Promises To Keep

Have you ever wondered why a resolution you made never got fulfilled or why something you longed for never happened?

Sometimes it’s because your heart wasn’t really in the dream. It may have been someone else’s (often a parent’s) idea of what would be best for you, but, because you either wanted to please that person or because the idea had been around for so long that you forgot it wasn’t yours, you adopted it. It may also have been a dream which had once been yours but which died a quiet death while you weren’t looking.

How are you going to accomplish this? A dream without a plan for fulfilling it will generally remain a dream forever.

A dream needs to be yours; it needs to be clear; and it needs to have a plan for fulfillment. Once you have these three elements you have the equivalent of a vehicle to carry you towards your goal. Then two more ingredients are needed: you, the driver, and motion.

People (myself included) often hope that they won’t be required to do anything strenuous or unsettling in order to have that they want. They would prefer to simply visualize their dreams, say affirmations frequently, and hope for the best. This might work, but I wouldn’t count on it.

The Joy of Inertia

The importance of honoring one’s commitment and taking action was reinforced for me a while back. I have a particular dream: to write and have published both non-fictional and fictional books. Several months ago I was in the early stages of making plans; in fact, my only plan at that point was to make a plan, and I didn’t quite know where to begin.

A friend emailed me a notice about an upcoming meeting of a recently-formed local publishing group for authors, agents, illustrators, and others connected to or interesting in publishing. An author who wrote, co-wrote, and ghostwrote books on spiritual subjects was to speak. I thought that this would be a good place to meet and network with like-minded people, and decided to attend.

My intention to go was firm until about an hour before the event; then it began to wobble. I was really tired, and I didn’t feel like going out. I felt like staying home, reading, and eating ice cream. I didn’t like to drive at night.

I kept on telling myself these and other reasons for not going until I had myself hypnotized. By 6:15 p.m. (the meeting started at 7 p.m.) I had decided not to go.

I was at the point at which many people abandon their dreams. They don’t call it abandonment; they have simply come up with a variety of compelling reasons for not going forward. Sometime in the future when circumstances are more favorable they’ll act.

Beyond Inertia

At 6:20 p.m. I realized that I wasn’t happy with my decision not to go, and also realized that some kind of fear was fueling my reasons (which I now labeled as excuses) against motion. I imagined myself at the meeting, and the first thing I saw was my not knowing anyone there and feeling like a social misfit. That was a very unpleasant feeling.

I then looked to see if any other forms of fear were lurking, and saw that as much as I welcomed the possibilities of belonging to such a group I also feared those possibilities. If I went to the meeting I would be making a commitment to myself as a writer; moreover, I would be to some (as yet unknown) extent be making that commitment public.

At 6:25 p.m. I asked myself, “What are the worst things which could happen tonight?” They were that I would feel out of place and socially inept, and that people would know I had ambitions as a writer.

Then I changed my approach to ask myself what the best things that could happen would be. I imagined seeing people whom I knew and meeting people who would be interesting, that I might have a good time and learn something, as well as become part of a supportive network.

I thought about the commitment I’d made to myself, and decided that I’d rather face my fears than live with regret. At 6:30 p.m. I got into the car and went to the meeting.

I did see some people I knew, and met some new people who were interesting. I learned a lot about the book publishing business, and connected with some people who were committed to exchanging information about self-publishing. There were also some excellent home-baked desserts.

Oh, and I did have to stand up and describe my intentions as a writer. Anticipating this was dreadful, but it wasn’t so difficult, and left no lasting scars on my psyche.

Don’t Give Yourself a Break; Give Yourself an Opportunity

This experience reminded me that when I make a commitment all of the reasons why I don’t want to keep it will come to the surface, speaking in the voice of a part of myself I call the Inner Comforter. The Inner Comforter wants to keep me right where I am (reading a book and eating ice cream). It doesn’t want me to take risks, to feel afraid, to court rejection or failure. It poses as my friend. It is in fact a friend only of my fears, and my fears are no friends to my desire to fulfill my dreams.

Its voice isn’t always as clear cut as it was for me (I’ve learned to listen for it.) You can be suspicious that it’s guiding you into inertia when:

You look at last New Year’s list of resolutions and feel a deep sense of failure. Someone asks you about your plans to: get a new job, move, terminate your dead-end relationship, or whatever you’ve announced as a goal and you a) change the subject, b) come up with a dazzling array of reasons for changing your mind.

A great opportunity arises, and you don’t want to take advantage of it.

Despite all your good intentions your life isn’t happening the way you want it to.

Should any of the above occur you may want to consider using my simple plan for action. Notice that you are a) uncertain about what to do, b) don’t want to do anything out of the ordinary.

Listen to the excuses you’re making to yourself.
Ask yourself what you’re really afraid of.
Ask yourself the worst things that could happen.
Ask yourself the best things that could happen. You will probably not have much trouble thinking of the worst things, but may have to get creative when it comes to imagining the best things.
Get really excited about the best possibilities; imagine them in detail.
Take action.

Strength in Awakened Attention

Key Lesson: Whether it’s for joy or sorrow, whatever we wish for another person comes true for us in the same moment we make that wish!

Imagine for a moment a woman who inherits an antique jewelry box from a loving grandparent. She puts the cherished keepsake on her makeup bureau, next to her own collection of rings and pearls, but never really pays it much mind. And there it sits. But what she doesn’t know is that her grandmother hid a priceless diamond ring within it, in a secret compartment. It’s hers to have, if only she knew where to look for it. But will she?

In many ways this is a story not unlike our own: for “hidden” within each of us, and yet in plain sight, is a power unmatched in its brilliance. What is this potential diamond of the mind that awaits whoever will find it? It is our ability to attend to what we will. Coupled with awareness, attention empowers us to unite ourselves with whatever we wish to know and be. Let’s examine this largely unexplored gift of ours.

We are all graced with an immense interior gift: the power to give our attention to what we will – to what enriches and serves us.

Continuing states of stress and sorrow are the result of having mistakenly placed our attention upon what punishes us, stealing from us our happiness as a result. Any time our attention is given to some thought or feeling, it animates that condition; our attention invests what it falls on with a certain kind of life energy. Another unknown phenomenon about attention is that when it is given to something – for instance, a timeless night sky – it facilitates within us a union with the qualities of that “world.” And this dynamic is in operation all the time: to consider something is to be connected to it. So, our attention connects, animates, and nourishes whatever we lend it to in life. And more than this, but as a part of its power, we have all witnessed the following:

You’re stopped at a red light, and you look out your car window at someone passing by. You follow him with your eyes – interested in something about his appearance or manner. As you remotely study this person, the power of attention moves through and across time and space and it “touches” him in some way. The next thing you know he turns around and looks at you!

This power can be used for good or bad. When we use it for practical work, or for honest self-observation, we use it to our own benefit. However, when this power operates on its own, within us, without our awareness of what it’s interacting with, it can cause many problems. Here is where the unattended mind becomes the breeding ground of self-defeat.

For instance, any time our attention is placed, without our knowing it, on some way to escape ourselves, here’s what happens: more often than not we find out – too late – we got hooked up with some self-harming idea that ultimately led us to compromise ourselves.

This new kind of self-knowledge places us on the threshold of a wholly different, brighter life. If by being inattentive to our own interior life, we see how much of our unhappiness is self-created, then, we can learn to redirect our attention, placing it within what is right and bright. But, there is only one way to realize this reversal: we must work to see how wrongly directed attention works against us.

Perhaps a thought pops into your mind about a problem that’s been bothering you. Appearing with it is some emotional disturbance. Now the thought starts rolling, growing in its demand for your attention. Almost instantly it has defined what needs to be done, or what you are powerless to do. And both states accomplish the same dark end: You’ve unknowingly animated that thought and given it a life – and the life you’ve given it is your own! Here’s an example of how this scene might unfold:

A man is walking through his office when his boss walks by and gives him a blank look. The thought pops into the man’s mind that his boss is criticizing him or doesn’t like him. Now, as he starts to fear this idea – a negative picture produced by his imagination – his mind focuses its attention on this disturbing image. And the more he attends to this dark dream, the further into its labyrinth he descends, strengthening its presence and power to further irritate him.

A heartbeat later, he has no doubt: the boss has it in for him! This thought grows in authority for him, tormenting him for the rest of the day and causing him to snap at his family when he gets home. And all of this suffering is born of what? The conjunction of a passing glance and a moment of misdirected attention!

Here’s the amazing thing about this illustration, and what we want to learn from it: this whole drama has been played out inside of the man – storyline, stage, cast, and leading characters. But he doesn’t see how this painful state is self-created; instead he believes it has been cast upon him by someone else – his heartless boss! So, what else can he do – being in the dark as he is to his true condition – but try to rid himself of his stressed feelings? How? By arguing with his boss, either outwardly or in his mind. The more he feels punished by the situation that he sees in his mind, the more he wants to fight with it. He’s sure his unwanted experience exists independent of his perception of it, but we can see he’s mistaken.

His pain is a product of how he sees the event and then all of the misery that comes with resisting his own mistaken perception. He is quite literally lashing himself, and the more he resists what he thinks is happening, the more it happens to him! This is a good description of what I call the “circle of self.” In it we can see how the pain of our own mistaken perception produces the enemies it needs to keep itself alive.

From our vantage point, we can see how the man’s unattended mind first animated a fearful thought, which leads to wrongly feeding it with his own life. We can also see that nothing can change for him until he sees the truth behind his trouble and withdraws his consent from it.

We suffer because we consort with painful thoughts and feelings, thinking somehow that not wanting them makes them go away. But our unconscious actions betray us: first, by animating what makes us ache, and then by binding us to that relationship through our resistance to it. Here’s a simple way of saying these last few ideas: Not wanting our negative states actually nourishes them! I can almost hear the question that comes next: “Wait a minute! You can’t be saying these dark thoughts and feelings are good, and that we should want what’s hurting us, are you?”

Of course not! Negative states have no right to exist in us as they presently do. And that’s just the point. We literally give them a place to live in our psychic system – feed them, as it were – by trying to rid ourselves of them in the usual ways. But there are other ways of dealing with pervasive dark states besides resisting them, suppressing them, or trying to change the conditions seen as being responsible for them.

Instead of these acts of willfulness, we choose in favor of watchfulness. Rather than struggling with dark states, learning to be quietly watchful of them does two things at once: first, it separates us from being wrongly identified with our own thoughts about that troublesome state. Second – by the light of our newly liberated attention – we catch a glimpse of a powerful insight whose light helps set us free:

If we mistakenly give any negative state its “life” – then the opposite must hold true: we can consciously withdraw that same life any time we so choose!

Here is a simple exercise to help you get started with this new kind of seeing that is the power behind freeing you. Several times each day, whenever you can remember to do it, deliberately disconnect yourself from your own thinking. Choose awareness of your thoughts over being absorbed in the sensations they produce as they carry you along to get what they want. The aim here is simple: reclaim your attention in order to be where you are, and then just quietly notice all that you can about yourself. The light of this new order of awareness empowers you to catch and release what your own unattended thoughts had been busy cooking up for you, using you as stock!

Each time you remember to reclaim your attention in this manner, with it you regain your life. And here is a bright bit of encouragement to help you get started. The words that follow are those of Simone Weil, a brilliant French writer, activist, and lover of the Light: “Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul.”

“Me First!” Relationship

A friend of mine recently asked me: “What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in relationship?”

To listen to, trust, and love myself – first and foremost.

How can that be? After all, isn’t a relationship about loving someone else?

It seems to me that the world is saturated with false paradigms of “love”. Magazines tout tactics to “make the guy love you more in bed” – never mind whether his heart is in it or not. Those fifty years of marriage could just as easily have been fifty years of misery. A parent helping a child with a simple task may in fact be an expression of a lack of confidence in the child’s ability to do it herself.

Are these acts loving or disempowering? What are these notions of “love” we carry in relationship?

I was astounded by the arrogance expressed by a friend’s mother recently. Commenting about her daughter’s boyfriend, she said, “You know, he comes from a broken family, so he really doesn’t know what a healthy relationship is.” Never mind that, for 50 years, this same mother had subjected herself to a cycle of anger, frustration, and pain at not being noticed by her own husband. Had she exemplified for her daughter a “healthy relationship” by staying in her marriage? Or would the more loving thing – for herself, her husband, and her children – have been to end the marriage, freeing them all to open their hearts to a higher form of love? Who is to say her daughter’s boyfriend didn’t learn and grow more from his parents’ divorce than if they had stayed together?

Conversations with God says: “Relationships fail when you see them as life’s grandest opportunity to create and produce the experience of your highest conceptualization of another…. Let each person in relationship worry not about the other, but only, only, only about Self….”

He continues, “The Master understands that it doesn’t matter what the other is being, doing, having, saying, wanting, demanding. It doesn’t matter what the other is thinking, expecting, planning. It only matters what you are being in relationship to that. The most loving person is the person who is Self-centered.”

Wait a minute. How is that possible? Isn’t that selfish? And isn’t selfishness bad?

Certainly this is contrary to most sacredly held definitions of love. Love is selfless, isn’t it?

Yes. In fact, love has been characterized for most of us by selflessness: that is, absence of the Self, forgetting of the Self, disregard for the needs of the Self. We have been programmed over and over again to devalue the Self, to subsume our desires to others’, to convince ourselves that what we feel doesn’t matter – because that is precisely what others have modeled for us.

We’ve seen our mother deny time for herself. We’ve seen our father plaster a smile over his anguish. We’ve seen adults “protect” children by pretending there’s nothing wrong. (It wasn’t until I became an adult that I learned of family patterns that were hidden from me throughout my childhood. And yet, once I learned of them, it opened a window of understanding into why I had been repeating the same patterns in my life. I didn’t know they were there, and yet I had absorbed them all the same.)

But love is unconditional, isn’t it? It means not putting conditions or expectations on my love for the other person, right?

Yes. True love is unconditional. Yet unconditional love isn’t truly unconditional if the most important person is missing from the equation: me. I must also be unconditionally loving towards myself.

So what does that mean?

It means that for all of the conditions and judgment one chooses not to place on the other person, one must also remove the conditions and judgments one places on one’s self.

It means stop putting conditions on your love for yourself. Stop judging yourself for being who you are and feeling the way you feel. Stop telling yourself, “As soon as I….” (Or “As soon as he/she…”) That is a condition. It’s delaying self-love based on the presumption that I (or someone else) have to meet certain conditions I’ve set for myself before I can do what is truly loving for me. Unconditional love for another matters not one whit if there is a lack of unconditional love for one’s Self.

In many ways, every relationship is a mirror. How I feel towards the other person and what I see in them is often an indicator of how I see and feel towards myself. My relationships reflect back to me those areas where I am not loving myself enough. If I allow someone to treat me a particular way, it is only because part of me is already treating myself that way. Otherwise, why would I accept it from them?

Have you every met anyone who truly loves herself yet is still able to be critical of others?

Every criticism or trigger shows me how severely I criticize myself. If it bothers me to watch another person be inauthentic or put on a show rather than be fully present and true, it’s usually an indication that – in some form or another – I do the very same. Otherwise, why would it bother me so? How is it possible to despise in another what I accept within myself?

One simple way to put it is this: No one can push my buttons unless I have the buttons to push.

Again, every relationship is a mirror – a mirror for the relationship I have with myself.

Relationships provide me with the opportunity to uncover aspects of “me” that I didn’t know I had hidden from myself: ways in which I’d been living inauthentically, giving my power over to another, devaluing my role and my desires in the relationship, judging my emotional reactions as unworthy or inaccurate – despite how insistently they were hammering against my heart.

Therefore, the purpose of a relationship is not for me to see them or them to see me – it is for me to see me.If I am too busy seeing them, I am not seeing me. And I am the only one truly in a relationship here…. with myself.

Again, Conversations with God speaks to this: “The highest choice is that which produces the highest good for you…. and the highest good for you becomes the highest good for another…. What you do for your Self, you do for another. What you do for another, you do for the Self. This is because you and the other are one. And this is because…. There is naught but You.”

There is naught but me.

Therefore, as I listen to, trust, and love myself – and take those actions that are most loving towards me – only then can I truly love another. For now I truly love myself.

The Artful Home

Art is much more than an object of extraordinary beauty. Once invited into your home, it becomes a story to share with others, an inspiration in itself, a part of life. Explore the avenues here to connect with other art lovers, and discover more ways to make yours an artful home.

Artful Home is the leading source of fine art, contemporary art glass, modern furniture, home accents, handcrafted jewelry and unique gift ideas. Discover over 12,000 works of North American artists original artwork, all made by hand and shipped direct from artists’ studios.

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The Aesthetic Movement

The Aesthetic Movement and Its Influence on Home Decor covers the history of a movement that emphasized “art for art’s sake”-and the influence it had on home decor. The Aesthetic Movement in America lasted just a few decades (1870-1900), and served mainly as a bridge between the high Victorian sensibility and the radical shift to the Arts & Crafts style.

The movement germinated among artists who used opulent color, decorative patterning, and lavish materials simply for the aesthetic effects they could evoke. It was commonly held that a home that expressed an artful, harmonious soul would instill high aesthetic and moral merit in its inhabitants.

The Aesthetic Movement in America helped to popularize the idea that everyone should be able to enjoy beautiful, well-made homes and furnishings-not just the very wealthy. Artful homes could be composed from brilliant antique store finds, discriminating department store purchases, and gems hand-made by the ladies of the house. It was the moment when people embraced the idea that only a beautiful home could be a happy home.

The Aesthetic movement left us a legacy of Queen Anne houses and tidy suburbs, and its influence is now felt as Americans embrace the more-is-more philosophy of home furnishings. [visit this site]

Also check out UncommonGoods

Temple of Rejuvenation

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The human eye is an incredible instrument. Yet it does have one inherent problem: It makes it difficult to see. After all, we usually see what’s there — and not what might be. We see who someone is — rather than who they have the ability to be. It’s when you finally see things with your open mind, your heart, and your beliefs that the world sees you in a new light as well. Dr. Luanne Oakes opens your eyes.

Discover powerful new scientific principles that will absolutely change your beliefs about what is possible for you and our world! The combined technologies in this system serve as “passive power tools” to totally rehabilitate and revitalize you — physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

Other Products by Luanne Oakes, Ph.D.

The Sound Health, Sound Wealth System is made up of two distinct yet profoundly interrelated components. These elements are designed to work together to engage your WHOLE consciousness and being in the process of achieving prosperity and fulfillment — on the material, physical, and spiritual levels.

About Sound Health, Sound Wealth Audio Book

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For starters, you’ll enjoy harmonious loving relationships, a greater sense of well-being, and a connection with the life force of money that will bring you as much financial abundance as you want!

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The Sound Health, Sound Wealth System will magically connect you with:

* How sound and light affect who and how you are

* Why it’s important to elevate your cells’ vibrational frequencies

* The two emotions that allow you to access and activate biological healing codes in your DNA

How to create more meaningful coincidences in your life

* What you must let go of in order to have as much money and well-being as you need and desire.

* How to trigger your body to create molecules of bliss, connectedness, and oneness.

* How the colors in the rainbow and the ancient 7-tone music scale can help heal your body, mind, and spirit.

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More great things …

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Seachange. Songs for Transformation and Joy by Luanne Oakes

Fear, Intention & Risk

At one time or another, we all have experienced fear – from low-grade anxiety to terror. Fear can inhibit, paralyze, and profoundly affect the quality of our lives. Though fear can assist in helping us identify our desires and needs, it can prove debilitating unless we are able to release it. Fear prevents us from fully being alive and living our dreams. To live in fear is to live without faith.

I have been teaching and practicing what I call ‘an empowerment meditation’. We ask to be given light, love, peace and healing power. Light is, of course, enlightenment, wisdom, instinct, intuition and revelation. Love is not ‘please love me, I’m feeling miserable and lonely’, but rather, ‘please fill me with love, so that I can create with love, instead of fear’. Peace is the perfect peace that ‘passeth all understanding’. It is that peace in which there is absolutely no room for fear.

I had often wondered if I had ever reached that peace. It wasn’t until the doctors in Chicago diagnosed me several years ago with Lupus, and all the tests and sickness I’ve endured since then …. that I realized that my mind did not shift gear, not even one cog. I did feel an overwhelming gratitude for this opportunity to show, with irrefutable proof, that the Spirit of God which is within all of us, when directed skillfully by the mind, triumphs over all. The physical and the non-physical. I pray that I am skilful enough.

When I have totally eradicated this illness from myself, I hope to start a school for the self-treatment of chronic illness, using proper, chemical free nutrition and mind-power.

So that I should have a mind free to concentrate on healing, I have made my funeral arrangements. This way, I have avoided having others worry about what should be done and I no longer have to think of such things. Death is such a beautiful thing. It is like taking off a straight-jacket and being liberated. It is only those who distrust and fear the Source of all life, consciousness and energy, who are frightened of the inevitable. The only sin in all the omniverse is ignorance. And what suffering it causes.

I choose to live without fear of life, death or love ….

What if …

- Your feelings lie to you?
- Most of your thoughts and feelings come from fear?
- Most of your decisions are based on fear!

Being Fearless isn’t about jumping out of planes, it’s about jumping into life!

- Freedom from fear.
- Freedom from disappointment.
- Freedom from not enough.

Most people, no matter how confident they appear to be, often harbor paralyzing fears that overshadow their ability to live fearlessly. These fears are always whispering skeptical objections and feeding you doubts about anything that might shake up the status quo:

- Do you really think you should do that?
- Are you ready for a big step like this?
- Why don’t you get somebody else’s opinion?
- Are you sure you’re not getting in over your head?
- What will people say?

Living without fear, takes you out of the lie and into the truth of your own unique magnificence. Stop beating yourself up and become more accountable; this will help build on your objective: Ultimate Integrity. Mastering fear does not imply you will never experience fear again. But rather, you win knowing what actions to take to move you from Fear at will, to Freedom.

Your Fear Is As Smart As You

Whether you know it or not, fear has developed your likes and dislikes, picked your friends, and raised your children. Learn how to recognize when fear is running your life and take steps to set yourself free.

Fearless Intentions: What were you expecting?

Expectations breed fear, disappointment and discontent. They are silent contracts that focus your attention on the outcome instead of the process with little satisfaction. turn expectations into intentions freeing you to live your life on purpose, with purpose and get results that matter.

Excuses Dis-empower You

Excuses … excuse you from fulfilling your potential. They take away any sense of personal responsibility, accountability, or power, giving you permission to ignore your own values, beliefs, and commitments. Forgiveness is a process and we use it to accept, release and make peace with the people and circumstances that may have been keeping you up at night.

Complaining Advertises Your Fears

Complaining advertises your fears while keeping you stuck in the complaint. Increase your ability to see opportunities and possibilities by transforming your complaints into gratitude and acknowledgements.

It’s often said that love is the only thing that is true and real and that love is all we need to focus on if what we desire is to heal any thing … every thing. What is the opposite of love? Most people would instantly say “hate.” But what is the foundation for hate? Fear. Fear is the foundation for all things that are not love. Fear is the opposite of love.

One thing that has been pointed out to me during my continued spiritual quest for understanding is that when one loves, one expects. Giving love seems to have a purely human need to receive something in return. Expectations. What is that we ultimately have when we have expectations? Fear. And fear is the opposite of love.

When we have expectations we are living with limitations. We are living in fear. We are saying … there is only so much that I can give. I am limited. I need to receive in order to give. In addition we are saying … if I do not receive, what I am giving has no value to the one who is receiving. What is the foundation for feeling that something you give has no value? Fear.

Fear that you are not valuable, not worthy, not accepted, not loved in return or loved and recognized for what you are doing or giving. Another way of putting it … I am giving but not receiving, therefore the Universe is limited and I must hang on to what I have for I may run out of energy (or time, or love, or whatever the case may be). In addition we are saying … I am not receiving love therefore I will not give love. The basis for this comment, again, is fear.

How many judgments do we make before we offer love? How many expectations do we have once we offer love? Perhaps we don’t expect anything from the person or thing directly, but do we expect something from the Universe? Some sign of “reward” for having thoughts of love and compassion and acceptance?

But love is a state of BE-ING. Love is a state of pure acceptance. No judgment, no expectation. Love is a state of pure acceptance. It can’t be said too many times or in too many different ways. Many of us understand the concept perfectly.

But most of us also continue to seek the understanding beneath the words and the concept. We are, after all, human and so it is that situations and events can shift our focus and change our state of being pure love. We can become upset, angry, confused, resentful, frustrated, and any number of other things. In other words, we give the true state of our be-ing away to the “reality” that is playing around us. Why is this case? And, more importantly, how do we learn to be unaffected by what happens to us and around us?

It seems to be a great and burdensome task to ask of ourselves.. To become pure love. To do so would be to live without judgment of things such as murder, abuse, poverty, and all of the other things we, as humans, think of as negative and bad.

The argument against loving ALL things that humans create within their reality is strong and could be never-ending. But continuing the argument leaves us without the option to create new thought processes. If we continue to argue for the right to oppose the things we have labeled as “wrong,” we continue to close the door on the answer to how we might be able, within this consensual reality, to put all things into Divine Alignment and restore order within what appears to be chaos.

Is it a judgment to believe that we must set things “right?’ Or is it simply a matter of observation that all things and all people are an aspect of God and therefore should act and be treated accordingly? Is it possible that, even after all things return to the state of being divinely aligned with the original plan of God/Creator, such things as murder, abuse, poverty, and such things would still exist? Yes, it’s quite possible. Why? Due to the fact that we, as scholars who are studying the process of Creation, must experience ALL things.

This is one of the greatest struggles that we, as aspiring Masters, have. To accept that all things in existence are presentations of God/Creation. One of the reasons, other than our sincere compassion and desire to see joy lived by all creatures, is that we believe all things should be treated with honor and respect and the recognition that all things are an aspect of God. Would we, if we saw a person as an aspect of God, slap, scream at, or other abuse that person? Probably not.

How then do we achieve a place of pure acceptance of the things that appear to be out of the realm of what God would want for us, for those who live within this reality? By realizing that, though there are things that do not seem “perfect” and in Divine Alignment, the events that transpire around us are “tools” that we create, as a society, in order to show ourselves and others ALL sides of existence. We must, as aspiring Masters, understand the cause and effect of all things within existence. We must, as aspiring Masters, understand balance, light vs. dark, positive vs. negative, and all other polarities that exist within the realm of existence.

Does it then become simply a matter of choosing the reality you wish to live? Absolutely.

One of the greatest teachings from those who believe that we create our own reality and that we have the ability to manifest anything we can imagine is that we must first become something in order to have something. Can we become something if we have a judgment about it? In other words, if we desire money but we have fear that we will not achieve our desire, we obviously have a judgment. Judgments do not have a foundation of pure love and acceptance. Again .. all judgments have a base of fear and love does not live where fear exists. Therefore, we cannot become abundance if we have a fear that we are not the source of all abundance.

What is the bottom line? Control over our emotional reaction to the reality that exists outside of ourselves.

As pure Soul, we exist in a state of Grace and Love. Within the pure power of our Soul lies the knowledge that nothing truly exists except what we choose to create. If we are creating all things that seem to exist outside of ourselves, what then do we have to fear? What then can take our power away? What then has the power to disrupt us from the pure state of love?

And … what then do we base our judgments upon? When we judge we are, in essence, judging ourselves. What then would be the bottom line here? That we fear what we create.

Can we be effective Masters and Creators if we are in fear of that which we create? And so the issue comes full-circle. Pure acceptance and pure love for all experiences is the necessary state of be-ing for those who choose to accept full Mastery.

Pure acceptance of all things eliminates all fear. Fear is the “wall” between us and what we would choose to create in order to bring us to a state of being joy and fulfillment. If we do not fear that which we create, we do not expect to have what we give returned to us. We live in pure acceptance that all things will flow within the process of Divine Creation. We are not separate from that which we desire. We are not separate from a state of Grace. We do not have to strive to be something we are not .. for we are all things.

When we read of miracles, of instant healings, of a desperate need being met in the “final moment,” we are reading about someone who has reached a point of surrendering to the realization that they are not separate from the source of Creation. This success may be reached sub-consciously, but nevertheless it is the opening of a door, the sudden explosion of realization within us, that creates a vortex of creative energy that allows us to accept that we deserve what we are striving for.

Returning to the original point of this article … if we are pure love, what will be returned to us but pure love? That love may exhibit itself in any one of a million ways. It may exhibit itself by giving us our greatest trial. A trial that will take us to the next step of understanding in our quest for Mastery. Our Soul will give us that which we need. That which we fear the most is that which will we draw to ourselves. These experiences are our Soul’s gifts to us to show us where our fears live and to show us what we need to heal within ourselves in order to live in pure love. If we judge the expression of love our Soul is attempting to give us, we are limiting our Soul’s ability to give us what we need.

If we fear the expression of love that is presented to us, if we judge the way in which we present lessons to ourselves, we stem the flow of love from ourselves, from our Soul.

To live without fear is to live in pure love and pure acceptance. To live in pure love is to achieve a life in which we live pure Soul-expression.

We need to move beyond fear to a life where risks will be taken, opportunities seized, and dreams fulfilled. Recognize the origin of your fears and the disguises it wears such as feelings of entitlement and complaining. Trade excuses and expectations for choice and intention. When people complain, blame and gossip they are verbalizing their expectations with no solution in sight. Living in expectation keeps you stuck, immobile and dissatisfied. Intention sets you in motion with clarity of purpose building your self-confidence and empowering you to go beyond your present limitations.

Give up disappointment as a way of life. Take back your power by releasing expectation. Recognize the path of intention and go beyond goal setting to produce visionary results. Master intention, it moves you forward faster. Dealing with change, the unknown future, limited resources, additional responsibilities, and stress as well as the balance between home and work stops you from moving to the next level ( spirituality) causing unnecessary havoc in your life. Fear lowers self-confidence and takes away people’s ability to risk. The bottom line is that fear is what stands between any individual and their ability to flourish.

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their
loss.

To Love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

“But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing…has nothing..is nothing. You may avoid suffering and sorrow, but you simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love…live. Chained by your certitudes, you are a slave; you have forfeited freedom. Only a person who risks is free.”

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

From Soul To You

The beginning of a new year is a traditional time for making new resolutions about one’s life. But today will do too! One of the most important resolutions we can make is to begin a journey of self-discovery. In order to do this we need to understand how we got detoured in the first place.

The soul is that aspect of our being which has never forgotten its purpose. It attempts to give travel directions to the personality, that aspect of ourselves which functions in physical reality–but the personality doesn’t always receive the message. We may have learned not to believe in the soul, and also learned either to tune out its messages or to interpret them as a sign of lunacy.

Thus, the first and most important step on a journey of self-discovery is to believe that there is a self to be discovered, that the map of possibilities we need is within ourselves, and accessible. It isn’t enough to plant this belief; it must be nurtured as well, because in the beginning we need to trust in our souls without having any actual evidence of their existence. Faith, however, goes hand in hand with good works, and there is much we can do to help restore the interrupted lines of communication.

Paths and Patterns

Often when we play detective and investigate our own lives we find valuable clues. When you were a child what activities made you happiest? With whom did you have your most rewarding relationships? (These questions may also be asked about your present life.)

By looking for patterns you can discover both the shape of possibilities in your life and the ways in which you’ve blocked them. For example, someone might discover that all her life people had told her that she would make a wonderful therapist, and that she, from lack of self-esteem, had never believed them. She might remember opportunities for doing counseling which she had refused. Someone else might remember a place he had always longed to visit, and how its name always seemed to come up–in conversation or in the books he reads.

In your search you will find your dreams valuable. Dreams are an important vehicle through which the soul communicates with the personality. In the dream state we’re free to experiment with various possibilities for our lives, finally choosing the ones most suitable for physical manifestation. Our dream images express our deepest feelings and wishes as well as the beliefs which may prevent their expression.

Pay close attention to your dreams, recording them, and re-reading them to discover messages and patterns. Receptivity to your dreams will enhance your ability to be receptive during your waking hours.

Be alert as well for the clues which may come up in day-to-day life. You may be intrigued by someone’s description of a Polynesian dance class; you may have a sudden urge to learn to play the oboe. Playing the oboe or dancing the hula may not be your life’s purpose, but following the impulse which pulls you most strongly can only lead you in the appropriate direction.

Getting Specific

You can also clarify your possibilities by asking these questions:

If I didn’t have to work for a living what would I love to do?
If I were given $1 million, tax-free, what would be the first thing I’d do with it?

In doing this exercise be careful not to censor yourself. Don’t worry if an idea which comes into your mind just seems to ridiculous or too impossible. These are the reactions which helped us to get off-course in the first place. What you write down isn’t your final life plan, but–as in the case of your impulses–various attractive possibilities.

Next, look at each possibility you’ve written down and ask yourself what value you will get from it. Do you want that boat because you love sailing and the sea? If so, what feeling does that give you? Do you want to sail around the world because you’d like to learn about other cultures? Why does that interest you?

Keep adding to the list. As you study it, in combination with the information you’ve received from dreams, etc., you will find that you’re clarifying both the nature of your gifts and interests, and the commitment you feel to contribute to others.

Another way to get to the latter is to ask yourself a third question, “How would I like to be remembered when I’m gone? Do I want people to say I was brilliant, considerate, generous?”

How you would like to be remembered is really how you would like to be right now. Translate this feeling of commitment into a statement of purpose. Remember that no one is grading it; there’s no deadline, and you can rewrite and refine it as many times as you want to. You’ll know when it’s right for you; you’ll have a feeling of resonance and attunement.

The next step is to align your life so that it’s an appropriate vehicle for your purpose. When Michelangelo was asked how he sculpted his works of art he said that he simply cut away everything which wasn’t the statue. This is good advice, but let’s go easy on the drastic, sweeping changes. Call on Turtle medicine and remember that slow and steady wins the race. The more surely you integrate your purpose into your being the easier change will be.

Remember too, that as you begin to nurture your purpose you will find it growing. You’ll discover that it’s not the end, but the beginning, not a traveling away from yourself, but your journey home.

The Healing Power Of Dreams

“We are so captivated by and entangled in our subjective consciousness that we have forgotten the age-old fact that God speaks chiefly through dreams and visions.” – C.G. Jung

Dreams are doorways to the subconscious, pathways to the spirit realm and keys to the future. Dreams serve as a communication line between the invisible and visible worlds. Or, if you prefer, between heaven and earth. A dream is a real-life experience an individual has on another plane. We, in our true nature as Soul, are able to have experiences in a far-reaching panorama of life. Dreams are constantly rehearsing us for challenges and opportunities that lie around the corner in waking life. This is why Dream Work is also important.

There is a healing instinct within you that can manifest in dreams. You’d be surprised at the straightforward health advice they give, either spontaneously or on request. Tips on food, preventive therapies, treatment options constantly come through-but we miss them. Once remembered the essence of many of our dreams is lost because we, or our therapists, misinterpret them.

A patient told me about a recurring broccoli dream. “You can’t be serious,” he said, chuckling. “It’s actually trying to tell me what to eat? A vegetable?” Yes-it was. We often dismiss such practical suggestions as meaningless. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Keep it simple. Try something new. If you dream of eating a luscious mango, run out, devour one. Or when, in a dream, you’re soaking in natural hot springs, make a date to go. How do you know if the advice you receive is right? Count on common sense to direct you. Though some intuitive flashes may seem impractical or unexpected, the authentic ones will never suggest anything to jeopardize you or anyone else’s physical welfare.

So, for instance, if you have heart disease and a dream tells you, “It’s okay to smoke cigarettes,” don’t do it. Question all messages that risk your health. Along with this guideline, begin to familiarize yourself with traditional dream interpretation. I suggest Carl Jung’s classic text Man and His Symbols, or take a look at Creative Dreaming by Dr. Patricia Garfield.

In addition, there’s an intuitive level to understanding dreams of which I’d like you to be aware. Reliable intuitive information stands out in very specific ways. Watch for these clues:

Statements that simply convey information

Neutral segments that evoke or convey no emotion

A detached feeling, like you’re a witness watching a scene

A voice or person counseling you-as if you’re taking dictation from an outside source

Conversations with people you never met before who give instructions about your health

I’ve found that my most dead-on intuitions either come across as compassionate or have no emotion at all. Develop a careful eye as you practice separating the content of your dreams from your reactions to it. Soon you’ll be able to tell what is reliable health guidance and what is not.

Be aware that your dreams go by different rules than your waking life. Get ready for a mind shift. Physical laws no longer apply. Gravity changes. In dreams you can fly!

Remember as a child (or adult) when you took off wingless, soared over mountains and valleys below. Health wise, this is a reminder of the vitality and freedom that is in you. Silence is pregnant. A dream’s tone can be as restorative as its content; a revelation about staying well can come through someone’s eyes rather than words.

You are in partnership with your dreams. Initiate an ongoing dialogue with them. It’s like consulting the wisest old-time family doctor you can imagine who knows you inside out. You can ask your dreams anything-even what seems most impossible.

How can I keep my blood pressure down? What about my hip pain or allergies? Are there ways to stop catching so many colds? No question is trivial if it is meaningful to you. Expect answers. Some will be direct. Others may require interpretation.

Dreams can keep you well. Dreams provide answers. But first you must retrieve them. How many nights have you awakened with the most amazing dream you were certain you’d recall? The next morning it was gone.

Our memories deceive. During sleep we experience a kind of amnesia. Dreams are not of the rational mind. Your intuitive memory is what is needed. Here is a method I recommend to remember your dreams. It’s helpful to practice it each day. Soon it will become second nature to you.

Four Strategies To Remember Your Dreams

Keep a journal and pen by your bed.

Write a question on a piece of paper before you go to sleep. Formalize your request. Place it on a table beside your bed or under your pillow.

In the morning do not wake up too fast. Stay under the covers for at least a few minutes remembering your dream. Luxuriate in a peaceful feeling between sleep and waking, what scientists call the hypnagogic state. Those initial moments provide a doorway.

Open your eyes. Write down your dream immediately; otherwise it will evaporate. You may recall a face, object, color, or scenario, feel an emotion. It doesn’t matter if it makes perfect sense-or if you retrieve a single image or many. Record everything you remember.

When you’re finished refocus on the health question you asked the previous night. See how your dream applies. One, two, or more impressions about the who/what/where of your solution may have surfaced.

Get in the habit of recording your dreams regularly. Be assured I’ve never met anyone who can’t be taught how to remember. Keep at it. If your answer doesn’t come the first night, try again. More details will emerge, rounding out the picture.

Then look to your daily life for evidence of what your dream tells you. The woman’s face you glimpsed for that split second could just be that of the healer you’ve been searching for.

I am guided every day by the five intuitive steps I’ve just presented. They have become my eyes. They can be yours too. The intuitions about your health I speak of and live by are ordinarily without boundary and are unseen.

As you go through these steps they highlight, truths about your body, providing a framework in which to recognize them. Ordering allows for a simple, focused understanding. I have a great respect for structure as long as it facilitates our freedom.

Go through the steps with this in mind. With each health question you ask, be prepared to expand or contract in response to whatever fluid motion is called for. Surrender all preconceptions about your healing. This realm I’m attempting to outline ultimately escapes definition. The mastermind of all things intuitive, the brains behind the scene, is of an infinite source.

What if, just once, you let yourself go, accept the gift unconditionally? I dare you. What do you have to lose? And to gain? Breathe fire into what is dormant in you: your intuitions about a healthy body, your sense of spiritual power from which all your intuitions come.

Make these connections count. They will last a lifetime. Open yourself to knowledge of how to heal. Let the mystery touch you. It is everything, everything.

SHARING OUR DREAMS

Everyone wakes up on some mornings and wonders about the dream, or nightmare, they just had. If the dream bothers you, or comes back to you in the daytime and you want to know its meaning, you should be aware of some ways of analyzing or interpreting your dreams.

Analysis, interpretation and looking at the symbols in your dreams give you a good sense of your dreams. You can usually feel better about the bad ones, and feel terrific about the insight you gain from the good ones (there are no “bad” dreams — they can all be used to help you).

5 Reasons To Look At Your Dreams:

Because they give you a startlingly original point of view about your life.

Because some dreams are so fabulous all you should do is learn to recall the feeling.

Because some dreams are awful and you’d just like them to STOP.

Because the dream is telling you something you need to know.

Because the dream always gives you a way of solving the problem that it raises – even for nightmares and recurring dreams.

Benefits from sharing our dreams. When we talk about our dreams with other people, we learn about dreams, ourselves, and the people with whom we are sharing. We learn about dreams. When people tell us their dreams, we gain insight into their personal dreamscape, their symbolism (and their ways of interpreting or dreamwork that symbolism), and their ways of managing dreamland problems and possibilities.

We can use much of this information in our own dream studies. And when we talk about dreams, this attention helps us to recall more of them; this further advances our education.

We learn about ourselves. When we describe our dreams to other people, their feedback gives us different perspectives — perhaps ones which are more honest than our own, because those people don’t have the repressions and biases that distort our interpretations of our own dreams.

They help us to see meanings which we don’t discern because of our limited perspective and possibly because our reluctance to probe into unpleasant parts of our psyche. Also, because dreams have more than one meaning, other people’s interpretations can help us to discover those additional meanings; otherwise, we might have been satisfied with the first interpretation which occurred to us.

We learn about other people. We strengthen relationships when we talk about dreams with people whom we trust and love; the “trust” implies that the information will not be ridiculed or gossiped or used against us later, and the “love” means that we accept the person’s weaknesses and shadowy unpleasantries which might be expressed in the dream. Within the context of dream-sharing, we can talk about our intimate feelings, our fears, our passions, and the ways in which we view our lives and the world.

When we discuss a dream, we have a means of addressing an issue in our relationship without a direct confrontation; the dream itself brought up the issue, and it did so in a manner in which we can comfortably disclaim responsibility (however incorrectly) for the emotions which were expressed, because it was a dream character (and not us) who said something pertaining to the subject.

Remember that a dream in which the other person appears is not necessarily a dream about that person; the character might be representing something else. But sometimes the character does symbolize that person; if so, he or she is likely to have dreamed about us in return.

Everyone dreams!
That’s a remarkable fact.
There are no exceptions.
It’s a rule of life…

Each night we are taken on an experience. We have almost no say in where or with whom. We don’t even have all our wits about us. It is sometimes fun but quite often the experience is very intense or disturbing. Whether we remember our dreams or not, we are always dreaming. And most of us are considering the meaning of the dream.

But how many people talk about their dreams, whether good ones or bad ones? Most people brush them aside as they get out of bed and leave them behind. They miss out on it all. You don’t have to interpret or analyze every dream and — especially at the beginning– you may not feel satisfied with your own interpretations.

You can work with your dreams and you can play with your dreams. You can create your own dream dictionary — the dream symbols that are most meaningful to you.. It makes a big difference to what you know about who you are. I strongly believe that even the simple act of telling someone else your dream can have a great effect on your life.

There are ways of looking at your dreams that are easy to learn, respectful and illuminating. They tend to make nightmares and unpleasant dreams go away and they allow you to look at the mystery and wonder that is always present in a dream.

The Inspiration Matrix

Inspiration. What is this thing called inspiration? It is anything or anyone that gives you that rising passion in your heart to create something, to feel something, to sing something. It is what makes you breathe deeply and love life if for only one moment.

At times, I have noticed that in a month’s span I have been possessed to write as many as thirty articles; roughly the creation of one ‘writing’ per day. At other times, however, a month (or two or maybe even three) will go by with little more than a few rough drafts to show for my efforts. Since I write when the urge overtakes me, I have always wondered exactly what it was that was taking me over; what was it that inspired me at one particular moment and why did it not inspire me in the next?

In the twilight of dawn, when my insomnia keeps my eyes wide open, these are a few of the many questions that dance freely through my mind. In questioning the sporadicism of my muse, I have always wondered about the possibility of a pattern behind my whims. And, though it sounds crazy (as some assume particular writers to be) I actually went so far as to map out a matrix to see if, from there, I could predict future patterns in my writing.

And I did. The pattern had proved thus; the fact that May and November were my most productive months. All of the in-between months ran with a variance of productivity that was much less than the apex point; but, spanned well enough to produce a minimum of at least three articles regardless of other trends.

Downfall months were typically noted in December and June (the usual timing of holiday season and family vacations.) Reaching across the board, the second and third weeks of any month were generally the most proliferant. And, without variation, it seemed that within the larger cycle of a year, everything was microsized on a true cycle of six months, generally with few exceptions.

So, as I had gathered, sorted, and organized this information into good use, I felt as though I had become the controller of my destiny, the goddess of my domain, the ruler of my surroundings; and, I now had an insight that I had never before seen.

But as always, when my feeling of elation had reached Icarian levels, I was plucked from my perch by the unpredictable hands of fate. And even though I had assured myself that such a science could never be wrong, the worst possible thing happened; my matrix fell flat on its back.

Through no rhyme or reason, with no rationale and no benefit of explanation, (and obviously against the guidelines and predictions of my many graphs and charts) I started writing as never before.

One, sometimes even two and three creations a day, fell from my fingertips with a fluid ease. Little bouts of sleep were interlaced between my painterly-possessions. I ate while working. Wrote more ideas while taking a bubble bath. Everything seemed to flow through me with little resistance.

Now, the thing was it all would have seemed very normal to me, this lifestyle – this mania, if it weren’t for one small detail; it defied the pattern of my matrix; my blessed, lovely matrix. Now, I could have understood that this kind of thing should have taken place in May and November; but, it didn’t. Instead it went on from mid-June to early-July (even despite the annual family vacation.) In that time I had created thirty-seven new works; far more than my pinnacle months had ever spawned before. And, it seemed to me as though my hypothesis was wrong and my calculations ceased to matter.

But how could it be? I had crunched all of the numbers and put everything into a perfect, predictable order…but, of course, as anyone who reads this must certainly be aware, inspiration is not something tangible enough to be clocked or charted (silly me.) It isn’t even something to be viewed, harnessed or measured.

And prediction with such a thing is always out of the question; because, inspiration is, no less, a privilege sent to a person from some unknown source, relaying the presence of an unearthly gift into that of an earthly form. And that can happen anywhere, at any time, and for any reason.

Though I thought it possible to pinpoint its origin and plot its strategy, I found that it was not. Not just because it is impossible for it to be as such; but, also because of the fact that inspiration exists largely due to the element of surprise.

I must admit, I do hate surprises. But, as I slowly become more aware of my own lack of control in this universe, I am learning that surprises, all uncalculated and lacking of expectation, can be good; and I embrace them. At least, a little more than I did of all those graphs and pie charts.

At certain times while writing this, I caught myself jabbing at what really sabotages a spirit. I kept thinking that I should be cleaning. I should be weeding. I should be creating a masterpiece. I should be designing a gardening shed. I should be doing a collage for my friend. Well, I didn’t do anything I should have done. My spirit spoke to me and I listened. I just lived. I wrote. I breathed in and out and felt it. I ate and tasted, I slept and rested. I cried. I laughed. I lived.

I am renewed. I am no longer a shell protecting my spirit within. My spirit shines through my eyes and I feel my heart.

What more inspiration does one need?

Does Your Worldview Support Your Ability To receive Inner Guidance?

What is a “Worldview”? A worldview is a person’s set of assumptions about the basic makeup and nature of the world and universe. A fully developed worldview gives basic answers to questions such as:

1) What is ultimately the prime reality? (…such as “God”, or Matter/Energy)
2) What is the basic nature of the universe?
3) What is the basic nature and condition of man?
4) What happens to man at death?
5) What is the reason or basis of ethics and morality?

One of the biggest problems of present society is the effect of overall change and acceleration on human psychology. Neither individual minds nor collective culture seem able to cope with the unpredictable change and growing complexity. Stress, uncertainty and frustration increase, minds are overloaded with information, knowledge fragments, values erode, negative developments are consistently overemphasized, while positive ones are ignored.

The resulting climate is one of nihilism, anxiety and despair. While the wisdom gathered in the past has lost much of its validity, we don’t have a clear vision of the future either. As a result, there does not seem to be anything left to guide our actions.

What we need is a framework that ties everything together, that allows us to understand society, the world, and our place in it, and that could help us to make the critical decisions which will shape our future. It would synthesize the wisdom gathered in the different scientific disciplines, philosophies and religions.

Rather than focusing on small sections of reality, it would provide us with a picture of the whole. In particular, it would help us to understand, and therefore cope with, complexity and change. Such a conceptual framework may be called a “world view”.

There are seven fundamental components of a world view. I will discuss them one by one, attempting to capture the main ideas.

A model of the world

It should allow us to understand how the world functions and how it is structured. “World” here means the totality, everything that exists around us, including the physical universe, the Earth, life, mind, society and culture. We ourselves are an important part of that world. Therefore, a world view should also answer the basic question: “Who are we?”.

Explanation

The second component is supposed to explain the first one. It should answer the questions: “Why is the world the way it is? Where does it all come from? Where do we come from?”. This is perhaps the most important part of a world view. If we can explain how and why a particular phenomenon (say life or mind) has arisen, we will be able to better understand how that phenomenon functions. It will also help us to understand how that phenomenon will continue to evolve.

Futurology

This extrapolation of past evolution into the future defines a third component of a world view: futurology. It should answer the question “Where are we going to?” It should give us a list of possibilities, of more or less probable future developments. But this will confront us with a choice: which of the different alternatives should we promote and which should we avoid?

Values

This is the more fundamental issue of value: “What is good and what is evil?” The theory of values defines the fourth component of a world view. It includes morality or ethics, the system of rules which tells us how we should or should not behave. It also gives us a sense of purpose, a direction or set of goals to guide our actions. Together with the answer to the question “why?”, the answer to the question “what for?”, may help us to understand the real meaning of life.

Action

Knowing what to strive for does not yet mean knowing how to get there, though. The next component must be a theory of action (praxiology). It would answer the question “How should we act?” It would help us to solve practical problems and to implement
plans of action.

Knowledge

Plans are based on knowledge and information, on theories and models describing the phenomena we encounter. Therefore, we need to understand how we can construct reliable models. This is the component of knowledge acquisition. It is equivalent to what in philosophy is called “epistemology” or “the theory of knowledge”. It should allow us to distinguish better theories from worse theories. It should answer the traditional philosophical question “What is true and what is false?”

Building Blocks

The final point on the agenda of a world view builder is not meant to answer any fundamental question. It just reminds us that world views cannot be developed from scratch. You need building blocks to start with. These building blocks can be found in existing theories, models, concepts, guidelines and values, scattered over the different disciplines and ideologies. This defines the seventh component: fragments of world views as a starting point.

After considering the main worldviews held by most all of mankind, how does one go about deciding which one is best, which must be false, and which one, if any, has a high probably of being true? (Truth is that which matches up with reality.)

To begin with, we must assume that something exists. Every full-orbed worldview recognizes this. Next, we must assume that we can actually know something, and that we can think true thoughts. A reasonable starting-point for this might well be that of Descartes’ reasoning: “I think, therefore I am.” This demonstrates that we do exist, and that we know something which is self-evidently true …a reasonable starting point.

Along with assuming that we can know something, come the three laws of logical thought, which are: the law of identity, the law of opposites, and the law of non-contradiction.

The “Law of Identity” states: In a certain specific context (set of facts and circumstances), a proposition (thing or situation) has only one single meaning.

The “Law of Opposites” (or the “excluded middle”) states: That one specific meaning is either true or false, but cannot be both.

“The Law of Non-Contradiction” states: Two such propositions cannot both be true, if one affirms while the other denies the same thing at the same time and in the same respect.

If these laws of thought are denied, then all meaningful thought and communication is destroyed, and our existence proceeds into nonsense and nihilism.

The Three Truth-Tests

Logical thinking allows us to list three distinctive qualities which test the truthfulness of any worldview:

FIRST, an adequate worldview must be consistent within itself, and non-contradictory. Any contradiction is a definite indication that the worldview contains at least some untruth; And if the contradiction involves an essential element of the worldview, then the worldview must be false, having failed the first truth-test.

SECOND, an adequate worldview must fit virtually all the relevant facts and data of reality and human experience. The worldview which accounts for the greatest number of facts, with the fewest difficulties, has the highest probability of being a worldview which is true. A worldview which is inconsistent with human experience and with the empirical facts of history, nature and the universe, fails the second truth-test.

THIRD, an adequate worldview must be subjectively satisfactory and livable on an every-day basis. We must ask: When a man is done philosophizing about the nature of his worldview, can he live it out, and does he actually practice it in his daily life? …If not, then the actions of his life reveal his true inner conviction of the untruth of that worldview …it is not livable, therefore, that worldview fails the third truth-test.

Study any worldview, and evaluate it with these truth-tests in mind.

Developing a world view that supports connecting to your inner guidance is an essential part of being able to develop your intuitive power. In an effort to make sense out of our world, we develop a philosophy of life. For most of us this philosophy is the basis of our core beliefs. As we saw earlier, beliefs have the power to inhibit or empower our development. Our philosophy of life answers existential questions: Who are we? Why are we here? How do we relate to the Creator or the Universal forces?

There are many ways to answer these questions; consequently, a variety of philosophies have developed throughout the world. I do not believe there is any one correct world view. If there is an ultimate truth, I am not qualified to discern what it is. However, I find it helpful to judge philosophies not on the basis of right or wrong, but on their ability to empower or inhibit the expression of my potential. I encourage you to reevaluate your world view judging it on its ability to inhibit or empower you to express yourself fully.

In the following paragraphs, I am sharing my world view with you. It is a philosophy that supports your ability to tap into the divine wisdom and develop your intuitive powers. It is not THE truth, but it is MY truth. Feel free to accept those parts that make sense to you and discard those ideas that do not fit your understanding of life. Your philosophy is ultimately your choice. It may be the most sacred choice you have; therefore, choose wisely.

My philosophy is best defined as Spiritualistic, New Thought Christianity or Metaphysical Christianity. This is not New Age, not Mysticism, not Mind Cure, not Mental Science and definitely not Christian Science. It is however: A total belief in God and the search for Truth, Love and Spiritual Law. It is based on the teachings of God with a metaphysical interpretation.

My most fundamental philosophical belief is the oneness of all life. There is one life (unity) expressing itself through all life forms (diversity), and that life is God, the good omnipotent. God is everywhere present, everywhere intelligent, and everywhere powerful. It is God flowing through me, expressing as me, creating my world. The me I think of as ego or personality is simply an extension of this incredible force that creates the entire universe. I am connected, through the spirit part of me, to All That Is. There is one mind, one spirit, and it is God.

Therefore, when I desire information, wisdom, or knowledge, it is available to me through my spirit self, from the one mind of God. As I allow myself (ego/personality) to connect to the one mind (God), I have easy access to all the information I need in my life. I have the ability to take my conscious awareness through the spirit self into the one mind to connect to anything I wish to know. I can either open my spiritual centers allowing the information to flow into my mind, or I can raise my awareness to the one mind and get the information I need.

In my philosophy, I am only separated from this oneness when I limit myself through fear or a false belief in separation. The connection is always there. It is only my choice as to where I focus my awareness that gives me the feeling of oneness or separation. When I focus my attention on the unity of life, I experience peace, harmony, and fulfillment. When I choose to turn my powerful consciousness towards separation, I experience fear and lack. It is my beliefs, thoughts, words, and imagination that create my experiences in life.

This philosophy empowers me to access Divine wisdom, develop my intuitive power, and live a peaceful, harmonious, abundant life.

What is it about this Spiritual “way of life” that makes me so unique? I try to always act positively, instead of reacting negatively; use words that are kind, helpful and uplifting – not angry or discouraging; practice forgiveness, instead of judgment and condemnation; act with kindness and patience, instead of haste and rudeness; seek and see the good in all situations even those that may at first, seem adverse to them; behold the Christ in all persons, even at those times when it is difficult to do so; do not use force or threats to gain an advantage – but pray and trust God to bring forth the highest good for all; volunteer and give of myself for the sake of expressing good, rather than to be “seen of men.”

The search for truth, love and spiritual fulfillment are of course the very things that allow the more physical laws (those made by men and science) to explain and justify their usually outrageous decisions. These man-made laws cannot change anything – they are merely there to try to explain. With a practical twentieth century approach to classical old philosophies, I believe that religion must, overall, be practical and should apply (and be applied) to both the problems and the joys of everyday life.

To develop your intuitive powers and receive inner guidance … you need to adopt a philosophy that enables you to find answers within yourself. There are many philosophies from which to choose. My philosophy is only one possibility!

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