"In order to be used for greatness, one must forget everything the average man knows."
From the time I was a child, I knew I was different. I thought differently from most of the people around me, but I wasn't aware of just how different I was until I started my M.Ed. program which focused on behavioral studies. As got older, I became more aware of my difference and struggled to find someone to understand me. I thought my mother did, but realized later that she really didn't. She tolerated me because I made her laugh (and I bought her good gifts!). She accepted my personality as "different" from her other children and, as long as I did what she wanted me to do, she didn't mind it so much. Without realizing it, she became my best friend. I didn't understand how different our relationship was from hers with the other siblings because I thought we all treated her with the same respect and loyalty. Once what I knew to be true became different from what she knew, it began to separate me from her, and that's when I began to find out that her relationships with the others was quite different from ours. The others had to help me to understand who she really was.
I'd always thought she was wiser than anyone could ever imagine. I believed she would guide me through life and help me to understand all there was to know because, in my mind, she knew it all. And she liked it that way. I worshipped her. Because of that, I never realized how much she was actually learning from me! Everything I learned, I brought back to her. Every experience I had in life, I shared with her as if she had been there herself. In her own right, she lived vicariously through me, but I was totally and completely unaware of it at the time. As my mind matured, I came to realize that she had married young in a day and age where the only thing a woman could really do to enjoy the finer things in life was marry a man who could provide them for her. Women weren't treated equally nor were the opportunities for ethnic minorities as available as they are now. She married young and had a whole bunch of children. As each child was thrown into the whirlwind of life, experiencing what she wasn't quite ready for, she took what she learned from each experience and gave as much wisdom about it as she could to the next child. Because there were a slew of kids older than me, by the time I was ready to face the things that separated the teenagers from the babies, she appeared wise beyond her years. I never took into account all that went on before my teenage years because I was unaware of what my older siblings had gone through. I learned from her what she wished she had taught them. What I learned from her carried me well into adulthood, but once I made the decision to mature beyond only that which pleased her, I needed--and got--a new teacher. As the Wisdom of life began to lead me down roads my mom had never traveled, I began to change in a way she didn't understand or like. For both of us, it was an emotional roller coaster ride that snatched me from her grasp and threw me into a realm of existence that separated me not only from her, but from everyone and everything else I knew. It took some years, but I came to realize that my mother and I were not as close as I thought we were. It wasn't closeness, but rather the result of a mother's pleasure with her obedient child. And that was what she liked about me. Hell, I was scared to disobey! Not only because she'd discipline me severely if I didn't, but because I had seen what life had done to the others before me who defied her. There was never a good end to those stories, and she used their endings to her advantage when she dealt with me. In other words, she used the negative experiences of her older children to mold me into what she wanted me to be, and as long as I was obedient, we didn't have a problem.
When it was time to cut the apron strings, Wisdom took ahold of me and catapulted me out of my mother's bosom and into my purpose in life---which was not to be an obedient little girl, but rather an adult woman with the wisdom and intellect necessary to help people in need of answers at a time when family, school, church, and sadly, elders, were not in a place to be trusted for the answers to life's most intimate questions. In order to be this woman, I had to forget everything I once knew. I went through many painful life's experiences, but each one branded me with what I needed in order to be who I am today, and what those who have needed my professional help needed me to be. It's been a long journey, one my mother died not understanding, but I am finally very happy in the skin I'm in. I knkow now that I'm different because I was chosen for greatness. In order to bring out the greatness, I had to forget what the average me knew, and those who knew me had forget who I was back then. And for the record, it wasn't easy for them, either.
Today, I'm quite successful doing what I do--producing for T.V. and the big screen--but I'm not in the presence of those who knew me "when" because they are not able to accept who I am now. They knew me as I was struggling to have common sense. "God gave you common sense!" I would often hear family and friends say. After having had my feelings crushed by this statement several times, I learned to answer back, "No. He gave you common sense; He gave me wisdom!" They knew me when I was trying to hang on to what they knew. I hung on because I knew that accepting what I now know would alienate me from everything I had always held so fast to. Finally, I let go of the common sense and embraced Wisdom. Wisdom is now my Guide, but I don't have the "common sense" God gave a goat! I know this because I play Family Feud on my iPad every night before I go to bed. I suck at it! My answers are never the simple ones! On the other hand, my scores are quite simple!
For Wisdom, one must let go of his common sense. Though the payoff is huge, the process is costly. Not everyone has to have wisdom. You can stick with common sense, but common sense keeps you at the same pace as most others. If you're like most others, it's because of what you all have in common. It means you think alike. That's okay, but you can't be used for greatness if you think like everyone else. If you think like everyone else, the majority of people know what you know. That makes your thoughts normal, not great. Greatness is going to cost you everything you know, but it will replace what it takes away from you with amazing things you've never heard of. That's what makes your thoughts great. You think about things no one else has ever heard of. With those thoughts, you can introduce to the world things that are creative and innovative. Dare to be different. In many cases, you already are. Don't fret about being different. You may just be the one used to save a drowning world--or at least a fraction of it.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Here's to a Healthy YOU
"The healthiest thing to do is to love...you!"
If this world were yours, what would you do with it? Now before you get too deep into that pipe dream you're about to express, know that you can't give what you don't have. You can't give what you don't know anything about. So the real answer to the question is...that you will give whatever you have stored up in your heart. Newsflash: Whatever you are holding in your heart is what you are giving to the world right now. Let's do a little exercise to measure what you're giving:
Say the last days of humanity as we know it came and went last night. Where would you describe your current whereabouts? Do you feel like you're in Heaven or is your life a living hell? If you woke up tomorrow and learned you'd be spending the rest of eternity thinking, feeling and believing exactly as you do now, what would your thoughts be in your final resting place? Love? Joy? Happiness? Fear? Revenge? Anger? Displacement? Rejection? Insecurity? Inferiority? Piety? Superiority? Now keep it totally honest, and remember: these thoughts are permanent. You can't change any of them. Ever. Ouch. I know that thought is frightening for some of you.
Okay. Let's back up. What if you had one last chance to change things for yourself. What would you change? Do you know? Well, if you know what needs to be changed, why wait until it's almost too late to do something about it? Why not do it now? Far too many people are existing in situations that they know are less than desirable for them, but are doing nothing about it. Why is that? Because most people will settle for what they believe is the lesser of two evils: being in a mediocre or a bad relationship is better than being in no relationship at all, for example. NOT TRUE!!! Being in no relationship at all is so much better than being in one that keeps you wishing for something more pleasant. Why do people think that the only alternative to being in a relationship is loneliness? It isn't. Travel is an option. It doesn't have to be an international or cross country trek; a simple visit to a nearby favorite place is all that it will take to add spice to your life. Friendships work; with the same or opposite gender. The friendship doesn't have to be a high maintenance one. It could actually be an acquaintance. How about livening a family relationship that you haven't given any attention in a while? Okay, you don't have to be totally in love with the person you're spending time with, just be able to enjoy them long enough for a nice visit. No, you don't have to stay the whole weekend. Just be there long enough to avoid the rigor mortis of monotony. Yes, monotony. Most people are not as lonely as they think they are; their lives are just monotonous. They do the same things day in and day out and think the only solution to their boredom is a mate. That's like finding a skunk and bringing it home just because you don't have a pet!!!
The hell that most people live in is a direct result of relationships that shouldn't be or never should have been!! Even if the hell is not directly yours. Maybe your mom and dad should have never been together, and now you're stuck dealing with things in life that would have never been in your consciousness if your mom or your dad had been someone else. The constant fighting, drug use, blaming each other, cursing each other, the attempts at pulling you and/or your siblings to side with one parent against the other, the abandonment because one felt like he/she wasn't ready for a family, the enabling or the codependency, etc. Whatever the case may be, the hell you inherited doesn't have to be a life sentence. And for God's sake, please don't fix the inherited problems with a relationship and/or children!! Address the problem and heal. Don't start another generation of that problem, PLEASE!!
If this world were yours, what would you give to it? The same problems you have, or would it be something healthy? If you don't have anything healthy to give, don't fool yourself into believing you can give what you don't have. Instead, GET HEALTHY! Identify YOUR problem, take the necessary steps to solve it, find something constructive to spend your newfound time doing, then share your work with the rest of the world. If you're an addict because you were born to alcoholic parents, do the twelve step program or seek professional help. In doing so, you may find what you were really born to do---say singing--and join a choir or form a band. Hell, get a contract and sing solo. Don't waste your talent because your mom or dad was a bum. Get THEIR monkey off your back and bless the world with whatever gift or talent you have hidden underneath their junk. The healthiest thing to do is find a way to love you instead of self-destructing because you can't love them. That way, instead of drinking your life away, you could be loving others and helping them to find use for their lives through your music. After all, many of them have the same problem you have, but may not have the will power to do anything about it without YOUR help. Your music just may be that balm in Gilead. Be constructive, not destructive. Help this world to be a better place by gracing it with what God gave to you to give to give to others. And that's why...
...I blog.
If this world were yours, what would you do with it? Now before you get too deep into that pipe dream you're about to express, know that you can't give what you don't have. You can't give what you don't know anything about. So the real answer to the question is...that you will give whatever you have stored up in your heart. Newsflash: Whatever you are holding in your heart is what you are giving to the world right now. Let's do a little exercise to measure what you're giving:
Say the last days of humanity as we know it came and went last night. Where would you describe your current whereabouts? Do you feel like you're in Heaven or is your life a living hell? If you woke up tomorrow and learned you'd be spending the rest of eternity thinking, feeling and believing exactly as you do now, what would your thoughts be in your final resting place? Love? Joy? Happiness? Fear? Revenge? Anger? Displacement? Rejection? Insecurity? Inferiority? Piety? Superiority? Now keep it totally honest, and remember: these thoughts are permanent. You can't change any of them. Ever. Ouch. I know that thought is frightening for some of you.
Okay. Let's back up. What if you had one last chance to change things for yourself. What would you change? Do you know? Well, if you know what needs to be changed, why wait until it's almost too late to do something about it? Why not do it now? Far too many people are existing in situations that they know are less than desirable for them, but are doing nothing about it. Why is that? Because most people will settle for what they believe is the lesser of two evils: being in a mediocre or a bad relationship is better than being in no relationship at all, for example. NOT TRUE!!! Being in no relationship at all is so much better than being in one that keeps you wishing for something more pleasant. Why do people think that the only alternative to being in a relationship is loneliness? It isn't. Travel is an option. It doesn't have to be an international or cross country trek; a simple visit to a nearby favorite place is all that it will take to add spice to your life. Friendships work; with the same or opposite gender. The friendship doesn't have to be a high maintenance one. It could actually be an acquaintance. How about livening a family relationship that you haven't given any attention in a while? Okay, you don't have to be totally in love with the person you're spending time with, just be able to enjoy them long enough for a nice visit. No, you don't have to stay the whole weekend. Just be there long enough to avoid the rigor mortis of monotony. Yes, monotony. Most people are not as lonely as they think they are; their lives are just monotonous. They do the same things day in and day out and think the only solution to their boredom is a mate. That's like finding a skunk and bringing it home just because you don't have a pet!!!
The hell that most people live in is a direct result of relationships that shouldn't be or never should have been!! Even if the hell is not directly yours. Maybe your mom and dad should have never been together, and now you're stuck dealing with things in life that would have never been in your consciousness if your mom or your dad had been someone else. The constant fighting, drug use, blaming each other, cursing each other, the attempts at pulling you and/or your siblings to side with one parent against the other, the abandonment because one felt like he/she wasn't ready for a family, the enabling or the codependency, etc. Whatever the case may be, the hell you inherited doesn't have to be a life sentence. And for God's sake, please don't fix the inherited problems with a relationship and/or children!! Address the problem and heal. Don't start another generation of that problem, PLEASE!!
If this world were yours, what would you give to it? The same problems you have, or would it be something healthy? If you don't have anything healthy to give, don't fool yourself into believing you can give what you don't have. Instead, GET HEALTHY! Identify YOUR problem, take the necessary steps to solve it, find something constructive to spend your newfound time doing, then share your work with the rest of the world. If you're an addict because you were born to alcoholic parents, do the twelve step program or seek professional help. In doing so, you may find what you were really born to do---say singing--and join a choir or form a band. Hell, get a contract and sing solo. Don't waste your talent because your mom or dad was a bum. Get THEIR monkey off your back and bless the world with whatever gift or talent you have hidden underneath their junk. The healthiest thing to do is find a way to love you instead of self-destructing because you can't love them. That way, instead of drinking your life away, you could be loving others and helping them to find use for their lives through your music. After all, many of them have the same problem you have, but may not have the will power to do anything about it without YOUR help. Your music just may be that balm in Gilead. Be constructive, not destructive. Help this world to be a better place by gracing it with what God gave to you to give to give to others. And that's why...
...I blog.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
What's in a Birthday?
"We are all going to grow physically; that comes with age, but maturity is the manifestation of mental, emotional, and spiritual growth, which doesn't have to come at all if you don't want it to."
To date, how many birthdays have you had? Of those birthdays, all of them have brought about some change, even if it was just that you became another year older. Now, ask yourself how much growth has taken place over those birthdays? I don't mean growth in the abdominal area--belly fat or beer guts. Nor do I mean larger hips and/or butts. That's change; not growth! Change is inevitable as we put on the years--even though some of you are still holding on to those clothes you wore in your youth because you've not grown or matured enough in the mind to know that they really don't fit anymore. (It doesn't count if you have to hold your breath or suck in your stomach in order to zip them up unless that was what you had to do years ago in order for them to fit. And if you did, those old clothes never fit you. Throw that crap away!) Maturity, on the other hand, is what happens when you realize that the way you're doing things--the choices and decisions you're making--are the result of immature thinking, which is how you keep ending up in the same place even if your situation changes. Every relationship begins and ends in the same way. You're pregnant again or...you got another one pregnant! He beat you again, even though he promised it would be different this time (well, he didn't lie completely; it was a different ass whoopin'). You're having to call a friend or relative to help you bail your child out of jail because he/she is still getting high after he/she promised to stop if you gave him more money or trusted him with the keys to your car. It's the first of the month and you don't have your rent so you have to turn a trick or two, even though last month you said you weren't going to degrade yourself like that ever again. When the simple stresses of life hit, you fell off the wagon after only a couple of weeks or sobriety...
These situations are going to continue to happen in your life until YOU do something different; until YOU make a different choice. What if, until you made that different choice, you couldn't have another birthday. How long would you be 22? And for the wise guy who sees this as a fountain of youth kind of thing, with each year of 22, you are physically getting older. Your body is not suspended in time, just your mind. So when you try to hang out at the pool with the other 22 year olds, they are going to run!! What if you had to stay that age? Everything around you continues to move at its regular pace, but you've been left behind. The music you like to party to isn't being played at the parties where the other 22 year olds are. The conversation is not the same, either, but you can't talk to others your age because you can't keep up with their conversation and they are so not interested in yours. Your interests are not the same, because as others your age were growing up, you didn't mature with them. Now, to them, you're an absolute nuisance! To the younger generation, you're a whatever the new word for "dweeb" or "corny" is.
The fact of the matter is that this is not a "what if." If you're not maturing, this is what's happening to you in reality. The only difference is that you don't see it; you are completely unaware, and you're probably feeling shunned by a certain group of people who, according to you, think they're better than you. Well guess what. If they've matured and you haven't, they ARE better than you! Yes, I actually said it. They ARE better! Mature people don't tend to pair up with immature folks their age because, by nature, the immature one will stunt the growth process of the mature ones. While they are talking about investing or investments, you're whining about yet another frivolous affair and the heartbreak that ensued. And yes, they know. You really loved this one. Just like all the others. While they are talking about marriage and children, you're talking about bar or bed hopping. While you're talking about how you got over on some unsuspecting person who believed the sob story you told him/her before swindling them out of something you really didn't need, they are sizing you up and seeing you for the opportunistic manipulator you are, and realizing that you're not good company for them. They don't find your deceptive ways cute at all! In fact, you're a danger to them and any friends you have in common, and believe me, they are going to spread the word. If you are lagging behind doing the same things others your age have grown out of, THEY ARE BETTER THAN YOU. They've moved on into higher order thinking. While you're thinking like a child, they are problem solving and planning as mature adults.
Change is not your option, but growth is. If you recognize your situation as one that is unpleasant and not good for you, it's up to you to decide whether or not to get out, and whether or not you will get into that same situation again. If you end up there again and don't get out, you've not matured. If you end up in that same situation, recognize the similarities and then get out, you're on your way to being better than you were. Everybody who makes better decisions than they did when they were where you are right now, is better than you because they make better choices. The only way to keep up with those who are better is for you to make better choices than those you've been making. In other words, grow the hell up! Grow with each birthday. Instead of making a "new year's resolution" this year, make a birthday resolution: Resolve to be better than you were last year. If you've had a birthday already this year, resolve to be a better person than you are today by your next birthday. Maturity is the key to everything better. Life is better when you're able to make mature decisions. Your family will be better when you start making more mature decisions. Your job experience will be better when you begin to make more mature decisions. YOU will be better when you make more mature decisions in your everyday living. Be better by being more mature than you were before.
To date, how many birthdays have you had? Of those birthdays, all of them have brought about some change, even if it was just that you became another year older. Now, ask yourself how much growth has taken place over those birthdays? I don't mean growth in the abdominal area--belly fat or beer guts. Nor do I mean larger hips and/or butts. That's change; not growth! Change is inevitable as we put on the years--even though some of you are still holding on to those clothes you wore in your youth because you've not grown or matured enough in the mind to know that they really don't fit anymore. (It doesn't count if you have to hold your breath or suck in your stomach in order to zip them up unless that was what you had to do years ago in order for them to fit. And if you did, those old clothes never fit you. Throw that crap away!) Maturity, on the other hand, is what happens when you realize that the way you're doing things--the choices and decisions you're making--are the result of immature thinking, which is how you keep ending up in the same place even if your situation changes. Every relationship begins and ends in the same way. You're pregnant again or...you got another one pregnant! He beat you again, even though he promised it would be different this time (well, he didn't lie completely; it was a different ass whoopin'). You're having to call a friend or relative to help you bail your child out of jail because he/she is still getting high after he/she promised to stop if you gave him more money or trusted him with the keys to your car. It's the first of the month and you don't have your rent so you have to turn a trick or two, even though last month you said you weren't going to degrade yourself like that ever again. When the simple stresses of life hit, you fell off the wagon after only a couple of weeks or sobriety...
These situations are going to continue to happen in your life until YOU do something different; until YOU make a different choice. What if, until you made that different choice, you couldn't have another birthday. How long would you be 22? And for the wise guy who sees this as a fountain of youth kind of thing, with each year of 22, you are physically getting older. Your body is not suspended in time, just your mind. So when you try to hang out at the pool with the other 22 year olds, they are going to run!! What if you had to stay that age? Everything around you continues to move at its regular pace, but you've been left behind. The music you like to party to isn't being played at the parties where the other 22 year olds are. The conversation is not the same, either, but you can't talk to others your age because you can't keep up with their conversation and they are so not interested in yours. Your interests are not the same, because as others your age were growing up, you didn't mature with them. Now, to them, you're an absolute nuisance! To the younger generation, you're a whatever the new word for "dweeb" or "corny" is.
The fact of the matter is that this is not a "what if." If you're not maturing, this is what's happening to you in reality. The only difference is that you don't see it; you are completely unaware, and you're probably feeling shunned by a certain group of people who, according to you, think they're better than you. Well guess what. If they've matured and you haven't, they ARE better than you! Yes, I actually said it. They ARE better! Mature people don't tend to pair up with immature folks their age because, by nature, the immature one will stunt the growth process of the mature ones. While they are talking about investing or investments, you're whining about yet another frivolous affair and the heartbreak that ensued. And yes, they know. You really loved this one. Just like all the others. While they are talking about marriage and children, you're talking about bar or bed hopping. While you're talking about how you got over on some unsuspecting person who believed the sob story you told him/her before swindling them out of something you really didn't need, they are sizing you up and seeing you for the opportunistic manipulator you are, and realizing that you're not good company for them. They don't find your deceptive ways cute at all! In fact, you're a danger to them and any friends you have in common, and believe me, they are going to spread the word. If you are lagging behind doing the same things others your age have grown out of, THEY ARE BETTER THAN YOU. They've moved on into higher order thinking. While you're thinking like a child, they are problem solving and planning as mature adults.
Change is not your option, but growth is. If you recognize your situation as one that is unpleasant and not good for you, it's up to you to decide whether or not to get out, and whether or not you will get into that same situation again. If you end up there again and don't get out, you've not matured. If you end up in that same situation, recognize the similarities and then get out, you're on your way to being better than you were. Everybody who makes better decisions than they did when they were where you are right now, is better than you because they make better choices. The only way to keep up with those who are better is for you to make better choices than those you've been making. In other words, grow the hell up! Grow with each birthday. Instead of making a "new year's resolution" this year, make a birthday resolution: Resolve to be better than you were last year. If you've had a birthday already this year, resolve to be a better person than you are today by your next birthday. Maturity is the key to everything better. Life is better when you're able to make mature decisions. Your family will be better when you start making more mature decisions. Your job experience will be better when you begin to make more mature decisions. YOU will be better when you make more mature decisions in your everyday living. Be better by being more mature than you were before.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Long Time, No See
"What you see is what you get, and if you're brave enough to see with your mind's eye, you'll get something new, bigger, better and different to introduce to the rest of the world!"
As a professional with a passion for the metaphysical, the phrase "seeing is believing" is one that I have grown to absolutely hate, simply because you really can't believe everything you see. Nor should you ignore the things you can't see. For example, you feel pain, but can't see it, yet you know it's there, right? How about things like love, joy, peace, fear, or anxiety? We don't see those things but we know they are there--if we are the ones personally going through those emotions. For those who can't see it, often doubt it's really there. This is where it becomes a problem for me. Read ahead:
We live in a society predicated merely on that which we can see, therefore denying all that we can't. So why is that a problem? Because it diminishes and demolishes imagination, creativity and risk. As a result of that, our young are growing up or have grown up in a world that grossly lacks originality. The by-product of that is reality t.v.! I sat down one day and watched an episode or two of one of those based in New Jersey, which I won't name because I don't want to plug it. Only a few minutes into it, I lost the taste for the shrimp and sweet potato fries I had been eating--seriously. I couldn't believe the waste of airtime I had partaken of. I ended up watching it because my daughter and niece, who are both over 18, thank God, were laughing and gasping loudly at what they were watching. My appetite was lost as I wondered what they'd be taking into their minds if they were younger and more impressionable, then realized that a lot of young children are doing just that: taking in that idiocy and formulating beliefs about life as a result of it. So that brings me to the blog theme of the day.
Imagine yourself growing up in a world where no one had vision. Can't imagine it? Then let me help you: you'd be living in the wild as a caveman/woman. There'd be no housing as we know it, no indoor plumbing, no motorized transportation, no t.v., radio, mp3 players or computers, no phones--landline or cellular, no processed or fast food (which none of us need, but when I think of eating barley and wheat in a hot cereal or porridge, big, fat, juicy cheeseburgers begin to tantalize me), soap, toothpaste, deodorant, trendy clothing, shoes...shoes? (Oh, God. I feel a hot flash coming on! Give me a minute. (fan, fan, fan.) Okay. Gotta stop imagining now; this has gotten dangerous. Life without shoes would just not be worth living. Don't mess with the shoes! I take it you get the picture by now anyway.
Now, imagine where our world is going to be when this generation of reality t.v. grows up and is responsible for invention and innovation. The future K.K.'s of the world will be designing the safety features in your next car. The Snook-snooks of the world will be handling and investing your money. The real wives will be teaching our children...no, scratch that. I don't think they even work. What a relief! (I hear they are coming out with one that follows the lives of pastor's wives. I think we should all watch that one so we can see what has happened to the church. Trust and believe, it ain't about God any more.)
With all of that, we are to believe only what we see? Let me introduce you to the world of metaphysics. Metaphysics is based on that which is real that we cannot see; using your own mind as a resource. Sound scary? Well, the other alternative is to believe what we see on "reality" t.v., and follow the paths they set for us, or to continually do what's been done before. Now that's scary! Reality t.v. is what you get when you cross television cameras with people who don't really use their minds to full capacity, if they use them at all. After all, isn't that the draw? How many people watch reality t.v. to learn something? How many watch that stuff to laugh at the ridiculousness of the lives of the reality stars? Doing only what's been done before makes life boring, robotic and mundane. Nothing will grow, and without growth, everything dies. Enough said. But before we go any further, I'd like to make the disclaimer that metaphysics is not some new wave shamanism or numerology-like stuff. It is not an alternative to church nor is it some trendy type of religion. It's life. Life is in the mind, for as a man thinketh, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Meta means "beyond". "Physical" means "of or pertaining to the body or that which is material". "Meta-physical" refers to that which extends beyond the body (the mind) or the material (that which can be seen or touched). Metaphysics requires using YOUR mind; not just following the guy in front of you. It's the road back to creativity, originality, invention, focus, direction, intelligence, integrity, honesty, etc., because it's all based on the truths that we've forgotten about or never knew because we have relied only on that which we can see. The real danger in that is that there are very few good examples out there for us to follow. Look at the upcoming presidential race. Now remember the one from 2008. Thank God for Barack and Michelle Obama. Like them or not, they are quite poised, upstanding and intelligent. Whether or not you agree with their politics may be a glitch in your matrix. Without them, the poor kids of the last two generations wouldn't stand a fighting chance! The problem that most have with President Obama is that the Harvard graduate and former president of the Harvard Law Review thinks for himself. This kind of behavior is shunned by this society, which is indicative of the behavior of many of the politicians currently holding office as well as the outspoken critics. It's clearly idiocy vs. intelligence. Back to metaphysics...
...when was the last time you had an original idea? What did you do with it? Anything? Or were you too afraid to realize it because you'd never seen it done before and were afraid to be different? Did some friend or relative shoot it down with their arsenal of hater-ade bows and arrows? For originality and strength, go beyond what you can see. Be a vessel for what eyes have not seen, ears have not heard--BE CREATIVE. If it's been seen or heard before, there's no originality and each time it is duplicated or replicated, it loses it's meaning and value. HEY, could someone pass this on to the reality t.v. execs? LMAO
As a professional with a passion for the metaphysical, the phrase "seeing is believing" is one that I have grown to absolutely hate, simply because you really can't believe everything you see. Nor should you ignore the things you can't see. For example, you feel pain, but can't see it, yet you know it's there, right? How about things like love, joy, peace, fear, or anxiety? We don't see those things but we know they are there--if we are the ones personally going through those emotions. For those who can't see it, often doubt it's really there. This is where it becomes a problem for me. Read ahead:
We live in a society predicated merely on that which we can see, therefore denying all that we can't. So why is that a problem? Because it diminishes and demolishes imagination, creativity and risk. As a result of that, our young are growing up or have grown up in a world that grossly lacks originality. The by-product of that is reality t.v.! I sat down one day and watched an episode or two of one of those based in New Jersey, which I won't name because I don't want to plug it. Only a few minutes into it, I lost the taste for the shrimp and sweet potato fries I had been eating--seriously. I couldn't believe the waste of airtime I had partaken of. I ended up watching it because my daughter and niece, who are both over 18, thank God, were laughing and gasping loudly at what they were watching. My appetite was lost as I wondered what they'd be taking into their minds if they were younger and more impressionable, then realized that a lot of young children are doing just that: taking in that idiocy and formulating beliefs about life as a result of it. So that brings me to the blog theme of the day.
Imagine yourself growing up in a world where no one had vision. Can't imagine it? Then let me help you: you'd be living in the wild as a caveman/woman. There'd be no housing as we know it, no indoor plumbing, no motorized transportation, no t.v., radio, mp3 players or computers, no phones--landline or cellular, no processed or fast food (which none of us need, but when I think of eating barley and wheat in a hot cereal or porridge, big, fat, juicy cheeseburgers begin to tantalize me), soap, toothpaste, deodorant, trendy clothing, shoes...shoes? (Oh, God. I feel a hot flash coming on! Give me a minute. (fan, fan, fan.) Okay. Gotta stop imagining now; this has gotten dangerous. Life without shoes would just not be worth living. Don't mess with the shoes! I take it you get the picture by now anyway.
Now, imagine where our world is going to be when this generation of reality t.v. grows up and is responsible for invention and innovation. The future K.K.'s of the world will be designing the safety features in your next car. The Snook-snooks of the world will be handling and investing your money. The real wives will be teaching our children...no, scratch that. I don't think they even work. What a relief! (I hear they are coming out with one that follows the lives of pastor's wives. I think we should all watch that one so we can see what has happened to the church. Trust and believe, it ain't about God any more.)
With all of that, we are to believe only what we see? Let me introduce you to the world of metaphysics. Metaphysics is based on that which is real that we cannot see; using your own mind as a resource. Sound scary? Well, the other alternative is to believe what we see on "reality" t.v., and follow the paths they set for us, or to continually do what's been done before. Now that's scary! Reality t.v. is what you get when you cross television cameras with people who don't really use their minds to full capacity, if they use them at all. After all, isn't that the draw? How many people watch reality t.v. to learn something? How many watch that stuff to laugh at the ridiculousness of the lives of the reality stars? Doing only what's been done before makes life boring, robotic and mundane. Nothing will grow, and without growth, everything dies. Enough said. But before we go any further, I'd like to make the disclaimer that metaphysics is not some new wave shamanism or numerology-like stuff. It is not an alternative to church nor is it some trendy type of religion. It's life. Life is in the mind, for as a man thinketh, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Meta means "beyond". "Physical" means "of or pertaining to the body or that which is material". "Meta-physical" refers to that which extends beyond the body (the mind) or the material (that which can be seen or touched). Metaphysics requires using YOUR mind; not just following the guy in front of you. It's the road back to creativity, originality, invention, focus, direction, intelligence, integrity, honesty, etc., because it's all based on the truths that we've forgotten about or never knew because we have relied only on that which we can see. The real danger in that is that there are very few good examples out there for us to follow. Look at the upcoming presidential race. Now remember the one from 2008. Thank God for Barack and Michelle Obama. Like them or not, they are quite poised, upstanding and intelligent. Whether or not you agree with their politics may be a glitch in your matrix. Without them, the poor kids of the last two generations wouldn't stand a fighting chance! The problem that most have with President Obama is that the Harvard graduate and former president of the Harvard Law Review thinks for himself. This kind of behavior is shunned by this society, which is indicative of the behavior of many of the politicians currently holding office as well as the outspoken critics. It's clearly idiocy vs. intelligence. Back to metaphysics...
...when was the last time you had an original idea? What did you do with it? Anything? Or were you too afraid to realize it because you'd never seen it done before and were afraid to be different? Did some friend or relative shoot it down with their arsenal of hater-ade bows and arrows? For originality and strength, go beyond what you can see. Be a vessel for what eyes have not seen, ears have not heard--BE CREATIVE. If it's been seen or heard before, there's no originality and each time it is duplicated or replicated, it loses it's meaning and value. HEY, could someone pass this on to the reality t.v. execs? LMAO
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