Posts Tagged ‘courage’

Order through Chaos

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest; A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. To free ourselves from this prison, to embrace all mankind indiscriminately and the whole of nature in its beauty is a task all too necessary yet all too difficult to achieve. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. However, the foundations of our separatist institutions had deliberately displaced even the thought of such achievement from independent consideration long ago; generations of social conditioning have distorted our understandings of humanity and lead us to devalue it, thus we devalue ourselves. Time is accepted as a linear process pressured with social deadlines and an irreversible biological clock that we’re labored to work around; we’re kept so busy that we’ve come to accept that there’s no other time to learn our ways as any other. Prejudice continuously emerges in all its manifestations as history repeats itself in more sophisticated manners because of that defeatist belief. There is something very profitable and empowering about the mindset of ignorance which only those who observe and manage society from outside the box can truly benefit from when they’ve learned how to invest in it; when the value of a human being is measured in financial worth. The inner conflict’s humanity suffers is nothing short of a tragedy but it’s nothing that we can blame ourselves for. Through the eyes of the powerful, there is no order without chaos.

There is discrimination in the world and slavery and slaughter and starvation. Governments repress their people; millions are trapped in poverty while the nation grows rich and wealth is lavished on armaments everywhere. These are differing evils, but they are the common works of man. They reflect the imperfection of human justice, the inadequacy of human compassion, our lack of sensibility towards the suffering of our fellows. But we can perhaps remember –even if only for a time—that those who live with us are our brothers; that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek –as we do—nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men. And surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become, in our own hearts, brothers and countrymen again. Of course, initiation of this course objective riddled with idealism doesn’t come without question or ease.

The answer is to rely on youth –not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to the obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. They cannot be moved by those who cling to a present that is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger that come with even the most peaceful progress. It is a revolutionary world we live in, and this generation at home and around the world has had thrust upon it a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived. Some believe that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills. Yet many of the world’s great movements of thought and action have flowed from the work of a single man or woman. They were unique in their individualism as they had found a way to operate their agendas while the powerful pulled their strings from behind the curtains. And as their sense of self had come into focus with the public array, they let it be known that their breakaway was the result of heightened awareness and not luck; a capability not limited to singled-out demographics.

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. For it is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues; the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world and its societies which yield most painfully to change.

Society is a cruel dictating entity which carries a simple-mindedness reflecting the people within it. Among the essential unspoken “ten commandments” embedded in our subconscious are publicized rules and norms; a sort of life orientation. We all have our roles in society and we are expected to follow through with the tagged responsibilities. Early on in life we are taught to love our neighbor yet destroy the competition; a lesson symbolizing the roots of our conflicting “pick a side or shut up” ways of thinking. Success, failure, manhood, womanhood, maturity, immaturity, beauty, ugliness, strength, weakness, rich, poor, smart, unintelligent, young, old, good, bad; these are the major critiques which under judgment measure a man or woman, determining their level of acceptance in a community. Constantly pressured by demand, we are also stressed with social deadlines and biological clocks, leaving our lives narrowed down to a linear timeline that barely gives us time to think or make thoughtful judgment, so our institutions think for us.

The ironic nature of these institutions can’t be recognized by first impression and particularly so, the average person wasn’t meant to understand it beyond what’s masked on the surface. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroys information, and religion destroys spirituality; not to say that those passionate about these fields of study share the intention. I acknowledge the sensitivity that comes with such a claim that may be perceived as radical, but this is what I’ve come to understand. I don’t know the meaning of life, but I do know that it wasn’t meant to be dictated by the investments of special interest groups.

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power I our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested largely by men we have never heard of.. we are dominated by a relatively small number of persons.. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind and who harness social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world. With that said, it’s considerably easier to understand why most people decide to follow the “in-crowd” and why so many when looking at the consequences of transgression and how complex peer-pressure is distributed so sophisticatedly by those above and beyond the “need-to-know” basis.

The norms of our society were not designed for equal opportunity, and nor do many of us start from scratch. It’s easy to find a person who has had their head start in life, but not so easy is it to find one whom would not impose their inheritance or whom understands the struggles of those on the lower end of whatever social hierarchies. For the fortunate among us, there is the temptation to follow the easy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial success so grandly spread before those who enjoy the privilege of education and wealth. But that is not the road history has marked out for us. Like it or not, we live in times of uncertainty. But they are also more open to the creative energy of man than any other time in history. The infrastructure of social conditioning that had persuaded our society for so long is at its most vulnerable thanks to advancing technology and the suggested opportunity should not be taken for granted. All of us will ultimately be judged, and as the years pass we will surely judge ourselves on the effort we have contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which our ideals and goals have shaped that event. Modern society yearns for change, but time and time again we habitually place our faith and that burden on the wrong people; time and time again blinded by the illusion of change, unaware of history on its course to repeat itself once more. The old ignorant mindset milked of its profit and power to the last drop, a new one is born and the cycle continues with those who had not yet broken free. The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.

The strength in our ability to make change comes with the sense of awareness, and the measure which our society is in need of is by no means easy to reach but by no means is it impossible. The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of new ideas and bold projects. Rather it will belong to those who can blend vision, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the ideals and great enterprises of a free-will society. Our future may seemingly lie beyond this vision, but it is not completely out of our control. It is the shaping impulse of the human spirit that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle that will determine our futures. Mankind can be as big as it wants; no problem of human destiny is beyond the divinity of human beings; Power through knowledge, composure through wisdom, understanding through awareness, focus through spirit, compassion through soul, and aspiration through heart.

Man is the rational animal, so to speak. He alone can say “I”- and can contemplate his own existence and behavior and actively seek to affect the world around him or her. This is called independence; the opposite of which is collectivism. But this unique capacity is threatening to the Establishment who do not wish man to become aware of the various forms of manipulation which contravene his independent thought and action. The most strongly enforced of all taboos is the taboo against knowing who and what you really are behind the mask of your apparently separate and isolated ego. Many will be convinced that we will never find the answers to burning questions regarding the meaning of life, nature of the soul, or the arguable existence of a divine higher intelligence- otherwise nicknamed “God”. Many will also enclose themselves within their safety bubbles in spite of fear, denying themselves the profoundness of experiences which simply cannot be offered by an orthodox lifestyle. Society tries to convince us that life as simple as a drawn out plan; that you are to graduate college by this age, that you are to marry and start a family by that age, that you are still young and just starting life because you are however old, that you must make this much money to be considered successful, that you are not beautiful because you are not perfect, so on and so forth.. But if you were to follow the paths constructed and influenced by society’s shallowness, so would you be submitting your will. And because they have self-prophesized their failure, they will never make the attempt to journey outside of the social pattern they were scripted to improvise.

There are testing moments in life that make or break a person which are irrelevant to our biological clocks or sociological deadlines; they are moments usually lived through unexpectedly, unpredictably, and uniquely. They are what I believe trigger our mental growth and build our individuality from the ground up. Whatever trials and tribulations we all may go through in life, the most difficult test which it seems to all dwindle down to is the challenge of overcoming death, for harmony doesn’t come without balance. When life is treated and valued in the deepest sense, not just as a captivation of experience, but as an exploration of truth, a test of awareness, a challenge of logic, an innovation of human potential, the maturity of intuition and most importantly an opportunity of knowledge humbled by wisdom, then consciousness can eventually be understood as an entity grander than the reality we perceive before us. Energy, unlike matter, cannot be destroyed. Awakening to such a realization makes it absolutely capable for us to overlook, if not overcome, our fears of death. If triumphant over the irrational subconscious within, it’s then that we are truly opened to the opportunity to know what it is to be alive in all its potential; to be purely free and independent, to be human.

~ Author Unknown

Return to your True Self, return to Innocence

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010


For a better entertainment: I suggest you click the play button at the above video and start reading, the music of the video is important :)

Don’t underestimate the simplicity of life!

People make things unbearably complicated.
In the ‘making things complicated’ they already manifest their mental illness, their deviation from the Natural principle – which is Simplicity.

We are born Strong, we are born Love, we are born Responsible to our real Self! All child are being born with these characteristics.

We just regrettably pay the price of Freedom.
Because freedom does mean, you are free to choose to be slave and to make slaves from others.
Yes, this is the real price of the real freedom. If you would be born in Greece, in Athens or Sparta, long time ago, they would keep you strong, responsible and brave for the whole lifetime. You would have no other choice, hence no freedom.

Realize your freedom, realize you choose to be weak, to be ill, to follow other’s commands instead of your own. To follow the material possessions instead of finding enormous joy in the non-attachment. All was done upon you, but you have all accepted, nobody hold a shotgun on your head, forcing you to accept all the rules of the dementic society.

Now, when you realize this, the next step is to return to the Source. Realize the intrinsic simplicity of the whole Universe.

If you are born strong, you can become strong again. The steps are very simple and this is the problem for many people. They can’t belief something so simple can be true. We have been learned to belief in complicated theories – left brain thinking.
Delete this self-destroying program from your mind, hack inside and erase it completely and start observing the simple laws of Nature everywhere.

Ok, enough of my philosophical (yin) introduction, now you’ll get the practical (yang) part – the Rules of the Battlefield.

Do all these things daily/weekly. Get them in harmony, balance them wisely. Which means – don’t stop doing any of the rules and also don’t start doing any rule too fanatically, too much. The exact balancing is upon you, upon your experiences, observations. We are all different. Find your way by constant practice.

  • Healthy eating – Eat wisely, study macrobiotic, chew very well.
  • Physical activity – something that you enjoy, that gets you breathing fully, also some muscular exercises. Make your choice, there are many – walking, running, tai-chi, yoga, do-in, five tibetan, aikido, squash, bike, swimming.. whatever.
  • Fresh air – go for a walk, preferably to the Nature. Ventilate your rooms with fresh air as much as possible. Install more plants in your rooms, if you haven’t already.
  • Do some kind of mind catharsis – some form of meditation. Clean your mind from all the mental rubbish accumulated from the day. Just observe all thoughts, without judging, let them go, don’t entangle with them. Don’t try to stop them, this is not the point.
  • Sleep well – get enough rest, not too much, but not too little.
  • That’s it, that’s all. Very probably I will update and change this list in the future. But the point is, to inspire you to start looking at life from the simple logic. To start being responsible for all that’s happening to you – to the deepest of your emotions and feelings. Your weakness, your fears, your depressions, melancholy, anxiety, aggressiveness – they are all very logical result of the life you live now. You have to experience them, because you live how you live, you do what you do. But by changing your daily habits, you change these core emotions and all your beliefs also!

    This is a big Truth, that is available for you to discover daily. Try to be balanced in all the daily activities and you will get happy mind and life. Because the balance is another name for happiness and health.


    You can feel the Truth from these images. Don’t run away from it, it’s not a storytale, it’s not a Dream. It is reality inside you. The life you live is just a bad Dream, you mixed it up!


    Lesson of Non-compliance 1

    Sunday, February 14th, 2010

    I would like to present you the Lesson 1 of the Non-compliance lectures!
    Watch the video, watch it very closely, focus, watch it more times if you need.
    Watch the sheep, the movements, the perfect stance, the determination, the courage, the vitality, inner braveness, strong muscles, sharp focused eyes :D

    Yeah, the dog seems like enjoying it. Nevermind, this is the first lesson. Sheep is not perfect, but she is practicing, learning. It will get better, just keep practicing.

    Hehehe :D :D :D

    The Philosophy of Liberty Guiding Principles

    Saturday, February 13th, 2010

    Beautiful, simple explanation of liberty principles in this flash video, click the picture.

    liberty principles philosophy

    Problems that arise from the initiation of force by government have a solution. The solution is for people of the world to stop asking officials to initiate force on their behalf. Evil does not arise only from evil people, but also from good people who tolerate the initiation of force as a means to their own ends. In this manner, good people have empowered evil throughout history.

    Having confidence in a free society is to focus on the process of discovery in the marketplace of values rather than to focus on some imposed vision or goal. Using governmental force to impose a vision on others is intellectual sloth and typically results in unintended, perverse consequences.

    Achieving a free society requires courage to think, to talk, and to act – especially when it is easier to do nothing.

    Karma yoga – how to survive Kali Yuga

    Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

    ganesh

    Babaji speaks:

    What I want to instill in man is courage. I want to have a creation of courageous people. Only courageous people can come here. Only courageous people can survive such critical times. I have spoken to you many times about the extent of the calamities to come. They will be so terrible that people without courage will die instantly from heart failure. We have to have the courage to face floods, fire and storms. We have to go beyond the fear of death and the hope of life.

    I want a creation where there is no dependency of any kind. Everyone should be able to stand on his/her own two feet. The problems of all countries can be solved when everyone becomes hard working. As long as there is laziness in the world, people cannot attain happiness. Today’s world leaders have created circumstances which make it difficult even to breath. If you are active and hard working, then you can do everything yourselves. Materialism is rising like a great storm and we have to face it.

    I have told you before that through Karma Yoga alone can you attain liberation. Any material desire you may have can be fulfilled by Karma Yoga, as well. Karma Yoga is Supreme Yoga. Lord Rama and Lord Krishna taught this, too. Not only did they teach it, they also practiced it and were successful in it.

    The great battle fought in the Mahabharata was an example of Karma Yoga. The tyrant kings of that time came and fought on the battlefield, where they died fighting bravely – doing their Karma Yoga, and thus attained liberation. This is why Karma Yoga is Supreme. By Karma Yoga, Lord Rama lessened the earth’s burden. Those who are lazy, inactive, are a burden to the earth.

    So all of you have to go beyond the fear of death and the hope of life and go on doing Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is the only type of yoga that gives immediate results. Whatever you do in the morning, you can see the results in the evening, standing before you like a picture. The seeds sown in the morning sprout by the evening. The farmer harvests the results of his Karma Yoga after six months. Everyone does Karma naturally, no one can remain without it. We must perform those actions which will benefit others – and not only other people but the whole of Creation.

    It is of no use to give birth to millions of sheep. One hard working human being is enough to save the world. We must all become hard working and teach coming generations as well. All other forms of yoga come second only to Karma Yoga because the whole world is maintained by Karma. So practice Karma Yoga and progress. People in the world nowadays have become very cowardly. That is why we have to be courageous, adventurous..

    The food which we eat must be clean and nutritious, like it was today. (There had been a fine birthday feast that noon.) We should pay special attention to everyone’s health. Wherever there are centers, people should try to grow and cook good vegetables and make halvah and distribute them to others! Food should be nutritious so your strength for working will increase and your mind will be strong, too. It is necessary to keep the body in good health in order to do good Karma. If your body is not strong, how will you work? We should eat nutritious food so our bodies become energetic and our brains work better.

    I want a Creation of strong and healthy people – there is no place for weak people. I want people in this Creation to be as fast in their actions as the Wind. I want people who work with all their bodily energies. At this time, the world needs such brave, strong people.

    If you are weak, how will you work and how will you live? You must generate energy in order to exist. Everyone must always be working hard. You should never cultivate inaction here. There is no use to be a deadweight to the Earth. Whatever wars were fought during the past centuries were only to relieve the world of the dead weight of idleness. You must be hard workers.

    If you are engaged in doing good deeds and go on doing good acts, you will have good sleep, good appetite and bad thoughts will not cross your mind. Otherwise, you will always be criticizing others. In inaction, your minds will always be engaged in thinking critically of others. Karma – activity – is the only thing which can drive out all evils..

    More here: http://www.babaji.net/PDF/teachings2.pdf

    Initiating relationships – Be direct

    Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

    Dating is a rather timid way to get to know someone. It’s as if you’re creating a buffer of distractions in case things go wrong. This method is slow, boring, and largely pointless. It can also be unnecessarily expensive, causing you to mistakenly think you can’t initiate new relationships when finances are tight.

    There’s a much more direct way to express interest in someone you like and to kick off a mutual exploration of relationship possibilities. It’s faster, cheaper, and a lot more fun.

    Simply tell any potential partner up front how you feel about them and that you’d love to explore relationship possibilities together. Then ask if they feel the same.

    This may take some courage, but it takes very little time.

    Read the full article: Initiating Relationships with Openness, Honesty, and Directness