Walnut Creek

We first asked for a general comment from the teacher. This is what we received.

AS LONG AS YOU CONTINUE TO PLAY THE GAME OF THE CULTURE AND UNDERGO THE CONSTANT ROLE-SWITCHING THAT OCCURS DAY IN AND DAY OUT, THERE WILL NOT BE TOO MUCH OUTWARD CHANGE IN YOU. BUT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THERE HAS BEEN NO CHANGE. IT IS MERELY THAT THE ROLE-SWITCHING USES UP A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PSYCHIC ENERGY WHICH COULD BE UTILIZED FOR WORK ON THE PATH. SOME STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO REMAIN IN LIFE ROLES AND BECOME ADEPTS, BUT THIS REQUIRES TOTAL DETACHMENT — OR “NON-ATTACHMENT” IF YOU PREFER. YOU SEE, AS LONG AS YOU ARE INVOLVED IN THE CONFLICT OF THE PERSONALITY AGAINST ALL OTHER PERSONALITIES, THEN THE ESSENCE IS HELD BACK. IF THE STUDENT IS PERFORMING IN A CAPACITY THAT ALLOWS THE ESSENCE TO BLOOM, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO REMAIN IN THE MAINSTREAM IF HE WISHES, AND YET NOT LOSE CONTACT WITH THE TEACHING. MOST OF YOU STUDENTS STILL LOSE CONTACT WITH THE GREATER PART OF THE TEACHING THE MOMENT YOU WALK OUT INTO YOUR LIFE ROLE. IT IS EVEN AT TIMES SPECTACULAR TO OBSERVE AS YOU DON YOUR MASKS. THERE IS STILL SOME NEED IN MANY OF YOU TO HIDE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE “INTO” SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM THOSE WHO STILL HAVE YOUR PERMISSION TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIVES. DO YOU WONDER THEN WHY YOU DO NOT LIVE THE TEACHING, OR WHY THERE IS NO OUTWARD VISIBLE SIGN AT ALL THAT YOU HAVE GROWN THROUGH THIS TEACHING? AS LONG AS THIS REMAINS SOMETHING TO BE HIDDEN, YOUR PERSONALITY WILL BE EXTERNALLY VIGILANT TO ENSURE THERE IS NO SLIP-UP, AND THAT NO ONE SUSPECTS YOU MIGHT BE A LITTLE STRANGE.

WHEN SOULS ARE FIRST CAST INTO A DOMINANT SPECIES, SOME, OR RATHER, MANY OF THE INSTINCTIVE DRIVES OF THE CREATURES-OF-NO-REASON STILL REMAIN EMBEDDED WITH THE BIO-COMPUTER. THE PERSONALITY MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO OVERRIDE THESE INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS, AND FIGHTS AGAINST THE INTRUSION OF ANY OUTSIDE SOURCE. THIS SUGGESTS THAT THEY CAN BE OVERRIDDEN. ONE WHO OBSERVES FROM THIS [causal plane] VANTAGE POINT IS STRUCK BY THE COMMANDING, OVERRIDING TRAIT OF THIS CULTURE — THAT OF LONELINESS. YOU ARE THE LONELIEST PEOPLE WE KNOW OF. THIS IN PART RELATES TO YOUR NOT ATTEMPTING IN ANY WAY TO OVERRIDE THE EMBEDDED INSTINCTS LEFT AS VESTIGES OF A MORE PRIMITIVE SELF. BEFORE SOULS WERE CAST, THE CREATURES-OF-NO-REASON FROM WHICH YOU HAVE ASCENDED WERE LARGELY GOVERNED BY FEAR, AND THEIR LIVES WERE TAKEN UP IN MANY CEASELESS BATTLES FOR SURVIVAL. THIS IS NO LONGER NECESSARY ON THIS WORLD, AND YET IT GOES ON CEASELESSLY IN SPITE OF THIS. THERE ARE FEW LARGE CARNIVORES ROAMING THE CITY STREETS, AND YET MOST BEHAVE AS THOUGH THERE ARE. THE BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL IS BUT ANOTHER TAPE LOOP THAT PLAYS ON AND ON, EVEN TO THE POINT OF STARVING LARGE PORTIONS OF THE CULTURE, WHILE THE OTHERS WASTE AND HOARD. THIS ONLY PROVIDES FOR THE REALISM IN THE DRAMA, FOR THIS IS NO LONGER NECESSARY AT ALL. THERE ARE ABUNDANT RESOURCES ON THIS PLANET, EVEN THOUGH IT HAS BEEN RATHER RUTHLESSLY PLUNDERED. THERE IS STILL MUCH TO SPARE. THE LONELINESS IS HEARTBREAKING, LITERALLY, AS IT IS SO UNNECESSARY, AND SOMETHING THAT THE PERSONALITY ELECTS AS A METHOD TO KEEP THE BATTLE GOING. IF THE PERSONALITY NO LONGER FELT THREATENED AND ALIENATED THERE WOULD BE NO INCENTIVE TO CONTINUE THE INSTINCTIVE DRAMA.

YOU SEE, THE INSTINCTIVE DRAMA IS SAFE AND EASILY LEARNED, FOR THE MEMORIES ARE ALL STILL THERE. THE DOMINANT SPECIES FROM WHICH YOU ASCENDED RAN IN PACKS. THERE WAS A DOMINANT LEADER. THIS HAS CONTINUED, FOR IT ENABLES THE PERSONALITY TO ABDICATE SELF-RESPONSIBILITY — IN OTHER WORDS: THE BOSS TOLD ME TO DO IT; HITLER TOLD ME TO DO IT; GOD TOLD ME TO DO IT. WHATEVER YOUR PARTICULAR PERSUASION HAPPENS TO BE, YOU CAN ALWAYS MANAGE TO DELEGATE THE RESPONSE[ibility?]. EVEN IN EMOTIONAL BATTLES IT IS ALWAYS SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS ULTIMATELY BLAMED OR CREDITED FOR THE ACTION, WHATEVER IT MAY BE. THIS IS ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND IS WIDESPREAD IN THIS CULTURE. WE SEE EXAMPLES OF THIS EVERY DAY, EVEN IN THIS CADRE, WHERE THE RESPONSIBILITY IS GIVEN OVER TO SOMEONE ELSE, WHILE THE CHOICE AND THE RESULT WAS DISTINCTLY YOURS. ON SOME PLANES, EVEN ON THIS WORLD, THE DISTINCTION HAS BEEN MADE BY GOOD STUDENTS AND ADEPTS, AND THE INSTINCTIVE PATTERNS HAVE BEEN OVERRIDDEN. BUT IT IS NOT EASY, ESPECIALLY SINCE SO MANY OF YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO BE TOP BABOON, AND THE PECKING ORDER IS WELL DELINEATED. THIS TOP SPACE IS JUST AS HARD TO GIVE UP AS THE BOTTOM RUNG, EVEN THOUGH THE LATTER DOES AFFORD MUCH MORE MAGNIFICENT SUFFERING. TO BE BOTTOM BABOON IN THIS CULTURE IS AN ENVIABLE SPOT, AS EVERYONE CAN FEEL SORRY FOR YOU AND OFFER SYMPATHY AND COMFORT. TOP BABOON REQUIRES INDEPENDENCE, AND IS RATHER DIFFICULT IN THIS CULTURE, AS YOU ARE TOLD FROM THE CRADLE THAT SOMEONE ELSE, OR MANY SOMEONES, ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIVES — YOUR PARENTS, YOUR TEACHERS, YOUR BOSSES, GOD, YOUR CLERGY — THOUGH NO ONE IS IN CHARGE BUT YOU. YOU EVEN CHOOSE TO LIVE WITH TERRIFYING ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY, JUST TO KEEP THE CONFLICT GOING. THIS IS THE ONLY REASON. IF THESE ORGANIZATIONS WERE ELIMINATED, THEN THE WAR WOULD BE WEAKENED.

YOU CHOOSE TO CONTINUE TO LIVE WITH TERROR ONLY BECAUSE THE INSTINCTS FOR SURVIVAL IN A TERRIFYING ENVIRONMENT ARE STILL SO STRONG. YOU RAISE YOUR OWN DRAGONS. THEY ARE CAREFULLY NURTURED IN THE BOSOM OF YOUR SOCIETY, AND EQUALLY AS CAREFULLY RELEASED AS THE NEED ARISES, TO FAN THE FIRES. IF THIS CEASES, THEN AGAIN THE WAR IS WEAKENED, AND ALL THOSE INSTINCTS BEGIN TO SPIN WHEELS AND LEAK ENERGY. WITHOUT A TEACHING YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT THERE IS ANY ALTERNATIVE TO THIS, AND YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO BREAK THE PATTERNS. THIS PERMEATES ALL FACETS OF YOUR LIVING. EVEN YOUR EATING AND SLEEPING RITUALS ARE STYLIZED AND SMACK OF EARLIER TIMES. FEW BREAK FROM THESE PATTERNS, AND EVEN THOSE WHO DO FEEL PAIN WHEN THEY DO.

SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THIS CULTURE IS LARGELY INSTINCTIVE TO THE POINT WHERE ANY GESTURE OF FRIENDLINESS IS INTERPRETED AS A SEXUAL OVERTURE IF IT COMES FROM ONE OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER, AND THE FANTASIES AND EXPECTATIONS BEGIN. WHEN YOU BEHAVE AS SOCIETY WISHES YOU TO, YOU CAN KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT INSTINCT HAS A LARGE PART IN IT, UNLESS OF COURSE, IT HAPPENS TO COINCIDE WITH WHAT YOU REALLY DESIRE, AND THIS IS RARE. THE DICTATES OF THIS CULTURE ARE SEVERE AND STERN. WE DOUBT THAT IT IS MUCH FUN FOR ANYONE. THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY [a] TRUE [factor] OF THE ENTIRE PHYSICAL PLANE. ALTHOUGH THE PHYSICAL PLANE IS BY NATURE SOLID, PONDEROUS AND COMPLEX, YOU MAKE IT EVEN MORE SO BY TRYING TO ANALYZE THESE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS IN TERMS OTHER THAN INSTINCT. YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT TO EVEN THINK OF INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN CONJUNCTION WITH HUMAN BEINGS IS BAD. WELL, THIS IS NONSENSE. IT IS SO STRONG THAT IT OVERRIDES YOUR PLEASURE AND YOUR GROWTH. CREATURES OF REASON HAVE IT ALL OVER THEIR FELLOW INHABITANTS, AS THEY ALONE ARE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE AWE AND DELIGHT. BUT THE CREATURES OF REASON IN THIS CULTURE SELDOM ALLOW THEMSELVES THIS LUXURY. THEY INSTEAD FIND DEVIOUS METHODS OF AVOIDING THESE EXPERIENCES. THE DENIAL OF PLEASURE AND THE PURSUIT OF PAIN IS HIGH ON YOUR LIST OF PRIORITY, AND IT SHOULD BE CLEAR NOW WHY THIS IS TRUE, BUT THERE IS NO REASON FOR IT OTHER THAN THE INSTINCTIVE MEMORIES. THIS IS THE STRONGEST REASON WE KNOW OF FOR WORKING ON THE SEPARATION FROM YOUR PERSONALITY, AND ALLOWING THE ESSENCE TO FREE ITSELF. ONLY THE ESSENCE CAN EXPERIENCE ECSTASY. WE HAVE TOLD YOU THIS BEFORE, AND WE EMPHASIZED IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, TO KEEP YOU AWARE OF THE GOAL. SEPARATION FROM THE PERSONALITY’S CONFLICTS ALLOWS THE STUDENT TO OVERRIDE THE INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS THAT NOW GOVERN YOUR ACTIONS. THIS CULTURE ERECTS TREMENDOUS BARRIERS IN THE NAME OF PROGRESS TO KEEP YOU FROM SIGHTING THE GOAL. MANY OF THESE ARE IN THE FORMS OF FALSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPERSEDE THE TRUE ORGANIZATIONS, AND KEEP YOU FROM SEEKING YOUR CADRE. WHEN YOU ALIGN YOURSELF WITH THESE FALSE ORGANIZATIONS OR BARRIERS, YOU BECOME COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP IN THEIR DOGMAS AND LOSE SIGHT OF ANY ALTERNATIVES.

ALL OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS PURPORT TO HAVE A LOFTY GOAL, BUT SINCE THE GOAL OF NONE IS AGAPE, AGAIN, THEY CAN ONLY LEAD TO MORE ENTRAPMENT AND MORE ISOLATION FROM THE GOAL. EXAMPLES OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ACT AS BARRIERS ARE: THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, OR ANY OTHER PARTY; THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, OR ANY OTHER DOGMATIC CHURCH; THE CULT OF THE KU KLUX KLAN, OR ANY OTHER TERROR ORGANIZATION; THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, OR ANY OTHER ESPIONAGE AGENCY; BLACK PANTHERS, OR ANY OTHER SEPARATIST ORGANIZATION. THE LIST IS ENDLESS, AND THEY ARE REAL BARRIERS TO GROWTH IF YOU ALIGN YOURSELF SOLELY IN THEM TO WHERE YOU BECOME IDENTIFIED IN THEIR DOGMA AND ACCEPT IT AS YOUR OWN. OTHER BARRIERS CAN BE FOUND IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. MANY HAVE SEEN THIS AND HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT IT, BUT THEIR WORDS HAVE FALLEN LARGELY ON DEAF EARS. THE MOMENT THAT YOU IDENTIFY WITH ANY OF THESE BARRIER GROUPS, YOU MOVE OFF THE [spiritual] PATH, AND PERSONALITY LIKES THIS AND STRUGGLES TO KEEP YOU IDENTIFIED. CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT CAUSE THE PERSONALITY GREAT PAIN AS THEY RESULT IN A FAILURE OF THE CHOSEN BARRIER, AND THOSE IDENTIFIED WITH THE BARRIER FEEL FEAR. NATURALLY THEY WOULD, AS THEY ASSOCIATE THEIR PERSONAL BARRIER WITH THE “GOOD” WHILE ALL OTHER BARRIERS ARE “BAD”. EVEN THE BARRIERS LIBERALISM AND CONSERVATISM ARE FEAR-PRODUCING IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE ON THE OTHER SIDE. THE ALIGNMENT WITH ONE OR MORE OF THESE BARRIER GROUPS RULES OUT EFFECTIVELY A POSITIVE CHANGE IN ANY OTHER DIRECTION, ESPECIALLY IF THE ALIGNMENT OCCURRED EARLY IN LIFE, CHILDHOOD FOR INSTANCE.

WHEN WE SPEAK, FOR INSTANCE, OF A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SYSTEM THAN ANY SO FAR INTRODUCED ON THIS PLANET, ALL OF YOU GO THROUGH AN EXERCISE — SOME MENTALLY, SOME VERBALLY — IN WHICH YOU ULTIMATELY CONCLUDE THAT IT WILL NOT WORK. THIS WITHOUT ANY EVIDENCE THAT IT WILL NOT WORK, BECAUSE IT HAS NEVER BEEN TRIED, AND EVEN THOUGH WE ASSURE YOU THAT IT HAS INDEED WORKED QUITE SUCCESSFULLY ELSEWHERE. NOW THIS DEFEATIST ATTITUDE IS NOT LIMITED TO MEMBERS OF THIS CADRE — FAR FROM IT. MOST OF YOU, IN FACT, ARE A LITTLE MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN AVERAGE. BUT THIS ATTITUDE PREVAILS THROUGHOUT YOUR CULTURE BECAUSE THE ALIGNMENT WITH BARRIER GROUPS IS SO STRONG THAT YOU MUST FEAR CHANGE OF ANY KIND. BELONGING TO THESE BARRIER GROUPS GIVES THE ILLUSION OF TAKING THE EDGE OFF THE LONELINESS. AFTER ALL, IF YOU CAN BE A PARTY IN AN ORGANIZATION OF SEVERAL MILLION MEMBERS, HOW CAN YOU BE ALONE? IN FACT, THESE BARRIER GROUPS ONLY SERVE TO ALIENATE YOU EVEN FURTHER, AS THEY SEPARATE YOU FROM A LARGER SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOUR BARRIER GROUP. THEN, OF COURSE, PREJUDICES AND HATES ARISE FROM THE PERPETUATION OF THESE BARRIER GROUPS, AND THESE SERVE TO FAN THE FIRES EVEN FURTHER. THE WAR IS STRENGTHENED, AND YOU CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE AGAINST THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT WHICH YOU MUST CONTINUOUSLY CREATE FOR YOURSELVES, AS IT DOES NOT EXIST ANY LONGER. THIS LAND HAS BEEN TAMED, AND THIS IS THE TIME TO ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR. WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING SO?

OH, OF COURSE, IF YOU IDENTIFY WITH THIS GROUP IN THE SAME MANNER AND TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU IDENTIFY WITH BARRIER GROUPS, IT WILL SERVE AS AN ISOLATING FACTOR, AND A VERY GOOD ONE AT THAT. ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU CAN TAKE THE TEACHING FOR WHAT IT IS, A LIBERATING, GROWTH-PRODUCING FORCE, AND EXPAND YOUR LOVE TO INCLUDE ALL MAN. YOU SEE, THIS TEACHING DOES SOMETHING THAT THESE BARRIER GROUPS DO NOT LIKE VERY MUCH: IT GIVES YOU CARTE BLANCHE PERMISSION TO LOVE, AND IT DOES NOT SPECIFY THAT YOU MUST LOVE ONLY WHITE AMERICAN PROTESTANTS, OR ANY OTHER BARRIER GROUP MEMBERS.

OF COURSE, THERE IS A METHOD BY WHICH YOU CAN OVERRIDE THE INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOR PATTERNS THAT SEPARATE YOU FROM THE TRUTH. WE BELIEVE IT WAS THE MAN LEWIS CARROLL WHO FIRST SUGGESTED THAT YOU DO AT LEAST SIX IMPOSSIBLE THINGS BEFORE BREAKFAST. JUST GRADUALLY FORCING YOURSELVES TO ATTEMPT ALL OF THESE IMPOSSIBLE THINGS, SUCH AS MEDITATION — AND EVEN COMMUNAL LIVING, WHICH IS THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE THING OF ALL, SINCE IT VIOLATES ALL OF THE PRECEPTS OF ALL THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS BARRIER GROUPS IN THIS CULTURE. TO ADMIT THAT THIS MIGHT BE A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO SOME OF YOUR STRUGGLES WOULD BE TO GIVE UP ALL OF YOUR CHERISHED CONCEPTS OF HOW YOU SHOULD SUFFER. THE REASON THAT THIS CONCEPT OF COMMUNAL LIVING HAS BEEN SUCH A DISMAL FAILURE WHEN TRIED ON THIS WORLD IS FAIRLY EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHEN WE REFLECT UPON THE FOREGOING. WE DO NOT EVEN SUGGEST THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT WOULD ARISE, BUT EVEN A POSITIVE DISCUSSION WOULD BE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AS ALL PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HAVE REVOLVED AROUND HOW NONE OF THESE PROBLEMS COULD EVER BE SOLVED, WE WILL NOW GIVE RESPONSE WORDS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE PHOTOGRAPHED IN YOURSELVES, AND THEY ARE: “NEVER”, “FOREVER”, AND “ALWAYS”. THESE IRRITATE US FAR MORE THAN “VERY”, “A LOT”, ETCETERA, ETCETERA, ETCETERA. YES, IT WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR AWHILE TO PHOTOGRAPH THESE IN EACH OTHER. WE WILL TELL YOU WHEN YOU HAVE BECOME IDENTIFIED WITH THE EXERCISE, WHEN IT HAS BECOME MECHANICAL. IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO TABULATE ALL THOSE SITUATIONS TO WHICH YOU APPLY THESE ABSOLUTES. THERE ARE TRULY FEW CONDITIONS, AND MOST OF THEM ARE COSMIC, TO WHICH THESE DO APPLY.

There was a discussion about maintaining silence while working on a project, maybe on a weekend thing, with one day of silence.

THAT TOO WOULD BE A VALUABLE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF YOU, BUT WE WOULD SUGGEST A CREATIVE SILENCE RATHER THAN A STRAINED ONE: ONE DAY SET ASIDE TO WORK ON AN IMPORTANT PROJECT OF YOUR CHOOSING IN SILENCE, BUT TOGETHER, USING OTHER THAN VERBIAGE TO COMMUNICATE YOUR NEEDS. WRITING “BULLSHIT” ON LITTLE PIECES OF PAPER DOES NOT DIFFER FROM SAYING IT OUT LOUD. THIS IS NOT SILENCE THE WAY WE MEAN IT.

The group is making tentative plans for another weekend together, on January 17, 18, 19. Please plan on bringing sleeping bags, interesting food, etcetera. On this weekend small children are welcome. If we move into a communal type community together, the small children will be growing with us, and now on weekends.