Monstaville Book II. Chapter 28

28

““Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.”

- Sun Tzu.

Notes from a conversation with [K] regarding my nasty neighbours [next-door].

It’s not what you do but how you do it, the method you use: methodology. He says the negative shadow side is important. You just do the opposite and he’ll guarantee the action is not physical or violent in nature. It is best to take a battle into a new realm - not to the next level. He concluded that communicating with them is the solution. Even if it means dividing them by getting on with, or influencing, one of them. They are using the power of numbers as an instinctive strategy (culturally confident that victory is inevitable under such circumstances). My argument is that my power does not lie in communication and that they would annihilate me (as they tried when I did go and speak to them previously). Besides, they have shown that it is impossible to reason with them. Since I am the one with awareness of what is happening, it will be me who can change and resolve things. They are just responding on the lower, superficial level to which they are constrained through their ignorance and weakness, not a deeper perspective. When you understand and realise then you can actualise. The collective needs understanding before chance can take place.

He gave me a copy of Machiavelli’s The Prince saying he had wondered why a friend had given it to him and suggesting that it was meant for me since I am in need of pondering and developing cunning strategies against a relentless enemy. I did not find the book particularly useful in terms of practical application but I guess it was an inspiring introduction to the idea of strategic defence. It turned out to be essential reading for my political enquiry in fact.

Another friend who is a Buddhist and ‘lucky pacifist’ warned me a few times of the danger of defining my conflict with the neighbours as a ‘war.’ It is a negative word which conveys an expectation of trouble and will only perpetuate the strife. It was useful advice and I was mindful on numerous occasions of not tempting fate. Rather than emphasise the negative I have endeavoured to engender an expectation of peace and harmony (for all the good it has done me!).

“If they see they’re not getting to you they give up and go away.” (Unless they live next door and they’re a total menace!).

 “Love knows no fear.”

“‘And ye, who have been bathed in this love, both in the inward and the outward worlds, are now ready to fling away selfish protection and to embark on that great adventure when the soul abandoneth mental desire and emotional satisfaction, and, freed at last from the fear of consequences and the illusions by which time holdeth his slaves, riseth as a bird from the ground and flieth with a song above the clouds.’” - St. Francis (The Shining Brother. Recording the spirit return of St. Francis of Assisi and its sequel Francis Speaks Again by Laurence Temple, Psychic Press, London, U.K., 1941, p.279).

Journey. From One Life to Another by Paco Rabanne (Element Books, Dorset, U.K., 1991).

p.155. This may sound naïve to some, but it is the only way to find harmony and to avoid being a victim of hate. On every occasion, one must approach the other in a positive way. By doing this, one realises that the outer negativity which may exist is diffused. It loses its purpose or boomerangs back to the one who emits it. One must never give way to rage. Anger is contracting: one says ‘I am on edge,’ ‘It gets on my nerves.’ Whereas everything becomes simple when one is open. Someone who is completely open, docile and available is never attacked. We say that the serpent does not bite the hermit, because the animal senses that the hermit wishes it no harm. It is a well known fact that dogs bare their teeth to people who approach them with bad intentions or with fear, whereas love knows no fear.

p.156. I firmly believe that the more we fear aggression, the more chance we have of being victimised. Having left the animal state, man has kept its instincts. Do not we immediately perceive when a person in front of us is hostile? That is just when we should avoid ‘blocking.’ With a little kindness, if we are malleable and receive each person with a smile, welcome them calmly, all goes well. Astonishingly, kindness is disarming. In fact, people will attack those who, deep down, have an undercurrent of aggression. The two negative poles clash and reject each other. When we have no hate in ourselves, nobody comes to attack us. Love is the best form of protection.

p.156. It is not a question of lowering one’s guard, but of refusing to play the aggressor. We should never approach people with our spirit filled with prejudices and preconceived ideas, for not to attack is also not to judge. We should accept people as they come, as they are.

“Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” - Mark Twain.

I recall reading a story about an old monk who kept fishing a scorpion out of the water each time it fell into the river. Each time the monk rescued the scorpion he was stung. An observer asked why he persisted instead of simply letting the little bugger drown. I can’t find the original quote but I imagine the monk replied that his patience and compassion would pay off eventually through his influence. Perhaps, if not in this life, then a later one.

Insects, as with most other creatures, are totally instinctive. They are going to do what they want or have to anyway. You can try talking to them, hoping that your intention, the vibration of your message, reaches them and affects their consciousness, but it is a waste of time in my view. It is in their nature to fly and buzz around like lunatics, to annoy or bite. Similarly, there are violent people who are going to bully and intimidate no matter what you say or do. They won’t listen to reason or respond to kindness. Violent people regard these modes of behaviour as weaknesses because they derive a feeling of power from destructive thought and action which temporarily relieves them of their own fears and insecurities. Yet, there are also those whom you influence by thought or example and bring out their better natures, at least for a while (it is fair to say, however, that, generally, I do not even have sufficient power to ward off insects using thought let alone trying to rival Buddha’s power to influence human beings by directing his Light towards them!).

Dick Solomon (John Lithgow): I know that it was his final request that I be forthright and honest, but, the problem is, I can’t seem to find anything good to say about this man. And I’ve been looking!

Father Rice (Bruce Ed Morrow): You know, Dick, everyone has goodness within them. If you look beneath the surface far enough, I think you’re going to discover and basic inner core of goodness that, well, makes us all children of God.

Dick: Oh? Well, I guess I’ll just have to try and find that in Dr. Hamlin.

Father Rice: [Pauses, with a look of concerned] Leonard Hanlin? [Dr. Solomon nods. Long pause] Oh, well, good luck! [Smiles and gets up to leave Dr. Solomon’s office].

- 3rd Rock From The Sun (Season 1, Episode 8, ‘Body & Soul & Dick,’ written by Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner, 1996).

[J], who has been on the receiving end of a few thuggish assaults, told me the thing about confrontation, especially of a physical nature, is that the person who confronts without cause - that is, who initiates violence based on excuses or over-defensive behaviour - just wants to fight; they just want trouble. I wish I could remember more of what he said. We were sitting at a bar in Camden on his brother’s birthday and I must have mentioned something about my problems with the neighbours. Out of the blue, he just came out with all this wisdom on the subject. I probably did not digest or remember it all because it was his wisdom, not mine. I just remember thinking, ‘Now there’s a wise old soul!’

Pigsy, you seem quite pleased with yourself for fucking my life up and knowing that you’re causing a nervous person to live in fear and possibly commit suicide. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to be a nasty person like you.

Perhaps, in part at least, Mr. Sociopath vented his frustration - that he needs friends but can never make any - on to me. Perhaps he would have preferred to have been friends but realised that I am too antisocial myself to a bully for a friend. Like Frankenstein’s monster, he is simply too inadequate and fucked up emotionally to connect properly with people on that level as true friends do. [Retrospective note: Mary Shelley once referred to the nameless monster in her famous novel as ‘Adam.’ Third-dimensional humanity is a monster created by misguided scientists who were conned by dark forces to tamper with our DNA to imprison us in the physical body!].

Retrospective inserts.

On the use of deterrents in society to deter people from committing crimes, Raynor C. Johnson says, “I think a lot of the deterrents are really for people who are going to do something that is wrong anyway; they will very rarely be put off by a deterrent because they have it within their beings to commit the negative act in the first place. If you are an angry man you will find a situation whereby you can justify your anger. Most people think that the situations come and then you become angry but it is because of the anger with already that the situation is drawn to you so that you can express your anger, and if you do not think clearly you will give yourself a self-righteous reason for being angry.” (In Touch with Raynor C. Johnson by Sheila Gwillam, Light Publishing, London, U.K., 1996, p.182).

Paco Rabanne also describes an incident in which someone used a black magician to attack him psychically. He says that he felt and knew what was happening and decided to imagine himself covered in thousands of tiny mirrors affirming that they would serve to return the negative energy to their sender a thousandfold. He later concluded, however, that the highest form of response would have been to send love. This, he says, if I remember correctly, is most effective response as well in the long-run since it not only protects one from harm but also provides an opportunity for the evil-bearer to grow spiritually. The love may not reach them, being rejected, but the energy might remain there somewhere until they are ready to feel it and, potentially, respond to it.

“Haters are cowards. When confronted they often back down.” – Angelica Wandering Angel (MySpace friend).

Which is why they only give vent to their hatred while they are protected at a distance and cannot be confronted directly and may not even be detected. They may wield power by remaining unseen and unknown. This is, after all, how the global elite have held on to absolute power over humanity for thousands of years. With neighbours it’s tricky because they are also protected by the fact that they are there constantly and can cause even more damage. They have nothing to fear because you have a vested interest, a personal need, that requires protection. That is, you want your home to be a peaceful environment in which to relax and you want to be able to sleep at night, eat your lunch in the garden during the summer, and experience some quality of life even if you live in a despicable urban ghetto of an environment! It is therefore, I believe, impossible to ‘love thy neighbour’ unconditionally when they really are your neighbour through perpetual proximity and can make your life hell just by behaving more selfishly and aggressively without having to be direct. Confronting them face-to-face does not alter the environment in any way or change the situation. When you return to your home they are at it again, doing their best to annoy you and make you feel miserable. If you keep going round to confront them you are merely allowing them to wind you up and endure more distress both directly and at a distance. They do not feel any need to face up to the truth or listen to their conscience because they know they are in a powerful position. They have their finger on the very button that hurts you at your soft core, in your very soul which is what we relax into when we are at home. In addition, they are protected by law. Annoying your neighbour in cunning or less dramatic ways is not a crime. And, if force is the only language they understand, then the situation is pretty hopeless because the use of force is against the law! As you can see from my experiences in there are no permanent solutions in this instance. I could have found myself in trouble had I even threatened either of the males next door with physical violence. They may even have wanted a reaction like that to report me and justify further abuse in ways that slip through the legal net whilst making me look like the troublemaker!

“There is no merit where there is no trial; and till experience stamps the mark of strength, cowards may pass for heroes, and faith for falsehood.” - Aaron Hill (www.quotelady.com/subjects/strength.html).

I have known people, like bouncers and soldiers, for example, who are more physical and know just what to do and what they can get away with should they feel that a situation requires the threat or use of physical force. In fact, I could have had someone pop round there at any time and knock this whole situation on the head once and for all within five minutes. I know what he’s capable of. Nobody would have known and the neighbours would have been way, way too scared to have continued or contacted anyone on the outside. I could even have sorted the Pigsy situation out in this way. They would have felt utterly paralysed, the way I was made to feel here in the past. It was on offer but it simply is not my way. I’m essentially a very gentle person and I believe that violence is to be avoided at any cost. Longing for a civilised society whilst being stuck in this hole may not be terribly realistic but, equally, I hate violence.

Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer): [About to rob a diner] I love you, Pumpkin.
Pumpkin (Tim Roth): I love you, Honey Bunny.
Pumpkin [Stands up brandishing a gun] All right, everybody be cool, this is a robbery!
Honey Bunny: Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherfucking last one of ya!

- Diner bandits scene in Pulp Fiction (directed by Quentin Tarantino, 1994).

W.A.S.P. (Heavy Metal band)

During the past few summers I have observed that the notion that the best way to deal with wasps is to simply sit still and leave them be. The fear and suspense then linger for the duration of the insect’s presence. There’s always that sense of ‘What if I accidentally move too quickly or have to do something that the wasp finds threatening?’ That is living in fear, I paralysis, not being able to relax and move around freely and spontaneously. That’s how bullies work! ‘What if…?’ What I have learned is that if one employs ruthless intent and goes for the wasp (providing there’s only one!) with a swift but well-timed swipe the wasp will not come back if it’s a direct hit or near miss. Anything less than that could be suspect. I wouldn’t know! All I know is that it’s important to seriously threaten the wasp’s very existence! As I said, I also know that this is really the only way to deter my neighbours from attacking me as well. What these ‘monster’ books are about, as I have explained in the introductions, is finding ways to act – or not – in these kinds of situations when such a dramatic extreme is not an option or one would not consider it or want to go down that road. Simply doing nothing also simply invites more trouble because there is no force, no energy, no power of intent (or love perhaps), to deter the wasp-like neighbours.

Sure, I understand that they are attracted to the sugar and just testing the ground and checking the area out to see what nosh might be available for them to steal. However, in this instance, the sugar is the opportunity for the neighbours to behave selfishly and proudly, and vent their anger and hatred on a victim. In this sense, there is very little difference between any of the neighbours whom I have had to tackle here. What they are stealing is my power and quality of life. They are sapping my energy and robbing my peace of mind so I feel even more helpless and they feel even more free to do what the fuck they like at my expense. These people also have similar motives for acting in such a hostile manner and, in this way, they share an affinity as a social group (which could be defined as the ‘dregs of society’). I’m outnumbered! And, yes, the most sensible, practical thing to do if there are two or more wasps hovering around the picnic is to move to a different area! This is an unaffordable solution in my situation for the time being unfortunately.

“When you are frightened by something, you have to relate with fear, explore why you are frightened, and develop some sense of conviction. You can actually look at fear. Then fear ceases to be the dominant situation that is going to defeat you. Fear can be conquered. You can be free from fear, if you realise that fear is not the ogre. You can step on fear, and therefore you can attain what is known as fearlessness. But that requires that, when you see fear, you smile.” - Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Smile at Fear. Awakening the True Heart of Bravery, Shambhala Publications, MA., U.S., 2009).

"The search for Reality is the most dangerous of all undertakings, for it destroys the world in which you live." - Nisargadatta Maharaj.

“A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.” - Buddha.

The Mask (Jim Carey): “It’s exactly two seconds 'til I honk your nose and pull your underwear over your head!” - The Mask (directed by Chuck Russell, 1994).