Just One Look Forum Archives

Dear John and Carla,

Our meeting on Friday underscored how important it is for us to come up with new ideas on how the Just One Look Foundation can gain continuing financial stability. Existing emergency to emergency is not going to work anymore, especially in light of the needs of the Just One Look experiment.

I think we all left the meeting aware of our need for increased funding and determined to seek out potential donors or experienced fundraisers. Do you think we should ask others in the community to do the same thing?

In addition, I propose we ask members and forum contributors for ideas and suggestions. Even if they don't personally have the time to pursue those leads, their suggestions can guide and inspire us.

Let's start a dialogue so we can identify the resources necessary to solve this problem.

With love,

Bill Corcoran

This may sound silly and very naive, but someone like Oprah could be just the ticket. I remember her 10-week webcast course with Eckhart Tolle a few years back. She's very interested in "spirituality," so maybe this would be just what she's been looking for. How to get the message to her?

Well said, Steve. Yes, people commonly mistake their personality traits, thoughts, mind, emotions, body, sensations, perceptions, etc, as themselves. The evidence of that is everywhere, and it's an understandable mistake. We are brought up to believe in being all these "things," in "becoming" something, rather than the "attention" or "consciousness" that is aware of these experiences.

Perhaps, as you say, the Looking is more likely to spread as people become sane through Looking. This reminds me of what the Na'vi people in the movie Avatar would do--they would greet each other as a sign of respect with the words "I see you." I thought it meant they were seeing each other's essence, not just their physical aspect. The "god" in me sees the "god" in you. I see myself, in your eyes. I think this is something the Looking brings us to naturally recognize.

Namaste,

Jenny

Hello,

In my work as a breath therapist I guided people to become more aware of their breathing. The relaxed inspiration and exhale help to release emotions, relax tension in the body. For many this simple act of realizing they are breathing was already difficult and we want quick results, relief of the suffering and there is a lot of fear.

As John says, all these skills are much more effective now as I make the main focus the looking at the feeling of being you. As I become more, let's say, stabilized in feeling of me, this becomes easier to share and people feel less manipulated. So, I definitely see this as a way to introduce the looking, plus the client is already open to this simple suggestion. I'm not sure talking about the looking with family, friends, etc. has been useful, since their interest in inward looking is not there and my old habits of spiritual therapist know-it-all simply turn them off. Ha!

A few years ago I did write to Oprah about John's work (around thr time with Ekhart Tolle) however I received no response. Again her emphasis seems to be on improving on the life, but I think there could be an opening.

Maureen

Hi everybody,

It seems that this practical suggestion of looking at yourself might be very useful to Eckhart Tolle and others who have found themselves in some way free of the neurotic fear of life but without any specific practical instruction to give to the seekers they are trying to help. For those "lookers" that come in contact with the many earnest teachers and helpers in this realm (spiritual, psychological) who are out there, it couldn't hurt to point them towards this effective work via the fear of life essay or any of the other resources that John and Carla have built for us.

When I heard about David Parrish encountering this work I laughed to myself at what a great tool he had stumbled across. Imagine that. Something that works! Think of how quickly the idea of the bow and arrow might have spread through early human hunting culture when people saw how effective and practical a set of tools they were.

The tendency of some who found there way here (to the looking) early on might have been to discuss these things in a spiritual, philosophical or religious context (if at all). These discussions and related practices were the only tools we had to try to hunt down this apparent problem with life. By comparison the act of looking is like an invisible smart bomb next to the bows and arrows of the old methods. The effort is made to "launch" this hypothetical weapon and the feedback received has nothing to do with the imaginary target but rather with its absence.

To get back on track with the practicalities, this thing that we have all stumbled across will likely be appealing to anyone who hears of it regardless of their background. If I ran into Oprah or Eckhart on the street I would be as likely to tell them about this "looking" as I am to tell it to all the other people I meet on my path. I have seen amazing results in my relationship with my own life and heard some equally exciting reports from friends that I have shared this with.

The channels of discussion that have already been established by others such as Conscious.tv and Buddha at the Gas Pump etc. are great places to share this incredible tool. I wonder if David Parrish would be available to travel to England sometime to do an interview with Conscious TV. From my own correspondence with them I know they are interested in John's work. It appears they have a large and interested audience and some distribution on TV as well.

Maybe after we figure out how to get the basics (operating costs) paid for regularly with less of an emergency approach we could collect some funds to cover expenses for David Parrish, or any others who are skilled at articulating the practical nature of this work so clearly, to meet with more people and do a little press. Word of a helpful thing has a way of getting around and I have never before found something so helpful as this looking.

I think about these practicalities often and I will be glad to share any ideas that come up. I too would like to see what happens if more people were to come in contact with this simple suggestion.

Love,/p>

David A

We are all advocates of the looking and wouldn't be here if we weren't. I am happy to have found this teaching. One of its "drawbacks"--if you can call it that (and I don't)--is the reduced drive toward fame, recognition and even prosperity. Not that those life themes become less important; just that everything else occurring in front of you has a new shine and has gained in importance. Consequently, we are less compelled to attain fame, recognition or prosperity, which means that we may no longer possess the zealousness of good proselytizers. That suggests a slower spread of popularity for the teaching than we might desire. It also suggests that the teaching won't become cultish or--god forbid--religious.

So, I'm okay with bubbling along. I rejoice in the communication technology that facilitates transmission of the teaching across the planet--so different than earlier word-of-mouth eras. Perhaps by us taking advantage of the technology (like writing to each other in the Forum), we are accomplishing what we no longer are compelled to accomplish.

A final thought about supporting the work. I suspect money is as much of a trigger for everyone as it has been for me. My suggestion is that you bring to the light of your consciousness whatever arises in the way of feelings and emotions -- guilt, self-loathing, anxiety, anger, self-righteousness--as you make or fail to make any decison about supporting the work. The topic is just that--a topic--and an opportunity to bring your patterns and predispositons to light. They are as important as anything else and can be entertaining if you don't take them too seriously and make them into beliefs about yourself, only to be thrown out with all the other trash discovered in the looking. Trimpi

As far as I can see, there's a short-term and a long-term strategy needed. The long-term strategy is already set: getting enough people sane, so that the work can sustain itself by donations alone. Good enough. The time until this is the case however can be shortened by also pointing out the long-term positive effects the Looking has on health and relationships. Which body-mind is more likely to be healthy and in a loving relationship? A body-mind deeply afflicted by the fear of life/wound of alienation or one that isn't? There you go.

What's still missing is a short-term strategy, a cash-cow, if you will. I'd suggest cooperating with successful online businesses in a way that donations to Just One Look come with orders to them. The antivirus company I'm using has been doing that for years. For every $15 annual antivirus fee they also charge a $5 donation to the foundation they're supporting (help us make the offline world safer too), so in the end one has to pay $20 per service renewal. Thereby, we can kill two birds with one stone: We get enough donations to support the work and the Just One Look experiment, preferably with recurring orders as happens with consumable goods, hosting fees and the like, and we make the work more known and available to those folks who couldn't yet be bothered to seek an internal solution to their problems, which is practically everyone. And what could be a better moment to support a worthy cause than the moment you have taken out your credit card anyway?

I hope this is of use in the process of finding a short-term solution.

I feel confident that in this day and age a good number of people participating on this forum are users of social media sites.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, MySpace, etc.

If you are, then you have undoubtedly encountered things like--Follow Friday, News Tuesday, Share Sunday.

Well, what about OneLook Wednesday?

Once per week, on a day of your choosing (or if you're like me, chaotically on a random day each week), post about the looking. It does not have to be long, or pushy, just a mention that JustOneLook.org is out there, and that you have benefited from the looking.

If everyone here who has actually benefited from the looking were to do that once a week, we would reach the goal of 700 million. Word of mouth is still the greatest form of advertising out there. Friends trust what friends recommend.

Do your friends a favor, talk about the looking.

Just an idea.

The current need

Hello David 1,

Since you mentioned me in your post I thought I would post a response with some ideas and suggestions in reference to the practicalities we are currently faced with as an evolving organization.

We are (the organizing group for this work) working consistently on what is wanted and needed to move forward with the Just One Look Project (the communication of this suggestion to look to the world). At some point in the not too distant future there will be a jump forward in terms of the number of people in this community out of our efforts to get more exposure via the internet and other means. When we get to this point the number of people in the community will be sufficient to provide financial support for us to continue to evolve toward the organization required to reach our goal of 700 million people. Until that time the existing community is the primary source of financial support. We are the start up community for this work to be brought to the world. The difference will be that people won't just be inspired by this as is the case with so many teachings and practices, people will be transformed, go sane, actually experience what they have heard is possible us as human beings. This is what will cause this work to become a revolution in human consciousness.

Until we make the next leap forward and gain momentum it is critical that we the community express our ownership of this work. It is not John's work, or Carla's work, or my work, it is "our work". Once you have done the looking and started to realize the results and efficacy of this method it is "natural" to recognize that the bills that need to be paid are "our" bills.

John is very adamant about this work being free and available to anyone who hears of it and I agree that this work, this method belongs to humankind as a birthright. Having said that I request that anyone who reads this generate a conversation for ownership of this work. The most practical and useful way to support this work is to make an automatic monthly donation. If each of us who knows the power and value of this work simply donated a dollar a day the on going financial concerns would come to an end.

Thank you for your participation in this community.

Love

David

Hello David P,

Thanks for the reminder that this is "our work" and of the practical costs involved. I have spent some recent days assessing my monthly expenses and I agree that it is well worth adding a dollar a day for Just One Look to the the list. Of all the projects that I find myself working on this is the most compelling. I am amazed every time I am able to communicate clearly to someone the simple suggestion we are making.

I'm glad to be here participating and glad to help with the expenses.

I very much appreciate the videos that you have posted on your You Tube channel.

Love,

David A

Kevin Bacon

First off, thank you David P for your explanation of the current state of affairs, that "this is it, for now" and that only the people actively involved right now will decide where this will go. But I trust that this movement is not something which will stagnate or die out over time. More people will get involved, better ways and words to communicate the suggestion to look will grow, and at one point it WILL change gear.

For my personal ideas about practicalities, I find it important to keep in mind that what John suggests is an answer to a question only very very very very few people have. In an abstract global view, it is an answer to humanity's crazy self destruction, but on a personal level, only a very small part of humanity has the personal context and the need to understand its value, and those people (us) actually find themselves at home in the suggestion in a very easy and natural way. Like I said to Bill C. when we first met, I find it very important to get the suggestion to the people that actually need it right now, but who don't know it exists. My not yet very thorough appraisal of the people involved right now makes me think most of them have a background of sometimes decades of wandering in the spiritual desert, and I think in the short term, we need to make it as easy as possible for those of us still wandering in that desert - those are the people that value the suggestion, as well as the practical needs required to bring it to even more people, so that step by step people will see the use of this bow and arrow, and people will start to understand the value of the looking, like they had to learn the value of the understanding that the earth isn't flat. But that's just another abstract look on the matter.

Right now, and in my opinion, the most practical way to do this is to raise the chances for those people to just know John exists - statistically, mathematically speaking. For instance, there still is no Wikipedia entry about John. Maybe this has a reason, but the way Wikipedia and the internet works, which is through cross referencing, it would raise the chance for many who are ready for the suggestion, to find John and the looking. This idea is based on the Kevin Bacon/six degrees of separation theory, and I think it applies to John just as well, and one of our duties (!) is to facilitate or create the interpersonal links that will bring people to look.

Just my 2 euro cent!

Wouter

Dear Wouter,

There are articles being written and published online and in print all over the world about John, and people actually setting up websites that refer people to the work we're doing here. If you google John Sherman, you'll find a lot of them.

As to Wikipedia, I agree with you that an entry about John should be there already.

In 2009, David Bergwall from Uppsala, Sweden, made an entry about John. Unfortunately, it was removed by Wikipedia moderators. Not really sure why that happened.

So, we're still waiting to see someone who will take on the job of doing the research and writing a good piece about John for Wikipedia. We will be more than happy to review the article and contribute as much as we can to make it complete and accurate.

Wikipedia rules don't allow us do do it ourselves. It must be done by someone else and it must not sound like a promotional piece.

Carla

Wikipedia

Hi Carla, thank you for the link. Bill C. already sent me some links to external websites that feature some of John's writings and link to the site. I'm actually going to try and contact people in Belgium and the Netherlands that are active in or lead spiritual and other support communities, to make them aware of what we do here. I invite anyone that reads this to do the same.

As for the Wikipedia page, I will read the entry, see what the Wiki rules state so I can make changes if needed, and search the web for third party/objective sources, or whatever is needed to make sure the page is kept online. Again, if anyone reads this who can help me provide any of this information, all help is very welcome!

Wouter

Wouter,

1) I have the link to the Seattle Times / Alex Fryer article about John as it appears archived on the Seattle Times website. This might be a good "third party/objective source," and it might be better to link directly to the newspaper's site, rather than to where it appears on John's Blog. Here's the link: https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19990624&slug=2968311.

If the link above doesn't make it, you can easily find it by googling for "The Evolution Of A Revolutionary an article by Alex Fryer."

2) The Randall Fitzgerald article titled "Escape From The Prison of Mind" is another obvious source Escape from the Prison of Mind but so far as I can tell, it currently doesn't exist online except on a Dutch website. It can be referenced as an offline source: "Fitzgerald, Randall (2005). Escape From The Prison of Mind. Phenomena Magazine", something like that.

3) This probably is less useful, but in any case: there is a Wikipedia article titled "FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 1970s," which lists John Sherman, his sequence number (#367), and the date John made it on the list. That article cites and links to the original FBI document, which is archived online. So, perhaps this is something else to add to the list of "third party references."

I might want to help a bit more with this endeavor, including the writing/editing, if you'd like help. I'm not especially qualified, but I'm well versed in John's story and the evolution of the discourse/conversation. The David Bergwall entry is excellent but the references to John suggesting "Ramana's self-inquiry" are a little out of date.

It might be easier for us to communicate by email, which is accessible through my profile.

Best,

Eugene

Hello Eugene,

Thank you for that info, the link to the Seattle Times was one of those things I needed to start writing, saves me some googling time! I tried looking for your email on your profile, but couldn't find it for the life of me. I've changed my profile settings so you should be able to email me directly now. Like you suggested, I would appreciate the help on describing John's "teaching" in Wikipedia-safe but accurate wordings.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Wouter

From Eugene:

Turns out that your profile still needs to be set to allow emails from members if that is what you want.

Setting your profile so that people can email you directly from the forum is pretty easy:

1. Click 'Settings' in the upper right corner of the screen.

2. Look at the far left side of the screen, and you will see a section called 'My Settings'

3. In the second section below that ('My Account'), click on 'General Settings'

4. Now, look just to the right of 'My Account', and check the box 'Receive Email from Other Members'

5. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and click 'Save Changes'

Now any forum member will be able to email you by clicking on the 'Send Email' choice in you profile. They will not see your email, nor will you see theirs.

Thanks for your work here Eugene,

John

Hi, this is my maiden post here.

A friend and I founded a discussion community over 8 years ago, and there are a couple of simple things that can help with the funding. Firstly, up front and center on the forum's homepage you should have a paypal button for donations. It really does help to support the costs of the forum. You might post when John and Carla's birthdays are, and suggest a small donation to honor that.

Also I'm willing to guess that many of your members belong to other forums that discuss spiritual/awakening stuff, such as mine. I am happy to report that John's work is mentioned fairly regularly, and i see a few familiar names here at this forum. Just today a member at the forum asked for an "Idiots Guide" to enlightenment, and I was pleased to point him to Just One Look.

Dear Heidi,

Thank you very much for the suggestion to add a PayPal Donate button to the forums. As you can see, we just added it. Good idea!

Love,

Carla

Dear John, Carla and all fellow 'lookers'

I was thinking about how to spread the word about the Just One Look campaign. The other day I saw the website of the Thrive Movement www.thrivemovement.com/ One of the things they offer is a place called "Take Action" where people can get to know about different types of actions that aim for a critical mass. What about connecting with them, introducing The Looking and see if "Just One Look" could be one of the actions to get to know through that site?

It seems they are going big, reaching a lot of people and why not be part of that co-creation of spreading the word?

Lots of love,

Helene

I don't think this is a very practical suggestion, but I can see how John's life story could easily be turned into a full feature Hollywood movie which would draw attention to the work. Detonations of buildings (nice special effects), an underground group of revolutionaries, gun fights with law enforcement, prison, escape, most wanted list, "enlightenment" experience. Then stumbling into a life changing discovery. It's all there for an exciting story. Any screenwriters out there?

Or a documentary movie which can be made with smaller budget.

Seppo

I read a freely distributed paper called Metro daily on my way to work, and there is a section where readers can send text messages to discuss any topic. Is it the case in other countries, too? It's an international paper coming out all over the world and must have millions of readers every morning. I'm wondering if instructions to look can be texted there on a regular basis? I suppose it doesn't cost much.

Seppo

One of the things I've been thinking about is to how to categorize inward looking if you want to talk about it to people. John has been pointing out that seeing it as another version of spiritual teaching is not beneficial and the aim is to put it as clearly as possible in simple words and then spread it as widely as possible. Or do we aim to frame it differently for different target groups?

It seems to me that people put everything they hear into one category or another according to their idiosyncrasies. So can it be any or all those categories at once? If I talk to a "spiritual" person I may talk about it as another version of self inquiry, and get him or her looking. Or if I talk to someone who is clinically depressed I frame it as self-help or therapy. Or I can just ask someone if they've ever wondered what's the feeling of me-ness behind their daily life and how it's actually there all the time. The thing is that to do it just out of curiosity doesn't attract many, I guess. I talked about this with a friend and what came out was that seeing it as the culmination of all the millennia of search for an answer for suffering is counterproductive. It sounds too unbelievable even if it actually is just that. And too exclusive. It seems that people want to believe in many paths to freedom. So my tentative favorites are therapy and self-help approaches as they are unassuming and don't have any larger-than-life associations. I would also like to see a study of it's efficacy as a therapeutic measure in treating depression or anxiety, as was proposed in some other thread. Scientific credibility would be excellent in spreading the message. It will take a long time to establish, though.

Also, as it seems that the results of looking might take years to show up in your life and convince you, that spreading by word of mouth can be slow. I got engaged with this more than a year ago and it's only now that I'm tentatively convinced and recommend it to people from my experience. From this I feel it will take decades or even more to spread this with the results it brings. Maybe I'm wrong. Just concerned.

Seppo

You might want to sign up for the Grassroots group, Seppo.

John