Buddha_Mind said:I think there is definite truth in the fact that we all have demons in our minds that we are fighting...I think this is a universal thing, and maybe only small handfulls of individuals have found true ways to temper those demons...
I always try and shift my mind towards the the opposite during experiences such as that...IE, if my mind starts to go dark I try to imagine the counter-opposite of the same situation...sometimes that helps bring back in balance and keeps me from going too far towards the dark.
I am neither religious nor super-spiritual much these days; I am more interested in pragmatic effective ways of being. Zen is appealing in a pragmatic sense through the notions of detaching and staying in the present...viewing things as part of a greater whole...these things are beneficial to my psyche.
But at the end of the day nobody has this Reality completely figured out. We are all learning through trial and error and discussion and experimentation.
I agree that in a lot of ways the inner AFC is a result of fear or failure or lack of personal self-esteem and self-respect. It is because we can see our own greatest flaws and faults, and we are afraid when another sees them too we will be rejected and be back alone again. These fears are reasonable in some ways as we all have insecurities, this is all humans not just men; but we have to not let these insecurities be our master...
I know its a really *lame* analogy, but we rented the Green Lantern last week out of one of those blockbuster DVD rental machines....the message in that movie I thought to be relevant:
Strengthen your will and your resistance to fear. Fear itself becomes a powerful and snowballing emotion. Whereas to strengthen your will means you are pulling and extracting what you desire out of the world...this takes great practice and constant work just like the weightlifter pushes against the weight or the climber pushes against gravity...
To strengthen the mind is a constant process...life long as someone denoted..and probably the best way is by challenging ourselves in every moment that we can...when the mind slips to a weaker state, re-engage it and force the strength back into it...visualize the opposite of whatever it is that you are dragging yourself down with...
and despite that we all have insecurities and faults, we don't have to let these be the sum of ourselves, nor the most accurate representation of ourselves....we have the right to our own errors as human beings and our own hypocrisies and mistakes....nothing on this planet is perfect...we needn't be...simply we must not put full stock in our weakest aspects...put our stock instead in our greatest strengths..
If you wanna see a terrific movie on this note, rent The Revolver by Guy Ritchie. The whole movie is about tackling the ego.
I believe Buddha spoke about ending the suffering by ending the desire. At first I thought the desire is important because it works as motivator pushing me forward, however later I realized it brings more harm than good. Not succumbing to desires does not mean not to advance. Some think it will make you go monk...meditating all day long. No, no...those who do it actually have the greatest desire...not to have desire, LOL.
Getting rid of ego and it's byproducts and food like fear, anger, jealousy, self pity, pride, greed can't be achieved by fighting it. Demons of your own vanish once you smile at them like they were snotty little kids. And actually they are, because they were born when we were kids and our mind created them as primitive defense mechanism - to be the way we thought others will like us more. And they lived and fed on their own. Some grew stronger, some demons wait in shadows. But we don't need them anymore if we ever needed them. We are big now. We can survive on our own. And not having any demons actually help us being authentic, honest people...and people will respond to us better. Not that we need them to. Now we are supposed to respond to other people. To respect them, love them.