How do you view other "normal" people in the world?

[Chi_]

 

On 6/20/2019 at 10:31 PM, Shiva said:

At the end of the day, everyone is just trying to do their best to live well (to the best of their knowledge).

Even a drug addict is just trying his best to live a good life. He doesn't know any better or his personal situation was really complicated, that's probably why he started taking heroine. 

Other people manipulate, scam, steal and murder, but they are also just doing what they are doing because somewhere they think that this is going to make them happy. It's idiotic, but they don't know any better...

You and me were extremely lucky that for some reason we stumbled upon the spiritual path, which is perhaps a wiser way to go about life.

But just think about how lucky we are to have found it and that we have been raised in such a way that we were open-minded enough to see it...

Not everybody has our privilege, so I think we must appreciate how lucky we are and where other people are coming from.

In the end, you and me are just some fools trying to make the best of this strange thing called life, just like everybody else.

Spot on man

Edited June 22, 2019 by Chi_

[hyruga]

Don't assume other people are 'normal'. They may be more enlightened than you are in some or a lot of aspects of life.

If you assume, then you are judging and you are not even 50% 'enlightened'

Edited June 30, 2019 by hyruga

[Dan502]

Ha, the title of this thread sounds so pretentious from a certain perspective

[Elham]

This topic gives me an itchy feeling ?

It is like they are normal and we are superior and now how should we view them...

Sometime I have this feeling that well I know stuff on self actualization and people don't so I am better! I HATE when I feel this so when I see a person who has not even started the journey, I try to remember the past-me and the incomplete-present-me?

[bejapuskas]

@Elham  I also have this, I had this feeling of superiority when I started and I felt like I am 100 years ahead of everyone, but now it feels like the consciousness of young people is evolving so quickly that you cannot even really stay at the „top“, so any pride is destructive on this path, it usually leads to hyprocrisy, selfishness and lack of attention.

[Pacific Sage]

On 6/16/2019 at 11:06 PM, DivineSoda said:

If you are one who has done the inner work, how do you now view them? How do you interact and converse with them? In what ways has your own growth caused you to re-evaluate your past fears around social anxiety, or your own sense of self-confidence around others? What degrees of toxicity in others do you tolerate, and what do you completely avoid? How would you describe your sense of unconditional compassion/empathy for others? Even the assholes/dicks/judgey ones? Most importantly, can you describe the ways in which you now feel empowered, self-confident, and unwavering around others? Regardless of who they are?

The easiest way I felt to develop compassion for others is putting myself in their shoes and try seeing the world from their perspective, it generates a sense of peace once I know where certain actions are coming from.

To get to this Leo's multi part series of Spiral Dynamics was a huge help, when I start observing traits and patters and understanding their motives I could try analyse where they are coming from.

I used to turn a blind eye to a lot of manipulation from my friends towards others until I realized the same is happening with me too. But since their motives are hard wired in them, I just reduced my exposure to such environments altogether no matter how fun they seem to be.

Ultimately I realized it's simply not personal. 

Also Leo mentions all aspects of SD are right in their own path of evolution depending on their situation. Only thing we can do is focus on our own devilry and elevate our consciousness.

On 6/16/2019 at 11:06 PM, DivineSoda said:

For me, I'm realizing that I'm still stuck in my old paradigm where other people have the power to intimidate me or have an impact on my internal psyche in a way that is beyond my control. Like who I am and the way I behave is not fully grounded and is still malleable depending on who I'm interacting with or surrounded by. When this occurs in the moment, I can't help but feel degrees of fear, or anxiety, or a lack of self-worth as I'm self-aware of my own inability to fully own who it is that I am. 

I have been where you are, and still there to an extent, during certain high emotional/drama situation where I feel like I am losing my self. I guess certain emotions can sway me off my centre and am still trying to be reflective of them. It's quite tough..

I was very unconscious before with the movies I watched and the songs I used to listen to. As long as the tune was good I used to listen to it for hours, now that I am relatively more aware, I have an understanding of the lyrics of the songs and most of my past favourites just doesn't sit with me now. I guess a lot of it is in the sub conscious and being more aware of it and developing a sense of internal compass from there has helped me stay more grounded in situations. Also contemplating past reactions and behaviors to respective situations helps.

On 6/16/2019 at 11:06 PM, DivineSoda said:

Right now I'm working a temp job while I figure out my next steps, and I'm interacting with a lot of different customers from all walks of life. I am not the same person in my interactions from customer to customer. It's like I'm doing this constant shape-shifting of my personality depending on how my mind is perceiving the other person to be. If they are high energy and light hearted, I open up with them. If they are grumpy and short tempered, I feel anxiety instead of staying exactly who I am and maintaining that sense until the interaction is over. 

I am high with energy as long as the situation is with good vibes, and responsive and distant when things are otherwise.

[nistake]

I used to feel superior to them to a certain degree, but a while ago I've realized that I'm not better than anyone just because I meditate, do yoga and do various self-development/spiritual stuff. There's always something you can learn from a person and it doesn't matter how conscious he or she is.

[RawJudah]

Even though I'm nothing special, I do tend to feel superior over other people...

I need to stop doing it, but I find it hard, maybe ego has a lot to do with this?

We all start somewhere so really we can't judge people.

But people can only change themselves, nobody else can do it for them.

 

 

[bejapuskas]

@RawJudah  Every person is looking for the same thing, Alan Watts calls it „the goodie“  They just use different strategies to find it. I think that this „it's the ego's fault“ is just more ego, it is like blaming yourself, but indirectly, because you cannot withstand it. 

[Dayo]

I try to see them as they are. At times I fail to do that. They aren't less than me just because they aren't doing self-actualization work. I learn a lot about human nature and myself when I interact with others.