Fringe- what does it mean?

Fringe means to me, not fit for immediate digestion. Maybe for some, starting young enough or possessing an old enough soul is their headstart.
NR has been antacid for the soul. Unfortunately there will be a few who never stumble upon such medicine. Their aches may fester, or they may decide never to eat of the Fringe again. Hopefully it won't cost them a return trip, spiritually speaking.

Fringe is one of those words I don't think I've ever used in actual discussion with friends, regarding the esoteric. I think that's because using a word like that belittles the truer meaning.

As in, this is knowledge we have always had. We are only calling upon whatever sources are available to help us assimilate, or digest and integrate truth in our own lives. So Fringe implies that this is new info, and is to be reacted upon as "shocking" and "controversial!" by our once, blinded-by-conditioning selves. I've learned that the faster one can treat this as "normal, accepted" knowledge, the faster one can integrate it.

This does not mean you need to understand every bit of it instantly. And it may mean starting from the ground up. That, is in my opinion the #1 aversion most intelligent people have in pursuing ideas that tug at them. They know that once you have been forced to discard one significant distruth, there are probably many more distortions at least. But it's not enough for them to want to "burn the house down", because the one they live in may have some flaws, some quirks, but it is somewhat familiar and comfortable.

That is, until that cheaply made abode begins to crumble. We ignore the little things. Doors falling off hinges. Eh, put a bedsheet up, we'll fix that later.
Finally the foundation cracks, now this home is unsuitable for living in.

At that point we need to make a decision. Expend vast amounts of money and time in attempt to get the house back to the shape it was. Knowing that for all the effort, it may never be better than the original.

Or, knock it down, all the way to fresh soil, and spend substantially more time and energy. Knowing if that option is taken, we may fully customize it.

That's right. You're the architect, foreman, laborer, and interior decorator if you choose it. One hell of a project. But the accomplishment of multiple lifetimes.

Our choices on WHERE we may build may be limited. Seems like SOMEONE owns every last parcel (intellectual property, belief systems etc.) but how we build is of our own freewill.

Fringe in a sane world would be the accepted norm, of course. The word itself is useful, to a point. I'm not bashing the term, but maybe too many of us let it carry that label for too long. It serves to separate and isolate somewhat, which in the beginning stages of digestion, is alright.

You know what they say, "no swimming 'til 45 minutes after you've eaten"

After that, it is probably wise to get up and move.

If it sounds like I'm preaching here, I don't mean to. I am trying to give the best advice I can think to give the newbies. And use it myself as a reminder, because I seldom take my own.

You are fully capable of "blending in" wherever you are not comfortable in dispensing various information. No one expects you to become an overnight activist or anything, unless that is your calling. Most of us know what happens to protesters nowadays.

If the benefit outweighs the risk, is one thing I have always asked myself. If I didn't think the benefits outweighed the risks, I never would have made it as far as NR. I was attracted to the Fringe "didn't I just tell you not to use that word!" -- And forever grateful.

Chime in?

J