02.18.08
SK, I am not a guru, nor even a mystic
Comment form Sillykitty to Note to SK: Sufi hyenas, poets beware
Note: Sillykitty has been a frequent contributor here, and this blog pursued the ‘deprogramming’ option with respect to the shadowy ’sufi’ school of the ‘notorious rogue sufi’ e. j. gold. This issue and sk’s case actually made it into Wikipedia in the entry on Mr. Gold. The later is masquerading as the ’successor’ to Gurdjieff, the original shadowy ‘rogue sufi’. If you are competing with Gurdjieff you must be in the big devil business. Caveat emptor. I called such people ’sufi hyenas’, a spontaneous act of revulsion that seems to have stuck.
Sillykitty, I did all I could to help, which wasn’t much. You perhaps expected me to be some kind of mystic whiz (from OZ, I guess) to deliver you to some new mystic alternative, but I am none of those things, and have no supply to feed demand. You are suffering from disorientation and shock after getting the ‘mindfuck’ treatment from tremendously cruel people who use mysticism as fish bait. Sufistic types come in the pious and un-pious brands, and the latter seem to compete with each other in their shock-treatment viciousness. So forgive me if I disavow the ‘mystic’ label, as sixties ‘New Age’ baggage I let go of years ago, what to say of the ‘guru’ label. My near silence springs from refusal to offer ‘free advice’ drifting slowly but surely into ‘amateur guru-itis’, the bane of most talkative New Agers suffering guru fantasies… If I played that game I really would deserve the bullet through the brain most presumptuous amateurs get if they indulge that game. That’s all. All I can do is walk through the battlefield and say ‘he’s dead’, ‘he’s alive’. You’re alive. What more can you ask?
It’s unfair to me to say I am not who I appear to be, and am really some kind of ‘deep mystic’ and that the public therefore should not take me at face value. It’s not true. I am an average Joe in a secular age, with no religion, mysticism, spiritual credentials, attainments, or allegiances. It’s all in my past. I flushed out mystical mesmerizations a long time ago.
That might be unfortunate, or fortunate, but it is the case.
Anyway, I should be careful. The term ‘mysticism’ is so vague that to negate it will have unpredictable meanings/consequences. I have no problem, as do many secular fans of scientism, with the historical study of mysticism in its genuine moments, just for the record, lest I be charged with prejudice against such mystics (with whom I have had to interact excessively many years ago).
My problem with mysticism is merely that it is all words and concepts, and confuses people. Behind that something genuine is possible, but then that proceeds into words again, and the merry-go-round starts again. So instead of ‘mysticism’, why not simple void out the question in a Kantian fashion, or in the manner of Schopenhauer? It may be the case that some ‘experiences’ reflect the noumenal, but books on the subject will always be subject to Kantian skepticism.
So goodbye to all that. That is a personal statement. Speaking more generally, why not, instead of pinning labels on me, examine what I have myself said, historically, e.g. re the eonic effect, in terms of the content of that scheme of historical periodization. Locate the history of mysticism in terms of the emergence of civilization, and get down to historical specifics. Then we have something to talk about.
But trying to ape the ‘gnostic blahdeblah’ in the stream of ad nauseam pious baloney passed off on innocent minds by those wish to exploit them in the manner of the Gurdjieff gang, forget it. Go meditate on dog shit. That can be mystical.
Remember that Gurdjieff called himself a devil. I guess he meant it. Therefore he has no spiritual authority. Yet people fawn before him, and end up getting hurt. His phoney imitators are therefore devils too.
So don’t trust them. It is that simple. It seems like a big puzzle. It isn’t. It is simply extreme conservatism trying to sink the modern age, with a grudge against modern freedoms. The tactics are to seduce liberals and mindfuck them, among other things, like promoting fascism in secret, etc… I have discoursed on that here a number of times.
A strange thing happened to mysticism on the way to Disneyland. It adopted hate as a substitue for love. If you don’t believe me, find the quote from Gurdjieff where he said so himself.
So they will end up like the little hitlers everywhere, after their firecrackers have fizzled.
Travel light, without myticism. It is more interesting that way.
sillykitty said,
February 20, 2008 at 4:20 am
i apologize for screaming so loud on this good site. and i apologize for being rude. i simply really want to know more about your personal experience. none of my business and probably totally inappropriate to have flaunted my own super-personal history here but i am grateful you posted it. i hope others who are jeopardized may find it. etc..otherwise, we are talking in circles, repeating ourselves. i want to understand the way forward. it seems to me like that’s what you want too and what this site is about.
sometimes i pick up ‘what is enlightenment?’ magazine at whole foods, and flip through the pages. all the buzz words, the ads (!) all the glossy saffron-wearing westerners toting malas and self-satisfied grins. the hype, the tone of well-meaning superiority. it makes me want to puke. the waves coming off it so similar to those that caught me. how many people get hurt every day? looking back i know that what made me sick was believing whole-heartedly in so many lies…lies about the most important thing–existence itself.
so maybe not-knowing isn’t so bad.
i don’t understand half of what you say here, but it may be the best strategy for going forward. it is clear. i think it must help. i’m still a dopey southern california girl who did too much yoga and didn’t finish high school. i’m not going to read shopenhauer any time soon. i’m sorry. i’m sorry for being a jerk. thank you again, for everything.
did i mention that i wish you would say more about your personal experience?that is a personal statement. tee-hee.
your friend, sk
sillykitty said,
February 20, 2008 at 4:32 am
i just got the settlement money from when i was hit by the car on passover 2005. yesterday i bought myself a beautiful and expensive harmonium (in delhi!) on ebay. i am going to teach myself how to play and sing.
nemo said,
February 20, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Thanks for your comments. I think your clarification is appropriate since it is actually inappropriate for anyone to push anyone about occult issues. But personal history, well, who knows.
I had thought I had made my history concerning sufis pretty clear. But maybe not. I will have to write my autobiography. Meanwhile, we should maintain contacts. Once you criticize this guru gang you can get in trouble, and the outer world won’t be able to help.
We have given e.j. gold pause, that’s for sure. He has one weak spot: his public image among new agers (forget the general public). One people realize these Gurdjieff gamers are dishonest, they won’t stand for sufi shenanigans and hurting others.
sillykitty said,
February 20, 2008 at 8:56 pm
i look forward to your autobiography. with pictures too, i hope. as i recover from what happened, my story becomes more lucid, it is easier for me to tell and easier for people–with the right background (forget the general public)–to understand. so i find people, like you, to tell it to, and i tell it. and word does get around. people love prurient gossip–especially ‘new agers.’ lol. my need for a personal sort of revenge diminishes–but my wish for those ’shenanigans’ to be stopped, will continue and as long as i live. i will try to address it, one way or another, get the word around, and make myself available for whatever use i might be, probably not much, to those who are endangered, or already harmed.
the little used bookstore has a growing cult section, adjacent to the religion section, and next to a newer selection of books on mind control. you have helped me connect the dots in so many ways. in so many ways.
i look forward to the constantly unfolding dialogue on this site. thank you. onward.
nemo said,
February 22, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Thanks for comments/participation. I am thinking about how to proceed with our earlier expose processes. Your input has been good. On the subject of mysticism, get specific and cite some books, that might start discussion.
sillykitty said,
February 24, 2008 at 5:33 am
what about we wu wei? several interesting, intelligent bookstore customers have come through looking for his books. but i’ve never had one in 14 years. previously out of print i ordered a used copy for a nice man from burma a few years back. best price was about $30. the other day a nice man from austria also looking for we wu wei—specifically a book called ‘ask the awakened.’ discovered that several of his books have been re-issued and are available on amazon new for about $10. ordered a copy of ‘ask the awakened’ for the gentleman, and one for myself. so far have only read a few pages. had to cringe through the ‘you must proceed with a guru but a guru is impossible to find’ bit but….apart from that, not too nauseating so far. do you or others have a take on him?
he was a westerner. wrote between 1958 and 1974. wei wu wei, his pen name, is said to mean: ‘action that is non-action.’ taoist? whatever.
nemo said,
February 24, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Is this the name of an author or the ‘Zen’ theme of wu wei?
Wait, you answered my own question. I think I recall the name, vaguely, but I can’t quite place it.
We could use some good history of the ‘wu wei’ desigation and Chinese Zen.
sillykitty said,
February 24, 2008 at 9:07 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei
?
nemo said,
February 24, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Very good link
nemo said,
February 24, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Your comment on Enlightenment magazine is interesting. I almost feel sorry for the Cohen gang (??). They have miscalculated the New Age they expected to carry the wave of the future. The postmodern fad is turning out to be a passing one.
sillykitty said,
February 25, 2008 at 2:25 am
yes! embarassingly uncool like lava lamps and/or tie-dye. it will die from being unfashionabe instead of from being seriously horrible, but it doesn’t matter. god works in mysterious ways, and has a strange (slightly sick?) sense of humor. ?