Recommended Articles or Essays:
INTRODUCTION
As you may have noticed I have gotten interested in the material presented on the South African Desteni site. I even opened up a new section for the study of their material. On top of that I even went so far as to participate on their forum. It was on this forum that I received a few interesting remarks about my method of study. The main thrust of the messages was that I should study all the material before drawing any conclusions (see Link to Another Forum Discussion on Desteni). I want to use this page to clarify some of the thoughts that came up because of this piece of advice.
TO EMBARK ON HUGE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION
I think this is an interesting topic to spend some time on. What is the best way to study a massive amount of information? According to two members of the Desteni-forum, the best way to study is to first go through all the information available. Take a look at these responses to see examples of this approach:
DANGER OF BEING BRAINWASHED
I have been in this boat before. If you take a look at the pages dealing with the Cassiopaean Experiment (see Comparisons with the LKJ-material) you could get an idea of some of the dynamics. I also participated on their forum in 2005 and I was told to read through at least thousands of pages (the Wave-series for instance) before I was qualified enough to talk along.
I have noticed this tendency in other groups as well: first read everything before you draw any conclusions. Of course this would make sense if it weren't for something else that I have learnt to value more than anything else: the signals produced by my own sense of sovereignty. I have come to trust myself and its signals enough to pay attention to it. This has developed into a mode of studying material that explores every single thought, feeling and every single hesitation. This has resulted in the number of articles that were triggered by the dimensional portal videos.
I have also noticed that if I would not pay attention to these thoughts they would simply die off during the process, meaning that I would learn to silence any hesitation, any critical thought, in order to first read all the material. I think there is a grave danger when someone studies huge amounts of material without sitting back often to reflect on the material by comparing it to what is your current reality approach. The danger is that people are more busy with reading and keeping up with the material than they are with critically reflecting on the contents. It is therefore far easier to just accept the information as probably true, than to question it consistently by trusting your own guts. This is a phenomenon that I think is occurring in the Self Study Program of the SSoA as well.
DON'T TRUST YOUR THOUGHTS
While I was typing the above piece I envisioned some possible responses. Within the 'Desteni-paradigm' thoughts are often depicted as not trustworthy. This is ofcourse a perfect way of learning people to distrust their own thoughts, because they are likely the result of some distorted machine that has been planted in their system. If you cannot trust any of your feelings, intuitions or thoughts, how on Earth would you be able to question anything? You would be left as a meek sheep following the messages of the dimensional beings: they know better and they know that your thoughts are not to be trusted. Why would you bother questioning anything then?
READING BOOKS AND JARGON
Do you need to read a complete book before you could say anything about it? I think that there are things to be said after each and every page when it triggers new thoughts and ideas. Grasp every possibility to look at your thoughts, in order to distinguish between harmful and distorted ones and the ones who are far more harmless and joyful. Try to investigate every single thought that passes by and get rid of the distorted ones. I think that is the best way to remove 'consciousness systems', not by silencing every single thought by pinpointing it as the result of mechanized thinking.
Another thing that I noticed is the use of certain jargon. Ofcourse it is virtually impossible to start using some terminology to clarify matters, but the specific use of certain words to mean certain things can be rather influential as well. Take for instance the use of the term 'consciousness' within the Desteni realms: it seems to be nothing but bad news. If you prefer to use the word consciousness to describe the waking awareness of people, including all colors of thoughts, feelings and emotions, that makes for one clash. If you just keep on reading you are bound to take over the definitions and thought-systems of those producing the material. So, I would be very careful in adopting terminology of others for it is like accepting the accompanying world view as true, thereby automatically moving your own perspective to the background.
I am not advocating to stick to your own reality. I am advocating to be careful about adopting jargon and terminology of others to easily, including the thought-forms and hypotheses associated. I would promote the use of your own sense of sovereignty no matter how distorted it may be, to test every single new concept before adopting it. If you learn how to trust your inner guidance (or 'who you really are') you can adopt certain ideas when they feel alright.
JOURNAL OF THE JOURNEY
I have enough trust in myself to question certain belief systems when I see them. I don't want to wait till I have read myself through tons of material before I address that element. I have spent many days watching the videos on the site and I have made notes while watching them. Whenever I came across enough interesting new material I would wrap the notes up in an article that I would post on this site (and the latest ones on the forum as well).
It could be considered as a journal of the journey within the desteni realms, it is not the final conclusion, it is merely the result of the information that I have come across so far. If people would prefer me to only speak after I have watched every single video and have read any single word on their site, they have the wrong person in front of them. During the years I have developed a set of hypotheses on life and reality and I intend to use that background to approach this topic. I don't see any reason to put that reality perspective in the yard while 'watching through' the material.
CONCLUSION
I could stop posting my 'journal through desteni land' articles on their forum, but I don't intend to stop describing my journey, even if I don't follow their rules. For me this has got nothing to do with self-deception or self dishonesty. Perhaps I am assuming too much too soon, but that can be corrected during the ride. I can also understand the perspective of those working with the interdimensional portal: they have gathered huge loads of videos and information and there they see someone who says all kinds of things about this information without having read everything. But how much must you read or watch before you have read enough? There is new information coming in every day. Before you know it you are trying to keep up without taking the time to reflect on the contents.
When that person questions all kinds of concepts that are commonly used that might be another argument for disconnecting. It is tempting to have more trust in dimensional beings and their wisdom than plain human beings with their polluted and perhaps even arrogant 'consciousness mind-systems'. I would prefer a sharing of thoughts based on the contents and not based on the assumption that only people who have watched everything and speak the right lingo are worthy enough to comment upon the contents. I think a sense of respect for the material is the key issue on which people should be judged.
Gibbon,
September 2007
P.S. I also posted this article on the Desteni forum.