Two Worlds - Part 2

 

Not Everyone Is a "Neighbor"

You’d hardly call the lady who got your coat all messed up the other day a neighbor, would
you George? She didn’t act like one. Didn’t act like a neighbor, did she? [Not at all.] Not really.
So we don’t have those kinds of neighbors.

_{It's About Feeling}

Now maybe we all maybe have a neighbor, somebody who got us to see a little differently
than we had seen. If we could get out of feeling bad, ugly, abnormal and out, that would be
quite a change, is it not? You ever have feelings of inferiority? You ever have feelings of guilt?
[Yes.] Fear? [Sure.] And all these things. Hmm? Do you see they’ve all been manufactured
for us? They were, they were handmade deals. And they sold them to us for free. BUT—if
you want to go to some professional in this group over here to get rid of those feelings, hmm?
That you’re bad or ugly or abnormal or out, do they do that for free or does that cost you dearly?
(laughter) Hmm? That costs you dearly.

You know, you always heard the old story about putting the fox to watch the henhouse. So the
guys who give you the feeling of being bad, ugly, abnormal and out, you go pay fantastic fees
to get over the feelings, isn’t that right? Hmm? You’re sure they’re going to do it. Or are they
going to give you some more standards to go by? No doubt.

So comes along that there’s a lot of people that call up and ask questions, or they ask me in
person, how do I get rid of the feeling of anxiety, or how do I get rid of a feeling of inferiority,
or how to I get rid of a feeling of fear, or anger, or whatever, you know, they have all these things.
You’re heard of them, haven't you—whether you've had them or not, you‘ve heard of them. Well,
my statement is always, that you experience a feeling freely.

No Need to Pay Someone to Rid You of Unpleasant Feelings, Just Experience It Freely

Of course we don’t try to get rid of the feeling we just go ahead and have it. I have it. So I might
as well experience it freely. Now you’re going to experience a feeling you have, even though
you’re kicking and screaming about it. Is that right? You’re going to have it. You might as well
do it gracefully and say I have a feeling of inferiority, so I will just feel inferior for a while, I’ll
just set here an indulge in a feeling of inferiority, because it is an indulging, for sure and certain.
So I’ll just feel inferior. The minute you are really free to feel inferior, you know something?
You don’t feel inferior anymore. Did you ever sit down to freely worry awhile? (laughter
) Just sit here and “I’m going to worry about this.” You start laughing. You know, it’s all gone.
And let’s say that I’m fearful. Well who am I that I shouldn’t feel a little fear once in a while?
Most people in the world have, it’s not fatal. If it was there wouldn’t be any people living,
would there? Huh? Wouldn’t be anybody around (laughter).

_{When You're Free to Have It...}

So, if you feel fearful freely, say, all right, I’m going to sit here and be scared a little while,
(laughter) just going to get scared—all of a sudden you can’t find it. It’s gone, it disappeared,
it dissipated, it’s nonexistent. But oh if you go to the shrink, and you begin to work diligently
to find all these fears that were implanted in you in infancy and childhood, and you had these
many traumatic experiences that you can no longer find, and you have to depend on dreams
and etc. and somebody to analyze them, to find them—you can chase fears for the next seventy
years, if you should live so long. You can chase them. But you’re still fearful. So why not just
be free to have any old fear that comes by, I don’t care where it came from, if it came from
grandmother, the father, or the mother, or whatever, who cares where it came from. Why not
just go ahead and feel fearful, it’s all right, it won’t hurt you. Did anybody ever sit and feel
fearful freely? […] It’ll go away real quick, why don’t you try it sometime. [I worked on it this
week but I guess I didn’t do a very good job.] Well, you weren’t free to have it, you were
trying to get rid of it by being free. (laughter)

Insomnia

It’s like I told a man one day that if--he came in telling me his terrible problem with insomnia.
He couldn’t get to sleep at night. He said I tried, I tried, I TRIED, I can’t get to sleep. So, I said,
well, tonight when you go to bed, instead of trying to go to sleep, determine you’re going to
stay awake all night and listen to all the night sounds. Listen to traffic off in the distance, listen
to the dogs bark, listen to the birds that go by, and what have you, and listen to the creaking in
the walls and whatever. Just listen. So next day he came in and I said How about it? And he said
I never had such a good night sleep in my life. I slept all night. I said fine. So you’re over your
insomnia. He said sure, I know what to do now. So in order to get to sleep that night he tried
to stay awake, and he managed quite nicely, he stayed awake all night (laughter). You see, the
human mind is a great trickery device, because it’s thoroughly conditioned. So now he knew
how to get himself to sleep, so he was going to do it in order to get to sleep. He wasn’t trying
to stay awake the next night, he was trying to get to sleep by listening. So he stayed awake all night.

True Freedom is Free TO, Not Striving to Be Free From

So, we hear about something that I’m perfectly free to feel fearful. Huh? And it’ll go away.
So I’m going to feel fearful to see if it goes away. And it’s still here. (laughter). Is that right Marilyn?
[That’s right.} That’s exactly what you did. So when I say that we’re free to experience a feeling,
it’s now, it’s tomorrow, it’s any other time. So let’s put a simple word on it:
I am free to experience whatever may arise in my way today. You’re going to. If an angry
customer comes in, you’re going to have an angry customer. You might as well sit there and look at
him. Right Mark? If you’re going to talk to her on the phone, you might as well let her be. You know.

And, so if you experience anything freely, you have come up with freedom. So basically we always
think in terms of free from. I want to get free from this, free from that, free from the other thing.
Hmm? That never works. Any more than if I signs that said from Santa Fe, or, San Jose over the hill
here, I could follow those all day and all night and all day tomorrow and I’ll never get to San Jose,
is that right? Because if I followed signs that said TO San Jose, a reasonable thing you’d be over
there before too long. But if you started out to be free TO, which we are, but we have never
recognized it, free TO experience whatever may arise in my way today, you find very quickly you
have no conflict or struggle with anything. So I’ll be fearful, why not be fearful a couple of days,
you know, so what.

Feeling Inferior

Suppose you feel inferior. Most of us have come up with that nice feeling somewhere or other.
Some of us hide it from ourselves and think it’s bad and we cover it up by trying to act superior,
but, so I’m inferior. So what. I’m comfortable that way. I don’t have to live up to everything.
If I was superior, think of all these rules I have to live up to, I don’t have to bother if I’m inferior.
So, I can go ahead and be inferior peacefully. So what? So I’m inferior to everybody. Far as I know
I have never met a person I was inferior to because I set a standard for it. I said the first guy I see
walking along with his feet six feet up in the air and clear space down there below and I’m having
to walk on the pavement, he’s, I’m inferior to him, I haven’t met him yet.

If I meet somebody and he’s walking along here, his feet’s up here see [audience does not get it]
his head’s up there, and I’m having to walk on the ground then he’s superior to me. But I haven’t
met him yet, okay? [okay] is that right? I also figure that people who don’t like me just have poor
taste. You know, that’s simple, I’m through with it then, they just have poor taste. [I tried that and
it didn’t work either.] Well, you were trying to get over it. You weren’t experiencing it freely.
See, you were using all the tricks you heard to get over it. [That’s right.] You weren’t free to
experience it, you were using trickery to get over it. Huh? [Right.] Now the tricks are only to remind
you, but not to be trying to live, you’re free to experience feeling inferior or angry or whatever the
case may be. Okay? Fearful, whatever. It doesn’t make any difference.

A Question

You’re asking a question? [Why even put a qualifier on it, like you say, he has poor taste, why not
just say he has DIFFERENT taste? Why put a qualifier on it, make a judgment on it.] He had what?
[Say different taste.] Well, I just don’t think he has poor taste, except for me. You see, Clarence,
my mother said there was no conceit in the family, I had it all. That’s where I put it out there, you
know, anybody doesn’t like me they got poor taste, that’s all. I’m through with that, I can go on
my way then. I’m not trying to be good. Just going on. I’m free to be inferior, I’m free to be fearful,
and I’m free to be anxious. We all have those feelings once in a while, don’t you? And if you do it
freely, without trying to use that as a method to get rid of it, but you’re still saying I’m not free to
have this, I’m going to use every method I ever heard ;of to get rid of it. Why don’t you just go
on and be inferior?

Anger

[What about angry?] Why not be free to be angry, what difference does ;it make? Let’s get angry
right now. You know something you could be ticked off about, couldn’t you? Know somebody
you could be angry with right now? Huh? Let’s do it. Let’s you and I sit here and—you get very
angry with this person right now, really work it up. Get your teeth clenched, get your hands, put
your feet down hard on the floor, grinch your jaw, be very angry at this old girl, okay? … You’re
laughing. (laughter). Do you see, the minute you’re, the minute you’re free to do something, you
can’t pull it off, okay? Right? Like worrying about something. Let’s worry up a storm. Now if you
were… [I’m not going to worry about what I was worrying about.] Well, I’d worry about it, a lot.
(Laughter) …. Full time… and you find yourself, you’re all out of kilter with it in a very short order.

Most People Have Not Discovered That They Are Free TO

So what we are trying to point out, that the minute we are really free to do something, not using
it as a technique now, okay [still got the technique going] You got the technique. You got caught
with the method. [That’s right.] The method is only something to remind us, the point is I’m free.
Now most of us haven’t discovered that we are free. We think that we’ve got to do that first
decision I put up there this morning, the whole purpose of living is be nondisturbed, and I’ve
got to use some method to get rid of this little disturbance. Like feeling inferior or whatever it is.

So, we’re not trying to be non-disturbed, we’re trying only to be conscious. And to be conscious
is to be aware that I’m a human being and subject to every and any kind of a feeling and I can
have the feeling of inferiority without being in any great danger. So what?

So I feel inferior for a few minutes or an hour. Then soon as I’m really free to we can’t even find it,
but, let’s say I’m perfectly free to be fearful, I’m free to be angry.

Trying to Be Free From is a Constant Struggle

A man told me one time that you couldn’t enjoy living until you’re free to be dead. And you
couldn’t enjoy companionship until you were free to be lonely. That you couldn’t be free to
enjoy good health until you were free to be sick. Because if you’re going to sit around and
worry about getting sick, it’ll get you there before long. So I tried to be free to be sick, what’s
wrong with being sick, look at all the attention you get, you know. So you’re free to be sick,
you’re free to be lonely. You’re free to be unappreciated. So what? I’m free to feel inferior.
When I have all those then I’m truly free. A free individual is living, the others are struggling,
okay? So when you’re trying to be free from something you’re in a constant struggle.
When you’re free TO—so I’m free to put up with obnoxious people. There one I have a little
trouble being free to and that’s bores, but you know, I’m getting used to that, too (laughter.)
That was the hardest one to work, boredom, boring people, you know. That took a little time.
But I had to get free to that also, because I run into my share of those as I go about everything.
So. That was a hard one, though, but they’re there, so you can do that also.

Discovering Freedom

So then you have discovered freedom, and when you’re truly free you’re not trying to be
non-disturbed, you are pretty close to it. Okay? But it’s a byproduct of being free, not of a
struggle to get free, and not finding some techniques to use, okay? The technique’s good for
one time, like stay awake all night and listen to sounds. Once. You’ll go to sleep. Next night
you’ll try to use it to get to sleep with and then it won’t work. You heard me? Okay, good,
now I got that done.

Okay, we will stop for a minute or two and let’s have questions, comments, discussions,
words, challenges, what have you. I’m sure I made it as clear as mud. Yes ma’am.

Evolution

[Um… this, when you were talking about the baby and the wish to get back to the non-
disturbed state..] Now, determined that that was the whole purpose of things I put up there…
[I… have been… seeing the whole human race as I guess a single entity] that’s about right…
[I’ve seen evolution, you know, the saber-toothed tigers back here and we’re still acting
as if they’re running around] yeah, we’re still acting like a saber-toothed tiger is behind
every post, especially at night. Under the bed, aren’t they George? [Right!] George put two
saber-toothed tigers under the bed… [Well I always figured that most of my life after about
age three was a gift because I’m so nearsighted that I would have been eaten by one…]
Well thank goodness somebody made a little optical discovery and you can see all right, huh?
[And the tiger…] You can see the tiger. [If you keep your eye on him he can’t hurt you]
(laughter) [Does it work, um, in other words, I guess what I’m asking is, can, would you,
make a (?) fitting together this development thing you’re talking about. Is it an evolutionary
thing, or am I trying to put two things together that…]

A Few Evolve, Many Copy Them

No, I think you’re doing all right. I think you’re doing all right. I think the human race as
a whole evolves somewhat. Okay? But the reason they evolved was because of a few
individuals who did a job on their own. In other words, if you evolve a bit, there’s an awful
lot of copying of it. They may not get it all, but they get a little of it—Okay? If nobody had
evolved any the human race would still be wherever the saber-tooth tigers are, if they even
existed at all. So evolution comes about, there’s no ifs ands about that, of the whole race,
to some degree. But it’s only because it’s some individual goes to work to be conscious
rather than just go fumbling on.

Aiding Evolution

So if you would aid evolution a bit, you work real hard at being a conscious individual
who has discovered how a few things work, like freedom, and how there is two worlds,
and how that you can see the conditioning of the Not-I’s operating and you become a
conscious individual, you affect a tremendous number of people. I don’t know how true
it is because I have no way of checking up on it, but a man told me that if there were two
hundred fully conscious people in the world, it would transform the whole thing. Not the
other way around, that if we all just sit here and say well, evolution will take care of us
after while, I expect that we’ll still be sitting here the next ten million years, if we’re not
extinct by then, with the thing still going on. Because unless somebody evolves, as a
conscious effort, and it is an effort—the material is simple. The action and putting it to
use is a little on the difficult side, okay? It takes some work. But if we do that then you
have done considerable to evolve the human race. No matter how insignificant you as
an individual may think yourself to be. If you have evolved to being a conscious person,
even part of the way, you have done much towards evolving the human race. But not the
other way around. So if we just sit and wait for it to happen, say, oh, it’s going on anyway,
forget it. Okay? Does that help answer your question?

How Do You Know If You're Evolving?

[Yeah, but how can you tell if you’re evolving into a conscious person?] Well, you can
find out how miserable you are most of the time, kind of check up on it once in a while
(laughter) I don’t think it’s fearful and miserable, okay? (laughter) Conscious people
are not trying to be happy, or, they wouldn’t trade places with anybody, but they are
what other people might call happy individuals. Because they are NOT in conflict and
struggle all the time. The unconscious person is always in a state of conflict and struggle.
The conscious person is not in conflict, okay? So you can find out whether you’ve got
tight spots in your solar plexus, will help you give a pretty good notice, is that all right?
You know where your solar plexus is? Right in there. And if it’s all tied up in knots and
jumping a lot, you’re not very conscious at that moment. Does that help? Okay.

All right, next question, comment. Go ahead, I’m listening… [No, I was listening to
the wind] The wind is beautiful out there, real weird sound, sounds like Halloween eve,
screaming around the corner as you fully expect to look out there and see snow piling up.
Yes?

Da Vinci

[Da Vinci be one of those men?] I think Da Vinci was pretty well in the conscious level,
yes, from what we can read, I didn’t meet the guy, but from everything I can see about
him he had pretty much on the ball. He wasn’t worried about too many things. He’d had
an engine he’d have done real well. But he didn’t have an engine to put in his airplane so
he didn’t make an airplane. And he made a car but he didn’t have an engine to put in it.
Somebody had got there and made an engine everything’d been pretty good. But he was
a little short of that. Okay.

We’ll put some other things here … practical world and the man-made world and real
world, and especially all the wonderful people that provide problems for us. (laughter)
Ready-made.

Think, Act, Feel

It is interesting to see that we can’t do near as many things as we think we can do. But
those things that we can do are extremely worthwhile if we use them. And if we just go
to sleep and don’t use them very well, they can get tedious. You can think. I think
everybody here agrees to that. Can you not? You can think, you can act, and you can feel.
Somebody tell me something else you can do. Anybody got any words on it? You got
anything else you can do? [Create] Well, that's done with a combination of those some way
or other, isn’t it? We’re going to get there in a minute. But to do it you have to think, act
and feel. Can you think of something else you could do? [What'’ remembering, how do
you…] Well, that’s a form of thinking, isn’t it? Yeah, you can recall [Wondering] Wondering
is thinking, kind of gathering goat feathers, but we’re out there thinking anyway, we call
it thinking. [See?] Well, that’s an act, isn’t it? Close your eyes and you can’t see. So. Open
them and you can see, is that right? Huh? Okay. Can you tell me something you can do
besides think or act or feel. I don’t think so. I’ve been struggling with it a long time.
[Observe something] Well, that’s an act of observing, is it not? If you don’t perform
an act you don’t observe anything. I believe that’s very well down there. We could put
all kinds of synonyms besides think, act, feel. But that still comes out the same thing.

Most People Feel, Act on Feeling, Think About It

So ordinarily we wake up feeling a certain way. Or somebody else comes along and
determines a feeling us by their behavior. You know, we meet a pleasant person and
we feel nice, or we meet an old grump and we feel terrible. Is that about right? Hmm?
Somebody calls you on the phone, goes blah, blah, blah, you feel bad, is that right?
And we have a kid around and the kid gets unruly, or belligerent or what have you
and we feel upset and angry and what have you, whatever the case may be.
So we have a feeling.

Now when we feel a certain way we act something that goes with it. We can all stand
and look at somebody, by the way they are acting, and be pretty well certain as to how
they’re feeling, is that right? Can you look at somebody and say they’re worried?
[Sure.] Or they’re angry. Or they’re upset. Or they’re happy, you can do that, can’t you,
every one of us can, there’s no way, we all can tell. We may not know exactly what we
read in there, but we can see it real well. Okay? So we feel.

And then we think to explain why we acted so funny. Is that right? We think up a good
excuse, it’s all your fault, you did this, and you did that, and so forth. So, you notice
that that does spell a word (FAT) Most of this is going on in our head, so I’ll leave you
to put the appropriate word on it.

Feeling and Action Are a Two-way Street

Now, there is one thing that we can always notice, that feeling and action are a two-way
street, not a one-way street. As you feel, you will have again to act, but if you deliberately
put on an act which is under your control, you try to act in a certain way, you will begin
to feel like you’re acting. You ever try that one? If you act angry long enough, you will
begin to feel it. It
only takes a few seconds. Even though there wasn’t a thing in the world for you to be angry
about. If you played sick long enough. When you were a kid and wanted to get out of
school, did you ever pretend to be ill so mama wouldn’t get you up and send you off to
school because it was exam day or something?  Did you ever do that? Did it come up
sick for real after while? …

Think First

So let’s use this a little bit different. If I do thinking first then I will ask How would I like
to feel? You know everything we’re all concerned with is how we feel, isn’t it? Isn’t that
what you’re concerned with all the time? How you feel. If you feel happy you don’t go
worrying about it much, hmm? It’s only when you don’t like the way you feel you sit
down and worry over it, is that correct? So what you’re interested in is how you feel.
So if we said, I’ll use my thinking apparatus here to determine how I would like to feel.
That’s the first question. Well let’s say that I would like to feel, very thankful.

I think another work for thankful might be happy. Is that correct? Possible? So I would
like to feel thankful. Now then I would ask myself how would I be acting if I were already
real thankful? Well, I would be going around with somewhat of a smile on my face, I’d
probably be standing up erect, I wouldn’t be dragging down.  END OF TAPE. 

 

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