Tag Archives: Understanding

22

Suspending Your Belief

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There is a skeptic in everyone. The voice inside questions the validity of everything and the intentions of everyone. It is natural to doubt things because we protect ourselves from avoidable forms of suffering. There are times it is appropriate to have questions about something. Otherwise, people would continually take advantage of you. But like everything, there is a balance you have to strike in life, to selectively suspend your disbelief to allow new ideas to reach you. Think of the great things you might experience if you allowed just a little bit of change into your consciousness.

We Suspend Belief All the Time

One of the great things about this process is we have a lot of practice at suspending belief. Any time you watch a movie or show on Netflix, you suspend belief. You know the situations you are seeing are not happening in reality and that the people you are watching are only pretending to be the characters you are viewing.

Yet, people are still moved to tears by the action that unfolds. People allow their emotions to rise and fall with the characters’ plight on the screen. A viewer can sympathize and empathize with a fictional character, suspending your belief in the experience. How many people have seen a good movie and think that a pleasant experience? This is a skill I am encouraging you to develop in other areas of your life.

Growth Comes With New Ideas

I often break life down into simple things for me to be able to understand my journey better. When it comes to development, you go one of two ways, growth and getting better or stagnation and getting worse. There are very few times we are sitting in neutral and staying precisely the same. Growth can happen naturally, like when you are a child, all you have to do is wait for time to work its magic, and a person physically transforms throughout their life.

Intellectually it is not that simple. Without new input, we are sentenced to experience the same old things. Suspending belief for a short time to allow further information to enter your intellect will allow you to evaluate things rationally. Each piece of data can be weighed and measured, and one can choose to use it or not. Either way, they understand it, and there will be natural growth in that understanding.

Stubborn

I have often been accused of being stubborn about my beliefs in life. People like to hang onto the known because it gives them a false sense of security. If the recent pandemic has taught me anything, we have no idea what security is. Everything you know can be wiped away in an instant. It is up to us to learn what information is valuable and what is not.

Growth can result from any suffering if we allow for the addition of new information, new experiences, and unique points of view. I know not one person who has experienced no change over the past two months. It has been stressful for many, looking outside and seeing danger everywhere, and some have found strength. If I can handle this, then I can take anything. Facing this new situation with only the past paradigms will lead to a frightening and frustrating experience. Allow further information in, then decide for yourself what makes sense. Let your heart determine what actions are right for you and whatnot.

Conformity Is Limiting

The choice to avoid new information or, worse, only to accept the point of view of someone else (the media, the government) leaves you with nothing but limitations. There is a comfort in conformity, everyone agreeing on a mode of action. Anything different is frowned upon or even outlawed, but we will get the answer to cure the problems we face through nonconformists. It won’t come through hanging onto the past. It won’t come through judgment, ridicule, or treating people poorly.

I have seen many efforts to force conformity on everybody since mid-March. Many celebrities and government officials urge people to stay home, social distance, wash their hands, and wear a mask. I am sure there is value in all of these things, but we don’t have enough information to know how this will all play out. Unfortunately, that will never happen until this is all over, and then we can say what should have happened, which didn’t. Anyone who claims to know what will happen is fooling themselves.

Growth Recipe

I am for letting people operate at their level of comfort. If the current circumstance frightens you so much, being in public makes you nervous, then stay home and avoid all of this whenever necessary. If you have a higher level of comfort, get out and see what the world is doing. It has been my experience. Life is full of challenges, illness, uncomfortable moments, and fear. Overcoming them is a part of growth, and following the crowd blindly is a recipe for disaster.

Today, try to suspend your belief and allow something new to filter into your reality for just a short time. Try to challenge the paradigms you are living through and see if a method makes no sense. You may find you were right all along, and learning this is also growing. If you do the same things you always have done, think the thoughts you have ever felt, and believe what you have always accepted without question, it leads to stagnation. Any belief we hold without question will end up limiting you. You may have the correct answer for everybody if you suspend your belief for a second and allow a new breeze of thought to blow through your mind.

“It is not disbelief that is dangerous to our society; it is belief.”-  George Bernard Shaw

“It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief.”-  Lionel Trilling

“The more you can create that magic bubble, that suspension of disbelief, for a while, the better.” – Edward Norton

“I guess love is the real suspension of disbelief.” – Melissa Bank

 

22

To Give

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Giving and Gratitude- You must provide to receive.

One of the better-known but often forgotten forces in the universe is giving and gratitude. These are two separate things but work together to bring a lot of good into the world. The old is replaced by the new as a person lets go of something without reservation, allowing for something new to enter its place. You can only hold on to so much at a time. What if the things you are grasping onto are old, outdated, or heavy and cumbersome. The only way to move to something new is to give them away freely. Then when new things arrive in your life, practice a pure, honest feeling of gratitude for them. This simple process will help you live a more fulfilled life. Develop an attitude of giving and receiving that keeps the energy of life flowing around you.

Mentality of Giving

It is easy to say, “Give!” to someone else, but there are always issues when it comes to yourself. If you have had feelings of lack your whole life, those will have to be conquered. Scarcity is not just referring to finances, it can also be applied to love, caring, nurturing, or any other aspect of life. When we fear there isn’t enough for us, we develop a lack mentality. It is a catch 22 because there won’t be anymore if you hold onto what you have for fear. There probably won’t be anymore.

The mentality of giving is that you can give freely and without fear because there is no lack in the world of what you seek or desire. If you give freely and without a doubt, what you need will come back to you in all areas that you provide. It will also allow for new and exciting things to enter your life. This can be intimidating and scary because change is always a little unsettling. But to keep your positive energy flowing, giving is a must. Give with an open heart and mind and expect nothing in return. All you need will come to you.

Gratitude is the Thing

How often do you look at someone else and envy what they have? It is a waste of time looking outside and being envious or angry because someone else has something you would like. Look at your life, enjoy the things you have, and feel grateful for them. All of us have something to be thankful for. The basics, eyes to see, ears to hear, food to eat, a place to live, freedom, love, family, or anything else has come into our lives. If you don’t appreciate what you have, why would you attract more into your life? Learning to be appreciative is a skill that is not taught to many but needs to be determined.

Honest feelings of gratitude are essential to practice every day. Note a grateful sense in your mind for all the things you have that make your life better. If you do this consistently, you can’t help but be in a good mood. We all have something. The joy that gratitude can bring will make life a better experience and allow for more things to be grateful for coming into your life. It has been a tradition in many religious teachings to count your blessings because you will see what has already been created for you. Knowing all the things already coming your way allows more positive things to enter your life.

The Good of Giving

Many people think having a lot of money will make them great, or having a powerful job will give them respect, but the truth of the matter is that how much you give to the world is going to determine your value to it. Our view of life can get blocked by pursuing material goods and financial well-being. There is nothing wrong with having money, but giving is also essential for energies to flow.   Giving is also something that becomes contagious. Giving something to someone often sparks them to give to someone else.

Giving also makes all parties happy. It feels good to offer, and it feels good to receive. If you look at the act itself and perform it with a pure heart, then the benefits of giving will shine through. Joy and happiness are the results. The only way they can’t is if fear enters the picture. Either the person giving is afraid they will never receive anything back. Or the person receiving is worried about what the gift means. Either way, give because you want to accept someone did something beautiful for you and let the process spread the happiness it should.

Take some time today and think of ways that You can give. Compliments, caring, Kindness, understanding, or love are all excellent ways to provide that cost nothing at all but a bit of thought and consideration. Receive all of these things as best you can and know that they are given positively. Smile and spread positive feelings to those that you come in contact with. Giving is the first step in receiving, and gratitude is the doorway it walks through.

“The heart that gives, gathers.” Tao Te Ching

“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”- Khalil Gibran.

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”- Lao Tzu.

“Don’t wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly, lead the way.” Steve Maraboli

 

21

Learning to Surrender

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Learning to surrender to where you are in life is confusing to comprehend. It is the idea that you accept the present moment, but it doesn’t mean that you have to allow yourself to stay in an unhealthy or dangerous situation. It means that you recognize the problem for what it is, and then through conscious choice, you can start to make decisions that will allow you to move in a more positive and healthy direction. Seeing clearly and concisely is not a victim mentality but the beginning of your conscious choices.

Thinking about Surrender

Many hear the word Surrender and think you are giving in to whatever is wrong in your life. If you are experiencing abuse, addiction, or other adverse situations, you are not just allowing it to happen. Instead, it means identifying where you are clearly and in the present moment. Too often, our minds avoid the now because we hope it will change or for the reason that nobody will notice. To look at your moment and honestly understand where you are is a moment where you can pivot into a change. Knowing where you are, allows you to construct a map to flow toward where you are meant to be.

Surrender never means being passive in accepting any situation you may be living in and having no power of action. You always have that. People should never stop planning, dreaming, or creating a decisive battle in their lives. Surrender is honestly seeing where you are and flowing with that situation instead of fighting against it. Accepting your present moment without condition is the beginning of giving up your inner resistance to change, life, and who you are. Internal resistance uses mental judgment and negative emotions to say no to what is happening in your life.

Here Comes the Pain

Things will go “wrong” in life. Things will never be exactly as we think they should be in all aspects. First of all, who are we to think we understand how things should be? Millions of variables affect the world that we know nothing about. Life is much wiser than any of us. So rather than judge, accept things and people as they are, not force them to be what you think they should be. The difference between what your rigid expectations create and what is in the world is the pain you are experiencing in life.

Surrender is the power to let go of your expectations of your children, parents, spouses, loved ones, bosses, employees, and anyone in your life. When you accept people as they are and surrender your expectations, much of the pain and sorrow of life is eliminated from your life. This subtraction is a process that takes place on the inside and will allow you to make decisive, healthy actions for positive change in the outside physical world. But with no inner change of thought and understanding, external change and positive movement are nearly impossible.

Acceptance and Choice

Accepting where things are now does not make you take the situation you are in total. All undesirable or unpleasant life situations need not be accepted as part of your reality in the present moment. Stating the obvious is not acceptance but denying something as if there is nothing wrong when it is maybe delusional.

An honest recognition of a situation will allow you to choose if you want to get out. Looking at the current location without judgment or resistance to what it is will let you see what affirmative action is required from you and decide whether to take it or not. Being in the present moment ultimately will allow you the power to break out of your conditioned past and move you toward a life of surrendering to what is and away from the constructs of the egoic life.

“Surrender is deeply misunderstood as an act of weakness. Surrender is the bravest and most obvious thing a human ever does, and that’s why it’s so precious to the Divine.” – Andrew Harvey

21

Faith

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Please have a little faith it will all work out for good in the end.

It is easy to say you have faith in someone or something and quite a different thing actually to act on that faith.  The definition of faith is to have complete trust and confidence in someone or something.  Looking back on life, I know that a precious few people or things I have placed my faith in each day.  As life progresses, we are inundated with more and more experiences that hurt us and cause our trust to erode piece by piece.  But at the end of your life, you have to be willing to live in hope, or your life will be dominated by fear, and that will never lead to a happy and enjoyable experience.  We see things as undesirable, painful, and it is difficult not to take them personally. Things happen; we must file them away and deal with them.  It is our choice if we live a life of fear or continue to develop a life of faith.  All things will work out OK, we will be OK, and life knows what it is doing after all.  Sometimes having a little hope is all you have, and it can be the most valuable possession in the world.

Tough Times Come To Everyone

Difficult times and painful experiences are going to come into your life. That is a guarantee, and nobody in the world is exempt from them. We can all choose how we deal with them, but you, me, and all other people will face challenges.  Betrayal, lies, anger, loss are all a part of our experience.  I have often wondered why this is the case when things are so much more enjoyable when they are excellent and comfortable.  Why have we experienced a loss we couldn’t understand? Why put us through all of that?  Why give the good times if only to take them away immediately? It seems like God is just toying with us for no reason.  Unfortunately, the tough times provide suffering, and it is through this process, we can glean wisdom.

Imagine a life with no challenges.  There is nothing to push you to try something else, seek a deeper meaning, or search for understanding.  I don’t know a lot, but I know life is meant to be an experience of growth, or it is over. Faith in the ultimate ability to overcome your challenges, remember who you are, and bring that light to the world is the real challenge for you. Living in faith means to believe it will all work out in the end to the benefit of all, even if you can’t understand how right now. It is hard to see the edges, where it ends, and where the calm lies when you are inside the storm. All storms have an end; all tumult is followed by peace. Just as there will be challenges, there will be triumphs and good times.  Faith tells us this.

The Best Days

Having a little faith in the darkness that the dawn will eventually break is hard when you live in fear of what might happen next.  Living in fear causes people to harm others and themselves. When you live in doubt, you see all of the potential dangers of what might happen if things go wrong. It closes your eyes to the good, which might be right in front of you. Suppose you can put the fear aside and accept on faith that there is a lesson for you in the hard times.  One experience will propel you to greater heights in the future.

Have a little faith in the lesson you need to learn. If you look honestly at your challenges, growth results are an aspect. A plant grows when you add water, sunlight, and proper soil. So your mind becomes, and sometimes the fuel we need is unfavorable. Is it, though?  To be pushed can move you to a new level of activity and achievement. You may never have looked for answers to the questions resulting from your suffering.  Having gratitude for hard things is very difficult, but many of the most outstanding achievements in history occurred after a great tragedy.  Look at your account. How many accomplishments came after facing a challenge and taking the skills and motivation to move into a new stratosphere of accomplishment?

Faith is Real

The choice to hope that all things will work out in the end in the best manner possible is always the best.  We all have decisions to make, and as long as we are alive, there is hope and an opportunity to make a dream come into reality and achieve a goal. Suppose we can get out of the way of our fear of suffering.  This suffering is the very definition of courage, and it is through this act of faith; all of your goals will find their positive results.  One thing I know for sure, if you live in fear, live in doubt, treat others poorly, and carry no belief in yourself, nothing positive will result. These things are all a personal choice. What choice do you make today?  What lessons are you learning through the challenges you face? How has loss shaped you? Has it made you understand you have to have faith? Or has it made you fear more loss?

I urge you today to develop a sense of living in faith that all things will work out for good in the end if you let them.  Don’t live in the regrets of the past or in the anxiety of what might happen in the future. Live today with a bit of faith in yourself and the Universe that this cosmic play has much more good in it than it does evil, and seek to embrace it.

“Without faith, a man can do nothing; with it, all things are possible.” – Sir William Osler

“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” – D. Elton Trueblood

“Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strengthened when we feel we have none; faith is hope when all seems lost.” – Catherine Pulsifer

“Breathe, and have faith that everything will work out for the best.”

“Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep the faith. It will all be worth it in the end.”

21

Compassion

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Compassion- 

concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

In a fast-paced world, it is easy to develop tunnel vision and focus only on the things which affect you and your life. It is easy not to have the suffering of others enter into your consciousness.  There is simply no room for it.  But that does not mean the pain isn’t happening all around you. It also doesn’t stop you from helping alleviate that suffering in some small way.  The compassion you show is one small way to improve the world. It is always your choice if you do this or not, but today I challenge you to open your mind to having compassion for those around you and the suffering they are enduring.  It starts with a higher awareness of what is going on all around you. It all begins with a thought noticing pain, followed by an emotion, words that result, and actions because of that thought.  Amore compassionate world is the result.

Compassion for Strangers

Sometimes the most relaxed group of people to be compassionate toward are total strangers.  All we have to do is raise awareness of their situation and their emotional station at the moment. How often do you turn your mind away from this? Secretly tell yourself that it is not your problem.  But it is your problem.  We are all connected, and to let anyone suffer without at least a conscious thought is a significant problem in the world.  Our lives are a total of the choices we have made.  All options are on the table when we start this game. Some have better influences and resources than others, but who is to say what you might have done if you were in different circumstances.

I have heard it described as each person you meet is just another version of yourself.  That feels true to me. If I faced different circumstances, which is to say what choices I might have made?  You could be enduring the same suffering as people you see today.  Tomorrow it may be you who could use someone else’s compassion. Look at strangers as if they are just another version of yourself, and understanding is natural.  In that simple act of awareness, consciousness grows, and the world is a friendlier, kinder, and more hospitable place.

Compassion for Those You Know

All people have a circle of people that have influenced or been influenced by our lives. Like a rock landing in still water, the ripples emanating out from our source of us. These folks are the most open group to have compassion for because there are already feelings of fondness or caring for most. Or at least you know the person and a bit of their history.  Compassion should be second nature. It takes little to speak encouragement, sends a note, or give a hug in a moment. Yet most often, we move on and keep to ourselves.  Why? To avoid embarrassment?  Alleviate suffering when you can.

When you see someone you know in pain, do something for them. Anything so that you will not waste loving energy in the grand scheme of things.  What do we stand for in this human experience if we are not there for those we care about?  Focus on your circle of influence and be conscious of how you can let your compassion dictate behavior.  The action required is most often effortless. It could be as simple as a thought of well wishes and understanding. Caring and concern are the staples of compassion, and we all can give these things. Give them to those you know who need some compassion.

Compassion for Yourself

Nobody knows your flaws better than you. The times you are not operating up to your potential, we know.  The times we are not honest, we know. The selfishness we feel that no one else can see, we know.  Nobody is harder on us than we are. But this is the relationship that needs your compassion most. It doesn’t excuse any of the flaws mentioned before, but it shows an understanding and caring for others.  Learn to be conscious of your thoughts and actions and why you do these things. Understanding this will help you make different choices in the future. You can always change and improve yourself and become better.

It is uncomfortable for us to send love and compassion to ourselves and get away from the shame and blame that we usually send our way.  Notice behavior patterns in yourself that you want to change and understand why things are that way. Start to alleviate your suffering. Don’t spend your time assigning blame to yourself for past mistakes, and certainly don’t carry any shame for them.  Look at yourself at this moment with soft eyes and know you did the best you could.

Negative behaviors are a result of patterns created by our beliefs.  Shining a light on them will allow you to see them for what they are and will enable you to transform them into a pattern of behavior that is more positive. Learn to speak to yourself as you talk to your best friend. Honestly, and with compassion.

Compassion Rules the Day

Let your compassion rule your day.  Recognize thoughts, words, and actions from negative patterns and harm others or yourself.  Put yourself in the shoes of who you see and understand their suffering and perhaps a way that you can lessen their load.  Whatever you can do, please do it.  Be as kind and giving as your heart allows. The world will be a better place because of it. You can start it all by being more aware of the people’s suffering all around you.  That awareness will come as a thought, leading to emotions, words,  and actions. Let those actions contain the seeds of compassion and allow them to make the world a better place.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”- Maya Angelou.

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”- Dalai Lama.

“The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.”- Albert Schweitzer.

 

21

My Awareness

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Awareness- knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.

We are all required to become more aware of everything in these incredible times. Awareness is vital to your consciousness. Your perception of people, information, and events will determine just how conscious you are. What we are aware of and aware of determines our core belief system.  Things exist all around us, and unless we pay attention to them and understand how they react to our lives, we are not in control.  Once we do develop an awareness of forces influencing us, we are then able to control our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions resulting from them.  A toxic relationship, a negative attitude, low vibration entertainment, limiting beliefs you carry from your past, or even negative self-talk are examples of places awareness can change your life positively.  It all starts with noticing your thoughts, words, and actions in your life.

 Awareness  Building

Our subconscious can take in a large quantity of information, and our conscious mind can only interpret a small portion of that at any one time.  Awareness is what we choose to understand.  Choosing to exit a negative relationship or to direct your thoughts toward something more positive is understanding awareness and using it to make your life a more positive experience.  Each realization we have, brought on by greater awareness, is a building block toward self-evolvement.  A higher level of wisdom and freedom is waiting for you to understand better all factors influencing your life.

To increase your awareness, there are active things you can do. First, practice compassion toward other people and yourself.  A general concern for the suffering in life and how you can alleviate it will raise your awareness.  Second, spend some time understanding and respecting different points of view. Rather than judge and dismiss them. You don’t have to agree but spend time understanding them. Awareness of the world and others grows, so does your consciousness.  Third, seek out moments for honest reflection and solitude.  Away from the noise of life, determine for yourself why you think and feel the way you do about things. Shine the light of awareness on your thoughts and honestly assess if they push you forward or hold you back.  Finally, spend time with people who will sell your attention ahead—supportive, understanding people who will enhance your appreciation of positive things.

With each new realization, your power to be a positive force in the world increases because your beliefs will change for the better, and once that happens, what can limit you?

Beliefs Are the Thing

The result of what we are aware of is our beliefs. Our ideas about life, other people, the world, in general, will dictate what we are capable of achieving and experiencing.  They result from our experiences, observations, or deliberately influenced, but they are not permanent and can be adjusted and changed as new information comes to us.  Awareness is that further information will allow you to either grow to your capability or shrink from it.

Deliberate indoctrination is the formation of beliefs we want to ourselves. When an organization or society forces a conclusion onto you, it lacks awareness and should be scrutinized and questioned.  Blindly the following anything is a loss of control.  If you are not going to use your mind, someone else will.  The question is, is this true? Moral? Ethical? Or even better, who benefits the most from me accepting this belief?  Answering these questions will build your awareness, and then you can decide for yourself whether a view honors you or not. Making more influential ideas that carry a positive message about your abilities, worth, and life will enhance your experience and accomplish more.

Finally, Be Yourself

The ultimate goal of life is to be your true self.  This honesty will happen when your awareness of what makes you feel happy and satisfied is a part of your life.  Look at the fundamental positive aspects of your nature. What has always made you feel joy?  Do that more.  What makes you happy? Do that more. What makes the world better? Do that more.  They will all fall from the tree that is you and who you are.  We are all born with a passion for life and have a gift to bring to the world. Life is spent remembering what that is and bringing it into the world.  Awareness is a tool to do this.  The things we are supposed to follow and create feel right to us. Follow them.   It all starts with being aware of your thoughts, words, and actions in each moment of the day.

Are you aware of how great you are?

“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“The day you decide you are more interested in being aware of the thoughts than you are in the thoughts themselves, that is the day you find your way out.”~Micheal Singer

21

Be A Hero

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Hero- a person admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

We need more heroes in the world today to help save the day. Since that is the case, I think we should look around and see the hero that can exist inside each of us.  Being a hero doesn’t mean you need to have special powers; it merely means that you need to look inside yourself and find the courage to do what you know is right.  Please step away from the fear that lives in us all and take actions today that are heroic.  The hero inside you will arise when you begin to develop a consciousness of how your actions affect the lives of others. Usually, this involves overcoming your fears of failure, success, or what others think of you.  It all begins with paying attention to your thoughts at the moment, understanding the emotions they bring, managing your words expressing this to others, and taking manageable actions with a purpose. That will make you a hero.

There are times in life where we all need saving. We need someone to tell us that it will all be alright. Even if we can’t seem to find the way, you can be that person to someone else with a little bit of open-mindedness and understanding. Look at what others are saying and doing, and see where you can help and be that hero for someone.

The Hero is Authentic

Why would you want to be anyone else when you look at it? You are a unique, one-of-a-kind gift.  Only you can give the world your tips, and they are great and powerful. Yet, we hide behind the perceived expectations of society or someone else, limiting our actions and accomplishments.  Be yourself, and your natural talent and the joy it brings will shine through.

All heroes are authentic.  When you are yourself, you will find out what your power is. No longer will you rely on others for your happiness. There is joy in being who you are.  You will also find that people of a similar belief system will come into your life.  It will also allow you to be more accepting of others. There is no need to change anyone’s behavior because you know who you are and what you value.  The hero is authentic and acts that way.

The Hero is Brave

There are always situations that challenge us in life. Some are from outside influences, and others, more daunting, are inside us.  The hero faces all challenges and shrinks from none.  When they see a change is needed, they devise a strategy and action.  Sometimes the bravest thing we do is take action when we want to hide.  Even if we have failed to take action a thousand times before, the heroic option is still there for us.

Now. This moment.  This time is all that counts.  To be our true heroic selves in trying to accomplish the things we want, help others, or make the world a better place.  Being brave is often the most courageous thing a person can do and one of the most powerful for their self-development, primarily when they can act positively despite their doubt and fear.  Be brave and be a hero today by taking action you know is right.

A Hero Lifts Others Up

Making the welfare of another a priority for you is what heroes do. This attitude means that you are not judgmental when you look at others. You accept who someone is and know what you can do to assist them on their journey. You don’t have to jump into burning buildings or do anything physically dangerous.  Lifting another up begins with accepting their humanity. There goes a different version of you.

With different experiences and choices, you could be living in the exact situation as anyone else on the face of the Earth. Helping the hero in others rise to the top is one of the valuable jobs a person performs in life.  Give others a chance to grow by providing them with your respect, understanding, trust, faith,  and love.  Not everyone will be at the same stage or knowledge of life as you.  In fact, the more you learn about the experience, the more you know you will never understand it all. That makes the steps you take to lift others even more heroic.  Be someone’s hero today!

Wear a Cape

All heroes wear capes. They are not very functional, but they look good in the costume.  In life, you should always wear an invisible cloak that carries with it a reminder of what you stand for. Others will ridicule, belittle, and criticize, and people do this to build themselves up and make themselves feel important.  Your cape protects you from the slings and arrows of small minds.  But more importantly, it reminds you of who you are.

Each of us has a hero inside that is willing to do the right thing. Be ready to help others. They are eager to be decisive, engaging, humble, kind, caring, considerate, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.  Your cape reminds you of these things.  You are capable of being a hero today, and you should look for opportunities where you can put your powers into action. Your actions could save someone just by reminding them of their humanity. Be a hero today; the world is depending on you. 

“Challenges don’t make heroes.  When the situations arise,  so does the hero inside us all. “

“A hero is someone who, despite weakness, doubt, or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.” ~ Christopher Reeve

 

21

My Education

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Education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university, an enlightening experience.

It is the goal of most people to get an excellent education to reap the highest financial benefit for them during their life. Getting an education is powerful because the more you learn, the more powerful you are in life, and the more you can contribute back to the world. There is a problem with the education one receives today. Although well-meaning, the experience seems useful for those gifted at playing the games of expectation our system puts upon them. But for the majority, education is a minefield of strange expectations and demanding requirements with very little real-world application. It is easy to blame the system; each of us is responsible for the education we get out of life. But that doesn’t have to be the case. When we treat each person like they have potential, all people will rise to that level. Every day is a chance to enhance or diminish it. Start by being conscious of you your thoughts about learning, the emotions those thoughts stir up, the words you use, and the action you take because of those thoughts. That is a rise in consciousness.

All People Have Ability

There are two mindsets in education. One is that each student is either intelligent or not, so they design everything to make intelligent people thrive. The other is the belief that all students have talent and ability and, with the right motivation, and support can achieve anything they want. The keywords are the last three, “anything they want.” This attitude is where the inspiration comes from. That desire comes from becoming more conscious about what you want to learn in life and what you want to do.

There are many online colleges now that have streamlined the system for taking college classes and earning degrees. All of these programs have some merit because increasing your base of knowledge is a good thing. But you don’t need to go into debt to gain the most experience. Desire and read a book to do it. Or start doing the thing you want to do. All people can run their education and should. I know a degree can be a sign of accomplishment and mastery of a subject. But my point is all people can learn, and they can start right now this minute.

The Education Process

I think it is essential to look at education as a process and not simply an accomplishment. The method of education starts when you are born and won’t end until you die. It begins with learning the basics of how to best fit into the social situation that we are born into, but eventually, we want to know more. Start with an interest and follow it to see where it leads you. Learn to learn at every opportunity that life gives you. There is no shortage of information.

Once you start to learn independently and develop a love for figuring things out, your mind grows. It will never shrink again unless affected by a disease. The more knowledge you accumulate, the more you want to add. It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, or how much money you have. You are capable of learning anything you want unless you are functioning under some limiting belief.

Limiting Beliefs and Education

If you are thinking negative things about yourself, then they will diminish the knowledge you can attain. Our beliefs develop throughout our development. Whatever opinion or thought of your teachers, peers, family, or society in general that resonated with you will lead to a belief in our subconscious. If you were told and believe you will never be any good at math, guess what? You will probably never be good at math. It is the same for everything. These opinions and thoughts that we adopt for whatever reason control our ability to achieve and learn.

The great thing is that we can remove all of these limits with a bit of work and conscious thought. Stereotypes about the abilities of any group of people are incredibly damaging in this way. They don’t have to be, the individual is the driver of their education curriculum, and nobody can stop them. Decide you want to learn, avoid distractions, and get to it.

Real Education

It doesn’t even take reading a book or taking a class to participate in education. It can be happening all around you in situations you face every day. It would help if you were open to expanding your knowledge base to grow and experience an enlightening moment. Be aware of your thoughts about the way people do things that is different from you. Learn about it, grow as a person, and accept that education happens every day. Look at your thoughts about people and things and pay attention to those trying to educate you. Then gage the feelings you have about the ideas and the actions and words that come to you because of that. Education is an experience, not a destination or possession.

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”- Albert Einstein.

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”- Malcolm X.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”- Nelson Mandela.

 

21

Love It or Fear It

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To fear or to love?

You May Disagree
You May Disagree

All situations in life can break down into simple choices. Will you think and act out of fear? Or will you believe and work out of love?

I believe EVERYTHING you think will make a difference in your life and come with emotions attached, which affect your decision-making. I believe this because of a lifetime of experience and entertaining the wrong types of thoughts. I lived much of my life under the influence of fear but have chosen to make a change and look at things with feelings of love. No small endeavor, but I encourage all others to attempt to do the same.

How You Think Leads to How You Live

This article is about the fundamental belief that I have developed in my game of life. If you are thinking judgmental, mean, sarcastic, or hateful thoughts about other people or groups of people, there is no doubt that you will experience those things in your own experience.

These are negative thoughts which lead to unhappy experiences
These are negative thoughts that lead to unhappy experiences

If you choose to focus on accepting, kind, and loving thoughts, then that will be the overall experience of your existence. How do I know? I used to think the former and now try to focus on the latter, and although I am the same person, the experience of life has been entirely different and much more positive and enjoyable in all ways.

Fear is the chief motivation of those who are critical. A person rejects any thought or action that will lead to change or be different from comfortable beliefs. Even if things are currently going poorly, people avoid change because they fear that changes might make things even worse.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing fear itself because fear gives you adrenaline and or motivation to act. Still, if you focus on and allow it to move your actions from day-to-day, your experience will suffer from negative energy. We all face fear every day, but it is how you deal with it that matters. Each moment comes down to this simple choice between fear and love, the one you choose will define your life and you as a person.

Change is Always Possible

change-thoughtsThe most daunting task for anyone to accomplish is to change the way that you think. We have spent a lifetime accumulating experiences that come along with mental programming, which has managed to keep us safe and alive. But it also can make us unhappy and not allow us to reach our capabilities.

Yet, at some point, even though we are safe and alive, the quality of our life needs value. Once you start to pursue happiness and caring, you notice what has been making you unhappy. What is it that makes you hang your head with worry? What makes you afraid to speak? What makes you hide your individuality? What makes you disappear who you are? Fear.

Fear that you won’t be accepted, or fear that someone will take something from you that you love. Fear that someone is going to harm you or those that you care about can hurt you. The mainstream media feed these fears to gain ratings and Madison Avenue to earn consumer dollars.

The reality is that fear is just a thought and an illusionary thought at that. What you are afraid of is not accurate, it is a thought, and that is it. What if? What should? What Might? Questions that provide these thoughts; are not real they don’t exist, yet they offer genuine suffering for people. Your thoughts about things are the cause of most of our issues. Change your thoughts, and many of our problems go away.

There are many dangers in the world, and those should be avoided because they can hurt you, but fear of them will only stop you from doing what you want and becoming the best you can be. Fear limits you and destroys dreams.

Getting Out of Fear

Beliefs are merely thoughts that you choose every day to add weight to.
Beliefs are merely thoughts that you choose every day to add weight to.

Getting rid of fear in your thoughts is simple, but it is not easy.

Stop thinking fearful things. Now that would be easy to control all of our thoughts, but you really can’t.

Thoughts pop into your mind at a rapid pace, representing your lifetime of experience. Bias, prejudice, hatred, fear are all a part of your knowledge, and they are all associated with others.

You can’t stop them from popping into your mind, but you can control how much you pay attention to them. Simply noticing the thoughts of fear as what they are fake surprisingly releases you from their power. All of their power over you comes from inside your head and the thoughts you choose to give power to. Let the negative go and replace them with something more positive. The human mind is only capable of entertaining one idea at a time. If your thought is positive, so will your mood, actions, and life.

Replace thoughts of fear with thoughts of love

enigmaOnce you recognize and admit your worries and let them go, it is incredible how easy the right ideas and feelings flow. It feels better to be happy, healthier to love, and more enjoyable to live without fear.

It takes time, and you have to be honest with yourself. Recognizing your weaknesses can be painful and challenging, but you have a simple choice here. Choose caring over callousness, kindness over being mean, understanding over judgment. Keep living your life in fear and be unhappy or admit to your negative thoughts and recognize that you can just let them go and think differently.

The choice is up to you! Nobody else can make it for you.

“Fear and love can never be experienced at the same time. It is always our choice as to which of these emotions we want.”-  Gerald Jampolsky

“Love and fear represent two different lenses through which to view the world. Which I choose to use will determine what I think I see.”-Marianne Williamson

“Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here.”-  Marianne Williamson

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”-  John Lennon

21

How You Treat Others Defines You

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I am as hard on myself as I am on anyone I know when it comes to this statement.  How you treat others defines you. I know because this is an area I have fallen short of many times in my life. I know I haven’t always been the best person when it comes to my treatment of other people.  I have a long list of situations where I have not treated others as well as they deserve or been the kind of person I would have liked to be.  That is why it is always so hard to see people you care about fall into the same selfish traps in the way they treat others in their life.  It takes so little to be decent in the world, and I guess sometimes that price is just too much for some to pay.  I try to adopt the hope in each new day that I will be able, at this moment, at least, to treat others with kindness, caring, empathy, understanding, and consideration. That is my hope.

Only In Control Of Me

The only thing in the world we are indeed in charge of entirely is how we control ourselves. Life can and will throw all kinds of situations at you, and it is up to you how you respond. Do you quit? Become disillusioned?  Respond with anger toward those who care about you? Blame everything and everyone else? Accept responsibility for ourselves and our situations?  The only honorable way to go is to accept responsibility for where you are right now.  Because you are the person who decides what thoughts are essential to you, and those thoughts will create the world around you.

You are the only one who can control the tenor of the thoughts you focus on. Where focus goes, energy flows. If you spend your time thinking only of yourself, you will be stuck in a cycle of selfishness with no real opportunity for growth because growth comes from the things you do for and share with others. The positive or negative actions we take in our lives each day will determine how our lives grow.  This idea is particularly true in our spirituality.  It is our responsibility to look for ways to improve as people in our life.  Regardless of the circumstances we face, we choose the impact our lives have on the people around us and us. Positive or negative, this is our choice, every second of every day.  You are the only one who can control you.

Noone Left to Blame

Today, our lives are the sole responsibility because we are the creators of the thoughts behind them. You can try to blame circumstances, other people, or just bad or good luck, but whatever experiences you have resulted from your choices and actions you have taken. If you have mistreated people, you can’t be surprised when you are treated poorly by someone else.   Too often, I have blamed others for the outcomes in my life that didn’t live up to my expectations.

I would have better spent my time accepting my thoughts, words, and actions and realizing that I needed to change my ways to bring different outcomes into my life. If I was going to be selfish and self-centered and only worried about how things would affect me, then I can’t be surprised when opportunities in life that rely on others pass me by.  Our lives are a direct reflection of what we think and what we do. There is no more significant measure of what we are as people than the shape of our lives right now.

Your Qualities Define You

Finally, when looking at your definition. What are the words you would like to have associated with yourself? Honestly, look at the way you treat others, and you will find the meaning of yourself. I know many people who would shy away from some of their adjectives, although they belong to the things they say and do. You can’t be mean to someone in one breath and then claim kindness in a general sense. Service is an attribute that accompanies you all the time, or it doesn’t at all. Mean and insensitive behavior can’t be erased by wishful thinking.

But it can be undone by a change in thought and recognizing our responsibility for our actions. Each day we have a chance to represent ourselves with behaviors we stand behind and envision as beacons of our best selves.  Falling for a time doesn’t define your life; it only establishes that part of your life. No story is over until the last page turns, and the best stories are always about redemption and comebacks.  You have to ask yourself, can I change? From negative to positive? Lousy behavior to good behavior? Unhealthy to healthy? Or whatever challenge you are facing because the only person who can choose what defines you is you.

“Our past may shape us, but it doesn’t define us.” ― Alyson Noel

“We cannot let the haters of this world define us. Or frighten us into no longer being ourselves.” ― Mary E. DeMuth

“Strong people define themselves; weak people allow others to define them.” ― Ken Poirot

“Define yourself—not by how much you are loved, but by how much you love others.” ― Connor Chalfant

“Never defend yourself, but define yourself with your imagination and actions.”― Debasish Mridha M.D.