Thanks for the invite. I wasn't even sure where the accept button was..haha

I guess the party ended before I got here, oh well.

I was planning on posting more, but I do feel unsure of how many people are checking in. Yesterday reading reading Vince's thread about enlightenment I was reminded of why I thought this group was a good idea.....I found myself wanting to contradict some of the post quite directly and in a semi harsh tone. I was hoping that within this group that kind of reaction would be okay and people would understand that it was about the content of the post and not them personally. I find those kinds of reactions in the greater forum area often degenerate the conversation into one about communication styles instead of about the topic at hand.

One observation I had over the last couple of years is that some very good people, in the sense that I had considered them as fairly developed spiritually, got banned. I wonder what that is about, and my hunch is that along your spiritual journey you can become a little erratic.

I find almost every thread turns into a discussion about communication styles. It's like one big orgy over who can be perceived as the smartest by creating the most complicated sentences and choosing the most big words. Almost nobody can handle feedback without feeling like they're being backed into a corner but everyone is under the impression that they're developing themselves. It's incredibly unrealistic in relation to offline reality.

Zeitgeist, I think as you go along you start to see how unnecessary sparing people's feelings are. Direct feedback although sometimes harsh is far more effective than stepping on eggshells when trying to make a point. I used to have a job where all of us would sit in a circle including my bosses and we would give each other really rough feedback. All we could say in return was "thank you". That process has and will stay with me for the rest of my life as incredibly valuable.

When I write in this community, I always try to find kind words. True, sometimes uncomfortable things have to be said to propel the receiver of the message to the next level, but you also have to understand that some of your irritation, the sharpness of your intellect is the force you try to overcome.

Wow, there are people in this group!

Hey Taylor. Zeitgeist, I do too but I can see where you reach a point where even trying to find kind words is simply supporting a sense of separation. Not that you go out of your way to find kind or mean words, you just speak. And if you're speaking from a point of love or unity there is no doubt it will be supportive although possibly too blunt for many people to hear.