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neptunecrystalWhat I’ve learned after my own internet-based western “astrological” information absorption:
Birth charts and past lives and reincarnation stuff can get really dicey real quick…i myself dont even know the full picture when it comes to astrology, hence why i have worked to not over obsess and over analyze astrology, because of what it can cause in my own mind with over-analysis paralysis… so yes, while astrology can provide language for self-understanding and self-sense making, certain interpretations in the mouths of those with no fears for their own freedom/lives and/or no fears on behalf of the lives of others are “playing with fire” so to speak, spreading something that can inflame kindling in the hearts and minds of those who can use that fire against someone or to control someone’s actions and decision making process, and that kind of interpretation of what was once an ancient science may not always be in the interest of the querent … again this is the worst scenario/expression of this that i am discussing, NOT ALL PEOPLE / NOT ALL CASES of online spiritual information seeking behavior is of this variety …but the variety I am discussing, it can be very irresponsible and dangerous, for outsiders looking in on a person and using interpretations, and innocently using an ancient tool, but it can also cause pain that the individual might self-inflict, i say these things bc of what i’ve observed of astrological clickbait on youtube (spotify, internet search engines etc), and also of my own previous spiritual information behavior, which i have sought in the past and sometimes occasionally still do because i have very often not had the kind of person to provide that for me, such a person wasnt always readily accessible and available when i needed them, and i’ve been working to use those spiritual tools from less of a fear-based place. and have also found SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY with the Quakers which has helped to lessen my reliance on material/physical spiritual goods and services. I do still use them! I just am attuned to when I am over-relying and using out of fear/anxiety. and that’s why i sometimes might watch a number of a channel’s videos so that i get a feel for the kind of “reader” they are and if i can hear that they use language or even if they put it in the title, that aims to sensationalize and fear-monger, i am suspicious. So it’s been important to find a few creators that i did “trust” in a way that i can’t quite explain, in the past and sometimes still now, not as much, because i’ve gotten more and more in touch with my own inner voice and trust it and allow it to release words, and that self strength and self trust continues to slowly build day by day, i may always be working on that:
So again, i am discussing the information behavior of both online spiritual “gurus”/“readers”/etc as well as online spiritual seekers… behavior that reflects a motivation/drive/desire to control others and monopolize attention via fear, sensationalizing, etc… they are also able to make money off it on youtube (or spotify or whatever, any commodified social media-advertising platform with influencers) as long as they have a “legal disclaimer” and of course section 230 so they just get away with it and are profiting, so what else is new right lol, but i mean, maybe they’re well meaning, i guess? cause they’re curious about a spiritual tool and a spiritual worldview that does resonate for them on some level and are exploring, and they’re also trying to provide for themselves and put food on the table while working from home as a youtube content creator…. Realizing as I’m journaling/writing about this, my thought and emotional reasoning process just confirms to me that I am a Quaker
but another side of me thinks, hey... i'm all for people providing for themselves financially through work believe me... and i'm all for cultural diffusion and learning and growth and all those pretty wonderful joyful things of a global and interconnected society. but if we're talking about the spiritual-intellectual property of a country that was colonized by English speakers being co-opted by English-speaking internet "businesspeople" who have not studied the origins of the tools, being used towards revenue collection, malice, hate, misguidance, misdirection, incitement of violence in thought and in act/deed, extortion of funds through the vehicles of predatory advertising and spiritually lost citizens? I might call that something that causes some psychological damages to the people on the receiving end, and damage indirectly to the original keepers of that sacred knowledge who DID know how to appropriately handle it, and the owners of that sacred knowledge are due financial compensation for the misuse of information and knowledge by people to whom it does NOT "rightly" (rite-ly, as in RITE) belong and who cannot prove DNA-based or documentational ancestry.
A legal disclaimer, actually, deeply, in my belief system, and in my opinion, may not, in the deepest sense, absolve you of responsibility. it should not be construed as such, because why you might ask??? well....
India's ancient sciences, scriptures, language, intonation, EVERYTHING of its culture is the home frequency of my parents' ears, and their parents' ears, and deep in my bones and in my soul, my ears. My ears are also attuned to the sounds of America and its promises and principles, i've lived HERE in the US my whole life, not in India (though, i was born there). but it's hard, it's really really hard, to be caught in between both, and to not feel like i belong fully to either. the sounds and tones and words of Sanskrit that gave rise to the practices and thinking and ultimately, the behaviors we display and the way we move in the world and the way we spiritually live in the world.... that language is the language of the spiritual backdrop and cosmology that is the current that runs through Indian peoples' and families' lives, from cradle to grave. those words deliver individuals and families through sacred rites of passage, that are important for all people to experience of course, but those words and tonalities and the authority to speak them were of the most sacred responsibility because they ensured human life entered safely, journeyed safely, and finally, passed on to the next safely, in the form of the performing of last rites. and if it's being distorted in the language of the colonizers to inflame people to hate and malice and fear and continued confusion and delusion because those creators need to make money to provide for themselves an their lifestyles???????? WTF???????!!!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING????????? JUST CAUSE IT'S WRITTEN IN THE "LAW" THAT YOU'RE OFF THE HOOK FOR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANNA SAY ONLINE, THAT SOMEHOW MAKES IT MORALLY OK ??????!?!???!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?! LOL NOOO!!!!!!!!!! STOP, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but like I think if you're using it in respectful cooperation and understanding and in the interest of learning and humbling yourself, and using it towards the common good and if what you are doing can in no way be misconstrued or reasoned by others to be and malicious, that's a different thing entirely...or like if you are making a lot of good money off of it and not being malicious, could you at least like donate it or something idk? I acknowledge that I am referring to ancient hindu peoples and do not speak on behalf of the many other spiritual communities and identity groups in India, of which I am not as informed and knowledgeable. I also acknowledge that the astrological sciences were present in additional regions of the fertile crescent/mesopotamia so I acknolwedge that my perspective is limited from that lens of interpretation. i am limited.
All of that to say......
The only person who really knows who you are and were and can be… is YOU
you are you, in THIS life. Who you were, are, and will be, and how you will be remembered is ON YOUR TERMS AND NO ONE ELSE’S, NOT EVEN AN ASTROLOGER, like if you want it to be on their *terms*/if you want to make your choices based on THEIR “terms and conditions” that’s your CHOICE to accept or reject, but you have the choice to reject!!!!!!!
Yes obviously we live in community and in relationship and are shaped by and in turn shape others, yes, that is inherent to life, but that dynamic relies on our own self expression being guided by your own inner truth and moral compass
Astrologers and spiritual teachers are not authority figures, they are simply “consultants” “advisers” “suggestors” (not a word lol) …. They are PEOPLE. They are HUMAN BEINGS just as flawed and imperfect and with their own psychological “baggage” as anyone, regardless of whether they acknowledge it or not
You are living THIS life, you are not who *anyone* tells you you “were in a past life” or who you will be in your next or anything like that
Who knows, in the deeper cosmology of the human endeavor there may be those cycles of time and “karma” but you are only to be concerned with the personal actions you take and how you treat others in kind IN THIS LIFE OF A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME
What you are here to exponentially-multi-generationally pay back karmically or whatever is none of your business in this life and it’s especially not theirs
No one knows what we’re REALLY doing when it comes to the answers to these kinds of questions, when we are in the grips of fear and looking for answers and clues and trying to make sense of it all… ok NO ONE KNOWS, we’re all just trying to figure it out together
Ok being Indian and all this stuff about the caste system blah blah blah… I can’t summarize it all but HAYDEN J BELLENOIT’S A HISTORY OF BRITISH INDIA DOES A SUPERB JOB…basically, the British took what wasn't theirs in many ways, including the way the caste system has come to "be known" popularly, it wasn't always like that before they came apparently.... so from internet searches and my own parents telling me:
Pathak means READER, or teacher/preceptor… historically priests but in the many years since, have done MANY other jobs
Tiwari comes from TRI VEDAS, the 3 vedas, also historically priestly, but also associated again with MANY other jobs and also with freedom fighters
That’s what makes me and my siblings and my nuclear family different from all my cousins and extended family and uncles/aunts. We may all be "Pathaks" but we all have DIFFERENT MOMS // we may be related to dad's sister's family but they have a DIFFERENT DAD
We are "Pathak-Tiwaris"
how long do you think this would've taken to get published in an academic journal??
Birth charts and past lives and reincarnation stuff can get really dicey real quick…i myself dont even know the full picture when it comes to astrology, hence why i have worked to not over obsess and over analyze astrology, because of what it can cause in my own mind with over-analysis paralysis… so yes, while astrology can provide language for self-understanding and self-sense making, certain interpretations in the mouths of those with no fears for their own freedom/lives and/or no fears on behalf of the lives of others are “playing with fire” so to speak, spreading something that can inflame kindling in the hearts and minds of those who can use that fire against someone or to control someone’s actions and decision making process, and that kind of interpretation of what was once an ancient science may not always be in the interest of the querent … again this is the worst scenario/expression of this that i am discussing, NOT ALL PEOPLE / NOT ALL CASES of online spiritual information seeking behavior is of this variety …but the variety I am discussing, it can be very irresponsible and dangerous, for outsiders looking in on a person and using interpretations, and innocently using an ancient tool, but it can also cause pain that the individual might self-inflict, i say these things bc of what i’ve observed of astrological clickbait on youtube (spotify, internet search engines etc), and also of my own previous spiritual information behavior, which i have sought in the past and sometimes occasionally still do because i have very often not had the kind of person to provide that for me, such a person wasnt always readily accessible and available when i needed them, and i’ve been working to use those spiritual tools from less of a fear-based place. and have also found SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY with the Quakers which has helped to lessen my reliance on material/physical spiritual goods and services. I do still use them! I just am attuned to when I am over-relying and using out of fear/anxiety. and that’s why i sometimes might watch a number of a channel’s videos so that i get a feel for the kind of “reader” they are and if i can hear that they use language or even if they put it in the title, that aims to sensationalize and fear-monger, i am suspicious. So it’s been important to find a few creators that i did “trust” in a way that i can’t quite explain, in the past and sometimes still now, not as much, because i’ve gotten more and more in touch with my own inner voice and trust it and allow it to release words, and that self strength and self trust continues to slowly build day by day, i may always be working on that:
So again, i am discussing the information behavior of both online spiritual “gurus”/“readers”/etc as well as online spiritual seekers… behavior that reflects a motivation/drive/desire to control others and monopolize attention via fear, sensationalizing, etc… they are also able to make money off it on youtube (or spotify or whatever, any commodified social media-advertising platform with influencers) as long as they have a “legal disclaimer” and of course section 230 so they just get away with it and are profiting, so what else is new right lol, but i mean, maybe they’re well meaning, i guess? cause they’re curious about a spiritual tool and a spiritual worldview that does resonate for them on some level and are exploring, and they’re also trying to provide for themselves and put food on the table while working from home as a youtube content creator…. Realizing as I’m journaling/writing about this, my thought and emotional reasoning process just confirms to me that I am a Quaker
but another side of me thinks, hey... i'm all for people providing for themselves financially through work believe me... and i'm all for cultural diffusion and learning and growth and all those pretty wonderful joyful things of a global and interconnected society. but if we're talking about the spiritual-intellectual property of a country that was colonized by English speakers being co-opted by English-speaking internet "businesspeople" who have not studied the origins of the tools, being used towards revenue collection, malice, hate, misguidance, misdirection, incitement of violence in thought and in act/deed, extortion of funds through the vehicles of predatory advertising and spiritually lost citizens? I might call that something that causes some psychological damages to the people on the receiving end, and damage indirectly to the original keepers of that sacred knowledge who DID know how to appropriately handle it, and the owners of that sacred knowledge are due financial compensation for the misuse of information and knowledge by people to whom it does NOT "rightly" (rite-ly, as in RITE) belong and who cannot prove DNA-based or documentational ancestry.
A legal disclaimer, actually, deeply, in my belief system, and in my opinion, may not, in the deepest sense, absolve you of responsibility. it should not be construed as such, because why you might ask??? well....
India's ancient sciences, scriptures, language, intonation, EVERYTHING of its culture is the home frequency of my parents' ears, and their parents' ears, and deep in my bones and in my soul, my ears. My ears are also attuned to the sounds of America and its promises and principles, i've lived HERE in the US my whole life, not in India (though, i was born there). but it's hard, it's really really hard, to be caught in between both, and to not feel like i belong fully to either. the sounds and tones and words of Sanskrit that gave rise to the practices and thinking and ultimately, the behaviors we display and the way we move in the world and the way we spiritually live in the world.... that language is the language of the spiritual backdrop and cosmology that is the current that runs through Indian peoples' and families' lives, from cradle to grave. those words deliver individuals and families through sacred rites of passage, that are important for all people to experience of course, but those words and tonalities and the authority to speak them were of the most sacred responsibility because they ensured human life entered safely, journeyed safely, and finally, passed on to the next safely, in the form of the performing of last rites. and if it's being distorted in the language of the colonizers to inflame people to hate and malice and fear and continued confusion and delusion because those creators need to make money to provide for themselves an their lifestyles???????? WTF???????!!!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING????????? JUST CAUSE IT'S WRITTEN IN THE "LAW" THAT YOU'RE OFF THE HOOK FOR WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANNA SAY ONLINE, THAT SOMEHOW MAKES IT MORALLY OK ??????!?!???!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?! LOL NOOO!!!!!!!!!! STOP, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but like I think if you're using it in respectful cooperation and understanding and in the interest of learning and humbling yourself, and using it towards the common good and if what you are doing can in no way be misconstrued or reasoned by others to be and malicious, that's a different thing entirely...or like if you are making a lot of good money off of it and not being malicious, could you at least like donate it or something idk? I acknowledge that I am referring to ancient hindu peoples and do not speak on behalf of the many other spiritual communities and identity groups in India, of which I am not as informed and knowledgeable. I also acknowledge that the astrological sciences were present in additional regions of the fertile crescent/mesopotamia so I acknolwedge that my perspective is limited from that lens of interpretation. i am limited.
All of that to say......
The only person who really knows who you are and were and can be… is YOU
you are you, in THIS life. Who you were, are, and will be, and how you will be remembered is ON YOUR TERMS AND NO ONE ELSE’S, NOT EVEN AN ASTROLOGER, like if you want it to be on their *terms*/if you want to make your choices based on THEIR “terms and conditions” that’s your CHOICE to accept or reject, but you have the choice to reject!!!!!!!
Yes obviously we live in community and in relationship and are shaped by and in turn shape others, yes, that is inherent to life, but that dynamic relies on our own self expression being guided by your own inner truth and moral compass
Astrologers and spiritual teachers are not authority figures, they are simply “consultants” “advisers” “suggestors” (not a word lol) …. They are PEOPLE. They are HUMAN BEINGS just as flawed and imperfect and with their own psychological “baggage” as anyone, regardless of whether they acknowledge it or not
You are living THIS life, you are not who *anyone* tells you you “were in a past life” or who you will be in your next or anything like that
Who knows, in the deeper cosmology of the human endeavor there may be those cycles of time and “karma” but you are only to be concerned with the personal actions you take and how you treat others in kind IN THIS LIFE OF A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME
What you are here to exponentially-multi-generationally pay back karmically or whatever is none of your business in this life and it’s especially not theirs
No one knows what we’re REALLY doing when it comes to the answers to these kinds of questions, when we are in the grips of fear and looking for answers and clues and trying to make sense of it all… ok NO ONE KNOWS, we’re all just trying to figure it out together
Ok being Indian and all this stuff about the caste system blah blah blah… I can’t summarize it all but HAYDEN J BELLENOIT’S A HISTORY OF BRITISH INDIA DOES A SUPERB JOB…basically, the British took what wasn't theirs in many ways, including the way the caste system has come to "be known" popularly, it wasn't always like that before they came apparently.... so from internet searches and my own parents telling me:
Pathak means READER, or teacher/preceptor… historically priests but in the many years since, have done MANY other jobs
Tiwari comes from TRI VEDAS, the 3 vedas, also historically priestly, but also associated again with MANY other jobs and also with freedom fighters
That’s what makes me and my siblings and my nuclear family different from all my cousins and extended family and uncles/aunts. We may all be "Pathaks" but we all have DIFFERENT MOMS // we may be related to dad's sister's family but they have a DIFFERENT DAD
We are "Pathak-Tiwaris"
how long do you think this would've taken to get published in an academic journal??
