Dear Peter:

Thank you for your recent reply and for all your thoughtful posts—I deeply value the insights and reflections you share. Your interpretation of Cinderella is truly fascinating!

I love how you see Cinderella as representing the Feeling function, which has become disconnected from the Doing function (symbolized by the prince). This disconnection leads to stagnation and depression—a state of being stuck and unable to act. The story is about reconnecting these fragmented parts, moving from despair (the ashes) to balance and integration.

The “marriage” between Cinderella and the prince beautifully symbolizes the union of Feeling and Doing—bringing emotions and actions into harmony.

I appreciate your critique of modern interpretations that dismiss the prince and focus only on independence. As you point out, this perspective overlooks the story’s deeper wisdom, undervaluing the importance of integration—not just within ourselves, but in relationships and communities. I agree that this reflects a broader cultural trend of prioritizing independence over interconnectedness, which often leads to fragmentation.

Your insight about individual struggles mirroring societal struggles really struck me. Just as Cinderella’s disconnection leads to depression, a lack of integration in society—between emotions and reason, individuality and connection—results in confusion and disharmony.

I admire how you see stories like Cinderella as tools for teaching wholeness and balance. By overlooking their symbolic depth, we risk losing lessons that can guide us through life’s challenges.

In another thread, you quoted Hermann Hesse. One of his quotes feels especially relevant here: “Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.”- I think of home as the place where Thinking, Feeling, Doing, and Being are connected.

Another quote comes to mind: “If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.”- Hatred often mirrors unresolved parts of ourselves—fragments of our psyche that we reject or suppress. This rejection creates fragmentation, disconnecting us from our wholeness. For instance, if we dislike a trait in someone else, it could be a sign we haven’t fully accepted that same trait within ourselves.

In Jungian terms, this ties to the “shadow”—the parts of ourselves we deny or hide. When we fail to integrate the shadow into our conscious awareness, it manifests as projections onto others, reflecting our inner fragmentation. Integration, by contrast, involves recognizing these reflections, embracing them, and bringing the fragmented parts of ourselves back into harmony.

This also applies on a societal level. When groups project their fears or inadequacies onto “the other,” it creates division and fragmentation.

Thank you again, Peter, for sharing your perspective. I always enjoy these rabbit holes with you—they feel like true shared discoveries. Wishing you a weekend filled with timeless moments and sunshine! 🌞♾️

anita

*Magically, the sun just broke through the clouds for the first time today.. and went back.

Dear Peter:

“Free of time”—free of the burdens of the past, free of the worries about the future.

“I enjoy reading your posts and seeing what rabbit hole we will fall into. 😊 I also appreciate your vulnerability. Expressing the tension of love and old fear of being ridiculed… moving towards Love that transcends fear. Love that Is.”—Right here, in this moment, I felt myself moving toward Love that transcends fear, Love that Is, because of your words, because of your response, Peter 🙏

“Not easy being vulnerable ‘in time’, to love without expectation. Here again language becomes problematic depending as it does on duality. I like the notion of negation as a path.”—Love isn’t something to give or receive, to have or not have. It’s not romantic or platonic. These words try to confine something that can’t be confined. Love is something we are—an essential part of us that flows naturally when we allow it.

“Clarissa Pinkola Estes… For me the wisdom of Genesis is a story of What Is.”—The “bones” in Skeleton Woman’s story symbolize the fears, pain, and shame we often avoid. Facing those “bare bones” truths make it possible for us to grow.

Untangling and fleshing out the bones means confronting those fears with compassion, transforming them into wisdom and strength. Committing to “Love that Is” (as you put it) is also a commitment to bringing our true selves to life. It means living fully in the present moment (the Eternal), beyond the limits of time, ego, and expectations (the Temporal), and discovering a deeper, timeless love (Love that Is).

Doing and Thinking cannot replace Being and Feeling- I need to learn to do that further. I am a beginner.

Thank you, Peter. I want to respond further to your post by Monday. I wish you a timeless weekend ♾️ 🌌

anita

Dear Peter:

Again, I will quote you and respond with whatever comes to my mind:

“Allan Watts… said ‘We seldom realize that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own'”- no valid reason then to feel ashamed of some private thoughts because they are not my own 😊

“Just as the word tree is not a tree, fear, anger, as all such emotion when felt are not a word.”- using words which are 2-dimensional constructs as a way to avoid the 3- dimensional emotional experiences. Hiding behind words.

“Begging the question is Love a emotion?”- more of a decision and a commitment than an emotion in the long-run.

“I can hear Krishnamurti response to the call ‘that people need our love now,’ – Yes Love! What’s stopping you?”- fear. Fear of rejection, fear of being made fun of. I’ll give you an example: as I read yesterday how you ended your post, “I am after all who I am.”- I thought-felt (again) that you, Peter, are cute. I felt that affection again. I then thought of telling you that, as an act of love, I suppose (I just typed “I suppose” because of embarrassment) but didn’t want to do so for fear that you will misunderstand or think little of me. Well, I am telling you now as an act of love and courage. Hmm, this combination of Love and Courage is something I need to think more about. Correction, it’s a combination I need to experience (3-dimensional). Hey, I just did, credit given 👍

(Giving myself credit will make it less painful when I don’t receive credit from the outside).

“For Krishnamurti love is… a state of being that emerges when we cease to cling to what is not love. Love as negation… where we examine and discard what is not love (attachment, fear, competition, violence…)… A topic for another time?”-

– No time like the present, says I: For Krishnamurti, love is the core of who we are, it’s a state of being that exists when the noise of conditioned thoughts (what I called yesterday, OPT) and ego (which operates from a place of self-interest or fear) has been silenced. In essence, love as negation is not about adding more (trying harder to love) but about removing what blocks love from naturally flowing from our core.

Okay, I will let it flow from my core: I like you, Peter. I grew to like you over time and I am happy to be communicating with you!

“Tangent:… In Genesis G_d creates by speaking. In the beginning was the word… Adam (Humanity) made in the image of G_d is then given the task to name… Naming often mistaken for big C Creating. (Lead us not into temptation of mistaking the map for the territory)”- the thought occurred to me that naming things so early on (when Genesis was written), equals the 2-dimensional viewing of life, and with it, the absence of compassion (a 3rd dimension), leading G d to all those uncompassionate and unforgiving acts such as expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden and destroying much of humanity and life in a great flood.

I thought about Genesis in terms of G d’s Anger, but not in terms of G d’s lack of compassion.

“I mentioned that I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t afraid… Perhaps if I enter a hermitage or some sort it might be possible…”- I was afraid several times during the writing of this post. I mentioned one fear already. In addition, I felt that you- or another member- will criticize me for a post that is too long, too tiring to read and make fun of me by bringing this or that part of what I typed here and ridiculing it.

I just had an additional fear: that by typing the above, I gave someone reading the idea of ridiculing me, something they didn’t think of doing before I introduced the possibility.

I think that I am reducing my fear by typing the above even if my prediction comes true and someone out there does what I fear. Isolating myself in a hermitage wouldn’t give me this opportunity.

“I sit quietly and feel without labeling I notice the place in the body, It sits between the heart and throat. I do not have to verbalize it to know that it is.”- noticing the raw experience as it is, without naming it and without trying to fix it.

“I am as I am. I am done trying to fix myself, more verbalization’s of memory, the past in the present that never is… Turning me off rumination 😊 Until the next time… 😊 I am after all who I am.”- Funny Peter!

It’s time for a poem:

In quiet moments, I sit and see, The tides of thought, they flow through me.
No need to fix, no need to mend, For all begins where I choose to end.

Between the heart, the throat, a space, A feeling lives I dare not chase.
No labels, no words, just what is there.

I am as I am, no fight within, The ruminations fade, the silence begins. Not past, nor future, but this steady span—
I am, after all, who I am.

anita

More, Peter:

Krishnamurti, as you know, believed that much of our thinking is shaped by external influences—traditions, education, religion, and societal norms. He argued that this conditioning limits true freedom and creativity, as we often unconsciously adopt the thoughts of others rather than thinking independently. For Krishnamurti, true freedom comes from awareness—being fully present and questioning the origins of one’s thoughts. He believed that this awareness could dissolve the influence of conditioning and lead to a state of clarity and original thinking.

What I am getting at today is that if you find yourself ruminating, it has to be the conditioned kind of thinking (other people’s thoughts) that’s taking place. This is turning me off to rumination. I lived too long to continue to think Other People’s Thoughts (OPT) 😊

anita

Dear Alessa:

Thank you for your kind and supportive words—they truly mean a lot to me. It’s comforting to hear that I’m not alone, and your belief in me is deeply appreciated. ❤️

I resonate with your view on being a parent as a blessing and a privilege. The idea that parenting comes with the responsibility to shape and guide a little person is so profound. Like you said, things would have been very different for both of us if our parents had shared that same perspective.

Your reflection on over-responsibility from childhood struck a chord. Carrying so much at such a young age—looking after others, self-blame, and trying to protect everyone while also making sense of the world—it’s such a heavy burden to bear. It’s inspiring how you’ve come to understand and articulate those experiences.

I love the way you described the comfort you found in your dog and books growing up. Even amidst the instability of frequent moves, it’s heartening to know you had those sources of solace.

Your thoughts on how memories shape emotions are thought-provoking. The image of ‘seeds of painful experiences sprouting’ illustrates how the past can unconsciously affect us. Recognizing these patterns is such an important step toward breaking free from them.

Thank you for your thoughtful reflections, Alessa. I truly appreciate you sharing them and your encouragement. Take care of yourself—you deserve all the kindness and peace in the world. ❤️

anita