I was reading an article yesterday about phishing schemes—junk email that purports to be from your bank or some other organization you're involved with, claiming that they need you to re-enter your identifying information so they can update their records. If you fall for it and click the link, you enter a fraudulent website that looks just like the real thing. If you enter your information, the owners of the site can then steal it.
In the initial spam email, there is always either a vague threat of loss if you don't comply or a promise of great gain if you do. Your credit will be blocked, your good name on ebay will be tarnished, you'll inherit a million dollars—whatever.
The article was about web browsers that warn you when you are about to enter a fraudulent or dangerous web site, giving you a chance to back out before going further.
I awoke at around 1 a.m. last night after a dream in which an acquaintance was telling me that she entered just such a website and it turned out to be so malevolent that she was unable to exit the site and bit by bit everything on her hard drive was being contaminated. In the dream I was certain that she didn't know how to exit a hung program on the Mac (command, option, escape) so I pulled up the site on my own computer to show her how to do it.
It was some kind of entertainment site, and predictably enough, when I hit the "force quit" key-combination it didn't work. Nothing worked. The program was invading my hard drive as we watched and I was unable to even shut down the computer. The only alternative left was to pull the plug.
Unless you click the link and go to the phony site to enter your information, a phishing scheme is nothing but a harmless annoyance. Its life lasts from the time it enters your email box until you hit delete.
It's the same with thought. When you believe a thought, you are clicking the link, entering your information and prolonging the life of the thought by giving it your identity. When a thought becomes true for you, it gains longevity, the only longevity it has.
In meditation, it's appropriate to pass on clicking any links whatsoever as you watch thoughts arise, peak, and dissolve against the sky of awareness. In daily life it also takes vigilance to avoid getting involved with destructive, suffering-producing strings of thought.
If you do find yourself entangled in a line of thinking that is causing you pain, or if you find yourself feeling compelled to do something out of fear of loss, or from a sense of being incomplete and lacking, it's a signal that you've already clicked the link mindlessly and you're now knee-deep in the malware. There's nothing to do but force quit. Notice the internal dialogue and just drop it.
Ideally you want to have a mind like those web browsers that flash a warning screen at you when you are about to enter a fraudulent site, rather than becoming conscious only when you are struggling to exit a life-situation brought about by following a line of thought. This is the meaning of mindfulness.
And THAT is a freakin' awesome example of how to express it to a tech-savvy audience.
It's mostly CTRL-ALT-DEL in my world, but I totally get it.
Posted by: Simon | January 07, 2009 at 09:40 AM
Thanks, Si. I felt kind of silly writing this one, but reminders of the basics in whatever way might make sense to someone, seem important.
Posted by: marian | January 07, 2009 at 10:24 AM
"...or if you find yourself feeling compelled to do something out of fear of loss..." This is the surrender? To stop trying to fix your life? That takes a bunch of trust.
Posted by: Leslie | January 07, 2009 at 01:21 PM
Nice analogy!
Posted by: Lynne | January 07, 2009 at 02:58 PM
Speaking of basics: Are you familiar with A Crash Course in Miracles? The website is http://www.cloudsun.com/
and they have a new video that is great for introducing students to ACIM. Their podcast is available from iTunes also.
Posted by: Lynne | January 07, 2009 at 03:04 PM
Hi Leslie, yes it does take trust. Or perhaps it takes getting to the point where you are sick of not trusting!
Posted by: marian | January 07, 2009 at 03:15 PM
Hi Lynne, no I wasn't aware of it. I'll check it out.
Posted by: marian | January 07, 2009 at 03:15 PM
Bingo! Thank you Marian. This is something really exciting...
XOXO
-Leslie
Posted by: Leslie | January 07, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Lynne,
I went to the web site you listed but have been unable to get the video to play. Will it play on a computer? Help.
will
Posted by: will | January 08, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Will,
The .mov file will play on a computer. I'm just not sure what software is needed to play a .mov file. I got the video file from iTunes and it works fine. iTunes is free and available for PC or Mac. The podcast (also free-don't you love free) is A Crash Course in Miracles. You can search on that or search on Phillip Urso.
If you are still having trouble leave them a comment at www.cloudsun.com. They are pretty good at getting back with you.
Posted by: Lynne | January 09, 2009 at 08:33 AM
Great post, Marian. I'm continually amazed at your capacity for coming up with the most helpful analogies!
Posted by: Aileen | January 09, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Sometimes I'm mindfull, fleeting moment, then I get so tired... But still, everyday, it gets easier, I understand more, I learn new stuff and put it to use. Thank you for your Part in this Marian!
xxoo
Posted by: lu | January 10, 2009 at 04:30 AM
Leslie--good!
Aileen--hi, sweetheart.
lu--all it takes is those moments, just the fleeting moment, over and over and over. It's like exercising a weak muscle. Repetition, not constant effort, is what is required.
Posted by: marian | January 10, 2009 at 09:12 AM