The Self And The World

HEALTH AND WEALTH

2007-01-27T03:35:00.000-08:00

"To get rich never risk your health. For it is the truth that health is the wealth of wealth."
- Richard Baker

"Without health, nothing else matters."
- Lorrin Lee

"If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free."
- Edmund Burk

"You are right, being wealthy is not the same as just having money by working like a slave. Not only am I making thousands of dollars, I also have the freedom and time to enjoy it."
- Richard McKenzie

"The poorest man is not without a cent, but without a dream."
- Unknown

Let's dream; let's have the ability to see success!

"5% of the people make things happen. 10% of the people watch things happen. The other 85% say ' What happened?' "

Let's be part of that 5%! So, let's take action; let's go one step further than the rest!

After all, let's not forget that the greatest treasure that an individual can determine - one's own self - is already inside, making it unnecessary, therefore, to search for it outside oneself.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

2006-12-17T04:43:00.000-08:00

All the best for you and your family.

Let's not forget that "Happiness is made, not found" (Hardy, 1570-1632, French dramatic poet).

The fact is that the human being needs to transform him/herself so that humanity can live through better days. Therefore, each person must become aware of what this means, and then strive to do one's part.

Down with war! Let's strive everyday for a world filled with more justice and brotherly love!

Merry Christmas and Happiness Forever!

FEELING WELL

2006-08-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

How does one feel well, or good? Many think it’s being able to enjoy the coming weekend, by drinking a lot, dancing away the night and eating too much. Others think it’s taking advantage of a holiday in the middle of the week, so they’ll be able to use lots of drugs the night before, or when they can eat to their heart’s content. Others think they’ll feel very well during their next vacation, which is still some time away. But, what can we say of today, of Monday – a day dreaded by so many – of Tuesday, and so forth. Every day is a day. Should Monday be lived through, once more, with indigestion, with ones stomach bloated with gas? And what can one say of that habitual and intolerable headache that starts on Sundays, and stubbornly hangs on during the next few days?Not to speak of the rising blood pressure of so many; and the list goes on and on. Let’s face it, this is not living and feeling well, it isn’t living with a good quality of life. All this is no more than a great illusion.

The truth is that the wrong things we do are not only on a specific weekend, and on these holidays. How many, during the week – albeit eating less – are eating the wrong food, are drinking more than the usual in order to relax, are filling up on soft drinks, full of food dyes, sugar, acidifiers, etc., all of which do nothing to really feed a person? Why do people commonly prefer to have their refrigerators stocked with soft drinks, instead of orange or pineapple juice, or noni juice? Noni juice, what is that? If many already know what it is, there are many who still know nothing about it, and have no inkling as to its remarkable qualities that help so much in improving people’s health. Why all this? Why exchange what is healthy for something that gives nothing to make our health better? Just as this example was cited, there are many others that could be given. Why is it that the human being, possessing so much knowledge, does not know certain things that should be of great interest to him/her? Or, if they do know of them, why do they continue down a wrong path? And this walk down the wrong path becomes very costly to a person, and to any country – in terms of personal suffering and spent resources. The diseases of the soul and the body are multiplying all over, causing anguish to individuals and concern to governments.

Sadly enough, the strength of the media is unquestionable. We are frequently manipulated by a doubtful advertisement, many times deceiving, that intensely divulges a “good thing,” which is, for example, eating a greasy hot dog or having a soda, so poor in nutrients, and filled with chemical products. In this way, people end up being the victims of the very environment in which they live, victims of ever-increasing robotized minds. There are many who try to change, but this change is becoming all the more difficult to achieve…

What really gets in the way is that, from day to day, individuals are too concerned with their own goals that only have to do with the material world. And in the eagerness to achieve their objectives they don’t realize that they are becoming more and more distant from their very own selves. In this way they become unhappy, not seeing that happiness can be quite nearby, right within themselves. It’s getting easier and easier for the individual to let himself/herself be caught up in the appeals of the outer world, which is not good at all, but causes much concern. Only through self-knowledge, from a search for the truth and wisdom, can man become aware and make changes in his/her life. Solely in this way can a person stop living a life of illusion and of being deceived, and have a greater possibility of living with a better quality of life.

LET'S BE INFECTED BY WHAT IS NATURAL

2006-02-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

“By uniting oneself to the immensities of nature, a man’s heart can become as large as the Earth and the Heavens” (Yuanzi, 210 – 263)

Experience shows us at every moment. Every time a person is tired and stressed out, and seeks the valleys and mountains, or the sea, in short, nature, that person feels refreshed.

The sound of a waterfall, the singing of birds, the shuffling noises of the leaves, the roar of the ocean waves, the shining stars, all of this stirs the essence of one’s being, the individual’s soul. After all, “man, a microcosm, is nothing more than a particle, an infinitesimal prolonging of the universe, the macrocosm”. The sun, for example, is at an enormous distance from us, but the fact is that we depend on it to survive.

Letting oneself be infected by nature, by what is natural – the opposite of that which is artificial and lifeless, found in abundance in the so-called consumer society – the human being , giving value to the simple things, will certainly feel himself to be more sensitive, much more loving, having thus facilitated the possibility of being in harmony with the cosmic consciousness. Once this harmony has been established, the perception emerges that the self, the Earth, and the Universe form an indivisible totality; they are one only thing.

Selection taken from my book, “The Self and The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

DO NOT BE A SLAVE TO YOUR OWN SELF!

2006-01-21T10:59:00.001-08:00

We have mentioned, several times, the great evil that distorted and robotized minds exert on people’s daily lives. And the damage it causes to the quality of life has been terrible, just devastating.

The other day, sitting with a group of friends, we were commenting on individuals who led – in existential terms – miserable lives. A psychiatrist, one of the friends among the group, went on to tell us, obviously without citing any names, of a woman patient of her who, already nearing 83, had the frequent habit of masturbating. She also told us that this woman had never been able to have an orgasm in her whole life.

She added that the same person – who has had this problem since her teen years – continued in her pursuit in an obsessive-compulsive way, with no possibility of success.

This woman, she told us, was living in a mental state of hell; she was at the point of, for long periods of time during the morning, not even wanting to talk on the phone, since it was at this time of day that she masturbated with more intensity. Finally, she said that this was a common occurrence among young people, but that cases such as this woman’s were very rare.

Shocked at this report, we went on to discuss to what point a human being can get. And that all this stems from the unbridled seeking of – done even obsessively and compulsively – terrestrial things, having to do with ones body, when the topics associated with the spirit are totally despised, left on the back burner, so to speak. The result of all this is a miserable life – in this specific case, even causing shock and repugnance – in existential terms.

Despite being very rich, this woman was approaching the end of her life in a melancholy manner, a victim of her own fate that she helped form, truly a slave of her own whims…

Read more about similar subjects in my book, “The Self and The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

INNER COURAGE

2006-01-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

As we know, there are a lot of irrelevant fears; the individuals who have self-knowledge and maturity certainly do not experience these fears. Gifted with inner courage they are also better prepared to deal with the challenges of the unknown and situations that could ultimately bring about some type of fear.

Read more about similar subjects in my book, "The Self And The World", which is for sale at the links here specified.

PEACE AND JOY

2005-12-24T05:36:00.000-08:00

We wish you and yours Peace and Joy on Christmas and in the New Year!!

All of us deserve the best!!

WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO SAY?

2005-12-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”

(Joel Arthur Barker, futurist, in one of his most interesting works – Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future – highlighting the importance of the future in carrying out every-day tasks.)

“Wisdom is not handed to us; we have to discover it on our own.”

(Marcel Proust)

This blog is related to my book, “The Self and The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

NEED WE SAY ANYTHING MORE?

2005-12-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

"The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience, but how he keeps going in times of controversy and conflict."

(Martin Luther King)

"Wisdom is not handed to us; we have to discover it on our own."

(Marcel Proust)

This blog is related to my book "The Self And The World", which is for sale at the links here specified.

BE THE REAL YOU

2005-11-13T05:25:00.000-08:00

You can be a lawyer, an internet marketer, a university student, an architect, etc.; it doesn´t matter, you are, above all, a human being. And it´s part of the human make up to desire to be happy.

Currently, in the struggle for survival, people are very concerned with the goals and objectives that involve the material world. I have nothing against that. However, the individuals do not perceive that, in their search to obtain those material objectives, they start growing more distant from themselves; and, as this happens, they become more and more unhappy. Normally, they seek to fill the existential void through means that, if at times seem comfortable, can also become dangerous – running after illusions, escaping, looking for refuge in drugs, and so forth. And we all know that there are certain paths that end up leading one to death itself.

Regrettably, people do not see that happiness is really quite near, within the persons themselves. This failure to perceive has had a high price. On certain occasions, a person even has a clear understanding of things, but discovering the true path to be followed too difficult, gives it all up. And then everything goes back to being what it was before. There is no doubt that much determination is necessary for one to keep on going forward, following the right path. And all this becomes complicated at times, since the appeals of the outer world are always pulling the person outside his/her inner self, his axis. Man must overcome this great challenge – to defeat his own limitations, his fears. He should not fear searching for self-knowledge; without truly knowing himself, he cannot experience a true personal transformation. It is exactly for this reason that there is so much unhappiness around, so much frustration and lack of understanding, so many conflicts – personal ones and among peoples – such a lack of love and so forth. And, despite all these difficulties, people – human beings that they are – have always been seeking happiness, even though it is quite close. Without doubt, this is one of the great paradoxes of our humanity.

This lack of focus on oneself, this absence of sensitivity with things of the most intimate kind, and with things of nature in a general way, all this comes from the existence of a man who is not blessed with the due awareness. He even gets to the point of not respecting the environment itself, thus the huge amount of pollution in urban centers, in rivers, the large-scale irresponsible and criminal deforestation, which are all causing, in all truth, a preoccupying destructuring of the ecological balance. For this reason, nature has shown revolt through prolonged, torturing droughts, the tsunamis, the hurricanes (such as Katrina). And all of this at the same time as terrorists acts, guerilla warfare and wars. On one hand there is a man with no soul, and on the other furious nature. And just where will all this end up?

My book, “The Self and the World”, which is on sale through the links here specified, desires to awaken mankind to this other side, the side of one’s inner self, and tries to show that people should focus their interests, above all, on the things involving the depths of one’s being. Thus, if one proceeds in this way, he or she will be better capable of reaping the fruits of inner peace, of hope and blessedness. And, gifted with inner wisdom, he or she will be better equipped in order to cope with the external world.

SOCIETY OF EXHIBITION

2005-10-21T04:48:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately we live in a society of exhibition, where appearances predominate, and where what one has prevails over what one is. This is the sad reality. Even the way many people greet each other, characterized by superficiality, leaves the impression that they prefer not to show themselves entirely. In politics, the environment favors the word game, and what counts the least, many times, is a proper attitude and sincerity. In the political milieu, lying is the norm; secretive means are employed so that certain goals are attained. And what can we say of the scandalous, untrue arguments used by the American and British governments for the invasion of Iraq? Even between dating couples or married couples it is not uncommon for them not to know one another. There are couples, for example, who have children but do not adequately take on their responsibilities – for they want to show a lifestyle they can no longer have - , not really paying attention to their kids, contributing a lot towards the growing distance between parents and children. How many women who are already thin enough still want to get even thinner, in order to fit into an image of beauty idolized by society? Some women pay quite a high price for this, even to the point of dying. So, people endeavor at improving their appearance, at what is superficial, the exhibit of their own lives, endlessly showing a lack of sincerity, and displaying falsehood, emptiness; they put a lot of energy into all this, all the while not caring for their inner selves; those most intrinsic issues of their beings, what really counts and has true value. And actually, this disastrous lack of perception of the truth only serves to feed all that is false and full of illusions, and, consequently, all this catastrophic reversal of values.

Man needs to change in a real way. The show man, who shapes a society of exhibition, has to radically transform himself. Only when this happens will he be able to contribute toward shaping a society of true knowledge, and of truth.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THE GREATEST TREASURE

2005-10-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

It’s fundamental to perceive that way down deep there exists a self that does not deserve to be forgotten – which is what generally happens – but instead should be, with tender care and affection, nurtured. After all, the greatest treasure that an individual can determine – one’s own self – is already inside, making it unnecessary, therefore, to search for it outside oneself.

“The great riches of a people can come from the depths of the earth or the bottom of the sea. But the greatest riches come from the depths of the soul.” (Anonymous)

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

RUSSIA, USA AND IRAQ

2005-09-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

The planet Earth is inhabited by humans, some are Americans, others are Russian, Iraqis, African, and so forth. There are white people, black people and those of mixed ethnic origins. But the truth is that we are all brothers.

Unfortunately, man is, generally speaking, led by twisted, and at times, sick minds that end up being manipulated; in this way, he is prevented from knowing the truth, what the truth really is, and what should truly be of interest to him. So then a person starts to hurt himself, feeding more and more negative feelings and thoughts; and the whole thing starts spiraling out, reflecting on family members, work colleagues, etc. And, if all these problems can exist among individuals in the same family, what will happen then among people of different origins and cultures? Well, the examples of terrorist acts, guerilla warfare and wars are all over the place… The misery brought about by man has been getting more widespread, and even nature itself – many times abused by humans - , whose beauty brings so many benefits to everyone, at times creates phenomena that lead to panic and destruction.

Currently, what is about to happen?

The Russians are remembering the hostage takeover of the children’s school in Beslan, one year ago. At the time, 32 heavily-armed guerillas were able to get inside the school, spreading panic and causing death and harm to an expressive number of children. This evil act brought on by man – man or beast? – shocked, and continues shocking, the world.

The south of the United States, mainly the city of New Orleans, is suffering from the devastating effects of a colossal natural disaster – namely, hurricane Katrina. Even Mother Nature, which, when in a state of equilibrium does so much good to people, has just “played a tremendous joke” on the all-powerful American country. All this makes us remember the tsunamis, which provoked such incredible damage in Asia some time ago. In New Orleans, everything is under water, the destruction is alarming, the survivors are terrified, and many are stealing and looting…It’s important not to forget that this city was always situated on a base that was, shall we say, ephemeral – it is, or was, protected by levees, because of its location below sea level. And is the fact that there are so many blacks in the region a justifiable reason for the divulged absence of more vigorous action on the part of the Federal Government?

And in Iraq, hundreds of Shiites died from being stamped on, suffocated and drowned, during a religious ceremony in Baghdad. Almost 1000 people lost their lives. All this was due to a rumor of the presence of a suicide bomber in their midst. There were no bellicose acts with Americans or English. The panic among them was their greatest enemy.

Let’s reflect upon these happenings. We need to draw precious lessons from all that is occurring in this global world where we live…

THE DANGER OF MANIPULATIVE MINDS

2005-08-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

One can never stress this too much. After all, for us humans, this is a most important issue. Each one of us has his or her own mind, and it’s a fact that our mind can’t stop existing, although it can, shall we say, be kept under control so as to prevent its evil influence from affecting us. Unfortunately, an individual is generally unaware of the fact that the mind can hide the true essence of man. And due to this lack of sensitivity, of awareness, the price one pays is too high. The human being has paid an elevated price for all this: aversion, inward conflicts, existential escape, and depression; the inability to forgive and put an end to urban violence, terrorist acts, guerrilla warfare and wars.

The truth of the matter is that we are, largely, manipulated by robotic minds, twisted minds, even sick minds. All this encourages the individual – deprived of an effective awareness – to be too influenced by emotions, erroneous thought processes, consequently preventing him or her from knowing the truth. And take heed, this absence of knowing the truth makes up one of the grave misfortunes of humanity.

In general, the large problem is that people, the ones that own their minds, have become the mind itself. This way, once again emphasizing the point, the person becomes susceptible to all kinds of manipulations. And thus manipulated, he loses his will power, has his sense of free will confused and ultimately, ends up a smaller being.

The human being needs to cultivate more and more faith, to practice meditation, to get closer to ones inner self by diving deep inside and, in the immensity of that inward silence, come to know what is the real truth – the opposite of illusion. And therefore he/she will be able to effectively own his or her mind in all its fullness, to be truly the owner of himself or herself, with the wonderful ability to spread what is good, and to live a happy and blessed life, contributing toward the existence of a much better world.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

MAN AND FORGIVENESS

2005-07-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

Humans, at times, find it very difficult to forgive one another. And this gets in the way of their intimate lives, reflecting upon, obviously, their day-to-day getting along with each other.

We know that individuals, on several occasions, try and make an effort to put forgiveness into practice, but they face much resistance even from within themselves. They know they need to change their behavior, but are unable to do so, for the obstacles lying inside them are huge. On a larger scale, this also occurs among different peoples, setting off, at times, even warlike actions.

And what should we say of the brother who cannot forgive his own flesh and blood? It’s worth remembering that Peter asked Jesus the following question, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother if he sins against me? Even seven times?” And Jesus answered, “I do not tell you even seven times, but seventy times seven.”

This lack of ability to forgive is what allows the spread of hatred in people’s relationships; and all this is very dangerous, for it has a tendency to grow without limits, capable of shaking the family structure, and even disrupting peace among men. For this very reason Jesus affirmed that, against this spread of evil, one should counteract with limitless forgiveness.

Don’t kid yourselves: it is necessary to forgive, forgive always. Not having the capacity to forgive makes up one of the greatest dishonors of the human being.

The mature people, those who are aware and dive into their inner self are more apt to forgive. And one must not forget that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, it is not denying what is serious. Forgiveness is an act of the will, of being lucid, of greatness; for it consists of taking in a brother just as he is, in spite of the evil he might have caused us.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

TERROR IN LONDON

2005-07-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

Terrorism attacked again with all its destructive force, all its anger; this time in London, by way of four synchronized attacks, three being at subway stations and one on a bus, which was totally destroyed by fire. The result of all this, as always, was the death of dozens of innocent people, as well as the injury of hundred of others, none of whom had anything to do with the problem at hand.

After the fatidical September 11, 2001 attacks, where close to 3,000 people died in New York, brought on by cruel, terrorist acts coming from the renowned group, Al Qaeda, several relevant attacks have occurred; the last one, before the London attacks, happened in February, 2005, when a triple onslaught caused various deaths in the Philippines . Other terrorist attacks after 9/11 that became known throughout the world were in Bali (Indonesia), Casablanca (Morocco), Riad (Saudi Arabia), Madrid (Spain) and Beslan (Russia).

And why has all this been happening? It’s all the result of man’s distancing himself from his inner self; the farther he gets from the essence of his being, the more susceptible he becomes to being swept up by the currents of evil, to being manipulated by sick minds, filled with twisted thoughts, and fed by hate, anger and the thirst for vengeance.

The fact is that the terrorist acts communicate to all of us – on a global scale – the senselessness of it all, the hatred, the lack of capacity to forgive. Certain groups of terrorists have even performed their horrific acts in the name of God. What damned people!

Do not be disillusioned: only by an inner transformation will these monsters be able to return once more to acting as true human beings.

Down with terrorism!

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

* This material was prepared last week, but only posted in this date. And yesterday terrorism attacked again in London.

Down with terrorism!!

MAN AND HIS SPIRITUALITY

2005-06-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

A French philosopher, 46 years old, whose name is Michel Onfray, has been very successful in his country; among the philosophers in France, he is today the most read.

A convicted atheist, Onfray has severely criticized religions. The fact is that he has been an inflexible critic of the sacred texts; with a series of arguments he has pointed out the incoherence he deems to have found in the scriptures. For example, he cites the Sixth Commandment, that states: “Thou shall not kill,” and stresses that soon after, and in a contradictory way, there appears a law in the text authorizing a person to kill. He also criticizes the religions with regards to their seeking to conceal the possibility of pleasure that the human being can obtain from the physical body. And he goes further, stating that appealing to God and transcendency is a sign of weakness on the part of man.

Even thought he is partially right, it is fundamental to point out that these questions raised by Onfray present great complexity, and they cannot be studied under his point of view only. Science – what he talks about so much – is important, but isn’t everything.

There’s no doubt that humans have their corporeal, material side, which cannot be forgotten or rejected. But it also goes without saying that people have their more subjective, spiritual side. It isn’t a coincidence that, throughout the history of mankind, human beings have found support in faith, in religion. Thus, hundreds, thousands of temples – of the most diverse religious tendencies – were built down through the centuries, and they are living proof of people’s spirituality. The fact is that every human being has a strong spiritual component.

The truth is we have to disagree with those who think of God as an old man with a white beard who lives way up there, in heaven. And we can even feel indignant by the large number of people being exploited – a sign of powerlessness – by certain cults; although disoriented, they avidly seek something spiritual. The issue is quite a complex one. Life is of a fantastic complexity. This is why some people say that life is an experience to be lived, and not understood. With regards to what is dealt with here, if everything were linear, in a simpler form, there wouldn’t be, in present times, so much to be sought after, placed in doubt and discussed.

The important thing for man to do is to seek a balance between what is material and what is spiritual. To the extent that people grow in an inner way – including through self-knowledge – that they truly mature, then they will come to the conclusion that all one needs, in spiritual terms, is already within ones own self. God, who is love, who is an energy surrounded by mystery, is not way up there, on the outside, but yes, inside ones own being. Ultimately, becoming truly mature, a person will be more equipped to better discern what is happening within, as well as around him or her, including, obviously, all the complex issues mentioned here. When man is endowed with this improved condition, surely one cannot say that this relation with God – that is renewed on a daily basis – presents itself a sign of weakness.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

WHAT IS TRULY OF INTEREST TO US?

2005-05-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

We live in a society that imposes upon us constant brainwashing, in a bad sense, obviously. We are quite manipulated by our robotized minds, our egos. Thus, we don’t perceive what is truly of interest to us. The fact is that man is distancing himself more and more from his inner self, and instead, is tuned into superficial and external issues. As a result, the frustrations and an existential void appear; and the human being is disoriented, unhappy.

All of us need to ponder these matters. Don’t forget that man should search – despite all the difficulties - for a balance between the material and the spiritual. It’s fundamental to focus on that; if we don’t do that, it will be impossible to transform man’s reality.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THE PEOPLE AND THE POPE

2005-04-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Pope John Paulus II died, and there was general commotion. Millions of people – even non-catholics – became very sensitive to and quite moved with the event.

As a rule, the human being is always seeking attachment to external things, so as to resolve his inner problems; and this is actually a mistake. With the death of the Holy Father, however, such external factor, by its peculiarities, let loose, in a general manner, a torrent of positive emotions in individuals; even to the point of many truly being touched in the depths of their souls. Also, so many have come to feel that a new beginning – a process of personal transformation – could have been initiated.

The fact is that the new Pope, Benedict XVI, has already been chosen. Many around the world are questioning whether he won’t be too orthodox, too conservative for the present times. Many other aspects have been questioned regarding the way the new Pope will behave.

We’ve already had more than 200 popes, in various ages throughout humanity, each one with his style. Thus, new popes have come and gone in the Vatican. As to God, He is eternal, and is inside each of us. For this very reason, don’t kid yourselves: as a famous theologian said a few days ago, God is truly necessary to the human being, while the Pope is necessary to the Catholic Church.

POPE JOHN PAULUS II

2005-04-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Much has been said about the Pope, and his death, which happened on April 2,2005.

Let’s consider three opinions:

“A man of peace, a friend of the Jewish people, who recognized their uniqueness and did all he could on behalf of the reconciliation among the peoples.”
(Ariel Sharon, Israeli Prime Minister)

“From very early on, the Pope understood that, when one accomplishes God’s purposes, this person achieves the good for society and for his own life.”
(Cardinal Geraldo M. Agnelo, Archbishop of Salvador, Primate of Brazil)

“Death is always a terrible thing, but here (in Rome), the young people reacted by singing…it’s really magnificent. For his sake, we, the young people, transformed this tragic night into an almost happy celebration.”
(Emanuele, a Roman, 26 years old)

Before he died, Pope John Paulus II left the following message: “Love converts the heart and bestows peace upon a world at times dominated by the power of evil and of fear.”

THE TORMENTED SOLDIER

2005-03-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

After participating in a bellicose conflict, he, the soldier, returned home. Only that he went back as an embittered, neurotic paraplegic. His name? It doesn’t matter. What conflict did he take part in? That’s not pertinent. After all, war is war…

At home, despite his sister’s care – he’d already lost both parents – he felt abandoned, just completely desolate. He knew that there was nothing he could do to go back being the person that he was before, full of life and hope. Thus, he would spend hours on end in his room, staring at the things around him – the closet, the mirror, the bedpan… He was sure that the cruelty of war had annihilated him; he was convinced that his life didn’t have any more meaning. In the depths of his weakened being, he felt there was no way of reconstructing his life. Lying on his bed beside the window, he rarely looked outside, but kept thinking about a thousand things, melancholic stuff. So, needy and living in a state of poverty, he mixed up childhood memories with the raving memories of the horrors of war. He pondered all types of things, many of which were quite sick, apparently bordering on madness…

Intimately, though, he was sure he wasn’t crazy, but merely a victim. The crazy ones were the governing rulers, who planned and fomented the war he had participated in. And how many other soldiers, at that very moment – be it in guerrilla warfare, terrorist acts or in wars – weren’t being mutilated, becoming paralyzed as he was, dying without even being able to return to their homes and families with life? And all this in exchange for what? All this was to satisfy the quest of the terrible objectives of these monstrous bellicose strategists, who, many times, go to the extent of inventing arguments that are shockingly untruthful in order to carry forward their bellicose actions; cruel, irresponsible and destructive.

Regrettably, this tormented soldier was one more victim of the horrors of war. And what can be said of those citizens – they weren’t even soldiers – who were, in a cowardly and brutal manner, killed by crazed terrorists, in the Twin Towers in New York City? And what can be said of the daily killings occurring in the Middle East, witnessed by all of us via television?

Do not kid yourselves: things can only start improving to the extent that an ever-increasing number of people go through a process of true, personal transformation, which takes place in the self’s most profound depths.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

AWARENESS AND MATURITY

2005-03-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Try to incorporate all the wisdom that emanates from the phrases below:

“The great riches of a people can come from the depths of the earth or the bottom of the sea. But the greatest riches come from the depths of the soul.”
(Anonymous)

“There is nothing more fragile than a creature who deceives himself.”
(Torres Pastorino)

“It’s not strength that people lack, it’s will power.”
(Victor Hugo)

“The greatest discovery of the men of my time was that: man, by changing his thoughts, can also change the outcome of his life.”
(William James)

“The bad discoverers are those who believe there is no land because they see but the sea.”
(Francis Bacon)

“Life is a gift of Nature, but a beautiful life is a gift of wisdom.”
(Greek Proverb)

Always seek personal growth, maturity. The truth is that everyone ages, but not everyone becomes mature. Aging is a natural process that occurs in the physical body, while maturity must be sought after by the person; it’s an internal growth that issues from awareness.

The responsibility of being yourself is a fantastic experience, and it has everything to do with being mature.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

AGAINST WAR, PRO PEACE, PRO LIFE

2005-03-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

Down with guerilla warfare, terrorist acts, and wars. In these conflicts, how many young people, how many human beings aren’t treated barbarically, mutilated and killed? All this is extremely sad, and so lamentable. Issues on geopolitical strategy, dire desires for vengeance, decisions made by disturbed minds go over everything and everyone, even man’s most valuable possession, which is the right to life.

When a bellicose conflict comes to an end, everyone celebrates peace. But one needs to remember that many of those involved in such conflicts – and survive – become neurotic, losing something so dear to an individual – peace of mind.

And what can we say of the “wars” that the relationship between certain couples, or between business partners, turns into? And what about the “war” that became of living in large cities, where violence reigns, and where sometimes one is killed over a pair of tennis shoes?

All this because the human being, by distancing himself from his inner self, starts undergoing a robotizing process of his mind, going on to be manipulated by a deceiving ego, and by society itself.

We should, with much determination, be alert to all this – although it is not common for this awareness to occur – confronting all these illnesses, and putting forth our total effort on behalf of life and peace.

Read more about similar subjects in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THE BODY AND THE SOUL

2005-02-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

“The body is the soul’s instrument and the soul is God’s instrument.” (Anacharsis, six century, philosopher from Scythia).

The fact is that the body – concrete, material – and the soul – spiritual substance – should form an organic unit. In unbalance, without the existence of the soul – God’s instrument – man is only a body, which, one day will become a corpse; thus, sooner or later, he could suppose that life does not have any meaning. After all, the self is within the body, but it is not the body.

Within this vision of organic unity, in which heaven (soul) and earth (body) are connected, life is worth living, it is a blessing.

Selection taken from my book “The Self And The World”; it is for sale at the links here specified.

A REMINDER

2005-02-13T05:26:00.000-08:00

It is worth pointing out, once again, that this blog is related to my book “The Self And The World”; and the book has the intention of helping people to perceive that way down deep there exists a self that does not deserve to be forgotten – which is what generally happens – but instead should be, with tender care and affection, nurtured. After all, the greatest treasure that an individual can determine – one’s own self – is already inside, making it unnecessary, therefore, to search for it outside oneself. The work intends to show that the human being, who lives in a society characterized by materialism, should always search for a balance between the material and the spiritual; and that self-knowledge, which has to do with the discovery of one’s self, is essential for the transformation of any individual.

The book “The Self And The World” is for sale at the links here specified.

MONEY

2005-02-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

There is a Buddhist thought that says: “The loss of wealth, in itself, is not the cause of suffering, but one’s quest, at any cost, in wanting to possess wealth, this is the cause of great pain.” And the fact is that some people are extremely attached to money. How many have stopped living their lives in a true manner, becoming great misers? How many, longing to get rich at any cost, have stolen from the public coffers?

In of itself, money is neutral. To have money, if earned honestly, is not a sin. We all are sons of God; we have the right to have a prosperous life. There’s nothing like being prosperous materially and at the same time having peace of mind, true knowledge about ourselves, and being aware and alert people. One must remember that it is essential to pursue the balance between the material and the spiritual.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

WAKE UP!

2005-01-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

Generally speaking, we are quite manipulated by our robotized minds, our egos; we are also manipulated by society. Don’t let yourself be manipulated by them; the fact is that they deceive and messes up people’s life so much.

Don’t dive into the escape routes – alcohol, heavier drugs etc. People who dive deep into these escape routes have many times been faced with their own death; let’s not forget this.

Don’t kid yourself: to change your reality you need to bring about an inner survey – the hardest one to do – to get to know yourself deeply, search for your truths; only in this way, and by acting wisely, will it be possible to undergo personal transformation.

Wake up to all of this, do not lose anymore time! All of us deserve to live a life worth living, dignified.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THE DEATH OF THE KITTEN...AND OTHER ILLNESSES

2005-01-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

A few days ago my wife told me that she’d seen a kitten in the garage of our building. Days later, I was able to see, for the first time, the kitten running around down there. I started wondering how it, so small, was getting fed, since certainly it had been separated from its mother. Since I have two pet cats, it became a matter of concern for me…

I saw it at other times, and really felt sorry for its solitary condition and abandonment. Every time I got close, it would run off and hide, either under cars or a tire, or in a straight passage between the stored gas thanks. Today, Sunday, January 16, I decided to take some cat food and water to it in the early afternoon. By this time it wasn’t running from me anymore. A weird sensation came over me that the kitten was very sick, even close to dying.

I got back to my apartment, when I decided to take some milk to the kitten. When I slid the dish over next to it, it got scared and went off toward the straight, gas tank passage, hardly able to run. It just lay down and started breathing much faster, like it was panting. It seemed quite strange to me, and also extremely sad. I was overcome by grief. I could sense that death would take over its little body. Soon after, the kitten’s breathing became slower, and I clearly saw when it took its last breath. This touched me deeply.

Arriving at our apartment, I told the whole story to my wife, who immediately afterward went down to the garage with me. She also was profoundly touched by the death of the tiny, defenseless kitten. We then called the building doorman, who, using a broom, gently dragged the kitten out. This was a forlorn scene at our feet. After all, a life that had hardly begun to flourish had just vanished…Had it been a victim of abandonment? The small animal was then placed in a plastic sack and tossed on a ramp below the garage floor.

A little while after, I began thinking on how much I had been touched by this death; and that the same doesn’t happen when I witness, nearly every day, scenes on TV about the deaths of several human beings, part of the interminable and monstrous bellicose conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, between Americans and Iraqis, and so on. This is because such scenes, which occur so frequently, are shown as being commonplace events.

I have no doubt that animals have feelings; and the worst of it is that so many are abandoned, starving, and dying for lack of nourishment and care.

And what should we say of human beings? How many have been excluded – for the most varied reasons – from a dignified life, many times going through horrible suffering during their whole existence? How many have died of starvation, when, on several occasions, from an excess of production, so much food is thrown out; without mentioning the existence of the tremendous waste of food? At this very moment, how many aren’t suffering terribly from the effects of the colossal tragedy caused by the tsunamis, the enormous killer waves that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Southeastern Asia? We mustn’t forget that man, who has endured so much suffering throughout time, is a being of noble sentiment, gifted with a soul, having an inner self that deserves to be enhanced – and respected – in a very special way.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

A SHOCKING CASE

2005-01-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Jiriuna died. The poor and discriminated native Brazilian Indian, Jiriuna, was found dead on the street, his body burned all over. According to a witness, two teenagers, during the night, set fire to the Indian right on the sidewalk.

The body of our Indian brother is being watched over in the funeral home. There are only a few people present. Suddenly, a teen walks into the wake, and yells out that he had, by himself, cowardly killed the Indian, but he was feeling such remorse now. He confessed that he was a monster, that he had no soul, that he was worse than a wild animal. Shouting loudly, he declared that his parents belonged to the middle class, but they too had no good sentiments, treating him badly and with disdain. He continued, saying that, because of all this, he had turned to drugs and the bad things in life. He did not know God, love and feelings of goodness. One of the people present then said: “God is inside you, the good sentiments were born with you, and are there, deep inside your being. Forgive, forgive…It’s never too late to go after things of real value. The other path one can choose you know very well where it leads, you experienced that right up close…”

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

HELP!

2005-01-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

HELP THE TSUNAMI DISASTER VICTIMS.

Donate to the American Red Cross ( http://redcross.org ).

TSUNAMI TRAGEDY

2005-01-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

Big waves, waves of death… An end of year marked by a colossal tragedy.

At this moment, all of us need to help in some way the survivors and their families.

A tragedy inside the tragedy: some natives are mutilating the dead bodies to steal jewels...

Doubtlessly,a chaotic situation...Let’s help!

BELIEF AND CONFIDENCE

2004-12-18T13:02:00.000-08:00

After a series of contacts with a group of acquaintances, he perceived that they were trying to impose some beliefs considered to be man’s salvation. Deep in his heart he felt that those beliefs were not really the expression of truth. The more the group pressured him, the more he felt springing up from inside a sense of confidence and courage, a fearlessness to oppose all that they wanted to impose upon him.

This individual acted properly – but many don’t proceed in this way – for he didn’t bow to their pressure. Don’t forget that belief is borrowed, something others give you, it is social. Now confidence arises inside a person, it is personal.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

OVERCOME WORLDY ISSUES

2004-12-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

Today, upon arriving home, he was so discouraged. Totally different from two days before, when, on entering his house, he was even a little euphoric. What could have happened in such a short space of time? He came to the conclusion that his day had been filled with worldly things, such as chaotic traffic, meetings with stressful arguments, excessive worry about his finances, concern about the constant acts of terror, etc. Instead of having a drink, he decided to retire to his bedroom to meditate, but wasn’t able to. He thought to himself: worldly issues are really taking over my thoughts, preventing me from emptying my mind. After a few frustrated attempts, he started feeling even more uptight. So he resolved not to insist. A little later, now more relaxed – after all, he was a beginner in the art of meditation – he tried to mentally isolate himself from everything, finally being able to dive deep inside his inner self. Then, he found a new quality in himself, peace, bliss…

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

OBSESSION WITH WORKSHIPPING THE BODY

2004-12-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

It’s getting all the more common for women, as well as men, to be concerned about their bodies. The truth is that people have been looking for, in ever-increasing numbers, the health clubs and exercise classes, plastic surgery and dermatology clinics, new weight-loss diets, etc. In this race to gain perfection of the body, many people have gone about accomplishing what they were aiming at in an exaggerated and heedless manner. Thus, every once in a while, we hear of incidents where someone even died from over-exercising, or of unsuccessful plastic surgeries occurring, and so on.

Doubtlessly there has been a veritable race in search of the perfect body. It is a fact, though, that in certain situations, a physical improvement can actually help someone to feel better psychologically.

However, it’s worth noting that the true transformations that a person can go through are those that happen from the inside out; the ones that come about from the outside inwards, as a rule, have no consistency and don’t produce any effective transformation in the human being.

In this manner, while individuals are all the more concerned about their outward appearance, one doesn’t notice this same interest associated with a quest for things of real values that are already inside a person, in the depths of his being, and which truly make up his greatest treasure. Some time ago I heard a woman say that she preferred being elegant and chic on the inside much more than having a beautiful body. Unfortunately, few people think like this. And that is why the world is full of people who are dissatisfied, frustrated and unhappy; they are always in search of something but never finding it…

One must remember that it is essential to pursue the balance between the material and the spiritual. There is no need to be against physical exercise, dieting, etc. Everything should be done in due manner. Regrettably, people have prioritized the material aspects of life and therefore we live in a world of unbalance, which could be much more just and brotherly.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

DOES THE WORLD TEACH THROUGH PAIN?

2004-11-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

Yes, the world teaches through pain. And everything that springs from the depths of one’s being is imbued with love.

Let’s envision a circumference: in the center is the human being’s self; to the extent that one goes farther and farther from the center, he starts heading toward the border, the edges – and that’s where the dominion of worldly issues over man grows ever stronger. When a person distances himself from his inner self, day after day it gets more and more difficult for him to become free from bad habits, undesirable company, jealousy, hatred, drugs and violence, and so forth. Unfortunately, there are many young people surrounded by this sad reality; thus the distancing regarding their families – and many times these are already completely dysfunctional – and also their involvement in a world of crime and violence. So, progressively, they go in the direction of a way of life hard to get out of, characterized by immense pain. Therefore, it gets all the more difficult for these people to find their center of equilibrium – from where all that is of real value surges. This is the grave danger, one of the great evils of our humanity. If, as it happens so often, this quest is already difficult for those who haven’t even gone that far from the center, imagine how hard it must be for those whose case is so serious.

Doubtlessly, one of man’s tasks of greatest magnitude is to get those people who are still near their center to see the importance of continuing to cultivate those issues associated with their souls, so as to avoid or lessen future pain. On the other hand, every effort must be made with the aim of helping those who are taking peripheral paths to realize how fundamental it is for them – and the world – to fight, in a decided manner, in search of their center.

Therefore, let’s nurture this dream of going after our center, our inner self. As the famous French writer, Victor Hugo, said. “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”

Read more about similar issues in my book, “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

INVEST IN YOURSELF

2004-11-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

One ought to take notice that when a person speaks of investments, it doesn’t only have to be about money. There are other forms of investment. It so happens that more and more – and this is a positive thing – people are concerned with investing in themselves; thus, they are studying more, seeking ways to change, developing personal energy, cultivating self-discipline, and so forth.

Those individuals who are alert, who attempt to invest in themselves, doubtlessly have to be on the watch for two basic issues: one dealing with time an one related to commitment. So, these people should not have a mindset of immediacy, but rather, they ought to think about things as being in the long run, with the horizon far ahead. On the other hand, they must be highly committed to what they are doing. There are stars who take years to become successful; there are inventors who take very long for their inventions to become a reality.

Previously, I mentioned that there are people who invest in themselves by seeking to change. And so enters the question of seeking for wisdom, truth, self-knowledge, for it is only in this way, by being an effective and aware human being, that man can truly change himself, becoming happier with himself and with the world. Unfortunately, in a general sense, the change that someone seeks, is, shall we say, a half-modification, because it is easier and more accommodating. For true transformation is no easy matter, on the contrary, it is hard work, demanding of us great sacrifice. All this because we go through life manacled by robotized minds, by deceiving egos and by a society that causes much difficult in obtaining efficient, personal transformation.

Don’t kid yourself, don’t be deceived: indisputably, the search for true personal transformation is the most valuable investment that the human being can achieve. And it’s worth noting that going in search of such a noble objective demands a high level of commitment.

Read more about similar issues in my book, “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

PHYSICAL DISTANCE X PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE

2004-11-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

At times one only needs to cross a street to meet the person with whom there is a matter to be discussed, one which is considered very important. However, despite the fact that the physical distance is so short, the interested person can feel, in his innermost being, more and more hindered and farther from accomplishing his objective. The fact of the matter is that, for several reasons, mostly subjective ones, the interested party starts allowing, more and more progressively, his shyness and fears to dominate his desire to achieve something that to him is relevant.

As can be observed, in this case – which happens often in people’s daily lives -, the greatest obstacle isn’t the physical distance, but the psychological one, conceived by the individual himself. This distance is inside human beings, and is fueled by negative and distorted thoughts. Generally, at times like these, people become very bitter, for they live in a growing state of indecision, of intense inner conflict – whether or not the approach should be taken, how will the other party react to their intentions. Indeed, this psychological distance is terrible, especially as it gets in the way of people’s walks through life on planet Earth.

The person who’s gifted with self-knowledge, who’s in harmony with his inner self, without a doubt will be better capacitated and won’t permit that his desires for accomplishing something be suffocated by such harmful problems.

Read more about similar issues in my book, “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

REAL KNOWLEDGE

2004-11-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Everything in life ought to be done by way of paths. Many are these paths; there are the best and the worst, the good and evil ones.

The great path one should seek is the true path. Following this path man will achieve real knowledge. And what is this knowledge? True knowledge is deep inside one’s soul, and, when discovered, it allows one to reach a higher level of existence. The person then becomes aware that the path of truth, the real path, does not lead to knowing more, but instead to enlarging one’s self. After all, of what use is to know so much but not know the basics of life, and not know oneself? What good is to have all these theories on love, while never truly feeling, experiencing love?

Don’t kid yourself, for self-deception is one of humanity’s great disgraces. It is already bad to deceive others, how much worse it is to deceive oneself. And there is an enormous amount of people who are deceiving themselves, causing much heartbreak and grief. Seek the real path, be a person gifted with true knowledge.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THE QUESTION OF FEAR

2004-10-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

There are several kinds of fear; one feels frightened in the most diverse situations. In some circumstances fear is completely warranted, even promoting a heightened sense of awareness in the person. However, many times the fear that a person is feeling has either no reason for existing, or is felt in an exaggerated manner. Fear of being afraid, fear of oneself, are terrible fears, they are examples of sick phobias. Since fear is an emotion that shakes one’s inner self deeply, it is generally of great destructive power in the life of a human being. This fear beyond the limits of normalcy, which is pathological and based on excessive insecurity, ends up weakening a person and greatly upsetting his day-to-day activities.

Those people in harmony with their inner self, who have self-knowledge and maturity, certainly do not experience these irrelevant fears. Gifted with inner courage, they are also better prepared to deal with the challenges of the unknown and situations that could ultimately bring about some type of fear.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

BE CREATIVE, INNOVATIVE

2004-10-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Whoever has many problems, whoever is going through difficulties and feels afflicted is usually dominated by negative thoughts and can only imagine that bad things will happen. This causes one to feel, most of the time, unmotivated and hindered from having good ideas, from being creative. Although, sometimes this scenario helps in stimulating the person to let one’s imagination soar, to become creative.

The phrase of the famous German physicist, Albert Einstein (1879-1955), is worth remembering: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” It isn’t enough to just know what so many others already know. The fact is that dreaming, having ideas and being creative is very gratifying, a truly positive factor in the life of an individual. However, take note of this, just being creative is not sufficient; it is important to take one more step forward and be innovative. And what is innovation? Innovation is creativity transformed into value. To be inspired, to dream and invent, all this is great; but is even better to create something of value. You can expand upon your ideas and thus create thousands of things. And of what credit are these things if they don’t have any use? There’s no doubt that being innovative is more difficult than being creative. For an individual to become innovative, it’s essential for him to be focused, disciplined and determined, and in many cases, also to have specific knowledge in certain fields.

The human being who is in harmony with his inner self, who knows himself deeply, experiences a more favorable atmosphere where he can cultivate good ideas and have greater potential to transform these ideas into something worthwhile and lasting.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

2004-10-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

We all have our problems. There are, let’s say, smaller problems and bigger problems. In general, the smaller ones don’t worry us too much, don’t press us too much; however, the bigger ones leave us extremely bothered. They make us feel anguished and force us, in general, to look for ways to solve them. There are problems that occurred in the past, they are already after-the-fact, and there are also problems, difficulties, which one perceives could happen ahead. In both cases, the individual should strive to create new alternatives, new chances, in order to able to overcome the adversities. The ideal thing is for people to always anticipate the problem, in behave pro-actively, not letting it go until after the contention occurs, and only then executing the transforming measures.

We live in a context of ever-present change, where the new is always happening. And the truth is that, generally, people have difficulty in dealing with what is new. For this reason, what one notes is that people undertake – and this occurs frequently – new measures after the undesirable facts have happened. This is also true for companies, countries, which obviously are managed by human beings.

In a world characterized more and more by changes, there are also those who, by adopting a different manner of thinking and acting, are able to learn a lesson from adversities and misfortunes in order to grow and attain a higher level of existence. And there is no doubt that the individuals who, besides attaining scientific knowledge, also learned how to get in tune with one’s inner self, to know oneself profoundly, are more capable of perceiving what happens with themselves and around them. Indeed, it is these people who have a better capacity for transformation.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

2 - MARIANNE AND HER PROBLEMS

2004-10-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

We need to be people of faith, searching for the truths that spring from inside our being; we must seek the indelible pleasures that emanate from deep within our self. We should nurture the search for wisdom. Ultimately, we need to undergo a transformation. And this transforming process is hardly easy, many times it is even painful. Also, usually our minds get in the way of this process, acting as a robot, in a twisted and addicted manner, exerting a harmful command over our lives. This robotized mind, and one should understand this once and for all, is the great misfortune of our lives, since it puts manacles on us, keeping us from acting appropriately, at times throwing us off a cliff, or in the gutter, or even in death’s arms.

Marianne needs to try finding harmony, and believe in her producing force, becoming an efficaciously aware being. Afterwards, all these things – day-to-day activities, losing weight, quitting the cocaine habit, etc. – will flow more easily, and, undoubtedly, allow her to experience life to its fullest potential.

Fundamentally, one should not give up, and always be in search of things of true value. I end this text with the following phrase from Harriet Beecher Stowe, an American writer who lived in the 19th century: “When you arrive at a narrow place, and it seems impossible to go forward, do not give up, for it is at this point and time that the tide will change.”

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

1 - MARIANNE AND HER PROBLEMS

2004-10-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Marianne told me a few days ago: “I’ll be damned. I don’t know what happens, but the truth is that I can’t lose weight or have an orgasm – and it’s not because I have any hormonal problems – nor can I give up this terrible addiction to cocaine. I can’t explain it, but I’m just not able to. And there are also other things I deem important that I can’t get done. I feel rather useless, frustrated, somewhat depressed – ultimately, a weak person. I’ve been to different therapists; I’ve attended meetings of a religious nature, read books, held onto amulets, but to no avail. I feel defeated and afraid. With each passing day I become more frightened of myself. They say it’s the worst of all fears. This is all terrible, woeful. Recently a friend read a phrase to me from the famous psychoanalyst, Erich Fromm, which left a great impression on me: ‘The only thing that threatens my safety in being me, resides in myself: in my lack of faith in life and in my productive strength; in regressive tendencies; in intimate indolence and in allowing others to dominate my life.’”

I replied to Marianne that Fromm’s saying is really fantastic. We can’t let ourselves be indolent, passive; and go seeking support in external things; we have to look, courageously, inside ourselves, to believe more in ourselves; we must dive into our inner self and know ourselves.

We will continue dealing with these subjects in our next post.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

MAN AND STRATEGIES

2004-10-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

“When the strategist makes a mistake, the soldier dies” (Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, president of the U.S.A.).

When people are pursuing their objectives, they need to use strategies and be strategists.

Strategy represents the definition of the most adequate path to be followed so that the desired situation is attained.

Without strategy, or by using wrong strategies – both situations occur often – it becomes much more difficult to arrive where one desires, and the repercussions of this omission or mistake can even be disastrous to the lives of individuals.

Man cannot allow his existence to be a blank or to let it go astray; since he has every right to cultivate the growth of his own being and to be happy.

Selection taken from my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

MAN AND DREAMS

2004-10-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

As we have commented earlier, the utopian dream, illusion, is the opposite of truth; and the search for truth is proof of wisdom. However, it is fundamental for the human being to dream; for instance, dreaming of searching for the truth is a fantastic thing. There are, of course, several types of dreams. If a lot of people don’t have any dreams – and this is bad – on the other hand others have good and attainable dreams; the problem is that sometimes they don’t know how to put them in practice. We also need to recognize that there are individuals who nurture unattainable dreams.

If it’s important to know where one plans to go (the harbor), it’s also fundamental to know how to implement everything in order to get there (the passage). The fact is that many people have ideas and plans; then they lose too much time with them but don’t accomplish anything. This waste of time happens because they don’t know how to deal with the process of crossing to the other side. And strategy has to do with these subjects.

A great problem is that many times man knows, in advance, that he needs to change his reality, but he doesn’t do anything to create for himself a new chance. In general, after a serious rupture in his life, the individual feels pressed to do anything to change his situation. And we need to recognize that this way of acting isn’t the best one. The advisable procedure would be to begin the passage process before an expected rupture happens in one’s life. A relevant point is: it isn’t worth it to have a nice dream and then bring it forth in a bad way, neither is it to bring forth a wrong dream. Finally, when dreaming, do it with your head in the heavens, but with your feet on the ground; and materialize the plans with much passion.

The human being, who is aware, with self-knowledge, will certainly nurture appropriate dreams, knowing how to create his/her next chance.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

4 - PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION: THE GREAT TURNING POINT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

2004-09-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

Actually, for our standards, it is no easy task to meditate, considering that, through this process the individual should completely empty one’s mind. And how common it is, when trying to meditate, to experience a torrent of thoughts, especially in the initial phase. Meditating is a fantastic experience that has as its goal to allow the self to become in tune with what exists in the very entrails of your soul. Take one of these terrorists. If he truly wanted to meditate, all his pernicious feelings would certainly disappear, for, being connected to the essence of his self, he would definitely go on, for sure, to feel the unforgettable pleasures that would spring forth from there. And such pleasures and feelings possess the magical power of driving away, eliminating everything twisted and harmful that existed before.

There are several ways to meditate. What someone should really have as their goal is to erase all thoughts and empty their mind. By way of this fantastic personal experience, you’ll go on to know yourself more deeply, to find your truths, to become a person with awareness, more alert to what is really going on inside yourself and all that around you. And the result of all this is happiness, bliss and contentment; all of which is very different from what is offered by excessive drinking, heavy drugs, human alienation and so forth.

Young people – awaken, invest decisively in what was advised here, which has nothing to do with deceiving dreams and disillusion, and start experiencing a new reality.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

3 - PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION: THE GREAT TURNING POINT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

2004-09-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Young people, what should we do to dive into our inner self; how do we go about finding self-knowledge, the truth?

We need to acknowledge that this is not an easy task at all. After all, we are led by minds that are robotized, by deceiving egos, by a society that is always putting manacles on us. In this way, besides the necessity of having a good understanding of how these things are processed, it is fundamental to have very much determination and a whole lot of will power. Due to all the difficulties, many people who want to dive deep inside themselves, after a few attempts, end up giving up on their intention. All this considerably limits the number of individuals who could transform themselves, thus impairing the possibility of keeping on improving the world we live.

One should seek the inner self through personal experience and meditation. It is worth remembering that relaxing is not meditating, that concentrating is not meditating, that fasting to erase one’s mind is not meditating, because, who truly meditates does not feel weak, apathetic, but, to the contrary, feels well and ready, alert and aware.

And how to accomplish true meditation?

We will deal with this subject tomorrow.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

2 - PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION: THE GREAT TURNING POINT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

2004-09-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

The fact is that, as a rule, we are manipulated by a society that is clearly materialistic, and by robotized minds and deceiving egos. In this way, we distance ourselves, ever so much farther, from our inner self, from the essence of our being, and start losing our own identity, becoming, day after day, strangers even to ourselves. All of this, obviously, has a great repercussion on our outer world, which many people even consider to be wild.

Young people, who have their whole life ahead of them, need to be alert to all of this. Whether enjoying a well-structured, balanced life, or going through financial difficulties, great frustration, or significant existential emptiness, ultimately, through every kind of problem, it is essential that every young person perceive, profoundly, the way this whole process works. And it will be necessary that the young people have a great deal of will power, much determination; for only in this way will they be able to surpass the terrible existing barriers, and then, going on to focus on the transcendental importance of self-knowledge, of the search for truth, of personal transformation. All this will allow them to reach the point of living as human beings filled with wisdom and awareness, and able to truly perceive what is happening inside themselves and around them. Finally, by achieving awareness and being existentially fulfilled and content, they will be better equipped to interact with the outside world, which, consequently, and in a progressive manner, should become an ever-improving place to live in.

And just how do we dive into our inner self, how to seek for self-knowledge, the truth? We will deal with these subjects in our next post.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

1 - PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION: THE GREAT TURNING POINT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

2004-09-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

These words are directed to all of us, human beings, but they aim to reach mainly the young people. As it is well-known, it is up to today’s young people to carry out the future of the world. And, way deep down, the numbers are not few of those who desire, be it today or tomorrow, a life of better quality, of more happiness, based on the peaceful co-existence among all peoples.

At present, how are the young people, the elderly, living? There are lots of people around, in spite of their acquired scientific knowledge, going through an awful, really miserable existential experience. There are a number of older individuals who, sorrowfully, have lived and lived, but have been unable to know themselves, who haven’t been able to understand the things of true value, the many, basic fundamentals of life. Do you know what is happening? In our typically materialistic society, we are forced to distance ourselves from our center, from our inner self, going on to focus on superficial things, those on the sidelines. Even as a matter of survival – the rat race to earn a living, the confrontation with professional competition, and so on – people largely behave in this way. This progressive distancing from our inner self has established itself as one of the great evils of our humanity. And each one of us has paid dearly for all of this. Hence the large number of people who are unsatisfied, frustrated, lost in life, without knowing who they are or what they really aspire to. Without awareness, without a clue as to what is happening inside himself as well as around him, man starts to seek out escape routes – passivity, alcohol, heavy drugs, etc. – looking for answers in deceiving cults, and so forth. Such paths, easier and more accommodating to follow, are, however, deceptive, risky, at times even leading to one’s death.

We will continue dealing with these subjects tomorrow.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

SEPTEMBER 11, A DAY OF TERRIBLE MEMORIES. DOWN WITH TERRORISM!

2004-09-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Today is a day of sad and terrible remembrance for New York City and the whole world.

Just a few days ago, two Russian airplanes were exploded in mid-air, in consequence of one more horrible terrorist act. Greatly condemnable also was the recent terrorist act that took hostage, in a Russian school, around 1500 people, many of whom were children. It was shocking, everything ended in a blood bath, where not even the sanctity of childhood was respected.

Almost on a daily basis we get news of occurrences, in various places around the world, of more terrorist acts. All this is so extremely abominable and sorrowful.

At this time I’d like to suggest that you read my post of August 14, entitled “These Terrorists And Their Disturbed Minds”, which is available alongside this one.

ABOUT THE BOOK

2004-09-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

"The Self And The World" has the intention of helping people to perceive that way down deep there exists a self that does not deserve to be forgotten – which is what generally happens – but instead should be, with tender care and affection, nurtured. After all, the greatest treasure that an individual can determine – one’s own self – is already inside, making it unnecessary, therefore, to search for it outside oneself. The book intends to show that the human being, who lives in a society characterized by materialism, should always search for a balance between the material and the spiritual; and that self-knowledge, which has to do with the discovery of one’s own self, is essential for the transformation of any individual. The author develops his work through the interpretation of powerful messages, many of which are secular. It is the hope of the writer that this approach will be able to give way to a deep sensitivity on the reader’s part, thus facilitating the discovery of new and enlightened paths, and reaching a higher state of being.

This blog is related to my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

DESPITE BEING RICH AND EDUCATED, SHE HAS NO AWARENESS

2004-09-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

Suzy and Paul always studied together. Suzy was born into a rich family, and Paul, who for a long time counted on scholarships, always had a life filled with financial difficulties, since his parents had so few economic resources. The truth is that she had always been very superficial, had never learned to value the things in life, neither had she made an effort to accomplish personal victories. Also, her family had never encouraged her to find her own path. But with Paul, things were always the opposite. He invariably felt that he had to get things done on his own, working as hard as he could; for only in this way was he going to be able to improve his life. And he always had the full support of his family.

Presently, Suzy is 41 and Paul, 40. Paul became a successful lawyer, and also, from deep within, a very happy person. He has no doubt that developing the religious aspect of his life has helped him immensely throughout his years. As to Suzy, she is divorced, has no children and is back living with her parents. She is a chain-smoker and a compulsive eater, and always taking tranquilizers. Not to mention drinking problems; recently she had to put an end to alcohol, or else face serious liver disease. She has been - and still is - spoiled by her family, and despite not working, she is never without cash. However, she continually complains about life, going to church on Sundays with her parents just as a formality. She says she is religious, but doesn’t know how to pray neither does she have faith. It is worth noting that every once in a while she goes on a new diet, and after losing some weight, gains it all back.

What I mean is, Paul had to work so hard to get to, in material terms, where Suzy had always been, giving, evidently, due value to all his progress. And she, who always had everything so easy, gave no value to anything, continually living in idleness, and feeling this great existential emptiness.

As, unfortunately happens to many others, she was someone in total disharmony, frustrated and drifting through life. The great truth is that Susy lacked the capacity to discover her inner self, to truly know herself, to seek a transformation and fight for a new life. As she preferred the easy road, being lax, the sad path of a lack of awareness, the only thing left for her – in spite of all the studies and all the money – was to lead a vegetative life, full of boredom and disenchantment .

Every human being should try to live life fully aware and alert to what is going on inside him/herself, as well as to whatever is happening around him/her. People need to be concerned with their material progress, without being careless, however, about their spiritual side; only in this way is it possible to experience life with total delight.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

BOOKMARK

2004-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Bookmark
Originally uploaded by Sambasoul Design.

ON FAITH

2004-08-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

Faith has to be truly felt, it has to spring from deep within the soul. Whoever has religiosity, but not necessarily a religion, certainly must have faith. But there are many people who say they follow one religion or another, but actually have no faith. The fact is that, for familiar, cultural reasons, many people affirm they are involved in this or that religion. And these individuals don’t even know how to pray, or talk with God, who, in reality, is there in the essence of their beings. Thus, they say they pray, but do it all in a formal manner, without any feeling; also attending church services out of mere obligation. I mean, it is all so superficial. And one can’t overestimate the importance of faith. Without it, what would become of mankind?

The other day, for example, some friends and I went to see for ourselves how four poverty-stricken individuals survived in a hole underneath an overpass. Upon arrival, led by a social worker, we could smell an unbearable odor. All the dwellers, except one, were drunk; they were hardly human. They stated they lived in the filth, among the rats and cockroaches. As to their food, they ate what they could find in the streets and trashcans. One of them, however, the only one who was sober, had in his hands a small prayer book. He told us that faith was saving him, and that despite all the misery surrounding him, he had a strong feeling that he would soon be getting out of that situation. He confessed to us that he hardly knew anything about the existence of many religions, but that he possessed very much faith. And, he added, if it weren’t for faith, he’d be in the same boat as the others, also having to get drunk or high to be able to stand all that was around him. On leaving that hole, discussing what could be done to improve the situation of those poor, miserable folks, we noticed how bright the sun was shinning, and the cars driving on the overpass, where, underneath, those forgotten and needy souls were taking refuge, in such dire need of help; for, after all, this was about our brothers, human beings like us.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

TO BUILD OUR EXISTENCE BASED ON DISTORTED CONCEPTIONS IS INSANE

2004-08-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

"Everything is not anything more than appearances-the image we have of what we call 'reality'is false.To build our existence based on this image is insane.In fact,everything exists differently,in a parellel world,distinct from the one we imagine.This world is beyond our customary radius of perception.Only 'knowledge'permits us to come to it" (This is one of the three fundamental ideas,quoted in the book I Ching,known as the book of Chinese wisdom).

How many people,based on distorted conceptions, build their own existence in a mistaken way?

The search for knowledge,for truth,is a question of wisdom.

Knowledge is understood here as self-knowledge,which has a connection with the essence of being,hidden in the depths of the soul;being different from knowledge itself - which is supported by information - learned on school benches and at universities, which evidently has its importance when referring to wordly issues,but,however deep one goes,it only has bearing on dead,external facts,having no substantial ties to the experience lived by the person.Of what use is a person who understands everything without understanding oneself?

Only the knowledge that allows the perception of truth,which is the true knowledge and has its roots in the essence of one's being,in one's personal experience - and having to do with transformation, with wisdom - causes man to perceive the existence of this world not normally imagined,and for this reason considered to be parallel, but which is the world where a person can,due to being conscious and aware,walk through enlightened paths,and not dark ones,without mistakes or stumbles.

Selection taken from my book "The Self And The World",which is for sale at the links here specified.

TRUE THERAPY

2004-08-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

An acquaintance of ours, Leo, was the owner of an insurance agency. The firm’s accountant, in whom he trusted immensely, embezzled money from it. Leo became quite shocked with what occurred. He was already going through therapy, and after this, he had to increase his visits to the psychoanalyst. He became extremely insecure, even going through tremor crisis. He practically doubled the use of tranquilizers. It’s clear that Leo was very disappointed with all that happened, he really had a hard break. And without a doubt therapy is of great help. However, one must observe that the goal of therapy is only to bestow a return to normalcy of the patient’s psychic condition. But, before this problem that Leo had to face, he was already seeking a form of transcendence along with his therapist, since he was unable to practice meditation, as many people have trouble doing. It’s worth noting that, with psychoanalysis, it is possible to gain a return to normalcy of one’s psyche, but transcendence – something spiritual – can only be experienced by way of meditation. This happens when one dives, alone, and by way of natural means, into the essence of one’s self, leaving a feeling of total harmony with God, who, contrary to what many people think, is not up there in heaven , but very close by, inside each individual; for God is love, energy and the purest form of happiness.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And the World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

AND WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

2004-08-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

So, what is actually the truth? That which is really true emanates from the depths of one’s being, soul, and for this reason comes based on noble feelings such as love, human solidarity, the desire for peace and happiness, and for making others happy. Feelings that are totally different from those nurtured by terrorists. Truth is subjective, and each person has his/her own truth or truths. Knowledge of truth presumes that one knows him/herself, has obtained self-knowledge. Unfortunately, generally speaking, people don’t know themselves. What should be something natural regretfully is not. This makes things all the more difficult, consequently, demanding from an individual radical change. After all, people should know about the importance in seeking for the truth; and in so doing they will feel more esteemed and ennobled, becoming wiser and more aware, thus, better able to live a more fulfilled life.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THESE TERRORISTS AND THEIR DISTURBED MINDS

2004-08-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Lately, terrorism has had all of us gripped with fear. Terrorists are highly dangerous people, with totally perturbed and twisted minds, filled with hate, resentment and a desire of vengeance; the fact is that the “truths” of terrorists are the strangest things, and most condemnable. Thus, they get it all confused, even to the point of using God as an argument for their barbaric actions. And, within all they deem to be correct, anything that is harmful can happen. One sees just how much misery has been caused. In order to get into certain places more easily, with huge power to destroy, they many times sacrifice their own lives by transforming themselves into human bombs. And there is left in the air that feeling of worse things to come at any time. This constant expectation of horror becoming a reality from one moment to the next has even generated a type of global neurosis regarding terror. From what has been seen, the more this neurosis grows, the more these antiterrorist acts contribute to incite that very such thing, terrorism. Therefore, what has been created is a very dangerous vicious cycle. But the origin of all this is truly inside the completely disturbed minds of the terrorists. And the point of great concern is that they are convinced that their acts are within the realm of what is right, even using the name of God as a shield; on the other hand, the retaliations to their attitudes, quite often, have happened in a very precipitated and bellicose manner. So what can be observed? A complete surge of expectations, a growing sense of fear and panic. All because of mal-formed minds, which are filled with thoughts that are completely twisted, sick minds based on totally mistaken truths. So an atmosphere of extremely negative expectations lingers in the air. In order for a gradual reversal of these expectations to come about, an effective change in the way of thinking on both sides will be necessary.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

NOTHING IS PERMANENT...EXCEPT CHANGES

2004-08-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

“Nothing is permanent...except changes.”
( Heraclitus, 576 – 480 BC, Greek philosopher.)

This thought of Heraclitus is remarkable, fantastic. Centuries come and go and this thought remains very current, for it has the dimension of being eternal. Let us see: only changes are permanent, nothing more is everlasting. Apparently paradoxical, it holds a great truth.

Actually, everything is modifying itself, flowing. In the Universe, the Earth is spinning around uninterruptedly, the same being true for the sun and the moon. In Mother Nature, on Planet Earth, as we can see, the oceans, rivers and the wind are in constant movement. Regard the seed of a flower that is underneath the soil, and for this reason hidden from our eyes; it is always in transformation; the result of this process is only visible when the flower finally appears above the surface. The fruit, today green, in the future will become ripe, and so on and so forth.

In economics, politics and international relations, in all kinds of organizations, everything undergoes a constant process of transformation…

The human being lives, without a doubt, inside a constantly changing context, demanding from him a large effort to adapt. Mankind, therefore, because of all these dynamics, cannot in any way, allow him/herself to be dominated by a mind too attached, ever-searching for things of a permanent nature. As an individual’s moments are always characterized by something new and unknown, it becomes obvious that a mind attached to what is permanent can only do harm, frustrate his or her life experience,...

Selection taken from my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE

2004-08-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Mike was an excellent engineer who thoroughly dominated all the matters involved in his specialized field. He was also quite well informed in many other every day issues. However, Mike often felt an immense existential emptiness. Despite having a comfortable life, he sensed that, deep down, everything was worthless. He possessed a great deal of scientific knowledge, which is knowledge that one learns in school and universities. However, although he knew so much, he did not know himself, he had no self-knowledge. This lack of self-knowledge was the cause of the existential gap he was going through, of why he was so unhappy. For this reason it is crucial to have a balance between scientific knowledge and self-knowledge, which is true knowledge and involves personal transformation.It has to do with truth and wisdom.

Is it worth it for a person to be very spiritual but go hungry at the same time and be shunned by society? On the other hand, of what use is such a large amount of scientific knowledge, so much material progress, if a human being is going through life frustrated and unhappy, without ever reaching the point of knowing oneself? Let me say it again, it is fundamental that there be an equilibrium between what you know of the scientific world and what you know about yourself, personally. This lack of equilibrium has been the cause of much suffering and misfortune that is devasting mankind.

There aren't just a few of those who reach old age without really knowing themselves, there are quite a lot. Due to this, it becomes highly necessary for people, starting when they are young, to perceive how fundamental and strategic it is for the good of their lives to achieve this balance. For this very reason, and despite all the many types of difficulties created by robotized minds, people should endeavor with all vigor and effort possible to reach this yearned-for equilibrium.

Read more about similar issues in my book "The Self And The World", which is for sale at the links here specified.

TO MEDITATE, ONE DOES NOT HAVE TO GO TO THE HIMALAYAS

2004-08-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

A person doesn’t need to be isolated up in the Himalayas in order to meditate. We must put away the thought that only an eremite can meditate. You can meditate in New York, anywhere, and why not? You can meditate in your apartment located in Manhattan, in a hotel room on Fifth Avenue, and so on. For one to be able to meditate, I repeat, he does not have to go to the Himalayas; at times, who knows, he could be all the way up the Himalayas Mountains and not even start meditating. Man was born to live in society, therefore, he must be truly prepared to face everything that will confront him in this same society. And only a person who does not let himself be swept away by a robotized mind; ultimately, a person with awareness, will be able to more effectively do well in this familiar setting of the things of the world.

As I have already mentioned, meditation is not about a person concentrating on a single issue; that is just concentration, focusing. Also, to relax is not the same as to meditate. On the other hand, those who follow the practice of fasting, becoming weak to erase and empty their mind, do not actually go into a process of meditation. For, during meditation, a person empties the mind and at the same time feels active, well disposed and alert.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

A LACK OF CONNECTION WITH THE DEPTHS OF THE SELF

2004-08-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

The other day, when I got home in the evening, after a day’s work, I quickly changed into shorts, and after pouring myself some red wine, I sat down in the living room, listening to music and relaxing. Without warning, my youngest son arrived with a friend of his, Judy. I’ve known her for some time now. While my son went and showered, I started talking with his young friend, age eighteen. She was looking sad and depressed. Judy admitted to me that her steady boyfriend had dumped her, and since then she’d been having sex with several guys, possibly out of revenge. And now she was feeling like a prostitute. I asked her: do your friends who have sex without frequently switching partners consider themselves prostitutes? She said no. So then I told her all she needed to do was correct her behavior; that she wasn’t what she was thinking. I spoke to her of a cardboard box, whose bottom, when empty, was all clean; after placing several things inside it, the bottom of the box couldn’t be seen, but it was still there all the same, and intact. If you cleaned out the box, then the bottom became visible again, all neat and shiny. The same thing, therefore, should happen to Judy’s inner self. Her mind, dulled by strong negative emotions, was having a harmful influence on her whole being. If she’d been awake, tuned in to her inner self and to God, then she would have avoided all this trouble. In her case, the mind, acting as a robot, which at every moment plays tricks on us, was pitilessly creating delusions.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

THINGS HAPPEN IN THE HERE AND NOW

2004-07-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

I went to visit Tanya. She was married for a long time to a friend of mine, Tony. The thing is that about two years ago Tony died from a fatal heart attack, and she, until now, has only been talking about the life she led with him. She speaks of the past in an exaggerated manner. The fact is that all this is very harmful to Tanya. I’ve told her that of course I understand in large part the grief she’s been through. But, after all, two years have already gone by and she is too fixated upon the past. And one can’t go on like this.

Whoever speaks only of the past, of yesterday, does not live in the present moment where things really happen. And to live in this way is not truly living. It’s kind of like vegetating, like filling your life with days. It seems that Tanya isn’t aware of what all this really represents, of how this type of behavior is destroying her opportunities and perspectives. After all, she isn’t dead, she’s alive. At the other extreme, whoever only thinks of the future, about what will still happen, loses out on living the present moment, now. It’s quite dangerous to live at either of these extremes.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

MEDITATION AND THE INNER SELF

2004-07-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

I spoke the other day of meditation. Many people talk about meditation. But meditation isn’t concentration. Meditation is about emptying one’s mind. Not thinking about anything. One really needs will power to meditate. Do you know why? The mind is always disturbing the meditation process. But one must persist, and, as time goes on, he/she will be able to effectively empty the mind. In the beginning of the process, the mind gets in the way quite a lot, one should know, since our thoughts occur in such abundance. But if you understand this, you become more patient, and then things can really start changing. When the mind begins to empty itself, it, an authentic robot, starts losing its former force, and everything gets adjusted to new and better foundations.

It’s well worth your time to learn how to meditate. This greatly helps the person to dive into his/her inner self. And this delving deep down means everything, don’t forget it. In the depths of one’s self is where one can truly have an encounter with God. Diving into ways of escape, so widely used, and also so deceiving, won’t get us anywhere, neither will they yield good results. Pay close attention to these words! There’s nothing like silence, the sounds of silence. To listen to the sound of silence is a fantastic experience. By way of this silence we can penetrate into our most intrinsic dimension, where lies the greatest treasure of our lives. This treasure is not outside our beings; it’s quite near, right inside us. And people are always so far away from it. What a paradox! Thus we can see how man is a complicated and complex being. Don’t let your life go by as if it a blank sheet of paper!

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE MATERIAL AND THE SPIRITUAL

2004-07-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

I had lunch today with Carol, an old friend of mine, who was brought up learning to think of money as an ugly thing. Today, all grown up, she has difficulty making ends meet; for she’s single, doesn’t earn a lot, and can’t seem to augment her income. I’ve already told her several times that all this, for the most part, is a reflection of the wrong upbringing she received.

Money in itself is neutral. We all have the right to have a prosperous life. To have money, if earned honestly, is not a sin. On the other hand, we mustn’t focus only on the material angle of things. In fact, exactly because of living in a society characterized by materialism is that we should try to find a balance between what is material and what is spiritual. There’s nothing like being prosperous materially and at the same time having peace of mind, true knowledge about ourselves, and being aware and alert people. Then happiness becomes more easily obtainable. As Hardy said, – one creates happiness, one doesn’t find it. Achieving this equilibrium between the material and the spiritual isn’t easy. But one needs to see that this is fundamental for life. A person must understand that one’s mind, extremely robotized, creates obstacles to make it quite difficult to go through the process of personal transformation.

Lately, Carol has been trying to change, albeit with just a little progress. This struggle with the mind, with one’s ego, is not an easy task. Therefore, one needs to understand what’s going on and to have great determination; otherwise things will keep on happening more or less in the same way. I’m hopeful that Carol will be brave and get personally motivated in a real manner, and thus seek a true transformation. And you, what do you think of all this? How have you behaved regarding this situation? Oh, the salmon we had at the restaurant was delicious. Too bad we didn’t drink any wine, to avoid getting sleepy in the afternoon.

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

HAVE A GREATER COMMAND ON YOUR LIFE

2004-07-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

The human being is led by robotized minds, and encounters much difficulty in diving deep into his/her inner self. So then, the easiest thing to do is reach for that which deceives, which apparently relieves us, brings us pleasure, such as alcohol, heavier drugs, etc. And the end result is never good. People who dive deep into these escape routes have many times been faced with their own death. Our minds are very deceiving; let’s not forget this. We need to be vigorously aware of this hurtful reality. And to change our reality we must seek the truth, wisdom, we need to transform ourselves. Have you been allowing your mind to exert a dictating force over your self? Are you aware of how these things go on within you? Wake up to all of this, do not lose anymore time! Try to live a life worth living, dignified. Learn how to live wisely. Have a greater command on your life. Don’t let yourself be manipulated by society, by your ego that deceives you and messes up your life so much. Awaken! Awaken, so as to sleep better, to live better!

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

WITHOUT SELF-KNOWLEDGE, ONE LOSES DIRECTION

2004-07-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who has many problems, and who, every afternoon, watches a very sensationalistic TV program that shows stories on muggings, traffic accidents, kidnappings, etc. The presenter of this program, to fill up the time, repeats each bit of news, every comment, several times.

Whoever watches this kind of program frequently ends up receiving a huge jolt of negativity, undergoing violent brainwashing. And we already live in a society that imposes upon us constant brainwashing , in a bad sense, obviously. Consequently, our minds, true robots, are all the more often turned to harmful and destructive ideas. This is the case of my friend; she’s more and more restless and neurotic, but can’t seem to drop the habit of watching this TV show. And it’s not due to lack of advice from her friends. She has completely lost her sense of peace and quietude. And what’s worse: she isn’t aware, or is only vaguely, that there is the other side, the real side, that has substance and truth. She is, poor thing, estranged , surviving because of tranquilizers and holding on to her talismans. And how many of us aren’t also estranged? Our education has been alienating; our society tries to mold our steps. What we can do to change? Here’s what is truly of interest and has relevance. And, regretfully, it is discussed way too little.

Who are we? Where are we going? What do we want? Without knowledge, or better yet, self-knowledge, nothing can be done. The human being needs to bring about an inner survey – the hardest one to do – to get to know oneself deeply, search for one’s truths; only in this way, and by acting wisely, will it be possible to undergo transformation. It’s not that mundane subjects shouldn’t be talked about and discussed; but they should be dealt with by people who have awareness, not the passive ones who allow themselves to be dragged along only by the superficial side of things, and unfortunately, this happens in a widespread manner. Because of all this, the world becomes a harder place, more inclined to having disharmony, dissension, disputes, conflicts, and even guerilla skirmishes and wars. And everything because man is distancing himself more and more from his inner self, and instead, is tuned into worldly, superficial and external activities. Thus the frustrations and an existential void appear.

I got to thinking: damn those TV producers and presenters who, at the expense of the viewers’ alienation, just want to get higher ratings. What do you think about all this? Have you pondered these matters? Listen carefully: our greatest treasure is inside us, so very close; so why do we go in search of relief for our ailments in things that are separated from us? Because it’s more accommodating, apparently easier?

Read more about similar issues in my book “The Self And The World”, which is for sale at the links here specified.

AWARENESS AND A FULFILLED LIFE

2004-07-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

How did you all spend the night? To tell you the truth, I was only able to sleep well because I took a few precautions. Here's the thing: I stayed up really late watching TV, and there were many bad programs on, lots of things that are of no interest, which are actually quite crude and vulgar. I rarely do this.

The fact is, generally speaking, we are quite manipulated by the media, and because of this we're getting farther away from things of real value. It's very sad to note that in our environment there is much importance given to, for instance, the gossip about the young movie star who, for the fourth time, has changed lovers. And subjects related to famous singers'wardrobes also receive lots of attention;ridiculously, it even goes so far as to have an interview taped next to all the clothes and later the video is shown with all pomp. More suitable and important themes are banished to a second level.

Thank God, I'm conscious of the fact that we are quite manipulated by our minds, our egos, which dull our reality in such a strong way. So, to get out from under the negative influence of all that I'd watched on TV for hours last night, I tried, before going to bed, to read things with a totally different content, something of true value; ultimately, I sought to tune into different subjects. I reread how dangerous it is allow ourselves to be led on by our minds, our egos, which lead us away from - while we don't even notice it - the paths of truth, coaxing our thoughts to be based on completely mistaken and superficial things, to the point of being futile; thus we end up pushing ourselves totally away from what it is to be a person with awareness .

Don't kid yourself: awareness is the only thing that allows us to perceive what has substance, what is truly of interest to us, and in this way we become alert as to what is going on inside of us, as well as around us, thus making it possible to live in the most fulfilled way.

Read more about similar issues in my book " The Self And The World", which is for sale at the links here specified.

2004-07-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

This blog is related to my book, which is for sale at the links here specified.

Book
Originally uploaded by Sambasoul Design.

The Self And The World

2004-07-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

The Self And The World has the intention of helping people to perceive that way down deep there exists a self that not deserve to be forgotten.