We learn more from the disharmonies and discontinuities than from the rest.
Everybody's doing what they want to do all the time anyway. Desire is the fuel in the tank. Calling it
"responsibility" doesn't change it --
it's still desire. In this case, a desire to be (like you say) response-able or responsive. I am not knocking responsibility -- I'm
talking more about context here than anything else. Stealing might be irresponsible. Stealing
to feed your children might be responsible (such as Jean Valjean in Les
Miserables.) Context.
I agree that context is important, especially since the term
"responsible" is often used within the context of someone else trying to hold us
responsible for violating some obligation we had previously made or some expectation that they had of us.
Is responsibility the same as desire?
I don't think they are the same thing, but they very definitely are connected. Responsibility is the
ability to respond within a particular field of activity. But just because we have the ability to
respond within some field does not automatically make it our obligation to respond.
So what is it that makes us respond in some cases and not respond in others?
Some would say desire, but undifferentiated desire in general is like the motor in a car, it provides the
motive power, but does not steer the car. So I may have a tiger in my tank, but it is my subconscious
who chains my tiger with a chain of roses (desire). And it's the magician who indirectly
directs her via his power of attention.
So my ability to respond depends upon the state of my subconscious. Is she dressed in white and
reflecting into my conscious awareness the Will of the One, or is she dressed in dirty rags, all too
willing to ride upon the back of my untamed red lion?
So I would use the term "Awareness" instead of desire. Awareness
here relating to the state of one's subconscious and of its response-ableness to
reflect the One Will into the attention of the Self-Conscious, whose response-ability is to help her
do this by using his power of attention/ concentration as accurately as possible to look deeply.
We're responsible in accordance with our level of awareness, and our personal desires follow as well,
in accordance with our level of awareness. The more aware we are, the more our personal desires
will be in harmony with the One Will.
So, to me, Tarot Key 9 shows Response-Ability.
The more I can think/say/do in harmony with the One Will, the more response-able I am.
Therefore us folks a little bit farther up the mountain path of return are more Responsible, and
also held more accountable, not by some external God, but by our own ability to generate results and taste our fruits quicker.
JC
(who has experienced enough "instant-Karma" to know)
Thinking about some recent posts on responsibility on this list --
Responsibility, while it has its place in the scheme of things, occupies a
decidedly small place after all. Responsibility as a concept presumes separation
-- it just begs a preposition, such as "responsibility TO" or
"responsibility FOR". When we are talking about relationships between
people within the illusion, yes indeed responsibility is something I think
highly of, along with respect and resourcefulness. (The 3 R's.) On the
whole, though, it does not loom that large in my POV. Much more important than
the three Rs, from an eternal POV, are clarity, liberty, and love. Practiced
well, the 3 R's will keep your karma pretty clean. Practiced well, clarity,
liberty and love will get you past karma altogether. Such a deal. C.
=====
To me, Responsibility has to do with obligations, usually in a social
context. One can only enter into an obligation when they are "able to
respond" as the voluntarily incurred obligation requires. If I'm not
capable of responding within that field of obligation, then I'm not
response-able. However, if I do enter into an obligation in which I am
response-able, then the issue is whether or not I keep my promises. If I break
my promise because I'm no longer able to respond in accordance with my
obligation, then I'm not response-able. However, if I break my promise for some
other reason, then I've broken my oath. I've said one thing, and yet done
another. Word-Action disharmony is one reason conflict (inner and outer) arises.
So, as long as we've Voluntarily and Consciously entered into an obligation
in which we're response-able, shouldn't we keep our word? Or perhaps entering
into an obligation is sort of like making a judgment based on only partial
information - always subject to revision in light of new information and our
changing/evolving desires?
What are the inner consequences of not keeping one's word?
Responsibility/Response-ability Seems to fit by your definitions as well:
Responsibility is the ability to respond within a particular field of activity.
responsible (rî-spòn´se-bel) adjective
[..]
2. [...] or ability to act without guidance or
superior authority: [...]
[...]
4. Able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior.
Ability to Act without (external/separate) guidance/authority MEANS ability to Respond, since
ALL action is in fact RESPONDING (more or less transparently) to the prime mover (the One Will).
So there is in fact, no separation.
The REAL question here is:
"if I am able to respond (K9) in a certain field of activity, should I
be "held" responsible (held accountable) for that which occurs within my
personal field (K7)?"
This must be answered by "held responsible to whom?"
Since, in reality, there is no separation, the only conceivable answer has to be that we (the
individual and collective vehicles known as "humanity") are always held accountable to and by
Cosmic LAW for everything that happens. It's called karma.
Now, since we're going to be held accountable by cosmic law (karma) for everything that happens
anyway, Response-ability has to do with the desire/act/sow/reap/grow (K10/K11) process which
God uses to increase the awareness and therefore ability of His vehicle (us) to respond closer to
His ONE Will.
So acting Responsibly means acting in accordance with our highest level of awareness (at the time),
which is trying to act in accordance with the One Will's desire as we understand it at the time.
So practically speaking, acting as Responsibly as we can, means acting in accordance with our greatest
heart's Desire. (So I agree with you Bruce!)
The difference between Responsibility and Desire, however, has to do with our level of AWARENESS.
Responsibility is a measure of how close our desirous acts come to being a transparent expression
of the One Will's Desire.
Responsibility is a measure of how TRANSPARENTLY we Respond to the One Will (K9), and is a measure
of our vehicle's (K7) state of awareness/ purification/ evolution/etc...
And the only dependable measure of how "responsible" our
"desirous acts" are, are by the fruits which we reap via the operation of Cosmic
Law which always holds us accountable for everything (Karma).
So just as it is useless and impossible to try and escape from our desires (which are in fact God's),
so too is it useless and impossible to try and escape from our responsibilities (which are also God's).
We Always do what we DESIRE, and we do this more or less TRANSPARENTLY (Responsibly) in
accordance with the One Will's DESIRE.
Wanting to be Responsible, therefore, means wanting to do what the One Will desires (however
we understand it at the time), which means wanting to analyze and purify our many personal desires -
which IS what the One Will desires, else we wouldn't be desiring it ourselves (from our limited
separative vehicular perspective).
So the One Will desires that we desire to desire what the One Will
desires! And Responsibility (K9) is a measure of how transparently responsive our
vehicle (K7) is to this One Will.
I think the point to be made is given the fact that God is the only source of all activity, it is still our
task as Conscious Co-Creators to accept responsibility for all of our actions.
Perhaps I was not being plain enough. The Human Language is so inadequate for this type of
discussion. The phrase 'Conscious Co-Creators' for example, is descriptive enough for some cases,
but should not be taken literally, as it describes a duality.
What I was pointing out is this:
1st. We understand that God, or the One, is the only 'doer'.
2nd. We understand that the "I" at the center of our personal identity is the only 'doer' in our personal world.
3rd. We understand that these are not two separate beings.
4th. Therefore, God is that "I" we are all so very aware of.
5th. Therefore, "You" are God, working through the personality "You" (God) identify with.
6th. It is not necessary to identify with "Your" personality. "You" have unlimited power to do whatever "You" want.
7th. "You" need only practice this awareness to condition
"Your" personality to be conscious of it all the time.
So yes, "You" (That within "Your" personality that says
"I") are responsible for "Your" actions, but the personality is not.
=====
If I may add? The choice ""We" seemingly make is determined by
the desire we feel and there is where the higher control enters the Self-conscious
field. One choice is subtly made more attractive to us--usually sub-consciously-- and we put our
chips on that one. The manipulative key is desire, straight down from Chokmah. NJ.
"God also makes the choice when we act irresponsibly. Then
we have no responsibility, and it matters not at all what we do. Responsibility
depends upon choice, and though it may be a thought attributable to my pea-sized
brain, it seems to me that this idea implies a lack of choice."
So, do we or do we not have FREE WILL? If responsibility depends upon having
"choice", then the more "free choice" we have, the
more responsible we are. Being Response-Able and having Free Choice go
hand in hand. The more transparently responsive I am to the ONE FREE WILL, the
more free choice I have, the more responsible I am.
However, being/acting responsible or not, does not imply that we are not
going to be held accountable. We are always held accountable for Everything! In
fact, it's by being always held accountable for everything all the time, that we
learn to be more responsible. Karma never sleeps, and it never forgets even the
smallest act. So it seems that the sensible and responsible thing to do is to
learn to go WITH the cycle of evolution instead of getting run-over by it.
"That [...] everything and anything we do is in accord with God's plan.
What I consistently fail to understand, however, is why at the same time such
things as murder, theft and kicking a dog should be considered anything less
than sublime, holy behavior. [...] Blessed art Thou, Lord of the Universe, who
hath spilled 15,000 gallons of crude into the river!"
Somewhere in the Bible, it comes right out and says that
God makes Evil:
" [...] what we fear is what really instructs us, and sets our feet
on the path leading to liberation.
[..] sacred books of all religions are filled with hints to the same
effect. [...] in the 45th chapter of Isaiah, Jehovah is made to say: "I
create evil." The third chapter of Amos is equally explicit: "Shall
there be evil in a city, and Jehovah hath not done it?" In both these
instances, the word translated "evil" means just what it says,
including all manner of moral evil and wickedness.
God is [..] the author of the ills which beset us as well as the source of
the experiences we call "good." "
Evil is just an expression of an as yet unpolished facet of God's creation,
which calls upon itself the buffing wheel of evolution to help it shine.
Buff, Buff, here, ... Polish there ....till we're gleaming bright because ...
that's the way, we spend the day, in the merry old land of Oz.
Glinda got the good press, but it was the Wicked Witch of the West who really
helped Dorothy the most. All the other so-called external "saviors"
were either frauds, or prim donnas. It was the Wicked Witch of the West who
sacrificed herself so Dorothy could achieve realization. God bless her!
Misunderstood savior sacrifices self for the benefit of furthering the
evolution of others. Hmmm, where have we seen THAT theme before?
JC
(The Wicked Wit of West Palm Beach)
==========
Here's an question:
Do I get to decide what my responsibility is, or is responsibility something
which is imposed upon me?
What if I see something going wrong, and I don't want responsibility for it?
Do we then slip into pejorative language terming one who chooses their
responsibilities different from us as not being "mature"?
Responsibility is important because it addresses the primary issue of :
"what are our obligations to God, to ourselves, to humanity, and to the
rest of creation?" and are we free to choose what those obligations are
(and accept the consequences)?
I believe responsibility is important for the simple fact that is makes us
active participants in our actions, both to our selves and to the community at
large. Responsibility requires a high degree of discipline in order
to make itself effect. This is a yogic process of building the muscle of
Disciplinary actions within one's life. To me responsibility covers a
broad sphere of relationships, namely, personal, social, political,
inter-relational (i.e. sexual, work-related, group related), familial, and
spiritual. Responsibility is very important in that it promote the integrity
needed to SEE the interconnectedness of ourselves with all other things, and to
KNOW that their is no difference. The lines are erased once we take personal
responsibility for ourselves and our gradually connected as we work that
responsibility to include social and familial models. Our
responsibility extends to included our participation in the the LIBERATION of
ALL sentient beings... a rather important and poignant
responsibility. Blessing in Light to All, S.E.
=========
The Rider in the Chariot is Responsible (K7), and the chariot responds to His
Will.
JC
(two wheeled vehicle with limited slip differential)
It is very difficult to claim non-responsibility, or
worse--Irresponsibility--in the face of cultural and religious propriety
patterns we all respond to as "upright and true persons." But from the
aspect of the Ageless Wisdom it is like claiming responsibility for the law of
gravity when we jump off of something. Due to this cultural conditioning, many
good esoteric students will resist and deny the absolute reality of the One Doer
as stated again and again in various interpretations of the Ageless Wisdom but
we express exactly that--good or evil--we need to express to reveal our patterns
to ourselves in the rectifying and learning process we call evolution. WE are
not the Cause nor the Doer. We are the instruments of Its desires and volition
and "our" choices are manipulated by the desires we feel. This is at
the absolute level of action. At our level of seeming choice, our
"response ability" is how far we see the effect of our actions
extending, which is a measure of our inclusive understanding. Do we see our
actions only affecting ourselves, our families, all in our nation, or does it
extend to all mankind for you? In any event, all "our" choices result
in either reinforcing or rectifying patterns--the nature of the inner journey.
We are not responsible though we act as we are like good students who have
learned our lessons. Hope you are not upset by this. N.J.
