The Art of Going Your Way
Whispers in the Silence
What Do We Have To Lose?
Submitted by Jimbo Kearney on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 12:45
John wrote the article “Taking a Time Out from Our Dramas” the other day. He is obviously right; we want peace in our lives. The trick is in how you attain such peace. At the end of John’s post he said:
Maybe the contests of power that fill the news will begin to subside, too, when we resolve not to join in their battles, but to sit quietly and invite in new perspectives and approaches that don't require the perpetuation of such conflicts of competing extremes.
I had thought about this paragraph in John’s article for some time now. It bothers me a bit. I presume that’s because of our differing opinions on various subject matters. In this particular instance I am reminded of the saying “The only thing evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing.”
If John wants to sit around and wait for his cough to disappear on its own, even though he has gone through it before, that’s up to him. But the only thing the cough needs in order to keep hurting him is for him to do nothing. Like wise, if we have all these trials and tribulations in our life, the only thing they need to succeed and get the best of us is for us to do nothing.
I choose to make a difference in my own life. So, if I had the same cough as John does and I went through it before has he did, then I would know what to do. I wouldn’t suffer through it if I knew how to get rid of it and feel better. If I had already learned that taking the antibiotics would solve the issue I would have started there and moved forward, not suffer needlessly.
John of course chooses a different path, eventually the truth of the situation will present itself to him and he will solve the problem accordingly. I tend to try to learn from the past and not repeat the mistakes. Those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to make the same mistakes and suffer the same pains all over again. Here, John is suffering again because he isn’t doing what he knows he needs to do.
The same is true of political, economic and social realms all around us. We don’t have to be burdened with the trials and tribulations that others succumb to. If we know how to handle the situation we should do what we know is right to protect ourselves and lead happy, stress free lives.
We don’t have to be bothered with the economic turmoil; we get rid of our debts, get rid of the credit cards and deal with everything in cash. All of a sudden all the debt problems everyone else has is of no meaning to us because it doesn’t affect us. When it affects our loved ones, we teach them what we did and remove the problem. Sitting around doing nothing will not solve the problem.
We have a run amok government. We don’t have to be worried about it. Once we realize that our freedom is from within us – NOT granted to us by the government, we can go about our business as we see fit. We then teach our loved ones the truth and let them make their choices. It is all about who is in charge. If we don’t make the decisions for ourselves then someone else will make them for us. I choose to be in charge of my life – who is in charge of yours?
All truths are true. They are true in every situation not just a few of them. So if we apply what we know as true in situation “A” to situation “B” the outcome should be the same. If you have to manipulate the truth with different definitions to fit your desired outcome – that’s not the truth any more. It is a circumvention of the truth to fit your own rationalization. Rationalizing something and recognizing the truth behind something are two different things.
When you recognize and accept the truth you are free to live your life. When you live in denial and attempt to rationalize your truth into existence, you have conflicts in your life. LOL - The truth will set you free. See your truth for what it sees and enjoy your life in peace.
Stand up for yourself, do what is necessary and take charge of your life. When you do, a lot of the stress you now experience will disappear. Lead a purposeful life and you will be much happier as you attain your desired goals and let the stresses of the day roll of your back to dissipate into thin air around you.
Yours in Peace
Jim Kearney
www.LibertarianViewpoint.com
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What do we have to gain?
Gee, Jim, you say such nice things, they deserve a response. First, on my health issues.
You seem to think I enjoy suffering with a cough, and have done nothing to deal with it. Quite the contrary.
I've worked my through a wide variety of treatments. Holistic and home remedies. Chinese medicine. Dietary changes. Removal of possible allergic triggers. Meditation. Qigong. Even prayer and other spiritual treatments. It's a long list.
Did I purposely avoided antibiotics or other western treatments? No. I could have chosen that route before.
But like everything else in my life, I act on the inspiration of my inner voice. It leads me to the experiences I need. It was bidding me to wait.
Then again, my experience 10 years earlier wasn't resolved by western medicine. Several courses of antibiotics, steroids, cough suppressants, visits to specialists, etc. all did nothing. And the cough was FAR worse.
The only thing that worked was an energetic treatment and past life regression, stuff you probably don't believe in. Then again, I didn't before that either.
Funny thing, though. I got better. So naturally that was where I started this time around.
BTW, since Thursday that voice said it was time to start a new course of treatment. But first I had to begin letting out all the ideas on how to build this new world I'd been keeping inside.
So now I am taking antibotics. And more. But I'm still coughing. Will it go away? I hope so. I don't enjoy suffering any more than the next person, and I sure am not a glutton for punishment.
But neither am I one to perpetuate the problems our world has suffered from for so long. We've had these battles between competing extremes for a long time now.
Someone wins. But all of us lose. Because we don't have peace, unless it is a forced peace that only lasts until the loser musters the ability to try again.
I have had visions of what our world can be, and how to get there. We never will if we keep meeting force with force.
Sure, I believe we need to speak out and oppose those things that do not align with our truths. But there is a line between speaking truth to power and participating in a system built on the perpetuation of conflict.
The way out starts with disengaging from their battles. That inner voice is telling me to go that way. And if people sit quietly and connect with their souls, I suspect they will hear much the same.
Is that all that's required? Of course not. It's just a first step. There are many more, which I will continue to lay out for others to consider.
I even posted one of them on your site, http://LibertarianViewpoint.com, the other day. You remember. No need to rehash it here. Here's a link for those who want to read the discussion (http://libertarianviewpoint.com/blog/?p=868).
The solutions to the problems of our world start inside us. Connecting with what is inside will allow us to find them and guide us in their implementation.
Perhaps you do not believe in this possibility, and if not, that's okay. I don't force my views upon you or anyone.
And if not, I can understand why you might think it necessary to jump into the fray and participate in the petty battles that never seem to end over what direction we will take from here. When it's the only straw at hand, grasping it may be the only available alternative.
Yet, I do agree with you. People should not sit idly by. You know that I don't, either.
I've devoted my life to offering people a choice. Just as you do in your own way, too.
If it is within my intended life experience to continue to suffer with this cough, then that's what I will do. Not that I want to. I certainly hope and pray it stops.
But that suffering is nothing compared to that I feel over the way human beings treat each other, and the things we do to try to get our way.
The way we've tried for so many centuries isn't working very well. I think there are many who are ready to consider another way.
When they choose it, there will be plenty of opportunities ahead to act. The thing is, they will be guided by their souls, and not the egoic concerns of fear, desire, and self-interest that keep things the way they are.
Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to address your concerns. I know you mean well. I love you, my friend, and bless you whatever your view or course of action.
--
John Dennison
Working for a Better World
www.PeaceOptions.com
We Gain It All
LOL
I would have loved to say – Let The Controversy Begin – unfortunately I cannot
LOL
I understand that controversy might increase readership and all. However, you and I are not so far off as people might think when reading our articles. It should be obvious that we are reading from the same page, just interpreting things differently. While you are the thinker, the philosopher type, I am the doer, the “action agad” type. There comes a point when thinking is not enough and doing is required.
You are more right then perhaps 99.99 percent of our readers realize. I agree that it comes from within us. I have been trying to teach this to people for a long time. Well, at least in the political world, not as a light bearer. I have constantly taught that freedom comes from within and that if people are true to themselves they will be free no matter what happens with government.
Such a lesson requires two things. One, that people recognize they are in charge of their own life and two, that those people accept that responsibility.
In your original article you started it with “experience, expand, experience, expand”. When I read that I took it as saying that life is a learning experience and that we should learn and grow according to what we witness. It made me think of other things I used to tell my kids like, what you learn today will shape your thought process tomorrow. The last paragraph that stated “but to sit quietly and invite in new perspectives and approaches” seemed to be in complete opposition with the opening paragraph. LOL - Maybe that’s what caused me to write my article – LOL.
Your espousal of personal responsibility in your response could not be more welcomed. It pleases me very much to know I am not so far off the mark and that there are others out there that think similar to me. Now if we can just increase this awareness and help others see the light to a peaceful and harmonious life.
I miss you and the family. Hope all is going well for everyone. I sure wish we could get together more often. I pray, maybe that’s not the right word for me to use since I don’t believe in God, but you understand the sentiment, that you and Laura feel better soon. I don’t like it when you guys are not well. Peace my friend and may the sun always shine upon your back, bring you the warmth and joy of life as you traverse this world of ours spreading the message.
Yours in Peace
Jim Kearney
www.LibertarianViewpoint.com
PS No controversy intended (Not!)
The thought I had was, "Let the games begin!"
Actually, it was a good opportunity to more fully explain a concept that probably didn't come out as clearly as I wanted it to.
I don't really use controversy to draw readers. Whether they come or not will generally be a function of the thoughts and emotions going on within them, and whether something appears within their awareness to bring them here. That I leave to higher powers.
It's fun to argue. Just like it is to contest in our political affairs. The problem is, people get so caught up in the game that they no longer see it as such, and attach so much importance to the outcome.
Outcome may be important. But how we play the game is moreso, because it determines what kind of games we'll play together in the future.
As for the ones between us, whatever we can do to stimulate each's other's clarity of thought and applications that derive from it, the better.
God bless you indeed. And if you don't believe in God, then bless yourself. It's all the same, anyway.
--
John Dennison
Working for a Better World
www.PeaceOptions.com
Action comes in many forms
Thanks for the kind wishes. We are getting better in every moment.
The concept behind sitting quietly and disengaging from the outer dramas -- it applies equally to our lives and our political affairs -- is it allows us to reconnect with our souls. And more importantly, it allows them to reset or re-task the energies to their original purposes without the egoic distortions and filters that perpetuate the suffering and conflict.
Action without begins with action within. This "energetic adjustment" is a spiritual action that will allow those outer affairs that affect our lives to be created in another way.
Physical activity by just picking a side that resonates with our beliefs and jumping into the fray may make a difference in the outer result. But on the inner plane, all we are doing is continuing the same cycle of energy and its application in conflict.
To demonstrate in one's outer affairs the highest aspects they have inside, that means finding a way to not only show the attributes and principles we hold most dear, like freedom (this must be music to a Libertarian's ears). It means "learning the lesson" and moving on, allowing the energy to create something that will more fully reflect the MANIFESTATION of those attributes in our outer reality.
In this instance, it is learning to wield those energies to create a society where peace comes, not by conflict, but as a natural result of every human going their own way while allowing others to do the same. And finding new ways of managing their differences without conflict.
It might be constructing a new political system, or reforming the one we have, where both the people and our leaders live with a greater awareness of this principle, simultaneously demonstrating a greater ability to create meaningful lives without having to impose their wills on others to do so.
So while I am a thinker, I believe there is a time and place for right action -- action guided from within to implement the intentions for our lives and world we want to create.
That is why I suggest that people disengage from the petty conflicts of today. It doesn't mean sitting quietly on the sideline. Rather, it is to exhibit their highest characteristics to create a space where they can go another way.
They don't have to believe in God, only themselves and whatever they know themselves to be inside. Our lives are created simply so we can discover more of that anyway.
We might as well put it to good use.
--
John Dennison
Working for a Better World
www.PeaceOptions.com
Recognition of One’s Self
Well, all of this is good info. I had always looked at this stuff as the ability of myself to know me. It is my own acceptance of whom I am, what I am capable of doing and the responsibility for it all. The idea that one can be at peace must be founded on the awareness of one’s self. Without that, there is nothing to build on.
Early in life I learned I was responsible for my actions. When I was around six years old I was had ran out of the yard, around the corner and crossed the street to a building that was being demolished. The whole idea then was to get some of the brick so we could use it like chalk on the sidewalk. Oh c’mon – I was only six what do you expect is in my head – LOL
I was running back across the street when I was hit by a car doing 60 in a 15. Had I been an inch taller I would have been thrown several feet and likely not have survived. Had I been an inch smaller I would have been under the car and definitely not survived. I was just the right height, clipped below the pelvis I went straight up into the air about 15 feet and came crashing down on top of the car that hit me.
Most people have their epiphanies along with life changing events and I was no exception. Mine just happened to be real early in life. It was this one experience that made me realize that “I” was in charge of what I do. Not my parents who try to teach me from right or wrong, not my friends that eggs me through peer pressure. Nope, no matter what anyone said or did, my actions were MY responsibility.
As such, my life changed, drastically to say the least. No longer did I just run around, everything was calculated form that point forward. By the time I was 11 I had my entire life mapped out. To this day, I continue to work toward those goals. Most of which have already been achieved. I still don’t own my own island and I am not yet a millionaire – LOL - but I am still working on those too.
People may probably wonder what the heck all that has to do with our conversation thus far. Well, quite simply put, it was the beginning of the foundation of the principles by which I attempt to live my life and I recognize it as such.
Everyone has principles they live by. The problems arise when they don’t recognize those principles. You see, if they don’t recognize them they don’t what decisions to make. They rely on others to explain or teach, thus learn through memorization rather then experience. It is that recognition that will bring peace from within.
The recognition that one can think for oneself, that one can build life based on experience rather through someone else, that one can control everything around them simply by controlling the way they look at things. What a wonderful world we enjoy when we allow ourselves to be ourselves rather then what we think other people want us to be.
The trials and tribulations of life are not really there unless we look at them as trials and tribulations. I choose to look at them as experiences that increase my knowledge of the world around me. I choose to garner the new information for whatever benefits I can acquire from it. I choose to enjoy the moment as it is because I know that no matter what happens, I am in control of how the outcome affects me.
I guess the big difference between me and most other people is the fact that I am me and I know me. While most people know they exist they do NOT know themselves. Such causes stress in their life for the fundamental understanding of the inner self is not present. Should it be there they will be at peace with all around them.
Everyone’s interactions with those around them are based on their internal principles. When we see people getting angry its because they have an internal conflict they don’t know how to resolve. This is because they do NOT know themselves or what makes them tick. What a shame that so many people in the world are living their lives in this manner.
It is a wonder that you as a light bearer are willing to attempt to achieve the ultimate goal in life. Teaching others what you have learned so that they can have a peaceful life like we were meant to have. Good for you. I am here with you my friend, at least for now, and together we will see what we can do to achieve your goal.
Yours in Peace
Jim Kearney
www.LibertarianViewpoint.com