"If I am brutal, and you use brutal methods to overcome me,
then you become brutal like me."
Krishnamurti
The Good News Report!
A poor Colombian boy who handed a suitcase full of cash to police
has been presented with a house as a reward for his honesty.
Dúver Pulgarín, 11, found the suitcase containing £1,200 when he
was working as a street vendor in Enciso, Colombia.
He handed it in to police, despite his family's desperate
financial position. Dúver's honesty made him a hero in Colombia,
which is regarded as one of the world's most corrupt countries.
"My friends and family told me I was stupid, but my mother taught
me to be honest when I was very young," Dúver told website
Lachiva.com.
Charity organizations held several events in his honour and two
years later presented his family with a house of their own, worth
£6,500. Dúver's mother Carmen said the family now had the house
of their dreams.
"Imagine, I could never even fantasise about living in a house
like this when I was unemployed and Dúver was selling cigarettes
and sweets in the streets," she said.
Check out the GOOD News Zone for other such inspiring stories:
Last month's article about news and the media prompted an
interesting suggestion on the Discussion Group.
Why not create a place where
good news could be posted and read, as a way of providing
encouragement to those with a mindset to receive it? It seemed
like a good idea to me. So, I have added a new section to this
ezine, where I will pick up a good news story from the board, and
report it here. In addition, I have created "The Good News Zone"
on the discussion board, where you can go and contribute any good
news you have come across, or else simply read the stories other
subscribers have contributed.
Please do support this initiative, as every little bit helps to
make the world a happier place. If you are fed up hearing about
all the dismal horrors on the standard news networks, head over
to this haven of GOOD news. Yes, and DO contribute your own
stories too. Once again, the Good News Zone be found at:
Thinking forms virtually our sole basis for dealing with life. We
are attached to our thoughts. We think they are who we are.
Indeed, the whole of Western culture supports the mind's
pre-eminence, and thought as the sole mechanism for
organizing ourselves and our civilization.
However, these notions do not find huge support amongst the
mystical traditions. On the contrary, these ancient traditions
teach methods that seek to still the mind. "Stop Thinking!" is
often the injunction to the spiritual student. Why is this, if
thinking has served us so well, both individually and as a
society?
"...we still carry one problem with us: this mind that reasons so
intelligently is still basically confused. Therefore, every
'insight' is saturated by confusion. I am sorry to say it so
bluntly, but human understanding is confused. It is not
unmistaken wisdom, and it is not authentic until complete
enlightenment."
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, abbot of Ka-Nying Shedrub
Ling monastery, Nepal.
Thinking, by itself, is subject to inherent flaws. The most
obvious is its high degree of subjectivity. Hardly anybody agrees
about anything. The world's problems are created around
differences of opinion - often regarding relatively minor issues
- around which vast intellectual and emotional edifices are
gradually built.
Are we actually in control of our thoughts at all? Meditators
become increasingly aware of their thought processes, and the
seemingly random nature in which thoughts move. Many have
concluded that it is not they who think, but rather thinking
"happens in them". The more one studies the process of thought,
the more it resembles the weather; a mysterious undirected
process, created by innumerable causes.
Thought is rarely accurate. Each person possesses an in-built
system of presuppositions, prejudices, societal conditioning,
religious background, and psychological complexes. Even the
extensiveness of our vocabulary plays an important role in
thinking. The precise mix is different for each person, but it
all critically affects the way the person thinks, and the kind of
thoughts that occur. Also, none of us possess total and perfect
information. Even if we did, the deep-seated biases within the
minds ensure that our conclusions will almost always be
imperfect.
Certain key human issues are necessarily relative. Morality is a
prime example. A person's moral framework derives from sources
such as family, society, peer groups, religious training, and
even the kind of TV programs a person habitually watches. The
only way to make morals absolute and to cast them in stone (as
Moses did) is to appeal to a moral absolute such as God, who is
beyond dispute. However, even here, we can then debate as to
which type of God we choose to follow, which revelation from God
is true and which false, and so on. Consequently, morality
becomes dependent upon the society in which one is raised, and
the kind of religious undercurrent present.
To make it worse, our thought processes, flawed as they may be,
are being subtly manipulated by the government and media.
Communists and Islamic fundamentalists are not the only ones
subject to brainwashing. Those in the West are also told how to
think, and usually go along with it compliantly. For example, we
are currently being sold war as a remedy for violence, and
bombing as a method for achieving peace! Could there be anything
more ironic?
Indeed, the recent international situation highlights another of
the mind's inherent fallacies: the tendency to create polarities.
We like to think we are clear-minded enough to be able to judge
Good and Evil. In many cases, we CAN determine certain rules and
penalties that will enable a society to run efficiently, without
degenerating into anarchy. However, to ascribe categories of
"good" and "evil, "saint" and "sinner", as liberally as we do, is
almost always unwise. Given our own highly fallible thought
processes, who are we to judge? From a metaphysical context,
events may be occurring for all sorts of reasons of which we can
have no idea whatsoever. Indeed, was it not Jesus himself who
said "Judge not, that you be not judged"?
Polarizing tendencies seem to arise from our need for (a)
certainties we can feel comfortable with, and (b) generalizations
that enable us to make mental short-cuts to rapid solutions. We
need certainties because we want to understand the world we live
in, and exercise some degree of control within it. We also need
to generalize complex information. Otherwise, it would be too
hard for most us to deal with, and we could never reach a
conclusion, and hence achieve the certainty we desperately need.
Overall, such thought process leave us with the comfortable
feeling that we "understand" the issues, whereas the reality may
well be that we understand nothing at all! A good example is the
recent labelling of certain people as "Islamic Fundamentalists".
This is a convenient term that enables us to package such
individuals in the "evil, insane, brainwashed nutcase" category.
Thus, we don't have to seek to know anything further about them;
their history, their motivations, or their desires. After all, it
is a disease, is it not? These people are "evil", and belong to
an "axis of evil". What more is there to understand?
One disastrous result of polarized thinking is the sequence of
attack and counter-attack we see in all the trouble spots in the
world; whether it be Israel, Sep 11 2001, and formerly in
Northern Ireland. Such a pattern ensures only more of the same.
It is the politics of the playground - of five-year old children.
Sadly, many adults have not advanced much further than the
playground in their problem-solving capacities.
The above is not intended as a support for any group, but rather
serves as an example of how simplistic we prefer to make our
thinking, in order to live in a world we can understand. Our
governments deal in bite-size explanations of highly complex
issues. The general public, the majority of whom know little
about history or foreign culture, swallow it whole without
question.
Reality is inherently complex. It is doubtful if anyone is
capable of completely comprehending it. For any event to occur,
there are a myriad contributory causes. The polarizing mind seeks
an easy explanation; often a single cause. In doing so, we do not
solve any problems we face, but rather perpetuate them.
However, thought processes can be redeemed by seeking ever deeper
communion with the source of Being; the higher self, the God
within, or whatever term you prefer. Realized Masters, who are in
perfect union with the Divine, have no need for conventional
thought, but perceive reality directly. This is a worthy goal for
each of us to aspire to, but it is a difficult one. It may hint
at why all spiritual traditions call upon the follower to enter
the silent gap between thoughts, and dwell ever more often in
that zone.
That is best done initially through meditation. Through steady
practice, this state of mind can follow us outside of the
meditation session and into the whole of life. By simply being
more mindful of our habitual thoughts, we may also become more
aware of the quality and direction of them. In that way, we can
catch ourselves engaging in tendencies that are unhelpful or
untrue.
In conclusion , our thoughts and opinions are rarely even a
remotely accurate view of reality. We need to be ever watchful to
not take ourselves or our opinions - or those of others,
particularly those in authority - too seriously. Instead, by
working continually within, and by studying in a spiritual
tradition, it will be possible ever more into our awareness, the
Higher Self, who can redeem, purify, and ultimately transcend,
the power of Thought.
Copyright Asoka Selvarajah 2002. All Rights Reserved.
Asoka Selvarajah is a writer on personal growth and
spirituality,
and the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To Knowing Your
Higher
Self". His work helps people achieve their full
potential, deepen their
understanding of mystical truth,
and discover their soul's purpose. Learn more about his work
Anodea Judith, acclaimed authoress of "Wheels Of Life", has
followed up her excellent first book on Chakras with a new and
profound work. Entitled "Eastern Body Western Mind - Psychology &
The Chakra System", this book probes deep within the human
psyche. In doing so, it explains the Eastern Chakra system with
reference to Western psychology.
As with her previous book, a chapter is devoted to each chakra.
However, in this book, the emphasis is definitely upon healing,
psychological and mental issues, and resolving trauma of every
conceivable form. Guilt and shame, authority, individuation,
sexual abuse, fear, creativity - the whole spectrum of
human issues are viewed from the viewpoint of the Chakra system.
Readers will love the wealth of practical advice given to help
towards the goal of inner integration and total mind/body/spirit
health. The book contains many helpful charts and diagrams that
clarify essential concepts and provide a ready reference for easy
learning of the ideas presented. Overall "Eastern Body Western
Mind" is highly recommended for all, but especially for healers
and those requiring new insights on being healed. Moreover, it is
a wise and deep book for those simply seeking to learn more about
themselves and the spiritual realms in which we live and move.
Each of us has a thermostat within our minds. It causes us to
steer a certain exact course; not too far to the left nor to the
right, neither too hot nor too cold.
The thermostat is your self-image, and it is a control on your
life. It governs everything you are capable of achieving, and it
makes suitable adjustments if you go too far out of line in any
direction. Essentially, what you believe yourself to be at the
most deepest levels is what you manifest in your life. You can
set goals, be excellent at time management, and have an
intellectual knowledge of what you need to do in order to get
where you want to go. However, if your self-image thermostat is
set low, you can be sure of one thing. It will all come to
nothing in the end.
This is why many people remain firmly trapped within a set of
restrictive life circumstances. They seem quite unable to change
them. Poverty is one area where this thermostat bites deeply for
many. Many people cannot seem to conceive of themselves as being
anything other than poverty-stricken. They see no way out, and
lack the will to self-educate themselves for anything better. The
trap is not lack of opportunity, but lack of inner vision.
Opportunities come when the vision is there. When vision is
lacking, opportunities are invisible.
Poor self-image is why lottery winners often end up without a
cent after a very short period of time. When money arrives
unearned out of nowhere, there is no time to adjust the
"poor-person" self-image. The thermostat remains unaltered, and
hence goes to work to adjust external circumstances until all is
in balance once more.
You can call it self-sabotage if you wish. However, most of the
time, this sort of behavior occurs in order to protect you from
the unknown. As long as you remain within your comfort zone, you
are in a world you recognize, even though you may not love it all
that much. The self-image works on the basis "better the devil
you know than the devil you don't".
The thermostat exists in every person. However, in all
probability, you did not consciously set it so low. It is done
for us throughout life. The self-image first develops in very
early childhood. It is largely shaped by our parents; their
expectations of the world and of us. As we grow, it is influenced
by the culture in which we live and the expectations of those
around us.
Hence, it is not something that we consciously create, and yet it
determines everything lasting that we can ever achieve. How then
can we go about raising the thermostat setting in order to
achieve our dreams? The first thing you need to do is to get some
idea of how high or low your thermostat is already set.
What ARE your expectations about your present and future
circumstances? If you feel down and depressed, do you secretly
hold the belief that you are not worthy or deserving of more? If
you are earning a decent income, but less than you would like,
could you see yourself earning 10, or even 100 times more? If
not, why not? Do you feel those who succeed in your chosen field
are simply cleverer or luckier or better connected than you? Why
do you believe that?
You might like to write out on paper your current beliefs and
expectations; all the elements that constitute your current
self-image. The place where your thermostat is set is also the
place where your life is set. Hence, this is potentially one of
the most valuable exercises you could ever do. Take your time and
get clear about what your present beliefs are in every area:
work, family, spiritual, money, education, friends...
Once you have an idea of your self-image, you will know if it is
helping or hindering you. If your self-image is that you are
stupid and ill-educated, you will never feel able to cope in
situations where you are called upon to display intelligence and
a degree of education. Ironically, the latter is true even if you
ARE intelligent and well educated, but do not consider yourself to
be. Your self-image actually rules what you can achieve far more
than the actual facts of your situation!
The next thing you can do is to deliberately and consciously
create a new self-image for yourself. Once again, you can work on
paper to write out a description of the perfect you, and the
ideal life circumstances that you would like to be enjoying, now
and forever. The more detailed and specific is this description,
the more effective it will be.
However, simply writing it down is not enough. It is necessary to
make this a vivid living self-image. You do this through reading
this description every day; at least once, and preferably several
times a day. You also spend time vividly visualizing yourself
living this new reality, using all your imaginative powers. You
also create a series of written affirmations, based upon your new
self-image, that you recite often during the day. For example, if
you want a specific income, you might create an affirmation that
says "I earn $X,000 a year". In addition, you begin to watch your
thoughts. When you spot attitudes arising from your old
self-image, you replace them with an affirmation from your new
self-image. This is another excellent reason for creating this
set of affirmations to work with.
As you work with your created self-image, you set your thermostat
higher. Lasting change comes from the inside out. Once you become
the sort of person to whom desirable things can happen, they will
happen. Moreover, there is no limit to this. The higher you set
your self-image thermostat, the more you are capable of. This can
be done progressively, as you come to increasingly believe in
your capabilities. The important thing is to realize that you
have this thermostat deep within your psyche, and to get to work
to change it setting to a level you consciously desire .
Dr. Asoka Selvarajah is the author of "The 7 Golden Secrets To
Knowing Your Higher Self". His work helps you achieve your life
dreams through learning practical, effective spiritual and
personal growth strategies. You can learn more at:
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