What's your point of non-credibility?

[sono2]

I recently dropped a long-time friend because of his persistent sneering at matters very close to my heart, namely metaphysical studies & AP in particular. I didn't expect him to simply "swallow" what I shared; but at least to accept my experiences as true to me, & not to question my honesty about it.

He called me a liar & a hypocrite, & accused me of making up fantasies for attention. . . .it was as if he could not open his mind to the possibility that I, or indeed anyone else, could have had experiences/ adventures in other-than-ordinary consciousness.

I simply can't be bothered nowadays to try to convince anyone who isn't interested, & as this is all the very core of my "self", I saw no reason to carry on with a friendship that had clearly died a natural death due to our different paths & interests. I also don't see the value in a friendship when one party has to "hide" an integral part of their life & keep conversation to chit-chat level.

But then again, I often find myself disbelieving reports by certain sources, too - this I see as a matter of discriminating between what is "patently" false & what is acceptable or true.

Yet now I ask myself, & Gnu (!) - how & where does one draw that line? Do we disallow others' their truths on grounds of the unlikeliness of their stories? On the basis of their poor reporting skills? On the basis of our own experiences being dissimilar to what they have apparently experienced? How likely is the average person on the street to believe what we discuss here on a daily basis, & accept as "true" without hesitation?
:?

[ButterflyWoman]

He called me a liar & a hypocrite, & accused me of making up fantasies for attention. . . .
That's not friendship, and he was no friend.


I simply can't be bothered nowadays to try to convince anyone who isn't interested
Me, too.


But then again, I often find myself disbelieving reports by certain sources, too - this I see as a matter of discriminating between what is "patently" false & what is acceptable or true.
But those aren't your friends, and you're not calling them liars and hypocrites and accusing them of all manner of bad behaviour. ;)

There are plenty of things into which I do not invest any belief. Very little these days, in fact. There are topics here that completely leave me cold, and while I don't disbelieve people who have had this or that experience, I don't put any faith at all into certain kinds of beliefs. But that's okay. I don't need to tell people they're delusional or whatever other obnoxious thing people say.

Generally speaking, when someone is not comfortable with their own created reality, they'll be threatened by variations. There is NOTHING people hate more than having their reality messed with. Your "friend" (and I use that word hesitantly) was probably freaked out by your experiences because it forced him to re-evaluate his own reality, and rather than do that, he decided to verbally abuse you.


how & where does one draw that line?
I can hold a contrary opinion to your interpretation of something without having to call you names or even mention it to you. I also don't need to decide if your experiences or interpretations of experiences are valid for you. I don't live in your reality, I live in mine. In MY reality, things are this or that way. They may not be in yours. And I could not care less about the average person on the street with their Default Objective Reality With Optional Supernatural Extras. Been there, done that, not interested in the least. ;)

[CFTraveler]

Pretty much what she said.
As you prob. know, I'm not a "believer". I only believe in what I experience, and even that I take with a grain of salt. But I have no need to convince anyone else of what I have come to accept as my reality, because it's my own reality.
I'm sorry that your so-called 'friend' couldn't accept that you have the right to live in your reality- if he were 'worried' about you, he wouldn't insult or challenge your statements, so his reaction is not out of friendship (but BW already said that.)
Just remember the door closing window opening thing, it always amazes me how that works.

[sono2]

Very nice, thanks to you both! Cheered me up!8)

[ButterflyWoman]

I only believe in what I experience, and even that I take with a grain of salt.
Yes, this. Empricism at its best. :)

[Neil Templar]

I'm with the gals here. My reality is this way, everyone else's is their way. Some may be similar, others definitely not. All of which are perfectly tailored for the individual, and they're welcome to it and i hope their experience is exactly what they needed when they decided to incarnate this time around.

I'm grateful when these things happen. Consider it streamlining - relationships are attachments. If they're dragging you down and can't be turned around to become a healthy example of co-creation, they need to be let go of.
We spend so much time trying to hold onto "friendships", because we've been fed the idea that friendship is forever. That's an unhealthy mindset built on attachments.

I lost a friend a few years ago, due to a disagreement of sorts. In truth, our lives had begun moving in very different directions - it was time to let go, but it took a little bit of drama to allow the parting to take place...
Since then, i've had numerous conversations with mutual friends who insist we "must sort it out" and get back to the state of friendship we once had. They can't understand when i tell them i have no need to do so. So i ask them if i should get back together with my ex-girlfriend. They say "No way. You guys split up for good reasons."
"Exactly!"
"I'm grateful for having had you in my life, but i'm even more grateful for letting you leave it!"

[ButterflyWoman]

We spend so much time trying to hold onto "friendships", because we've been fed the idea that friendship is forever. That's an unhealthy mindset built on attachments.
This is even more true of "family". People get seriously bent out of shape when they're around someone who is voluntarily estranged from their parents (just as a somewhat extreme example). I can't tell you how many lectures I've gotten on the topic, often from complete strangers who have never met my parents and have no idea why I chose to end my relationship with them, but because people are so conditioned to believe that biology is more important than sanity, they just can't deal with it.


i've had numerous conversations with mutual friends who insist we "must sort it out" and get back to the state of friendship we once had. They can't understand when i tell them i have no need to do so.
EXACTLY. This is the same thing I get from people who are convinced that I should feel some sort of obligation to have a relationship with my parents. People don't get it, and I understand that, and I do know it's somewhat extreme, but, honestly, I was in my thirties last time I talked to my parents, so it's not like I was a little kid running away from home with my underpants in a bandana, and as far as I can tell, my parents don't want to talk to me, anyway, so why do people insist that I should resume the relationship?

Like I said, people don't like to have their reality challenged. My actions deeply challenge people who hold certain kinds of beliefs about parents and children and so on. But, hey, my reality, my rules. In your reality, maybe it IS best for 100% of children to be 100% attached to their parents, no matter what. In my reality, you don't have to talk to people who treat you like crap. ;)

[-asalantu-]

¡Hi, sono2!

Following is an interesting history with some concepts in common with yours:

http://forums.riverofenlightenment.com/index.php?topic=1451.0;wap2

My best regards,
Ángel

[sono2]

Thanks, & otra vez, ayayayay .. .. :(

[eyeoneblack]

Just a passing thought on this excellent thread: I told a friend recently that for most all my life I was deeply troubled by issues with my mother, but that had faded away now. She asked why that was and I said, "She died".
Additionally, I had a GF for years but the relationship ended abruptly. For some (Chirstian?) reason family encouraged me to put every effort in mending the problem. I staunchly refused. Some things just have a life for awhile and then the life drains out of it.
Everyday is a great day to move on.

[Paul H.]

I've had some fascinating astral projection and lucid dream experiences that I would not expect anyone to believe was possible (unless they had the same or similar experiences). People have said on the Internet that astral projection is a complete fantasy created entirely in the mind of someone who is mentally ill. Sometimes I'll have an experience where it may be better if it was fictitious.


I recently dropped a long-time friend because of his persistent sneering at matters very close to my heart, namely metaphysical studies & AP in particular. I didn't expect him to simply "swallow" what I shared; but at least to accept my experiences as true to me, & not to question my honesty about it.

He called me a liar & a hypocrite, & accused me of making up fantasies for attention. . . .it was as if he could not open his mind to the possibility that I, or indeed anyone else, could have had experiences/ adventures in other-than-ordinary consciousness.

Perhaps the reason why people strongly criticize those with astral projection and lucid dreaming skills is that they don't have those capabilities. I'm guessing that your friend was just using you all of the years you knew him for reasons that were not related to the spiritual/paranormal realm. And when you continually brought up your experiences in those areas as your abilities grew, it may have been apparent that he would no longer have any use for you. Is this a possibility?