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Neurosis & Wisdom

by lilmechante01
4 replies
I came across this quote in a book I'm reading, and for some reason it's stuck in my thoughts now and I keep reflecting on it. So, I thought I would share it with you (in hopes that writing it down will release it from my thoughts so I can maybe start paying attention again to what I'm reading:p).

"We are all a paradoxical bundle of rich potential that consists of both neurosis and wisdom." ~Pema Chödrön

Care to share your thoughts on it?:rolleyes:
bj
#neurosis #wisdom
  • Profile picture of the author vicone
    An intriguing thought which is probably true for most of us. I think, though, that neurosis diminishes as we grow in wisdom.

    Maitri is also a good place to be: Kindness, benevolence, or goodwill.

    Namasté and Aloha.

    Ivan
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  • Profile picture of the author DougBarger
    Yes, I'd like to share my thoughts.

    I believe with the neurosis part of the quote, the quoted is attempting to convey the human condition and yet, as neurosis is a form of dis-order,

    it is very paradoxical to true wisdom.

    For when one seeks and finds true wisdom, there is no more dis-order,

    but perfect completion due to being in perfect order.

    For example, who is stronger than the one who learns to trust in God's strength to overcome our many weaknesses.

    Or how is it that we find healing (again, made whole, entire, perfect, nothing lacking) when confessing our faults?

    That one seems to be paradoxical too.

    A guy who had been received into the third heaven for the purpose of receiving revelation by the spirit, once said in response to that,

    "So instead of boasting about anything I have accomplished through any supposed strength of my own or any sort of power of "self" (which there is none), I'd rather brag about and celebrate my weaknesses and shortcomings so that the power of Christ may rest on me in response to my humility."

    That was kind of a paraphrase, but basically the knowledge that of our own self we can do nothing but that in Christ, we can do all things that the glory may be to God and so that no human being ever has anything to brag about, ever.

    It does seem paradoxical and yet the author and finisher who reigns forever over all arguments clearly reveals to us that the beginning of wisdom is to reverence the Lord and to depart from evil is understanding.

    Also we know that wisdom is not an "it" but an actual person, a spirit as is understanding.

    Therefore, if we trust in any self-will or anything that is only vain glory rather than giving the glory to God for His gifts, then that thing will fail.

    That's the catch. We can only be victorious when we lose our will to His and ourselves in Him.

    But once we do, we are victoriously sharing in His highest victory freely given only to those who do it His way.

    So yes, it does seem to be quite paradoxical as the mystery of God was hidden before the ages but has now been revealed in this last time through His son Jesus Christ.

    The "catch" so to speak is that the secret things belong to the Lord but He shares His secrets to those who prove they can be trusted by Him because they love Him and keep His words and commandments.

    So in regard to the quote, the neuroses are dissolved and done away with in the presence of the perfect mind, divinely blessed, renewed, directed and in perfect order.

    So I can't confess to have the perfect mind and to have a neurosis at the same time because they don't co-exist. If at any point there was truly a neurosis, it would be the mind of the neurotic in need of healing.

    Once healed and made perfect, that which is not perfect has been done away with and replaced.

    Will go on forever, but enough for this post. Lol.
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    => Stay tuned...

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    • Profile picture of the author lilmechante01
      Needless to say, I've ended up doing a lot of reflecting on this...and both your posts made me think even more. Finally decided to look up neurosis to get the "official" definiton...From Dictionary.com:
      1.a functional disorder in which feelings of anxiety, obsessional thoughts, compulsive acts, and physical complaints without objective evidence of disease, in various degrees and patterns, dominate the personality. 2.a relatively mild personality disorder typified by excessive anxiety or indecision and a degree of social or interpersonal maladjustment.

      There is another quote from her that I think comes into play here too: "Although we have the potential to experience the freedom of a butterfly, we myseteriously prefer the small and fearful cocoon of ego"

      We may have the intellect and wisdom to reach our true potential, but sometimes we get so caught up in the mundane aspects of every day life--usually limiting ourselves with fears from things that happened in the past or "could" happen in the future that we end up contradicting our own self. We prefer to stay in security of the known (cocoon) rather than making a leap of faith into the unknown (freedom of the butterfly). We get trapped in what we preceive is our "identity" and how things SHOULD be that we create our own self-bondage based on ideas and concepts that we have learned through our social conditioning and have committed to and accepted as the truth, which makes us resistant to change. But nothing is static or permanent and change is always going on around us providing us with unlimited possibilities of potential that are there for us. Deepak Chopra writes Within every moment, there lies a junction point between the unknown and known. In that junction point the unknown transforms into the known. What is the known? The known is everything that has already happened...The known is memory. And what is the unknown? The unknown is the field of all possibilities in every successive moment of the present.

      Doug shared "So instead of boasting about anything I have accomplished through any supposed strength of my own or any sort of power of "self" (which there is none), I'd rather brag about and celebrate my weaknesses and shortcomings so that the power of Christ may rest on me in response to my humility."
      But still, people prefer to stay in their cocoons (egos; or e-g-o edging God out) and won't be free of the self-destructive patterns until they develop a compassionate understanding of what those patterns are...and that is where wisdom comes into play. Pema also points out that Self improvement can have temporary results, but lasting transformation occurs when we honor ourselves as the souce of wisdom and compassion. In other words, we need to accept, love, and be thankful for ourselves just the way we are...weaknesses and strengths first..and then use that wisdom and compassion as the empowerment for transformation or taking the leap into the unknown.

      And, before I end up writing another chapter :p I'll end with this:
      "When we step into the unknown, we are free of every limitation because fresh choices are available in every moment of our existence." ~Deepak (if you can't tell by now, I love his "mind")

      I think you sum up everything more succinctly Vicone
      neurosis diminishes as we grow in wisdom.
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      I CHOOSE to re-create MYSELF anew every single moment and experience the GRANDEST VERSION of the GREATEST VISION I have about WHO I AM!
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      • Profile picture of the author vicone
        I consider that Love, Peace, and Harmony entwine to produce Wisdom. This provides a model of reality which I find to be very useful.

        To explain further:

        Although we are all familiar with the terms above, there are aspects which deserve special attention.

        First, at the heart of conscious creation is the sense of an inner drive to shape our lives, to control the personal worlds we experience. This sense of control - to be able to make a difference - can be enormously exhilarating; its absence debilitating.

        When we express this inner power through our endless creations of want and desire we expand our inner beings - that aspect of ourselves we consider eternal - and the purpose for our existence: the creative expansion of our inner beings.

        Love is not only the appreciation of ourselves, others and the world we perceive - including those times when returns are bleak and events appear unyielding - it is the joy of the moment.

        Peace involves coming to terms with the present. When we look beyond the turbulence and appreciate what presently exists beyond our clouded sight, the sense of calm enables and prepares us to experience more joy. Negative emotions, such as anger and fear, offer distractions which point us away from what we really want.

        Harmony is the emotional alignment of where we are now with a future outcome. It is the companion of Choice as we can choose our destinations with deliberate intent, in which case it is the alignment with what we want. When we choose merely to accept what we are getting rather than what we prefer, the surrender of control over our lives may be experienced as anguish and despair - what others perhaps see as neurosis. If we do not choose the direction of our thoughts with care this may give rise to an emotional alignment with what we do NOT want. Good feelings tell us we are in harmony with good outcomes.

        The alignment established when we are feeling good makes it easier for us to see the path ahead. Those bustling for action who do not wish to travel an easier path and yearn for the struggle they regard as necessary to succeed, may choose to carry a heavier burden.

        Wisdom, then, is the creative embrace of Love, Peace and Harmony. By this means, we determine our lives.

        The solution to neurosis? Get in touch with your inner joy, make peace with your present circumstances, and dream - enjoy today the life you intend to experience tomorrow. By all means, take action as the way ahead becomes clearer.

        I've explained some of this a little more fully in this post:

        http://www.warriorforum.com/mind-war...y-success.html

        Ivan
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