Realizing Potential

I have good news everyone! Today I was inspired. Today, comes... a new chapter. But before I start, I'd like to apologize to everyone who has worn a track through their homes. I understand the comfort and the damage that too much pacing produces.

I am going to discuss people.  It has occurred to me that people... are much like water. Like water, people's lives flow freely, but however freely, they flow downhill. Water takes the least resistant path; always (don't even get all cliche on me). People are prone to behave the exact same way. People see adversity or dreams (we're going to call this the mountain top) and they consider that possibility... but *generally, people will choose the path in front of them.

Now, interesting thought... Say we want to start chasing that dream, or for whatever reason, we want to stare right back at adversity. Well... how can we accomplish that? Seriously, get out a writing device and voice your opinion. Consider it. Woops! We forgot something in our consideration, didn't we? You can't face adversity or pursue your dreams can you? Nope. Have you guessed why? Ah hah! That's right! Its because we're still water. If we fight the current, we just get bogged down and dragged back into the flow of things.  If we leave the river and go up the hill, gravity (our humanity) pulls us back down the hill, to the river, and the path of least resistance. Well.. what the heck?!

Here's where the determined, open-minded person perseveres and grows positively and the insular, lazy person sprints back to that gushing, comforting liquid paradise in hopes of non-existent false warmth.

In order to successfully get out of the water, one must transform.  Find your feet. Find strength in your legs. Feel the pounding in your heart and the excitement in your soul. Totally unrelatable, I know. Yeah, lets do it, hurrah! Well we have to know how, right? Basically, to transform, you must accept some sort of change in your life. By accept I mean, recognize, adopt, and place unwavering faith into. In the same way that God has the ability to sustain us, he can transform us just as well. Okay, we're getting closer to how, right?  How do we let God transform us? Well, let me ask you this question.

Have you ever felt like there is a ball of plasma or some form of energy hidden deep inside of you that you might be able to barely control? You know... that feeling where you feel like you could tear an entire house apart with the closing of your fist? That feeling that makes you feel like you could climb to the top of the highest tree in mere seconds? You could chase cars on the highway? You could save ALL of the children in Africa? I like to call that ball of "power" potential energy (but I think its more nobly, and awesomely defined as MIGHT!). Potential because it can be realized, and energy because it can manifest in a variety of ways (depending on how you learn to control it). Sometimes it could just be seen as a nervous twitch or the incessant tapping of your foot or finger for no logical reason other than you don't know how else to explain it. Sometimes it could be continued or added effort in schoolwork or a volunteer program. It could manifest in the love you have for your family and the selflessness you give willingly. It could show up as working late or finding a second job. Basically, for each person it there will be unique avenues of manifestation. This is a healthy and valuable description of potential energy. However, it is not the only one.

When this particular potential energy cannot be controlled by the individual, it can manifest as something much more dangerous. It can be destructive. The ability to control this energy (from a "good" perspective) is like growing positively. The inability to control this energy is equivalent to growing negatively. This is where positive energy is recognized as fear and anger and all things destructive. Because the energy isn't specifically physical (despite being able to manifest itself that way) it isn't easily recognized or controlled by just anybody. Some people are able to control it and some aren't. Most people don't even know what it is, they just "deal."  Well, it is my belief that this potential energy is somewhere between the Holy Spirit, wisdom, and God's valuation of our potential and character.

For example, in the bible, Paul was chosen to bring the Word to the gentiles after openly and intentionally persecuting Christ's followers. However, God transformed him. From that time on Paul became one of the greatest examples of early disciples. To get a better idea of how God can transform us, we can see why God chose to transform Paul. Paul was basically evil; the epitome of a sinner, but... he must have been full of potential! Paul had all of this potential energy that he could not control so it manifested in everything evil (or just mean or wrong or what have you). God saw this potential and through trial... softened Paul's heart to can insight into controlling his potential energy.  Paul realized that he could control himself in a good way because God was good and God was Great. The same example can be applied everywhere that God chose anyone for his work! Why was Abraham and Noah chosen? Moses? Was it because God thought future generations would remember their names better? It was because these people were full of potential energy!

Alright, now I know you're super curious to find out more about what exactly potential energy (as we have called it) is. It is my personal belief that this potential energy is wisdom and the ability to relate to wisdom. When Jesus died, the Holy Spirit was gifted to humanity. A source of power and potential whose threshold is limitless and with the right foundation sustaining control over that influence, that potential can be realized by God.

God can transform us. If we learn to control our potential energy we can stand up in the water and tread lightly on the soil beneath us. We can climb the mountain to face adversity and seek our dreams because we've been transformed. Our clothes might be soaking wet (full of others and influences yet to be transformed) but we can overcome their weight with the power of potential energy and transformation.

To get there: recognize your potential energy, how it manifests, your control over it, etc. Gain control over your potential energy by applying it to good things and positive growth (because God is good so we strive to be).  Grow in your energy and God will work through you. Be sure never to forget that God's plan is bigger than we are. God's work through you might not always manifest itself as you might hope. Know that bad things happen to glorify his name and his work. Do not be afraid.  Control your energy by pursuing the glory of God.

Come, sheep. Let's climb this mountain together.

Keys to Life

Over the past few years, one thing has become prevalent in my mind. This is my life. I am in control. Now to debunk all of those people jumping on the “Oh no you’re not” or the “You just think you are” bandwagon, we will quickly separate two ideas. One’s life is basically one’s perception. It’s not only what’s in your mind or what you see or what you feel. It’s most emphatically the way that you interpret the things you cannot control. You might define life as your existence in this world as you perceive it. It is important that you don’t lump another dynamic in with this examination. This dynamic is what we call reality.  There are things that happen, outside of your control, such as heavenly influence, chance, or simply decisions made by people other than you. These things, while their occurrence may affect certain parts of what you perceive, are not under your control. What is under your control, barring some forms of health restrictions or chemical imbalance (even then, one doesn’t lose their own perspective, its just less under their own control), is the way you interpret your reality (the existences and influences outside of your control). It’s your stream of consciousness, it’s your desires, it’s the questions you ask, and it’s the choices you make.

When we look at life like this, it’s easy to see that, truly, we have been gifted absolute control over our lives. There is no master puppet deciding our fate. I would argue that there is a God pointing the way, but he’s certainly not interpreting reality for us. I think one concept that would be interesting to encroach upon now, would be His influence. I believe God can aid us in our interpretation. For example, he can create a reality that might either harden or perhaps soften our hearts. Thankfully, he being God, we can safely assume he would do this in order to promote His glory.

Now, the main reason I’ve felt led to write about perception and the importance of being able to recognize your life (the way you interpret your perceptions) is that I see people losing hope. Most of the time I don’t even think they know they’re losing it. They just start going in another direction without even realizing when or where the straying may have occurred. For some, the change is so subtle it’s like it was never really there. For others the fallout may be heavier than they can possibly handle alone. It is because I choose to reach out to those in danger of losing hope, or reaching those who have the potential to fall away from it (consciously or no, yes this also means everyone). I don’t want to reach others so that they may make better decisions, or because they will less negatively affect my own reality. I choose to do this because this is good and God is good. Similarly to what has been stated in previous chapters, defining good without God is equivalent to sucking air out of a vacuum. Its value is extremely deflated and existence while kind and generous is almost blasphemy.

The most important idea that anyone can possibly take with them from this prose, is the idea of choice. Choice – how you interpret reality. Physics states that for every action there is a reaction. I would venture… for every influence in (or of) reality there is a choice to be made. Now there are two forms of choice. Before I delve into that depth I must strenuously note that I’m not a psychologist and my study of the human mind is limited to my own life (my interpretation of influences outside of my control).

There is without a doubt a conscious choice, but we must also acknowledge the un(or sub)conscious choice (as well as hint at the possibility and probability that we can culture or temper our unconscious to react and interpret in a deduction process similar to our conscious understanding). For example, if you were concentrating hard on a project and your sister decided to pound away on the piano, your initial (unconscious) reaction might be very insensitive and justifiably so. However, when you think about it for a moment, your conscious might decide that your sister expressing herself (or however you might perceive it) isn’t such a big deal. It is possible, to temper your unconscious to follow that path of deduction or even more impressively, just shortcut to that reaction. But… that style, or train of thought, has to be what you truly want. When I say what you truly want, I mean it has to come from your heart. It’s really what you want to feel. Really, really. I’m talking scraping the bottom of your existence really. It has to be a part of who you are, or more intuitively, who you want to become. If you don’t truly want it, then it may never happen. You must choose it. Think of it just like the display on your computer. In your mind, click personalize, and select the option that says tolerate (based on this example of course). File, save. If that outcome is what you truly want, it is what you will get. You still may feel irritated the next time it comes up, but I guarantee the idea of accepting it will be right there with the irritating feelings. Because you’ve set a precedent in accepting it through your kindness, it’s more likely to shortcut to that reaction the next time or perhaps the time after that. Now, there is nothing wrong with asking your sister to stop, because in some situations, I probably would too.  This idea is explained in order to help us recognize that the process is feasible and applicable to numerous if not most every situation we run across in reality (all of those daily factors that stand outside of our control).  Because a lot of how we interpret is conscious and its weight is generally heavier in relation to our existence and the quality of our perception and interpretation than unconscious interpretation and reaction, let’s look there. 

Choice – how we interpret our reality. Because this is such an important concept I have to set something straight before we go on. If you don’t know who you are, your choices (the way we interpret reality) are going to be a lot harder. Think about that. Can you define yourself? Can you define yourself as who you want to be? Rather than who you or others think you should be, or perhaps more applicably, who you or others think you should be?  Think in the first instance refers to uncertainty and should in the second refers to purpose. Feel free to interpret that for a few moments, but if you would like a shortcut, here’s my personal suggestion. I want to be good for God is good. I want to find favor in the eyes of God, therefore I choose to interpret all things in a way that would be wise, and good in hopes that others might follow in a way that would bring them hope and a closeness with Him. I choose to be good. Say that with me. I choose to be good. You can choose to be whoever you want to be, but I promise you, it will add value to that choice if it’s defined in the root of something strong and with purpose. This choice also lets me acknowledge the fact that there are influences outside of my control but it does not undermine the validity and strength of my belief. You might be concerned that you can’t (meaning unable or fundamentally, pridefully) believe or define yourself the same way as I do, or the same as anyone else. But, you would be overlooking the fact that each of us lives our own! life! We have our own reality that we choose to interpret in our own ways. My reality isn’t the same as yours so its effect on me and your effect on others will be intrinsically different.  Now, we might choose to interpret in the same way as someone else, but we are making the choice to do so ourselves. Are you starting to follow me now? If you don’t know who you want to be or why (who really does?), make the decision easy; choose the way of the one who came before you. This choice will not limit your individuality, but quite contrarily convey the exact opposite. It will absolve the limit to your potential.

Now I want to focus on why knowing all of this is important. Well the answer is honest and it is simple. The reason for knowing this is to add value to your life (the way you interpret your reality)! When you know and understand these things, you’re able to address wisdom formally; you’re prepared for interpreting reality. You can own your life and your life can be your own. With this truth you can unlock limits. If you look tediously, you will see that this world is full of thresholds.  When you start believing in a thought process like this one, you gain power over those thresholds. You are in control. When you stop breathing and this existence is behind you, the entire universe will not stop with you. This is your life, live it! There is a commercial out right now, where a man behind a podium states, “I’m not going to be the person I’m expected to be anymore.” You may have thought: that’s because you’re weak, or wild, or foolish, etc. The real reason he’s saying that is because he wants to live is own life! He’s making the choices now. I can’t tell you whether he’s going to be good or kind or honest with those decisions (I would think not, because this is a commercial for alcohol and revolves around a trendy, mysteriously sexy woman) but the concept is built on bedrock. Live your life. Interpret the way you want. I’m not telling you to be selfish or prideful or unjust, but I can’t control you or your interpretation. I won’t lie to you, if you apply this teaching in a worldly manner if would take you far. However, because I define my existence in a righteous manner I would beg you to choose to want to love others and be good for God is good.

           

Now that I’ve got you excited and thinking clearly, I’m going to bring your blood pressure to a screeching halt. You need to limit your potential. But don’t worry; you don’t need to limit it in the way you’re thinking. In a recent movie at the box office (ironically called Limitless) a man is introduced to the experience of mental programming at advanced speeds (unfortunately its through taking experimental drugs).  Spoiler - > he crashes and fails because he can’t sustain the effects himself. This idea applies to each of us. We need a foundation that can sustain us. This is another reason God is good. So, while we will not limit our potential for greatness, we must limit our cravings to a foundation that can sustain us. I won’t tell you He is the right way, because in reality, I’m just another influence that you can’t control. But I will tell you that He is the only way. Now that you see, go forth and now choose. Be yourself. Live yourself. These are the keys to life. God Bless.

Keys to Wisdom

To start from the beginning I’d like to let my readers know that for the past few months I’ve been completely enthralled with wisdom, its influences, values, and depths.  During that time, I’ve learned a lot about the way wisdom works, how it’s defined, and where its value is derived from.  Through my search I’ve also raised a whole lot of new questions, which is a natural side effect of the exploration of wisdom. As I continue in my search for purpose in life, I make new discoveries, obviously ones I never expected to make.

Let’s start out with that point, Purpose in Life. It’s pretty obvious that we all need to have some sort of purpose to our lives.  It is what gives us energy, happiness, and hope each day for a new and bountiful tomorrow. To some, finding purpose in life may have come early in their childhood, or perhaps it may have come naturally as they progressed through the stages of life.  Unfortunately, for some of us, purpose isn’t quite as declared as we’d have hoped.  The reason this is true is because human beings have grown to accept that fact that we don’t have to recognize the fact that we know the answers to most of the questions we ask. In other words, we don’t like what we’re hearing or what we know.

Now, I believe, is a good time to state the fact that our existence is defined through what we choose to believe and what questions we care enough to ask about.  For example, if I’m going through life living the way I do, doing what I think is right, what feels good, what is best for myself, I’ve identified my existence in that way. Likewise, if I feel the need to give everything I have to the poor and live my life on the lowest of means, I’ve defined my existence as such. If I think a girl is attractive I will ask about her, or ask her out on a date. Therefore, choosing what you are going to know, what you’re going to believe she tells you. When you ask her out and get to know her, are you going to suddenly be kept up on current events, activities in Afghanistan, or even how to tie a clove hitch? Doubtful. What you will know is what this girl is like.  My point is this.  You define your existence by what you show interest in.  You do it by asking questions pertaining to what you find valuable or fulfilling. It is because of this truth that I came to really know Jesus Christ.

I grew up in a family where religion was the most important thing. Because it was so, I’ve developed quite a few values having to do with the Christian belief. When I became a teen, all of my friends fell by the wayside. They cared about the now and the immediate and the cool. They asked questions about drugs, alcohol, and girls. In essence, they started to define their existence as people looking for a more worldly provision. I on the other hand, always having a keen eye toward the future, used my vision to ask more character developing questions.  God exploded in my mind.  He became a part of my everyday and not because of his teachings or because he commanded me to follow him. He came to the forefront of my attention because he was majestic, creative, mysterious, and powerful. While others found strength in idols, I found myself craving understanding and righteousness and leadership. 

Just recently, I’ve started a new discipleship group at my church.  Now, to give you a brief history of my experience with bible groups.  Where to start…. Not good. I’ve always felt that I’ve never really been able to connect with any discipleship or bible study groups because no one thinks on the same level as I do. Most people seem content to have something read to them, maybe a bible verse, take that, and be okay for a week. I never gave that idea a chance.  In my opinion, there’s something the matter with just hearing wisdom. You can’t absorb wisdom. I’m going to lay another important truth on you. Wisdom is l(earned) from realization.

Yes, I said realization.  In case you don’t understand what realization is I will help you out.  Realization is discovering something new and hopefully truthful through one’s own cognitive process. You develop and understand the idea by yourself, in your own brain.  It wasn’t told to you or forced on you. Realization means that you’ve led yourself to a conclusion about something that was previously unclear.

Realization is the pathway to wisdom. Now, you might be questioning this truth and understandably so, because it’s thought process isn’t familiar to you at this point in your journey. However, what you need to realize is that everything you come to determine as right and just in your own mind, carries a greater weight than anything you could come across otherwise.  Now, this isn’t to say that someone can’t lead you to wisdom, because that statement would be false. However, the way to lead someone to wisdom is by asking them questions (remember how questions define our existence?). Lead them down a path that will provoke a thought process in their minds. You are able to point someone in the path of something truthful or just, but they ultimately need to come to that conclusion themselves. Without self realization the understanding they gain is minimal if at all.

Understanding.  That’s another big word.  Understanding is the foundation of wisdom.  When you understand something you’re able to comprehend an outcome and accept it. This is useful for a few reasons. If you are able to predict an outcome before it’s happened then you have vision. You know the future. You understand the future. You understand the reason behind what has happened and why.  If you’re able to understand it, then you’re able to make better decisions, right? If you understand odds at the blackjack table, won’t you use them in order to raise your chances of winning? If you understand the repercussions of child slavery won’t you do everything in your power to either prevent or take advantage of it? Of course you will. 

Now, here is where wisdom gets tricky.  In my opinion, wisdom’s value is derived from the understanding that righteousness is everything.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term or find it too biblical or religious to entertain, here is a short synapses.

Righteousness is a quality present in humanity that is defined by God. Righteousness is the obedience to a set of standards and beliefs that create loyalty to God and his expectations of our time on earth. To be righteous is to be kind. It is to love. It is to be gentle. It is to motivate and encourage growth and vision for oneself and others.  It is to be a Godly example. Righteousness is the courage to herd the sheep of God. Service, acceptance, and humility are its pillars.

Without righteousness, wisdom is a lost cause. In the bible it says that wisdom was with God before time ever began.  If this is true, then wisdom must come from Him. It must be good. And it must point in the direction that best serves others over oneself.  In this, you can see how wisdom is much more than the layman may see it.  Many people perceive wisdom to be a wealth of knowledge or the ability to learn and retain learning through experience.  Truthfully, wisdom is more than that. Wisdom is actually about being able to identify what is evil or wrong. Because wisdom is derived from a righteous perspective, it doesn’t just point out what must be right. In fact, it makes visible all things negative, unjust, and selfish.

Now, if wisdom is not an object, fact, statement, or experience, then what is it? Wisdom is actually a consultant. It’s a righteous voice of reason. It identifies evil and wrongdoing and outlines righteousness and justice.

To ween your mind off of this explanation I will talk a little bit about why wisdom (understanding, making decisions based on a selfless, righteous perspective) is important in our lives.  Wisdom is important in our lives because if we chase wisdom, question it, grow in it, then we are defining our existence as such. Our existence becomes full of purpose, and identity.  Life also becomes much easier! Things that may have once burdened your soul or conscious become clear. You actually begin to understand them before they take place. In doing so you either prevent certain events, or make the best of others.

Trifles that were once month long hiccups become like the wind, blowing through your mind without obstruction. You understand. You’re open to its meaning (always from a righteous perspective). Never again will you judge someone or something because you understand that they define themselves the way that they are. You understand that someone obviously doesn’t view them in the same light as you do. It doesn’t matter. You accept their existence.  It doesn’t mean you don’t need to reach out to them, but now that you understand their being, their purpose, you can relate in ways that bridges the gaps in communication and relationships. 

The amazing thing about wisdom is that it comes from God and therefore, we’ll never be fully able to understand its depth or even come close. This brings about a harsh reality.  If you so choose to define your existence as someone who is righteous, you will be pursuing wisdom forever.  Now I must warn you. The road to wisdom is not without its dangers.  When exploring wisdom and understanding it’s imperative to be cautious of theories and ideas that can be wolves in sheep’s clothing.  If the purpose of wisdom is to be able to identify evil and have vision, be wary! For sometimes, what you perceive to be truthful and just might just be the words, thoughts, and feelings enhanced and performed by the deceiver.  Because your mind is geared towards understanding you will begin to question the foundations of pre-existence. You will do so because without understanding the past, the reason why we’re here, you won’t be able to discern absolute truth. If you cannot identify God’s reason or perspective then how will you base your own?

In my opinion this is dangerous play. I don’t believe God is upset about your questions or annoyed that you do it, for in reality, you’re searching for Him. You want to be like Him.  You want to know Him. However, it’s nice to understand that God understands your search for wisdom. He understands the pitfalls you will come across. He knows the potential outcomes based on what you use your free will to choose what to believe. He lets us struggle and learn for ourselves what the limits of wisdom are, which ideas are good to believe. The struggle helps us grow. It’s where wisdom’s complexity reserves value for those who choose to pursue or dismiss certain ideas that surface in the search for wisdom.

I must also warn you, as I have realized within the day, that wisdom, the great consultant, alone, can turn you cold.  Because you understand many things, your heart will become shielded from emotion. This is something that I promise to be true. Understanding, in its unparalleled usefulness and strength will deny you life. It will deny your spirit of growth. Because you understand why something may happen will mean that you don’t need to fear it, or worry for it, or be surprised by it, or be saddened because of it. For you already understand its meaning, why it happened, how, what its outcomes may be. Because of this your heart will harden.

My journey has taken me to this point. I search for balance between Wisdom through understanding with a righteous perspective (and) spiritual growth and the ability or perhaps the heavenly requirement to embrace the spectrum of emotions in a way that allows you to experience a righteous life.

That is my testimony. I’d be curious to see how many of you read this… understanding that I’ve voiced my perspective in a way that is telling you what wisdom is and defining our existence here on earth when I explicitly stated in my talk that this sort of realization isn’t valid. However, by realizing that fact… you’re able to ask yourself the questions needed to analyze my prose in a way that you will find your own truth and understanding. These are the keys to wisdom. God Bless.

Foundations iii.

Now that we've laid the ground work of our study I want to take the time to relate to each reader.

I want each of you to know that I am not sharing this study because I'm tired of hearing about failed relationships or about how your life isn't where you want it to be. I'm sharing this study because I think I can help.

Part of having a better quality of life is understanding yourself. Its understanding and defining who you are, where you are, where you want to go, and most importantly why you want what you want. This study is not designed to tell you "the only way" and throw around ultimatums. This study is designed to help you grow positively and to help you develop the character and perspective that you truly desire.

With that being said, I want to outline some of the topics we will discuss throughout the course of this study.

Some of these topics include but are not limited to:

Wisdom
Understanding
Self-realization
Learning
Judgment
Goals
Justice and Mercy
Owning your Junk
Cognitive training
Purpose
Selflessness
Desire

After reading this list, you might be intrigued, but you might also think that this study just got too deep. Well that's true. I'm not going to lie to any of you. If you are looking for answers, stability, and positive growth, this is the formula I'm presenting. I would encourage you to engage in the study or perhaps bring a friend or family member along with you. In fact doing that would help each of you grow positively together. I'm not looking for any kind of commitment from my audience, because ultimately I'm not responsible for your actions. However, I will say that the commitment is limited. It only requires that you read a post every now and then and think about each topic as you go through your day.

Should any of my audience come up with a question or topic I would encourage you to post on the appropriate thread or send me a personal email. I know they encourage us not to give out our emails on blogger, but I believe that offering aid or just listening to someone outweighs the potential for spammers or negative criticism. I've created a gmail account for personal questions or responses to any thread or concept - ^#&(#(*@gmail.com. Please feel free to openly communicate, keeping in mind that our goal is for positive growth.

As a side note, please understand that this study is something that I write when inspired. I might make posts daily or perhaps every few days. I pride myself on the ability to understand an idea before I try to help other relate to it. That's the main problem I have with authors, Christian or not, today. They seem to get one idea in their head, consider it revelation, and then throw a bunch of examples at the reader. This is poor work because it isn't effective. It doesn't help the reader relate, or process the entire puzzle. Its like a graspable, meaningful concept is a five pointed star.  Up, down, across, across, and back down across. Now... every author in the world seems it have it in their mind that it is enough to take ONE idea or point necessary in creating a graspable, meaningful concept, filling it with examples, and calling it a star; when in actuality, all they've made is the sun. A great big circle full of nonsense that no one can relate to or grow from. They cry, "but the sun is a star!" but you know better, don't you. We're looking for more than heat (from the pseudo sun) because heat is just an avenue to stop the pain. We're looking to stop the pain and grow positively! Just like in almost every apocalyptic movie... we all know that the sun (heat, or an avenue to stop just the pain) is just going to end up destroying the world (our stability). We need more than just a pain reliever, we need hope; not just hope but we need a channel for applying hope to make the world a better place; not only for ourselves, but for our families, our children, our loved ones, and future generations to come.

Bear with me as I put together a study that can not only change the way you look at life, but transform it as well. Also, while I do try and proofread my posts, I'm not perfect.

The next two entries are longer, but they provide a great deal of insight into the study of life. They are:

The Keys to Wisdom
and
The Keys to Life

May each of you be blessed with courage and stability as we move positively forward together through more than just this study, but through life itself.

Foundations ii.

To better equip my readers, I want to let each of you know the most important part of this study and everything in life. There is one thing that you always need to have at the front of your mind as you continue on your journey, and that is growth.

Earlier we discussed existence and how everything has an influence whether voluntary or involuntary. With that influence comes effect. Effect is equivalent to change. For example, if you call someone a name, their conscious is effected (maybe not negatively, but they learn and gain perspective and opinion). When you stub your toe on the floor, you feel pain, you lose cells, there is wearing on your socks, and the floor is less stable than it used to be. No matter the situation, anything that has influence has effect. If something is affected then it has changed.

Now, here is the important differentiation. Change is not equal to growth. Growth only comes from certain and unique forms of stimulation. For example, grass is stepped on, but it doesn't grow, it changes. Water on the other hand, helps the grass to grow. In the human element, your body continually grows as you feed it (in the physical respect). If you get in a car wreck, your body might change, but you most certainly will not grow (in the physical respect). Now, there is a dynamic that has to be mentioned with growth. You can either grow positively, or grow negatively. You can grow lean or you can grow fat. You can grow angry or you can grow reverently. The dynamic that needs to be recognized comes from each individual's perspective.

There is general positive growth (stuff you and me consider "good") and there is personal positive growth (where growth is towards an individual's goals or aspirations). Because each person's goals are different, positive personal growth will look different for each of us. Say, someone with an eating disorder might want to put on weight and someone who is overweight might want to lose a few pounds. Someone who has OCD might want to better control their anxiety, and someone who is ADD might want to gain more control over themselves.

I think its human nature, regardless of who we are or what we're aspiring to be, to have positive growth. Good people want to grow in good, bad people want to grow i bad (which is positive growth for them). All of this can be diagrammed in simple charts and graphs, but I don't have the times or the means to post those at this time.

So we've discovered positive growth and our intrinsic need to have it. This is important because its easy for each of us to forget that this is what's best for us. If we feel hurt, its easy to grow negatively in anger or sadness. We may even lash out in retribution, but does that really help us grow positively? Does it help the opposite party grow positively?

I understand the complexity of emotion and how hard it is to do what is "right" to sustain positive growth for ourselves and those around us. However, the key isn't "do the right thing every time or else..." The key is to have this observation at the forefront of your everyday life. Before or after something comes up, you have to be able to recognize what kind of growth you are experiencing. Are you growing negatively or positively?

It does get a bit more complex, but encouraging at the same time, so don't fret.  The reason I keep bringing up consideration of the opposite party and how your influence effects them, is because you grow just as much if not more than that other party. Comparatively, this brings to light the fact that influence has no direct effect on interpretation by affected parties. Follow along with this next example.

Billy is upset that his friend took his spot in the basketball starting line-up. Because of his anger he tells his friend, James, that he's a lousy friend and that he probably got the spot by asking out the coach's daughter rather than earning the position. I think we all can see relatively clearly, that Billy is having a negative influence on James. Because of this Billy is growing negatively. He's fueling his anger and he's destroying his friendship. Now let's look across the aisle at James. You might be quick to guess that James has grown negatively as well. This is not the case. James could either see the negative influence as what it is, (1) a hateful and menacing remark and threat or he could see it as what it truly is, (2) which is words spoken by an ailing friend. In either of these interpretations, James has more reflecting to do. If James see's the situation as scenario 1, he can choose to retaliate (growing negatively) or he can choose to dismiss the comment and reach out to his friend positively (growing positively). If James views the situation as scenario 2, he can choose to ignore his friends obvious ailing attitude and retaliate (growing negatively through intentional escalation) or he can choose to acknowledge his friend's suffering and reach out to him (growing positively).
The best, safest, and most effective solution is always positive growth. Billy could have chosen to tell James he was sore, but he respected the fact that he earned the spot and would like to practice more with James. This initial positive growth would have helped both young men grow positively and strengthen their friendship. Similarly, even after being negatively influenced, James could help both himself AND Billy grow positively by reacting with positive influence.

By studying this example, we can see that positive influence is always the best decision to make. Where this gets tough, is the fact that these decisions can be made so fast that everything can lose its stability in no time at all. That's why it is imperative that positive growth be at the front of your mind at all times.

Some of you may be drawing comparisons to my next point already. Does the concept just discussed ring any bells? I hope so. Its basically the same concept as "Love thy neighbor as thyself." "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "The Golden Rule." Not a total load of BS is it? Having positive growth at the front of your mind can have a significant influence on your life, and just by considering it (even if you're not always strong enough to choose positive growth at the time) as you go through the day, you will be growing positively in mind and character.

Now, to complement what we've talked about, I must warn you that just because you do unto others as you would have them do unto you doesn't mean you should expect it. As you saw in our example, all you can do is provide the influence and ultimately its up to the other party to interpret and react to that influence. So don't get your feelings hurt when you offer positive growth and it's not reciprocated. Don't even expect it! In fact, openly acknowledge and cherish it when it is returned. There's nothing wrong with saying, "I was afraid you were going to react differently, and I'm so happy we're continuing to grow positively together."

This has been an important step in our study of life; I hope you all are sharing in understanding. Feel free to express yourself with me or the fellow readers. God bless you.

Foundations i.

One of the most important words of wisdom I've ever heard or thought up, is the concept of "Start at the beginning, finish at the end." It is because of this pseudo-truth that we'll start at the foundation of understanding and work or "grow" our way into wisdom and sense.

The first idea and building block that the human kind needs to embrace is existence.

What is existence?

Well, take a look at the world (because its what we experience, its the closest tangibility and easiest starting point). Existence is not you or me or anyone in particular. Existence is the fact that we're alive and cognitively able to comprehend existence. We live on a planet, in a solar system, in a galaxy, in the universe.  We - is anything that has an influence on something else. People is the first consideration that most people take, but we also includes animals, weather, environment, machinery, etc. Anything that is, exists. Consider dreams and imagination.

Rene Descartes once wrote a revolutionary idea, "I think, therefore I am."  I will venture to make an equivalent analogy. Addis - "I exhibit, whether voluntary or not, influence on something else, therefore I exist." Everything you can ever think of. Everything that you've ever known has or has the potential to influence something else.

Well, define influence?

Influence could be anything that effects anything else! There are examples of physical influence, emotional influence, spiritual influence, visible influence, invisible, tangible, intangible, manipulation (good or bad, phsyical or other), the list is limitless. Easy enough to understand, right? Now, you might be thinking:

"Yes, we know (or now know) what existence is, so what?"

We're left with two questions:

Why do we exist? and/or What does existence have to do with my life?

Well, an important question to consider individually might be, "which question came to your mind first and why?"

You could have asked, "Why do we exist?" first because you're interested in following this style of learning. You want to continue down the rabbit hole of starting at the beginning and defining foundational concepts. OR you may have asked "What does existence have to do with my life?" for two reasons, You're more interested in the personal relation. How does this work? How can this help me change my perspective to become a better person, or a more empathetic one? Or you asked that question because you're impatient and ready to learn more but are a little skeptical.

MANY of you will think defining your reaction to the inital question and the possible reactions and values associated with those reactions are meaningless. I ASSURE you, this is the most effective and simplest way to learn. This is true learning; not necessarily gaining knowledge or understanding, but being able to recognize why you choose or think the way you do. Its relevant to every decision you make. You have to ask the question, why did I ask that question, or why did I have that reaction to this question or this situation. Its how you grow. If you think you did the right thing, you will affirm yourself and grow. If you look back and say, "You know I could have reacted differently," or more importantly, I want to react differently, you will grow. Eventually, you may get to the point that instead of having to ask these reflective questions in hindsight, you'll ask them while making the inital decision or reaction.  Once you've mastered this, the value you truly desire will become a quality of your character.

I can tell, now, you're beginning to understand the value in this study. I hope you continue to find encouragement and balance as we grow together through our study of life.