https://jiddu-krishnamurti.net/en/1933-the-art-of-listening/jiddu-krishnamurti-the-art-of-listening-05

#Question: It has been said that you are really #enchaining the #individual, not #liberating him. Is this true?

#Krishnamurti: After I have answered this question, you yourself can find out whether I am liberating the individual or enchaining him.

Let us take the individual as he is. What do we mean by the individual? A person who is controlled and dominated by his fears, his disappointments, his cravings, which create a certain set of circumstances that enslave him and force him to fit into a social structure. That is what we mean by an individual. Through our fears, our superstitions, our vanities and our cravings, we have created a certain set of circumstances to which we have become slaves. We have almost lost our individuality, our uniqueness. When you examine your action in daily life, you will see that it is but a reaction to a set of standards, a series of ideas.

Please follow what I am saying, and do not say that I urge man to free himself so that he can do what he likes - so that he can bring about ruin and disaster.

First of all I want to make it clear that we are but reactions to a set of standards and ideas which we have created through our suffering and fear, through our ignorance, our desire for possession. This reaction we call individual action, but to me, it is not action at all. It is a constant reaction in which there is no positive action.

I shall put it differently. At present, man is but the emptiness of reaction, nothing more. He does not act from the fullness of his nature, from his completeness, from his wisdom; he acts merely from a reaction. I maintain that chaos, utter destruction, is taking place in the world because we are not acting from our fullness, but from our fear, from the lack of understanding. Once we become aware of the fact that what we call individuality is but a series of reactions in which there is no fullness of action; once we understand that, that individuality is but a series of reactions in which there is a continual emptiness, a void, then we will act harmoniously. How are you going to find out the value of a certain standard that you hold? You will not find out by acting in opposition to that standard, but by weighing and balancing what you really think and feel against what that standard demands. You will find that the standard demands certain actions, while your own instinctive action tends in another direction. Then what are you going to do? If you do what your instinct demands, your action will lead to chaos, because our instincts have been perverted through centuries of what we call education - education that is entirely false. Your own instinct demands one type of action, but society, which we, individually, have created through centuries, society to which we have become slaves, demands another kind of action. And when you act in accordance with the set of standards demanded by society you are not acting through the fullness of comprehension.

By really pondering over the demands of your instincts and the demands of society, you will find out how you can act in wisdom. That action liberates the individual; it does not enchain him. But the liberation of the individual demands great earnestness, great searching into the depth of action; it is not the result of action born of a momentary impulse.

So you have to recognize what you now are. However well educated you may be, you are only partly a true individual; the greater part of you is determined by the reaction to society, which you have created. You are but a cog in a tremendous machine which you call society, religion, politics, and as long as you are such a cog, your action is born of limitation; it leads only to disharmony and conflict. It is your action that has resulted in our present chaos. But if you acted out of your own fullness you would discover the true worth of society and the instinct causing your action; then your action would be harmonious, not a compromise.

First of all, then, you must become conscious of the false values which have been established through the centuries and to which you have become a slave; you must become conscious of values, to find out whether they are false or true, and this you must do for yourself. No one can do it for you - and herein lies the greatness and glory of man. Thus, by discovering the right value of standards, you liberate the mind from the false standards handed down through ages. But such liberation does not mean impetuous, instinctive action leading to chaos; it means action born of the full harmony of mind and heart.

@DimestoreDiamond It is quite eye-opening the “rules and restrictions” we apply to ourselves when trying to be cis men. Moving into nonbinary allows you to do all the things you avoided because”men don’t do that” or “Men are not supposed to like those.” #Liberating

It’s taken me less than a week to completely disrupt my sleep schedule. Oops! Trying not to stress about it. I’ll try to get back on track next week when I start job hunting.

I’ve just been staying up late, #editing #photos the last two nights, and I’ve found myself enjoying the process to much to want to go to bed! I haven’t felt this #creative in so long and it’s #wonderful and #liberating.

Next week one day, I may take myself on another wee field trip, to The Cloisters in Washington Heights. A breathtaking collection of medieval art and architecture. One of the galleries is the 12th century Spanish chapel, Fuentidueña. It had fallen into disrepair in Spain, so John D. Rockefeller spent 30 years negotiating to acquire it for the museum. He was finally successful, and had it dismantled, catalogued, and shipped it, piece by piece to NYC so it could be faithfully reconstructed in Washington Heights. It’s magnificent. The #Cloisters is another one of my favorite places to #photograph and it’s been ages since I’ve been there. That would be great!

#GreyHair #Ageism #Liberating Finally letting the grey hairs come thru... It's quite liberating

I don't #Tweet much anyway. The #toxicity of the #birdsite has always made me wary of posting anything.

It feels so #liberating to #toot here because the #vibe here is just #better!

If you're hanging onto an account there thinking you'll go back I would encourage you to just end it. I know I'm never going back!

Here's the link to do so. https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/how-to-deactivate-twitter-account#deactivating-your-twitter

Three months after having surgery to repair a broken hip my wife is driving with me as a passenger. Very #liberating for both of us!

@AngstMaven Not your circus, not your monkeys 😁 #liberating

How #liberating is it going to be when:

You can comfortably watch a #film that isn't immaculately presented, because none are.

You can laugh at a #skitShow that's a bit rough around the edges, because everyone is.

You can pickup #local #indyNews that is not perfectly planned and layed-out, because few things are.

- - -

When there are no massive money pumps, maybe we will be #happier and make do better, with what we **do have**.

@titi
Thanks, for this Fediverse flyer.

It might be nice to have a translation, but only if you have time. If we do a flyer it will be A5, and light on text.

We don't want to spend much energy on #GAFCAM. As that may lead us to use a negative tone at a time when we want to excite the reader to discover what they've been missing all these years. Our focus will be on the #liberating and #decentralised aspects of Fedi.

@tuttle