The world you see is but a judgment on yourself. It is not there at all. Yet judgment lays a sentence on it, justifies it and makes it real. Such is the world you see; a judgment on yourself, and made by you. --A Course In Miracles
do you see yourself as sinless and worthy of Heaven?
or do you see yourself as guilty and fearful of God, doomed to be damned?
However you wholly and truly see yourself is how you see the world around you.
Perception is a choice and not a fact. --A Course In Miracles
empathy - the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also: the capacity for this
He does not join in pain, understanding that healing pain is not accomplished by delusional attempts to enter into it, and lighten it by sharing the delusion. --A Course In Miracles
When somebody you care about is hurting physically or emotionally, many of us think we have to feel bad to show them that we care and hopefully that'll make them feel better. The quote from The Course is saying that thinking is insane. How can you heal somebody by feeling bad and trying to have the same feelings they're going through? It's saying we shouldn't make the hurt seem more real and multiply it by us getting into a negative state ourselves. I also don't think it's saying you gotta be a cold-hearted S.O.B. There's other, more productive ways to make people feel better than empathizing. Cheer them up if you think the time is right. Maybe don't even do anything physically. Just tell them in your mind that whatever they're feeling bad about isn't real. After all, I believe our minds are not separated. So even if you think of healing and do nothing else, it'll have some positive effects. I'll get into mind thing in another post.
I follow the professional MMA (mixed martial arts) world a little. I try to watch the big fights when I can. There's a blog I always go to, to watch for past or upcoming fights, at www.mmascraps.com. I was watching an interview with the legend Randy "The Natural" Couture. For those that don't know, he's a well-known and well-loved fighter that went through some epic battles in the UFC. He's out of the UFC now, but he's been wanting to fight who many consider the best heavy-weight in the world-- Fedor Emelianenko. That guy just seems unbeatable. And he's very respectful at all times, even after he beats you down to a pulp. Anyways, I wasn't a big Randy Couture fan until I saw this interview. In the interview he just seems like he has his head on straight. He was calm, composed, and some of the answers he gave were in line to what I would say if I was in his situation. At 2:54, the guy interviewing him asked him about all these "curve balls" being thrown at him in his life. Randy pretty much said he has faith that things work out the way they're supposed to work out. This mindset allows him to step back and relax when things don't seem like they're going right.
I believe that knowing everything is gonna be alright is a very good way to see things. I'd like to even take that one step further and say, "Everything is always alright." I believe our thinking is what makes things "bad" or "good." I know there's more than one way to perceive any situation or event in this life. It's up to you how you see it. The way I try to see things now is God will always take care of his Son-- if you let Him. Step back and let Him guide you in everything you do. I need to work on this myself because I've been so used to doing things the hard way, or on my own. I believe when you leave everything to Him, your "vision" gets corrected, and everything in this life will just seem a lot easier. I'm not saying you're gonna get rich and live the life you've dreamed about. I think we don't know enough to know what's best for us. I believe God knows what's best for us and when we let him, he'll always give the best for us-- even if it's not what we think we wanted.
I put in an old CD at work today. I heard the song "Pardon Me" by Incubus. It caught my ears this time cuz I was really listening to what he was saying:
Pardon me while I burst...
A decade ago, I never thought I would be, at twenty-three, on the verge of spontaneous combustion. -Woe-is-me.- But I guess that it comes with the territory, An ominous landscape of never-ending calamity. I need you to hear, I need you to see that I have had all I can take and exploding seems like a DEFINITE possibility to me.
So pardon me while I burst into flames. I've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games. So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame. Pardon me, pardon me... I'll never be the same!
Not two days ago, I was having a look in a book and I saw a picture of a guy fried up above his knee. I said, "I can relate," cause lately I've been thinking of combustication as a welcome vacation from the burdens of the planet Earth. like gravity, hypocrisy, and the perils of being in 3-D... but thinking so much differently.
Pardon me while I burst into flames. I've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games. So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame. Pardon me, pardon me... I'll never be the same!
Never be the same, yeah... Pardon me, while I burst into flames... Pardon me, pardon me, pardon me.
So pardon me while I burst into flames. I've had enough of the world and its people's mindless games. So pardon me while I burn and rise above the flame. Pardon me, pardon me... I'll never be the same!
Never be the same, yeahh!!
If you're too lazy to read or listen to the lyrics, it's pretty much saying that he's tired of this world and he wants to get away (suicide?). He's tired of the never-ending problems we face in our society and/or our personal day-to-day lives. He's also probably tired of the people he sees as not righteous in his eyes. So the best solution for his little predicament is to burn up and go some place better, so to speak.
I think, before you go out and get some gasoline, you gotta work over-time in your cubicle-- cuz that shit ain't cheap! Just messing. I know exactly how the singer feels. The weight of so many problems holding us down can be unbearable at times. When one problem is dealt with, two more will emerge out of nowhere. It really is never-ending if you see it that way.
I have an answer to this that will work for all but will only work for some. I say this because a lot of people (maybe the majority in this world) will think I'm stupid and that I'm just talking out of my ass. Many just have a certain mind-set, and anything so simple yet different from their thinking is crazy and won't even consider it a possibility-- even though their lives aren't that great with the way their mind works at the present. My solution is one I didn't conjure up myself. It's so great because it costs nothing. When you apply it, nobody loses, yet everybody gains. It doesn't take much energy. When done correctly, the world you see around you starts to change. It's the panacea we've been searching for. What is it?
FORGIVENESS
That's it? You're kidding right? Nope. That's it. Forgiveness. True forgiveness. I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it til it doesn't work for me. Forgive. To truly forgive, you have to see this world as something you made up. Not real.............. When you can accept this thought, you're probably half way to true forgiveness. Once you see this world as a dream or illusion, you're in a better position to recognize that everything in this world/universe/dimension isn't real as well. When nothing is real, what's there to be taken seriously? What's there to be mad at? When you truly forgive, you might even laugh at some of the outrageous things done in this world. Forgiveness allows us to enjoy our lives here even more cuz judgements are left to the Holy Spirit and we won't have a need to get even anymore. Applying true forgiveness is also true Love because it doesn't exclude anybody. God is Love. God doesn't leave anybody out. He sees them as perfect creations because he made them (us). Forgiveness gives us true vision in which we see our brothers and sisters and ourselves as one. No bodies can divide our real Self. You don't really need to know the mechanics of forgiveness because it's beyond our comprehension. The Holy Spirit works in our mind and he's the one God sent to help us out here. When you forgive, it's giving Him a gift and he gives us one back by fixing our minds right. Crazy talk huh?
Imagine if everybody forgave. Would there be wars? Murders? Fights? Arguments? Probably a lot less, then eventually none. If you're open to it, try it. If not, flame all you want in the comments. I don't give a damn! I'll forgive you anyways. :)
No matter the question, forgiveness is the answer --Gene Bogart & Gary Renard of forgiveness.tv
I was sitting on the toilet reading a Forbes magazine. In it I saw an ad selling business analytic software. It was simple with not much verbiage. It said:
Goldfish have a memory span of 3 seconds. They can't see the past, much less the future. But you can. With proven business intelligence and analytic software.....
Those first two lines sparked my thinking a little. I thought to myself, maybe it's not so bad to have no memory of the past and not much thought of the future. It'll be like "living in the now." Carpe Diem kind of thing. I know many of you are thinking, you need the past to learn from and you need the future to make plans. I guess. But if you really have faith in God or the Holy Spirit (or angels) or whatever, He or They will be able to guide you in the right direction. In the book "A Course In Miracles," we're asked to live our lives like this. Let go of your grievances from the past, your worries of the future, have complete and unswerving faith in the Holy Spirit, let Him guide you, and everything's gonna be alright!
When I think about this, I realized that doing things on my own hasn't brought me that far. It's actually been a struggle-- even though my peoples would say I'm living pretty laid back. Yeah, compared to them. But I think there's an easier and better way. Now, I'm trying to let myself let go. I'm handing over the steering wheel to Somebody I trust and I'll just enjoy the ride.
This is the first thing that hits you when you read "A Course in Miracles" (besides the preface). You can already get a sense of the tone, style, authority, and power that will come in the rest of the pages.
This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.
This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Yesterday I was at work. Yay! I was eating at my desk and a pretty big fly came in the room and was buzzing around. I didn't want it near my sandwich so I was getting a little irritated from it. Somehow my friend Khem and I started talking about bugs and spiders and stuff. I said I was kind of afraid of spiders, but I usually don't kill them. I jokingly said the only time I'll kill them is if they bite me. Then he said something like, "C'mon James. You gotta practice what you preach." I started laughing, but I realized he was right. Love never excludes. So how can you forgive only people and leave the rest out? It's all the same anyways: people, animals, bugs, rocks, cars, etc. It's all nothing. So I've changed my perspective on that. I'm not just gonna let the wilderness attack me though. If an angry dog is chasing me and I can't get away, I'm gonna have to kick it or something. But not beat it to death. If a spider bites me, I'll have to try to react properly and just try to get it off me without biting me again. Maybe flick it off or something. It really sounds stupid, but to me, if that little spider can provoke anger in you, it's a sign you still need to forgive, and you can start with the spider-- then yourself.
So this little encounter left my mind more open to learning from others who don't necessarily share the same beliefs as you. Anybody at any time can show you something you haven't noticed about yourself, or didn't want to see. Be thankful for the people who annoy you, or anger you, or pretty much press your buttons the wrong way. Because they're reminding you that you still have work to do within yourself. And no, Khem, you're not annoying and you don't piss me off. Maybe annoying. Just kidding! Thanks man.
There is no hell. Hell is only what the ego has made of the present. --A Course in Miracles
When I was a kid, I used to think we had to be good here on Earth or else we'd go to hell to be punished forever. Forever? That's a long time to be tortured. God would send us there? I thought he was loving. How can you be loving and knowingly send the children you "love" to burn for the rest of time? Something's not making sense.
I've grown up a little. My current beliefs have more solid foundations than before. For many people, hell is here on Earth. In your country. In your state. In your city. In your home. In you.
I mean think about it. When we're born, we're crying our asses off already. It's like the feeling of being "alive" is so painful. Eventually, we cry less (some less than others). We've developed a tough shield from what the world throws at us. By the time we're grown up, we're so insensitive to so many things we're numb to the pain. We learn to accept that some things are bad and that's just the way things are. We watch on t.v. many of the horrible things done to others, and many people ask, "Where's God?," "How can God let this happen?"
My answer is, God isn't here. We're not even here. We're just dreaming this place and our minds are so powerful (cuz we came from God) that it's able to make things seem real. The part of our mind that made the world and our bodies is what some would call the ego. The ego's motto is, "Seek and do not find." Isn't that what we're pretty much doing here? "I need (blank) and then I'll be happy." "Once I get (blank), then it's all good." "Why don't you act (blank) so we can get along?" The ego doesn't really want what's truly best for us. It just dangles a carrot-- or in many cases money or relationships, and we chase it all our lives. Many people have a lot of money, and they seem happy. But if they're listening to their ego, they'll probably want more, or want something else to fill that need. If you think about it, it's kind of like a subtle way of torturing us. It's like we're never really happy until something happens, or we acquire something. When that something does come or we have it, we're like, "What's next?"
Let's stop listening to our egos so much. Don't let the ego judge for you. Don't let it tell you you're right and others are wrong-- or vice-versa. Don't let it make you feel guilty or others guilty from what's in the past. Don't let it worry you about what's gonna happen later down the road. Let's break up with our egos and go our separate ways. It needs us, but we don't need it. It'll try to call and leave messages. Change your number. We don't deserve to be treated that way.
"...But y'all can see me now cos you don't see with your eye You perceive with your mind" --Gorillaz/Del The Funky Homosapien: Clint Eastwood
My take (if you care): As you guys should know by now, I believe this world isn't real. I believe it's an illusion as A Course In Miracles states. I believe our minds made this place and our bodies. I also believe that we don't really see with our eyes as Del states in this song. Our minds have just made it seem that way. "But how come 'blind' people can't see?" You might ask. I say, "shut the eff up!" Just kidding. I don't know. I think we just imagined ourselves in certain situations and have accepted it without much/any, or more importantly, the right questions. My analogies usually go back to dreams. In dreams we think we're seeing the outside world with our eyes. If we blink or close our eyes in our dreams, we think we see nothing. But what body is there that does the blinking or sleeping? We're just dreaming it all even though it seems real.
My point? As usual, nothing. To me, these thoughts are just more reinforcement that we don't need to take this world and our so-called-lives so seriously. Enjoy it! The more we perceive things correctly from the right state of mind, the sooner we'll realize what situation we've put ourselves into and how to get out of it.
What profiteth it a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? There's a very similar quote by Bob Marley: Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold
I'm no different from the next man. I wanna be rich (biatch!). I can't say I hate my job, but I'd rather be doing more fun stuff any day. It would be nice to have a car for every day of the week and a nice house to keep them in.....
Although arguably out-dated, this is still my dream car
...but a lot of people have become so focused on "hustling" and making that cheese that it's consumed their lives. They see people on TV living glamorous lifestyles and being happy. Who the hell wouldn't want that lifestyle? I'm certainly not saying don't make money. Shit, make a lot of it if you can! Just remember, that in this world, it can all disappear and turn your world upside down. Don't get too attached to that stuff. If you can be happy with or without all your riches, that's power. I've come to the belief that searching for things to make you happy is a weakness we've learned somehow. I believe that God made us perfect as we are. When I say "we," I don't mean people. People are imperfect in an imperfect world. I mean our souls. Our true Self. We forgot our real identities and we go out and try to get things and make things for ourselves to express who we think we are or who we want to be.
a cozy spot at the beach would be nice
I don't really know what I'm getting at. It's just for those who share similar goals as me (to wake up), we can't forget what we're here for. Things don't make you who you are. Your body doesn't even come close to our true identities. True forgiveness, I believe, will reveal to us what we forgot about ourselves. The world isn't real, so don't make anything in it what it isn't.
