We make up the rules and regulations for our individual worlds according to our belief systems.

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We decide what we deem suitable conduct. We act and react according to these norms. We make up the rules and regulations for our individual worlds according to our belief systems. Each one of us becomes the ruler of our own individual world and life. We could as ruler of our world change the rules and the scripts that we prepared for others and ourselves, but often stubbornly insist that everyone must at all times stick to the original scripts we prepared for them. Keep in mind that everyone that acts in our plays has their own individual world as well. These actors are also the rulers of their own world and the author of their own scripts. Many misunderstanding and disputes are caused by individuals that fail to adhere to the specific role we wrote for them in our script.

Rene

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What have you learned to date? – I’ve learned…. That being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve learned…

I’ve learned…that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I’ve learned…that when you’re in love, it shows.

I’ve learned…that just one person saying to me, “You’ve made my day!” makes my day.

I’ve learned…that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I’ve learned…that being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve learned…that you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I’ve learned…that I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in some other way.

I’ve learned…that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I’ve learned…that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I’ve learned…that simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I’ve learned…that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I’ve learned…that we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

I’ve learned…that money doesn’t buy class.

I’ve learned…that it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I’ve learned…that under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I’ve learned…that the Lord didn’t do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I’ve learned…that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I’ve learned…that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I’ve learned…that love, not time, heals all wounds.

I’ve learned…that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I’ve learned…that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I’ve learned…that there’s nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I’ve learned…that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I’ve learned…that life is tough, but I’m tougher.

I’ve learned…that opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I’ve learned…that when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I’ve learned…that I wish I could have told my Dad that I love him one more time before he passed away.

I’ve learned…that one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I’ve learned…that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I’ve learned…that I can’t choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I’ve learned…that when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you’re hooked for life.

I’ve learned…that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.

I’ve learned…that it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

I’ve learned…that the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

 

By Andy Rooney

 

View all painful experiences today as lessons. Be gentle with yourself.

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We all fall into a deep hypnotic sleep early in life. The noise, problems, pain and broken promises that we experience fail to resurrect us from our sleep like state. We dream that we are our history, body, successes and failures. We dream that we are measure by God while we bounce around in this machine called life that give us false hope only to knock us down again. The cunning slanted system that we live in secured you in a slave like state. You are daily confronted with survival issues. The only way to escape from this trap is to wake up and notice the deadly web that snared you in its ruthless claws. You must wake up to the reality of the religious dogma and the political rhetoric that encased your mind with lies and deceit. Cunning operators kept you mentally, physically and emotionally paralysed in a state of fear. You were forced to swallow their deadly poison made up with ingredients like guilt and sin. It is only when you wake up and grasp that you are not your body, history or story that you break the chains that kept you under their hypnotic trance. You are only using your body as a vehicle while you attend earth school. You are in this dimension to experience and learn. Your spiritual self have been waiting for your awakening my friend. View all painful experiences today as lessons. Be gentle with yourself. View life through the eyes of a student and not through the tarnished filter of sin.

 Rene

 

House of Straw – Self-esteem that is built out of straw.

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When others have the power to cause you discomfort and distress you usually spend the best part of your day trying to manipulate and control them in an attempt to avoid potential pain. You will attempt to please, intimidate, impress or dominate them in an attempt to feel safe and secure. Many of us think that our power and pleasure comes from these external sources. Those that operate from this point of view can only relax and enjoy moments of pleasure while they feel that they are in a non-threatening environment where they have control or at least a safety valve should things go wrong. Things can unfortunately change rapidly in the blink of an eye.

 

This mode of living makes life unpredictable and can take hard work to sustain. Every word we utter must be weighted and every disagreement becomes a crisis. We are forced to do, say or refrain from saying things that might upset individuals that we rely on for our regular confirmation that we are still acceptable. We live our lives in fear. We have fear of loss, failure and even success. We often need to defend and attack in an attempt to sustain our position in the mind of those that we depend on. The problem with this mode of living is that we must be on our guard twenty four hours a day. We feel obligated to sustain our position. We are subconsciously afraid that someone or something might threaten our self-esteem that is built out of straw.

 

What we fail to grasp is that we will always remain vulnerable while we focus on external circumstances and individuals for our happiness and success. The key to escape this mental jail is to stop looking at the outside world and individuals in an attempt to experience self-worth. How can we become worthy while we attempt to climb this slippery slope. Our happiness and self-worth is fully in the hands of outsiders when we choose this life option.

 

The only way we can take back control is to turn our focus inward. We have no control over the mood, attitude and unforeseen actions and reactions of others, but we can learn how to manage our own emotions. The key then is to give attention to the stuff that we have control over. We can control our actions and reactions when faced with difficulties or adversities. We will never be able to control anyone in the outside world, but we can control what is going on in our own world. We can select how we want to act or react and we might even decide to do or say nothing until we are fully composed. This change in focus and this new mindset where we stop focusing outward bring about a massive change in all areas of our lives.

 Rene

 

Recall this image the next time you are confronted by someone that is trying to intimidate/control/dominate you.

 

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POWER TOOL: Recall the image above the next time you are confronted by someone that is trying to intimidate, control or dominate you. It is only when you react or respond that the intimidator gain entrance to your heart and mind. People feed on your negative reactions. They will push your “hot buttons” until you stop responding to their treats and intimidation. 

Rene

 

It is impossible to achieve success if you lack clearly defined purposes (goals).

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It is impossible to achieve success if you lack clearly defined purposes (goals). Many of us feel victimized and nullified because of our inability to focus on specific objectives. You will not show me a single successful athlete, person in business, student or leader that lack fixed goals and objectives. There can be no predictability in your life if you allow circumstances to direct most of your actions and reactions. It is your goals in life that provide the energy and passion that you need to remain strong notwithstanding the adversities you are daily faced with.

Rene

 

What happens to you is not as important as how you respond to the situation.

 

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Every decision or choice you make and action you take, gives you the opportunity to create yourself and to discover whom you really are. On occasion, we are all submitted to adversity, disappointments and setbacks. What happens to you is not as important as how you respond to the situation. How you respond to a situation determines who you are going to become. It is through hardship and suffering that we grow, create and ‘re-member’ who we are. Suffering and pain enable us to develop certain virtues that lead to self-mastery. God did not invent suffering and it is not His intention to punish us. Suffering or hardship is not a curse and it does not indicate that you are an evil person. Those who ignore and contradict the Universal Laws are more likely to experience suffering. Suffering occurs when we suppress negative emotions and harbour grudges, resentment, anger or hatred.

“There is nothing wrong with God’s creation. Misery and suffering only exist in the mind.” Sri Ramana Maharshi

It is important to make wise choices and to live in harmony with nature and the people in your immediate environment. There is grace in living in harmony with the Universal Laws. Discovering your authentic self and‘re-membering’ who you really are, will enable you to live according to Universal Truths and to eventually overcome suffering. Suffering serves a purpose; it builds character and accumulates inner strength and wisdom. Most of the great Masters endured suffering, but they succeeded in transcending their emotional and physical pain. They disciplined their minds and this enabled them to transcend any form of suffering. They developed their divinity within, which is pure love and this led them on the path to eternal joy and inner peace. The Great Masters did not have material wealth, but they had emotional and spiritual health and ‘ wealth’.

 

When faced with an adverse situation, it is important to figure out what you can learn from the situation. The moment you find something or somebody to blame for your suffering, you do not take responsibility for the situation and you disempower yourself. Putting the blame elsewhere deprives you of an opportunity to learn from the situation. The Divine knows what you need and what you need to learn. If you are not going to learn the lesson, it may take the universe several years to orchestrate a similar experience. Trust in the Divine and know that there is a higher purpose. The perpetrator was merely the instrument and in every adverse situation, there is the possibility of healing, a gift, the promise of growth and grace. Search for the advantages, benefits, lessons or gifts in adverse situations, forgive and move on with your life. There is nobility in losing, as long as you do not lose the lesson.

“I believe that all suffering is caused by ignorance.” – The Dalai Lama

Pain and suffering in relationships, often result from wanting to use relationships for your own purposes and needs. If you want to define the relationship in a certain way or change the other person, you will encounter resistance. If you enslave a person, you will be enslaved, but if you free someone, you will be freed. The need to enchain or change a person means that you need to look within and identify your emotional wounds that are responsible for your inappropriate behaviour. The need to change a person indicates conditional acceptance. It may also indicate that you should rather not develop a close relationship with that person. Imposing your needs on another person means that you do not truly accept and love that person, because love is not conditional and prescriptive. Love provides others with a safe place to be themselves and allows them the latitude to be imperfect and to make mistakes.

Susan Minnaar

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