Jeff Russell

Well, I certainly agree that "be better!" can be taken that way, which is why sometimes it's not helpful at all. On the other hand, the negative way to look at "you're good how you are" is "you'll never be better." I think this is likely one of those paradoxes that we have to wrestle with, and the answer changes with the situation and as we change.

I also struggle a bit with JMG's indifferentism and how to square it with some of the other spiritual inspiration I've taken from him (or whether to reject it entirely). It seems a bit like getting back to materialistic nihilism with more steps. The only answers that come to mind are the typical existentialist ones, the unsatisfyingness of which was part of what led me to a spiritual path. All of which is to say, I also don't have a good answer here.

This last point, though, I agree with you, and in other places in JMG's writings, he seems to get at something like this - the uniqueness and freedom of each of our souls is the point of the whole complicated mess of incarnate being, with all of its variety and painful lessons and what not, at least from where each of us stand. That appeals to my own overcharged sense of individualism, so I also find it comforting/compelling.

Cheers,
Jeff