found this site just a week ago thinking it might be a good place to share ideas and connect, a place to ask questions and learn, a yogic place filled with kind, positive people devoted to, and blessed with yoga, like me.
i found some of that, and for those responses I am grateful, yet i found much more ego, arrogance, attitude and close-mindedness than i dreamed would be possible here, and in only a weeks time…
amazing, in a yoga forum…
aloha, T
[QUOTE=eddiespaghetti;55976]found this site just a week ago thinking it might be a good place to share ideas and connect, a place to ask questions and learn, a yogic place filled with kind, positive people devoted to, and blessed with yoga, like me.
i found some of that, and for those responses I am grateful, yet i found much more ego, arrogance, attitude and close-mindedness than i dreamed would be possible here, and in only a weeks time…
amazing, in a yoga forum…
aloha, T[/QUOTE]
Oh man… don’t get me started on this… many people agree with you here, no question. The most aggressive forum I’ve ever been on by far, is this ‘yoga’ forum. Love it or hate it, it’s the simple, ironic truth.
I think you will find a few agressive people but on the whole people are peaceable on the forum , but of course they are people and display some of the qualities you mention, maybe you are hearing the loud ones , you will notice that they are are all off the male variety . Perhaps sometimes we misinterpret robust debate for arrogance etc . also the forum seems to go in cycles when I first arrived it was peace and plenty lately its been war and jaw jaw , you can of course block some of the more neanderthal folk and this makes for a peaceable read , it really does , but sometimes we are perhaps excited by the conflict or drawn to it like looking at a car crash. Expectations ehh , who’d have them. Om shanti
Well since this is a thread now, I have to say, what usually disappoints me in this forum is when I try to engage in a discussion and then come back to find that someone has addressed me personally but completely twisted what I wrote. Instead of the discussion moving along, I feel like I have to backtrack and correct people’s misinterpretations. Or else just abandon the forum out of frustration.
I wish that we could improve our communication on here by just reading what people write without attempting to interpret hidden intentions. Good topics get derailed when we start interpreting instead of reading. I like talking about yoga, not about who’s defensive and so on.
Maybe it is not a bad idea to quote some culprit mesages and their authors. It might help
in rooting out the weeds.
I would give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that when people log into this forum they are thinking “I want to discuss yoga” and not “I want to throw around my attitude and piss people off.”
Communication face to face is hard enough. Communication on a forum is even harder. I think it would be great if we could use the opportunity to improve our communication skills instead of making a witch hunt over who is arrogant and who is close-minded. No [I]person[/I] is a weed – it’s actions that are undesirable. I think it would be more yogic to welcome everyone while making it clear what actions are unwelcome.
The other day I went to the doctors office and there were sick people in the waiting room. Then I went to the gym and there were overweight people. Then I went to AA and there were alcoholics.
But don’t worry, I filed complaints at each place so hopefully we’ll get this resolved real quick. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go to each place and scream at them for being sick, fat, and drunkards so I’m sure they’ll stop then so they can be just like me. Om shanti.
david,
apples and oranges you’re comparing…if you had found the opposite of what was expected, then you’d be on with the analogy…
certainly not expecting people to be “just like me”, just to be adult, kind, and open-minded. to address others with respect and humility. yoga brings some to a higher state of consciousness, a higher, more connected, compassionate and happy state of being, i thought i’d find that here. i also realize some, many have not found the higher lessons yoga offers, so i accept this site with it’s limitations…
not going to name names, not my way. i think everyone is doing their best with what life has given them thus far and how they have processed that. i will simply hope life shows those who were arrogant, crass, and full of ego a better way…
forgive me for being an idealist and hoping for the best…
[QUOTE=eddiespaghetti;56013]yoga brings some to a higher state of consciousness[/QUOTE]
A trip to the doctor’s office brings some to a higher state of health.
A trip to the gym brings some to a higher state of fitness.
A trip to AA brings some to a higher state of sobriety.
A trip to yogaforums.com brings some to a higher state of consciousness.
To expect not to see people at every stage at each of those places is to have an unrealistic expectation. My job here is to create a space for people at every stage, and that includes tolerance and acceptance of many things that can be quite difficult to be accepting and tolerant of such as spiritual narcissism.
Great book by a great being . Chogyam
Trungpa Rimpoche
I think being an idealist entails seeing the best in people in not mentioning their failings. Being an idealist is not pointing out the worst in people and entreating them to mend their ways.
[QUOTE=charliedharma;56015]Great book by a great being . Chogyam
Trungpa Rimpoche[/QUOTE]
Thanks for pointing that out! I wasn’t aware of that book. Spiritual narcissism is such a common misstep for all of us on this path.
idealism is the cherishing or pursuit of high or noble principles, purposes, goals, etc, yet not blindness to what is…
Is the pursuit of high or noble principles achieved by pointing out other people’s failings? Many spiritual leaders profess that we can only work on ourselves.
Chosing to focus on the positive in people instead of the negative is not blindness. It’s compassion.
[QUOTE=David;55998]The other day I went to the doctors office and there were sick people in the waiting room. Then I went to the gym and there were overweight people. Then I went to AA and there were alcoholics.
But don’t worry, I filed complaints at each place so hopefully we’ll get this resolved real quick. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go to each place and scream at them for being sick, fat, and drunkards so I’m sure they’ll stop then so they can be just like me. Om shanti.[/QUOTE]
I absolutely understand the point you are making, and to a certain degree having these people in our lives is how we can develop patience and tolerance. I mean, if we didn’t have people to push our buttons, then how on earth can we test and develop patience.
Also, we can ignore personal attacks if we choose. It may be hard, as forum is where we lay our opinions and emotions on the table, but we can be the better person and leave it if we choose. I do get all that.
From the other side however, it a funny irony that this type of aggression and arrogance is so prevalent on a ‘yoga’ forum.
For example, I also go on the MAA forum… a ‘fighting’ forum!! And usually get treated with respect and dignity and openness… yet on this forum, I’ve been called an idiot twice in the past week alone for merely putting forward my own view.
I am a big boy now, and I understand that people feel power to attack over the net, cause they don’t have to face who they are attacking, but you got to admit… It’s pretty funny that the most aggressive forum is a yoga forum. That’s a really hilarious irony.
[QUOTE=YogiAdam;56035]… It’s pretty funny that the most aggressive forum is a yoga forum…[/QUOTE]
Perhaps these are signs of yoga practice went wrong ? As yoga brings out latent power, and when practice without yamas and niyamas, became a two-edged sword, hence double aggression ?
Yogiadam said " From the other side however, it a funny irony that this type of aggression and arrogance is so prevalent on a ‘yoga’ forum.
cause they don’t have to face who they are attacking, but you got to admit… It’s pretty funny that the most aggressive forum is a yoga forum. "
I have to say that I have never felt that anyone has been aggresive towards me , but then I dont feel agressive towards anyone on the forum , Other emotions sometimes,
Im not a visitor to any other forums and find it hard to beleive that this is the most agressive forum , surely a slightly aggresssive assertion YA;) If this is agressive as it gets then praise be for the Human race. Maybe ive misunderstood and you mean this forum is more aggressive than the mma one ?
YA If they were to "attack " you face to face what would you do then ? 
I have seen all types of human behaviour on this forum , probably because it is populated by humans with the odd alien.
David has created the Yoga forum as a space for people who are interested in Yoga.
On this forum we find three major types of people:
Those who see Yoga as just a physical exercise system to get fit. They tend to talk more about asanas. They spend most of their time in the main Yoga forum.
Those who see Yoga as a spiritual system to get enlightened. They tend to talk more about pranayama and meditation. They spend most of their time in the spirit forum.
Those who see Yoga as a religious system. They tend to be divided into three categories:
Yoga is secular
Yoga is Hinduism
Yoga and Christianity
They spend most of their time in the religion forum.
Now because there are so many types of people with so many types of opinions and views, there is going to be conflict. You can guarantee any space that allows diversity of opinion will have conflict.
Now what do you suggest David do censor certain types of views? Remove people with certain views? In which case which views should be kept and which should be censored?
In an ideal world we would all just accept our differences and co-exist peacefully and harmoniously. But this is the real world, in the real world difference leads to conflict. In my case my major view is Yoga is Hinduism and Hinduism is the most superior religion on the planet. Those who disagree with my view, often disagree violently and liberally use personal attacks aginast me. I have been called everything from a terrorist, extremist to a racist. Sad, but thats reality of how people react to my views.
A Yoga forum does not mean that the people who come here are superhuman. No, people who come here are human who have an interest in Yoga. They behave like humans. They are human, so expect human behaviour. If you have one view and another person has another, expect conflict.
It is also important to point out that usually it is the people who complain the most about the Yoga forum not being peaceful, who are guilty of contributing to this state. Yogiadam you complain about this forum being aggressive and you being called an idiot on two occasions in just a week, but I am sorry, you have threatened physical violence against two members of this forum within the past week. So you really should be the last person on this forum to complain about aggression.
I love what David once said to you and recall it everytime you complain: you are an arsonist complaining about fire alarms.
And Trinley, is it not true that in a recent discussion with me you acted highly intolerant towards my views on feminism, personally attacked me and then terminated the conversation.
It is usually people who complain the most about ego, aggression, arrogance and attitude who have these problems themselves. These people will point out these problems in other people and act like they themselves are immune from them.
[QUOTE=charliedharma;56047]Yogiadam said " From the other side however, it a funny irony that this type of aggression and arrogance is so prevalent on a ‘yoga’ forum.
cause they don’t have to face who they are attacking, but you got to admit… It’s pretty funny that the most aggressive forum is a yoga forum. "
I have to say that I have never felt that anyone has been aggresive towards me , but then I dont feel agressive towards anyone on the forum , Other emotions sometimes,
Im not a visitor to any other forums and find it hard to beleive that this is the most agressive forum , surely a slightly aggresssive assertion YA;) If this is agressive as it gets then praise be for the Human race. Maybe ive misunderstood and you mean this forum is more aggressive than the mma one ?
YA If they were to "attack " you face to face what would you do then ?
I have seen all types of human behaviour on this forum , probably because it is populated by humans with the odd alien.[/QUOTE]
If anyone was talking to me face to face, they wouldn’t call me an idiot… you can take my word on that.
@SD, did you notice how my aggression was in RETALIATION to being called an idiot?? I don’t suppose that occurred to you at all?
Look at this thread alone!! The point is becoming quite clear. Well done Eddiespagetti… you are spot on.