Putting Anxiety and Fear in Context

Hi all,

I was discussing with a friend about the subject of anxiety recently and it would seem to me that it is quite pervasive at various times in our world. We live in uncertain times. But in actuality we have always lived in uncertain times. I wonder sometimes if some of our anxiety, on an existential level, comes from the materialistic and atheistic mind set of current Western civilization.

Within this mindset we seem to have become convinced that we can control everything. Or at least if we cannot control everything we can predict it and plan for the future. For example, we check weather forecasts and then something like the Boxing Day tsunami happens. We couldn't predict it and yet it seems that the animals that left the area before it hit could intuit it.

So how does Western materialistic society respond to this? They believe that if more money was invested into meteorology, (read Science), then tsunami's in future could be prevented, (read controlled). Now of course this would be a good thing and Science has made many wonderful contributions to the relief of suffering in the world, but the point I am making is that it is also part of a mindset that has led us to believe we, (human beings), can control everything. And here is a thought: maybe we can't.

Maybe even there is a force beyond that material world that cannot be controlled. Maybe even the "natural laws" that scientists discover are a part of that force. (And if they are they can be changed by that force). Now I believe there is such a force which for want of a better world I will call the Universe. (You may say God/Goddess/Great Spirit etc but the Essence is what I am concerned with here).

Now if you contend that human beings are not, and never can be, in full control of their lives because of the Universe then for some that may be a terrifying thought. But there has to be an assumption underlying that attitude and that is that the Universe is ultimately hostile. I don't believe that. I believe that the Universe is ultimately Benevolent. Note that doesn't mean that the Universe doesn't have hostility in it just that it is not it's Ultimate Nature.

Believing in a Benevolent Universe sometimes in hostile circumstances requires something that Science cannot give us and that is Faith. Science can never answer the ultimate questions and neither for that matter, in my opinion, can external religious authorities. Ultimately the answers are inside You. Others may guide you but the answers are Within.

Why? Because you also are part of the Universe.

So since you can't control everything you may as well do the best you can and then relax and Trust to the Universe.

For practical help in dealing with fear and anxiety I would recommend Dr Susan Jeffers book "Feel the Fear and do it Anyway". Get it here

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

Crone Power

Hi all,

As you know I am a Crone, (that is a woman over 50). Now the old idea of the Crone is of an wizened old lady who doesn't have much to contribute. Well what I have found since reaching 50 is that I have a lots more personal power and I am more self-assured than ever. The problem I have found is that many men my age find me incredibly threatening. I would add that this is especially so for men with very "traditional" values who didn't embrace the lessons of the Sixties, (you know, Peace and Love).

I was puzzled as to how these men had managed to live in the past so long while the rest of the world moved on. A male friend answered this by telling me that these men had led lives in traditional enclaves, (such as mainly masculine jobs) whilst living within very traditional family structures. I have spent most of my life with creative and bohemian types of people so to encounter these types of men was new to me. Especially at post 50 years.

However, what really threw me was the amount of aggression I encountered from them when they met me. I might add here that I am a comparatively wealthy self-made business woman who is financially independent and successful. I also look a lot younger than my age. And what also occurs to me at this point is that a lot of people my age, especially traditional men, have not reached the goals they set out to reach that they would use to define themselves as "successful". This being the case I think they find me very threatening and that the level of aggression they display towards me is directly proportionate to the degree that they feel threatened by me. That being the case, although I find encountering such men unpleasant I can see their aggression for what is really is: a display of weakness.

This being the case I feel a certain degree of compassion, but that is also tempered by my feeling that these men have really no-one but themselves to blame for their dilemma. If they rely on antiquated models of masculinity to define their success as men then they are responsible for holding that belief system And if by their own standard they have failed to live up to that "success" then that is also their responsibility because they are responsible for their own lives. And when they come in contact with a concrete mirror like me that reflects both those "defects", (by their definition), back to themselves then they react with fierce aggression.

Now I understand that while I find such encounters unpleasant I am serving never the less as a servant for the Goddess since it is Her Values that I am presenting to such men. It is also Her Values that the bohemian and non-patriarchal men that populate my life also embrace. Hence I am not in conflict with them.

I am probably most threatening to these "traditional" men since the power I represent itself runs counter to their concept of power. What I have is power over me and I do not seek power over others. And they know in the deepest recesses of their souls that for all their aggression they cannot touch me. And truly they can't.

I wish all non-patriarchal men out there Love and Peace. I also wish this to all patriarchal men with an addition; move on - the world has and if you don't you will get left behind.

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be

KK

Pearls of Wisdom - Collective Responsibility

Hi all,

"We live in a world not of our own making but we are all collectively responsible for it."

KK 21/9/07

Until next time,

As always,

Blessed be,

KK

The Pathologising of the Human Condition

Hi all,

I was just pondering today on the seeming proliferation of so-called “mental illnesses” and “personality disorders”. For those who doubt the veracity of this statement please read this article: http://www.newstatesman.com/200507110021.

But I wonder what is to be the end result of what I see as the pathologisation of aspects of the human condition? And what constitutes a person without a “personality disorder”? Is there going to be a standardised way of being that means a person is “normal” and if so, how restrictive will that be?

In the past, it is true, the really mentally ill were really treated very badly, but this was mainly due to ignorance. People in the past did not have access to the drugs and knowledge we now have. However, there was also a place for “eccentricity” without the worry of being considered mentally imbalanced.

We live in a society so afraid now that some people, especially men, are scared to hug their own children in case it is thought “inappropriate”. Isn’t much more mental illness going to be caused by children being deprived of natural parental affection because of this hugely understandable over reaction?

What is considered socially acceptable behaviour varies greatly from culture to culture and conditions considered mental illness in the past, (in the West), now are not. For example, homosexuality.

I think the over pathologising of aspects of the human condition have come about in the West because we think we have a right a happiness. And not only a right to it, but to it now and without effort on our part.

Well, I don’t believe there is any right to human happiness. Yes, there may be a right to pursue it, but like all spiritual conditions, (which I believe happiness is), it has to be earnt. It doesn’t just drop into your lap, and you won’t find by buying material things. It is something you earn though spiritual effort.

And it wont be found be dropping the right pill.

As someone who has been mentally I know this. Drugs and therapy can alleviate mental illness but that cannot bring about happiness in themselves. There is only one person who can bring that about and that is you.

With assistance from, if you believe in Him or Her, God/dess.

So do not seek to change your personality to suit some socially prescribed “norm”. As long as you know that you are being spiritually true and authentic to yourself, be yourself. (And no this is not a prescription to do wrong for if you do you will surely, by the laws of Karma, be punished for it.)

No, be yourself. In fact be Yourself with Grace.

Until next time,

Blessed by,

KK

16/9/07.

Pearls of Wisdom - Worship

Hi all,

"All my poetry and prose can be essentially expressed in one word: worship."

KK 1/9/07

As always,

Until next time,

Blessed be,

KK

Ask What You Can Give

Hi all,

I am glad to let you know, (for those of you who were in the know), that tests now confirm that I have not got cancer of the womb and that another condition is present that is treatable. Maybe not comfortable but treatable.

However, I did spend a few days wondering, (until the tests came back), if I was about to die or not. Now this is not a new condition for me since I have had about three near death experiences, (and by that I mean I nearly physically died not that I had the light at the end of the tunnel experience etc), and I also live with a life threatening condition. The symptoms of my condition, which is a neurological malfunction, are kept in check by the wonders of modern medicine and thus I am allowed to live.

However, as I thought about death for a few hours several thoughts came to me and one particular one is that in facing death I think we really come know our core being and temperament. My two initial thoughts if I were to be diagnosed with terminal cancer were these:-

(a) What will I have left the world that is of value and the best of me?

(b) I will fight to stay alive with every last breath because although I am not afraid of death I love and embrace life.

The second thought reflects my temperament but the first one was the most important. And after thinking for a while I knew the answer. The best I will leave the world of myself will be my writings and my poetry.

Not even my children, because as you know I believe like Kahlil Gibran that children come through you, but not of you. Children come from the God/Goddess.

In a sense so does everything but in the case of my writings and poetry they come from the God/Goddess essence that is also manifest in me. I think this is also true of all artists.

So my question to you is: what upon death could you say you had given to the world that was the best of yourself? It's a good question to ponder now, while you are still alive as I found out yesterday.

Until next time,

As always,

KK

The Answers and Aid is all Around Us

Hi all,

I have been going through a crisis recently with a relative whom I love very much but from whom I am very estranged. Now being very much a "doing" person rather than a "being" person I look to see what action I can take as my natural response but sometimes in life there is nothing one can do without making the situation worse. The answer came to me in this beautiful song. One of the lessons I must learn in this lifetime to.......

Let it Be

Until next time,

Blessed be

KK