TURN TOXIC INTO SACRED
Alan Waxman, November 19, 2016, edited April 2020
In contemporary society we are confronted by a "Better-Faster-Stronger" mentality, and its "battery" model. When adopted; this, along with its correlate practice of "rejection;" create toxins, waste, and wasted people and spaces. To address this and to TURN TOXIC INTO SACRED one may be confronted by and enter into:
Being Tired means suddenly facing it - time (temple) and distance (gravity)- facing the entire universe, its void, its love, with an open heart, shunyata, mushin, deveikut. In doing so, sometimes (or not) a profound feeling of lack is encountered. It has been called beginner's mind.
Sharing (the creation of spiritual confluence) is a lament, a form of mourning and care for graves and things with gravity; equinimity in karma. This process is described by sangha, mourning, kvetching, space making, prayer, criticism; "the long short way," or festina lente. This can be called compassion.
Love This Sh-t is the state of mind where you can rest in a state of love even when everything appears bad. It's sh--ty, that's okay, its good sh-t. It can also be described by riding the highs and the lows and ups and downs of life waves - at center. At times this has been described as an awareness of the pathos of joy and sadness in the drama of life.
The creation of a toxic space - a speculation of how we got here?
Better-Faster-Stronger, the ethic of self improvement, can be described by the aphorism of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." The more you want to be better, the more you are unsatisfied with your current existence in your current skin. If you "want to be free," you've already signed on to a life of slavery. Your time, your efforts to "get somewhere" are wasted; as this mindset is self perpetuating. There are always "mountains beyond mountains."
The battery model sets us up to buy products usually created through an industrial process that creates power. Buying power or some kind of exchange for this product or power gives the impression that the product will improve your life. As a result when the power runs out, when the battery dies, there is a need to buy more batteries. If your work that you exchange to buy batteries also requires batteries, then you have created a self sustaining system of the creation of toxic waste physically - batteries - and mentally - wanting stronger and stronger batteries.
Rejection or disowning parts; "cutting out;" draws whatever you're cutting out more to yourself; when we cut out something we will seek to fill that perceived void even if self consciously or vicariously. This is a perceived void because it is merely a perception of cutting out - you're life does not improve by physically cutting off a limb or destroying a part of your home. The best example of mental blocking is in social media. Blocking will assure you that whoever is blocked remains present in your mind. After all, we can imagine them clambering at the blocked door endlessly. It is a perception of power, a delusion. When you unblock them, you'll be waiting for them to contact you, until you let go of rejection.