in light of this forum category's participants' increasing use of it as a place for discussing practices which are not the actualism method yet which are clearly inspired and informed by it, i have changed the category title accordingly to 'Practices inspired by Actualism'. it is worth pointing out that the category is now subtitled 'But not necessarily either approved or endorsed by the Actual Freedom Trust', as can be seen on its 'Insight / Wisdom' parent category page.
what this action effectively does is:
1- protect the integrity of the af trust website's writings (including their aims and approaches) by dissociating from them the writings, aims, and approaches found and developed by dho participants which have been strongly influenced by the af trust's writings, and which are, therefore, too similarly-termed to not cause misunderstandings about what is and what is not the official actualism method, and confusion about what are and what are not the proper ways to use the words key to actualism as far as actualism is concerned (hint: the answers are found on the actual freedom trust homepage);
and
2- allow this forum category's participants the freedom to post about their individual practices and methods with less concern that what they write may go too far beyond what can be rightly considered the practice of actualism to be appropriate to the category.
a practical approach to posting will still be emphasised here, and distinctly off-topic threads will still likely be moved or removed.
and, as usual, richard-bashing/actualism-trashing will not be welcomed here, both because such bashing/trashing does not fit the category's requirement of being practice-oriented in nature and because such bashing/trashing does nothing to further the dho's stated aim to favour 'the spirit of mutual, supportive adventurers' but may do much to set it back. indeed, i have found no writings of this sort to be worth the scant data space they occupy, and far less are they worth their writers' precious time ... i think that participants who write in order either to find therapy for their frustrations with their fellow man or to find audience and support for their own compulsive and driving doubts would be much better off addressing these matters to themselves, in their own hearts, where the solutions might actually lie, as no commiseration or complaint, or discussion or discursion, will ever adequately address these discontents. if you find yourself here personally addressed in these statements, you may understand that you almost certainly have my consideration, understanding, and acknowledgement, as there is very little which i have seen written here which i had not at some point thought or felt; despite not having had a stifled, or inhibited, character, i simply never found it worthy to share these pains with an audience i did not know and could not consider its ramifications for.
should the pain of bearing your burdens alone simply be too much to take, another, somewhat more appropriate, place to unload (albeit in an fleeting, and ultimately dissatisfactory, way) has existed within the dho forums since 2009 - the dharma battleground category. however, if you make use of it, please choose your words gently and carefully, as others who are reading, whether lurkers or posters, likely have feelings, hopes, and wishes which at depth are no different from your own.
tarin, mod
