Looking back through some old posts - I have been writing now for over ten years, which 'plots' a journey and is a good achievement - I notice a habit in my writing about the voices.
I was just reading in a book about the power of love to change lives, and about how love "does not judge or criticise." I have been heavily critical of the voices.
We have different ways of speaking about the same thing - we can be angry or generous, angry or patient, angry or kind. I would say anger is not itself an evil, it serves a purpose, but I read of it being called the poison of the world! That is, the first thing to look at and change in ourselves.
What do you call these voices? Given that spiritual scientists say it is possible to have intrusive spirit entities with us, and it is possible that these can influence our minds and being and be heard as interior voices. Given that the voice hearing experience can be based in reality, what do we call them? Naming can be a shaming and a cause of conflict - that's an archetypal human issue. We have options.
Secondly, how do you talk further in describing these voices? Mine are problematic to me, I find they are often opposing my wellbeing and sabotaging my mental strength. How do I describe them in themselves? They seem to come from a lower place than myself (or anyone I know) and are rarely in great calm and stability and normal generosity. As soon as you fix a description of someone, it is creative and begins to call forth a repetition of the pattern of its qualities. It matters what words you use to describe. If you hold a high thought, it creates a high reality in response - that's metaphysical truth of how the universe works. You can think high thoughts about the voice-beings - or about anyone.
I have been responding with criticism. Basically, getting angry with them for being harsh to me, from a place of expectation that they should understand to treat others better, just as I understand. Sometimes or quite often, when they choose their routine of deliberate hurting, I might get angry and use language choices that are harsh though seemingly appropriate to describe them. This is criticism that is not very helpful, effectively giving them back like for like (returning harshness). Praise heals a person and a relationship. It is actually going to save a situation and bring in change to look for ways to praise and leave off from criticising. Because what is happening? It is merely a moment where you have the moral high ground; in another moment, you probably might not be in the right. The idea of fairness driving the criticism I would call a kind of illusion.
You have to be very careful, I think, not to denigrate when you are angered by another, and not to label them when they do something repeatedly, because it perpetuates trouble and division and suffering. Good words change the world. That's not a new idea: I was reading about the two millennia old religion we call Zoroastrianism that has the motto to live by "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds" as a path of closeness to God.
I have to find ways to bring in peace, and I don't do that by choosing more dramatic language, more condemning language or more disrespectful language, neither do I do it by staying in what is quite volatile anger and emotion of disgust. Instead, I could be feeling patience, generosity, kindness. There are 'keys' to do this, for example the one I noticed about expectation - you can't expect everyone to have perfect moral understanding in every case (which is doing good without thought of reward and also neither doing deliberate harm nor retaliating to harms).
I understand better just recently about forgiveness and the humility it involves and how I can forgive.
Part of the problem is the Problem of Rest. If you can't move away from a social/ego threat you get worn down. It is a problem of spaciousness, having voices as I do, they are always there! People require conscious rest like they require air, food, water and love. My voices can be unloving. If I don't rest enough, which easily happens, eventually I will be unloving back. I will find a way to verbally retaliate or even intimidate somehow or criticise. This is not unique and personal to me, it is standard for anyone who does not have perfect power and control for some reason. Maybe you saw the behaviour at some stage growing up and took it on; maybe you are tired or hurt; maybe you have not reached maturity in years; maybe you didn't grow up in a utopia! I can give myself grace for that behaviour, though I would like to change it.
Recently I found that I can use ambient noise (a loud water fountain) and at the same time some quite loud music (music that is more 'neutral') and I can meditate with all that noise and get into some conscious restfulness and recharge myself. It helps because the sound is loud and more ambient. Still it's an effort to meditate and I don't like to do it every day. This method mostly stops me from hearing the interior voices, and then the mind naturally heals up a bit, which is great! Maybe you readers out there in Internetland with difficult interior voices could try this.
These days I don't call the ones talking into my brain 'devils' or demons or damned or infernal, I don't like to label them as wicked. I think those are old terms based on superstition and not psychologically literate. The ones I have known are not actual demonic beings at all, but human beings awaiting transformation by Divine Love.
I have read of them being called lower spirits, which can be useful, but even that can sound derogatory. I would advise against labelling them negative or hostile. I could call them "entities" - a common term for "uninvited auric residents" among spiritual healers - but it sounds too impersonal as they are still spirits of human beings (the ones I have had). I keep a journal, and when I write about them, I have been making myself call them venerable, out of new understanding and to bring balance. Venerable spirits! After the Buddhist tradition of seeing all life as venerable. You can. I am reschooling myself not to retaliate - part of that involves respect.
It is worth closing with a Buddhist teaching "The Five Methods for Removing Annoyance". This shares how we can hold goodwill, compassion and 'onlooking equanimity' towards those who might annoy us, while ignoring them where possible and affirming that the venerable being in question has responsibility for the effects of their choices. Doing all that we come from a high level. I have been helped a lot by this.
I hope you have benefited from this post. I am growing and beginning to see better ways of relating to the human beings I am aware of in Spirit. I see now that love is part of the release process; I think anything other than love will only bind you closer.
I was just reading in a book about the power of love to change lives, and about how love "does not judge or criticise." I have been heavily critical of the voices.
We have different ways of speaking about the same thing - we can be angry or generous, angry or patient, angry or kind. I would say anger is not itself an evil, it serves a purpose, but I read of it being called the poison of the world! That is, the first thing to look at and change in ourselves.
What do you call these voices? Given that spiritual scientists say it is possible to have intrusive spirit entities with us, and it is possible that these can influence our minds and being and be heard as interior voices. Given that the voice hearing experience can be based in reality, what do we call them? Naming can be a shaming and a cause of conflict - that's an archetypal human issue. We have options.
Secondly, how do you talk further in describing these voices? Mine are problematic to me, I find they are often opposing my wellbeing and sabotaging my mental strength. How do I describe them in themselves? They seem to come from a lower place than myself (or anyone I know) and are rarely in great calm and stability and normal generosity. As soon as you fix a description of someone, it is creative and begins to call forth a repetition of the pattern of its qualities. It matters what words you use to describe. If you hold a high thought, it creates a high reality in response - that's metaphysical truth of how the universe works. You can think high thoughts about the voice-beings - or about anyone.
I have been responding with criticism. Basically, getting angry with them for being harsh to me, from a place of expectation that they should understand to treat others better, just as I understand. Sometimes or quite often, when they choose their routine of deliberate hurting, I might get angry and use language choices that are harsh though seemingly appropriate to describe them. This is criticism that is not very helpful, effectively giving them back like for like (returning harshness). Praise heals a person and a relationship. It is actually going to save a situation and bring in change to look for ways to praise and leave off from criticising. Because what is happening? It is merely a moment where you have the moral high ground; in another moment, you probably might not be in the right. The idea of fairness driving the criticism I would call a kind of illusion.
You have to be very careful, I think, not to denigrate when you are angered by another, and not to label them when they do something repeatedly, because it perpetuates trouble and division and suffering. Good words change the world. That's not a new idea: I was reading about the two millennia old religion we call Zoroastrianism that has the motto to live by "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds" as a path of closeness to God.
I have to find ways to bring in peace, and I don't do that by choosing more dramatic language, more condemning language or more disrespectful language, neither do I do it by staying in what is quite volatile anger and emotion of disgust. Instead, I could be feeling patience, generosity, kindness. There are 'keys' to do this, for example the one I noticed about expectation - you can't expect everyone to have perfect moral understanding in every case (which is doing good without thought of reward and also neither doing deliberate harm nor retaliating to harms).
I understand better just recently about forgiveness and the humility it involves and how I can forgive.
Part of the problem is the Problem of Rest. If you can't move away from a social/ego threat you get worn down. It is a problem of spaciousness, having voices as I do, they are always there! People require conscious rest like they require air, food, water and love. My voices can be unloving. If I don't rest enough, which easily happens, eventually I will be unloving back. I will find a way to verbally retaliate or even intimidate somehow or criticise. This is not unique and personal to me, it is standard for anyone who does not have perfect power and control for some reason. Maybe you saw the behaviour at some stage growing up and took it on; maybe you are tired or hurt; maybe you have not reached maturity in years; maybe you didn't grow up in a utopia! I can give myself grace for that behaviour, though I would like to change it.
Recently I found that I can use ambient noise (a loud water fountain) and at the same time some quite loud music (music that is more 'neutral') and I can meditate with all that noise and get into some conscious restfulness and recharge myself. It helps because the sound is loud and more ambient. Still it's an effort to meditate and I don't like to do it every day. This method mostly stops me from hearing the interior voices, and then the mind naturally heals up a bit, which is great! Maybe you readers out there in Internetland with difficult interior voices could try this.
These days I don't call the ones talking into my brain 'devils' or demons or damned or infernal, I don't like to label them as wicked. I think those are old terms based on superstition and not psychologically literate. The ones I have known are not actual demonic beings at all, but human beings awaiting transformation by Divine Love.
I have read of them being called lower spirits, which can be useful, but even that can sound derogatory. I would advise against labelling them negative or hostile. I could call them "entities" - a common term for "uninvited auric residents" among spiritual healers - but it sounds too impersonal as they are still spirits of human beings (the ones I have had). I keep a journal, and when I write about them, I have been making myself call them venerable, out of new understanding and to bring balance. Venerable spirits! After the Buddhist tradition of seeing all life as venerable. You can. I am reschooling myself not to retaliate - part of that involves respect.
It is worth closing with a Buddhist teaching "The Five Methods for Removing Annoyance". This shares how we can hold goodwill, compassion and 'onlooking equanimity' towards those who might annoy us, while ignoring them where possible and affirming that the venerable being in question has responsibility for the effects of their choices. Doing all that we come from a high level. I have been helped a lot by this.
I hope you have benefited from this post. I am growing and beginning to see better ways of relating to the human beings I am aware of in Spirit. I see now that love is part of the release process; I think anything other than love will only bind you closer.
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