The development of Facebook is enormous, Facebook which is also affected in various ways by the sly fellows who have invented it, is a great communication tool. But perhaps it is worthwhile to better understand some of the mechanisms. In particular, the strange question of "like".
This is not an harmless mechanism, but its operation is rather thin.
When we receive a note posted on Facebook, we can comment on it, click "like", and share it. The easiest way to show approval for the note is the most instinctive, that says "I like it". A high number of "likes" expresses the fact that a note has a certain popularity. And so, if we agree with what is written, with a picture or a movie, we simply say "like", as if we want to give to it validity and credibility in front of everyone.
Then it happens that many of us feel uncomfortable when in the note or image there is something very negative, because we would just say that we agree with the fact that the note highlights some negative aspect of reality. But that does not mean that “we like“ that negative fact. In fact we do not like it at all.
So why should we continue to use this inadequate "like"? Why couldn’t we use I agree, I disagree or something else?
Let's explore some aspects:
If I could click on a button that says I agree, I sympathize... I would put into play some parts of the soul or psyche, which are of superior type, and which are the result of an inner processing of some kind, of which somehow we become aware and responsible.
The mechanism "like" or "do not like" is instead a reaction, a response that arises spontaneously in us every time we enter into a relationship with a
something that comes to our attention. For every thing that comes into my life, there is a "like" or "do not like" automatic. The rise of this feeling of pleasure or displeasure we are not responsible.
According to spiritual science we are not responsible for the feeling of pleasure or displeasure that arises within us, but then we are responsible for what we do with that feeling: this involves our consciousness.
And from this processing work done by our consciousness it turns out that not everything we like is good for us and for the people, the beings and the environment around us. And also that not everything we do not like is necessarily negative.
Only the work done by our consciousness, just somehow passing and using the spontaneous mechanism, allows us then to better understand
reality and to decide on what to do in a conscious way.
If instead of doing this work we let ourselves go to the initial feeling of like or do not like, we only let grow areas of our psyche that reinforce blind unconsciousness against the growth of our consciousness.
Somehow the “I like“ button on FB enters subtly into this mechanism. And it does so in a different way depending on the level of awareness of those who have to choose whether to use it and how.
Who is mature enough uses the "like“ button on FB only once made a few conscious processing. But if we are still at an immature stage,
or we are distracted and not particularly centered and dominated by the "belly", we tend to click on "like" on the basis of our first emotional reaction.
And this does nothing but strengthen our scarcely aware part, linked to raw and still not processed feelings.
What happens now is that if, for example, a blogger wants to have great results, that he can "sell" as well as advertising, it is comfortable to play on the modest and strong feelings of the reader, and excite them with notes studied on purpose. In all fields.
Limiting ourselves to politics and the economy, just make strong attacks to thieves, financial powers, multinational corporations and armies, avoiding any positive aspect on how to engage to do good, to have an avalanche of "like"s, accompanied by very long lists of comments full of dripping foul hatred language... of "like"s that basically say, "I like the fact that I do not like." "I like the fact that I hate these things."
We are not saying that we should not be outraged by what is wrong - and that it is a lot and that it should be reported clearly.
But we think it is worthwhile to underline that you may end up accentuating indignation turning it into a wave of hatred, avoiding that exercise of conscience who would like to work to transform what is wrong in an incentive to do well.
To be proud of hating, makes grow our not loving component, the not conscious component.
The great forces againt awareness that are often behind these great phenomena are favorable to the development of waves of hatred for several reasons:
because they lead to inaction (because we run out of that feeling a lot of energy, because hatred satisfies us giving the responsibility of what is wrong to others, and because they arouse in us the feeling against these terrible and powerful bad people against which you can do nothing but hate them), and because hate blocks the growth of consciousness. That developed itself by combining constructive love to our thoughts.
And because our non-conscious part is also the most easily manipulable ... We just have to lead us towards certain directions relying on our emotional reaction, not reflexive and not conscious, and that's it ...
Once they were called "strategies for the control of the masses" ... As with everything that comes to us in the web, for Facebook also it is possible to apply the criterion according to which it can be a valuable tool for growth and communication, but also an amplifier of our lower feelings. It depends on which part of us uses it: consciousness ... or the "belly" ...
Let's use it as a great tool for growth!
Fausto Carotenuto
President of Coscienze in Rete
http://www.coscienzeinrete.net/
