tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post8575852108470770180..comments2024-03-26T16:24:34.218+00:00Comments on Meeting The Masters: VirtueWilliam Wildbloodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-40731455329655956222013-05-03T14:04:58.594+00:002013-05-03T14:04:58.594+00:00Thanks, William. Amen to the extra guidance when g...Thanks, William. Amen to the extra guidance when growing up!<br />Paul Hillmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-4429422607786136652013-05-03T11:33:56.212+00:002013-05-03T11:33:56.212+00:00Yes, I couldn't agree more. Self-esteem is jus...Yes, I couldn't agree more. Self-esteem is just as you say, a sort of puffed up sense of one's own importance. <br /><br />I like your phrase 'resistance to incarnation'. I think most people who are drawn to spirituality have that. We know that this is not our true home and we feel the weight of the body and the constriction of the mind. Those not so drawn have no idea what we mean if we say this and dismiss us as escapists, but in fact we are the realists and they are the ones who live in illusion. Previous times have understood this but now we live during a period when the material world is possibly the densest it's ever been, though there are signs that cracks are appearing.<br /><br />I think what people who are resistant to incarnation have to learn (and, like you, it took me a while to appreciate this) is that, unpleasant as life in this world is for us, it is where we are meant to be at the moment and we have to live fully here whilst, at the same time, never losing touch with our true self. It's true, this is not our home, we are exiles, but we have a job to do here and lessons to learn. Would there was more guidance for us when we were growing up though!<br /><br />I think your interpreation of self-confidence is quite right. There need be no contradiction between that and humility.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-24847114115993639262013-05-03T09:52:08.507+00:002013-05-03T09:52:08.507+00:00I too was painfully shy and self conscious as a ch...I too was painfully shy and self conscious as a child, William. The term self esteem is the part I object to as it implies more of an attitude of self regard and congratulation than self confidence. <br />I think the roots of words in language can be very revealing. If I am self conscious I am literally conscious of my self, my persona and not comfortable with it. My youngest memories are of precisely that, not being comfortable in my body/mind, not at ease with myself.It is almost like a resistance to incarnation. Learning self confidence, again going back to the origins of the word in Latin, is learning to trust in one's self, in the vehicle for our soul, the body and mind, our earthly spacesuit, as it were. Am I over interpreting here , William, do you feel?<br />I did not feel at home , so to speak in my body in any way until my thirties and of course like everyone else I am not at home when I am in my body in the most important sense.Paul Hillmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-83790562875692258842013-05-02T13:45:59.693+00:002013-05-02T13:45:59.693+00:00Speaking a someone who was very shy as a child I w...Speaking a someone who was very shy as a child I would say we do need to learn confidence in ourselves when we are growing up but then we progress to find that true confidence comes from self-forgetfulness and trust in a higher power. That's what Jesus demonstrated and that is why he had no fear.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-37177331436498996172013-05-01T21:59:42.085+00:002013-05-01T21:59:42.085+00:00Impeccably reasoned, William. Virtue is said to be...Impeccably reasoned, William. Virtue is said to be its own reward,which fits in rather nicely with the idea of the primacy of the process, not working for reward. I have always liked the idea of following the "Path with Heart" (Castaneda?): the knowledge of the heart is more than intuition but it is intuitive,I feel.<br /><br /> Humility is a much undervalued quality in modern times, when children are encouraged,from a very early age, to develop self-esteem, with the kindest of motives but the wrong emphasis and not always the most happy results. To appreciate our own worth we must, perhaps, understand our nature and purpose better and move beyond the idea that "what I am now is good enough".<br />The Master Jesus is an excellent model in this respect but not an example to which many aspire.The dedication to plod on steadily upwards on the path, without demonstrable recognition from one's peers or higher entities proves too much for most of us and we are always ready to tear down the lofty souls who appear to accomplish it, and believe the worst of them. We can at least aspire to virtue.Paul Hillmannoreply@blogger.com