Memo from Osama

19 Nov 2001

Someone sent me this today...

RL

 Cave Memo
 
 From: Bin Laden, Osama
 
 Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 8:17 AM
 
 To: Cavemates
 
 Subject: The Cave
 
 Hi guys. We've all been putting in long hours but we've
 really come together as a group and I love that. Big thanks to Omar
 for putting up the poster that says "There is no I in team" as
 well as the one that says "Hang In There, Baby." That cat is
 hilarious. However, while we are fighting a jihad, we can't
 forget to take care of the cave. And frankly I have a few
 concerns.
 
 First of all, while it's good to be concerned about cruise
 missiles, we should be even more concerned about the
 scorpions in our cave. Hey, you don't want to be stung and neither do I
 so we need to sweep the cave daily. I've posted a sign up sheet
 near the main cave opening.
 
 Second, it's not often I make a video address but when I do,
 I'm trying to scare the most powerful country on earth, okay?
 That means that while we're taping, please do not ride your razor
 scooter in the background. Just while we're taping. Thanks.
 
 Third point, and this is a touchy one. As you know, by
 edict, we're not supposed to shave our beards. But I need everyone
 to just think hygiene, especially after mealtime. We're all in
 this together.
 
 Fourth: food. I bought a box of Cheez-Its recently, clearly
 wrote "Osama" on the front, and put it on the top shelf. Today, my
 Cheez-Its were gone. Consideration. That's all I'm saying.
 
 Finally, we've heard that there may be American soldiers in
 disguise trying to infiltrate our ranks. We need to be vigilant,
 I want to set up patrols to look for them. First patrol will be
 Omar, Muhammed, Abdul, Akbar, and Richard.
 
 Love you lots.
 
 Osama

 

_______________________

Dear Red,

Thanks for sending this post. It helped me to have another picture of HOW people denigrate their enemies in their minds, thereby making themselves less frightened of them.

It also showed how to use humor for war propaganda. It also showed how we can make a subtle connection in a seemingly innocent way - Idiots should be warred against for their stupidity. "They deserve it" argument.

Now, this was what I got out of it: how stuff like this "Yankee Doodle" crap is part of the war machine running inside people's minds, and outside them, too..

It gave me a much better perspective of just how insane our rationales are for killing or hating (or justifying our crimes by hating and deriding) others.

I didn't like getting this in the mail from you at first, but then I dug deeper than my anger and found lots of riches that weren't on the surface of my reaction. And what I learned from my reaction, and all of this other stuff was underneath. It even made me angry at you at first, that you would be one of those laughing at this kind of stuff and passing it on, fueling it, and then I realized that my anger was melting into compassion for you, that perhaps you hadn't seen the pain that this kind of deriding justification for hatred and violence against others causes. It also made me see inside myself how the laughter at the ridiculous is all part of Key 15, no praise no blame. It is how we use it that is so important. That was one of the subjects in this months' Lantern from BOTA on the qliphoth.

So, thank you for such an educational post, and another reminder that my Self will always take experiences and teach me what I need with them. I hope that you got something out of it too, and your reaction to it, and your reaction to this post.

your sister in the Work, L.

_______________________

Thank you Lisa,

You post gave me a great chuckle....

You GOT IT!

"In the occult field, many aspirants seem to have learned that they should block out the Qlippoth levels; that is, they should put up certain protection, and keep certain things and people away. However, this is not the true Way. Rather, the real work lies in developing the ability not to be buffeted and torn and disrupted by the Qlippoth energies, which pound on us continuously. We do not bring these energies into proper balance by isolating ourselves. For a short time, putting up a 'ring pass not' may seem to be effective. However, this isn't the way of love, and isn't the way of transmutation [...] As we said earlier, love is the Way, and the secret of love, the secret of sacrifice, is to so love humanity - tortured, weeping, wailing, agonized humanity; bitter, hating, intolerant humanity - to so love and have such compassion for them that we joyously give ourselves as the sacrifice to help them, knowing that thy are not separate from ourselves. This is the real secret of attainment." (from a lecture from Ann Davies, 5/5/55 from the Fall 2001 issue of "The Lantern")

RL 
(a.k.a "Darth" and his "Renewing Intelligence")

_______________________

 

____MIKE____
I agree that there is no need for anger, although I don't agree that it is a kind of humor that is what is meant by MIRTH in Key 15. Key 15 is laughing at our own attachments and illusions, not laughing at others. 

___RED_LION___
Mirth deflates the devil, where ever we find him - be it the "Evil One" or our own reactions to the supposed missteps of our supposedly lesser evolved brethren.

Please look again.

RL

 

____MIKE____
I also disagree that we should be quiet about these posts and act as if it is okay to denigrate people because people would be offended at our speaking up. 

___RED_LION___
Remove all "shoulds" from one's vocabulary and what are you left with?

You are left with what you want.

RL

 

____MIKE____
Making fun of ANYONE or excluding ANYONE is initially disgusting and, in the end, unenlightened.  Especially when it is done under political auspices, religious auspices, or mystical auspices. As a result, I am clearly labeling quite a few lies being told across the planet at this time as unenlightened.

___RED_LION___
You are clearly labeling, but are you labeling clearly?

Perhaps Looking and seeking to understand is more important than labeling what we think we see.

After all, if it's got a label on it, why look further?

RL

 

____MIKE____
In addition, as more and more people are using the political climate to act out their hatreds along skin-color, racial, religious, cultural, ethnic, political, philosophical and other lines. 

___RED_LION___
Perhaps here lies the crux of the matter.

Where is it getting worse Mike?

Who or what is the fearsome adversary?

Red Lion wants to know.

RL

 

> > > You GOT IT! 

____MIKE____
No, I don't see the relationship. 

___RED_LION___
To emerge victorious, one must find and win-over the adversary within them self. External situations which bring out and make conscious this adversary within are gifts, although often only recognized as such after one is able to successfully transmute it.

RL

 

> > > "In the occult field, many aspirants seem to have learned that they should > block out the Qlippoth levels; that is, they should put up certain > protection, and keep certain things and people away. However, this is not > the true Way. Rather, the real work lies in developing the ability not to > be buffeted and torn and disrupted by the Qlippoth energies, which pound on > us continuously. We do not bring these energies into proper balance by > isolating ourselves." > > 

____MIKE____
Agreed. However, that does NOT justify us being the source of Qlippothic, violent, angry, lazy, or hateful vibrations. Labeling such things as "humor" means that we find it pleasant and humorous to be unkind to people. 

___RED_LION___
I invite you to observe:

-- WHO is doing the labeling

-- What meaning that "humorous posting" has for YOU

Objective reality is not bound by our definitions, but our subjective experience is.

RL

 

____MIKE____
[Ann Davies lecture of 5/5/55] clearly says that it would be unenlightened to make fun of those who are "down" or "deemed guilty" or "victims". 

___RED_LION___
Only a fool would send a humorous post to the list, knowing the possibly harsh reactions and righteous indignation it could spark.

Yet it is a sacrifice I make gladly, for I realize that I am not separate from , nor immune to negative emotions.

Look at all the things that have been stirred up.

What was unconscious is now conscious.

Thus there exists the opportunity to transmute them.

The Challenge now becomes: Can we really look at them deeply? At our reactions, our judgments, our truths, our emotions? (this is known as observing the currents of the Sun and Moon)

The fearsome beast is none other than our own Red Lion (K8).

Lisa gets an "A" for effort.

RL (purrrrrrr)

__________________________

___LISA___
Mike, I'm not sure from your post, with which I concur - whether you are clear that I don't condone this type of behavior, either.

___JOSEPH___
Yes, we are the good people who only condone the good stuff that the One Doer expresses. JN

___LISA___
Did you hear that in my post?

___JOSEPH___
Yep.

___LISA___
However, when I am faced with something like this garbage, I hope that I can transmute it; that I can lovingly shed light on it for others that there may be more to it than the humor they think it is. That humor in and of itself is neutral, and that the door swings both ways in all things, from "productive, life enhancing" to "unproductive, life de-affirming", two distinctions that I prefer rather than good or bad.

In alchemy, the First Matter is often stuff that is thrown away as garbage. This particular post, although it immediately offended me, lead to a transmuted reaction and more understanding within me. A refinement, so to speak. love, your sister, lisa

___JOSEPH___
Well, that is the response I hoped would happen. I work from the principle " if it IS, it is life affirming, even in seems to be destructive change. JN

_____________________________

I work from the principle " if it IS, it is life affirming, even in seems to be destructive change.

On one level this is so, but on the level of appearances it is not seen to be so.

The challenge then becomes to see that all events are life affirming, while at the same time we are sometimes called to step in and stop things, challenge things or question things. It requires seeing the black, the white and the grey at the same time.

On the other hand, "affirming" has a positive connotation. Is it accurate to describe the activity of the Life Power in only positive terms while describing the negative as "positive with a negative face"?

Suggesting that the Life Power is affirming in all its motion gives a sense of certainty that I too (an ego uncertain of success), will eventually be carried along with it, even though appearances may suggest otherwise. There is a sense that there is something toward which the Life Power is moving and success is assured.

a fool

_____________________________

> I thought the "memo from Osama" was a gentle tease at the gentle souls
> who put this kind of note up on bulletin boards and in break rooms all
> over America. I don't see that it had anything to do with Osama bin
> Laden at all. In which context it comes across as hilarious rather than
> somehow heinous. Which I don't get either. But "dark humor" is not to
> everyone's taste -- why, I understand that people were offended by "All
> in the Family" when it first went on the air, and now it's a national
> monument or some damn thing.
>
> Bruce
>


I had the same reaction as you did, Bruce. I Still can't figure why such seemingly benign [ to me, at least ] , twerpy humor could provoke such deep analysis. I was watching a program interview with some social psychologists shortly after the 9-11 event, and the discussion was in regards to all the jokes, Internet photo renderings and what-not , that were starting to be circulated about Bin Laden...... The unanimous agreement among them was that America was starting the healing process after the initial shock of 9-11; and the humor was actually a normal healthy reaction ! I think this is a real cute one... also, in a totally twerpy way :)))) Kevin