enabled by applying the method of becoming free of the malice and sorrow embodied in the Human Condition’. [endquote].

Thus any page with the word actualism in the URL is by either Peter or Vineeto; if that URL also has Peter’s name it is exclusively by him; if that URL also has Vineeto’s name it is exclusively by her.

There is also a link to a library/ glossary which is written, compiled and arranged solely by Peter and Vineeto, on that same homepage. Vis.:

• ‘Library and Glossary: This website includes passages from journals, articles and correspondence, conveniently compiled with topic headings such as ‘How to Become Free from the Human Condition’, ‘Pure Consciousness Experience’, ‘Altered States of Consciousness’, ‘Virtual Freedom’, ‘Our Animal Instincts’, ‘Sex’, ‘Fear’, ‘Death’, ‘Awareness’ as well as an essential Glossary of Terms’. [endquote].

March 22 2006

CO-RESPONDENT: Richard, you wrote:

[Co-Respondent]: ‘Is it good for the body to engage in regular exercise?’
[Richard]: ‘No ... what is good for the body is an absence of stress’. [endquote].

RICHARD: Yes, I replied thusly on the understanding (a) that ‘regular exercise’ referred to a regimen of artificial activity (over and above normal everyday activity) ... and (b) that, given the general thrust of the entire e-mail, it was a personal question (relating to what life is like after the extirpation, in toto, of the progenitor of stress). Speaking of which: that stressor – the word stress is aphetised from the word distress – has, of course, a vested interest in deflecting attention away from itself.

(...)

CO-RESPONDENT: Sounds like they [epidemiologists] are saying that regular exercise IS good in promoting a healthy body.

RICHARD: Of course it sounds like that ... after all, that is the whole point of the exercise (pun intended).

CO-RESPONDENT: Why is it you say that it isn’t?

RICHARD: Because there is no stressor whatsoever parasitically inhabiting this flesh and blood body there is no need for a remedial regimen of artificial activity (over and above normal everyday activity).

RESPONDENT: Richard, are you saying exercise is not needed to reduce emotional stress in the actual world ...

RICHARD: No, I am not saying that.

RESPONDENT: ... or that it is not needed to keep a healthy body?

RICHARD: No, I am not saying that, either.

March 22 2006

CO-RESPONDENT: Richard, you wrote:

[Co-Respondent]: ‘Is it good for the body to engage in regular exercise?’
[Richard]: ‘No ... what is good for the body is an absence of stress’. [endquote].

RICHARD: Yes, I replied thusly on the understanding (a) that ‘regular exercise’ referred to a regimen of artificial activity (over and above normal everyday activity) ... and (b) that, given the general thrust of the entire e-mail, it was a personal question (relating to what life is like after the extirpation, in toto, of the progenitor of stress). Speaking of which: that stressor – the word stress is aphetised from the word distress – has, of course, a vested interest in deflecting attention away from itself.

(...)

CO-RESPONDENT: Sounds like they [epidemiologists] are saying that regular exercise IS good in promoting a healthy body.

RICHARD: Of course it sounds like that ... after all, that is the whole point of the exercise (pun intended).

CO-RESPONDENT: Why is it you say that it isn’t?

RICHARD: Because there is no stressor whatsoever parasitically inhabiting this flesh and blood body there is no need for a remedial regimen of artificial activity (over and above normal everyday activity).

RESPONDENT: Richard, are you saying exercise is not needed to reduce emotional stress in the actual world ...

RICHARD: No, I am not saying that.

RESPONDENT: ... or that it is not needed to keep a healthy body?

RICHARD: No, I am not saying that, either.

RESPONDENT: Wow, thanks for the clarification.

RICHARD: You are very welcome.

RESPONDENT: I think maybe No. 74 is on to something.

RICHARD: Oh? And what do you think that something may be?

RESPONDENT: Perhaps you will understand what I was getting at if you read No. 74’s message.

RICHARD: Just what is it, which you did not include in your two-choice question above, that you want me to understand?

March 23 2006

(...)

RICHARD (to Co-Respondent): I am inviting you to go ahead and provide [quote] ‘scientific knowledge’ [endquote] that a regimen of artificial activity (over and above normal everyday activity) is good for a particular body ...

RESPONDENT: When you say particular body, you mean no science study has proven that R.E. is good for each and every individual?

RICHARD: As all I have read so far is epidemiological assessments, which statistical associations cannot be used to establish causation in any individual, I was not at all meaning that no [quote] ‘science’ [endquote] study has proven that a regimen of artificial activity (over and above normal everyday activity) is good for each and every individual.

RESPONDENT: Do you believe that there is good scientific evidence for global warming?

RICHARD: Presuming that you are referring to anthropogenic global warming (and not geological global warming) you may find the following informative:

• [Richard]: ‘... what I was mainly searching for, over about three weeks, were the facts upon which the currently-popular ‘Anthropogenic Global Warming’ hypothesis was (purportedly) based ... and the reason why it took that long was because I could not find any (being based upon unverifiable-in-the-laboratory quantum mathematics it is not all that surprising, with the benefit of hindsight, that there be none)’.

What I did find, however, was that in 1900 Mr. Knut Ångström put as much carbon dioxide in total as would be found in a column of air reaching to the top of the atmosphere into a tube and sent infrared radiation through it yet the amount of radiation which got through scarcely changed whether he cut the quantity of gas in half or doubled it.

*

RESPONDENT: Also, when you talk about finding out what caused our emotions, how can we be sure that we are not creating a just so story?

RICHARD: By pin-pointing the moment one ceased feeling good. Vis.:

• [Richard]: ‘... one gets back to feeling good (a general sense of well-being) by finding out what has happened between the last time one felt good and now: when did one feel good last? Five minutes ago? Five hours ago? What happened to end those felicitous/ innocuous feelings? Ahh ... yes: ‘He said that and I ...’. Or: ‘She didn’t do this and I ...’. Or: ‘What I wanted was ...’. Or: ‘I didn’t do ...’ and so on and so on. One does not have to trace back into one’s childhood ... usually no more than yesterday afternoon at the most. Once the specific moment of ceasing to feel good is pin-pointed, and the silliness of having such an incident as that (no matter what it is) take away one’s enjoyment and appreciation of this only moment of being alive is seen for what it is – usually some habitual reactive response – one is once more feeling good ... but with a pin-pointed cue to watch out for next time so as to not have that trigger off yet another bout of the same-old same-old. This is called nipping it in the bud before it gets out of hand ... with application and diligence and patience and perseverance one soon gets the knack of this and more and more time is spent enjoying and appreciating this moment of being alive.
The wide and wondrous path to an actual freedom from the human condition is marked by enjoyment and appreciation – the sheer delight of being as happy and harmless as is humanly possible whilst remaining a ‘self’ – and the slightest diminishment of such felicity and innocuity is a warning signal (a flashing red light as it were) that one has inadvertently wandered off the way.
One is thus soon back on track ... and all because of everyday events’.

RESPONDENT: When an emotion is too overwhelming it must be looked at later and that is no good.

RICHARD: It is never too late to get back to feeling good (no matter what the event may have been which occasioned those felicitous/innocuous feelings to cease).

RESPONDENT: Eyewitness testimony is very unreliable for the fact that we remember incorrectly or fabricate unknowingly.

RICHARD: Are you making a general observation or is it your experience that you remember incorrectly/unknowingly fabricate what occasioned you to cease feeling good?

RESPONDENT: In other words how do you avoid self deception?

RICHARD: By being scrupulously honest with oneself.

April 05 2006

RESPONDENT: Do you believe that there is good scientific evidence for global warming?

RICHARD: Presuming that you are referring to anthropogenic global warming (and not geological global warming) you may find the following informative:

• [Richard]: ‘... what I was mainly searching for, over about three weeks, were the facts upon which the currently-popular ‘Anthropogenic Global Warming’ hypothesis was (purportedly) based ... and the reason why it took that long was because I could not find any (being based upon unverifiable-in-the-laboratory quantum mathematics it is not all that surprising, with the benefit of hindsight, that there be none)’.

What I did find, however, was that in 1900 Mr. Knut Ångström put as much carbon dioxide in total as would be found in a column of air reaching to the top of the atmosphere into a tube and sent infrared radiation through it yet the amount of radiation which got through scarcely changed whether he cut the quantity of gas in half or doubled it.

(...)

RICHARD (to Respondent No. 23): As that [sixteen clinically depressed geriatrics undertaking a remedial weight-lifting regimen three times a week for ten weeks] is an example of scientific evidence it is no wonder (modern) science is in the parlous state it is.

RESPONDENT: I have also found no evidence of human causes driving global warming after looking closer at the evidence. Why then do the majority of scientists endorse this view?

RICHARD: As it is questionable both whether there is any global warming and whether a majority of scientists do endorse the view that humans are the effectors it would be better to respond generally ... to wit: more than a little of modern science could be categorised as being opinion-based ‘science’ (rather than evidence-based science).

RESPONDENT: Maybe I am getting way too far outside the scope of this message board but given the discussion about what is real science and what is distortion, do you think there is any validity to the claims that the World Trade Towers including building 7 could not have fallen due to structural fire in such a rapid and neat manner without explosives being used that were already planted in the buildings. Also consider almost everyone interviewed mentions hearing explosions just before the collapse. I guess the whole science, global warming, oil-wars stuff got me on this subject. Just curious what you think.

RICHARD: As I have not looked into that claim (nor am I likely to) I am in no position to comment.

In regards to verification (as in your ‘what is real science and what is distortion’ phrasing): one of the problems with science today is that, as there are over 100,000 scientific journals published each year, containing more than 6,000,000 articles, no single person can ever even read them all ... let alone make sense of them (no single person could possibly have cross-disciplinal expertise in all areas of scientific research as there are over 1,000 areas of specialised study).

This era is truly the age of information overload.

May 25 2006

RESPONDENT: [Richard]: ‘In attentiveness, there is an unbiased observing of the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and is examining the feelings arising one after the other ...’ [endquote]. How can the observation be unbiased if one has a bias toward feeling good?

RICHARD: This is how the paragraph which you obtained that quote from began:

• [Richard]: ‘Attentiveness gets not infatuated with the good feelings nor sidesteps the bad as *attentiveness is a non-feeling awareness; a sensuous attention*’. [emphasis added].

How can a non-feeling awareness of/a sensuous attention to the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within, a non-feeling awareness of/a sensuous attention to the feelings arising one after the other, possibly be construed as being a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation?

RESPONDENT: Unbiased observation would be: [Richard]: ‘Attentiveness gets not infatuated with the good feelings nor sidesteps the bad as attentiveness is a non-feeling awareness; a sensuous attention’ [endquote].

RICHARD: Exactly.

Just as a matter of associated interest ... why did you entitle this e-mail of yours [quote] ‘exit ism’ [endquote]?

May 27 2006

RESPONDENT: [Richard]: ‘In attentiveness, there is an unbiased observing of the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and is examining the feelings arising one after the other ...’ [endquote]. How can the observation be unbiased if one has a bias toward feeling good?

RICHARD: This is how the paragraph which you obtained that quote from began:

• [Richard]: ‘Attentiveness gets not infatuated with the good feelings nor sidesteps the bad as *attentiveness is a non-feeling awareness; a sensuous attention*’. [emphasis added].

How can a non-feeling awareness of/a sensuous attention to the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within, a non-feeling awareness of/a sensuous attention to the feelings arising one after the other, possibly be construed as being a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation?

RESPONDENT: This is what the inquiry which you obtained that quote from was actually asking: If one gives attentiveness to what pulled one away from feeling good as in this quote from your Rock ...

RICHARD: As I do not have a ‘Rock’ (whatever that may be) perhaps you might be inclined to write whatever it is you are wanting to convey in a way that makes sense?

*

RICHARD: Just as a matter of associated interest ... why did you entitle this e-mail of yours [quote] ‘exit ism’ [endquote]?

RESPONDENT: I don’t know what I will do with AF, I am still trying to understand it and me and the world but in the moment of writing that message and questioning your: distinctive doctrine, system, theory, etc., in short, investigating your ism ...

RICHARD: As I neither have a doctrine, etcetera, nor an ism perhaps you might be inclined to write whatever it is you are wanting to convey in a way that makes sense?

*

RESPONDENT: But to give credit where credit is due I was playing on Carlyle’s words: ‘If I had my way’, said Thomas Carlyle, ‘the world would hear a pretty stern command – Exit Christ’.

RICHARD: As Mr. Thomas Carlyle was quite obviously ignorant of what I have to report/ describe/ explain it may be to your advantage to either take an aspirin, and have a good lie-down, or read what I have to report/ describe/ explain with both eyes open before reaching for your keyboard again.

May 31 2006

RESPONDENT: [Richard]: ‘In attentiveness, there is an unbiased observing of the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and is examining the feelings arising one after the other ...’ [endquote]. How can the observation be unbiased if one has a bias toward feeling good?

RICHARD: This is how the paragraph which you obtained that quote from began:

• [Richard]: ‘Attentiveness gets not infatuated with the good feelings nor sidesteps the bad as *attentiveness is a non-feeling awareness; a sensuous attention*’. [emphasis added].

How can a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within, a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to the feelings arising one after the other, possibly be construed as being a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation?

RESPONDENT: This is what the inquiry which you obtained that quote from was actually asking: If one gives attentiveness to what pulled one away from feeling good as in this quote from your Rock ...

RICHARD: As I do not have a ‘Rock’ (whatever that may be) perhaps you might be inclined to write whatever it is you are wanting to convey in a way that makes sense?

RESPONDENT: Funny how one word left you unable to make sense of my entire second message.

RICHARD: Indeed it is but, then again, that is what comes of making an inane word-association with what is purely happenstance – the (obviously unsolicited) name a person is assigned at birth – which is so puerile it eluded my notice the first time around ... the following has come to my attention since my previous e-mail:

• ‘He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That *thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church*; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven’. [emphasis added]. (Matthew 16: 15-19; Kings James Bible).

As for making sense of your [quote] ‘entire second message’ [endquote] ... when the above is taken in conjunction with the following a rather inescapable impression is conveyed:

• [Richard]: ‘Just as a matter of associated interest ... why did you entitle this e-mail of yours [quote] ‘exit ism’ [endquote]?
• [Respondent]: ‘... in the moment of writing that message and questioning your: distinctive doctrine, system, theory, etc., in short, investigating your ism, there was a feeling of it’s grip being released as in: [Richard] ‘Please note that last point: in attentiveness, there is an observance of the ‘reality’ within, and such attention is the end of its embrace ... finish’. [endquote]. Or in other words exit. But like all freedom I have found a short lived one it was, and so I am still turning it over in my mind. But to give credit where credit is due I was playing on Carlyle’s words: ‘If I had my way’, said Thomas Carlyle, ‘the world would hear a pretty stern command – Exit Christ’. (Thursday, 25/05/2006 9:37 AM AEST).

‘Tis no wonder that feeling of being released from the grip of what you have turned actualism into (a religious cult) was short-lived for here is what the word finish means in that context:

• ‘finish: come to an end; cease’. (Oxford Dictionary).

Whereas this is what the word exit generally means:

• ‘exit: gen. a departure from any place or situation’. (Oxford Dictionary).

Or, in the context you give it vis-à-vis Mr. Thomas Carlyle’s words, it usually means this:

• ‘exit: a departure of an actor etc. from the stage during a scene’. (Oxford Dictionary).

Needless is it to add that, as neither is Richard a saviour nor is Peter having a religious community/ society built upon him, the actors which briefly departed that stage of yours exist only in your imaginative/ intuitive facility?

RESPONDENT: Evasion is what that is called sir.

RICHARD: You may as well drop that ‘sir’ affectation as one thing is for sure ... Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti you ain’t.

*

RICHARD: Just as a matter of associated interest ... why did you entitle this e-mail of yours [quote] ‘exit ism’ [endquote]?

RESPONDENT: I don’t know what I will do with AF, I am still trying to understand it and me and the world but in the moment of writing that message and questioning your: distinctive doctrine, system, theory, etc., in short, investigating your ism ...

RICHARD: As I neither have a doctrine, etcetera, nor an ism perhaps you might be inclined to write whatever it is you are wanting to convey in a way that makes sense?

RESPONDENT: Hmm? Here is the definition of ism: A distinctive doctrine, system, or theory. Which is what I wrote.

RICHARD: Indeed it is ... the mere fact of writing something does not miraculously turn it into a fact, however.

RESPONDENT: Ism, you know as in actulISM.

RICHARD: It is no such thing ... the following is:

• ‘-ism: forming usu. abstract ns. expr. a peculiarity or characteristic of a nation, individual, etc.’. (Oxford Dictionary).

As contrasted to this:

• ‘ism: chiefly derog. a form of doctrine, theory, or practice having, or claiming to have, a distinctive character or relationship’. (Oxford Dictionary).

You are not the first and, given the endemic nature of the human condition, you will probably not be the last to try and score a cheap point out the word actualism. Vis.:

• [Richard]: ‘... there are those who attempt to get mileage out the word actualism, as it is used on The Actual Freedom Trust web site , as being indicative of a cult – complete with both cultists and a cult-leader being in denial – merely because of the ‘-ism’ suffix’.

*

RESPONDENT: But to give credit where credit is due I was playing on Carlyle’s words: ‘If I had my way’, said Thomas Carlyle, ‘the world would hear a pretty stern command – Exit Christ’.

RICHARD: As Mr. Thomas Carlyle was quite obviously ignorant of what I have to report/ describe/ explain ...

RESPONDENT: Well it is not all about you now is it?

RICHARD: Indeed not ... it is about what I have to report/ describe/ explain (nowadays known as actualism). Meanwhile, back at the topic to hand, the following is self-explanatory:

• [Mr. Thomas Carlyle]: ‘... no nation which did not contemplate this wonderful universe with an awe-stricken and reverential belief that there was a great unknown, omnipotent, and all-wise and all-just Being, superintending all men in it, and all interest in it – no nation ever came to very much, nor did any man either, who forgot that. If a man did forget that, he forgot the most important part of his mission in this world’. (paragraph 13; ‘Inaugural Address at Edinburgh’; P.F. Collier & Son Company, 1909-14).

RESPONDENT: After all you agree with me that the meaning of the word Ism had nothing to do with the meat of my question ...

RICHARD: On the contrary, that (pejorative) meaning, along with your (imaginary) role-ascription, is the very meat of your question.

RESPONDENT: ... your exact words were: ‘Just as a matter of associated interest ... why did you entitle this e-mail of yours [quote] ‘exit ism’ [endquote]?’ See right there, just a matter of associated interest that had nothing to do with anything at all.

RICHARD: Ha ... try this on for size and see how it fits:

• ‘associate: closely related especially in the mind’. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

And, just to make it easy for you to do so, here are your very own words again:

[Respondent]: ‘... in the moment of writing that message and questioning your: distinctive doctrine, system, theory, etc., in short, investigating your *ism*, there was a feeling of it’s grip being released as in: [Richard] ‘Please note that last point: in attentiveness, there is an observance of the ‘reality’ within, and such attention is the end of its embrace ... finish’ [endquote]. Or in other words *exit*’. [emphasis added].

RESPONDENT: I’m glad you see it my way.

RICHARD: You do realise, do you not, that the more you wriggle the longer you stand still (make no progress)?

*

RICHARD: ... [As Mr. Thomas Carlyle was quite obviously ignorant of what I have to report/ describe/ explain] it may be to your advantage to either take an aspirin, and have a good lie-down, or read what I have to report/ describe/ explain with both eyes open before reaching for your keyboard again.

RESPONDENT: Why do I need to go lie down or take an aspirin because you can’t make sense of a matter of associated interest to you?

RICHARD: As I never said that was because I could not make sense of your word-play/ word-association (I make it abundantly clear it is because Mr. Thomas Carlyle was quite obviously ignorant of what I have to report/ describe/ explain) your query has no answer.

RESPONDENT: You make no sense.

RICHARD: I am only too happy to spell it out: if you were to try reading what I have to report/ describe/ explain with both eyes open before reaching for your keyboard again you may very well find there is no longer any need to do that (reach for your keyboard).

June 02 2006

RESPONDENT: [Richard]: ‘In attentiveness, there is an unbiased observing of the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and is examining the feelings arising one after the other ...’ [endquote]. How can the observation be unbiased if one has a bias toward feeling good?

RICHARD: This is how the paragraph which you obtained that quote from began:

• [Richard]: ‘Attentiveness gets not infatuated with the good feelings nor sidesteps the bad as *attentiveness is a non-feeling awareness; a sensuous attention*’. [emphasis added].

How can a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within, a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to the feelings arising one after the other, possibly be construed as being a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation?

(...)

RESPONDENT: This question has totally gone off track.

RICHARD: It never was on track in the first place (as was made obvious further above).

RESPONDENT: I admit my throwing in words that had nothing to do with anything did not help ...

RICHARD: Your entire e-mail exchange is a fund of valuable information (if you ever choose to do something substantial about the human condition, that is).

RESPONDENT: ... so let me start over. Below is my original question.

RICHARD: As it is already at the top of this page (just where it has been, complete with its answer, all the while) there was no need to re-present it.

RESPONDENT: I am not trying to score points.

RICHARD: In which case I would suggest you refrain from interchanging what another wrote, about getting back to feeling good as soon as possible (so as to begin to revel in feeling good/ to start to wallow in feeling excellent in order to switch over to marvelling at the wonder of it all), with what I wrote about what is involved in having an actual freedom from the human condition come about.

Just so there is no misunderstanding: only somebody actually free from the human condition has the expertise/ the authority to thus speak knowledgably of what is involved in having same come about (just as only someone virtually free has the expertise/ the authority to speak knowledgably about that) and to expect someone not yet actually free to speak in that manner (experientially) is the height of absurdity.

RESPONDENT: I really want an answer.

RICHARD: I am none too sure how to put it any other way yet, nevertheless, I will have a go: a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to both the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and the feelings arising one after the other is in no way a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation as it is an observation with a bias towards peace-on-earth, in this life-time, as this body ... indeed, that is the express intent clearly detailed in the article (‘Attentiveness and Sensuousness and Apperceptiveness’) which you obtained that quote of mine from. Vis.:

• [Richard]: ‘The intent is you will become happy and harmless. The intent is you will be free of sorrow and malice. The intent is you will become blithesome and benign. The intent is you will be free of fear and aggression. The intent is you will become carefree and considerate. The intent is you will be free from nurture and desire. The intent is you will become gay and benevolent. The intent is you will be free of anguish and animosity. The intent is that, by being free of the Human Condition, you will experience peace-on-earth, in this life-time, as this body ... as is evidenced in a pure consciousness experience (PCE). An actualist’s intent is a pure intent ...’.

*

RESPONDENT: Evasion is what that [being unable to make sense of my entire second message] is called sir.

RICHARD: You may as well drop that ‘sir’ affectation as one thing is for sure ... Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti you ain’t.

RESPONDENT: The actor which thinks he is Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti exist only in your imaginative/ intuitive facility.

RICHARD: As I have no imaginative/ intuitive facility I will draw your attention to the following (from further above):

• [Respondent]: ‘I am not trying to score points’. [endquote].

RESPONDENT: I said in another message that he clearly teaches a dissociative awareness, something I want nothing to do with ...

RICHARD: You have also said this (amongst other items complimentary):

• [Respondent]: ‘I was raised in a Christian house hold, started questioning early, was an atheist by the time I was 16. Enter J. Krishnamurti. I found him a breath of fresh air, finally someone who made sense out of all this’. (Wednesday 11/01/2006 4:42 PM AEDST).

RESPONDENT: ... I don’t know why anyone would want to imitate him or anyone else.

RICHARD: Oh, it is not the first occasion one of his readers, having imitated that distinctive mannerism of his, has tried it out on me ... for instance:

• [Co-Respondent]: ‘Sir, if the claims you make are true, and you are not deluding yourself, this is a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect ourselves back through the clear mirror of your conflict-free ‘is-ness’
• [Richard]: ‘Please, let us drop this ‘Sir’ business ... I accord no value to that affectation’.

Here is another:

• [Co-Respondent]: ‘I am sorry, sir.
• [Richard]: ‘There is no need to be sorry (...) And there is no real need to call me ‘sir’ , either ... I do not stand on ceremony’.

RESPONDENT: You act as though Krishnamurti invented the word sir.

RICHARD: As that is a nothing but a large and wildly-flapping red herring I will again draw your attention to the following:

• [Respondent]: ‘I am not trying to score points’. [endquote].

RESPONDENT: It simply popped into my mind ...

RICHARD: Given what you have said in the above quote (and in other items complimentary) it is not at all surprising that affectation simply popped into your mind.

RESPONDENT: ... while the mannerisms of a dead Indian God-man were the furthest things from my mind. Here are some examples if you don’t believe me: [snip quotes from Mr. Arthur Miller, Mr. William Easttom, Mr. James Barrie and Mr. Caleb Cushing] ...

RICHARD: As you have not previously referred to anything those persons wrote (in stark contrast to both the above quote and other items complimentary) their independent usage of that mode of address is irrelevant.

RESPONDENT: If you think that using the word sir is pretentious that is one thing but the idea that I was taking Krishnamurti’s words specifically is from your imagination and nowhere else.

RICHARD: As I have no imagination I will again draw your attention to the following:

• [Respondent]: ‘I am not trying to score points’. [endquote].

RESPONDENT: Or perhaps you were not aware that anyone else has ever used the word sir?

RICHARD: Hmm ... to paraphrase Mr. William Shakespeare: the gent doth protest too much, methinks.

June 03 2006

RESPONDENT: [Richard]: ‘In attentiveness, there is an unbiased observing of the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and is examining the feelings arising one after the other ...’ [endquote]. How can the observation be unbiased if one has a bias toward feeling good?

RICHARD: This is how the paragraph which you obtained that quote from began:

• [Richard]: ‘Attentiveness gets not infatuated with the good feelings nor sidesteps the bad as *attentiveness is a non-feeling awareness; a sensuous attention*’. [emphasis added].

How can a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within, a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to the feelings arising one after the other, possibly be construed as being a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation?

(...)

RESPONDENT: This question has totally gone off track.

RICHARD: It never was on track in the first place (as was made obvious further above).

RESPONDENT: I admit my throwing in words that had nothing to do with anything did not help ...

RICHARD: Your entire e-mail exchange is a fund of valuable information (if you ever choose to do something substantial about the human condition, that is).

RESPONDENT: ... so let me start over. Below is my original question.

RICHARD: As it is already at the top of this page (just where it has been, complete with its answer, all the while) there was no need to re-present it.

RESPONDENT: I am not trying to score points.

RICHARD: In which case I would suggest you refrain from interchanging what another wrote, about getting back to feeling good as soon as possible (so as to begin to revel in feeling good/ to start to wallow in feeling excellent in order to switch over to marvelling at the wonder of it all), with what I wrote about what is involved in having an actual freedom from the human condition come about. Just so there is no misunderstanding: only somebody actually free from the human condition has the expertise/ the authority to thus speak knowledgably of what is involved in having same come about (just as only someone virtually free has the expertise/ the authority to speak knowledgably about that) and to expect someone not yet actually free to speak in that manner (experientially) is the height of absurdity.

RESPONDENT: I really want an answer.

RICHARD: I am none too sure how to put it any other way yet, nevertheless, I will have a go: a non-feeling awareness of/ a sensuous attention to both the constant showing-up of the ‘reality’ within and the feelings arising one after the other is in no way a [quote] ‘bias toward feeling good’ [endquote] observation as it is an observation with a bias towards peace-on-earth, in this life-time, as this body ... indeed, that is the express intent clearly detailed in the article (‘Attentiveness and Sensuousness and Apperceptiveness’) which you obtained that quote of mine from. Vis.:

• [Richard]: ‘The intent is you will become happy and harmless. The intent is you will be free of sorrow and malice. The intent is you will become blithesome and benign. The intent is you will be free of fear and aggression. The intent is you will become carefree and considerate. The intent is you will be free from nurture and desire. The intent is you will become gay and benevolent. The intent is you will be free of anguish and animosity. The intent is that, by being free of the Human Condition, you will experience peace-on-earth, in this life-time, as this body ... as is evidenced in a pure consciousness experience (PCE). An actualist’s intent is a pure intent ...’.

RESPONDENT: (...) I want no answers from you.

RICHARD: As all you have done is ask a cooked-up question – after first concocting a discrepancy – that is not at all surprising.

RESPONDENT: You are a waste of my valuable time.

RICHARD: As your [quote] ‘valuable time’ [endquote] has so far been taken up with (a) concocting a discrepancy and (b) cooking-up a question and (c) ignoring my immediate and to-the-point answer and (d) therefore falsely accusing me of being evasive and (e) trying to score a cheap point out of the word actualism having the suffix ‘-ism’ and (f) turning actualism into a religious cult and (g) having a feeling of being released from its grip (albeit short-lived) by substituting the word exit for the word finish in some words of mine and (h) likening those words of mine to Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti’s all-or-nothing approach and (i) finding a confusion arising between actualism and spiritualism because of what Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti has to say it rather begs the question to be asserting that another is wasting it.

RESPONDENT: It is obvious to more than one or two or even three what you are pulling here. All words no substance. You can’t live it and neither can anyone else. It is scary that someone can completely loose the capacity to admit error. Good day Sir.

RICHARD: And thus – by granting yourself that oh-so-convenient way out (‘and neither can anyone else’) – does all the anguish and animosity which epitomises the human condition go on unabated.

Ah well ... c’est la vie, I guess.

June 23 2006

RESPONDENT: [...] Peter: When I feel happy – that’s good, when I am excellent – that’s excellent, I enjoy it a much as possible. When an issue, a feeling or an emotion surfaces, then I investigate them in order to get back to being happy as quickly as possible. [...]

RICHARD: http://www.actualfreedom.com.au/actualism/vineeto/list-af/alan-f.htm#24.7.2000

June 23 2006

CO-RESPONDENT: (...) How is the method best done – should I examine the feeling and find its trigger while experiencing it, in order to get back to feeling good?

RICHARD: If you have a tendency towards being an intellectual/ abstractional-type person then ... yes.

CO-RESPONDENT: Or should I get back to feeling good and then figure out why I last felt less-than-good?

RICHARD: If you have a tendency towards being an emotional/ passional-type person then ... yes.

(...)

RESPONDENT: And why would this very important piece of the puzzle not be on the site in such simple straight forward words?

RICHARD: The problem with loaded questions is that they cannot be answered simply ... whereas this, for example, can be:

• [example only]: ‘And why would this not be on the site in such simple straight forward words?’ [end example].

It is. Vis.:

And, more to the point, that clarifying response was posted a mere five days after the following was answered point-by-point (including a yet-to-be-answered illuminative query) for your edification:

• [Respondent to Richard]: ‘... when you talk about finding out what caused our emotions, how can we be sure that we are not creating a just so story? When an emotion is too overwhelming it must be looked at later and that is no good. Eyewitness testimony is very unreliable for the fact that we remember incorrectly or fabricate unknowingly. In other words how do you avoid self deception?’ (Thursday, 23/03/2006 2:05 PM AEST).

As your next e-mail (posted eight days after that clarifying response and a scant two weeks before you launched your he-said/ she-said campaign) was about a conspiracy theory with a domestic left-wing political agenda then doing the rounds of the internet you would again be well-advised to either take an aspirin, and have a good lie-down, or read what is on offer on The Actual Freedom Trust web site with both eyes open before reaching for your keyboard again.

And in case that be taken as a facetious comment ... your first two e-mails to this mailing list (entitled respectively ‘Actualist eat puppies’ and ‘Actualist repel puppies’), being based as they were upon misconstrual/ misrepresentation/ misinformation, clearly showed right from the very beginning just what your modus operandi is.

RESPONDENT: It is all so simple there in the actual world ain’t it?

RICHARD: As for you a fact is really an unrecalled maybe with, however, surety about what happened therein – and which really unrecalled maybe really proves several things for you – then how on earth would you know (a) what simplicity is ... and (b) what life is like here in this actual world?

Continued on Direct Route: No. 24


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