I just took a break from The Wisdom of Insecurity to read this. I see in other places you've talked bout Alan Watts, so no doubt you've read this one... I love the idea of destruction as a deliberate action taken to remember the movement of all things out of their present form and into another; to not become attached to our sense of 'fixing' time or reality--actively remembering that beauty is in the impermanence. "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." (AW) Also, I particularly love the film--how each strike of the hammer brings a new darkness. Love following your work. Many thanks.
Mar 14, 2022·edited Mar 14, 2022Liked by Jonathan Jennings Harris
What if we could destroy a delusion? Yes, what if! The death of Kate Webb Harris reminds me of my mother. She is alive, yet absent. I am just two years older than you and should feel lucky to have a mother. She is healthy, rich, but delusional. She once had a role in Phalavi Iran, before moving to California, where she got rich working for laywers and making smart investments.
I only spent 10 days of my adult life with her. She claims to be a victim of gang stalking. For the last 30 years, she defended herself in court and by moving from place to place in an effort to escape "the gang". She covers herself at night to mitigate the effect of assaults with directed-energy weapons.
When I listen to her on the phone, I'd like to destroy her illusions. But what if she is right?
I am her son. I have to take her side. I am her son, I have to destroy her illusions. Which one am I?
How could I forgive myself for not trying? I tried and I failed. She turns away from me - again, because I question her sense of reality.
I destroyed the mother-son bond.
The three gates to the rescue?
1. Can a better sense of reality emerge from denying and diminishing her gang-stalking reality? How would I know if I don't test?
2. Is it the only good option? No, I could just as well accept her pain and anger, though I would have to hide the eerie feeling of being in the presence of a mutant mind.
3. Can I help with compassion? I cannot deny my own senses. I'd like to see a brain scan of her brain. Then I might want to attack her reality with compassion. But I cannot do that against her will and in her absence.
Hi Alex, thanks so much for sharing this vivid scenario that you're grappling with. My sense is that we have to be very careful about using destruction on behalf of other people. We're all living in worlds of our own, and we need to respect the sovereignty of other people's worlds, especially while they're still alive. I sometimes find that asking open-ended questions (what if, what would it be like, etc.) can be a good way of engaging with tricky situations like the one you describe with your mom. Beyond that, you might want to ask yourself what you could do on your own that would help you to become more neutral about the situation with your mom, so that it's no longer the energy leak that it sounds like it currently is for you. Neutrality is what you're after.
I just took a break from The Wisdom of Insecurity to read this. I see in other places you've talked bout Alan Watts, so no doubt you've read this one... I love the idea of destruction as a deliberate action taken to remember the movement of all things out of their present form and into another; to not become attached to our sense of 'fixing' time or reality--actively remembering that beauty is in the impermanence. "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." (AW) Also, I particularly love the film--how each strike of the hammer brings a new darkness. Love following your work. Many thanks.
Thank you, Isabel — I appreciate your reflections.
What if we could destroy a delusion? Yes, what if! The death of Kate Webb Harris reminds me of my mother. She is alive, yet absent. I am just two years older than you and should feel lucky to have a mother. She is healthy, rich, but delusional. She once had a role in Phalavi Iran, before moving to California, where she got rich working for laywers and making smart investments.
I only spent 10 days of my adult life with her. She claims to be a victim of gang stalking. For the last 30 years, she defended herself in court and by moving from place to place in an effort to escape "the gang". She covers herself at night to mitigate the effect of assaults with directed-energy weapons.
When I listen to her on the phone, I'd like to destroy her illusions. But what if she is right?
I am her son. I have to take her side. I am her son, I have to destroy her illusions. Which one am I?
How could I forgive myself for not trying? I tried and I failed. She turns away from me - again, because I question her sense of reality.
I destroyed the mother-son bond.
The three gates to the rescue?
1. Can a better sense of reality emerge from denying and diminishing her gang-stalking reality? How would I know if I don't test?
2. Is it the only good option? No, I could just as well accept her pain and anger, though I would have to hide the eerie feeling of being in the presence of a mutant mind.
3. Can I help with compassion? I cannot deny my own senses. I'd like to see a brain scan of her brain. Then I might want to attack her reality with compassion. But I cannot do that against her will and in her absence.
Hi Alex, thanks so much for sharing this vivid scenario that you're grappling with. My sense is that we have to be very careful about using destruction on behalf of other people. We're all living in worlds of our own, and we need to respect the sovereignty of other people's worlds, especially while they're still alive. I sometimes find that asking open-ended questions (what if, what would it be like, etc.) can be a good way of engaging with tricky situations like the one you describe with your mom. Beyond that, you might want to ask yourself what you could do on your own that would help you to become more neutral about the situation with your mom, so that it's no longer the energy leak that it sounds like it currently is for you. Neutrality is what you're after.
Harris <3
Love to explore these ideas - thank you for all the added links -thank you for getting me outside my box...
You're welcome, Judy — thanks for exploring.
What an opportune reminder, Jonathan. Thank you for communicating this work and crafting the texts in our midst of stickiness and contemplation 🤍
Thank you, Azzad!