Leaving Facebook by Instructions from Guide Spirits

[royster]

From another forum, my 80 year-old friend Jojo says:

"I had my son put me on facebook the other day....mainly to reach a site I was interested in.

After about 20 minutes I screamed for him to get me off, the confusion to me was horrific, but in that short time I DID notice Lilya's Picture show up as someone who may know me.

Even that couldn't convince me to stay!

There's something just not right in living life at that speed.

I'm still shaking. "

[Angela]

Originally Posted by royster

From another forum, my 80 year-old friend Jojo says:

"I had my son put me on facebook the other day....mainly to reach a site I was interested in.

After about 20 minutes I screamed for him to get me off, the confusion to me was horrific, but in that short time I DID notice Lilya's Picture show up as someone who may know me.

Even that couldn't convince me to stay!

There's something just not right in living life at that speed.

I'm still shaking. "

This sounds like the kind of reaction I hear a couple of times a week from elderly tv users who can't figure out which button to push on their remote controls. Ask them to email a photo from their cellphone? Guaranteed major panic freak-out.

[moonrambler]

Royster, it sounds to me like you had different expectations from FB than those of us who enjoy it.

I think I mentioned before that I would likely not get involved in a call to action of some sort on there. I totally avoid any political commentary because half my relatives are Republicans, God love their misguidedness I really think most people are on there for a pleasant, fun experience, and that's pretty much it. That's why they're playing Farmville and not getting involved in initiatives for the most part. That's why when they do get involved in something of an activist nature, it's shallow, like changing an avatar.

[royster]

I hear ya, Sis. You're correct, of course, but my complaint goes further than Pavlina Forum members who were friends there...




MY POLITICAL ACTIVIST CHUMS DIDN'T SAY SQUAT.


This gives me free range to go to the beach in spring. If I see a shark in the water, I will quietly know that those people are there to swim, not be eaten. All will be well.

[vertanno]

You require a guide spirit to tell you to leave facebook. Have you mastered the art of turning off light switches yet? Perhaps you should consult the buddha on how one makes an egg sandwich.

[royster]

Originally Posted by vertanno

You require a guide spirit to tell you to leave facebook. Have you mastered the art of turning off light switches yet? Perhaps you should consult the buddha on how one makes an egg sandwich.

Perhaps I could just tap the resources of some superior individual with total life experience such as yourself. Obviously you control your heartbeat, supervise the regeneration of cells, and still have time to spread plenty of enlightenment to the masses. What, fer godz sakes, are you doing wasting your time here on Earth?

[royster]

Originally Posted by st33med

Um I am a computer wizard and I did Google. The only virus I have seen were indirectly involved with Facebook website and required you to install a phony flash plugin which hijacked your Windows machine Vista, XP, or 7, whichever. There are also people who fall to the phony email messages of changing passwords.

Facebook Virus Turns Your Computer into a Zombie - PCWorld
snopes.com: Bredolab

Google

[moonrambler]

Originally Posted by royster

MY POLITICAL ACTIVIST CHUMS DIDN'T SAY SQUAT.

My point is, if we were friends IRL, I would be one of your political activist chums, and I would very likely have not gotten involved in this FB initiative. That's not what I'm there for.

Political activism = Yes.
Political activism on Facebook = No.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

My point is, if we were friends IRL, I would be one of your political activist chums, and I would very likely have not gotten involved in this FB initiative. That's not what I'm there for.

Political activism = Yes.
Political activism on Facebook = No.

Me, too -- I just delete the "Causes" (also the games invitations) that come my way on Facebook.

[royster]

I pretty much learned that the hard way, moonrambler. Also, those self-same spirit guides have taught me how to change things without activism. There is no political solution to a spiritual problem.

And I have to vindicate a whole mass of people by confessing I am seeing these undesireable traits in myself. These various events bring them to the surface, and there I am, rather miffed, but ever willing to work on myself. It doesn't matter being right or wrong; drop the ball and go to the bench. It is more important for me to ascend toward the long-term balance, and fighting short-term (in the eyes of eternity) annoyances is a waste of time, for me.

In sharing my learning, foibles, and faults with others, ALL benefit by seeing the process. In being vulnerably honest on my path, perhaps others are encouraged to also incorporate brutal honesty as a virtue for growth.

[royster]

Originally Posted by Angela

This sounds like the kind of reaction I hear a couple of times a week from elderly tv users who can't figure out which button to push on their remote controls. Ask them to email a photo from their cellphone? Guaranteed major panic freak-out.

We might do well to listen to them.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by royster

We might do well to listen to them.

I absolutely agree that it's a good idea to listen to them -- to help them overcome their irrational fears and habitual thought patterns, not to buy into them.

[st33med]

Originally Posted by Angela

I absolutely agree that it's a good idea to listen to them -- to help them overcome their irrational fears and habitual thought patterns, not to buy into them.

Yes, agreed! A lot of other people have a fun and fine time with Facebook. My mother and stepfather, yeesh, that is another story. Whenever they get a new device, they get frustrated and throw it at me to solve it, sometimes. It's pretty simple when you Google the problem (correctly!) or you explore on your own. But, I don't mind the extra fun problem solving, so I don't complain.

Also, royster, most of the links were talking about users clicking on links leading outside of Facebook and then getting infected with malware or viruses, not clicking on something inside of Facebook itself and getting infected by Facebook. Those users need to be aware of phony links outside of Facebook.

[James81]

The IT people came around last year and upgraded Microsoft Office. Until that time, we had Office 2003 and I *love* Office 2003. To me, that was the epitome of MS Office.

They installed MS Office 2007 (and they are going to upgrade to 2010 this year sometime I think).

And...well...I cursed the bejesus out of it. They took everything I *knew* about programs like Word and Excel and they rearranged and changed the **** out of it. I wanted to throw my computer across the room, and I have been vehemently crying out that MS Office 2007 is the biggest pile of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ever to hit computers.

You know what really happened? What really happened is that I already mastered something and then somebody came along and changed the game on me and now I must take something I've already mastered and unlearn a bunch of old stuff and relearn a bunch of new stuff. Fortunately for me, it's mostly just about FINDING stuff in the way they rearranged it, rather than completely changing up some of the functions. I already know what I *need*, I'm just having trouble finding it.

Then I realized that i was reacting MS Office 2007 much like some of the old guys around here reacted to getting computers. I remember when I first came to work here, hearing the old guys complaining about computers and how they didn't have any use for them and I would look at them like they were mentally retarded. I'd be like "WTF? A computer isn't that hard to learn and there is so much CONVENIENCE to be had in doing our work on a computer rather than doing designs with pen and paper. God, that's archaic! You old damn dinosaurs!"

But I caught myself railing against MS Office 2007 in the SAME EXACT WAY those old guys would complain about computers, and I laughed out loud at myself (or, as the youngens would say: I lawlzed).

I suddenly understand now why the older folks struggle with computers. They're intimidating. They've come along and they are a part of our life now whether we like it or not and we were forced to adapt to them....for younger guys like me, that was easier...but for the older folks, that was intimidating....and probably felt like they had to unlearn some things and relearn a new way of doing things at an age where they thought they were done with that.

Just some food for thought.

[royster]

Just some food for thought.

And very nurishing food, at that.

Those users need to be aware of phony links outside of Facebook.

And...gee; how might they be educated?

overcome their irrational fears and habitual thought patterns

[whistling] The universe operates in abstract patterns. Who is the authority on "rational"?

[moonrambler]

@ James -- at my first job after college, the customer service department had one video display terminal set up that connected to a mainframe computer in the main building. We were all supposed to take some time every day and learn how to use it. We all steered way clear of the damn thing and clung to our file cabinets and typewriters

[James81]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

@ James -- at my first job after college, the customer service department had one video display terminal set up that connected to a mainframe computer in the main building. We were all supposed to take some time every day and learn how to use it. We all steered way clear of the damn thing and clung to our file cabinets and typewriters

Yeah, it's funny how attached we get to doing things a certain way.

And it's going to happen again. I'll see it in my lifetime anyway because I'm fairly young (good lord willing, that is).

One day I'll be sitting there with my computer and the new technology will come in and replace it. How receptive will I be?

Or perhaps I even see that the computer, the way it is today, is already evolving. You don't think the iPad is the apex of what is possible with touch screen technology, do you? (DO YOU? )

The day will come when using a mouse will be as ridiculous as using a typewriter. Some kids will point and laugh at me and say "Haha, you ole damn dinosaur!"

[Angela]

Originally Posted by royster

The universe operates in abstract patterns. Who is the authority on "rational"?

One gets to make that determination in the world for one's self, and one's effectiveness in getting the results one wants, in my view, can be dramatically impacted by how skillful one is using their thoughts rationally and consciously. That is not to say to ignore intuition, but to use it in conjunction with reality.

There's nothing wrong with living your entire life being run by unexamined irrational fears or habitual thought patterns, but it tends to limit your effectiveness in getting the results you want.

For instance, a common problem for older people: they're overvigilantly afraid that if they hit the wrong key or push the wrong button, they'll break the machine -- or even blow it up! Being hypervigilant has the tendency to take up a lot of your conscious awareness, thereby reducing your conscious stage for learning and for dealing with authentic threat.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Angela

One gets to make that determination in the world for one's self, and one's effectiveness in getting the results one wants, in my view, can be dramatically impacted by how skillful one is using their thoughts rationally and consciously. That is not to say to ignore intuition, but to use it in conjunction with reality.

What seems like irrational to one person might be totally rational to the person considered to be irrational!

In other words, just because it seems irrational to YOU, doesn't mean that it is, in reality, irrational. It just means that you personally can't fathom why someone would see something this way, when you see it so differently.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by elucidate

What seems like irrational to one person might be totally rational to the person considered to be irrational!

In other words, just because it seems irrational to YOU, doesn't mean that it is, in reality, irrational. It just means that you personally can't fathom why someone would see something this way, when you see it so differently.

Like I said, I think one's effectiveness in getting the results they wants hinges a lot on how skillfully one uses their rational thoughts -- including how congruent their internal representations are with the reality they live into.

So, someone may believe something that looks totally irrational to me -- for instance, that there is a personal, interventionist god in charge of things -- and that may be very congruent with the results they get in life.

On the other hand, there may be someone who believes there are little ghosts who live in computers and cell phones, and those ghosts are the cause of dropped calls and Internet glitches -- and they find themselves very frustrated, irritated, scared, and dependent on others to *fix* things and to get the results they want.

I can totally fathom how people see things that I think are irrational! I see it all the time, in conversations here in the forums, for instance, when someone does a mind-read on someone -- they believe with all their heart that someone is saying something, when what they hear has absolutely nothing to do with anything the personal actually said, and all about an emotion that got reactivated.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Angela

Like I said, I think one's effectiveness in getting the results they wants hinges a lot on how skillfully one uses their rational thoughts -- including how congruent their internal representations are with the reality they live into.

If Roy isn't effected in any extreme way by not using facebook though, then what is the problem? He's obviously not too bothered by it in his reality. Maybe I'm not understanding you here?

So, someone may believe something that looks totally irrational to me -- for instance, that there is a personal, interventionist god in charge of things -- and that may be very congruent with the results they get in life.

On the other hand, there may be someone who believes there are little ghosts who live in computers and cell phones, and those ghosts are the cause of dropped calls and Internet glitches -- and they find themselves very frustrated, irritated, scared, and dependent on others to *fix* things and to get the results they want.

I wonder if there are people like that who believe there are little ghosts in their phone?

I can totally fathom how people see things that I think are irrational! I see it all the time, in conversations here in the forums, for instance, when someone does a mind-read on someone -- they believe with all their heart that someone is saying something, when what they hear has absolutely nothing to do with anything the personal actually said, and all about an emotion that got reactivated.

Yes, I notice it a lot too here. I probably have been that way myself at times, and I've definately been on the receiving end quite a few times.

My point is though, that whilst it may seem irrational to you, maybe it isn't at all irrational to royster? You're assuming it's irrational fear that is driving him to leave facebook aren't you? The examples you have given are of real instances of irrational thinking causing behavior to go all "dawson", whereas, in rosters case, he has reasons for leaving facebook that, whilst you may think differently on the subject, does not mean that they are irrational reasons...just that they seem that way to you because you think facebook is wonderful.

Sorry, I don't mean to go around in circles, I just feel like maybe one of us isn't understanding what the other is saying, and I'm not sure if it's you not understanding me, or me not understanding you?

[royster]

I can say, with all the love in my heart, that no view is to be neglected; the universe instructed all of us to go out and report how we see the universe from that unique point. In lieu of this, I have come to accept everyone's view as legitimate and worthy. I simply don't resonate with particular views, and this is my glitch to iron out.

I have also come to understand that the expanding (for want of a better expression) of thought in the 4th dimension, as opposed to compressed thought in the 3rd, can cause Babylon to re-emerge, and few understand each other at times.

I'm constantly growing in mind, soul and heart. These experiences...and even critisisms of me...forge me into a better spirit.

For this, I am very grateful.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by elucidate

If Roy isn't effected in any extreme way by not using facebook though, then what is the problem? He's obviously not too bothered by it in his reality. Maybe I'm not understanding you here?

I was referring more to his friend than to royster. (Although it does look to me like many of his objections to Facebook and some other stuff is less rational than emotional. He is presented with rational statements, and responds to them in an irrational way -- with feelings and metaphors, for instance. My evaluation of irrational or rational arguments doesn't have to do with my personal feelings about Facebook being wonderful; it has to do with the noticing how someone is using language. Again, I'm not saying that irrational is wrong or bad.)

I wonder if there are people like that who believe there are little ghosts in their phone?

Ohhhh yeah.

I just feel like maybe one of us isn't understanding what the other is saying, and I'm not sure if it's you not understanding me, or me not understanding you?

Well, I feel like I understand what you're saying.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by Angela

I was referring more to his friend than to royster. (Although it does look to me like many of his objections to Facebook and some other stuff is less rational than emotional. He is presented with rational statements, and responds to them in an irrational way -- with feelings and metaphors, for instance. My evaluation of irrational or rational arguments doesn't have to do with my personal feelings about Facebook being wonderful; it has to do with the noticing how someone is using language. Again, I'm not saying that irrational is wrong or bad.)

Oh, ok. I must admit, I have kinda forgotten what roy said in his posts by now, and have not read them all, so, you probably know more about it than I do.

Ohhhh yeah.

For REAL?

Well, I feel like I understand what you're saying.

I'll shut up now.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by elucidate

Oh, ok. I must admit, I have kinda forgotten what roy said in his posts by now....

...it kinda went into some curlicues, didn't it!?

[royster]

Originally Posted by Angela

...it kinda went into some curlicues, didn't it!?

And Moe and Larry cues, too.



NOTE THE CURLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY.

[st33med]

nyuk nyuk nyuk

[spacecadetglow]

LOL, I love you Roy, and your Gemini antics.

[royster]

Originally Posted by st33med

nyuk nyuk nyuk

Slapshtick

[royster]

Originally Posted by royster

Those who know Sufism are familiar with the Nasruden stories.

In one such story, Nasruden finds himself aboard a ship. Speaking to an English teacher, he says something gramattically incorrect.

"Have you never learned proper English!?" the teacher snaps. Nasruden admits he has not.

"Then half of your life has been wasted!" the teacher huffs.

Some hours later an event happens which causes the ship to begin sinking. Standing next to the teacher as the last lifeboat leaves, Nasruden asks the teacher if he had ever learned to swim. The teacher admits that he has not.

"Then ALL of your life has been wasted." Nasruden says as he jumps overboard.