Fundamentalist Islam is the same reaction to a perceived societal decay that we see from fundamentalist Christians in America.
When people view conflicts, contradictions, and uncomfortable changes in their society, it is human nature to search for reasons and to blame those who are responsible for such changes.
In many parts of the world, particularly in many Islamic communities, people see problems in their society and they blame their corrupt, Westernized government, their greedy business leaders, and the overall influence of the West. In such places, it is all too easy to blame the West, and America in particular, for the problems people see in their society. And so America, being the top dog of the West, represents, to such people, all that is bad in the modern world.
What is required for progress in this area is the realization that EVERY human being is capable of the most loving AND the most horrid gestures and choices. So while certain people are exhibiting extreme examples of beautiful or ugly behavior, it is all humanity. It is all us.
The people you are blaming and judging and vilifying are exhibiting HUMAN qualities. We are beautiful AND ugly. And we are capable of choosing either one.
That is what we are here to learn.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Who Do YOU Appreciate?
Would you rather appreciate someone, or have that someone appreciate you?
A self-sustaining personality is one which appreciates itself so much that it doesn't depend on others for appreciation, acceptance, etc.
For such personalities, being appreciated by others is not necessary, though it is enjoyable. It can be seen as a mirror image of the appreciation that a personality has for itself.
Which of us are stable personalities, then? Which of us appreciate ourselves so much that it is unnecessary for others to appreciate us?
Children come to mind.
They start out that way. They begin life appreciating themselves.
And then they learn, as they grow, that some of their expressions and attributes are NOT appreciated. They are told so repeatedly by their parents, siblings, friends, teachers, etc. And because they are new to life, they are susceptible to the beliefs and opinions of others. And before you know it, you have yourself an adult (or teenager, or adolescent) who has learned NOT to appreciate himself, and who has grown to rely on the acceptance and appreciation of others to feel good about himself (or herself).
To address this, we must dismantle those antiquated but entrenched self-judgments and self-criticisms. They are what keep us from accepting ourselves, and this lack of self-acceptance makes it impossible to appreciate ourselves.
We in our society have fooled ourselves into thinking that we need to DO things in order to be appreciated. We learn this at home growing up, we learn it at school, and we practice it at work.
Yet the truth is, you don't need to do ANYTHING in order to be acceptable. And in fact, the more you do in an effort to be accepted and appreciated, the more you are expressing the belief that you aren't acceptable just the way you are.
Wouldn't it be nice if you accepted and appreciated yourself so much that you weren't dependent upon anybody else's appreciation of you? No more fishing for compliments, no more unwanted commitments, no more fake smiles or false apologies or grudges or self-doubt or regret or any of the other unpleasant experiences that go along with protecting some sort of image of yourself.
Yes, that would be tremendous. And it was. Once upon a time, long ago. Back before you learned to do all of those things in order to be accepted.
And appreciated.
A self-sustaining personality is one which appreciates itself so much that it doesn't depend on others for appreciation, acceptance, etc.
For such personalities, being appreciated by others is not necessary, though it is enjoyable. It can be seen as a mirror image of the appreciation that a personality has for itself.
Which of us are stable personalities, then? Which of us appreciate ourselves so much that it is unnecessary for others to appreciate us?
Children come to mind.
They start out that way. They begin life appreciating themselves.
And then they learn, as they grow, that some of their expressions and attributes are NOT appreciated. They are told so repeatedly by their parents, siblings, friends, teachers, etc. And because they are new to life, they are susceptible to the beliefs and opinions of others. And before you know it, you have yourself an adult (or teenager, or adolescent) who has learned NOT to appreciate himself, and who has grown to rely on the acceptance and appreciation of others to feel good about himself (or herself).
To address this, we must dismantle those antiquated but entrenched self-judgments and self-criticisms. They are what keep us from accepting ourselves, and this lack of self-acceptance makes it impossible to appreciate ourselves.
We in our society have fooled ourselves into thinking that we need to DO things in order to be appreciated. We learn this at home growing up, we learn it at school, and we practice it at work.
Yet the truth is, you don't need to do ANYTHING in order to be acceptable. And in fact, the more you do in an effort to be accepted and appreciated, the more you are expressing the belief that you aren't acceptable just the way you are.
Wouldn't it be nice if you accepted and appreciated yourself so much that you weren't dependent upon anybody else's appreciation of you? No more fishing for compliments, no more unwanted commitments, no more fake smiles or false apologies or grudges or self-doubt or regret or any of the other unpleasant experiences that go along with protecting some sort of image of yourself.
Yes, that would be tremendous. And it was. Once upon a time, long ago. Back before you learned to do all of those things in order to be accepted.
And appreciated.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Icing On Your Cake
When there are things or experiences that you feel are lacking in your life, it is not possible for you to fully appreciate the present moment.
As you perceive yourself to be lacking something, anything, you can not feel appreciation. You cannot feel abundance.
Abundance is not a result of acquiring the things you want. The experience of abundance is the result of PERCEIVING abundance. If you desire abundance and prosperity and good health and happiness,you must first strive to perceive those things, incorporate them into your perception. Then the experiences will follow.
The theory of Icing On Your Cake states that when you appreciate that which is already a part of your life, and experience joy because of it, then the universe yearns to give you more of it - yearns to give you icing on your cake.
When, instead, your attention is upon the LACK of what you desire, you have no cake upon which the universe can place your icing. There is no cake. You must first have the cake.
This theory implies that in order to experience happiness, you must first have a solid foundation of happiness upon which a new experience can take root. Otherwise, the few seeds of joy that you manage to draw into your experience will never take root but will instead blow away with the first gust of conflict, of UNhappiness. The foundation of happiness must first be in place before new and exciting joy can be drawn to you.
If you want icing, observe the cake of happiness around you. It's there, but you must CHOOSE to look for it, to focus upon it.
And then our loving universe will coat all of your days with a sugary sweet glaze of joy.
Dessert, anyone?
As you perceive yourself to be lacking something, anything, you can not feel appreciation. You cannot feel abundance.
Abundance is not a result of acquiring the things you want. The experience of abundance is the result of PERCEIVING abundance. If you desire abundance and prosperity and good health and happiness,you must first strive to perceive those things, incorporate them into your perception. Then the experiences will follow.
The theory of Icing On Your Cake states that when you appreciate that which is already a part of your life, and experience joy because of it, then the universe yearns to give you more of it - yearns to give you icing on your cake.
When, instead, your attention is upon the LACK of what you desire, you have no cake upon which the universe can place your icing. There is no cake. You must first have the cake.
This theory implies that in order to experience happiness, you must first have a solid foundation of happiness upon which a new experience can take root. Otherwise, the few seeds of joy that you manage to draw into your experience will never take root but will instead blow away with the first gust of conflict, of UNhappiness. The foundation of happiness must first be in place before new and exciting joy can be drawn to you.
If you want icing, observe the cake of happiness around you. It's there, but you must CHOOSE to look for it, to focus upon it.
And then our loving universe will coat all of your days with a sugary sweet glaze of joy.
Dessert, anyone?
Monday, March 12, 2007
Life Secret # 5
Real power comes from understanding that you create your reality.
Any other form of power is an illusion, an exercise of the ego.
Any other form of power is an illusion, an exercise of the ego.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Money & Wealth
What makes money useful and powerful is the agreement we all make regarding its worth. To acquire or possess money and wealth is to take advantage of this agreement.
But more than that, it is a measure of the worth an individual places upon himself or herself.
For example, compare the way a CEO values himself to the way a waitress in a diner values herself. The different levels of worth and importance they place on themselves (as well as their perception of their own abilities) are reflected in their jobs and their paychecks.
Professional athletes reflect this issue quite clearly as well.
Pros grow up being told that they are special, and they arrive at the professional level with the belief that they DESERVE to earn a great deal of money. They place a high degree of importance and worth upon themselves.
Perhaps we should ask ourselves, honestly, how we value ourselves, how we see our own worth.
How much money and wealth are you worthy of?
You can only have as much as you feel you deserve.
But more than that, it is a measure of the worth an individual places upon himself or herself.
For example, compare the way a CEO values himself to the way a waitress in a diner values herself. The different levels of worth and importance they place on themselves (as well as their perception of their own abilities) are reflected in their jobs and their paychecks.
Professional athletes reflect this issue quite clearly as well.
Pros grow up being told that they are special, and they arrive at the professional level with the belief that they DESERVE to earn a great deal of money. They place a high degree of importance and worth upon themselves.
Perhaps we should ask ourselves, honestly, how we value ourselves, how we see our own worth.
How much money and wealth are you worthy of?
You can only have as much as you feel you deserve.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Darwin Was Wrong
Consciousness Creates Form.
And thus Darwin hadn't a clue.
He was looking at shadows on the wall. And because he saw that the shadows changed their form, he concluded evolution.
But what was casting those shadows?
Consciousness.
It was consciousness that was changing. And because consciousness changes, the forms that consciousness takes change as well.
So a species may have an different shape or appearance than it did before - and this is because the consciousness that is expressing itself in that form has grown in awareness and therefore ability. And so it will alter its physical form to accommodate its increased abilities and awareness.
A species isn't necessarily changing in order to survive. Often, it changes in order to allow itself to express new or improved abilities or desires.
Now what do you think of that, Mr. Darwin?
And thus Darwin hadn't a clue.
He was looking at shadows on the wall. And because he saw that the shadows changed their form, he concluded evolution.
But what was casting those shadows?
Consciousness.
It was consciousness that was changing. And because consciousness changes, the forms that consciousness takes change as well.
So a species may have an different shape or appearance than it did before - and this is because the consciousness that is expressing itself in that form has grown in awareness and therefore ability. And so it will alter its physical form to accommodate its increased abilities and awareness.
A species isn't necessarily changing in order to survive. Often, it changes in order to allow itself to express new or improved abilities or desires.
Now what do you think of that, Mr. Darwin?
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Flexibility Of Attention
We must learn to use our thinking mechanism to better supervise our moods.
We tend to look at our current circumstances and allow them to dictate our mood. And yet we have the ability to CHOOSE what we pay attention to.
So while we are generally not able to decide what mood we will be in - what emotion we will feel right now - we CAN choose what to concentrate upon. And whatever we choose to concentrate upon will affect our mood because we inevitably hold beliefs with regard to the object of our concentration.
If our priority is to maintain a good mood, we must be flexible enough to move our attention away from any thought or outside circumstance that feels unpleasant. Without that flexibility of attention, one is stuck paying attention to whatever thought or event is currently taking place - regardless of how it feels.
The intention to focus only on pleasant thoughts and circumstances must be coupled with a flexibility of attention for that intention to manifest as experience.
I have found, through my experience, that having the flexibility to move my attention AWAY from unpleasant thoughts and TOWARD pleasant ones is my/our single most difficult challenge.
My analytical and egocentric mind has always, throughout my life, dwelled endlessly on my perceived shortcomings, failures, and lacks. I see now that because I was expressing and focusing upon such limiting beliefs about myself, I was encountering them in my experiences - those beliefs were translated into my actual experience (that Reality 101, folks!).
In some ways, it is quite amazing that I have gotten to where I am now given my propensity for feeling sorry for myself and for thinking myself to death.
And yet now, as I apprehend how all of this works, I can see clearly how I have consistently allowed my circumstances and my beliefs about myself to dictate where my attention is. And as I take the wheel of my attention and learn to steer it deliberately toward pleasant thoughts and ideas and circumstances, it is a pleasure beyond words to begin to see the new and affirming beliefs I am choosing to focus upon being translated into my current and future circumstances.
And, I might add, I am indebted to more than a few teachers for such progress...
We tend to look at our current circumstances and allow them to dictate our mood. And yet we have the ability to CHOOSE what we pay attention to.
So while we are generally not able to decide what mood we will be in - what emotion we will feel right now - we CAN choose what to concentrate upon. And whatever we choose to concentrate upon will affect our mood because we inevitably hold beliefs with regard to the object of our concentration.
If our priority is to maintain a good mood, we must be flexible enough to move our attention away from any thought or outside circumstance that feels unpleasant. Without that flexibility of attention, one is stuck paying attention to whatever thought or event is currently taking place - regardless of how it feels.
The intention to focus only on pleasant thoughts and circumstances must be coupled with a flexibility of attention for that intention to manifest as experience.
I have found, through my experience, that having the flexibility to move my attention AWAY from unpleasant thoughts and TOWARD pleasant ones is my/our single most difficult challenge.
My analytical and egocentric mind has always, throughout my life, dwelled endlessly on my perceived shortcomings, failures, and lacks. I see now that because I was expressing and focusing upon such limiting beliefs about myself, I was encountering them in my experiences - those beliefs were translated into my actual experience (that Reality 101, folks!).
In some ways, it is quite amazing that I have gotten to where I am now given my propensity for feeling sorry for myself and for thinking myself to death.
And yet now, as I apprehend how all of this works, I can see clearly how I have consistently allowed my circumstances and my beliefs about myself to dictate where my attention is. And as I take the wheel of my attention and learn to steer it deliberately toward pleasant thoughts and ideas and circumstances, it is a pleasure beyond words to begin to see the new and affirming beliefs I am choosing to focus upon being translated into my current and future circumstances.
And, I might add, I am indebted to more than a few teachers for such progress...
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Life Secret #4
Evil does not exist.
What we call evil is not the presence of something but the lack of something.
And that something is compassion.
What we call evil is not the presence of something but the lack of something.
And that something is compassion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)