Defeat, disappointment, disillusion and devastation

I have been following and posting about on the Conserpiracy forum  (now closed) the political campaign of would-be US senator Augustus Sol Invictus for some months now.

His recent defeat in the Libertarian primary election in Florida has stirred up some very painful memories; I have seen something like this campaign before. It is a very different story involving very different people, but there are a few familiar elements. There is also a big coincidence in the case.

I was involved with an Islamic political opposition movement a while back. I remember that the leaders referred to themselves by the titles they hoped to attain once they had overthrown an oppressive regime; they behaved as though they already occupied the positions that they were campaigning to achieve.

I remember the excitement when the main leader started to levitate; the members, supporters and followers were uplifted too. They felt part of something big and inspiring; they had goals and a mission to work for. The members called each other brother and sister.

The mood was very positive, euphoric even; victory seemed just around the corner. I remember the press releases, the statements, the attention, the publicity, the interviews and articles, the committees, the meetings and the conferences and speeches.  I remember the demonstrations in various capital cities and the concerts with famous artists, all very colourful with flags, flowers and stirring music…volunteers worked round the clock getting it all organised.

At the time, it seemed like the start of something very big. Looking back, I can see that the first year of campaigning was as good as it got.

Injury and revenge: Part II a special case

I had a light-bulb moment a while back; it enabled me to look at some very painful experiences in a new light.

Robert Sheckley describes such moments of illumination far better than I ever could:

“A thought had crossed his mind, a thought so tremendously involved, so meaningful, so far-reaching in its implications that he was stirred to his depths. Caswell tried desperately to shake off the knowledge it brought. But the thought, permanently etched upon his memory, would not depart.”

From Bad Medicine, available to read online in Project Gutenberg. 

This is a very amusing story about someone who, when prevented from taking revenge in one way for his – completely imaginary – injuries, finds another way to destroy his enemy.

The revolutionary idea that slipped into my mind was that the injury was not all one way; it was symmetric.  Although some people, perhaps operating under the control of unseen influences, had devastated me by leading me to believe I was going to get something I really wanted then taking it away at the last moment, I had in a sense done exactly the same thing to them – or to whatever was working through them.

Injury and revenge: Part I some general ideas

This article was created to get some general ideas about injury and revenge out of the way, clearing the decks for action in preparation for a forthcoming article about the way that unseen influences may be at work in some special cases. 

Injuries
Where injuries are concerned, self-help guru Vernon Howard suggests that it is not possible for our real selves to be hurt, just our egos or the false images that we have of ourselves. 

This is worth thinking about, although the implications may be very unwelcome.

Thoughts of revenge
People may have fantasies of revenge, but if they respect the truth they will realise that these ideas are usually childish, excessive or unrealistic. 

As Vivianne Crowley says in Your Dark Side:

“The more disempowered we are in real life…the more elaborate and sadistic our revenge fantasies will be.”

This statement is very true in my experience, and provides another unwelcome insight.

Taking responsibility for our part in the affair
There may be no action that we can take other than to do some inner work and try to understand how and why we let ourselves be victimised and what sort of person our victimiser must be.

We also need to think about what we can do to avoid or prevent similar incidents happening in the future.

This is what better people do.