LIFE STUDENT

The Community

2013-01-10T19:57:00.004+02:00

We now turn our attention to a group of people, whether it is a family dinner, a business meeting or a sports team. Where more than one person is present, we start playing roles that contribute to one function, one purpose, and one direction. Taking a step back and first observing the big picture before filling out the detail we notice that a community has formed. At the dinner we get a community formed of family members, at the meeting a community formed of working individuals and at the sports team a community of athletes. When dealing with the word community we generally would think of a business community as a number of businesses together. Although that this may be truthful, it is also truth that one business forms a community with members within it. A community is broadly defined as a diverse section of individuals occurring in the same habitat. The detail lies in the diversity of the individuals within any given community. Who plays what role and how it all fits to direct the goal of the community.

Let us take a closer look at a family dinner. First we need a gatherer, one who would provide the food for the dinner and then we would need to get the food cooked, leaving it up to the cook. Without these two there would be no dinner at all. Sprinkle it up with some motivation, a light and fun mood, clear communication and fresh ideas and we will notice that nobody on this planet can fulfil all these roles at any given time on their own. All that we need now is a clear picture of the patterns in which these individuals arise and perform. We all like to think of ourselves as leaders or dominant characters, especially more so in modern times due to stigmas of status coupled to the idea. Truth is what is a leader without people to carry out the information, or where does the information truly stem from? Is that the pattern of individuals within a community, leaders and followers, dominant and non-dominant, hunters and gatherers?

We will turn our attention to that of a tribe to get a clear perspective over this matter. We notice that there is a tribe leader, one who makes a sturdy choice over the direction that the whole tribe is to follow to attain a specific goal. He is the choice maker acting in the best interest of the tribe. We will call him chief and his role is to make the choice of the direction of the tribe acting as a single voice representing the whole tribe. As the choice of the chief represents and affects everyone within the tribe the choice needs to be communicated firstly with everyone in the tribe and any objections or suggestions to the choice needs be communicated back to the chief.

Only an objective third party between the chief and the members of the tribe acts in this capacity, someone who understands the perceptions of the chief and members, we call this person a diplomat. His role is to communicate ideas between the chief and the members and to advise on both ends. The ideas of the tribe need to be fresh and creative to give the tribe a competitive advantage. Any person can come up with ideas but true original ideas are much rarer. This is the role that the creative geniuses play, the dreamers and albeit it may be difficult for them to truly share their ideas, they luckily have that diplomat that understands them. For the dreamers to be stimulated they often need to be prompted as this forms their stimulus to creative imagination, their shy tendencies needs to be bombarded with questions, for a slight shift in perception that leads to their creative behaviour. This often is left as the work for the diplomat but a more general figure that arises in the community is a critic.

For any idea to materialise from thought to reality, it needs to be enacted after the choice was made to follow the idea. Dreamers are generally not brilliant at this aspect but initiators are who have the brilliance in finding creative ways of turning an idea into reality. The enactors follow up on the initiators, performing all the physical work to ensure that the creative idea and ways of attaining that idea is enacted physically. Mostly we will find initiators and enactors to be the same people. All we need to ensure that any given task is brought to completion is for the members to remain motivated. You have guessed it right, he is the motivator and very often this motivator will be chief of the tribe. All these members play an integral role for the tribe and should any of the characters be missing the foundation of the tribe would be missing, leaving an unstable community that will crash from within.

Understanding how all participants fit into any community leads to a clear perspective of the mechanisms of steering such community onto a path where all purposes and goals set out can be successfully achieved and where the in line vibration of all members can be kept in harmony, disabling all misunderstanding and friction that may arise.

Living Assumption

2012-12-21T19:00:00.009+02:00

Ever heard about assuming the sale? This takes me to a moment me and a friend where walking through the waterfront in Cape Town past all the restaurants in scope of finding a place to have lunch, we were hungry. We walked past about 5 restaurants and kept walking until we encountered the hostess at the steakhouse. As we approached she smiled casually and said "here is your table". We sat down immediately. Something powerful lurks behind the veil of the assumption she made, what cord did she struck in our minds that told us to go sit down? Is it that she gave us direction when we were directionless, or did the strange encounter when we were hungry and her assumption that we were hungry align and we followed suit? Is making assumptions only something that sales people do?

A simple example I like to use in illustrating this fact. A person walks into a bar and proceeds to go sit down and have a drink. Soon after another person who decided on the same ends up right next to the first person who came for a drink. They start chatting and my oh my, what a boring conversation that we all have been in. Hi, who are you? Where do you come from? What work do you do? And the conversation ends right there. The two persons end the night and will never think about the other person again. The next night a person goes into the same bar, looking for a drink, followed by another person joining. The two start chatting and by the grace of God a miracle occurs. When the first person says that he is a carpenter, the other responds by telling the first all about the carpentry he/she has seen in their lives and how the simplicity yet effectiveness of wood has proven throughout the years. A bonding relationship is formed.

Well it may not be clear that assumptions were hiding behind the instances that happened in the bar on both nights, but it was all based on assumptions. In the first instance the assumption that supported the inability of the two people 'to bond' was the very act itself. Somehow in their minds they have already decided that the other person has nothing to offer and soon after it manifested as just that. In the second instance in the working faculties of the human mind, they chose that the other person had something to offer. The offering did not matter at all at first but there was never any proof for it.

Consider yourself standing next to a stranger, a potential mate for your life. How would you approach him/her? What if I told you that you could approach that person as if you were already married. Now what would you say to that person in your approach?

The strength that assumption carries lies within the fact that it shifts our perspective, the way in which we view our environments, ourselves and others within it. Consider now a depressed person, who has given up on life, on people, that there is no hope in life for that person, that they are worthless, nothing works out for them and that nobody cares. Well haven't they decided first that life has no hope for them, that nothing works out for them and that nobody cares about them? Soon after making that choice they start noticing all the negative aspects in their life. They see only the worthless, they notice only the people that do not care and just how all they do does not have any effect leaving them with a sense of worthlessness. If that person was to choose that people cared, they would notice people caring. If they chose they had worth, then they would notice the worth they were adding to others. If only they chose that everything worked out for them, would they start noticing all the opportunity at their doorsteps?

Is it any wonder that the guy who walks around with all the luck of the world on his side has the broadest smile on his face. But he is not smiling because he is in luck, he is in luck because he was smiling. All the world turns positive for him and everything works out seemingly.

For all the people who feel that they lack anything in life let us look into what I call the most powerful assumption any person can make within this life, a little something called Gratitude. By expressing gratitude you shift your perception from what you need to what you already have, and most of the time we notice that we have more than we can ever need in this life. A good exercise for the untrustworthy is to write down everyday what they are thankful for, for a period of 28 days. After the 28 days they can make an informed decision over what they need in life.

The Actors

2012-11-20T13:29:00.006+02:00

Sitting in the first session at the school of philosophy we were asked to close our eyes in a short meditation of 5 minutes, to sit and be quiet and just to listen, listening to the natural sounds in that environment and to listen to our own thoughts. After the 5 minutes meditation passed, the curator of the group asked individuals one by one, who are you? A range of answers proceeded and although none of them can be recalled at this moment I do remember my own answer: “I am Nigel”. The curator responded “Are you really?” and I said “yes”.

He went on rambling about how we are a sum of previous experiences and all the people we have encountered and interacted with in our lives. We walk and talk like our parents do, have sayings and quotes we have added from our friendships, we even mimic the people we have gotten to know in our lives. Have you ever experienced a feeling that in some responses you ‘temporarily adapted’ to some character trait of a person you know? In that the response resembled the way that a person you know would have responded.

We have very adaptable characteristics in life and although we exhibit these sub-consciously, we can change our character within any instance. I remember sitting at a bar a few years ago, observing all of my friends around me and the way they were interacting with each other, and at sudden in the surrealism of that moment, it appeared to me that they were all actors, acting out a scene. This evoked a deep sense of paranoia within me and it felt that they were all conspiring against me, realising all were characters I believed they all were aware of it, and that they were just choosing to act in that way for some reason of plotting against me. Truth is, they were just being them and the perception I gained over that situation evoked a deep sense of realisation in me, even though I could not make anything out of the abstractedness of that event. It overwhelmed me.

First impressions always last, we have all grown to realise that and we always try and portray the best character we can in a first meeting with anyone. Truth is, when you meet someone new, you may portray being a rock star, or celebrity, or scientist, or doctor or any character you may deem fit. How will that new person realise who you truly are when you do?

We portray a character who we believe we are and is a result of the conditioning brought about by our family and friends. It stems from our sub-conscious minds and we do not exhibit conscious control over it. Truth is; we are still acting, whether we are conscious of it or not.

IF

2011-06-01T23:00:00.004+02:00

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

This is my favourite poem in the whole wide world. I heard a quote stating “Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength” by Saint Francis de Sales. The principles in this poem exaggerate that point in that it portrays a person who is humble, a meek character and thus divine in all his ways. He is just and fair, compassionate and caring. He makes way for others, and makes way for himself. He is a self-conquered individual who knows who he is and has breached the infinity of what his fears truly are. He commands himself and lives in the now, stands above all arguments in experience and follows his path. He is King and will always reign over this world.

The Matrix Illusion

2011-05-31T13:06:00.001+02:00

To a degree we all realise that we live in ‘the system’ and that we are bonded and held captive to this system. Many will argue that in life we are in the system, there is nothing you can do about it and that you should just continue with your life. Ignorance surely is bliss. Just as a thought can never be taken back once it is in mind, so too can the thought of living an illusion not be taken back. At this point there are two routes that can be taken, the blue pill or the red pill. One gives the option of not putting more thought into the subject and to continue life, while the other just takes you in deeper and deeper, revealing more thoughts to you from where there is no return. I do agree to an extent that we are living in this system and that we should make the best out of it, but in my opinion, if there is a way out of the system, then I will relentlessly pursue that path.

It is easy to say that there is a system, but what exactly is the system? Is it our perception of the world, or is it the simply the world and we are an effect of it? I love the matrix movie as it is on par with revealing the type of world we live in. In that movie they represent the world which is the system with a bunch of green symbols, running in a matrix algorithm program, into which human minds is ‘plugged in’. The human minds then perceive their reality and the one who could figure it out, was the one who could bend his perception of the code to his will. Now the movie is fiction, we are not plugged into some computer that runs an algorithm that our minds then perceive. We are born in this world, created in the image of God, made from the dust of the world. Further from that same dust, we as humans in our creative capacity have found ways to manipulate the form of the dust. From the new ‘created’ forms we could build houses, cars, roads, boats and everything you can see made by human minds and hands.

I believe that the system is all our perception and the way we think. Our thinking can also be manipulated to think in a certain way. For example if both you and I were on a safari in Africa and we were observing animals, all of a sudden from behind some shrubs and natural bushes comes out this huge blackish animal with huge ears and tusks, it has a slurp and can easily run us over and trample us. I proclaim “Look at the mouse, it is huge”, then you would look at me in awe because no, it is not a mouse, it is an elephant. It is only an elephant because from an early age you were told that it is an elephant, and in the process of your faith in the words of your parents, you were convinced that it is an elephant. You silently and without knowing agreed to the statement, thus were making it true. The term elephant itself is an arbitrarily assigned value, an illusion, it might as well have been called a house. I view the system from this perspective; the system is a set illusion upon which we all agree.

Jesus was unnaturally wise and He said in Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Jesus knew of our shared perception two thousand years ago, a time where almost no one thought about things like this. Another interesting example that a friend and I discussed the other day: What makes you think that the colour red you see is the same colour that I see? For me red can be your green, and your red can be my yellow. It is really interesting to see that there is no explanation of colour, except if there is a preconception of the colour. Try and explain to a blind person who has never seen red what red looks like. Somehow it does not matter what colour actually is seen, because we both agree that the colour we see is red. A traffic light might consist of the colours blue, black and orange to you and for me might consist of green, purple and cyan, but we both know to drive when it is ‘green’ and to stop when it is ‘red’.

It is however too complicated to say that everything is an illusion. The elephant exists, irrespective of what we might call it. Its existence would not cease if we call it sky. The system is build from what we agree subconsciously as true statements. It is not the car, the house, the buildings and people. The illusion is your name, what you call things and your way of thinking. As soon as something is labelled or termed we put an invincible fiction over that entity. Elephant is the fictional entity ascribed to ‘the big black, huge eared, tusked animal that can easily trample us’. Nigel is the fictional entity ascribed to my living body created in the image of God. The fictional entry makes it easy to convey thoughts between humans, as if you were to tell somebody, “Nigel said that an elephant can easily trample us, and is thus a dangerous animal”. If that person has no definition of dangerous, then how is he supposed to know that he should stay clear from the path of such animal? By our agreement we create the bond by which the system keeps us captive, we are the fuel to the illusion.

My purpose is not to discuss the occult and secret society world, and want to stay clear from that in my writings. It however forms central role to this illusion as there are elite people who govern our world. To know they exist is useless knowledge in the first place because it does not explain anything. To know how they govern everything will hold the key to the escape from the captivity. These people are extremely intelligent and understand this basic process of our minds, from that knowledge they build ‘a fictional illusion’ that we simply are attuned to agree with from the day of our birth. They used this knowledge to their advantage and with it found the way to capture our minds and to ‘rule over all’.

Royalty is yet another fiction that we agree to exist. Please tell me who decided that one person may be deemed king or queen and to rule over all, with a set kingdom territory! We are all created in God’s image, all equal. No person is worth more than another, irrespective of gender or colour so to exert oneself above another is firstly wrong, but is also right if those they rule over agree that the king or queen is in charge. KING and QUEEN are both fictional titles. The TERRITORY with its BOUNDARIES is also fictional titles. To extent the concept, each country on earth is but a fictional title, with fictional boundaries. There truly is no UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UNITED KINGDOM, SOUTH AFRICA, SINGAPORE, CHINA, ARGENTINA that exists, but it exists because we agree that they exist. DOCTOR and CARPENTER are also just fictions agreed by us, thus they exist. There is but one world, with one human population. To divide them into nations is aligned to words many times heard “Divide and conquer”.

Money is what keeps us chained to this system. If you really think about it, money is but paper that has printed on it a symbol. Money is a pure fictional entry that we agree to have value. With $100 I can ‘order’ you to paint my house. In turn with that $100 you can buy food. The grocer takes the $100 to buy supplies for his store from say a farmer. The farmer uses the $100 to buy fuel for his car. He bought the car from me as a car sales person. The $100 just went in a circle, the money being a means to standardise trade between persons, thus proving its usefulness. I could have given the grocer a car in the beginning for him to paint my house, with which he could have traded for supplies from the farmer. Now money is a fictional entity but is not necessarily bad as its usefulness is proven. It is bad in the sense that the elite can simply print it as much as they want, and the way they use it to keep people bonded within their designed system. They then go and create an enormous database of paradoxical knowledge termed economics to hide within it the simple truth that money is no more than a piece of paper with an ascribed value to which you agree.

How do they use money to dominate the human race? By your subconscious agreement, it is the only way in which you can survive this world. If you had a farm, with a house on it, growing all kinds of food that satisfies your needs then you simply would never ever need any money to get by. Everything you need is already there. Money has propagated a system of trade, and it has become the norm of life. You have to own a car, clothes by the plenty, shoes, house, TV and all sorts of stuffs that you would usually find in a home. To be able to get all that you need you have to buy it with money. That money needs to come from somewhere; your work pays your money. Money has just then purchased you! With money, your ‘productivity’ in trade was assured, a system that perpetuates itself further and further. Your productivity is energy, it takes time and labour to design and build desks, houses, cars and every conceivable manmade object. From the day you are born you are programmed into this. Mom and Dad go to work each day to provide food and schooling. In school your thoughts are shaped to think in productive terms, so that one day you can work in ‘perpetual trade’. When you have children the cycle continues. This all sounds like a game of monopoly.

All of this illusional fictions work because we agree to it. Agreements stem out of contract law, and our entire world is built on this fictional law. The law is the rules to the game and the application of it a way of intimidating human minds into it, by taking away the consciousness of truth of the system. You may not cross the border of your country without ‘approval’. You need a VISUM and PASSPORT to cross a fictional border. You may not print your own money, it is fraud. All this law is designed to make you follow rules ‘they created’. There is common law, which just makes sense, such as being forbidden to steal and kill. Such law is divine and comes from God and not from human minds. Human law is just wrong as who reserves the right to judge another in this world? We may only judge that which is below us, and thus by judging we exert ourselves to a position above another. There is only one who has position above us as man, and that is God. If we judge, we thus proclaim that we are God, his equal, which sounds very luciferian to me.

From the day of our birth, we were programmed to think in these boundaries. It is what the world is, but the world we see is purely fictional. It is a way in which those who govern could create an imaginary world in which they are above and thus being able to play god over it, making the judgements and rules. The judges of the system can easily be put in place by them by issuing them money, buying their energy to do their bidding. In our life we are accustomed to think that this is truth and thus give it power by our agreement. I do not know how to escape this prison apart from mentally ascending it by my own, but do know that if the whole entire world’s population altogether agreed that to which they formerly agreed is nonsense and thus remove the power that an elite can have over them, then the whole illusion set forth by man would be annihilated and the world could be built anew, to become a peaceful thriving society where there is room for all.

Transcending Difficulties and Perplexities

2011-05-27T14:03:00.001+02:00

To suggest that any degree of blessedness may be extracted from difficulties and perplexities will doubtless appear absurd to many; but truth is ever paradoxical, and the curses of the foolish are the blessings of the wise. Let a man therefore rejoice when he is confronted with obstacles, for it means that he has reached the end of some particular line of indifference or folly, and is now called upon to summon up all his energy and intelligence in order to extricate himself, and to find a better way; that the powers within him are crying out for greater freedom, for enlarged exercise and scope. Difficulties arise in ignorance and weakness, and they call for the attainment of knowledge and the acquisition of strength.

As understanding is acquired, difficulties become fewer and perplexities gradually fade away like the perishable mists they are. Your difficulty is not contained, primarily, in the situation which gave rise to it, but in the mental state with which you regard that situation and which you bring to bear upon it. Each difficulty solved means so much more experience gained, so much more insight and wisdom acquired, it is a valuable lesson learned, with added gladness and sense of freedom of a task successfully accomplished. What is the real nature of a difficulty? Is it not a situation not fully understood in all its details? As such, it calls for development and exertion of deeper insight and intelligence than has hitherto been exercised, as an urgent necessity calling forth unused energy, and demanding expression and exercise of latent power and hidden resources. Without difficulties there can be no progress, no evolution; universal stagnation would prevail and humanity would perish of ennui.

Difficulties do not spring into existence arbitrarily and accidentally, they have their causes, and are called forth by law of evolution itself, by growing necessities of mans being. Just as in the truth of when a student is ready, the master presents himself, so too is a student who is ready to develop due to the nature of that individual at that specific time in his life, the difficulty and perplexity would present itself, to guide and shape a deeper insight and wisdom to that individual. Herein resides the blessedness of difficulties. Such as there are ways of conduct that end inevitably in difficulties and perplexities, there are ways of conduct that lead just as inevitably, out of it. But this way will not evolve by itself, by him sitting down and weeping in despair, nor by complaining and worrying and wishing it was different. His dilemma calls for alertness, logical thought, and calm calculation. His position requires that he shall strongly command himself, that he shall think and search, and rouse himself to strenuous and unremitting exertion in order to regain himself. Worry and anxiety only heightens the gloom and exaggerate the magnitude of the difficulty. Quietly retracing himself in thought the intricate way in which he has come to his position, there will be perceived where mistakes were made, discovered the places where a false turn was taken, where a little more thoughtfulness, judgement and self control would have saved him from his present position. He will see how clearer wisdom would enable him to take an altogether different and truer course. Having proceeded this far and extracted from his past conduct this priceless grain of wisdom, he will bring upon it the light of dispassionate thought, to thoroughly anatomize it, to comprehend it in all its details and to perceive the relation which those details presume from the motive source of his action and conduct within himself. This being done, the difficulty will cease to exist, for the straight path out of it will plainly appear, and the lesson for all time will have been learned. He will gain an item of wisdom and measure of blessedness of which he can never be deprived.

Just as there are ways of ignorance, selfishness, folly, and blindness which end in confusion and perplexity, so there are ways of knowledge, self control, wisdom and insight which lead to pleasant and peaceful consummations. He who knows this will meet difficulties and perplexities in a courageous self commanded spirit, and in overcoming them, will evolve truth out of error, wisdom out of folly, insight out of indifference and peace out of tribulation. No man is confronted with difficulty for which he has not the strength to meet and subdue. Every religious doubt, mental perplexity, heart beclouding shadow presses for greater spiritual gain, and is prophetic of a brighter era of intelligence on whom it falls.

It is a great day in the life of a man (though at the time he knows it not) when bewildering perplexities concerning the mystery of life take possession of his mind, for it signifies that his era of dead indifference, of animal sloth, of mere vegetative happiness, has come to an end, and that henceforth he is to live as an aspiring, self-evolving being. No longer a mere human animal, he will now begin to live as a man, exerting all his mental energies to the solution of life's problems, to the answering of those haunting perplexities which are the sentinels of truth, and which stand at the gate and threshold of the Temple of Wisdom. Nor will he rest again ever in selfish ease and listless ignorance, nor seekly sate himself upon the swine’s husks of fleshly pleasures, nor find hiding from the whisperings of his heart’s dark and indefinable interrogation. The divine in him awakens, the sleeping god is shaken off the incoherent visions of the night, never again to rest until his eyes rest upon the full broad day of Truth.

Great is the blessedness of the man when, conscious of his ignorance from where his doubts and perplexities are born, and understanding that ignorance, not striving to hide from it, he unremittingly applies himself to its removal. And as a child is glad when a lesson is mastered, his heart will become light and free when the difficulty is met satisfactorily, but to a greater degree the heart is rendered joyous and peaceful when some vital and eternal question which has long been grappled with is at last answered. Do not regard difficulties and perplexities as portentous of ill, by so doing it is made ill, but regard them as prophetic of good which indeed they are. Do not persuade yourself that they can be evaded, you cannot, for it is impossible to run away from them, for wherever you go, they will still be there with you. Meet them calmly and bravely, confront them with all the dispassion and dignity which you can command, weigh up their proportions, analyze them, grasp their details, measure their strength, understand them, attack them and finally vanquish them. Thus will you develop strength and intelligence, thus will you enter one of those byways of blessedness which are hidden from the superficial gaze.

Rocking The Foundation

2011-05-24T10:44:00.003+02:00

I recently had dinner with a family where the father is a very intelligent senior citizen. He absolutely loves reading especially historical accounts of people such as Alexander the Great, Emperor Augustine and even Hitler. Now this man has spent so much of his life reading history that his mind has believed everything that was written, as an act of faith on the word of historians. This faith I must add most probably stems as effect from the cause that he vested a lot of his energy, time and focus on reading about these figures.

His son argued that history accounts are easily manipulated so that we today may only get a vague glimpse of such characters but not the full truth about that time, circumstances or characters. Oh, imagine the shock that this man had about this statement. Here he was, a young adult, who knows nearly nothing about history, stating such a case to an elder being who knows “much” about history. This totally goes against everything that this elder man has learned about history... by telling him indirectly that he has spent most of his life reading an illusion. The argument did not start so directly on the topic.

Alexander the Great was sent to ‘take control’ of a rebellion in Macedonia at the age of 16, he went on to successfully quell the rebellion and to take control of the territory, this was agreed to have happened by both parties. To think of it, this was an amazing feat accomplished by such a young adolescent. In today’s world and even more so at that time in history, who at that age accomplishes much? This is where the clue lies. Alexander the Great must have been ‘trained’ to think in a certain manner. Emperor Augustine was a nephew to the throne of Rome, somehow he ended up being Emperor. For example, how would a distant relative of Queen Elizabeth today to become heir to the throne of the British Empire? Is it that such a person is just naturally attuned to be heir to such status or is it that such a person was ‘trained’ for that purpose? It is called grooming of the mind.

That was the son’s argument, however none of that was accounted for by any history books. The father argued that it was natural talent by these people, otherwise such grooming would have been written in history. I believe that these details are omitted however this is beside the point. What happened here is that the father’s “foundation” was rocked. That what he has built his entire viewpoint in life, his trust and energy was challenged in a mere moment in time. The mind does not take kindly to such a shock due to the mentioned reasons. Say if a person was able to take himself out of the argument that might arise, and throw away his entire view and belief in a moment and just move forward without coupling himself to the account. In the argument between the father and son as example, the father might just have to accepted that he has read a lot of the history of such characters and that there are facts concerning their lives which was never going to be read or understood by anyone. It would not make him less a person by doing so. This was but a simple case and the consequences were not big, however there are instances where rocking the foundation can become dangerous grounds to play on.

Think of the CIA brainwashing a person such as in the movie Bourne Identity. In order for them to be able to complete such a task they would have to eliminate from that persons mind any memory or thought processing of a normal life. No family connections, no friend connections, just an objective connection in which the objective is placed in that persons mind by order of another person, such as his chief. The person becomes the puppet and his chief the puppeteer that pulls the strings. Rocking the foundation can however be used for the greater good by providing perplexities and difficulties that would lead that mind to greater knowledge, insight and a sturdy foundation upon which it is build. It is difficult for the mind to accept any change in format of thinking but that is the first perplexity to overcome, it results in an adaptive mindset that can quickly discern between situations and choose the best possible route. It would further accomplish the seemingly impossible task of discerning between truth and deception of the highest scale.

The Two Paths of Enlightenment

2011-05-11T15:54:00.012+02:00

When searching enlightenment on the internet I always come across Buddhist pages or some psychic want to be all about chakras and using your energy. Is this what enlightenment is all about? I am not saying that Buddhism is wrong, but the whole chakra shebang keeps one distracted from seeking truth, and the Buddhists do seek conquering of oneself and use Buddha as the source of inspiration.

It truly is interesting to see why people chase down that route, it is always for seeking some sort of hope or some sense of control, being the benefit that is steered towards, and certain people know that people seek this hope or control and thus are able to sell these idea’s to people. It is truly hard to find any useful subject matter out there on enlightenment, at least the way I perceive enlightenment to be about.

Enlightenment as in Buddhism is able to take control over oneself, one’s thoughts and desires and to perceive that happiness is just a stone throw away, to find it in oneself, and some Chinese guy is sitting now somewhere in China all content with his surroundings, who he is and what circumstances he finds himself in, knowing that tonight he will have a bowl of rice and a place to sleep and tomorrow he’ll wake up going about his routine in life.

So what are the two paths of enlightenment? We always strive toward a goal that would provide benefit to us; this is the common denominator between the two paths. Both paths are beneficial to us, the difference lies solemnly in the purpose of what we want to achieve.

THE FIRST PATH OF ENLIGHTENMENT- THE POWER GAME

Referring back to the animal pattern, we strive to survive. It is obviously more complex than just that, we as people have differences in our lives, in our thoughts, what we perceive to be our purpose, the way in which our minds communicate with ourselves. Somehow we all strive not just to survive, but to survive to the best of our ability. We choose careers, maybe becoming an engineer or a doctor, because the title sounds promising and that pay check sounds even more so. If I am an engineer and I arrive at a party I can proudly state, that I am an engineer, the same with a doctor, and the people around will sit in awe. Now if I was a street sweeper, I would probably not even mention what I do at that same party, because maybe I would feel that ‘my value’ does simply not stack up with those around.

There is a sense of being superior, or inferior, a duality in which we measure our worth in the eyes of other people. Why would we want to measure our worth in the eyes of another? When our worth is determined solemnly by ourselves! From the date our births, we have been programmed to think this way. It comes from TV, from magazines, from media, every possible conceived way in which a group of people can communicate with the masses. In those TV programs and magazines, you always just see perfectly beautiful people (they are mostly edited in Photoshop), creating a standard by which we measure people, perfect houses and big fancy cars. Now say we did not have any form of such communication between people, we were to live somewhere in a tribe of fifty people, what would the standard for our lives be? A hut at most that just contained a straw bed and a fire place, maybe a bit of ornaments around from adventures that ties some sentiment to memories, outside the hut would be a group of huts, in which other members of the tribe live. A big gathering place with a fire, some horses tied to a pole that would provide transport if needed, in the back view mountains and a river stream, providing beautiful scenery.

You wouldn’t see a bunch of houses perfectly aligned down a street, each house surrounded by a fence, and the next one bigger than the previous one. The woman at the end wouldn’t look more beautiful or more ugly than her neighbour, and you certainly wouldn’t be perceived as more beautiful or ugly by others, but as a member of the tribe.

From measuring people we place a superior or inferior stigma on that person. In psychology the Inferiority/Superiority complex is an extensive subject that has been studied timelessly again and again, trying to find the cause that links to the effect. I somehow see schooling involved with this cause, as from a young age we are programmed to believe that we need to match a certain standard that will be acceptable by society, we need to get 50% of the answers right and then we will pass. If we get 80% we are considered smart (superior) and if we get 30% we are considered stupid (inferior). This suggestively puts up the idea that there is a way in which people get measured, and because we are smart animals, being able to consciously observe and by will to imagine things, we jump to consciously imagining ourselves as having some determinable value by living up to a certain standard. If we get high marks, we probably will succeed in life, become a doctor someday, and make stacks of cash and we are then somehow superior.

On the contrary if we fail we won’t be accepted to go to University and become some fancy title, struggling to make a decent living with labour wages, and we are automatically a failure, inferior to the standard of living. Yes the doctor has skills that a brick layer doesn’t have, but the doctor doesn’t have skills that the brick layer has. A doctor can cure you of some fancy disease but the brick layer can’t. The brick layer can build a house with his bare hands that the doctor can’t. The ‘sense’ of superiority gives an impression of power. Back to where the engineer can walk into a party, and proclaim his title, giving him his sense of superiority and perception of power in the social context, and the pizza delivery boy at the party, sitting quietly in the corner, feeling inferior, knowing that people will not be as amazed at his job description as the engineers. The perception of power that the engineer obtains is not entirely as simple as that he feels superior, but social factors come into play as well. When he proclaimed his title, people would ‘pay attention’ to him, they would ask him questions on his take on this and that, and ask his opinion on the construction of this house or that bridge.

Being the one with knowledge on these matters he will blatantly go on and on about how modern construction has evolved from what it used to be in Neanderthal ages to where it is now and face it, what he talks about would seem interesting because he believes in what he says, he would feel valuable in that people pay attention to him. Pizza delivery guy is still just sitting in the corner. Who would want to hear about how he drives from the shop to clients residences, delivering pizza, getting the fee and driving back, I guess no one and what value does that prove? This pizza delivery guy is somehow gifted, he has tons of experience of his neighbourhood, knows it inside and out, he knows how market trends moves because he is an enthusiastic investor and has devoted a lot of his time into this matter, he can give you a lot of advice concerning property investments, when to buy and when to sell, people would be interested in his opinions if only he communicated his thoughts with conviction, but his inferiority complex kicks in because he is a mere delivery guy, with no way of proving his credentials on paper. So how does the power game come into play? Based on our programming to have to live up to a perceived standard, we measure ourselves and those around us in terms of value. Some are superior, some are inferior, yet we all strive to be superior. Superiority is determined by ourselves, but we perceive it to be measured by someone else. Superiority means that we get a high rating from another, thus we are beheld in the glory of another individual, or simply that we can feel good about ourselves.

Some people are too smart for their own good, their skills are in the understanding of others, how their inner workings tick, and from this they know exactly what to say, when to say, in order to manipulate the thought train of another individual. This I consider as the first path of enlightenment. The power to manipulate other individuals based on the understanding of their working mechanism. It is as if you have all the knowledge, yet they don’t, and advantage is taken over the situation. The story of Satan deceiving Eve in the Garden of Eden is a classic example of the use of this power. This power is derived from the fact that a ‘measure worth’ is perceived, and that one can stand above another by being superior to him, manipulating his thoughts and placing him exactly where you want him, in your hands as patty. To an extent this power might be useful in say, executing a successful sale to another, because you know that if your words and tone spell believe and confidence in your product, your client will tend to the same. Yet after a thousand sales, one would wake up feeling unfulfilled still. Think of a player who has mastered the art of picking up women. Night after night, he goes out, successfully scoring with women, and more women. At the end of the night, somehow he still feels lonely, and unfulfilled. Even the guy, who makes a million dollars in a day, swimming in the product of his material success, somehow still feels unfulfilled, ever heard that money can’t buy you happiness? One has to address the question of where does this unfulfillness that we always seem to have come from. I call it the bottomless vessel. No matter how much we try and fill it, it will never get full. Gen 2:17 “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Did Adam and Eve literally die when they ate of the fruit? No surely, thou shall not die, proclaimed the serpent! Satan knew they would not die there on the spot, however they died on the inside, all of a sudden a whole empty vessel was found inside them, that they did not know how to fill. They had children that couldn’t even fill that spot. The two sons were walking one day, the one got a little more glory than the other from God as the story goes (Inferior and Superior) so out of envy the inferior one killed the superior one, thus becoming superior. It is a vicious cycle that started early and still goes on today. One has to realize that inferior and superior are two sides of the same coin called ‘power hungry’. It is called power hungry, because if you taste a bit of power, it does not fill you up, instead makes you even hungrier, and the coin itself is the illusion brought about by an empty feeling inside. To an extent the driving force accomplished by the blind striving to be superior has brought the world to where it is today, everything around you, even the screen you are reading on, was brought forth for trying to be better. Everything considered good stems out of it, however somewhere in a dodgy alley, is standing a guy with a 9mm in his waist, awaiting his chance to highjack a civilian coming by, who has worked so hard to achieve his BMW, because this highjacker also wants to feel superior by thinking that if he drives a BMW, he is considered ‘powerful’ by others around. Everything bad stems out of it too. The illusion of power is a perpetual cycle in that we all carry this empty vessel or dead spirit, feeling the need to be powerful by being able to control others and gain their glory. What can we do to fill up this empty vessel? Nothing, we cannot by our own works, this brings us to the second path of enlightenment.

THE SECOND PATH OF ENLIGHTENMENT- WISDOM FROM ABOVE

To summarise the first path of enlightenment is knowledge of people, how they think and act, and from that understanding being able to manipulate others for selfish beneficial interests. One can manipulate their thought train and from that anticipate where their minds will lead them. It is a game of chess and the art of war. How if we could somehow be able to manipulate a mind to pick up on a certain thought without considering any beneficial interest for ourselves? Say you were the first to explore Africa in the 16^th century and come across the people in a village. You tell them how to build a car, they did not know a car existed but they do now, they can never go back at the same time you taught them something which might probably make life easier for them. Think of the typical image of what earth will look like in 200 years, high skyscrapers, flying cars, interstellar travel and robots dominates the picture everywhere. Where does that image stem from? Is it because it was put up as a thought in front of your eyes over and over again? Can you ever go back from that thought and create a new picture totally different from that of what the future will look like? Now say someone drops in and suggested the thought that studying human nature is possible, all of a sudden you realise it is there, it’s always been.

It comes down to realization. I will base a lot of this discussion from the Bible, it might not be the truth to you and I am not imparting Jesus onto you, such a choice would be only yours to make. Jesus and the bible take central role here and the Bible along with the story of Jesus is truly a source of magnificent wisdom. Here is my take on the history of man from the Bible perspective.

It starts in the Garden of Eden. There Adam and Eve made in the image of God are placed, with full dominion over earth and all its creatures. They live in harmony, with no need or greed, they just are. They are given one and only law that states they shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge (they now realise that they can eat of the tree). With the thought there it is already tempting enough for anyone to not do it. They however do abide by it until the serpent comes along. Now their minds have been stating to itself, do not eat, do not eat, do not eat and their minds already subconsciously fighting back stating eat, eat, eat. Looking at it as a tug of war, it was balanced not to proceed to the right (being to eat), but the serpent came and justified the action of eating from it and thus gave the rope a slight nudge to the right hand side. Eve did eat right there, the tug of war between eat and do not eat was offset slightly to the eat side just by amplifying the thought of eat a little bit. The serpent just affirmed an idea that was already there by realization. He used the subconscious thought against Eve, and thus gained dominance over her. This is selfish wisdom, the first path of enlightenment. Jesus described two kinds of light, where light is wisdom. True Light is Divine wisdom, it is the ability to use circumstances and knowledge to the advantage of non- selfish purposes. Referring to some verses of the bible on this: Luke 11:35 “Look therefore whether the light that is in thee be not darkness” It is interesting to note that light can be described as darkness. James 3:13-15 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom is not wisdom that cometh from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish”. This is the wisdom you see demonstrating in taking advantage of one another. The wisdom of the sense always leads into darkness.

Jesus said; John 8:12 “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” That means wisdom from above, a wisdom based on love. The man that lives in the Light of that kind of wisdom has nothing to fear, he cannot be a failure. He is led by the Spirit. The other man is double minded, unstable in all his ways. He walks in the light of the senses. It is a reasoning that is governed by the senses. There are many people today who are governed by the sense, they are honest, and desirable, but they are dominated by the Adversary. 2 Cor 4:16 “Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day” This is the mind in perfect harmony with the Recreated Spirit, led by true light wisdom from above, walking in love. We have stressed the need of being born again, but we leave the convert hanging in the air. Great enthusiasm and joy comes at the new birth, but unless that is cared for and fed by the mind being renewed through feeding on the Word and practicing it, that joy will die out. When you are born again your spirit is recreated. It receives the Nature and Life of the Father, but the mind that has held your spirit in captivity is the same old mind. It receives a mighty impetus when the spirit receives Eternal Life, but that is all. You understand that all the knowledge the mind has comes from the senses and the senses can never be renewed. The senses can however be brought into subjection; they can be controlled.

The brain of ours that receives its knowledge from the five senses, can be brought into subjection to the spirit that is led by life, the true light wisdom. Rom 12:1-2 “ I beseech you therefore, bretheren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service” Notice that he is asking you to present your body that holds the five senses. “And be not fashioned according to this age, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Col 3:5 “put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immortality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” Verses 3-10 unveil the inner working of the unclean natural mind as dominated by the senses. On the renewed mind Romans 12:2 ‘put on the new man that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of Him” Until the mind is renewed, our reasoning never embraces Truth, but thinks selfishly.

Stop assuming an outward expression that does not come from within you and is not representative of what you are in your inner being but is patterned after this age; but change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is representative of your inner being, by the renewing of your mind, resulting in your putting to the test what is the will of God, the good and well pleasing and complete will, and having found that it meets specifications, place your approval upon it. Rom 1:21 “Because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasoning’s, and their senseless heart was darkened”. If not by our own works then exactly how do we walk the second path of enlightenment? You simply walk it, and accept it for what it is. In the previous mentioned verse there is a very interesting word written, it is the word thanks. Thanks does not stem out of nowhere, it is accompanied by a deed performed for which we give thank. What is this deed? The deed done was that by a sacrifice we were purchased so that our minds could be renewed, so that we could live in the true light wisdom that is why the wisdom comes from above. We merely accept it. The wisdom does not come from our own will, the only role our will plays in this is that it can either accept or reject the offering. Walking in the second path of enlightenment is merely accepting to walk a route which is before us. Walking the route slowly reveals that certain things in life are not necessary in our lives, that it is want instead of need: we do not have to drive the prettiest car, live in the biggest house, make the most money or score the most women. We do need to eat and sleep, and we need companionship to and fro our spirits so that we can live a fulfilling life. The wisdom reveals to us that our lives are ruled by an illusion governed by our senses and that dwelling in the fulfilment of our senses, blinds us from being more than mere animals. We were made in a special image, and given complete dominion over earth and all its creatures, somehow along the way, the earth dominated us and we became its creatures. The time is near for us as a ‘species’ to break free from this dominance and regain our dominance.

Thoughts and Circumstances

2011-05-08T00:43:00.006+02:00

As a man think in his heart, so is he. A man is literally what he thinks he is, his character being the sum of all his thoughts. Cause and effect vibrates right throughout the thought realm as much as it does in our physical realm. Man is made or unmade by himself. In is armory of thoughts he forms the weapons with which he destroys himself, where he could form the tools with which he could mansions of joy and strength. Man is master of is thoughts, thus the moulder of is character, and hence the creator of his condition, circumstances and destiny. Man remains a master of his thoughts, even in his weakest state. Only by much effort are gold and diamonds searched and mined, if man would dig, search and mine is own soul, he would discover the truth imbedded within, that he is the maker of his character, moulder of his life, and builder of his destiny. By patient practice and investigation, if he will observe, that taking control of his thoughts, trace their effects upon himself, upon others, upon his life, and upon his circumstance, linking the cause with effect. He that seeketh shall findeth, as written in the bible: Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all things shall be added to you. In analogy to a gardener who selectively tends his garden, keeping it free from weeds, and growing flowers and fruits which he chooses, so to may man selectively cultivate his mind, weeding out the thoughts of the impure which serves no purpose, and replace them with fruits and flowers that strives toward perfection, right and usefull thoughts. Hereby he shall reveal to himself, the flaws of thoughts. Thought and character are one, where character manifests and discovers itself through environment and circumstance. Man is burdened by circumstance aslong as he perceives himself an effect of outside conditions, but once he perceives that he can command the soil out of which his conditions grow, he becomes the rightful master of himself. Circumstance does not make a man, but merely reveal him to himself. In light of this truth, what then is the meaning of fighting against circumstance? It simply means that man is constantly revolting against an effect, of which the cause is harboured and nourished in his heart. Men are striving to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves, therefore they remain bound. Good things can only come from good thoughts and actions, bad things only from bad thoughts and actions. This is all but saying corn is corn. A man only becomes a man after ceasing to whine and revile, and commences on the search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. Adapting his mind to the regulating factor, he cease to accuse others as the cause of his condition, ceases to kick against circumstance, but begins to use them as aid to his rapid progress, as a means to discovering his hidden powers and possibilities. Men imagine that thoughts can be kept secret but it cannot. It rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance. Bestial thoughts crystallize into habits of drunkeness and sensuality, which solidifies into circumstances of destitution and disease. Impure thoughts of every kind crystallize into enervating and confusing habits, which solidify into distracting and adverse circumstances. Thoughts of fear, doubt, and indecision crystallize into weak, unmanly, and irresolute habits, which solidify into circumstances of failure, indigence, and slavish dependence. Lazy thoughts crystallize into weak habits of uncleanliness and dishonesty, which solidify into circumstances of foulness and beggary. Hateful and condemnatory thoughts crystallize into habits of accusation and violene, which solidifeis into circumstances of injury and persecution. Selfish thoughts of all kinds crystallize abits of self-seeking, which solidify into distressfull circumstances. On the other hand, beautiful thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of grace and kindliness, which solidify into genial and sunny circumstances. Pure thoughts crystallize into habits of temperance and self-control, which solidify into circumstances of repose and peace. Thoughts of courage, self-reliance, and decision crystallize into manly habits, which solidifies into circumstances of success, plenty, and freedom. Energetic thougts crystallize into habits of cleanliness and industry, which solidifies into circumstances of pleasantness. Gentle and forgiving thoughts crystallize into habits of gentleness, which solidifies into protective and preservative circumstances. Loving and unselfish thoughts which solidify into circumstances of sure and abiding prosperity and true riches. A particular train of thought, cannot fail to produce its results on the character and circumstances. A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances. The body is subservient to the mind, it obeys the operations of the mind, whether by deliberately chosen or automatically expressed. At bidding of unlawful thoughts the body sinks rapidly into disease and decay, at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with youthfulness and beauty. Disease and health, like circumstance is rooted in thought. Thought is the fount of action, life and manifestation, make the fountain pure, and all will be pure. To live continually in toughts of ill-will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison hole. But to think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to patiently learn to learn to find the good in all; such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of heaven; and to dwell day by day in thoughts of peace toward every creature will bring abounding peace to their possessor. Until thoughts is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction. They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins, to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power- evolving universe. Man should conceive a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point in his thoughts. This is the royal raod to self control and true concentration of thought. Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose, as he must until weakness is overcome, the strenght of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and truimph. To put away aimlessness and weakness and begin to think with purpose is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment, who makes all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully. Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor the left. Doubts and fears should be rigorously excluded. They are disintegrating elements wich break up the straight line of effort, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, useless. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step. He that conquers doubt and fear, conquers failure. Tougts allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force. He who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations. He who does this becomes the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers. It has been usuall to think and say “many men are slaves because one is an oppressor, let us hate the opressor”. There is but a few who would boldly state the reverse of this tendency and to say “One man is an opressor because many are slaves, let us despise the slaves”. The truth is that both the opressor and the opressed are cooperators in ignorance, and, while seeming to afflict each other, are in reality, only afflicting themselves. A perfect love, seeing the suffering which both states entail, condemns neither, a perfect compassion embraces both. He who has conquered weakness and has pushed away all selfis thoughts belong to neither, he is free. Before a man can accomplish anything, even in worldy things, he needs to lift his thoughts above all slavish animal indulgence. He may not in order to succeed, give up all animality and selfishness, necessarily, but only a portion of it must at least, be sacrificed. A man who’s first thoughts are that of bestial indulgence could not think clearly nor plan methodically. He cannot find and develop latent resources at his disposal and would fail in any undertaking. Not aving begun to manfully control his thoughts, he is not in a position to control affairs and to adopt serious responsibilities. He is not fit to stand alone and function independentely, he is limited only by the thoughts he chooses. By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well directed thought a amn ascends. By the aid of animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion a man descends. He who cherishes a beautiful vision, lofty ideals in his heart, will one day realize them. To desire is to obtain, to aspire is to achieve. Vision is te promise of what you shall someday be, the ideal the prophecy of what you shall unveil. Dreams are the seedlings of realities. Into your hands are placed the exact results of your thoughts. The vision glorified in your mind, the ideal enthroned in your heart, this will build your life, this you will become. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom, the result of long and patient effort in self-control, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as he develops a right understanding, and sees ever more clearly the internal realtions by action of cause and effect, he ceases worrying, fussiong, grievance. He remains poised, steadfast and serene. The calm man having learned to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others, and they in turn, reverance his spiritual strenght. They feel they can learn from him. The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a weet tempered, balanced life? That exquisite poise of character that we call serenity is the last lesson of culture. How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control. How few people we meet in life who are well balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished charcater! Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumutuous with ungoverned greif, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thougts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and storms of the soul obey him. Tempest-tossed souls, wherever you may be, whatever conditions you may live, know this: In the ocena of life the isles of blessedness are smiling and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your ands firmly upon the helm of thought. In the core of your soul reclines the commanding master; he does but sleep, wake him. Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, “Peace, Be Still!”

The Animal Pattern

2011-05-06T14:04:00.003+02:00

Looking at human beings in a social form, it is quick and easy to realize that the same pattern that is found in the social aspect of the animal kingdom is found in human beings. Animals strive to survive, which consists of two aspects. Survival compromises an individual basis and a species basis. Animals eat to survive on a daily basis, and they reproduce to survive on a species basis.

Social interactions between individuals in a population of a species are way more complicated, right? As example, a lion pride consists of an alpha male surrounded by his female subjects. He is the alpha male, because no other male can compete with him in terms of might. He then has the 'best genes' since he is the strongest and based on this fact all females choose to mate with him to propagate the best possible genes for her protégée. Fair for him on both individual and species survival levels, unfair for the non alpha male lions, since they don't get to fulfil the need of surviving on a species level, and they don't get to eat since no females hunt for him, taking away his individual survival. He has to become an alpha male in say an unclaimed territory to fulfil these needs.

Now look at humans, we as men don't necessarily fight with each other and the winner takes hold of the territory and becomes king with a bunch of women surrounding him. No, we are 'smart' animals. Around us, we have built a system that governs our existence. We don't simply lie and sleep and when we are hungry, quickly go hunt and then eat, followed by more sleep. We wake up each morning, go to work, after that go socialize with other 'individuals' and after that go to sleep. Everything we do is guided by a sense of 'purpose' and in 99.99% of the cases, that purpose is for our own benefit. What will I get out of this?

We go to work to benefit, we socialize to benefit. Working benefits us in the sense that we earn a salary, a form of trading that enables us to have power of purchasing goods, goods that benefit us. We buy food, clothing and shelter with that salary. Food simply plays into our individual survival. Clothing and shelter is a little bit more complicated, as the shelter gives us our little own domain, or territory. Clothing 'is perceived' as to put us up for best display. Why then would we want our own territory and be on best display? Is it possible that we want to attract a possible mate, go back to our territory, and procreate? This is species survival talking here all the way.

It is also interesting to note that some guys seem to attract all the girls, there is always one in a group. It doesn't matter if he's an ass-hole or a nice guy, he just has something 'extra' which attracts mates, as if he has the 'best possible genes' for her protégée. This detection of 'best genes' do not occur on a conscious level in her, rather it occurs subconsciously. What is this little extra that her subconscious seems to be so attracted to?

Is it that subconsciously she detects that this guy is an alpha male, one who can provide her with all the security benefits, the one who can provide territory, food and the best possible protégée, thus taking care of her survival on individual and species level.

If humans are so smart, then why do we conform to these animal patterns, and what differentiates us from the rest of the animal kingdom?

If an animal was to look at himself in the mirror, it would not be able to recognise that it is looking at itself. This is true for most of the animal kingdom, with the exception of chimpanzees. It has been shown that chimpanzees has to an extent a conscious about itself, and is able to recognise itself in a mirror. So the ability of self-consciousness alone cannot be what differentiates us, there is more to it. Referring to the book of Genesis in the Bible, God states that man is made in His image. What is this image? Is it our physical vessels that resemble what He looks like? I do not believe so. God is the Creator, in a moment He created our physical universe, from the subatomic particles in atoms straight through to clusters of Galaxies, He therefore needs to exist in a plane, or realm that is simply 'above' that of our physical universe, a realm that is not bonded to the limits or laws of 'physics', not in a physical vessel that is made up of dust and that shall return to dust one day, since He is the beginning and the end, Alfa and Omega.

In what sense do we conform to God the Creators image?

I strongly do not believe that when a Chimpanzee sits in front of a tree, he first ‘visualises’ himself climbing the tree, playing each scenario of within his mind, which branch to grab hold to and where to place his feet. He acts on instinct rather than careful planning. The whole animal kingdom acts and behaves according to this manner, it is all instinct.

We as human beings do have instinct, however we try to make the most of a situation out of fear that it would not be done correctly in the first place. We ‘visualise’ each scenario in our minds. This visualisation process occurring in our minds gives us the power of creating a fictional world that is not guided by the common laws of physics. Visualisation is the use of imagination. We can ‘create’ which ever picture we want to, and in some cases this mental image can be manifested into physical reality. We can imagine building a house, building it brick by brick and describing each and every little detail concerning that house in our mind, there from we can proceed to ‘actually’ build the house according to the imagined picture. Chimpanzees that resemble us the most closely cannot do this. Imagination must be the ‘image’ to which we are created in His image, the factor that differentiates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

What does this tell us about our very own human nature? Our human nature resembles that of the animal kingdom in that we need to survive. We obviously have better tools to aid us in survival and that number one tool is imagination. With the aid of imagination we create more ways to ‘simplify’ our survival needs. Using bricks, cement, wood, hammers and nails we effectively build shelter etc.

All this however do not govern the way in which we interact with other individuals, how our emotions get involved and the way in which we build our ideals and goals. Further discussions that will elaborate to detail concerning human nature will be posted in the future, please re-visit the site to stay up to date.

The Life Student Philosophy

2011-05-06T13:55:00.007+02:00

Searching within the depths of all available sources of information the Life Student seeks to extract all Truth to gain understanding and application, in bettering the world within and around. The student continues learning with all encounters, each obstacle and every joy. Soon after it becomes prominent that only one universal law remains constant, the law of love and Truth will always seek to describe the universal law of love. The entire creation was brought about and all within it vibrates to the tone of love. We live in either one of two states at any given time; a state in harmony or a state out of harmony with this vibration. When in line with this vibration, all obstacles vanish like perishable mists, all opportunities presented are easily recognised, and joy becomes manifest in the holder. The opposite is true for being out of vibration, fear and doubt overshadow all obstacles and opportunities and joy is consumed in the vicious cycle that ensues, rendering the holder disabled within making it difficult to return to the vibration of love. Finding the source, gaining insight into and applying all knowledge learned of love in all paths is at the core of the Life Student, being a small fragmented flame amidst all the glooming darkness becomes purpose, and a bright world becomes destiny.