Support the War, pay your taxes. If you pay taxes you support war, terrorism, torture and murder. Only the gullible believe that a society based on violence or the threat of violence is necessary.
Emotional Predisposition
Believing happens when people hear some ‘information’ about something that they have an emotional predisposition toward. For instance, if a person has been shunned by Christians and they carry that emotional hurt with them then if there were to hear some ‘information’ challenges the validity of the Christian message they would have that emotional predisposition to want to believe that ‘information’. On the other hand, if a person has been raised to believe that they were sinner and that all sin will eventually get punished then when they hear the story that Jesus died on the cross for our sins they will have the emotional predisposition toward believing that it is true. Both of these examples are of people who are lying to themselves based on their emotional predisposition.
The wise and mature person will recognize that ALL beliefs are a product of emotional predisposition and result in self deception. So they accept the truth that, for instance, they do not know whether or not Jesus ever existed and that they can NEVER really know that.
Emotional healing is the process of recognizing that our emotions are a product of our lack of clarity or honest TO OURSELVES and practicing radical honesty without ourselves which keeps us in the present moment, the here and now. The practice ‘heals’ the habitual emotional reaction that causes us so much pain and suffering. We then begin to relax and stop injuring ourselves with our emotional reactions to the thoughts in our head. RELAXING around our thoughts is the key to healing ourselves emotionally and allowing the truth to do it perfect task.
Failure to Communicate
I see that the root cause of most of humanities problems is a failure to communicate. We do not talk enough with one another, particularly about deep and/or personal things. The problem is not that we do not share our financial wealth; it is that we do not share HOW we got our financial wealth.
By developing and teaching good communication skills, the courage to be honest and most importantly the courageous compassion that it takes to truly listen to one another we can overcome this deficiency. When we recognize that we will not have the courage to be honest unless we have the courage to listen to feedback means that we first develop the skill of NOT beating ourselves up emotionally with our reactions to what people say to us or about us. It is hell to be afraid of ourselves and our reactions to what people say to us.
The Root Cause of Terrorism
The root cause of terrorism is in the very first line of the bible, which comes out of a primitive, unhealthy mind.It says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”This is a silly construct that comes out of an immature, primitive mind that could not see that there was no beginning and there is no end.But their minds could not handle infinity and eternity so that created the illusion of beginning and end.With beginning then there had to be some ‘first cause’ or creator out there that created this world.If there is a creator then that creator must have had some reason to create the world.Then people can claim that they know the reason for this creation and they can create some laws based on that reason.With the “divine law” they can justify their mean spirited laws saying that if you do not do what “god” wants then we have a right to be mean to you.With ‘laws’ like the Torah, the Koran and the Bible, if you do not obey them then it is ok for us to terrorize you, to torture you and to murder you, for the is the law of the creator.
Therefore you can see that the root cause of terrorism is the primitive, barbaric and sick ideas of beginning and creator.
My Fear of Commitment?
I have a Fear of Commitment. No doubt about that, I cannot follow through on just about anything. I have ideas galore but I do not follow though on any of them. Many a time I have what I thought was a good idea, even a great idea, but I have learned to sit with these ideas and watch them gestate to see what happens with them. To date not a one has really survived long enough to even be born, let alone grow to maturity. A couple of years ago I had the idea to write my story, and I did spend the whole summer working on that, but I do no have any desire to edit it and get it published. So I just published the unedited version on my website and let it go at that.
I could say this is a failure to focus my mind, to block out the distractions. Even writing this blog post could be considered a distraction. But then again creating a blog was one of my good ideas. I wanted to share my insight with others, or at least make it available to the world should anybody actually care what my insights are.
This, of course, makes me no different than a million other bloggers or people wanting to share or even vent.
So I am wondering, is it fear of commitment or is it a lack of ability to focus or what? Maybe I am just lazy. Maybe I am not motivated to continue with any of my ideas because I really do not hurt enough or care enough to get me off my lazy and cowardly butt.
I do feel I have a deep commitment in concept but not in form. I am committed to waking people up but I do not have a form I like for that process. I love to confront people. I have to admit that I really do enjoy pissing people off, upsetting them, upsetting their slumber, waking them up. But how to do this consistently is the problem I have.
My latest idea is to walk around town with a video camera and engage people while filming the confrontation. That, I think, might make for interesting video.
I am sure that some people who read that last paragraph would be appalled at the thought of what I proposed of doing, but those are the ones I would say are asleep. Those who are awake would love it.
Anyway, again, I have to watch and see if this idea really manifests or will I just chicken out or get distracted and nothing will come of it. Is it fear or laziness? I do not know.
Overcoming Fear
What motivates us? Is it a negative motivator like fear, pain, discomfort, doubt, or guilt? Or, is it a positive motivator like playfulness, joy, love, pleasure, or fun? If you are negatively motivated then you end up justifying and reinforcing negativity in your life. If you follow the positive motivators then you will manifest more positive things in your life.
Intelligence is the ability to FEEL the origins of our thoughts, desires and motivations. When we are conscious of our motivations we can be free of fear.
What is Fear
If one watches themselves when they are fearful, particularly under extreme fear, for instance if somebody were to attack you, you would contract down to protect yourself (your limited self the body in this case.) It is the reaction of contraction, the tensing the nerves and the muscles, to the thought or belief of impending injury that is want we call fear. In fear we contracted our consciousness down to identifying with the human instrument, particularly the body.
So fear has two elements, the thought or belief and the reaction of contraction. To overcome fear (and develop love) we must work with both our thoughts and beliefs and our reactions or behaviors.
Let me give you an example of difference of perceptions or beliefs that change the quality of the experience. If you were told that the roller coaster you were about to take a ride on was going to break and that you will probably be hurt or killed, then the ride would be one of anxiety and fear and not something you would enjoy. If you believed the roller coaster to be safe then it may still be exciting but without the experience of anxiety or real fear. The fear would still be there but only at a body level (with what we call excitement) and not at a deeper or heart level. Ninety-nine percent of our fears are only imaginary and a product of our assumptions or beliefs.
Therefore, you can see how truth liberates us from our fears. By freeing ourselves from the ninety-nine percent of our fears we are being loving to ourselves and improving the quality of our lives. The fears just limit the quality of the life experience.
Fear is defined as a painful agitation of the mind caused by a perception of impending danger or evil; a state of alarm. Fear is a perception of danger causing a painful reaction in the mind.
Fear is generally a negative experience. If one where to watch carefully they would observe that there is a thought that enters the mind, an electromagnetic impulse traveling through the brain. Then the mind’s conditioning causes a reaction of tensing the nerves and muscles. There can not be pain (or negativity) with out tension or resistance. The tension or resistance is experienced as negative or painful.
Fear is the reaction of the mind to sensation or the phenomenon known as thoughts. Thoughts are only electromagnetic impulses traveling through the brain that are either internally stimulated or are stimulated by the senses. When we resist an impulse or thought we experience negativity. When we experience negativity associated with a particular thought patter we call that fear. if we do not resist the thought we do not experience negativity and hence no fear.
A habitual fear is a fear that is being experienced although there is no present physical danger. A dynamic fear is when is present with an apparent danger.
Fear and negativity comes from making something important, giving all your attention to it, and narrowing your awareness. Who is it that experiences negativity when there is fear: the one who is afraid or the one who is feared?
Fear is a product of the future; it cannot exist in the mind that is present. You must be thing of the future to experience fear. Fear’s misery comes when you are torn between the experience of the present and the imagination of the future.
Whatever you want the most you fear the most and therefore you say no to it. So whatever you find yourself saying no to is really what you want the most.
Fear of Fear
Fear is something we do not like to look at, particularly our own fears. If there is something we do not like or something that displeases us or we disagree with then we look away from it and avoid it for in our hearts we fear it. If we fear something it is because it causes pain or discomfort. It takes a lot of courage and self love to look at the things we fear, to work at it until we can appreciate, enjoy and love that thing. Loving something releases the fear of that something.
That which you love the most you fear the most.
Fear is our conditioned response of tension to a thought that enters the mind. We can overcome any fear with just practice of relaxing in the presents of the thought that creates the fearful reaction. See Stopping the Spin
Judge Me, Please!
I want to improve myself and my ability to help people be healthier and happier. Your comments and criticism are appreciated, either here or at YouTube.
I want to hear people’s criticism and judgments.I recognize that they cannot hurt me, only MY REACTIONS to words and thoughts can cause me harm.I have overcome my unhealthy habit of reacting to words and thoughts so now I am open to what others have to share with me.AND, I can show others how to get free from their habitual reactions to words and thoughts.
If you like the ideas I have presented here then please share them with others.
Educating the Heart
The author is
This article was NOT WRITTEN by the Dali Lama, but ABOUT him and his talks. I find that in this type of situation the writer sometimes does not convey the true mean or intent of the speaker. Nor do many writers understand the words used and their INTENT, which is important.)
Here are some quotes from the article that I like and then my comments:
He doesn’t deny the reality of our differences or the inevitability of conflict. What’s important is how we choose to react. (referring to the Dali Lama)
A lot of the Dali Lama article seems to be focused on how people relate to others. There is little to no discussion on how we relate to OURSELVES.Are we being compassionate with OURSELVES? Or are we beating ourselves us with our emotional reactions to what life is offering us?If we do not FIRST have compassion for ourselves then we will not be in any shape to care about and have compassion for others.
“And your empathy can be extended further, eventually towards your enemy. Your enemies may disagree with you, may be harming you, but in another aspect, they are still another human being like you. They also have the right not to suffer and to find happiness. If your empathy can extend out like that, it is unbiased, genuine compassion.”
THIS I fully agree with.
Interestingly, the next paragraph the writer (not the Dali Lama) talks about “the three poisons of passion, aggression, and ignorance.”This shows the ignorance of the writer in that he included passion as a poison.Without passion there can be no com-passion.
“This touches on the very definition of what we mean by compassion,” the Dalai Lama replied. “At the heart of compassion is our response to someone else’s suffering. The first point is their immediate suffering, and at another level is the causes or conditions of the suffering. Maybe it is wiser to develop compassion toward people who are creating the causes of their future suffering. That’s wiser, because compassion can bring preventive measures. Immediate suffering has already happened—we feel a sense of concern, but sometimes nothing can be done. Maybe our efforts should be to prevent these kinds of things in the future.”
This is what I talk about the most, Preventative Compassion, a compassion that confronts the CAUSES of injury BEFORE they happen.Sometimes bringing about crisis is the most compassionate way to wake people up to their habits that are causing the suffering.Confrontation is just bring forth the truth of what is happening so confrontation is a healthy way to wake people up to their unhealthy habits.
“The basis of compassion for others is compassion for oneself,” he said. “If you don’t have the natural wish to be freed from your own suffering, you won’t be able to empathize with others’ experience of suffering. Therefore, the basis is compassion for oneself.”
YES, absolutely.My point exactly.
I wrote about Dynamic Compassion yesterday in my blog.You can read it below and may see some differences between my perspective, which I would call a more holistic perspective, and the Buddhist’s perspective.
Dynamic Compassion
Dynamic Compassion is a compassion that goes beyond just respect, service and care. Compassion is the willingness to suffer with others. Dynamic compassion is the underlying cause of change or growth that comes from that willingness to suffer with others.
Dynamic compassion is a willingness to engage the world or a situation that is unhealthy, possibly making that situation temporarily more dynamic (dis-eased) so as to bring about a change towards a healthier situation.
I remember a situation from my childhood where my mother demonstrated Dynamic Compassion with my older sister that probably saved her life and gave me a great example of love, which was a deep and profound experience in my life. I was about five or six at the time and all three of us, my older sister, myself and my younger sister, had the measles. My younger sister and I got over the measles in the normal amount of time but my older sister did not. My mother was worried about this because she had heard that measles, if they last too long, can do permanent damage or even kill. So my mother called the doctor who told her to induce the spots on the skin to eruption. To do this he said she should draw a hot bath that was just less than scalding and put my sister in it. He said this would be very uncomfortable for my sister but that my mother would have to hold her in the water until the spots erupted. can still remember how my sister screamed and cursed my mother for doing this. My mother had tears in her eyes but also knew that if she did not do this then my sister could die. My sister, still a child, could not understand this.
The spots erupted and my sister got better. But I can see that my sister always seem to hold that experience against my mother and still does not have much of a relationship with her.
But, I can see that this act was an example of Dynamic Compassion, loving when those you are serving cannot understand how you are loving them. This is unconditional love for it was not conditional upon a return of appreciation or love.
Dynamic Compassion is much more than Ahimsa, the Buddhist and Hindu doctrine expressing belief in the sacredness of all living creatures and urging the avoidance of harm and violence. Dynamic Compassion goes beyond the equanimity of non-aggression and injury of others to the active involvement in the lives of others. Ahimsa implies an avoidance of involvement in another’s life while Dynamic Compassion implies confronting and embracing involvement in another’s life. Ahimsa is a good start but it does not go far enough. In the spectrum of consciousness Ahimsa only goes half way to equanimity while Dynamic Compassion pushes us toward the extreme positive of love.
Dynamic Compassion means confronting the ills of our society. Non injury is non involvement while confronting is engaging the causes of injury BEFORE they happen or at the root of their source. Compassion by itself may mean being a “Mother Theresa” type person who comforts the wounds of those who have been injured. Dynamic Compassion means confronting the cause of injury so as to protect against future injuries.
Often those who are being harmed are also the ones doing the harm. Many injuries people experience are self-inflicted yet they blame others for their own behavior. For instance, “verbal or emotional abuse” is harm that we have learned to cause ourselves. Dynamic Compassion confronts the source of the injury by confronting the person who is abusing themselves emotionally.
Dynamic Compassion would also motivate one to confront the BELIEF that words are the source of our suffering. For it is this belief that keeps people trapped in the cycle of abuse and violence. Confronting deeply held beliefs in society is not popular but it is loving and deeply compassionate.
Fear of Self
Today I am struck by how people are so afraid of themselves. Everywhere I go I see people afraid. At first they seem afraid of me if they know anything about me, and sometimes even if they do not know anything about me.
I see this as a “problem” within society but here in lies the rub; maybe this ‘problem’ is only in MY mind. When I speak about this ‘problem’ with other people they only run from the discussion, so I speak about it more saying that people’s running from discussions is a symptom of the ‘problem’. The more I speak about it the more people seem to be afraid of me.
On the other hand, I recognize that I have had this same ‘problem’ myself and I found a solution to that problem: meditation or practicing relaxing around words, thoughts and ideas. I have found that what I make important I create tension around, so to relax I let go of making anything important. In order to share my insights with people I have to make them important, which creates tension or fear.
This is all a vicious cycle or a Catch-22 type situation.
I suppose that I just have to play with the dilemma; talk about it and then let it go.