Saturday, February 26, 2011

Our World Revisited: Choice vs Reaction: Living on Purpose!

                                                           Choices and reactions both come after an experience or an action. They can both be either good or bad, well thought out or spur of the moment, cautious or frantic, and they both lead to consequences that are either direct or indirect. However, there is a defining difference between a choice and a reaction. No matter what happens or what we do in life we can choose to make purpose from it, to make it count for something, and make flowers grow from a lump of dying earth. Any situation has the potential for greatness and this is a choice. Or you can just react. Its quite easier than choosing obviously. A reaction is a direct product of an experience or an action. Bad experience? Bad reaction. Good experience? Good reaction. Living your life as a choice gives you power. Living your life as a reaction relinquishes that power. Is it better to choose what you want to happen in your life or have your life handed to you by circumstance?
                                             As long as we are alive on this planet things will happen. We will experience so many things in one lifetime than we can possibly keep track of. Consequences, influences, emotions, agreements, disagreements, understandings, and misunderstandings will all occur in the life of a human being. So how can you possibly live reactively? All these things come in good or bad terms but with to react to them is senseless suicide. So one day you're up and one day you're down? One day you're happy to be alive and the next day you want to die? How is it possible to live this way? You are not living but rather you are existing. For people who live as a reaction, life is not theirs. It belongs to their feelings, their emotions, their fears and their worries. The person living as a reaction is dangerous to anyone and everyone they come in contact with. They're even a danger to themselves. You may be thinking the same thing about choice, just because someone has the choice to be proactive doesn't mean they will. You're right. There are wise and unwise choices in life yet living reactively eliminates the good along with the bad. It eliminates choices period, leaving you to live a double sided life because the real you is trapped inside your circumstances. Maybe you want to be happy. Who wouldn't choose happiness over fear? So whats stopping you? Choose to live your life and stop merely reacting to your existence. -OMJ                            

http://www.2knowmyself.com/power/How_to_be_strong_in_life

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Our World Revisited: The Origin of True Happiness

                           I just want to be happy. Is that too much to ask? Well of course not. Everyone wants to be happy. However, it is too much to ask if you don't know what happiness is. It is also too much to ask if you're depending on the inconsistent, the temporary, and the conditional things of life to produce this happiness. You will also be asking to much if you expect to never be happy because most likely what you're expecting will be produced by your subconscious mind.Would I be too rash to say that this concept is only logical?
                          Sometimes what is commonly felt is not necessarily logical. It is common to want something but not know what it is or what it looks like or feels like. Babies are often this way for they have the initial understanding that they want something but they have no idea what it is that they want or how to get it. They aren't born knowing what food is but they know the satisfaction of being full. We are just like that sometimes. We want things we don't even know the meaning of or how they are obtained. This doesn't mean its logical. In fact its illogical. Wanting to be happy means that you've at some point felt the results or satisfaction of being happy and now you see a change or a lack of this in your life. So define it. Make a clear and well analyzed view of what happiness is to you. Write it down. Review it. Add things to your definition of happy. Subtract things from your definition of happy. Learn what it is to you because if you don't know where you're going then how will you know when you've arrived?
                        Do not depend on things that will not last. Its simple and seems quite logical but many people make the mistake of doing this even when it comes down to being happy. Nothing on this Earth lasts forever. Not one thing lives for eternity except those things which are within, such as the soul, the spirit, things of that nature. You can't depend on the temporary and the inconsistent to create something you want to last in your life. Of course you experience satisfaction which feels a lot like being happy, but the difference is that happiness can last forever! Yes you can be happy each and everyday that you are alive! Why? Because being happy does not mean that you are satisfied. Happiness is a choice where as satisfaction is more of a reaction or a result. The temporary will never be able to produce the eternal. Things that won't last will never be able to make you happy...only satisfied. If you've been depending on the temporary then you have been building a house without a foundation. You need a foundation to produce true happiness. Something steady and firm, consistent, and eternal. Otherwise, you're resorting to satisfaction which is a cheap knock off of happiness.
                                Lastly, what you see is not what you get. What you THINK is what you get! If you think you can never obtain true happiness, even if you realize and understand all the above mentioned truths, happiness is a far off dream. Thinking creates. It has a unique power and ability that many of us do not understand the concept of , and because of this we find ourselves in dungeons that we created in our own minds. If you think you can never be truly happy you won't even be able to approach it. If you haven't gotten it by now, the origin of true happiness lies within you! Logically, you determine whether the sun shines brightly over you or if the rain beats down on your life. You just want to be happy. Is that too much to ask of you? OMJ

http://www.inspirationalblogs.com/blogs/joy/Learning_Joy_from_a_Toy.html
http://www.2knowmyself.com/happiness/Ways_to_be_happy_in_life

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Our World Revisited: Target Practice

                                          What is it that you believe in? What are the things you are certain of? These are the things in life that you go to as a source of inspiration, the things that serve a direct purpose in your life and give meaning to it above all other things. Whatever you believe is what you find to be true for you and possibly for others, but its residence is with you. You believe what you believe, right? However, the things you directly put out into the universe, such as what you believe as truth, what you become certain of, will be repelled or directly opposed by it. The things that are opposite of what you believe or the opposing view will automatically be broadcasted before you. It will glare at you, sticking out like a soar thumb and just as impossible to ignore as flashing neon lights. Its just the way it is. Some people decide not to acquire any beliefs because of this reason of having to be somewhat defensive all the time or having to carry the possibility of debate upon their shoulders. Many times it takes much courage just to have your truth in your heart alone. However this is not because you are wrong and it doesn't mean that you should stop believing. Your beliefs become a target for the world around you because of three main reasons. First of all you are growing. Secondly, your mind is sensitive to and is constantly aware of the opposing view, making it easier for it to have its effect on you. Thirdly, you are going against the natural inclination to adapt or adjust to your atmosphere.
                                  When you were little you may recall having to get rid of your old set of teeth. Every other day it seemed like there was another one shaky enough to pull out and your parents even made a game of it saying that if you put your tooth under your pillow that the tooth fairy will take it and give you money in exchange. It was because the fact of growing, and sometimes its very process, is painful. Anything that dares not to be constrained by its surroundings has to push forth, just as a new tooth does through its tender gums. It won't be easy to endure but it is expected, just as children are expected to experience loss of teeth at this stage in their lives. The target in your case is your beliefs and realizing that you are growing pushes you out of range.
                                   Believing in something or acquiring a particular truth can cause sensitivity to the existence of opposing beliefs. You become constantly aware of them and they seem to be ever before you. You must realize that believing means the absence of unbelief or doubt. Doubt and anything associated with it is the old pair of shoes. Now you have a new pair of shoes which is your belief and everyone knows that once you have a new pair of shoes you began to see those spots and stains on the old pair that you never really noticed before. The old shoes seem even more dirty and warn. Its just the same with believing. You begin to easily notice all the faults of the opposing view and sometimes it causes you to even desire more from what you believe in, giving way to your belief becoming a target by your own subconscious mind. However, knowledge is your strength, so knowing this pushes the target (which are your beliefs) out of range from any darts from others and from yourself.
                                        Beliefs have been apart of our society since the beginning of time and this will never change. However, what we believe in must coincide to what we know, see, hear, taste, smell. Basically it must be something we can wrap our heads around. If this is not true of what we believe, like for instance the belief in a God, we are going against our natural inclination to adapt to the society in which we live and this is mainly the reason why it is believed that there is no God for humanity seeks to create answers to his own questions. It isn't natural for us to believe that we are not in control of our own destiny. Hence the target. Again, knowing and being aware of the things that make your belief a direct target makes you out of range to being victimized or subject to the opposing views. You have to use your knowledge of the beliefs you have in order to keep them. Target practice dismissed. OMJ

Monday, February 7, 2011

Our World Revisited: The Hidden Power of Acceptance

                                 When most people think about acceptance they think of "taking whatever is dished out", "tolerance", or " being a pushover", and to the most extreme "not having your own morals or ideas" There are many other negative connotations that has been given to the idea of acceptance. Before seeing the strength in something, a way of thinking, or an individual, the human eye is always trained to see the weaker side first...after all, everyone remembers every bad or embarrassing moment in a celebrity's life and sadly tend to forget the shining or career defining moments that made us love them to begin with. However, this common attribute can cost us to lose out on many life-changing opportunities, smarter choices, and satisfying relationships. In fact there is great power in acceptance, more power than expected!
                                 The first power that acceptance has is that everyone is looking for it! Its high in demand and very hard to find due to the misinterpretation of it.....just as money is sometimes misinterpreted and therefore scarce or seemingly hard to come by. The fact that acceptance is highly treasured among us human beings makes it a power within itself, and guess what? We all have it to give! We are all capable of accepting other people, point of views, walks of life, cultures, and preferences. There are far more reasons for exercising this power of acceptance than just our moral prospectives of it. One reason is that when something is high in demand and really hard to find, we will do anything for it, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Looking from a positive point of view, acceptance can change people's lives for the better, turn around communities, get people to believe in themselves, and bring growth and success to anything and anyone. Think of flowers. Do we uproot them and place them on our living room rug and command them to grow? No! We accept that they need sunlight, water, and much nurturing in order to grow...in order to provide the outcome that is widely expected which is to be beautiful!
                                     The second power that acceptance has is that it is indefeasible! What a power! No one can ever be accepted whole hearted for who they are and not experience a positive outcome or a productive result! There is no negative affect of truly accepting someone and the lie that is widely believed is that if you accept someone they will hurt you, or if you accept something you never have before that it will deceive you. Basically it is deemed as being naive to accept or embrace. Therefore we live a closed life with a closed point of view and a closed future. When you realize that acceptance is the very first step to change, which is an attribute of growth, which is a characteristic of success, then can one truly believe. Belief is an exhibitor, not an inhibitor. Exercising your powers of acceptance can change any circumstance and any situation. Acceptance is also the first form of love and we all know that love conquers all.
                                       The third power that acceptance has is that it is contagious. If you don't think contagiousness is a power you can ask anyone who has ever had a virus! Accepting someone is a clear and sure way of having that person accept you, accept others, and spread the first form of love to everyone they know. Acceptance is like opening the door to the world. When you accept someone they must open their door too, and to receive acceptance from them, others will open their doors. Have you ever refused anyone who has come knocking at your door with a million dollars to give you? That's exactly how valuable acceptance is and many times the first instinct of humanity is to question. Even gifts are questioned for the motive at which they were given. Yet acceptance never relents! Its keeps knocking in an everlasting hope of a reply! Discover your power of acceptance today and make the first step in changing your world! OMJ

http://www.2knowmyself.com/how_can_i_learn_to_accept_myself

                          

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Our World Revisited: A Ship In a Bottle Sets Sail

                           There is a song written by Dave Matthews that I really love. It talks about a ship in bottle, a popular handcrafted model first originating in 1750 European monasteries. When you look at the figure it seems impossible that a handcrafted miniature ship would be able to fit through the opening of that bottle. Its also rather thought provoking, seeing as though ships are meant for sailing and is a means of transportation, but inside of a bottle where can it go? How can it serve it's purpose? When I think about these questions I began to feel that humanity is alot like this ship in a bottle. We have so much purpose and so much potential, many things to offer beyond what we can see or imagine. Albert Einstein, the smartest man who ever lived only used 10% of his brain capacity, making one wonder what life would be like if we used ninety or one hundred percent! There's so many things we never knew existed until now and there is so much we have yet to know. We are ships. Each of set sail in this life not knowing the future or where we will be or even our next breath for life isn't promised to anyone. Sometimes we see the ship in a bottle as defeated, as the end. We look around us and just because we are in this bottle called planet Earth, we feel there is no use in setting sail, in thinking beyond it, in hoping or believing for the future. Afterall, how can a ship inside of a bottle set sail?
                                      I looked again at this cool sculpture and I noticed the fine details of the ship, the way it stood upright as if it was already afloat, as if it had somewhere to go, as if it was boldly denying its presence inside the bottle and was sure that wherever its captain wanted it to go it would get there. Hope. The meaning of your life is not determined by your circumstance, just like the purpose of this ship isn't determined by its presence inside of a bottle. Be a ship in a bottle, upright and bold, setting sail towards your destiny with certainty that you will get there. To that ship there is no bottle, and to that man there is nothing he cannot do.

Welcome to Our World Revisited

Welcome to Our World Revisited