Agonising About The State Of Affairs

As the desiderata poem says “Go Placidly, Be gentle with yourself”

As we no longer tend to live in small communities and as communication through technology is so developed we are unfortunately too aware of so many negative aspects of life.

We can judge and debate, our adrenalin is up, we would like to choose fight or flight but we are unable to do so. Few of us are in a position to alter the affairs of others if that altering ought to be conducted by an organisation or government.

Buddhist teachings suggest taking the middle way. Be in this world but try not to be affected by it.

Eradication of suffering is what leads us eventually to that better place.

Each should be trying to find peace within whatever assails him even if it is knowledge of the sufferings of others. Condemnation of perpetrators- mental fight or flight, does not lead to personal peace unless dealt with by a positive state of mind.

Be unmoved amidst all the hatred and sorrows but remain compassionate.

Try to keep a loving and sympathetic attitude while denying your own fears.

Interaction With Mother Earth

We strip the trees for their resources or to make space for roaming cattle.  We know we must replant elsewhere.

We  build unnatural domiciles and constructions but in the middle of that concrete space we place trees and shrubs. We are low in spirit if not surrounded by nature’s greenery.

We build vast cities of concrete but are cut off and depressed if there is not a serene green space where we can be at one with nature for regeneration of natural energies.

So… mankind is becoming cute and building gardens on top of these edifices and even clinging to the sides of buildings.

Are we rebuilding the hanging gardens of Babylon?

Old knowledge is never lost. Knowledge of nature and being at one with it is so important to us and we do not hesitate to teach every young child of it’ that knowledge as they become accustomed to the imprisonment of concrete which can to a way of life which is unfeeling and materialistic.

Transition Of Fear Through Time

Humans through their need for sustenance and medical treatment are at the mercy in modern times of the large organisations that provide for these needs.

The single moral individuals who wish to provide for those needs in a compassionate and loving manner are taken over and swamped by the large faceless corporations.

It is only by independent and intent research that a person can supply the needs of himself and family with substances less polluted with chemicals.

There is a limit to the potential growth of organic and ethical suppliers. Their expansion is prevented by the power of firms with vested interest.

Who has the power to investigate the thousands of yet untapped plants in the rain forest which could benefit mankind? The small man or the larger medical research companies?

Why do we use cosmetics that cause cancer?

Why do we allow them to sell us irradiated fruit which is not labelled as such?

Why do we buy flowers which are presented to us as objects of delight but which have contributed to world pollution through air transport?

Why do we not think and question by what standards we live?

Why are we unable to prevent the upsetting of the balance of nature?

Joy

Hounds are set to go with those who need them. They bark with delight and the joy of living. If you sometimes feel that shaft of delight that is living, try to express it in any way you know how.

Sing, clap your hands. Express this feeling which is given to us so rarely. It suddenly bubbles up out of nowhere and lasts but a second. It is not usually sustainable but never forgotten when felt. It is a small helping of pure delight and comes to us unbidden.

Grasp those rare moments and place them in an album of memory. They bubble up to our consciousness from source and tell us of pure love unrelated to events of life.

They are small slices of pure excitement not often felt since childhood. It is a snapshot of the life which is felt on the other side, a temptation of knowledge which is pure fleeting joy.

We are destined eventually to bathe in this joyful knowledge which is called heaven.

Mourning is sorrow for the self. How can we joyful emotion that all is well.

Empathy

We know of the child with sorrow and loneliness in his heat.

We know of the man who is still that child with that sorrow in his heart.

We know of those he meets, how he reaches out to them so that they should know of this agony of heart.

We know of the turning away of so many whose attention should be directed towards him.

We know of the love and compassion required by men to help and empathise with others.

All is based on love and a wish to reach out towards a spiritual development.

May grace be conferred to allow this love to blossom and bear fruit, to be spread on the wind, to be hinted at, to be shouted to be sung, to be prayed, to be murmured and to be acted upon

Meditate.

Forgiveness

An action takes place. It wounds us. We stagger, we recover. It happens again. We are angrier. We do not sense why this is happening. For us to need to express forgiveness we need to be in a position at first of innocence. This may be lost during the battering of the onslaught. It leads us out of innocence into feelings of anger, vengeance.

We can forgive those who attacked us when considering the reasons why they may have been in an unfortunate position of a lack of grace but probably the hardest outcome is to forgive the reaction in ourselves.

They are no longer with us maybe. We long for contact blessings and love from departed beings we loved but although we have expressed forgiveness towards the others it is not replaced by a feeling of love towards those who hurt us. This causes us guilt but what step do we take to reach the second stage? We have no idea.

 Maybe we should appeal for help in this by other entities with more wisdom. Ask them to show us the approach.  Every human has negativity expressed towards them. Some of it must be only of interest in a karmic matter to the perpetrator but some must stem from karmic entanglements which we must be shown how to work through.

Ask to express forgiveness without a need to express subsequent rejection.

And God Cannot be Heard…

See the person in Africa struggling once daily to find water, carry it and use it sparingly.

The people in fear of their health every night through the need of a mosquito net.

Many of the people succumb to torture of the eyes and blindness, they walk for miles to attend a clinic.

See a young family, the oldest child or aged grandmother trying to nurture the young ones, the parents having died of aids. What does religion mean to them?

They long for education which poverty denies them and their appeal for help from a loving God is simple - asking direct to the source.

We have the time and energy to delve into the mysteries of the spheres and heavens. We come here for the luxury of exploring, experiencing, developing, communicating with each other and to those mostly unseen.

We too have trials problems and anguishes. In extremis we also revert to a direct request for help not based on knowledge and pondering.

We open a tap for water, we switch on a switch for warmth, and we consult available medical people.

Can Earth Heal Itself?

Earth is a spiritual entity itself as are all the planets. It has its long-term agenda relating to cosmic conditions. Obviously it is the right thing for man to try to redress the damage he has done to the earth. If man was not meant to have such a strong adverse effect   on the planet then surely the wisdom of the Great Spirit would not allow so many incarnations at the same time on this crowded earth, Species come and go. We do not yearn for the return of dinosaurs. Maybe we should not yearn for the return of wolves. If we struggle to relocate packs of wolves into areas which have evolved through man’s desires. Could this restoration itself cause new imbalances?

Maybe we should let species come and go with a good grace and with the knowledge that the Great Spirit has its all-knowing plan in this universe.

We cannot reverse and our needs for the sake of the planet but maybe the attempt to slow down planet destruction and living with awareness of our surroundings and caring for the comfort of future generations is a thing in itself  which is of spiritual merit even if we do not make great strides in this direction.

Can God be Offended?

How can God be offended?

If we act badly and against religious laws we are only affecting ourselves and our own spiritual development. We know that the ultimate purpose of development is to bathe in love, to radiate love, to be love, to be at one with the Great Spirit.

So, if all that is other than love falls away, how can we be immersed in a cloud of absolute truth which could possibly take offense.  That is putting human traits upon the source to which we ever are reaching.

Why would we reach towards something that expresses any negativity such as anger, hurt or weakness?

Confusion

Confusion is not being guided by the light. Confusion is being like sheep. Confusion of the masses is the tool of the few who hold power. Facts and figures… All can be twisted, distorted and used for end game. Confusion is trying to untie with one mind, the web produced by many minds. Ideas and solutions are covered by a mist of uncertainty… Which way to think, to vote, to decide.

Where are the true facts on which to build an edifice of certainty, hope and solutions are to benefit all? The web and intricacies which encase the world of the living do not compare with the clarity and clear thoughts of the world which we eventually join.

Cruelty

Many abhor it and a few are guilty of it. Those who abhor it remain totally baffled. How could any human being inflict it with the callousness that is totally unable to empathise with the fear and pain and feeling of the victims?

It is as though they are totally overtaken with the need for power, placed behind a shell of indifference. The reasoning of cause and effect seems to be the only explanation.

Long term, it must be the abuser, who in this realm or the next, must face what was done, made to realise and feel the pain of what was inflicted. What we greatly need an answer to is why the souls of animals could be involved in this scenario. Surely it is enough that they, in the wild state, have to be subjected to the pain and terror of being prey. We would greatly wish that our contact with spirit could show us the divine reasoning why animals should be tormented for the ultimate progress of faltering man.

Is there a group animal soul, which tends to be loftier than humankind’s and is willing to present itself in a sacrificial state for the advancement of mankind?

We should look to the state of an animal’s soul as a thing of purity and perfection. That is the template towards which our own souls should yearn.

Dealing with Darkness

Innocence reveals no dark side. We grow out of babyhood, realise we are separate entities, see others as not us and feel fear and seek protection.

It is an innate sense of the possibility of light and of darkness being expressed by any other entity. Humans channel light and/or darkness.

We do not fear natural calamities or physical dangers as being imbued with darkness or negativity. Damage to us from the outside world would be seen as a product of fate.

To battle against the darkness and to reach for the light is to be dealing with the negative or hurtful or frightening emotions within ourselves and others.

We have to grow spiritually and this can be escalated by the amount of contact or conflict we have with others. Sitting in a comfortable bubble willing ourselves not to see the troubles of others is to waste a lifetime of potential growth.

We are obliged to don our armour and fight the demons emanating from others and within ourselves.

The dark side is to be banished by the taking up of a candle or a torch and reaching for further illumination.

Extremes are never Desirable

This comment would be totally acceptable to Buddhists. One of their main precepts is the walking of the middle path.

Extremism can take the form of religious fanaticism, colour prejudice, nationalism, ideas such as communism, apartheid.

Revolutions which have caused so much misery in the past were always the result of the masses uprising against some form of extremism usually displayed by kings, despots, governments of harsh military rule.

 The more our societies mix and blend two of the three, the less scope for extremes of behaviour. Through immigration, cheap travel and mass migration owing to wars and intermarriage between cultures, much prejudice of colour and nationalism should fall away but as we know the thorniest problem is presented by two of the three Abrahamic religions.

I, well, don’t want to come back

I don’t want to be put again into the classroom of life. What does it teach you? It teaches you the inequalities among men. It teaches you the cruelty of man against animals for financial gain. It teaches you of the power of the drug companies who have such an eye on profit. It teaches you the misuse of chemicals in the fields and antibiotics in the animals most of us eat. It teaches the thoughtlessness and corruption of those in power who destroy the countryside to supply houses that too many of us can’t afford but which work to the advantage of the absent landlords. I don’t want to come back to learn how so many are beholden to the slave trade which was apparently abolished but where evidence of it is placing its tentacles in our lives. To learn how so many are imprisoned and tortured without trial because of their beliefs in the freedom of man. To learn how so many can’t get through the problems of life without resorting to drugs alcohol or gambling their security away.   I thank the Great Spirit for what seems to be a restful incarnation this time around! 

Helplessness

Don‘t  judge issues. If involvement with others demand that you should be clear about what you think or about how you should deal with an issue, have the strength and courage not to side step and mumble.

Your actions can affect others. Your thoughts are likely to affect you. You cannot act with weakness or offer lame excuses and half-truths without your higher soul taking notice and having to deal with the outcome.

It all impinges on the matter of conscience.  We are the pilots of our spiritual lives and no one else.

Imprisonment

The mind can be imprisoned by madness. Power, religious intolerance, drink or drug dependence.

The body can be imprisoned by physical incapacity, the need for basic sustenance or lack of shelter.

Those in physical or mental cages can be preyed upon by those with a thirst for vengeance or power over them or even by those who are marginally only in a slightly better position than they are.

The victim can become dependent on the one who enslaves him.

Unjust imprisonment of the innocent is a very hard thing for any free man to contemplate. Presumably that can only be reasoned through with  karma and reincarnation.

Strong must be the soul of those who can forgive their captors under these circumstances.

Nelson Mandela comes to mind with reference to personal incarceration and the Dalai Lama who surveys the subjugation of his whole nation

Temperance

The Puritan work ethic is very deeply embedded in modern western society. 50 years ago, it dominated the attitudes of the ‘respectable’ person but lead to a constricting, disapproving attitude towards many freedoms that were trying to be expressed. The word ‘sin’ was much used. Young people kicked against its restrictions and the word ‘teenager’ was born.

Women began to fight against its repressions to take their positions of control in business and politics. Things have now swung too much in the opposite direction and young people are now exposed to violence, drugs, and drink to the extent that they are presented with a distorted picture of the realities of a good and useful life.

Good values should be taught in an atmosphere of freedom. The maturing mind should be able to make judgements for themselves and not feel that they are forced to follow an historical code of behaviour.

Puritans are hounded by the image of a petty minded devil. The Puritan ethics did not allow self-development and led to witch hunts and condemnation of others. There are some souls still hampered by this way of thinking in the realms above. They cannot expand their minds and are dutifully waiting to be judged and possibly condemned.

Spiritualists know that this does not take place.

The Agony of Compassion

Ask any Buddhist? All life is concerned with suffering and trying to move beyond and out of it.

Some societies do not see any problem with openly displaying a callousness when dealing with animals as commodities. If a person has developed compassion he/she would find it very difficult to be confronted with evidence of a callous misuse of an animal especially if there does not seem to be an opportunity to put that sympathy into action.

The dispassionate abuser does not seem to be guilty or compassionate while the  onlooker suffers, feeling the plight of the dumb beast.  Those who do take action are to be greatly admired. Their sympathy is transmuted into good action.

One of the eight fold path precepts of Buddhism states Right Occupation…. In other words do not work in a slaughterhouse or munitions factory…then that would be an expression of compassion.

The Highest Thoughts

The highest thoughts, the lowest thoughts

Those developed spiritually tend to have a conscience which directs them often to the highest thoughts but we all see, hear and have to notice the outpourings of anger, malice and jealousy of those with the lowest thoughts. We pity those who are caught in that trap of ignorance. They cannot know contentment and happiness. They only know the expression of vitriol and anger and tend to consort with those of the same mental attitude.

It seems, that on becoming spiritual, we begin to be protected from seeing too much of that side of life unless we sacrifice ourselves through our work or actions, to try to make a difference in their lives.

It is so sad to see ignorance and hatred being passed on to the next generation.

Quote.  ‘There but for the grace of God go I’

The Pain of Loss

There are not many people in this life who do not experience this. It is part of life’s rich tapestry of learning – losses and gains…  what is worse, there are so many who try to tread their whole life’s path with the lack of security caused by very early loss of a parent by death or abandonment by their parents.

Without the maturity and strength that a secure childhood gives you, how hard it is to make your way while being left with a feeling of lack of self-worth, grief or anger.

How difficult then to form secure relationships for the rest of your life. It can lead to a repetition of loss. For this reason many turn to drink, gambling or drugs to try to blot out the reality of the hardship which they constantly face.

Unfortunately, lack of responsibility of a parent can be handed down the generations. What innocent child deserves this? It only makes sense if seen from a karmic point of view.

The Space Inbetween

 The space in between is a head-on realisation of the difference between materialism  and another life and way of thinking based on humanitarian, spiritual principles.

You can be knocking about in a void which you frantically try to fill with drinks, drugs or superficial relationships.

The space in between which feels soul destroying hopefully, turns into a reaching out towards new values… compassion etc.

New actions can involve living solely for others and that is such a satisfying thing to achieve compared to the old materialistic values displayed before.

The space in between can be seen as a place to take stock and it lies in a valley of sliding down materialism on one side and climbing fulfilling satisfaction   on the other.

The World

world is full of grown up children

This title covers the consideration and attitude of adults who abuse themselves through drugs, alcohol or obesity.

It covers those who would take these uncontrolled desires in the direction of the abuse of others by condoning or performing sexual abuses, bullying in the work place, condoning the ever growing slavery trade or those who standing back and let it all happen.

The film world condones violence. Television produces inane blanketing of the senses.  The marketing world and the producers of medicines try to cover us all with a blanket of ignorance.

Start delving on an individual basis and you discover you are surrounded by a world which, if all described at once puts forth a picture of unremitting hell. This is a hell participated in by both the callous and the innocent. There is a feeling of helplessness. Communication allows us too much access to all this knowledge.

May you concentrate on guarding and protecting your friends and families and any innocence you may encounter. May you shine a light in this dark world when in reality it is much easier to follow the example of an ostrich and a patch of sand.

Live well.

Thought Word and Deed

We arrive in this incarnation for the development of our souls. Experiences of previous incarnations have developed and smoothed out certain aspects of our characters. We undertake this particular incarnation to learn particular lessons which we consciously decided to undertake before we made the journey.

We must be sub consciously aware of what these lesson are meant to be and so we should step back from our emotional souls and experiences to try to analyse whether we are making progress.

Thought, word and deed can all be watched and analysed. We should try to keep tabs on our motives for our deeds. We should try to kerb incorrect speech and the most difficult of all, we should try to be aware of our thought processes.

Instead of blindly accepting the knocks of life, we could speed up the learning process by using rational thought to take stock of what we are going through in this earthly life.

Are we spending our lifetime well? Or will we have to return to repeat this lesson?

The key phrase is ‘step back from your thought processes and emotions.’