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The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Printable Version +- Bring4th (https://www.bring4th.org/forums) +-- Forum: Bring4th Studies (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Strictly Law of One Material (https://www.bring4th.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=2) +--- Thread: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') (/showthread.php?tid=5007) |
The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Plenum - 06-08-2012 I think the term 'Service to Others' has a great potential for being mis-understood. This is because our cultural heritage has legacied to us various christian notions of service and self-sacrifice. Most prominent among these are: * doing charitable deeds (visible service) * donating money/time (pouring one's personal resources into an organisation) * martyrdom ('sacrifice' of the self, for the perceived benefit of the other). Ra uses the term STO primarily, but Don also asked about other definitions or understandings of polarity. - - my own understanding/practice of the 'positive path' has come down to this: The Ways of Acceptance. The Ra material offers much advice on self-balancing, and these are keyed around the notion of 'acceptance'. Now, some might say this is putting too much emphasis on the technique, but Ra offers us Archetype 22 as the 'choice'; which is a unifying concept. What more unifying concept is there than making a choice of accepting something, or rejecting it? this further expands on the notion of the spiritual path as one of BEING, rather than DOING. The Doing, of course, arises when an opportunity presents itself, and when there is a calling; but the emphasis is on the cultivation of an attitude which is kindly and accepting, and embracing. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - TheFifty9Sound - 06-08-2012 Yup. It's all about what's in your heart. I could be charitable with my time and money, but inwardly be a grumpy, miserable, piece of s**t. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Patrick - 06-08-2012 I agree plenum ! ![]() RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - AnthroHeart - 06-08-2012 I agree Plenum. It's easier than we make it out to be with the being. It certainly takes away a degree of worry since I'm not the most altruistic person. But I do believe I have a kind heart. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Turtle - 06-09-2012 I really agree with first post. Good show. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Unbound - 06-09-2012 We seek within. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Shin'Ar - 06-09-2012 (06-08-2012, 09:23 AM)plenum Wrote: I think the term 'Service to Others' has a great potential for being mis-understood. This is because our cultural heritage has legacied to us various christian notions of service and self-sacrifice. Most prominent among these are: I don't know how the Ra teachings will hold with my thinking but in my mind if one is not seeking to gratify their self at the expense of others, than the automatic opposite is service to others. I do not see STO as charity or efforts to serve others or to subject one's self to sacrifice for the sake of others. I see STO as the natural opposite to one who would sacrifice others for his own sake or that would care only for their own well being without any thought or compassion for anyone else. I say this because if one is of this sort of character, than by the nature of that character they are being of service to humanity as a whole out of nothing more than the compassion and sensitivity they express. This is why I have always had a problem with the two being expressed as polarity or choice of individual experiencing. I think that they are simply the natural result of the character of those who walk those paths and live those lifestyles. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - LsavedSmeD - 06-13-2012 (06-08-2012, 09:23 AM)plenum Wrote: I think the term 'Service to Others' has a great potential for being mis-understood. This is because our cultural heritage has legacied to us various christian notions of service and self-sacrifice. Most prominent among these are: I believe there are layers to being a positive/radiant/STO being in general. The layers would be the energy centers being unblocked. Which is in congruence to accepting experience as it passes through each Chakra/Energy Ray Center Red 1. Being without Fear - Accepting experiences/energies Orange 2. Acceptance of the Self Yellow 3. Wishing Joy and Happiness to all other selves - Accepting happiness/pleasure as it is given to others and not taking it for only yourself Green 4. Accepting/Expressing Love and Compassion on a universal level Blue 5. Expressing honesty/open communication to others without fear or rejection of other-selves actions. Accepting communications from others without rejection or negative reaction. Indigo 6. Accepting the self as the entirely worthy of infinite value/of being the One Infinite Creator. Most human beings are stuck between the lower three energy centers and more notably the orange-ray as most people currently are having trouble accepting the self and dwelling upon what they deem as being self-flaws such as physical appearances, feeling unintelligent, useless, and unworthy of the acceptance of others. Such lower blockages surely cause a dampening on entities to express love, compassion, and service to others. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Steppingfeet - 06-13-2012 5.2 Quote:Ra: The second mental discipline is acceptance of the completeness within your consciousness. It is not for a being of polarity in the physical consciousness to pick and choose among attributes, thus building the roles that cause blockages and confusions in the already-distorted mind complex. Each acceptance smoothes part of the many distortions that the faculty you call judgment engenders. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - LsavedSmeD - 06-13-2012 (06-13-2012, 05:01 PM)Bring4th_GLB Wrote: 5.2 The true positive adept will work on the energy-ray centers to better express light/love into the dark world with the least amount of distortion. By accepting, balancing, and expressing Love, Light, and positivity in a uniquely balanced fashion to other-selves the adept would need to have a fluidity in acceptance of energies/experiences through the energy centers. Unblocking the energy centers is difficult in and of itself, but to crystallize them to be repetitive in their openness and then to balance them in an exquisitely unique fashion also holds work. That is why, in my humble opinion of course, working on the self to better express the Love of the One Creator to others is the foundation to STO. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - AnthroHeart - 06-13-2012 I believe how we live does as much if not more to balance our chakras than energetically working on them directly. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Oldern - 06-14-2012 (06-13-2012, 07:18 PM)Gemini Wolf Wrote: I believe how we live does as much if not more to balance our chakras than energetically working on them directly. I think it varies for every individual. For some, this is true, for others, it is not. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Zachary - 06-20-2012 Love to you Plenum ![]() RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - AnthroHeart - 06-21-2012 (06-14-2012, 09:43 AM)Oldern Wrote:(06-13-2012, 07:18 PM)Gemini Wolf Wrote: I believe how we live does as much if not more to balance our chakras than energetically working on them directly. I think I came to that conclusion because when I worked directly on them energetically, I ended up throwing myself out of balance because I'd not be grounded. So I stopped working on them directly because I'm too sensitive. And thanks Plenum, an insightful post. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Adonai One - 07-20-2014 When one is accepting, acceptance of others desires and the manifestation of such naturally comes with compassion going into wisdom. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Nicholas - 06-12-2015 Here is a poem that my fiancee just read to me on self acceptance. I did a search and figured this would be the best thread to post it in. It comes from a book titled "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul" "My New Best Friend". Today I met a great new friend who new me right away. It was funny how she understood all I had to say. She listened to my problems, she listened to my dreams. We talked about love and life, she'd been there too it seems. I never once felt judged by her, she knew just how I felt. She seemed to just accept me, and all the problems I'd been dealt. She didn't interrupt me, or need to have her say. She just listened very patiently, and didn't go away. I wanted her to understand, how much this meant to me. But as I went to hug her, something startled me. I put my arms in front of me, and went to pull her nearer. And realised that my new best friend, was nothing but a mirror. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Reaper - 06-13-2015 I think you've broken the "most liked post" record. RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Parsons - 06-13-2015 I'll break the record! /like if you love cookies! ![]() RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Berilac Sandydowns - 06-13-2015 (06-13-2015, 03:03 AM)Yera Wrote: I think you've broken the "most liked post" record. Well, it does tend to cut some slack for those of us of a more introspective and hermit-like nature. ![]() RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Monica - 06-20-2015 (06-08-2012, 09:23 AM)Bring4th_Plenum Wrote: I think the term 'Service to Others' has a great potential for being mis-understood. This is because our cultural heritage has legacied to us various christian notions of service and self-sacrifice. Most prominent among these are: Here are my thoughts, as I understand these concepts: I don't think these are merely 'Christian notions' but profound expressions of compassion that predate Christianity and are revered by nearly all religions. To call them 'notions' is to demean them. These are the actions that go down in history as the greatest of human attributes, exemplifying the indomitable human spirit, and the ability of humans to show compassion to others. Actions alone indicate nothing about the polarity of the person taking action; it is the intentions behind them that do. But the results might be the same for the recipients of said action. And, being that we cannot know the intention behind the action, it might behoove us to take them at face value, especially when obvious good (or 'service' if you prefer) manifests as a result of those actions. Quote:75.15 Questioner: The chink then, as I understand it, was originally created by the decision of Jesus to take the path of martyrdom? Is this correct? (06-08-2012, 09:23 AM)Bring4th_Plenum Wrote: The Ra material offers much advice on self-balancing, and these are keyed around the notion of 'acceptance'. Now, some might say this is putting too much emphasis on the technique, but Ra offers us Archetype 22 as the 'choice'; which is a unifying concept. What more unifying concept is there than making a choice of accepting something, or rejecting it? Ra came to explain to us the resolution of paradox. Acceptance isn't the opposite of rejecting. A situation can be both accepted and rejected at the same time. This is transmutation. In order to transmute, it must be both accepted and rejected at the same time! Herein lies the paradox. It extends to the simultaneous application of Free Will and detachment. Acceptance is also a term that is frequently misunderstood, in my opinion. It seems that many people interpret acceptance as passivity. They have an 'anything goes...do nothing...nothing matters' attitude. I think this is a misinterpretation and an oversimplification. In my understanding, Ra's use of the term acceptance has more to do with the awareness that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves; we are a tiny microcosmic spark of the Whole; we are One with All, and therefore accept and flow with the Cosmic energies, rather than trying to control them. At the same time, it is recognizing that we, as individual mind/body/spirit complexes, are part of that flow, and our contribution is important. We must also accept ourselves, and our innate drives, desires and tendencies, while at the same time recognizing that our Free Will is a powerful force, with the capability of playing an important role in the Cosmic design. Acceptance that we are part of this Oneness engenders a feeling of awe and wonder, as well as gratitude for even the darkest of circumstances, for it is through acknowledging what IS, that we are able to transform and transmute. The Christians have a saying: In all things give praise. This is the concept of acceptance. And yet, it doesn't end there. That is only the first step; the prerequisite. Quote:46.10 Questioner: Then as I understand it you are saying that if the positively polarizing entity fails to accept the other-self or if the negatively polarizing entity fails to control the other-self, either of these conditions will cause cancer, possibly. Is this correct? Acceptance is only the first step, followed by doing work. Many misinterpret acceptance as passivity, ie. doing nothing. One cannot do work by doing nothing! Quote:46.9 Questioner: Certainly. Acceptance is merely the KEY! It doesn't end there! What follows acceptance? Positively polarized use of catalyst! This is WORK. This is transformation! Acceptance is the key to transformation. It is a stepping stone; Not the end result! Denying the reality of the situation, being unwilling to face our inner demons, glossing over negativity, sweeping unpleasantness aside, pretending it's all peachy, sweeping anger and other negative emotions under the rug, etc. are all examples of NOT accepting, but being in a state of denial. For example, pretending to be happy while denying some feelings of anger isn't acceptance. It's denial. The anger cannot be transmuted into joy until it is first acknowledged. Acceptance doesn't mean that one stays in a state of anger! it doesn't mean "Oh I must accept being angry and just sit here, making no effort to quit being angry." No, that is being passive. Rather, acceptance is "YES I AM ANGRY AND THIS IS A VALID EMOTION" and THEN, once it has been acknowledged and expressed (in a harmless way) then and ONLY THEN can it be transmuted. Then the Free Will comes into play; the Choice can be made to transmute that anger into joy and gratitude. (Or not, according to the person's inclination.) Accepting isn't necessarily being passive and allowing situations to continue, when we have the capability to effect change. Sometimes passivity is appropriate; other times action is appropriate. Or, to be more accurate: Sometimes a drawing, receptive, attracting (Yin) energy is appropriate, while other times a proactive (Yang) energy is appropriate, depending on the situation. Yin and Yang energies ebb and flow constantly. To ride the wave of that ebbing and flowing is to exist in the Tao. To reject both is to stagnate in the sinkhole of indifference. Acceptance has nothing to do with whether we take action or not, or whether we try to make a difference in the world or not. Acceptance is about acknowledging and confronting the negativity head-on, being totally ONE with it, being totally awake and aware of it, truly recognizing it for what it is, instead of pretending it's something it's not. Acceptance is also realizing that, though we are part of the One, in our present veiled state, we must sometimes surrender to the cosmic ebb and flow of the tide, the astrological influences, the collective consciousness, etc. It's a delicate balance between asserting our Free Will and taking an active part in the process, while, at the same time, detachedly working together with forces bigger than ourselves. Quote:42.5 Questioner: In the illusion that we now experience it is difficult to maintain this response especially if the entity’s attack results in physical pain, but I assume that this response should be maintained even through physical loss of life or extreme pain. Is this correct? Acceptance is often confused with the sinkhole of indifference. (06-08-2012, 09:23 AM)Bring4th_Plenum Wrote: this further expands on the notion of the spiritual path as one of BEING, rather than DOING. The Doing, of course, arises when an opportunity presents itself, and when there is a calling; but the emphasis is on the cultivation of an attitude which is kindly and accepting, and embracing. Your statement implies that being and doing are opposites. But they aren't. Being might include doing. Quote:42.2 Questioner: I will just read it very rapidly the question, then. The question then becomes: Is one feeling unswayed because they have risen above that catalyst? or because they have not yet reached the point of responding to the catalyst, and are still dwelling in the sinkhole of indifference? and When one feels indifference, or thinks that they must be passive because "passivity = acceptance", have they reached the point where they no longer need that catalyst, and are truly dwelling in a state of finely tuned compassion and love which sees all things as love? Or, are they in the sinkhole of indifference? ... RE: The Ways of Acceptance (alternative reading of 'STO') - Monica - 11-10-2015 I think the concept of Acceptance is probably the most misunderstood concept in the Law of One. Well right up there with polarity anyway. Related thread: Bring4th Studies > Strictly Law of One Material v > Acceptance and Will ... |