1. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 112 Self-Recrimination and Self-Destructive Guilt It has often been noted that many spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people have a problem with

2. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 113 self-recrimination (being overly critical of themselves) and that they also have a problem with self-destructive guilt (feeling bad about the wrong things that they have done). But a lot of people

3. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 114 have trouble figuring out just what it is that these vulnerable people have to feel so guilty about. The spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people are the ones who are often forced by the stronger

4. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 115 members of society to become the scapegoats for everything that goes wrong. And in doing so these vulnerable people often end up helping other people much more than they hurt

5. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 116 them (but of course they may not always be happy about the fact that they are always forced to be the scapegoats). One of the things that spiritually and psychologically vulnerable

6. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 117 people are criticized for (and one of the things that makes them feel guilty) is not speaking up and letting other people know how they feel about the things that bother them. But over the past few years many of these

7. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 118 vulnerable people have learned that when they do speak up and when they do let other people know how they feel, these same people who had previously encouraged them to speak up will more or less tell them to

8. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 119 "put up and shut up". After this happens the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people will no longer be critical of themselves for not speaking up through the years because they will realize that if they

9. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 120 had spoken up, it would not have made any difference anyway. So where is all of their self-destructive guilt coming from if they are no longer angry with themselves and if they are no longer

10. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 121 critical of themselves for not having spoken up in the past? The answer to that question appears to be that through the years the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people were dominated by the

11. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 122 stronger members of society. And the guilt that they are experiencing was imposed on them through the years by the stronger members of society who had been dominating them. Some of the vulnerable people had

12. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 123 a higher percentage of guilt imposed on them than did others but what they all shared was that through the years they had picked up deep-rooted feelings of guilt from the people who had dominated them.

13. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 124 Self-Recrimination (Internal Guilt) and Guilt Imposed By Other People (External Guilt) (Below is a Comparison of the Percentages of Internal Guilt and External Guilt in Two Individuals) Individual Number Two Internal Guilt – 40% External Guilt – 60% Individual Number One Internal Guilt – 20% External Guilt – 80% Self-Recrimination (Internal Guilt) and Guilt Imposed By Other People (External Guilt) (Below is a Comparison of the Percentages of Internal Guilt and External Guilt in Two Individuals) Individual Number Two Internal Guilt – 40% External Guilt – 60% Individual Number One Internal Guilt – 20% External Guilt – 80%

14. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 125 As these vulnerable people try to understand the nature of this guilt that was imposed on them (guilt that is now inside of them and that is now tearing them up inside) they may at first come to the conclusion that the people

15. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 126 who had been dominating them had felt guilty because of the spiritual and psychological damage that they had done to the vulnerable people. The vulnerable individuals had always sensed that the ones

16. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 127 who dominated them also seemed to care about them. But now that they realize that these people were not actually trying to help them, they have to figure out why the people who had dominated them had seemed

17. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 128 to be good people who had seemed to care about what happened to them (when now they have come to believe that these people who had dominated them actually didn't care about them).

18. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 129 Whenever a group places a person in the position of the scapegoat, the one who is the scapegoat starts contributing spiritual energy to the other members of the group. The stronger members of the group really do care deeply

19. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 130 about the scapegoat because they want to make sure that the scapegoat continues performing the role that they were given by society. If the scapegoat becomes stronger and if they step out of the role that they were assigned,

20. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 131 there is a chance that the people who had benefitted from the spiritual energy that was contributed by the scapegoat will start to become weaker. In analyzing the situation, it appears that the ones who dominated the

21. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 132 scapegoats through the years cared about them because of what the vulnerable person's weaknesses did to strengthen the group, not because they wanted the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable

22. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 133 person to become stronger. They were carefully monitoring the vulnerable person to make sure that they never became strong enough to step out of the role that they had been assigned. The people who dominated them

23. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 134 did not feel guilty for having damaged the vulnerable person spiritually and psychologically. In fact, the people who had dominated them might have felt guilty for not having done more to weaken them so that the

24. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 135 vulnerable person would have been forced to, in their role as the scapegoat, give even more of their spiritual energy to the group.

25. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 136 Most of us like to help other people if we are given an opportunity to do so. But we like to do it voluntarily. The use of sacrificial lambs and scapegoats is a part of our heritage but we should

26. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 137 perhaps start to think about moving onward. Instead of forcing people to give their spiritual energy away for the benefit of the group, maybe we should ask them if they

27. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 138 want to give. And if they say no, maybe we should say "that's fine, you don't have to".

28. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 139 If you asked 20 people what they thought about the argument that was presented above that spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people should not be forced to

29. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 140 give their spiritual energy to other people, you would probably get different opinions. One person might say, "yes, it is time for mankind to move onward in its evolution and stop the old fashioned spiritual practice of

30. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 141 robbing Peter to pay Paul (taking one person's spiritual energy and giving it to another person or to other people). But another person might say, "wait a minute. Let's be realistic for a moment. If it is true that we

31. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 142 have been taking spiritual energy from the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people and giving that spiritual energy to the other members of society, and if we suddenly start to give these people an even

32. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 143 break and start to treat them equally, then we are going to have a big problem on our hands." "At this point in history (right here, right now), we know that many of our

33. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 144 religions are based on myth, yet in spite of this we have still continued to hold onto some of our religious beliefs. We no longer believe in the myth of God, but we sense very deep and very complex exchanges of

34. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 145 spiritual energy taking place between ourselves and other people and this makes it impossible for us to turn our backs on our belief in spiritual forces. We are in a transition period where we know that the myth of God is not real,

35. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 146 but we also know that the spiritual power that we feel in our everyday lives is similar in some ways to what God was described to be like in the myths.”

36. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 147 "We are in a very delicate transition period and it would not be wise for us at this time to turn our backs on the use of spiritual sacrificial lambs and scapegoats. Things are very fragile right now. Those people who say that everyone

37. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 148 should be allowed to be free of spiritual bondage are not being realistic. The individual people who have been (and who continue to be) used as spiritual sacrificial lambs and scapegoats might want to be free of their spiritual bondage,

38. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 149 but the rest of us are not ready for this type of change at the present time.”

39. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 150 There are a lot of people in the world who think (and who believe deep in their hearts) that people who are spiritually and psychologically vulnerable will never be able

40. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 151 to break out of their spiritual and psychological bondage (and for this reason will always be crazy). They know that as long as people throughout the world feel that they need spiritual sacrificial lambs and scapegoats to

41. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 152 keep providing spiritual energy to the other members of society, then it is unlikely that these spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people will ever be able to break free of their spiritual bondage. The spiritual will of

42. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 153 the majority will be enforced and this very deep and very complex spiritual force that some people call God and that other people in another part of the world might call something else will block any effort made by spiritually and

43. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 154 psychologically vulnerable people to develop strong (or normal) exchanges of spiritual information and spiritual energy with other people. But if people throughout the world eventually decide that they

44. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 155 would be better off not relying on spiritual sacrificial lambs and scapegoats for their spiritual fulfillment, then the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people might be able to

45. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 156 start breaking free from the spiritual bondage that makes them crazy.

46. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 157 You may have found yourself in a situation where you went to a store or a car dealership because of an advertisement you saw that was displaying

47. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 158 a product that you wanted to buy and that was quoted at a very attractive price. When you got there you were told that the product was no longer available. At that time you might have gone home frustrated and disappointed

48. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 159 or you might have just fallen for the false advertising, allowing yourself to be convinced by the salesperson to buy another product that ended up costing you more money than you had intended to pay.

49. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 160 The store or the car dealership had told their salespeople that a "nail-down order" had been issued in regards to the item that had been advertised. In other words, the item was more or less "nailed-down" to the floor

50. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 161 (no one was going to be allowed to buy it). The advertised item was only being used to bring people into the store or the car dealership so that the salespeople could sell the customers products that

51. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 162 would bring in much higher profits than the advertised item would have brought in. When spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people become spiritual sacrificial lambs and

52. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 163 scapegoats early in life they might find themselves in the role of a customer who went into a store not knowing that a "nail-down order" had been issued on the product they were interested in.

53. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 164 The spiritually and psychologically vulnerable people might have tried to early in life to make the people in their community understand that they felt they had been unfairly deprived of their spiritual energy and that

54. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 165 they wanted that spiritual energy back. But just like salespeople are sometimes forced to go along with a "nail-down order", the people in the community where a person has been made into a spiritual sacrificial lamb or a

55. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 166 scapegoat might be afraid to help the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable person for fear that the people who had made the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable person into a spiritual

56. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 167 sacrificial lamb or scapegoat might do the same thing to them if they try to help the vulnerable person. Individuals who are approached by a spiritually and psychologically

57. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 168 vulnerable person early in life will tend to develop relationships with the vulnerable person that are very polite. They will feel that they cannot afford to get too close to the vulnerable person because they are

58. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 169 afraid that they will accidently let out the "secret" that society has robbed the vulnerable person of their spiritual energy and that society has no intention of giving that spiritual energy back to them. Because of the

59. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 170 fact that the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable person's relationships are based on this artificial premise, they naturally have trouble getting close to other people. They end up having polite relationships with men

60. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 171 and polite relationships with women. But because the men and women they are involved with tend to dominate them, they are likely to get into situations where the men they know and the women they know may

61. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 172 start relating to each other indirectly by exchanging spiritual energy through (or by way of) the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable person. For example, a spiritually and psychologically vulnerable

62. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 173 man may transfer the spiritual energy he receives from the men he knows to the women he knows (and likewise, he may transfer the spiritual energy he receives

63. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 174 from the women who he knows to the men who he knows).

64. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 175 Loving Through Other People (In the Example Below a Man and a Woman are Exchanging Spiritual Energy Directly Between Each Other and are also Exchanging Spiritual Energy Through [or by way of] a Spiritually and Psychologically Vulnerable Person) A Man A Woman A Spiritually and Psychologically Vulnerable Person

65. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 176 Early in life this transferring of spiritual energy that is done by the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable man is not too much of a problem. But as he gets older, he will naturally want

66. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 177 to start getting closer to the women he knows. And he will sometimes sense that these women want to get close to him. When a woman meets him she may be reminded of times in the past when she knew men like him

67. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 178 who transferred to her the spiritual energy of other men who she was attracted to at that time. The woman may show a lot of interest in him at first. But as she senses what is happening (that she is actually just receiving the

68. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 179 spiritual energy of other men who the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable man knows), it may occur to her that it might be more efficient for her to directly form relationships with the men who she is interested in,

69. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 180 rather than routing those relationships through another person (the spiritually and psychologically vulnerable man).

70. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 181 Societies in all parts of the world seem to be a long way from dropping the use of spiritual sacrificial lambs and scapegoats. Because of situations like the one described above (where normal men and women who

71. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 182 are not spiritual sacrificial lambs and who are not scapegoats are increasingly finding themselves confused by [and inconvenienced by] the end results of our present spiritual practice or robbing Peter to pay Paul), a lot of

72. The Philosophy of Exotischism The Essence of the Soul 183 people are starting to doubt the wisdom of getting our spiritual fulfillment by simply stealing the spiritual energy of some people and giving that spiritual energy to other people. Copyright 2009 Don Bergquist