TRUE COURAGE IS TO DO WITHOUT WITNESSES EVERYTHING THAT ONE IS CAPABLE OF DOING BEFORE THE ENTIRE WORLD!
La Rochefoucauld
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I have had many friends that found it impossible to stop being the doctor, professor or managing director when they arrive home or came for a visit. The same “management tools” that they used at their offices they continued to use at home and in their private lives. They found it impossible to adjust roles when they arrived home or mixed with friends and family.
They expected their families to “consult” with them. They expected their family or friends to continuously “earn” their love. They never really dropped their pose. I got the feeling that they were afraid that they might not be accepted, respected and loved without their title. They become the piece of paper (certificate) that decorates their wall or the position they held in their offices. Without their title or money they felt invisible and powerless. I can still remember a person that held a virtual celebrity status in the community and how he fell apart when he lost his job and title as “Metropolitan Chief Security Officer”. He deflated like a beach ball that sprung a major leak. His “Mr. Big image disappeared overnight. He changed from a leader to a stuttering insecure follower. He lost his imposing and dominating figure and even looked smaller with his bowed shoulders. It was pathetic to see this person fade away when he lost his uniform and title.
It takes real courage to just be you on all occasions. The best doctors do not float around in a God like manner. They are usually warm, kind, empathetic and compassionate people. They are effective and highly professional and only wear masks when they operate. Don’t get me wrong. I do not say that a person that is just himself goes around with a frozen smile on his face all the time. He is also not in a good mood all the time. He is simply a “What you see is what you get.” kind of person.
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I WILL BE THE BEST ME AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT IN TIME.
I WILL NOT “ROLE PLAY” FOR ANYBODY. PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER ME AS A “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET” PERSON
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People play very complicated games with each other. Man is the most devious of all creations. They can change shape, loyalty, form and colour like chameleons. They have a mask for most occasions. Most people position themselves so they can get the best deal for themselves possible from every encounter. A fool convinces himself that friends, family and even strangers always have their best interest at heart.
Life is not a popularity contest. When you start living your life without fear of rejection or loss you gain real power. When you can be you, wherever you go you have reached full maturity. When you meet a person that can be honest without a police officer looking over his shoulder, you have met a person of integrity. When you have a worker that can give you an honest days work without constant supervision you have met a person with integrity. It is easy to say and do the right things when you are in the public eye, but to sustain deliberate and honest action when you are out of the spotlight shows real character. Just be you. If someone does not like who you are it is his or her problem. You can only live a stress free life if you love your fear of failure.
Having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing sounds easy until you think about how much conditioning has taken place in your life, and how many of your current thoughts were influenced by geography, the religious beliefs of your ancestors, the color of your skin, the shape of your eyes, the political orientation of your parents, your size, your gender, the schools that were selected for you, and the vocation of your great-grandparents, to list only some possibilities.
You showed up here as a tiny infant capable of an infinite number of potentialities. Many of your choices remain unexplored because of a hopefully well-intentioned conditioning program designed to make you fit the culture of your caretakers. You probably had next to no opportunity to disagree with the cultural and societal arrangements made for your life.
There may have been some adults who encouraged you to have an open mind, but if you’re honest with yourself, you know that your philosophy of life, your religious beliefs, your manner of dress, and your language are a function of what your tribe (and its heritage) determined was right for you. If you made any fuss about going against this preordained conditioning, you probably heard even stronger voices insisting that you get back in line and do things the way they have “always been done.” Fitting in superseded having a mind that was open to new ideas.
If your parents were Jewish, it’s unlikely that you were raised to honor and respect the Muslim religion, and vice versa. If both your parents were Republicans, it’s improbable that you heard the virtues of the Democratic Party extolled. Whatever the reasons our ancestors may have had for not having open minds, it’s true that they inhabited a much less populated world than we do. In today’s overpopulated world, we simply cannot continue to live with those old styles of closed-mindedness.
I urge you to open your mind to all possibilities, to resist any efforts to be pigeonholed, and to refuse to allow pessimism into your consciousness. Having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing seems to me to be one of the most basic principles that you can adopt to contribute to individual and world peace.
No One Knows Enough to Be a Pessimist
Find an opportunity to observe a tiny little green sprout emerging from a seed. When you do, allow yourself to feel the awe of what you’re seeing. A famous poet named Rumi observed, “Sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment.” The scene of an emerging sprout represents the beginning of life. No one on this planet has even a tiny clue as to how all of this works. What is that creative spark that causes the life to sprout? What created the observer, the consciousness, the observation, and perception itself? The questions are endless.
A short while ago, Earthlings in the space program were moving a tiny vehicle on Mars via remote control. Invisible signals took ten minutes to travel through space and arrived to make right turns and instruct a scoop to pick up some Martian real estate to examine. We all marvel at such technological feats. But think about it for a moment. In an endless universe, Mars, our closest neighbor, is the equivalent of moving a billionth of an inch across the page you’re reading! We move a little vehicle on a neighbor next door and we’re so impressed with ourselves.
There are billions and billions of planets, objects, and stars in our galaxy alone, and there are uncountable billions of galaxies out there. We are a speck in an incomprehensibly vast universe that has no end to it. Think about this: If we found the end, would there be a wall at the edge of the universe? If so, who built it? Even more perplexing, what’s on the other side of the wall, and how thick is it?
How can anyone be a pessimist in a world where we know so little? A heart starts beating inside a mother’s womb a few weeks after conception, and it’s a total mystery to everyone on our planet. In comparison to what there is to know, we are only embryos. Keep this in mind whenever you encounter those who are absolutely certain that there’s only one way to do something.
Resist being a pessimist. Resist with all your might, because we hardly know anything at all in comparison with what there is to know. Can you imagine what a pessimist who lived only 200 years ago would think about the world we live in? Airplanes, electricity, automobiles, television, remote controls, the Internet, fax machines, telephones, cellular phones, and so on. All because of that spark of open-mindedness that allowed progress, growth, and creativity to flourish.
And what of the future and all of your tomorrows? Can you picture faxing yourself back to the 14th century, flying without machines, telepathically communicating, de-molecularizing yourself and rearranging yourself on another galaxy, or cloning a sheep from a photograph of a sheep?
An open mind allows you to explore and create and grow. A closed mind seals off any such creative explanation. Remember that progress would be impossible if we always did things the way we always have. The ability to participate in miracles –true miracles in your life –happens when you open your mind to your limitless potential.
The Miracle Mind-Set
Refuse to allow yourself to have low expectations about what you’re capable of creating. As Michelangelo suggested, the greater danger is not that your hopes are too high and you fail to reach them; it’s that they’re too low and you do. Have within you an imaginary candle flame that burns brightly regardless of what goes before you. Let this inner flame represent for you the idea that you’re capable of manifesting miracles in your life.
In every single case of a person experiencing a spontaneous healing or overcoming something that was considered to be impossible, the individual went through a complete reversal of personality. They actually rewrote their own agreement with reality.
To experience Godlike spontaneous miracles, you must have a sense of yourself as Godlike. The Scriptures say, “With God all things are possible.” Now tell me, what does that leave out? A mind that’s open to everything means being peaceful, radiating love, practicing forgiveness, being generous, respecting all life, and most important, visualizing yourself as capable of doing anything that you can conceive of in your mind and heart.
Whatever universal law that has ever been utilized to manifest a miracle any where, any time, and in any person is still on the books. It has never been repealed, and it never will be. You possess the same energy, the same God-consciousness, to be a miracle worker-but only if you truly believe and know it within yourself.
Understand that what you think about expands (“As a man thinketh, so is he”). If your thoughts are filled with doubt and you have a closed mind, you will of necessity act upon those closed-mind doubts, and you’ll see evidence of your thinking virtually everywhere you are.
On the other hand, should you decide (make no mistake about this, it is a choice) to have a mind that’s open to everything, then you’ll act upon that inner energy, and you’ll be the creator as well as the recipient of miracles wherever you are. You will experience what Walt Whitman meant when he wrote, “To me, every cubic inch of space is a miracle.”
What Being Open to Everything Means
Everything means just what it says. No exceptions. When someone suggests something to you that conflicts with your conditioning, rather than responding with, “That’s ridiculous; we all know that’s impossible,” say, “I’ve never considered that before. I’ll think about it.”
Open yourself up to the spiritual ideas of all people, and listen with an open mind to crazy schemes and ideas that seem at first to be outrageous. If someone suggests that crystals can cure hemorrhoids, that natural herbs can lower cholesterol, that people will eventually be able to breathe underwater, or that levitation is possible — listen, and be curious.
Let go of your attachments to what you’ve been trained to believe. Open your mind to all possibilities, because whether you believe something is possible or impossible, either way you’ll be right. How can that be true? Your agreement with reality and all that’s possible determines what you’ll become.
If you’re convinced that you can’t become wealthy, famous, artistic, a professional athlete, a great singer, or whatever, you will act upon that inner conviction that prevents you from manifesting what you’d really like. All that you’ll get from your effort is being right. When you need to be right, you’re attached to your conditioned reflex of the way things are and always have been; and you assume they will always be.
Releasing Your Attachments
This first secret has two components: (1) a mind that is open to everything, and (2) a mind that is attached to nothing. Your attachments are the source of all your problems. The need to be right, to possess someone or something, to win at all costs, to be viewed by others as superior-these are all attachments. The open mind resists these attachments and consequently experiences inner peace and success.
To release attachments, you have to make a shift in how you view yourself. If your primary identification is with your body and your possessions, your ego is the dominant force in your life. If you can tame your ego sufficiently, you’ll call upon your spirit to be the guiding force in your life. As a spiritual being, you can observe your body and be a compassionate witness to your existence. Your spiritual aspect sees the folly of attachments because your spiritual self is an infinite soul. Nothing can make you happy or successful. These are inner constructs that you bring to your world, rather than what you receive from it.
If you think peaceful thoughts, you’ll feel peaceful emotions, and that’s what you’ll bring to every life situation. If you’re attached to being right or absolutely need something in order to be at peace or to be successful, you’ll live a life of striving yet never arriving.
It’s possible to have a burning desire yet not have attachments. You can have an inner vision of what you intend to manifest and still detach yourself from the outcome. How? Consider this observation in A Course in Miracles: “Infinite patience produces immediate results.” It sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? Infinite patience implies an absolute certainty that what you’d like to manifest will indeed show up, in perfect order, and exactly on time. The immediate result you receive from this inner knowing is a sense of peace. When you detach from the outcome, you’re at peace, and you’ll ultimately see the fruits of your convictions.
Suppose you had a choice between two magic wands. With Wand A, you can have any physical thing you desire by simply waving it. With Wand B, you can have a sense of peace for the rest of your life regardless of what circumstances arise. Which would you pick?
A guarantee of stuff, or inner peace for the remainder of your life? If you opt for peace, then you already have Wand B. Simply have a mind that is open to everything but attached to nothing. Let it all come and go as it will. Enjoy it all, but never make your happiness or success dependent on an attachment to any thing, any place, and particularly, any person.
In all of your relationships, if you can love someone enough to allow them to be exactly what they choose to be — without any expectations or attachments from you — you’ll know true peace in your lifetime. True love means you love a person for what they are, not for what you think they should be. This is an open mind — and an absence of attachment.
TRUE COURAGE IS TO DO WITHOUT WITNESSES EVERYTHING THAT ONE IS CAPABLE OF DOING BEFORE THE ENTIRE WORLD!
La Rochefoucauld
I have had many friends that found it impossible to stop being the doctor, professor or managing director when they arrive home or came for a visit. The same “management tools” that they used at their offices they continued to use at home and in their private lives. They found it impossible to adjust roles when they arrived home or mixed with friends and family.
They expected their families to “consult” with them. They expected their family or friends to continuously “earn” their love. They never really dropped their pose. I got the feeling that they were afraid that they might not be accepted, respected and loved without their title. They become the piece of paper (certificate) that decorates their wall or the position they held in their offices. Without their title or money they felt invisible and powerless. I can still remember a person that held a virtual celebrity status in the community and how he fell apart when he lost his job and title as “Metropolitan Chief Security Officer”. He deflated like a beach ball that sprung a major leak. His “Mr. Big image disappeared overnight. He changed from a leader to a stuttering insecure follower. He lost his imposing and dominating figure and even looked smaller with his bowed shoulders. It was pathetic to see this person fade away when he lost his uniform and title.
It takes real courage to just be you on all occasions. The best doctors do not float around in a God like manner. They are usually warm, kind, empathetic and compassionate people. They are effective and highly professional and only wear masks when they operate. Don’t get me wrong. I do not say that a person that is just himself goes around with a frozen smile on his face all the time. He is also not in a good mood all the time. He is simply a “What you see is what you get.” kind of person.
I WILL BE THE BEST ME AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT IN TIME.
I WILL NOT “ROLE PLAY” FOR ANYBODY. PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER ME AS A “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET” PERSON
People play very complicated games with each other. Man is the most devious of all creations. They can change shape, loyalty, form and colour like chameleons. They have a mask for most occasions. Most people position themselves so they can get the best deal for themselves possible from every encounter. A fool convinces himself that friends, family and even strangers have their best interest at heart.
Life is not a popularity contest. When you start living your life without fear of rejection or loss you gain real power. When you can be you, wherever you go you have reached full maturity. When you meet a person that can be honest without a police officer looking over his shoulder, you have met a person of integrity. When you have a worker that can give you an honest days work without constant supervision you have met a person with integrity. It is easy to say and do the right things when you are in the public eye, but to sustain deliberate and honest action when you are out of the spotlight shows real character. Just be you. If someone does not like who you are it is his or her problem. You can only live a stress free life if you love your fear of failure.
Stonehenge, great pyramid of Giza, Pyramid of the Sun, Easter Island Heads, Central America Pyramids: what do all of these have in common? They’re just a few of the mysterious megalithic structures that baffle us all.
A megalith is a structure made out of giant rock. It could be a monument, statue, or some strange pattern consisting of giant rocks.
These structures aren’t just found in one area of the world. In fact, they are found all across the globe. Every culture has an architectural oddity in the form of giant rocks, often weighing around 1,000 tons each.
Stonehenge. This megalithic structure is found in the Salisbury plains of England. These giant stones, which weigh at around 40 tons each, are believed to have came from quarries far away.
Egyptian’s great pyramid of Giza. This great pyramid truly lives up to its name. It contains over two million stones weighing an average of 2.5 stones each.
Easter Island statues. This Polynesian Island is one of the most isolated places on Earth. How, then, were the giant statues gathered and taken there? Each giant stone has a rather strange face carved on it. We know that the statues have been there for at least three centuries, due to reports from early 18th century Europeans who came across the Island.
The Trilithon in Baalbek, Lebanon. This structure consists of three very large stone blocks, weighing in around 800 – 1000 tons each! These three giant rocks are known to be the largest “building” blocks ever used by human kind!
Carnac stones. This megalithic collection, located in the village of Carnac in Brittany, France, consists of a large number of stones. An estimated 3,000 or so stones stands at this site—all in a perfect straight line. No one is certain as to when they were built, although it’s believed they’ve been standing there since at least 3,300 BC! They appear to have been built during the Neolithic period. According to legend, though, Merlin the Magician turned a Roman legion into those stones.
There are many more megalithic structures found around the world. We may never know how they were built, or who built them. Some believe that they were built by aliens. Others believe that the ancients had more advanced technology than we realize. Could it have been the Atlanteans, or some other long lost civilization, who had the knowledge and technology to build such structures? Some would like to think so. In reality though, the explanation is probably much more simple—our ancestors were probably more intelligent and capable than we give them credit for.
Everyday you make a thousand choices. You choose what to wear, where to go, who to meet, what to eat and what to do. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU decide WHAT TO THINK. One thing is sure and that is that your day will not be better than your thoughts. ...................
Just close your eyes for a moment and see if you can visualise this open toolbox and if you can see the hundreds of tools that are neatly placed in this toolbox. Now look if you can see the maker’s name on these tools. The creator of these tools (thoughts and perceptions) is you. You created thousands of thoughts and perceptions (tools) about everything since your childhood. ..................
When confronted with any situation or problem you reach into this toolbox and take out what you think the most appropriate tool would be and then attempt to fix the problem. It is estimated that your mind thinks at least 2,500 thoughts an hour. Every thought that you think is a tool (perception) that you have that you imagine would work best under specific circumstances. This thought process continues day and night and will do so for the rest of your life. .....................................
I am convinced that we think ourselves to a standstill. We never stop playing with these tools in our toolbox and can hardly ever really relax for a while. If we are not faced with a problem or task that needs completion we still continue to take out these tools and mentally rehears and contemplate how we will use them should something that we fear become a reality. ............................
We are forever thinking and scheming and never become still and tranquil inside. Our bodies might seem relaxed, but deep inside our heads this thought process continues churning around. What I am most worried about is that most of the tools that you have in your toolbox are very old and outdated. .......................
Many of the opportunities, problems and obstructions that you face daily cannot be repaired while you are using old and outdated tools. If you take a modern mechanic’s toolbox and you place the toolbox of a mechanic of fifty years ago next to it you will find that there are major discrepancies. When you are confronted with something that needs repair and you do not have the right tool for the task at hand it can be very frustrating. We usually improvise and try using some other tools and hope that it will also get the job done. ........................
When you are faced with a problem you need to select the right tool for the task at hand. If you do not have the tool in your toolbox it can complicate your life. What most people seem to ignore is that it is sometimes better not to reach for your toolbox when faced with a problem. Sometimes you need time to pass or need to leave the problem with its rightful owner. How well you use your tools is usually reflected in the world you see around you. What would you do if you were faced with any or all of the following? .........................
You get a flat tire on your way to an important customer or meeting. You can fall apart, develop a migraine and think that life is against you or you can take out the right tools (patience and reality) and take care of the problem in a relaxed manner. ........................
You have been working on the computer for hours and suddenly lose all your work. You can drop dead with a heart attack; think that God hates you or you can take out the right tool (sanity and reality) and begin over and this time remember to make a backup of your work. ....................
A lover or wife possibly cheated on you. You can go crazy and get an assassin to take out the potential threat to your relationship, think that you are a failure or you can take out the right tool (no fear of loss) and get on with your life. .......................
When you have the right tools in your toolbox it makes life a lot easier. The choices we make are vital in our lives. The more quality choices we make during any given day the higher the probability of success and peace of mind. ................
I suggest that you equip your toolbox with the best tools you can lay your hands on. It is important to upgrade if you discover that one of your tools are outdated or that a more modern version is available. How would you react if your TV packed up and a technician that obviously knows very little about electronics arrived at your house with only a sledgehammer and a few other primitive tools in his toolbox? I am sure that you will send him away and find someone better qualified and equipped for the task. .....................
You might sometimes be like this incompetent and poorly equipped technician indicated above if you do not often update your tools (thoughts) in your toolbox. You can also have all the right tools in your toolbox and never use them because you are afraid that you might make a mistake. ..................
You must remember that happiness and success is always just one thought (tool) away. You should remember when you find it difficult to cope with something that one new tool (thought) could change your life. One fresh thought and one new idea can change your life from pain and suffering to success and peace of mind. ........................
You are today what you were programmed with yesterday. The choices that you make on a moment-to-moment basis decide your fate and future. You can never feel or perform better than the ongoing thoughts and feelings that you allow to occupy your mind! .......................
The mistake we make is that most of us live our lives on a reactive basis. We start and complete our day in a reactive state of being. Something comes to our attention via our five senses or via a thought in our mind. We automatically slip into the “role” that we created for ourselves many moons ago. We act, react and experience the same feelings and emotions that we embedded with our scrip at its inception. We do exactly the same when new stimuli push the previous “drama” off the stage in our minds. We sustain this reactive mode of thinking until we finally go to bed at night. Most of our days are made up of a tapestry of “roles” that we played in our own colorful way. It is important to understand that nothing is going to change until we do something different. We cannot repeat the same old recipes and expect a different outcome. ....................
You can use the “Portable Life Skills Wisdom” book to develop a range of appropriate scripts that you can use when you are faced with a problem or project that need your attention. You will if you apply the scripts in this book find that you no longer run your life on a reactive basis. The new scripts will help you to live your life in the moment. You will become more realistic. You will treat each event on its own merit. How do you do this? ......................
The Process ....................
Read the first message in your book. Write it down if at all possible. It will assist you to absorb the data provided. Now sit back and close your eyes and visualize how you will apply the specific message in the various areas of your life. See yourself on the screen of your mind using the message in all your day-to-day activities. It is important to attempt to feel and experience the benefits that this new mode of thinking will bring into your life. Do this for ten minutes. Then open your eyes and begin to apply the wisdom on all occasions where appropriate in your activities on that given day. ...........................
Proceed to do the same with second message etc. in your book tomorrow. You will upload almost a thousand powerful recipes if you sustain the process indicated above. You can in less than three years upload a powerful “tool” system that will serve you for the rest of your life. This can be a life changing experience if you apply it daily. You will discover that the ten minutes you invest daily will upload countless new strategies into your subconscious computer. Build a successful and happy life. The key however is action. You can have the best tools available to man and still fail if you don’t use them daily. Wishing you the very best with this endeavor. .............................
Daily Support System (This Blog) ................
You not only have the massive key ideas in the book that you can use when appropriate you also receive daily posts on a wide range of subjects that will expand this system to a level never offered before. Visit this blog daily for fresh new ideas with a sprinkle of historical wisdom that stood the test of time. ..........................
Rene