The Dudeism Forum

Dudes,

Sometimes you can't go bowling.  Other times the finals are fast approaching and you can tell you're dragging negative energy into the tournament.

I'm talking about unchecked inner aggression here.

What the fuck am I blathering about?  Sometimes life presents situations that are inescapable.  You can't just fucking roll and you can't just blow it off.  You gotta feed the monkey, you know?  Your thinking gets uptight and you feel very undude.  I'm curious about any advanced dudeist techniques that are floating around for abiding with something more than the minor stress of day-to-day life -- big shit, man, major life set-backs, time when the whole damn world has gone crazy--  the shit that can really eat at you.  When you need to draw a line in the sand between you and The Uptight, what are your favorite go-tos?

I'm not sure if any particular technique is really that much more advanced or powerful than any other. I find that the key thing is to do something to take back a measure of activity, involvement, power or what have you (the principle behind "fuck it dude, let's go bowling"). Anything that challenges the feeling of victimhood and passivity can get energy flowing again and once you are unstuck, even a little bit, that movement can gather momentum. I find things that involve using my body and getting my awareness back into my body particularly useful - gardening, long walk in the mountains, tuning into my breath.

If you have a specific situation in mind, people might be able to suggest an appropriate dudeist strategy.

I make a nice herbal tea with Holy Basil (Tulsi) and St. John's Wort, and take a cup four or five times a day. If I'm feeling that I might be underestimating my own power, I'll add Cinquefoil. If I feel like I might be overestimating my own power, I'll add Passionflower. If I don't think that's a concern, I just go with the first two. But don't use St. John's Wort if you're taking an SSRI psych drug 'cuz it might fuck you up.

Some shit ya just gotta ride out. The first most important thing is to keep in mind, at all times, that control is always an illusion. Always. Life wants to teach you this, so let it. You aren't going to get there now, while things are all fucked up, but work in that direction. Later, when the dust clears, work on it some more. Control is an illusion. You have little to no control. When things get out of control it's because they always were. You cannot lose what you never had.

Keep your car in good, safe working order. Don't ever use the cell phone while driving. Fix the wobbly treads on the stairs. Replace that electrical outlet that crackles when you plug something in. Put a lock on the medicine cabinet. That's the kind of stuff you can control, and even then your control is limited -- but it's important you do it. All the rest? The career, the kids, the wife, the neighbors, the air pollution, the wars, the neighbor's barking dog? All that shit is beyond your control, always has been, always will be. Do what you can, tough out the rest. Play the hand life deals you, even when it's forced on you. You're going to anyway, ya know?

And when life is calm, groove on it. Groove on it, and remind yourself every day to relax and take 'er easy because control is an illusion and soon enough the proof is going to give you another bloody nose. Remind yourself of that every day because the time to remember the life jackets isn't after land has disappeared over the horizon.

Dudes,

I dig your work!  Great stuff, man!  I've got no particular situation in mind -- my mind is feeling pretty limber these days and my cases are not too complex.  I just got to thinking that the true test of any philosophy of life is how it helps you to abide when times are tough.  Pacifism is not something to hide behind -- and "fuck it" may be the same way sometimes.

To me, the essence of dudeism, and any ethos of its sort, is a realization of The Uptight Mind-- seeing that the strands in ole duder's head create duder's reality.  It's all there, man.  The "outside" world is just sensations, how we put it all together into a single, uh, like, story is our problem, man.   But it's not really a problem unless we make it one.  You know?

Ah, shucks, I'm ramblin again....

Take er easy dudes!

Quote from: MindAbiding on April 05, 2013, 02:30:27 PM
Dudes,

I dig your work!  Great stuff, man!  I've got no particular situation in mind -- my mind is feeling pretty limber these days and my cases are not too complex.  I just got to thinking that the true test of any philosophy of life is how it helps you to abide when times are tough.  Pacifism is not something to hide behind -- and "fuck it" may be the same way sometimes.

To me, the essence of dudeism, and any ethos of its sort, is a realization of The Uptight Mind-- seeing that the strands in ole duder's head create duder's reality.  It's all there, man.  The "outside" world is just sensations, how we put it all together into a single, uh, like, story is our problem, man.   But it's not really a problem unless we make it one.  You know?

Ah, shucks, I'm ramblin again....

Take er easy dudes!

interesting philosophy of mind you got there Mind Abiding - mind if i call you Mind?

Quote from: MindAbiding on April 05, 2013, 02:30:27 PM
Dudes,

I dig your work!  Great stuff, man!  I've got no particular situation in mind -- my mind is feeling pretty limber these days and my cases are not too complex.  I just got to thinking that the true test of any philosophy of life is how it helps you to abide when times are tough.  Pacifism is not something to hide behind -- and "fuck it" may be the same way sometimes.

To me, the essence of dudeism, and any ethos of its sort, is a realization of The Uptight Mind-- seeing that the strands in ole duder's head create duder's reality.  It's all there, man.  The "outside" world is just sensations, how we put it all together into a single, uh, like, story is our problem, man.   But it's not really a problem unless we make it one.  You know?

Ah, shucks, I'm ramblin again....

Take er easy dudes!

I would boil what you said down to "fuck it, lets get us a lane."

Quote from: MindAbiding on April 05, 2013, 02:30:27 PM
Pacifism is not something to hide behind -- and "fuck it" may be the same way sometimes.

I very respectfully disagree, Dude. I consider those perfectly good things to hide behind. I do it all the time and strive to do more of it. It's all a matter of how and why you hide behind those things, and how you conduct yourself when someone forces your hand by snatching them away, that really matter the most.

How it came to be is a long and largely irrelevant story, but my take on it is that it's a lot easier to be a pacifist when you don't, strictly speaking, have to be.

Quote from: RighteousDude on April 06, 2013, 11:15:49 AM

Quote from: MindAbiding on April 05, 2013, 02:30:27 PM
Pacifism is not something to hide behind -- and "fuck it" may be the same way sometimes.

I very respectfully disagree, Dude. I consider those perfectly good things to hide behind. I do it all the time and strive to do more of it. It's all a matter of how and why you hide behind those things, and how you conduct yourself when someone forces your hand by snatching them away, that really matter the most.

How it came to be is a long and largely irrelevant story, but my take on it is that it's a lot easier to be a pacifist when you don't, strictly speaking, have to be.

And in a wider context, hiding behind something has its uses. When Carlos Casteneda came down off particularly disturbing trips on Devil's Weed, Don Juan handed him his notebook and pencil. He normally tried to get Carlos to be in the present and not use his academic note-taking as a way to hide, but in those moments of vulnerability he said "now is the right time to use your shields dude" (might not have been his exact words)

Agreed on all fronts, Dudes.  I was thinking more in terms of a literal connection -- as in, sometimes you can't just walk away from a situation, you gotta stay around a while and see things through.  Of course, you can approach that situation not as a reactionary but as a dude with the limberest mind -- and fuck it might be just the drug regimen needed.

I doubt this bit will qualify as an "advanced" technique, but what the hell. This works especially well when you see a troll on them Innerwebz that's making you feel "un-Dude".

When you see who or what's making you uptight, see yourself on a nice beach (or hell, the lunar landscape looks pretty durn inneresting too), see the person or situation off in the distance however you want, take a deep breath and say, "You're on my beach." Then watch them... become sand, fade away, however you want to do it. Then get right back to abiding however you see fit. With practice, just saying the phrase "You're on my beach" should be enough to clear your head.

It may not be the technique to use all the time, but it just might keep you out of a flame war or two (it has done as much for me, but "your mileage may vary", blah blah blah).

Cheers.

Quote from: spacegirl on April 10, 2013, 11:27:32 PM
I doubt this bit will qualify as an "advanced" technique, but what the hell. This works especially well when you see a troll on them Innerwebz that's making you feel "un-Dude".

When you see who or what's making you uptight, see yourself on a nice beach (or hell, the lunar landscape looks pretty durn inneresting too), see the person or situation off in the distance however you want, take a deep breath and say, "You're on my beach." Then watch them... become sand, fade away, however you want to do it. Then get right back to abiding however you see fit. With practice, just saying the phrase "You're on my beach" should be enough to clear your head.

It may not be the technique to use all the time, but it just might keep you out of a flame war or two (it has done as much for me, but "your mileage may vary", blah blah blah).

Cheers.

I generally just ignore trolls, but if one is going out of his way to harass me,  I drop some psychological scar lifting logic on them. You know, like "your father is an iron lung, you little shit"

Quote from: Abideist on April 11, 2013, 02:25:31 AM

I generally just ignore trolls, but if one is going out of his way to harass me,  I drop some psychological scar lifting logic on them. You know, like "your father is an iron lung, you little shit"

Isn't that more of a Walterist technique?

Well, I said I try to ignore them man. I feel that letting my inner Walter out on a less crucial matter is healthy and keeps a dude his dudeliest. I pick my battles. Im a firm believer in a dude can't really be a dude if he hasn't been a little Walter at some point.

Quote from: Abideist on April 11, 2013, 03:26:14 AM
Well, I said I try to ignore them man. I feel that letting my inner Walter out on a less crucial matter is healthy and keeps a dude his dudeliest. I pick my battles. Im a firm believer in a dude can't really be a dude if he hasn't been a little Walter at some point.

Fair point dude. Even El Duderino said "We're gonna cut your dick off Larry!" Perhaps not his finest moment. Think I might be getting uptight about people getting uptight!!!