How everything you know, everything you ever learned from others, everything is being taught makes you miserable, and unable to become an Expanding Human Being
I woke up this morning with crystal clear upsight: if you have a because then you are wretched or you are heading to being wretched.
In the book, Snow Crash, there are two main characters, Hiro and Y.T. 1
They win the war that is waged against humanity.
Hiro is a hacker, and a master sword fighter. He fights to win the affections of a girl.
Y.T. fights because what else is there to do.
Hiro’s reason to fight is attainable: she can get the girl to love her. As soon as he gets the girl, he stops fighting.
Y.T.’s has no reason to fight. You can’t do enough or too much of what you have no reason to do.
Said in a funky language: Y.T. “can’t do no other” but fight the bad guys, because what else is there to do?
To keep you always in check, to keep you away from your power…
The modern priests of humanity teach you to have a reason, a goal, a purpose to do anything…
Priest in this context means simply: someone who puts themselves between you and your power. Someone who declares or makes themselves needed by you to connect to what is high and mighty.
Priests are the Dark Side. Spiritual teachers, gurus, and actual preaching folks, shamans, etc. they are all priests. Even companies like Landmark Education, and definitely companies like Scientology.
They will teach you (sometimes because they don’t know any better! But it’s like killing… accidental or intentional, you end up dead!) all the ways that separate you from your vertical aspect, from your power within, from the divine in you.
By the way, if you think divine feels some way, or is an experience, then you are far gone, and you better just leave, I will only annoy you.
OK back to “you need a reason” type of teaching.
That type of teaching has degraded you to a two-bit person, whose purpose in life is to “look good and make it”. And run away from everything challenging, everything that is not reasonable.
Most things done, when you have a reason, are too late.
It is like digging a well when you are already thirsty.
Expanding Human Being
I first encountered “Expanding Human Being” some 30 years ago. I watched a little kid (maybe 13-14 years old) hit a ping pong ball for three whole days, without ever letting up, with a ping pong bat. (This reminds me of Bo Eason, and his “don’t let the ball touch the ground” secret I showed in an article)
I asked him why he was doing it. He said: to be good at it. I was dumbfounded. I had never heard anyone say anything like that. And it made something really clear for me: I myself had lived like that all my life, and all my life I felt like an outcast. I was different. Other people did what they needed to do, what they were told to do. I did those too, but in addition to all that, I did a lot for the simple pleasure of becoming good at something. The guitar, the violin, drawing, gardening, gymnastics, swimming, running, climbing trees, making my own clothes, laying brick, painting, singing… lots and lots of stuff.
I never had any reason to do anything. I never had any reason to be good at anything, I just felt drawn to that.
I had very few things in my life that I had to learn because unless I did I was going to be in trouble. One of the ways you know I wasn’t meant to be an architect is that I’d never learned anything that would have made me a good architect, before I became an architecture student. None of the skills, None of the thinking modes. I had to learn those things when I needed them… Hm. And even today: I am not interested in buildings… hah.
And while I had no ambition there, I had ambition in plenty of other places: music, I was excellent at the violin, classical guitar, and I won singing competitions.
I spoke Hungarian, German, English, and Russian even before I went to University.
I was a seamstress, a shorthand/typist. I competed in swimming, ping-pong, and the uneven bars. I read at least one book a week, and became, in spite of my dyslexia, a relatively fast reader.
I like to challenge myself. When I can’t find a direct way, I’ll volunteer to do work for someone for free, so I can learn what there is to learn.
I learned database management this way. I learned ad design, desktop publishing, photography, photo editing, article writing. I did it, not for money but to learn. This way I had permission to screw up until I got it right. lol.
I learned programming, I learned computer repair, I learned laying tiles, wood floors, wall papering, and woodworking the same way.
When I need to learn something, I teach a free class. Or take on a free coaching client. Or give someone treatments for free. Or organize an event for them… whatever it takes to be challenged, so I can learn.
When your purpose in life is to “look good and make it”, you only do what you have to, only when you have to.
You are always under the gun, and you can’t pay attention to learning: you have to look good and make it… so you have no freedom. You need freedom to screw up and learn.
I am not blaming you, I am just distinguishing your life from a particular vantage point, through the distinction of “Expanding Human Being”: Learning for no reason.
None of the things I learned were mind learning, they were all skills. And skills are portable, skills are re-purposable, skills are the name of the game.
One of the skills I endeavored to develop is thinking. Creative, radical, logical thinking. Thinking things through. Seeing things as they are and as they could be.
Without skills you are at the mercy of life, you are at the mercy of the economy, you are at the mercy of everyone.
Becoming an Expanding Human Being is not a reason for me: it is a “can’t do no other” type of thing.
I’ll do anything to grow. I’ll do anything to challenge myself.
I don’t need to, and I have no reason.
Not a big why, and not a small why. No why.
You haven’t even started on that journey, have you? And if you have learned anything, you had a reason, and then stopped. Why? Because reasons can only take you as far as reason goes. That’s the meaning of reasonable. You are REASONABLE!
The most important characteristic of an Expanding Human Being is being unreasonable.
Drop your reasons. They limit who you are, they limit what you are willing to do.
Start expanding unlimitedly… for no reason.
This is awesome Sophie. Another puzzle piece for me. In this messed up culture it’s almost hard to imagine doing something without a reason. This would be something great to do with kids to encourage them to think and learn through doing stuff for no reason. Thank you so much!
Hello Sophie, after reading this article, I could not help myself laughing. I suddenly remember my conversation with my husband this morning. I was expressing my self saying ” I feel excited about my life for no reason”. He replied that he will only get excited because of…and he asked me to keep it to myself for us to avoid an argument. I choose to keep quiet. I feel good that you validate how I am feeling today. xo