@jeanne-mayell Based on seeing so many references to a stock market crash sometime this summer, I spent this morning trying to throw cards with that as the focus. Always want to mention that I'm a novice. I threw cards for my country and separately for myself and didn't get anything that alarmed me.
@CC21 Joe Biden was not among any of my early changing choices, but when he started to look like the nominee, the wisdom of this choice jumped out. His basic humanity, care, sincerity, and his considerable experience and knowledge of the world, all are exactly what we need right now. I think that our NATO allies will rejoice with his election. I have gotten some indication that he might not be in office long, but that might not matter with a truly competent VP ready to tackle hard issues. (Kamala Harris?)
Your post about the stages of grief and coming to terms with the global pandemic is beautifully written. You can probably tell from my post that I am aggravated by people's behavior and your post reminded me how much people are suffering psychologically. So I am nudged by spirit to be compassionate towards everyone right now, not just towards those who are like minded. Millions of people the world over are struggling with those stages of grief and worried about the future. Many are sick. Many are unemployed and struggle to cover the basic necessities of life. The uncertainties of life and the lack of control create stress for everyone.
In full disclosure, my compassion will continue to be limited for self-serving politicians who willfully ignore the needs of people. However, my anger at injustice does keep fire in the belly and we all need to be deeply motivated to change our government by voting.
I will be re-reading your post again and again. Thank you.
@jeanne-mayell When I hear, mostly from politicians, about the economy bouncing back soon, it just sounds so crazy to me. We're broke. Add to that we're a consumer-driven economy, with a population that doesn't have any money to spend, and for those who do, they're not all going to take their lives in their own hands just to get sit in diner and eat a burger or go shop in a mall. I think we're running on the fumes of the pre-COVID economy and many folks seem to be incapable of recognizing that. Of course we'll recover at some point, but it took years to shake off the 2008 crash, and it was a finite meltdown. This is way different. It's going to get worse, we're going to be down for a while, and what emerges from the wreckage will be different than what we had.
Yes. Thank you for that reality check dear parizienne, and how clearly you defined the 'sphere so well. Especially concise with the observations of Dr. Kubler-Ross's seven steps to healing ....
I had talked a little about this (Kubler-Ross) sometime back, but at the time was just trying to wrap my head around everything going on with the collective.
You seem to be heading into the the 'acceptance' stage for the most part, tho I feel that most are still reeling between denial and thinly disguised anger basically... maybe it will take (certainly the remainder of the year until January/February '21) all of the retrograde planets and this eclipse cycle to show us what it means to sail into this new paradigm with a focused purpose ...
Healing can be a long process... for ourselves personally and for our world in deep transformation ...
Thank you from my heart for your excellent insights.... and love your Unicorn Tapestries icon... I have it on my wall (The Unicorn in Capitivity/ pure Spirit within)....
Stay safe there in CA, (my old home) and keep writing your excellent posts here please? We all need to hear more ?
Your comment about Joe Biden made me think of the TV ad that is running here, now. The one where he says the President has “the duty of care”. That has struck me in my soul every time I’ve heard it. That phrase brings me to tears.
Just wanted to share that, and to say that all of you are wonderful, genuinely caring people. I love reading your thoughts and insights. You are all great blessings! Thanks for being here!
I believe it may have been me who mentioned awhile back that we are grieving during the pandemic. I know I posted about it somewhere here so I likely mentioned it in class too.
What you have written is fantastic. A whole new way to think about why people might be acting the way they are. You have really thought this through and it is lovely. Your analysis will help us understand what is going on with others. It is a set towards understanding.
Thank you Parizienne!
@parizienne, I loved your post about our collective grief and I totally agree. Many are "acting out" their grief, as nothing more than a distraction and an illusion of control over the situation. It doesn't help that as a culture, we often handle death and grieving badly -- something to be sometimes rationalized, judged, gotten over quickly, dismissed, even dishonored. I agree that a decent, insightful, compassionate leader would have helped, offering us some sanity, stability, unity and the room to heal.
Your beautiful analysis helped to transform some of my recent disgust and anger into compassion towards those people who are behaving irresponsibility. Thank you.
First of all if i haven't officially welcomed you to our group, i want to say you entered it running and i, for one appreciate so much having you join us here!
Your great comment about Joe Biden reminded me of just how incredibly important that "the duty of care" truly, truly is.
And I mean in every single meaning of that beautiful and so importantly meaningful use of words.
We all need it and should heed in every word, action and deed. Think of the specifics of the 'Four Agreements' books by Don Miquel Ruiz.
I cried reading it in the 90s knowing I needed to step up my already trying so hard game.
If any of you haven't read it the four agreements are "Be impeccable with your word", "Don't take anything personally", "Don't make assumptions", and "Always do your best".
The duty of care is for every being, every single part of our earth and every single thing known or unknown in all that is or ever will be.
Its a huge community of honor, truth, and accountability for any and all of our actions.
Thank you so much for your gracious welcome. I suppose you are right, I did start off running. I guess it’s the nature of my job that makes me jump in. And I think I’ve been talking to all of you in my head for a long, long time. ?
You were speaking of the grief of the collective. Have we also been grieving the loss of our caring for each other as an American community, in a consistent way?
Our social contract is being severely frayed, if not broken. I think that we started to degrade our sense of the duty to care for each other when Civics ceased to be taught in schools. (Funny to think that way, but my husband is a history teacher.) What a terrible blow through unintended consequences! I hope we can recover our social contract. I foresee turmoil in waves for a long time until we completely transition to the new power structure. Hopefully the one thread we will hold onto and rebuild is the sense of duty to care for all creatures great and small, and our Mother Earth.
@michele-b I know a few front line workers and my heart aches for them. They are truly heros, light workers and pure angels from heaven. What they must bear, day in and out, is truly devastating and of course must have an effect. We can all help sending light, prayers and love to them. But also to those we see each and every day. Michele-B, you're correct. A smile doesn't cost a thing and means so much. Even with a mask you can see the smile in the eyes. I pray for them all. I can't imagine the burden they carry.
@lynnventura
I've come back to your post again and again, thinking about the uncanny power of the Teflon Don. It seems to defy logic that he's gotten away with his dishonesty and egregious behavior. Remember his bragging during his first campaign about being able to shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any supporters? Isn't that the oddest, oddest thing? Yet, he has gotten away with so many outrageous acts during his tenure. While it seems obvious that he is the most corrupt of presidents, he's still in office.
I wonder if his ability to manifest energy and protect himself has grown out of his malignant narcissism. He is completely enthralled with himself and I just wonder if that unhealthy obsession creates an unnatural energy. I'm just spitballing here. Although he is an especially loathsome human being, he still manages to project a brute, thug-like charisma and control over the members of his cult. Even now as his faculties are clearly diminishing and he rambles and bumbles around during his rallies, people are drawn to him and risk their lives, standing shoulder to shoulder during a virulent pandemic. It's interesting in an "I can't stop watching this train wreck" kind of way.
If his energy is a type of psychic ability, he's managed to pervert that gift into an obscene version of an innate intuitive skill.
@bluebelle, and his energy is slowly consuming him from the inside out.
Yes, that could be true, and his misuse of social media is now backfiring , like the K-pop and tiktok thing with Tulsa. If I were Biden I would not attack Trump anymore, but tell the people what really needs to be done to get the US back on track.
Does anyone in the US knows Karlsson on the Roof, I often think about him when I see a speech from Trump.
I am a bit afraid that he will not accept when he lost the election, but rather start a civil war, I really hope bot...
gr
Helge
@bluebelle I posted a few weeks ago that I didn't think people could use psychic abilities to harm others, but I think someone responded and wrote that trump's power was using energy to persuade others. Perhaps he accomplishes this by manipulating energy, even if he doesn't know that he's doing it. It could be that he's such a narcissist that he believes his own spin, and his belief is so strong that he wills things into reality. Don't we all know people -- good, bad or somewhere in between -- who manage to pull rabbits out of hats in ways that are astounding? People who always manage to land on their feet, or toxic coworkers who can cause chaos in otherwise functional work environments?
Sometimes I post my opinions but other times I read others' posts and I just respond as if someone else is doing the writing for me. That's how I felt when I wrote about trump's energy manipulation, and I could feel him doing it.
Now I'm seeing him running out of runway space.
The Cheeto is a narcissist, through and through. Narcissists are master manipulators. They slide between charisma and abuse with mind-boggling ease. In a single sentence they can crush souls while (falsely) lifting others up. That's the only ability Cheeto has. Sadly there are people who resonate with his BS and are blind to how cruel and abusive of a person he really is, because through their filters, they're being lifted up ... until, of course, Cheeto has no use for them.
@grace @bluebelle @jeanne-mayell I've wondered about two things: 1. Mental health experts in THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD J. TRUMP said that T would become increasingly more dangerous, but I never found a description of stages of decline for dangerous Narcissists. Does anyone know if there are any?
2. His supporters are a puzzle. John Dean's book (CONSERVATIVES WITHOUT CONSCIENCE) describes authoritarians (which they are) as blindly following a leader and as people who cannot embrace evidence even when it's right under their nose. It always sounded like a condition of sorts. But I wonder whether or not they are immoral? lacking in intelligence? (Yes to some extent)? feel like they are part of a gang where Trump is the bully-leader and they feel secure? The ones I know personally are not dumb although not brilliant either, but they buy the propaganda hook, line, and sinker (Fox Fiction is "according to them" the only outlet telling the truth), but they also won't check. In other words, as best I can understand, they embrace only what they ALREADY want to hear--not what they need to hear. As a researcher, I know it's hard to discover that you've been wrong about something, (although it's also a bit exciting to discover a new TRUTH). But, under no circumstances, do they seem able to embrace anything but what they already believe. Any thoughts?
In response to your first question, there is good information in the article below by Tony Schwartz. (I hope you can access it.) I personally think Trump got “stuck” in his developmental process as a young child, and is acting out (literally) of his severely limited functional capabilities. Add to this a mean and vindictive nature. Why do people follow him? Rebellious natures, orneriness, similar developmental deficits, flawed belief systems...so many reasons. It seems that nothing ever ends well for Trump or those around him. The accidental President, which has been a near-fatal accident for our country.
Excellent questions.
Regarding narcissists as they age, here's a short and, in my dealings with narcissists, accurate article about what to expect from them as they age, and why:
https://narcissistfamilyfiles.com/2017/09/26/big-sissies-how-and-why-narcissists-get-worse-with-age/
Narcissists are energy vampires in the sense that their own energies are unpleasant, because they are unpleasant people, so they suck the energies of those around them to lift themselves up. They belittle those they deem weak and inferior, and this gives them a sense of superiority. They are intelligent and conniving; they bully who they can, but they charm those they think they can get something out of who won't put up with bullying. This crazy-making creates confusion, with those charmed by the narcissist never seeing what those bullied by him/her/them see and experience.
Aging narcissists lose their power over people and thus become more and more unpleasant, since what once worked for them doesn't work for them anymore, at least not to the same degree. Aging narcissists let their defenses down, which means more people become privy to their uglier, bullying sides.
@seeker4. Agree to all. My neighbors are just like that. Intelligent, friendly yet following the Pied Piper with childish obstinance. And always bringing politics up out of nowhere. BUT ... yesterday they admitted they don't like Trump anymore and their focus is on Biden's supposed faults. But, hey, that's a start in the right direction.