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Post by johnlear on Feb 7, 2010 0:07:49 GMT -5
Websters defines integrity as, "intactness, firmness of character, honesty. Our goal in life is to live our lives with integrity and without envy, hate or greed. This is about integrity. You guys have been bombarding Lou with millions of questions so now here is one for you: Describe an incident, which happened in the last week or 2, how you expressed integrity. Something that you did to express integrity. It can also be how you DIDN'T express integrity. Don't be bashful. Keep your story to 50 words or less and don't waste 50 words apologizing about how you didn't express integrity. Integrity is something like you gave your best apples to a neighbor. Go for it.
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Post by tommyknockers on Feb 7, 2010 1:30:46 GMT -5
I think integrity is an illusion. Impossible to obtain and in and of itself a paradox. Spending an entire summers blood sweat and tears to grow the best tomatoes you can only to give them away to the neighbors is of little use to anyone other than your self. And specifically your ego.
The neighbors couldn't give 2 craps about your lousy ass stinky bug infested tomatoes. 9 out of 10 went directly to the trash can. But in your mind only you see yourself as doing a good deed. Why did you do it? So you would feel good about your good for nothing ass. So who is the benefactor in your tomato quest? You. Only you.
That little emotional drug released by your brain when you hand over your hard work looses its potency after a while. And soon you realize you can feel just as good about yourself by taking the tomatoes inside and enjoying the fruits of your labor yourself.
The only thing I have witnessed in my life that could even come close to MY definition of integrity is the love a mother or father shows to their children and or grandchildren. But that stuff is a dime a dozen and is likely not a part of our true self because it is so common. I challenge anyone to change my mind.
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Post by noface on Feb 7, 2010 1:59:41 GMT -5
I think integrity is an illusion. Impossible to obtain and in and of itself a paradox. Spending an entire summers blood sweat and tears to grow the best tomatoes you can only to give them away to the neighbors is of little use to anyone other than your self. And specifically your ego. The neighbors couldn't give 2 craps about your lousy ass stinky bug infested tomatoes. 9 out of 10 went directly to the trash can. But in your mind only you see yourself as doing a good deed. Why did you do it? So you would feel good about your good for nothing ass. So who is the benefactor in your tomato quest? You. Only you. That little emotional drug released by your brain when you hand over your hard work looses its potency after a while. And soon you realize you can feel just as good about yourself by taking the tomatoes inside and enjoying the fruits of your labor yourself. The only thing I have witnessed in my life that could even come close to MY definition of integrity is the love a mother or father shows to their children and or grandchildren. But that stuff is a dime a dozen and is likely not a part of our true self because it is so common. I challenge anyone to change my mind. Great post tommy. It's true. It is impossible to pretend you are doing a good deed for others without you in some way benefitting from it. I suppose it can be done, but it almost seems like it can't be consciously chosen without the thought of "I'll get a better place in heaven" sort of thing, or benefitting in some personal way. So, the attitude I've adopted was from something I heard the Dalai Lama say that I never understood before reading the ATS threads. He said, "If you are going to be selfish at least be a wise selfish." This is the way I see doing good deeds and living with integrity now. Yeah, it's selfish and I'm hoping I'm going to eventually get something for it, but it's a wise selfish. And, it helps others while hopefully helping myself. And, it beats the shit out of being bad, or useless, or whining. And, it makes me feel better about myself. PS: For a couple of hours every other day over the last few weeks I have been winterizing my mother's 100 year old home. It's a pretty tight ship now. I'm impressed what cocking and poly can do to an old home. All that is left now is increasing the insulation in the two attics to R-50.
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Post by Izarith on Feb 7, 2010 3:59:01 GMT -5
Excellent post Tommy! As for myself, I have no rutten idea what integrity is. I don't even know if it anything beyond just another indoctrinated ideal that makes us feel guilt or serves as a goal. I do know that there are things we will and will not do. There are things that no one will ever tempt us with, things we will not budge on. I suppose once you seep throgh all the bullshit there are moments in our lives when we surprise ourselves by being a person we never thought we'd be. An unimagined moment striped of it's glory, laid bare in it's undeniable, muted, silence. I don't think integrity can be practiced, I don't think we can augment it. I think we all have it, we have all shown it. It is our true selves saying "this is as far as you go, this is who you are". I think we all know these moments that I'm talking about. That moment when time stops, when you feel the entire universe turning it's attention toward your revelation like an audience silently holding it's breath when a golfer pucks for the winning shot. If integrity is real than integrity just is.... The same with Hate, Envy and Ego. All these things will be revealed to us. So be good.... or ugly.... Or a super goody two-shoes scaredy cat But inevitably there are times in our lives when all the different parts we play disappear and we show who we are. That's my take on it.
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Post by raulbloodworth on Feb 7, 2010 5:07:32 GMT -5
I said i was going to go in a 1km ocean swimming race this morning. Despite it being heavy rain and having no sleep last night because it was so humid, i did it. The end.
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Post by Izarith on Feb 7, 2010 6:23:08 GMT -5
Fine I'll brake the ice on the lack of integrity seen. This may come as a surprise to a few on this board but.....well....I may have said some not so much faltering things about a certain, I'm not going to say any names, group of paranormal and conspiracy interviewers. There I said it. Wooo, I must say that took some guts. But hey on the bright side, at least I did not write a really long post about how Jedi is a PC suck up. I'm just tuggen your chain JJ. My puppies gave me the idea blame them, if you can get through their cuteNcuddlyness.
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Post by Izarith on Feb 7, 2010 7:04:11 GMT -5
But hey on the bright side, at least I did not write a really long post about how Jedi is a PC suck up. Hey Izzy, you need to realize that whatever I did and was doing came with one goal in mind. It did get the interview with Lou did it not? You've gotta admit that without me starting up this thread lucianarchy.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=talk&thread=7367 and sucking up pushing for it to happen with them, they may have never contacted Lou ever again on an interview. What can I say I'm in this for all of us and the betterment of mankind ;D and do not want to be selfish and keep what Lou has so generously, freely shared with us all to myself. I realize this information is not for everyone but if there are no accidents or coincidences than it was no accident that I pushed to get the interview setup and there very well may be an important reason behind it. Perhaps there are many out there ready and meant for this information after all. No accident I tell ya, no accident. LOL Well I have to give you that Jedi, you definitely did some running around getting the word out in the right places. Nice job man I was just teasing ya tho with the suck up comments.
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Post by tommyknockers on Feb 7, 2010 9:27:35 GMT -5
If integrity is real than integrity just is.... Agree. A true act of integrity would go unnoticed in our own mind. For me, If I feel the need to shout out my good deed and stand up and tell the world how much better off it is with me in it. Thats the ego talking. Not my soul. And to stay on topic and answer Johns question: To the best of my knowledge not only the last two weeks but maybe the last few months my actions have shifted toward me. Screw the neighbors. If they are just going to toss the tomatoes in the trash I will eat them myself.
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Post by noface on Feb 7, 2010 14:22:29 GMT -5
Websters defines integrity as, "intactness, firmness of character, honesty. Hi John, that's cool if you admit that a shy, quiet, harmless, nonviolent nun often has "intactness, firmness of character and honesty". It's not about projected image at all and that's why few get it, or so it seems to me. Just my thoughts on it.
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Post by noface on Feb 7, 2010 14:25:13 GMT -5
I don't think integrity can be practiced, I don't think we can augment it. I think we all have it, we have all shown it. It is our true selves saying "this is as far as you go, this is who you are". If integrity is real than integrity just is.... Hi Izzy, you said "If integrity is real than integrity just is....". That may be so, but it is up to us to discriminate what integrity is and align ourselves, our actions and our decisions with that. Just as you mentioned in your gnosticism post about those who are awakening are those who are at least attempting to honestly understand what the intentions are behind the things they do and then do the right thing accordingly. What do you think?
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Post by noface on Feb 7, 2010 14:30:13 GMT -5
I tried to stay hopeful and positive about a possible Camelot interview with Lou and never give up despite some of the others that were discouragingly against it. Hi Jediknight, I don't think anyone here discouraged it. It could be my imagination, but it seems to me you have some kind of crazy idea that I was trying to sabatoge the PC interview with Lou. Sort of demonizing me in a way for whatever reason you have. I wasn't. I just thought it was kind of crazy for you to be going through all of that hype to set up this interview without even asking Lou if he wanted to do it, which he might not have. I just wondered why on earth you were going on with your over the top, out there, actions. At least that's how I saw it.
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Post by noface on Feb 7, 2010 15:42:50 GMT -5
Agree. A true act of integrity would go unnoticed in our own mind. For me, If I feel the need to shout out my good deed and stand up and tell the world how much better off it is with me in it. Thats the ego talking. Not my soul. Hi tommyknockers, I think it would go unnoticed by mind in a case like jumping infront of a bus to save someone else. An instinctive reaction kind of thing. Otherwise it is often very much thought about. That's what makes it an act of integrity. It is something you don't really want to do so you think up all kinds of great reasons and rationalizations for why it is not something that we can do in a true blue way. It's just not possible for any normal human with an ego to do. Which are just excuses of course. Just my thoughts on it. I could be wrong. I'll be the first to say this stuff ain't easy. Socrates did say that only God knows what virtue is, but I still think it is up to us to try to figure it out the best we can. Maybe it is by trying to figure it out and live our lives accordingly that we prove that we get to move up a notch. Don't know.
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Post by Izarith on Feb 7, 2010 19:41:48 GMT -5
If integrity is real than integrity just is.... Agree. A true act of integrity would go unnoticed in our own mind. For me, If I feel the need to shout out my good deed and stand up and tell the world how much better off it is with me in it. That's the ego talking. Not my soul. And to stay on topic and answer Johns question: To the best of my knowledge not only the last two weeks but maybe the last few months my actions have shifted toward me. Screw the neighbors. If they are just going to toss the tomatoes in the trash I will eat them myself. Tommy, I understand what you are going through. It's a very good path your on. You are braking through the BS so to speak. Now your realising that your run for integrity was 100% crated by yourself. You realise that all the things you did in the name of integrity were not worth it to you, therefor what you did had nothing to do with integrity. This does in no way, in the slightest mean, you don't have integrity. Nor does it mean that at times you have not truly given your best tomatoes to your neighbours because I'm sure you have. There is a very, very thin line between who you are and who you try to be. It's very hard to try to be who you are because all to often we are not who we would like our imagined self to be. Even so when we do this we over look some time that who we are is often a much kinder and selfless person than who we are trying to be. Remember if Integrity just is, then just let it be. Meaning let it come out naturally. Meaning you feel your attempts at integrity were BS but now realise that your new feeling toward integrity are a polarized BS. Integrity is in you let it happen where it will. As an example... I have a Mexican Sinaloan neighbor, this = ass hole next door. I'm sinaloan too so asshole + asshole = headache. A few month ago he got a new puppy. This puppy was full of fleas and loved coming over to my house. Now I could have told this guy to chain his damn dog up before he filled my dog up with fleas but the little puppy was so cute and happy when he came over I just asked my neighbor if I could give the pup a bath. The guy said sure, with a big smile on his face and I genuinely enjoyed getting the pup nice and clean and flealess. the moral of the story is, I took a deep breath and thought of the best solution. I had to cut through my pride, anger, rivalry and general Mexican genetics and give my neighbor my best tomatoes while not even being aware of doing so. Now I have 7 puppies shitting in his yard and the guy can't say shit about it Savvy!
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Post by Izarith on Feb 7, 2010 21:41:41 GMT -5
Jadiknight, Your being a complete ass about this. Noface did no such thing. He gave his thoughts and deleted all the posts about it because you asked him to, just like you spammed everyone else to delete their posts about it. Noface never said anything out of line about PC and you know it. And to insinuate that he did after you made sure he deleted his posts is being a scumbag. Drop this subject before you get me pissed off, got it? Your losing face on an integrity thread, cool off before you get on my bad side. We get along on this forum, and we don't nip at each other like hyenas.
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Post by noface on Feb 7, 2010 21:47:57 GMT -5
You've kinda been an a**hole A soul to some, asshole to others.
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