“The average person somehow manages to squeeze in twenty-eight hours of television per week—but ask them to study philosophy, and they will probably tell you they’re too busy.”
— Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, The Daily Stoic
Category: Uncategorized
Fall Into Place
“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.”
– Lao Tzu
Q & A: More Positive Thinking
Question: Another question on the power of positive thinking … Are there ever times when it’s okay to have negative thoughts?
Answer: Any negative thoughts or emotions that we experience indicates a misunderstanding of reality.
Never forget that as your true essence you are a spiritual being. Life on this human journey consists of a series of lessons meant to help us grow and evolve as spiritual beings.
For instance, the negative emotions we commonly associate with death (mortality) are misdirected; mortality is a lesson designed to help us understand immortality. How can one truly understand immortality without mortality?
Death is a natural part of this temporal, physical world we live in. But when one remembers the immortality of the soul and that our journey through the material world is but a temporary educational training course, death loses its sting. To see it negatively indicates a misunderstanding of reality.
The same can be said about other negative emotions. Someone treats you badly … understand that they have yet to fully comprehend (spiritual) reality, and use the opportunity to practice your own spirituality. The same with disease and other misfortunes.
Always try to find a positive, spiritual outlook to everything that happens, and use these opportunities as building blocks for spiritual growth.
Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong, but that The Truth as I See It.
Q & A: The Power of Positive Thinking
Question: From reading your writings, it’s clear that you believe in the power of positive thinking; How much actual power can positive thinking have in our lives? Can positive thinking cure diabetes? What about phobias and mental conditions?
Answer: What can and can’t be cured is not for me to say, but I do believe that positive thinking can shape our attitude and response to diabetes. Phobias, mental conditions, and whatnot? It’s hard for me to speak on that, as the only mind that I truly know is my own, but I will say this: as weightlifting, proper diet, and exercise can build strength and stamina and reshape the body, so too can positive thinking (re)train and reshape the mind to more positive ends. How far or to what extent is not for me to say, nor do I really want to, because I’d rather not limit the possibilities of another person. As the writer Richard Bach says in his book Illusions, “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they’re yours.” So I’m not going to put a limit on it. But as all exercise is difficult and time consuming, and the realization of any goal takes hard work, sacrifice, and determination, so too does reprogramming and reshaping the mind take practice and dedication, will-power and a “never say quit” attitude.
I’m not saying that limits don’t exist in this world. That would be absurd. But amazing things can and do happen. I like to keep an open mind when it comes to what’s possible.
Growing up, I watched the show Unsolved Mysteries all the time, even into my twenties when I worked 2nd shift. It helped to show me that there’s so much that’s possible in this world, so many things that happen that defy explanation. So I’m very cautious about putting limits on things, most especially the spirit or mind.
Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong, but that’s The Truth as I See It.
A Prayer for the Day
Dear God, so far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, and I haven’t lost my temper. I haven’t been grumpy, nasty or selfish, and I’m really glad of that! But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help. Thank you! Amen.
Source: http://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/Spiritual_Humor.html
Swim Upstream
“Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.”
— W.C. Fields
Find Yourself
“To find yourself, think for yourself.”
– Socrates
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/26227-to-find-yourself-think-for-yourself
Look for the Key
“So many people go through life trying to knock down doors. I always thought it’d be better to look for the key.”
— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 60)
Copyright 2018 Golden Rule Independent Publications
Waiting to Sprout
“Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout. Just as a lotus flower springs from the mire to bloom splendidly, the interaction of the Breath of Heaven and the Breath of Earth, and the subtle functioning of fire and water cause the flower of the spirit to bloom in this world.”
– Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace
Like a Flower
“To some, a butterfly is one of the most beautiful creatures in the entire world. It is like a flower fluttering through the air. To others, it’s just a caterpillar with wings.”
— Excerpted from The Truth as I See It: A Collection of Spiritual Writings by Adam Soto (p. 59)
Mind / Purpose / Truth 