Hi John,
I’d recommend reading more about pure intent here and here.
Pure intent is an actually-occurring stream of benevolence which connects ‘you’ to the actual world. You can use that ‘golden thread’ to trace your way back to the actual world. Have you had any PCEs that you can recall?
You bring up a few examples of this in your reply:
It’s always easier to notice the silliness of others’ emotional reactions than one’s own, because we are frequently in denial or defensive of our own emotional reactions… they always feel important or necessary in the moment. This denial/defense is one way that we hide. Another way is by dissociation.
I think this is a good definition. A more expansive definition might be ‘learning about all the different feeling-states humans are capable of, their outcomes, structures, and functions, as well as exploring and learning about the actual world via PCEs, excellence experiences, pure intent etc.’
This is very encouraging! Similarly you can begin to note how your own reactions/moods are counterproductive to peace and enjoyment of life.
Yes, this is a common perception. For me it was put to bed when I met Richard in 2018 and it was apparent by his lack of vibes and his friendliness that he was not attacking anyone. He was being exceedingly direct and precise about what he was talking about, and he was not avoiding any topics normally considered too sensitive to discuss. This frequently means calling people out for their nonsense, or not playing the normal games that we identities play. I will never forget sitting on Richard & Vineeto’s couch and making some self-effacing joke and getting absolutely no response from them. In the normal human ‘game,’ people are expected to laugh at such jokes, if even only faking it, to honor how ‘life is a bitch and then you die’ and other such sorrowful nonsense. I had never felt so exposed - it was apparent instantly that I was only making that joke to get some verification from others that it was ‘ok’ that I was miserable. Of course they had no interest in verifying that!
This is another example of how an identity is trying to hide, to verify and be comfortable in a life of malice & sorrow. Richard can see clearly the deplorable outcomes of allowing that to continue, and thus very directly points out the illogic and harmful effects of that continuing. For this to be pointed out to an identity can be very painful! So of course many identities will feel attacked when it happens. However, it is worth it because it gradually reveals that ‘the emperor has no clothes,’ if even only in a small percentage of cases or to someone else that might read it much later. All of this material can only be valuable to someone willing to be a bit uncomfortable and admit that one is not perfect ‘as-is’ and who is willing to put some significant effort into changing.
On a related note, it is a common outcome of good investigation to feel that one is quite ridiculous, or maybe even a bad person! It’s good when that happens to not get too ‘down’ on oneself, as of course that is just diving straight into another emotion with another narrative attached to it. It is inevitable that we will be pretty silly as an identity - in fact, it is the starting-place of a normal person. However, it is very revealing and useful to see the ways in which that ‘normal person’ is far below the standard of what is possible. In fact, that moment of seeing one’s own ridiculousness is a wonderful opportunity to do better! But one has to skip the defensiveness and denial for that to happen. It really is an incredible journey to embark on.