The adjuration to be "normal" seems shockingly repellent to me; I see neither hope nor comfort in sinking to that low level. I think it is ignorance that makes people think of abnormality only with horror and allows them to remain undismayed at the proximity of "normal" to average and mediocre. For surely anyone who achieves anything is, a priori, abnormal.
At its root, the logic is that of the Grand Inquisitor, who bitterly assailed Christ for offering people freedom and thus condemning them to misery. The Church must correct the evil work of Christ by offering the miserable mass of humanity the gift they most desire and need: absolute submission. It must __anquish freedom_ so as __o make men happy_ and provide the total __ommunity of worship_ that they avidly seek. In the modern secular age, this means worship of the state religion, which in the Western democracies incorporates the doctrine of submission to the masters of the system of public subsidy, private profit, called free enterprise. The people must be kept in ignorance, reduced to jingoist incantations, for their own good. And like the Grand Inquisitor, who employs the forces of miracle, mystery, and authority __o conquer and hold captive for ever the conscience of these impotent rebels for their happiness_ and to deny them the freedom of choice they so fear and despise, so the __ool observers_ must create the __ecessary illusions_ and __motionally potent oversimplifications_ that keep the ignorant and stupid masses disciplined and content.
Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies
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At its root, the logic is that of the Grand Inquisitor, who bitterly assailed Christ for offering people freedom and thus condemning them to misery. The Church must correct the evil work of Christ by offering the miserable mass of humanity the gift they most desire and need: absolute submission. It must __anquish freedom_ so as __o make men happy_ and provide the total __ommunity of worship_ that they avidly seek. In the modern secular age, this means worship of the state religion, which in the Western democracies incorporates the doctrine of submission to the masters of the system of public subsidy, private profit, called free enterprise. The people must be kept in ignorance, reduced to jingoist incantations, for their own good. And like the Grand Inquisitor, who employs the forces of miracle, mystery, and authority __o conquer and hold captive for ever the conscience of these impotent rebels for their happiness_ and to deny them the freedom of choice they so fear and despise, so the __ool observers_ must create the __ecessary illusions_ and __motionally potent oversimplifications_ that keep the ignorant and stupid masses disciplined and content.
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Real joy means immediate expansion. If we experience pure joy, immediately our heart expands. We feel that we are flying in the divine freedom-sky. The entire length and breadth of the world becomes ours, not for us to rule over, but as an expansion of our consciousness. We become reality and vastness.
The degree of freedom we enjoy outwardly is a reflection of the degree of love we cultivate inwardly.
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After all, it isn't the facts of one's environment, but one's attitude toward them, that determines whether one will be defeated or victorious.