edition 2013
chapter titles
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source of the compilation
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Introduction
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excerpts from The Rebel ~ 04, q.1
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| 1
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Saying Good-bye to the Past
- What is real rebellion? And what is the difference between reaction and the action of the rebellious human being?
- Can you please say something more about violence as the expression of rebellion?
- I have heard you say that it is enough for us to just be, that we don't need to do anything to be in God. I have this gut feeling that I need to "do" to be worthy, to contribute, to give something. And you say that God is within me -- I realize I am looking inside for some concept I got from the outside. It is like looking down into a well in the night. I see reflections and I think it is the bottom, but it is only the surface. Even when I know I need only let go and wait rather than look for anything, I am still waiting for my own concepts of what should happen. Please comment.
- One of the most beautiful and relaxing spaces I know is the one of "yes," and an acceptance of myself and others. Would you like to talk about "yes" as part of the rebellion?
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| 2
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Understanding Is Freedom
- The priests and nuns and relatives that shaped my life are now old and dried up. Most are dead. It seems worthless to rebel against those helpless old people. I am not the priest and the doctrines. I feel that to rebel against anything outside myself is a waste of time and just simply not to the point. This makes the situation much more frustrating and entangled. It seems the self must rebel against the self. I accept that it is not the essential self -- the original face -- that has to do the rebelling. It is the trained self, the subterfuge. But that is the only "self" I have or know with which to do the rebelling. How does the subterfuge rebel against the subterfuge?
- Why in the first place have people been distracted from their original self?
- I have tried my whole life to change myself, but it seems nothing ever changes -- I remain the same. Is not there any hope for me?
- I am aware of my need for approval and acceptance from others. I don't want to be driven by this need. How does it resolve?
- Whenever in life I've had a bout of feeling miserable, a point always comes when I just laugh at myself, feel freedom return, and see that all I had done was to stop loving myself. This insight in itself is perhaps not particularly profound but at the moment of its realization. I am always amazed to see how easily, for what, and for how long I am willing to forsake my own self-love. Is this at the roots of most people's suffering, or is it just my trip?
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| 3
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You Are Born with Courage
- I feel divided in two parts -- half going toward the unknown, and half toward all that is familiar from my past. When I get close to letting go of what I believe is mine, I panic -- even though I yearn to go to the place of the unknown that you talk about. Please give me courage to take the next step.
- Is renouncing the world and society part of a rebellious spirit?
- What has gone wrong? Why is it that people meet everything new reluctantly, and with fear, rather than with eager joy?
- Sometimes after an experience of meditation I feel tremendously good and bright, and then I'm afraid to get influenced again by people so that I fall back again into my old mind. Can you say something about energies and experiences, and how we can move in the marketplace without getting influenced by other people who have not such good energy?
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| 4
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Create the Way by Walking
- Anarchy simply means absence of authority, which is beautiful. But in common language it has the meaning of absence of discipline. Why that confusion? Could you speak about discipline, especially its relation to rebellion?
- You once said that this is a very beautiful world but it is in the wrong hands. I agree with all my being. I feel it. But how can we stop those greedy hands that are torturing nature and enslaving human beings if we don't fight and struggle? Is the destruction of the old not necessary for the building of the new?
- My parents are so disappointed in me, they worry all the time. They have made my being here possible, so how can I turn from them? What do I owe to my parents?
- When I listen to my feelings, my inner voice, they tell me to do nothing but just to sleep, eat, and play on the beach! I am afraid to follow these feelings because I think I will get too weak to survive in this world. Will existence protect me when I allow myself to let go?
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| 5
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When All Voices Are Silent
- What is the difference between human nature, instinct, and habit? Are there any means by which they can change, or not?
- Being in the world is sometimes hard for me, for I see how hard people are and how they step on one another. This hurts me very much, sometimes even physically, and I feel vulnerable like a small child. Please tell me how to deal with it.
- My feelings of unworthiness still dominate my life, and I'm clinging to them so tightly that I despair of ever letting go. It has been a long and serious road so far.
- How can I find out which of the many voices inside me is the one that comes from the real self to guide me? How can I be sure it doesn't come from the unconscious?
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Epilogue
- How can I become a light unto myself?
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