Now don't get me wrong.  I know what you say is true as I've been there and am still in there in some respects.  I just know that reinforcing the idea that it's very tough will just keep it very tough.  It's probably even tougher to jump over that hump and work towards making it easier.

So I feel you.  I empathize because I know it first hand.  And sometimes that's what we need.  Someone that will empathize with us.  It can ease the discord.  It can take some of the weight off.  And I will gladly take on some of that weight for you.  I will gladly empathize with you so you know you are not alone in your thoughts or feelings.  To help a little more just know that I've been on this path for 14 years.  That's a long time to just get to where I'm at now.

And if what I say doesn't ring true then please disregard it immediately.  Each path is unique.  You have my respect by merely jumping in and expressing yourself.

And as much as I do agree with you, Natural Mystic, in my experience that only works to a certain degree.  There comes a time when one must step up and say, “No!  THIS is the line and you will not cross it.” 

Does the shepherd walk away from the sheep, leave it to satisfy the appetite of the wolf and then suffer a loss to the flock?  Or does s/he find a solution, through trial and error, knowing there will be casualties along the way?  Guide them to safer pastures…build a fence…rid the land of the pack somehow...whatever it takes.

Yes oavada, s/he who fights should be careful, absolutely.  But to have no care at all and let monsters run amok is not the answer for me.  Not anymore.

What a wonderful tool though.  To own the monster.  To accept the gift of the 'predator's mind'.  I'm thankful for the gift.  It has been an invaluable tool.  It provided the perfect contrast to see where I wanted to be.

some people can do it and some cant...ive dealt with tons of it in yoga, assimilated extremely violent energy in to myself...it gets tougher to face every day..i assume most people shy away from it. I think if you can maintain a cool mind you wont have to deal with it too much...very tough to do tho in todays fast paced world..

lilmomma wrote:

Now the question is…can I stomach it?  I don’t know for sure but I intend to find out.  It's time for me to learn the kind of stuff I’m made of. 

[

Id advise against that.....;) I said that too. Here's my quote for you:

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you."

I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this.  You may be correct and I may be wrong.  However, I have testing this many times in real life.  So here's my take.  Again, just my perspective to add to the mix.

Do not fight monsters.  Embrace them.  Understand them.  Appreciate them for what they have to offer.  Upon this you then do become the monster.  But not in the way that's implied with your quote.  You own that aspect.  Therefore, it can never control you.  It can never sneek up on you in the middle of the night and bind your hands and steal you belongings.  It is part of you because you took it on by understanding it.  I own the monster.  But I don't act from that.  In fact, I don't really have the capacity to act from it.

What a wonderful tool though.  To own the monster.  To accept the gift of the 'predator's mind'.  I'm thankful for the gift.  It has been an invaluable tool.  It provided the perfect contrast to see where I wanted to be.

z3n3rg wrote:

The secret (i've found) is to provide them with diminishing returns.  If their energy input exceeds what they get from you then at some point they will be forced to concede and move on.

I think that this is true, but tricky and complex, because once you realize the dynamics of this, you have to walk away from almost everything and put 0 energy back toward people, which creates an even deeper feeling of separation. There are people who feed on people ("people, people who feed on people, are the luckiest... ") who are compelled by pain, feeding the pain body, so they will target someone as a vector of attack who will either fight with anger and feed their negative pain body, or walk and feed their negative pain body through rejection. So, either way, you are drawn into a dynamic of feeding someone's pain addiction whether you engage or cut off engagement. If you give them and their "things" no energy input, it still feeds a negative pattern, because it creates a dynamic of pain and separation for both people, either way. Think about all the time we all spend trying to disengage from energy vampires, as belljar puts it. All the time spent healing from these interactions. There has got to be a better way to get off the roller coaster ride before we even get on it, but how to do this without being alienated from everyone and everything. That is the quesiton I have worked on for a long time, and meditation has not been the answer for me .-lala

It's true that much is walked away from.  I also think the energy dynamic as you explain above is true.  A tricky wicket for sure.

By walking away one also lowers their own vibration because they are refusing something that has been asked of them.  Whether that something is wisdom or slavery doesn't matter.

Going to the end of the logic on this one I have to conclude, if only temporarily, that we have to choose the better of two not-so-good options.  Ending a dynamic that perpetuates the other entities decline and facilitates our own decline would obviously be the better of the two options.

Thinking about it further my idea of "walking away" may involve other things that haven't been taken into account here.  I don't merely walk away.  I know that even the most hardened of hearts has the capacity for equal exchange of mutual benefit.  So that's the avenue I explore first.  I will attempt to explain where I'm at and guage reactions.  I will employ logic and subtle hints to let the person know I'm not willing to share their dynamic of pain because that's not who I am.  Ultimately, a choice is presented to the individual.  I've found that most will subconsciously make the choice of staying in thier dynamic.  When that choice has been made then I will say my piece and walk away.

However, I've had several friends and a parent that were energy vampires.  They realized that what I was doing was accepting them for who they were but was not about to allow them to change who I am.  And surprisingly they accepted that.  They still fed off others when I was around.  I ignored it because I accepted them.  From my acceptance, their respect for me increased and I could actually see them struggle at particular times to stop their automatic feeding where I was concerned.  Just to clarify, before completely ignoring their feeding on others I would point it out and test their reactions.  I would only pursue further if the door was opened.  Otherwise I would simply accept them for all they are and all they do.

I'll try to address your last question more directly.  Just my perspective here of course.  First part of the answer is "it's a process".  I have found no silver bullet for stopping the "roller coaster" before it happens.  What I have found is that the more in tune with the good vibrations (love, joy, peace, acceptance, gratitude, appreciation, harmony, etc) the less likely I was to be targetted for negative energy exchange.  It's like trying to give a salad to a great white shark.  They aren't interested.

And meditation doesn't work for this stuff I've found.  In fact, I don't trully meditate as it's often defined.  My meditation would be more apply called "communion".  I've done actual meditation in the past but for different reasons.  I was working on better control of my thoughts, emotions, and some physical aspects such as being able to put myself into sleep paralysis. 

The communion can be done anywhere at anytime.  It's a place of peace I created within that holds all the joy I've collected.  It contains all the epiphanies.  It contains all the 'dark nights of the soul'.  It's a place where the paradoxes have been resolved.  It's a place where "everything under the sun is in tune".  I can enter that place while sitting in rush-hour traffic in 90 degree heat with no A/C while having to run the heater to keep the car from overheating while being stuck with no place to pull over and let the car rest.

I must say that meditation is only a way to tap into something deeper within.  The lessons of interaction still have to be learned in real-life interactions.  As one strives for refinement in these areas then epiphanies will come when they are most likely to be integrated.  Without the real world effort of refining self, meditation probably won't do much of anything (of value).

Now the question is…can I stomach it?  I don’t know for sure but I intend to find out.  It's time for me to learn the kind of stuff I’m made of. 

[

Id advise against that.....;) I said that too. Here's my quote for you:

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you."

oavada, not to be condescending, but you must be seeing by now that merely by being in those environments, virtual or real, you are offering yourself up to just primal and incendiary exchanges, so this begs the question, why do you continue?

If by keeping doing this, you think you are staying in a social clique, or maintaining a personality status on Myspace-- you are ripe pickins'. My advice.....walk away. And do it right quick while you still have eyes to see the manipulations, keep feeding them and the thirdsight will go dim. Many of us have been thru this, make it easier on yourself.                                                  J

youre right, i know...it's hard to let go sometimes...i think computers and the internet in general are pretty damaging if you sit for more than a few hours a day at them..it's always better to remain active of course.

Personally, I prefer neither.  So I ask myself, what else is there?  What about the shepherd?  Trouble is, in order to become the shepherd one must first appreciate the nature of the beast.  Now the question is…can I stomach it?  I don’t know for sure but I intend to find out.  It's time for me to learn the kind of stuff I’m made of. 

I think that this is true, but tricky and complex, because once you realize the dynamics of this, you have to walk away from almost everything and put 0 energy back toward people, which creates an even deeper feeling of separation. There are people who feed on people ("people, people who feed on people, are the luckiest... ") who are compelled by pain, feeding the pain body, so they will target someone as a vector of attack who will either fight with anger and feed their negative pain body, or walk and feed their negative pain body through rejection. So, either way, you are drawn into a dynamic of feeding someone's pain addiction whether you engage or cut off engagement. If you give them and their "things" no energy input, it still feeds a negative pattern, because it creates a dynamic of pain and separation for both people, either way. Think about all the time we all spend trying to disengage from energy vampires, as belljar puts it. All the time spent healing from these interactions. There has got to be a better way to get off the roller coaster ride before we even get on it, but how to do this without being alienated from everyone and everything. That is the quesiton I have worked on for a long time, and meditation has not been the answer for me .-lala

If by keeping doing this, you think you are staying in a social clique, or maintaining a personality status on Myspace-- you are ripe pickins'. My advice.....walk away. And do it right quick while you still have eyes to see the manipulations, keep feeding them and the thirdsight will go dim. Many of us have been thru this, make it easier on yourself.                                                  J

They are just vampires and know how to get their drug of choice (loosh) they don't deserve it they just steal it. Try building yourself up and cleaning yourself up with the various methods. Better diet, excercise, meditation, awareness, etc. It's an infinite war and you can't let your guard down for a moment or here they come.

RIGHT...they just rob you without conscience...When they pick at you they gain a bit of your life, if they kill you mentally they get your life, and some of them do it so well that they just drain you...you gotta figure at some point tho theyll run out of victims...or theyll just move on to some other place to feed.