18: Why did you choose Bruce Leroy as a pen name?
Alas, there are many reasons for choosing Bruce Leroy as my pen name.
I want to remain anonymous. Like most people, I need to interact with others all of the time. I need an income in order to sustain myself and be independent. This work does not provide me with a means to that end, at this time. I’ve told parts of my story to friends in the past and basically they managed to take something positive and make it negative. My attempts at smoothing over those relationships only succeeded in leaving them feeling as though I was patronizing them or that I thought that I was better then they were. But how could I believe in my importance over another person and expect another to believe in me? It’s not even logical to me. In terms of human nature it is understandable, people tend to resent what they don’t understand. I guess that they would probably think that they were better if they had a similar experience and were projecting that to me. It is true that I’m a very confident person when it comes to expressing myself, so in the end, exposing my experience leads to others misinterpreting my aura. I prefer to walk up to people as an unknown. That allows me to change without the hindrance of yesterday’s definition of who I am. It also allows others to do the same with me, they can express themselves without thinking that I’m second guessing them. Right after I had the experience, I did tell allot of people, but strangers. I wanted to share and also see what their reaction would be. Most of them did take it very positively. When I tell the story of my enlightening experience in person, you can see in my eyes and feel the truth in it. Let’s just say that people at least believed that I saw what I saw, even if they didn’t believe that it was a spiritual or enlightening experience. However, one person in particular actually attacked me! She didn’t swing on me or anything but she said, “How dare you think that you’re special enough to meet god when I’ve been praying and get nothing?” I don’t remember what I said, if anything, I just remember thinking, “hmmm, good point”. Today I would say, “No, I think I was listening, you can too.”
I feel that some questions about who I am are necessary for others to understand ‘where I’m coming from’. However, the last thing I want to do is explain every imperfection in my life. I don’t want people putting my name into a search engine then asking me, “if your so spiritual then why did you do this and that?” I do plan to share my life experience at some point but my priority is to be a positive force in spiritual guidance for others (and myself). Who I am is not important to that end.
Another reason that I use Bruce Leroy is because of the character Leroy Green’s nickname of “Bruce Leroy” in the movie “the Last Dragon”. That nickname is obviously a tribute to Bruce Lee. So I’m using the name as a tribute to both the fictional “Bruce Leroy”, and the master Bruce Lee. Reading the ‘Tao of Jeet Kune Do’ by Lee, was very influential to me. It helped me gain confidence in the idea of having a flexible definition of self. I completed the book only a few weeks before my enlightening experience. The character in the movie, played by Taimak, was on a journey to find the ‘true master’, later discovering that the ‘true master’ was himself. The movie came out in 1985, I’ve been studying martial arts on and off throughout my life… because I’m more or less of the same complexion as Taimak, I’m often nicknamed “Bruce Leroy” (not by request).
I want to remain anonymous. Like most people, I need to interact with others all of the time. I need an income in order to sustain myself and be independent. This work does not provide me with a means to that end, at this time. I’ve told parts of my story to friends in the past and basically they managed to take something positive and make it negative. My attempts at smoothing over those relationships only succeeded in leaving them feeling as though I was patronizing them or that I thought that I was better then they were. But how could I believe in my importance over another person and expect another to believe in me? It’s not even logical to me. In terms of human nature it is understandable, people tend to resent what they don’t understand. I guess that they would probably think that they were better if they had a similar experience and were projecting that to me. It is true that I’m a very confident person when it comes to expressing myself, so in the end, exposing my experience leads to others misinterpreting my aura. I prefer to walk up to people as an unknown. That allows me to change without the hindrance of yesterday’s definition of who I am. It also allows others to do the same with me, they can express themselves without thinking that I’m second guessing them. Right after I had the experience, I did tell allot of people, but strangers. I wanted to share and also see what their reaction would be. Most of them did take it very positively. When I tell the story of my enlightening experience in person, you can see in my eyes and feel the truth in it. Let’s just say that people at least believed that I saw what I saw, even if they didn’t believe that it was a spiritual or enlightening experience. However, one person in particular actually attacked me! She didn’t swing on me or anything but she said, “How dare you think that you’re special enough to meet god when I’ve been praying and get nothing?” I don’t remember what I said, if anything, I just remember thinking, “hmmm, good point”. Today I would say, “No, I think I was listening, you can too.”
I feel that some questions about who I am are necessary for others to understand ‘where I’m coming from’. However, the last thing I want to do is explain every imperfection in my life. I don’t want people putting my name into a search engine then asking me, “if your so spiritual then why did you do this and that?” I do plan to share my life experience at some point but my priority is to be a positive force in spiritual guidance for others (and myself). Who I am is not important to that end.
Another reason that I use Bruce Leroy is because of the character Leroy Green’s nickname of “Bruce Leroy” in the movie “the Last Dragon”. That nickname is obviously a tribute to Bruce Lee. So I’m using the name as a tribute to both the fictional “Bruce Leroy”, and the master Bruce Lee. Reading the ‘Tao of Jeet Kune Do’ by Lee, was very influential to me. It helped me gain confidence in the idea of having a flexible definition of self. I completed the book only a few weeks before my enlightening experience. The character in the movie, played by Taimak, was on a journey to find the ‘true master’, later discovering that the ‘true master’ was himself. The movie came out in 1985, I’ve been studying martial arts on and off throughout my life… because I’m more or less of the same complexion as Taimak, I’m often nicknamed “Bruce Leroy” (not by request).
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