Eric Boyd wrote:
> Unfortunatly, the level 3 membership ranks have swelled to at least
> three (Brodie, Reed and Tim),
> "flowery" around here.
Better make that 4. I haven't entered the Levels fray because it seems as though people invest a lot more in attacking and defending the concept than it's worth, but the level 2/level 3 distinction is, for me, a comprehensible one that can be used to empart information about an individual's perceptions and strategies for living.
Richard perpetuates the debate by sparking resentment in folks with his pithy and abbrasive posts, and folks who might otherwise have encountered his tripartite distinction, thought, "hmmm... interesting," and then moved on instead squander many hours, loads of credibility, and inordinate amounts of psychic energy perpetuating the debate. Sure, they may be arguing against the existence of level 3 (as if Richard had claimed to have discovered a new comet or sub-atomic particle), but the result is to perpetuate Richard's pet meme in the communal Virion consciousness, which can only be good news if you're selling a book on the topic.
If you don't think that this level business is a useful concept, or if you're offended by being told that you're not enlightened, then I would suggest that you ignore references to levle 3. If you don't think that level 3 exists, then I don't know what you think level 3 is supposed to be. Saying there's no such thing as level three is like saying there's no such thing as "adaptive" or "flexible."
Well, like all of us, I could go on forever on this topic, but I have no intention of doing so.
Take care, all.
-KMO