It’s been over a decade since I was contacted by a scammer to participate in a sneeze study. He is still at it and another victim posted on my original blog post today. I created this short, with the help of Grok, to spread the word.
Please like it and share it so YouTube will present it to more people. He used to target healers, but who knows what he is up to now.
This morning I completed the last course in the behavioral health degree program I’ve been attending full time for the past year and a half. The Associates of Applied Science in Addictions and Substance Use Disorders will be my first degree in a “soft” science and I am curious to discover when, where and how I will be using my new knowledge.
While the information about the pharmacology of drugs was fascinating, for instance even one use of some drugs can “permanently” change nerve functioning in the brain, the program was first and foremost a preparation course for counselors. As such I learned a lot of therapeutic skills and tools for assisting people in their change process. Of course I also learned that, while there is evidence to suggest treatment programs and counseling work, there is no definitive scientific evidence of how they work. It makes me wonder, what people have made so significant about science. Is there a better use of the energy that is currently invested in creating, promoting and proving evidence-based practices?
Speaking about investment of energy, about half way through the degree I decided that I had gotten all I wanted from the program. I thought further energy investment wasn’t going to pay off. However, when I went to withdraw, I found I couldn’t let go. Part of me wanted to continue. Such it is with me. I was able to honor that part without judgement.
What grand adventure is next?
I have been noticing thoughts arising recently that are telling me that it is impossible for me to reach shamata. The thoughts were also pointing out without mental stability I would not be able to progress to enlightenment. I knew it was time to talk back to my mind and I needed ammunition. I went directly to my teacher (aka Google) and put in the search terms: “unable to reach shamata”.
One of my favorite sites, The Benzin Archives, popped up on the first page with a catchy page title of “Achieving Shamatha“. Now, much of the information was review for me, but I enjoyed the comparisons between the objects used in the different Tibetan schools of Buddhism. This was useful since my primary background is Gelug, but I have been recently studying Dzogchen.
My favorite part of the presentation was advice from Master Shantideva:
Steadfastness (brtan) or self-confidence (nga-rgyal) comes from examining if we are capable of achieving the goal and, being convinced that we are, applying ourselves steadily, even though progress goes up and down.
The part I like about Shantideva’s advice is that he thinks that self-examination could only lead to the conclusion that one is capable of the goal, while I’ve concluded that I am incapable of achieving the goal. The very absence of advice to people that are hopeless suggests that I am capable, regardless of past experience.
So if I am capable, where do I need to work? I am currently at stage four and shamata is stage 10. Perfect advice for me is:
Mental flightiness (rgod-pa, agitation), a subcategory of mental wandering (rnam-g.yeng) or distraction (‘phro-ba), is a fault of the mental placement on the object due to desire or attachment.
Yes, that is just the issue I talked about yesterday. I have an increase in desire arising from the expansive energy of spring. This is leading to a “fault in mental placement” since my mind is dancing with the energy. Yet, the antidote for this is just what I am doing – reaffirming how sexy and attractive shamata and enlightenment are.