Time to face whose truth?

For some of us, its difficult to accept or even care about reasons why we behave as we do. You learn from what you've been taught, by whom you've been taught, in societies or institutions where it happens. You develop habits and inclinations that lead to patterns and habits, but how often do you think about them or the implications on others? You instinct may be to say, "why bother?" How could you begin to change cycles or vicious circles? Why would you even desire to do that?

Let's say that you may have moved away from what is good for you, from what enables you to feel positive and motivated, from what connects you to people and makes you feel valued. How would you know?It pays to ask why you do things and for whom. Dig inside yourself. What do you find?

Why do you permit society to decide when its time for you to retire, how much money the government will pay in benefits or pensions. Why do you ignore the role young people or older people could play in certain settings, based purely on things like age or a desire to marginalize? Why would you avoid acknowledging that this situation is real and that you may buy into it?

What would happen if you suddenly began to see your choices for what they really were? For reinforcing stereotypes, hierarchical systems, power dynamics, the growing disparity between the 'haves and have nots?'  Each time you buy something, support a cause,an organisation, religious institution or a government in any way, then you're advocating the whole process behind it, the lifestyles that are upheld and denied.  Why would you desire to do that (or not)? Each moment, you make decisions that enable you to play into the hands of somebody's truth. Why isn't it your own?

Sort through to your core truth

As you create a sense of success, your mind recognizes different levels of decision-making.  You draw from intuition, emotion, rationality, which may all conflict at different periods of time.  How you think can attract success or push it away.  You may not yet recognize your own strength.

Each day, you search for clues.  You take steps to guide your own natural discoveries.  How you were raised or what life experiences have guided you may not define your true sense of success.  You may ask yourself how you'll know what this particular thing is.  There may be more than one. The meaning of your instincts and feelings are usually conditioned by your elders before you to grow to interpret them for yourself.  Perhaps your true self has been contrained or denied?

How you think about what is acceptable, feasible, affordable, laughable, achievable is all influenced by external sources.  This translates into your life choices.  How you think about yourself, your potential and circumstances essentially enables you or holds you back from goals.  Your mindset reverberrates in your attitude, your beliefs, and life choices.  Even relationship choices mirror or hide your true self.

Its never too late to rethink your inhibitions and the reasons why they have evolved.  A sense of success can be revised and reworked based on how you understand your truth.  People around you will only share the truths they know.  Yet, what you devise and believe is possible could be very different indeed.  As time passes, you will learn to distinguish which truths aren't yours.

How often have you talked of your life as if it was based on the life of a parent, a teacher, a mentor, your culture, society or religion, and you really don't know your own self outside of these life views? Your ideas of success are your core truths.  This is a life quest. How and why are you searching?  Only you answer for yourself, and only when you're ready.  Rethink success in totally new ways.  Be true to yourself.

Reframe your view

Some people will ask, "what must be done to make life work more in my favor?" or, "why do I seem to deserve repeated struggles?" Perhaps the trouble starts in your own mind, along with nagging questions and your reactions to prospective answers.

The thing is, the truth of your life is actually proven or disproven based on how you think. Raising your awareness is what you need to do. You may ask about what? Why not teach yourself to expect good things? You can't grow through negative thinking. Condition positive thinking instead. Consider spending time on those things that enable you to feel good about yourself. Learn to understand why you think as you do. How could you take steps to focus on more uplifting thoughts?

Every day is a new beginning. Perhaps you could stengthen the skill of forgetting? Move on. You need to be determined to overcome weaknesses which focus your thoughts of guilt and fear. We only need to train our minds, reinforce an attitude with affirmations. This will prompt your own transformation. You realize there's never a better time than now to reframe your point of view.

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." ~Peace Pilgrim

A promise from heaven

Lots of people dream about heaven.  Lots of people claim to have visited heaven and returned.  Stories of near death experiences and reincarnation captivate large audiences.  Information about heaven is available from many sources.  It may be hard for you to decide on which stories are reliable or believable.  This is very subjective thing.

Some people assume heaven will be full of angels, some which you'll be able to see and others you'll be able to sense through different kinds of perception.  Maybe it's a place where harmony will prevail, where quarrels or disagreements won't exist, where disappointments are unknown or forgotten.  Some people think angels have a hand in reminding us of the power of compassion.

What will heaven hold for you? Will it be a place to resolve all those unreconciled emotions? Will it be a palce where you experience nothing but love and joy forever? It could be a dream-like existence unlike anything you've ever known before.  The question is, will it be something you hope for and value? Will it be a place you fear and aim to avoid for as long as possible? What kind of a promise would you like to have concerning heaven?

The forthcoming Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling fans are dreaming about the 784pgs of her 7th and final Harry Potter series book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows) due to be released in July 2007. Imagine 12 million copies for the first printing! Consider the logistics.

Rumors are circulating about characters who will die and what events we may have to look forward to or not. Unanswered questions remain, including whether future books in a new series may evolve to develop ends not tied up in this book. Ask yourself about some of your own unanswered questions in Harry Potter:

1) Is Dumbledore really dead?
2) Who else will die?
3) Which side is Snape on anyway? (Is he really evil?)
4) Will Ron and Hermione's relationship endure?
5) Must Harry and Voldemort have an ultimate confrontation?

For the magic moments to happen, as the theory goes, the reader's mind must be preserved in a state of absolute innocence. We're not supposed to know what's around the corner. We can anticipate, and our excitement builds. The element of surprise is meant to have a most lasting impact. It usually does!

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
(Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, 1999)
~J.K. Rowling