Tag Archives: Units of Consciousness

Might Is Right Or Right Is Might?

For centuries it was taken for granted that God was on the side of the strongest, richest nation. Surely, it seemed, if a country was poor or downtrodden, it was because God had made it so.

Such ideas literally held people in chains, fostering slavery and other inhumane practices. The same unfortunately applies to the Eastern concept of nirvana, and to the Christian idea of heaven. Both have been used by those in power to hold down the masses of people, to justify shoddy and inadequate living conditions by promising future bliss in the world after death.

There are many differences between the ideas of nirvana and heaven, but each has been used not only to justify suffering, but also to teach people to seek pain. The idea has been that the more persecuted and maligned a person is, the greater will be the reward in a future existence.

I want to avoid concentration upon esoteric practices in my blogs, but they do sometimes impinge upon the subject matter at hand.

The ideas of penance, fasting to excess, the personal abuse of the body, such as self-flagellation — all of those practices are conducted in the belief that suffering is something to be sought in itself. In such a way pain becomes a sought-after goal, and pleasure becomes subverted into pain.

Quite ordinary people often believe, then, that suffering itself is a way toward personal development and spiritual knowledge. In matters of health, such beliefs can have most unfortunate results. They are often responsible for needless sacrifices of physical organs in imprudent operations.

Some individuals become anxious and worried if they think they are too happy — for to them it means that they are not paying sufficiently for their sins. They may be threatened by some undeniable danger, until finally in one way or another they seek out their own punishment once again — wondering all the time why they are so frequently besieged by poor health or disease.

This kind of syndrome can affect individuals, families, and to some extent entire nations. They mitigate directly against man’s and woman’s health, survival, and exuberance.

Constant fears about nuclear destruction, or other such catastrophes can also fall under this classification.

Large masses of people became so convinced of God’s eventual vengeance and retribution that they began to plan for it.

Their lives became a way of avoiding pain instead of seeking out pleasure or satisfaction. This is true of individuals, but it also applies to many so-called survival groups, who congregate in one or another portion of the country, collecting supplies to carry them over the holocaust and to defend their families from those who might steal their provisions.

Most such people expect a period of chaotic time, in which all laws are broken down. Another version stresses the economic area, foreseeing the collapse of the economy, anarchy, and other conditions that pit one individual against the other.

These people believe, of course, that any given situation will worsen, and be carried to its most disastrous end. That attitude colors all of their other beliefs and actions. Some use religious dogma, and others rely upon scientific dogma to prove their cases, but in any case, they are presented with a world of deception and vengeance.

Good mental or physical health can hardly flourish under such conditions. There are instead most beneficial groups in this country and abroad, who actually, actively, yet peacefully join together to work for worldwide nuclear disarmament, and also to tackle such questions as nuclear waste. Their efforts are directed in other ways also, as they try to convince all areas of the world to share their wealth and foodstuffs equally.

These may be “highflying” goals, however they are positive in nature, aimed toward accomplishment and achievement, and they collect the energies of the people together in a way that stresses cooperation and understanding.

Again, the end does not justify the means — so no amount of war is ever going to produce a meaningful peace.

Such ideas affect every level of life, from the most microscopic onward. It is not that plants understand our ideas in usual terms — but they do indeed pick up our intent, and in the arena of world survival, they have a stake.

I do not want to romanticize non-human life either, or to overestimate its resources, but nature also has its own ways — and in those ways it constantly works toward survival of life in general. Nature may not bail us out, but it will always be there, adding its own vitality and strength to the overall good and health of the planet.

Remember what I said in earlier blogs about the connections between disease and non-disease states. Communication flashes between viruses and microbes, and they can change in the wink of an eye. Once again, then, ideas of the most optimistic nature are the biologically pertinent ones.

This is a good place to bring up again some extreme food practices, such as over-fasting, and an obsession with so-called natural foods.

I am not talking about a natural and healthy interest in the purity of foodstuffs, but of a worrisome over-concern. This is often carried so far that no food seems perfectly satisfying, and the concentration becomes focused upon the fear of food, rather than upon its benefits.

Behind many such attitudes if the idea that the body itself is unworthy, and that starving it somehow cuts down on the appetites of the flesh. We usually end up with a flurry of different kinds of diets.

Some concentrate almost exclusively on protein, some on carbohydrates — particularly rice — but in any case the large natural range of available foods and nutrients are cut out.

This keeps the body in a state of constant turmoil. Some people are so convinced, in fact, that eating is wrong that they diet until they become ravenously hungry, then overeat and force themselves to vomit up the residue.

Other people, in a well-meaning attempt to watch their weight, skip their breakfast entirely — a very poor procedure. It is far better to eat moderate amounts of food in all of the food ranges, and to consume smaller portions more often. I realize that our social mores also dictate our eating habits — but four light meals a day will overall serve us very well, and give the body a more steady, regulated nourishment.

These food ideas are important, since they are passed on from parents to children, and parents often use food as a way of rewarding a child’s good behavior, thus starting the youngster out toward conditions of overweight.

The main issue involved, once again, is the trust of the body.

In any case, there are new lives growing and maturing within each individual, whatever his or her age or circumstances.

The idea of survival reaches far beyond this life experience, and each person has new physical and spiritual existences ever ready — for there is no such thing as extinction. Alive or dead in usual terms, we are always conscious and aware and ourselves, and we are always a part of universal ventures in which we have always been involved, whatever our states of consciousness.

We are supported, never abandoned, and always couched lovingly in the great yet intimate presence of All That Is, whose love forms our breath, our life, our death, as in which the unknown divinity is always blessed and ever known.

It is known and unknown, forming all stages of creativity, and we are held within it, graced to be a part of the divine framework of All That Is.

My blogs, like life itself, have been and are a gift, rising from the immense, never-ending creativity of existence.

Alone, I live within one life that expresses multitudinous voices, and shed its own mercy, gladness, and joy, out into the world at large, enriching it, renewing the springtime, and never truly ending.

To one extent or another, I then speak in these blogs for all peoples, for the united psyches that overflow with thoughts and feelings that are registered by the wind, giving voice to the private, intimate, yet connected lives of men and women throughout the centuries — so that many people, listening to or reading my blogs, hear their own inner voices also, and feel the contours of their own natures, and universal nature as well.

“BEYOND THE HIGHEST CLOUDS”

Behind the highest clouds

man and woman have ever seen

there are mountains and

hidden coves from which all 

true proclamations come.

Their sentences are silent

yet they contain a word that

releases and fills secret contracts

between the gods and man and woman,

uttered long ago

uttered without a word or a whisper,

and speaking for me alone

with a magic note

and a secret message

and a sweet response

known to me alone.

The World As A Cohesive Whole

Before we continue, I would like to remind the blog’s readers that in the middle of these or any of the problems we have been discussing, there may be a period of depression, of the feeling that one’s own problem has no solution after all.

Whenever this occurs, the steps I have given before in previous blogs should be followed. Briefly, immediately refuse to worry about the future or the past. Tell yourself you can worry another time if you want to — but for the moment you will not be concerned about the past of the future.

Remind yourself that for all you might have read, of heard, or deduced earlier, it is certainly not inevitable that all unfortunate situations take the darkest of times, and that indeed the opposite is true; for if such were the case, the world and all of life would have literally been destroyed through disasters and calamities.

Concentrate upon the present moment — but more, concentrate upon the most pleasant aspects of the present moment. If that moment has distracting, unfavorable aspects, then resolutely bring into your mind whatever images delight or please you at the moment. These may be very simple. Remember the smell of lilacs, for example, or try to hear the crisp crunch of snow, or try to visualize an ocean or lake. All of these procedures will serve to quiet your mind and body, and build up your own reserves.

 

This is an excellent policy to follow, because we can start it wherever we are. It will help alleviate fears and doubts at least momentarily, so that then we can pursue the entire issue later, with more assurance.

Conflicting beliefs about the nature of reality can bring about dilemmas in almost any form, for the individual will always try to make sense out of his or her surroundings, and try to at least see the world as a cohesive whole.

Some of the most complicated ways of trying to put conflicting beliefs  together are often mental or emotional ones. The more incohesive the individual feels the world to be, the greater his or her efforts will be expended in an attempt to put the world back together.

Some people possess beliefs that are so in opposition to each other that they are forced into some of the most complicated mental or emotional footwork. Their problem will seem so gigantic that only some interference from an outside source will be sufficient to give the individual a sense of wholeness and sanity. A person may become so frightened of using his or her own power of choice or action that the construction of an artificial super being is created — a seemingly sublime personage who gives orders to the individual involved.

Again, let us use a hypothetical case — this time of a man named Stephen.

Stephen may be so terrified of making choices, so indecisive, that he constructs an imaginary super being who orders him to do thus and so. If a decision comes up on a job, for example, then the super being will order Stephen to take one course or another. Stephen has given up accepting responsibility for his actions. This imaginary personage may say it is God, or a famous hero from the present or the past, or Jesus Christ, or Mohammed, and the personality involved will be quite certain that such is the case.

Stephen, for example, many hear the hallucinated voice of the god or hero. The voice may be so frequent that it becomes highly distracting, or it may only appear in times of undue stress.

Again, we are starting out with a fairly simple picture. Our friend might also be convinced that he himself is evil, unworthy, or even depraved, the lowest of men or women. In such circumstances an individual might then construct an artificial devil or demon who annoys him constantly, and even orders acts of a highly destructive nature.

The individual, like Stephen, has also given up the responsibility for his own choices, and feels that he or she cannot be held responsible for any destructive acts that might be committed.

Any of the two kinds of personalities mentioned might also begin to feel persecuted, chased, or harassed by some outside agency. Among the agencies chosen, of course, are the FBI, the CIA, the Russian Secret Police, The Ku Klux Klan, or any controversial group given to acts of violence for whatever purposes.

Sometimes such episodes last for long periods of time, but they can also appear for just several days, clear up spontaneously, and return again perhaps years later.

Some people may seem completely normal in behavior unless certain subjects are brought up in the course of a conversation, or unless some stimulus in the environment arouses them.

For instance, the individual might be talking along normally enough when he or she hears the sirens of a police car in the distance. Instantly the person might leap up, convinced that that was evidence of the pursuit of the FBI or other agency.

The car with siren might disappear, yet the alarmed person’s attitude and actions may very well instantly cause his or her companion to realize that something was clearly amiss. The disturbed person may immediately begin a long tirade, describing previous episodes in which he or she was hunted from city to city. There may be further complications, in which the person insists that phones were bugged, letters opened, and privacy was constantly invaded.

 

This might be the very first sign to the person’s companion that anything was wrong at all. In most such instances the tirade will continue for some time, while in other far lesser episodes it might instead simply leap to disordered, confused thoughts about being so pursued. Or instead, the individual might embark upon a rather heated discussion of police forces in general.

In actuality, people in those circumstances are often so frightened of the use of power that the idea of being under constant surveillance actually lends them a sense of protection.

The point is, that in such circumstances the person will try to use evidence from the outside world to prove that he is indeed being pursued.

In the same fashion, the person who hallucinates the voice of God or a demon actually does so to preserve the idea of sanity in his or her own mind. As long as he or she believes that a god or demon is involved, then the person can consider the entire affair most extraordinary, decidedly apart from usual experience, but valid.

If the therapist tries to convince such a person that the hallucinated personage does not exist, then this threatens the person’s concepts of personal sanity.

It is , then, that any therapist convinces the client that while the super being is a self-construction, and/or that the voices are hallucinations — this does not mean that the client is insane.

An effort should be made to help the client understand that errors of thought and belief are responsible for the condition — and that the removal of those erroneous beliefs can relieve the situation. The therapist should make it clear that he or she understands that the client is not lying, in ordinary terms, when he reports hearing voices from the devil.

 

According to the particular case in point, the therapist should then try to point out the errors of thought and belief involved, and also to explain their more or less habitual cast.

First, the ideas must be disentangled, and then the habitual behavior will begin to disintegrate. The therapist should also assure the client that on many subjects and topics of thought and conversation, the client operates quite well. The subject itself is so cast the, of course, an entire book could easily be devoted to it, so it is impossible to cover all the issues that may be involved with such cases here.

Some of the errors concern the misinterpretation of physical events. The individual — convinced he or she is being pursued by some secret organization — again, may hear the sirens on a very real police car. The error is the assumption that the vehicle is pursuing the individual rather than some other party. The therapist can help the client learn to question his or her interpretation of such events.

All such cases can have their own peculiar complications. In the case of secondary personalities, the main operating portion who usually directs activity might be male, displaying all of the usual male characteristics. The second personality may seemingly be female, however, even speaking in a feminine-like voice. Or the opposite might be the case.

It is also possible for the individual to dress in male attire, while the secondary personality wears feminine clothes — or vice-versa.

What we are involved in mainly, however, are the characteristic periods of seeming amnesia, occurring usually involuntarily, often without any transition except perhaps for a headache.

In this category, I am not referring to individuals like “Psychic Mediums,” who speak for another personality with a sense of ease and tranquillity, and whose resulting information is excellent knowledge — the obvious products of uncommon common sense that proves to be helpful to the individual and others.

Behind all of those instances we have been discussing, however, there is again the need for value fulfillment, that has been blocked largely by conflicting or even opposing beliefs.

Regardless of how unbelievable it might seem to some blog readers, it is true that even the most destructive events are based upon misinterpretations of reality, opposing beliefs, and the inability to receive or express love. In fact, that kind of rage is the mark of a perfectionist caught in what seems to be the grasp of a world not only imperfect, but evil.

This brings us to another most dangerous belief — that the end justifies the means.

The greatest majority of destructive acts are committed in line with that belief. It leads to a disciplined over-rigidity that gradually cuts down the range of human expression.

We should be able to see, in fact, that the problems we have been discussing begin by limiting the field of available choices, and thus curtailing the range of expression. The individual will try to express himself or herself to the best degree possible, and so each individual then begins a concentrated effort to seek out those avenues of expression still open. All of the constructive beliefs mentioned throughout this blog should be applied to all of the instances. The individual must feel safe and protected enough to seek its own development and aid in the fulfillment of others.

One of the most rare and extraordinary developments that can occur in schizophrenic behavior is the construction of a seeming super-being of remarkable power — one who is able to convince other people of his or her divinity.

Most such instances historically have involved males, who claim to have the powers of clairvoyance, prophecy, and omnipotence. Obviously, then, the affected individual was thought to be speaking for God when he gave orders or directions. We are dealing with “god-making,” or “religion-making” — whichever you prefer.

In almost all such instances, discipline is taught to believers through the inducement of fear. Put very loosely, the dogma says that we must love God or he or she will destroy us. The most unbelievable aspects of such dogmas should, it seems, make them very easy to see through. In many cases, however, the more preposterous the legends or dogmas, the more acceptable they become. In some strange fashion followers believe such stories to be true because they are not true. The interceptions of almost all religions have been involved one way or another with these schizophrenic episodes.

 

The person so involved must be extremely disturbed to begin with: up in arms against social, national, or religious issues, and therefore able to serve as a focus point for countless other individuals affected in the same manner.

In a fashion. Adolf Hitler fell into such a classification. Although he lacked that characteristic mark of speaking for a super-being, this was because he frequently regarded himself as the super-being. The trouble is that while such religions can also inspire people to acts of great sympathy, heroism and understanding, their existence rests upon drastic misreadings of the nature or reality.

If the major religions have been touched, then there have also been numberless smaller cults and sects throughout history into the present that bear that same stamp of great psychological power and energy, coupled with an inborn leaning toward self destruction and vengeance.

To varying degrees, other less striking individual cases can bear the same sense of magic and mystery.

There is certainly no need to romanticize schizophrenic behavior, for its romantic-like elements have long been coupled in the public mind in an unfortunate manner, seeming to place the madman and the genius in some kind of indefinable relationship. Such beliefs are apparent in statements such as: “Madness is the other end of sanity,” or “All genius is touched with madness.”

Beneath these ideas is the fear of the mind itself, the belief that its abilities are fine and dependable up to a point — but if it goes too far then it is in trouble.

What does it mean to go too far in that connotation? Usually it means that knowledge itself is somehow dangerous.

In some cases, however, the constructed super-being can deliver astute comments on national, social, or religious conditions.

Most such personages, however, begin to prophesy the end of the world, from which the chosen people — whoever they may be — will be saved. More than a few have rendered specific dates for this worldly foreclosure — dates which have come and gone. Many people still continue to follow the very same dogmas that seemed to have proven themselves wrong; the personage comes up with a newer excuse, or a newer date, and things go on as before.

Again,however, even in far simpler cases, the constructive personage will often make predictions that, incidentally, do not predict — and almost always give orders and directives that are to be followed without question.

There are many other deep psychological connections beneath schizophrenic behavior, but since my blogs are also devoted to other subjects, we will go on to other ways in which conflicting beliefs bring about mental or physical dilemmas.

 

 

 

The Reincarnational Heritage Is Rich

Thus far in my blogs we have been dealing with conflicting beliefs, however — and most of those can be tackled in the context of this life alone.

These beliefs may have physical or mental repercussions, though in most cases the two do not occur at once. We have dealt with some of the numerous physical dilemmas than can result. In other instances the individual encounters the difficulties on mental or emotional levels. One portion of the personality might be wholeheartedly in favor of good expression of personal power, and be stimulated to express and use his or her energy and strength. Another portion of the personality may be just as terrified of power or its uses as the other segment exults in it.

Instead of developing physical complications, in usual terms, sometimes one portion of the personality actually does act with assurance, power, and energy, while another equally valid portion refuses to use energy or power in any way whatsoever. The ideas are so opposing, and such equal adversaries, that the conscious personality can hardly bear to be aware of both at once.

In such cases, while one portion of the personality is expressing itself, and in command of the usual conscious abilities, the other portion lies acquiescent, latent, and unexpressed.

The individual may act purposefully, with power, energy, and strength, for varying lengths of time. Then sometimes without warning the frightened, inactive portions of the personality will take over the normal abilities of consciousness — acting depressed, taciturn, and communicating very poorly with others.

One portion of the personality will carry on conscious behavior — go to work, shop, or whatever, while the other portion of the personality will not remember performing those acts at all.

Take a hypothetical case. Call Marlo A the assertive part of the personality, and Marlo B the passive partner. Marlo A may go out dancing, go to a bar, then turn the entire proceedings over to Marlo B, who finds herself in noisy surroundings, surrounded by people she does not remember, and with no idea how she reached the present destination.

Her trend of memory will go back to the last time that she was in charge of consciousness, and she will have — or may not have — any idea of the existence of Marlo A at all. Marlo A may enjoy action, sports, dancing and bodily activities, while Marlo B may prefer reading, walking, or painting.

Such personalities may even have separate sets of friends — Marlo A and B each having their own companions. Though these personalities may seem so divergent, they are connected with each other, however, and they may on occasion set up their own rather bizarre kind of communication. They may write mysterious notes to each other, leaving them where they are bound to be found — yet notes using a special code or symbols of drugs, because too clear a communication would disrupt the entire relationship.

People may actually carry on such existences for years, until some event or another shows that something is amiss: one of Marlo A’s friends might meet a friend of Marlo B, for example, or the gaps in memory might finally become so frequent that it is obvious something is wrong.

Marlo A and B represent fairly simple examples of schizophrenic behavior, and indeed I have kept the story simple to keep the issues clear. Marlo A may actually grow into a more and more assertive or belligerent personality, even displaying violent tendencies at times, while on the other hand Marlo B might become even more timid, depressed, and solitary.

On other levels, however, each one is well aware of the other’s presence, and on those levels they do react to each other’s activities. This means, of course, that the entire amnesia process, regardless of how perfect it seems, is a surface one. I have used the different beliefs about power as an example, but any belief may be involved if it and its opposite are held in nearly equal weight.

One portion may believe that sex is natural and good, while the other portion believes vehemently that sex is evil and depraved. Here we will use a man for a hypothetical case. David A may be an excellent husband, breadwinner, and father, a church-goer who believes in the beauty and goodness of sex. David B may hold the opposite viewpoint most intently — that sex is at least evil, perhaps sent by the devil, and below or beneath the dignity of a good man.

On topside David A may go to church frequently, be kind and considerate to his family, and, say, come home from work every night for supper. He may carry on a fruitful accomplished existence for varying lengths of time.

Then, however, perhaps without warning, he may suddenly refuse to make love with his wife, becoming hostile with his children, stop off for a few drinks after work, before supper, or even begin seeing a prostitute, or begin an affair — often with a woman he considers beneath his own station.

David A may be quite startled to discover bottles of whiskey lying around in his dresser drawers, when he hardly drinks liquor himself at all. David B may suddenly “come to” in a strange bedroom, in a compromising position with a woman it certainly seems to him he has never seen before in his life.

On the other hand, David B may find himself in the middle of a family picnic, or other gathering — events that bore and displease him — or worse, he may not even remember his family at all. The more complicated such dilemmas becomes, the harder they are to keep secret, however, because their very complications multiply the chances of discovery. And there are, of course, variations.

David B, while drinking, might suddenly be sent back to his David A self. The kinds of communication can be very unique and bewildering, ranging from number codes to nonsense verses, or to the hearing of imaginary voices, which serve to remind one portion of the self that there is also another seemingly alien personality involved in his or her existence.

In many instances very strong feelings of persecution and paranoia can be involved, but these will be discussed in the following blogs.

In the kind of schizophrenic behavior we have just been discussing, hypnosis is frequently used as therapy, often in an attempt not only to introduce the two levels of the personality to each other, but also to uncover the time they originally split off in such a fashion. However, one must ensure that they visit a hypnotist who has completed a significant amount of hypnotherapy training course in order to ensure that the results are positive.

While hypnosis can be of considerable value in the hands of an excellent professional hypnotist, it still has serious drawbacks as a treatment under these conditions. Because of its very nature, hypnosis can end up segmenting the personality still further.

Under such therapy it sometimes seems that news, lesser personality fragments are uncovered, but it is very possible that these instead are created by the therapy itself. The hypnotist obviously wants to cure his patient, and all forms of schizophrenia are intellectually intriguing. The segments of the personality that are involved are being given great attention, and they may seize upon that attention, seeking ways to further dazzle the hypnotist while at the same time sabotaging recovery.

It is far better to address whatever personality is in prominence during the session, to convince it of the therapist’s concern and interest, while letting it know that at other levels it is quite aware of the existence of its other segments.

People with schizophrenic difficulties often enjoy word games and puzzles, so they may well use these to confuse any therapist. The very fact that such a person considers any kind of therapy does mean that he or she is ready to tackle a considerable challenge. It can be put to each segment of the personality, then, that it will be quite a challenge for each to become aware of the other. We might compare the situation to someone who has been separated from a sister or brother for years — explaining, however, that the separation is psychological and not physical.

In a fashion, all of these activities are variations of others. Instead of forming such segmented selves, another person, as mentioned earlier, might enjoy the use of power, yet be so frightened of it that he or she experiences an epileptic episode instead of a schizophrenic one.

Each Life Influences Each Other Life

Each life influences each other life, and some portions of the personality retains memory not only of past lives, but of future lives also.

When reincarnational studies are embarked upon, on occasion people remember some instance of past-life experience, but conventional ideas of time are so strong that so-called future memory is blacked out.

The inner self is aware of all of our existences, in other words. It sees where and how our many lives fit together. It is only because we are so oriented outward from birth that this inner self can sometimes seem alien or distant and unrelated to the self that we know. It would be impossible to be consciously aware of all of the infinitesimal details that exist in even one life; our consciousness would be so full and cluttered up that we would be unable to make choices, or to use free will.

It would be even more difficult to try to handle the information of many lives at one time. In our terms, “it” takes time to think, and we would be so caught up in thinking itself, that action would be impossible. The inner knowledge of all of our lives, from our point of view, is in the same category as those automatic processes that underlie our existence.

That is, we know about our other lives, basically, in the same way that we know how to breathe or digest our food. A different kind of knowing is involved.

This does not mean that all conscious knowledge about our own reincarnational existences forever beyond us — for through various exercises we can indeed learn to recall some of that information. It does mean, however, that we are innately aware of all of our existences, and that the knowledge gained in one life is automatically transferred to another, whether that life be present, past, or future.

We may therefore be trying out many different kind of experiences, sometimes endowing ourselves with super attributes and strength, relying upon the body’s powers above all other considerations, while at the same time in another life we use and develop unusual mental abilities, enjoying the triumphs of creative thought, while largely ignoring the body’s agility and strength.

I do not mean to imply that we necessarily deal with opposite kinds of behaviors, for there are endless variances — each unique — as consciousness expresses itself through physical sensation, and attempts to explore all of the possible realms of emotional, spiritual, biological, and mental existence.

I want to stress that within each life full free will operates once the conditions of that life are set.

That is, if we have been born in poor or depressed circumstances, then free will not alter the conditions of that birth.

It can help us become wealthy in adult life through the choices that we make. It should be helpful, and certainly somewhat comforting, to realize that even unfortunate birth conditions were not forced upon us by some outside agency, but chosen at inner levels of our own reality.

The same applies to almost any situation. Religion holds some ideas that are in complete opposition to each other in regard to the nature of suffering in general. Some believe that suffering is a punishment sent by God for past or present sins, or even omissions, while other religious schools insist that suffering is sent by God as evidence of his particular love for the individual involved: “Good must love you very much, because he sent so much suffering.”

That remark, and similar ones, are often made to ill persons. The idea is supposed to be that suffering is good for the soul, is a way of atoning for one’s sins, and in some fashion the implication is made that such suffering in this life will be more than compensated for in heaven.

Such concepts encourage individuals to feel like victims, with no control at all over the conditions of their lives.

Instead, it should be realized that as uncomfortable as suffering is, it does somehow have a meaning in the context of our entire existence — again, that it was not thrust upon us by some unjust or uncaring exterior force or nature.

To some degree, that kind of understanding can help alleviate suffering itself to some extent. I am not advocating a fatalistic approach either, that says more or less: “I have chosen such and such an unfortunate condition at some level I do not understand, and therefore the entire affair is outside of my own hands. There is nothing I can do about it.”

For one thing, again, almost all situations, including the most drastic, can be changed for the better to some extent, and the very attempt to do so can increase a person’s sense of control over his or her own circumstances. This does not mean that those adverse situations can be changed overnight in usual terms (though ideally that is also possible), but that the sense of control over one’s life encourages all of the mental and physical healing properties.

In terms of “starting over” at such a point, the main thing to remember is not to expect too much too fast, while recognizing that instantaneous cures are indeed probabilities.

Again, mind games, the insertion of humor and diversion, are extremely valuable, so that we are not trying too hard. Some people try too hard to be spontaneous, while others are frightened of spontaneity itself. The knowledge of reincarnational lives is spontaneously held, and we can receive profound insights from that knowledge. This occurs when we are not looking for it, but when we are familiar enough with the entire concept, so that we realize such knowledge is available.

The reincarnational heritage is rich, however, and it can have a tendency to assert itself under certain conditions.

I am not speaking of usual, but fairly unusual events, when, in one fashion or another, reincarnational memory seems to bleed through to the present life. Again, this is not usual experience. It happens infrequently. On some occasions — sometimes in periods of poor health or seemingly senility — such instances may occur. They are more apt to happen in adolescence, though I do want to stress that we are speaking of extraordinary cases.

Old people often begin to exercise their own consciousness in ways that they had not done earlier. There may be less diversions to take up their thoughts. They may be lonely, and then quite surprisingly find themselves casting about for different kinds of experience — experience seemingly most difficult to achieve in the physical world under their present circumstances.

Since they are often frightened and unsure of the future, they are more apt to cast their thoughts backwards into their early childhoods, reaching for their earliest memories, and mentally try to gain comfort from the remembered sounds of beloved voices, only to mentally glimpse other images than they expected, to hear other voices than those for which they yearned.

In fact, fragments of many episodes from many other lives may rush into their consciousness, and in most cases they are, of course, quite unprepared for the experience. On the other hand, usually such episodes are highly reassuring, for along with them rides the inner assurance that life has been lived before , many times.

The individuals involved may then return to normal consciousness, but if they talked or muttered while the affair was happening, any observers might take it for granted that delirium was involved. Drugs should not be prescribed under those conditions, unless the patient becomes highly restless and confused, and requests them. In most cases, however, the experiences do not leave detrimental side effects.

The same kind of event may happen in periods of poor health, or in over-drugged states. They are less easily handled, however, under drugged conditions, since the consciousness does not have the full agility to depend upon in periods of stress — unusual stress. The same can occur in adolescence, and easily be misinterpreted as a schizophrenic episode.

This happens perhaps more frequently than other cases mentioned, but usually such events are not repeated. They remain only as memories, having opened up the person’s mind to larger visions of life than he or she may have entertained before.

Many Cancer Patients Have Martyrlike Characteristic

Many cancer patients have martyr-like characteristics, often putting up with undesirable situations or conditions for years.

They feel powerless, unable to change, yet unwilling to stay in the same position. The most important point is to arouse such a person’s belief in his or her strength and power. Even if family members or friends come to visit them regularly, maybe with gifts similar to ones you can find here, the patient might be more determined to find some motivation, even if it may seem difficult initially. Additionally, in many instances, these persons symbolically shrug their shoulders, saying. “What will happen, will happen,” but they do not physically struggle against their situation.

It is also vital that these patients are not overly medicated, for oftentimes the side effects of some cancer-eradicating drugs are dangerous in themselves. There has been some success with people who imagine that the cancer is instead some hated enemy or monster or foe, which is then banished through mental mock battles over a period of time. While the technique does have its advantages, it also pits one portion of the self against the other. It is much better to imagine, say, the cancer cells being neutralized by some imaginary wand. Know someone that is, unfortunately, battling cancer? You may want to suggest to them that they take a look into medicinal marijuana, or rather the active chemical that provides the medical side of cannabis – CBD. It is important that they get the best CBD oil, as if you want the best results you need to use the best products. There are different brands and companies who make them, and there are also different doses. The stronger the dose, generally the better the impact is. If you need more information on this, then look here for CBD 101.

Doctors might suggest that a patient relax and then ask himself or herself what kind of inner fantasy would best service the healing process. Instant images may come to mind at once, but if success is not achieved immediately, have the patient try again, for in almost all cases some inner pictures will be perceived.

Behind the entire problem, however, is the fear of using one’s full power or energy. Cancer patients most usually feel an inner impatience as they sense their own need for future expansion and development, only to feel it thwarted.

The fear that blocks that energy can indeed be dissipated if new beliefs are inserted for old ones — so again we return to those emotional attitudes and ideas that automatically promote health and healing. Each individual is a good person, an individualized portion of universal energy itself. Each person is meant to express his or her own characteristics and abilities. Life means energy, power, and expression.

Those beliefs, if taught early enough, would form the most effective system of preventive medicine ever known.

Again, we cannot generalize overmuch, but many persons know quite well that they are not sure whether they want to live or die. The overabundance of cancer cells represent nevertheless the need for expression and expansion — the only arena left open — or so it would seem.

Such a person must also contend with society’s unfortunate ideas about the disease in general, so that many cancer patients end up isolated or alone. As in almost all cases of disease, however, if it were possible to have a kind of “thought transplant” operation, the disease would quickly vanish.

Even in the most dire of instances, some patients suddenly fall in love, or something in their home environment changes, and the person also seems to change overnight — while again the disease is gone.

Healing can involve help on many levels, of course. The world of normal communication I call Frame-Mind-1, while Frame-Mind-2 represents that inner world, in which indeed all time is simultaneous, and actions that might take years in normal time can happen in the blinking of an eyelid in Frame-Mind-2.

Briefly, Frame-Mind-1 deals with all the events of which we are normally conscious.

Frame-Mind-2 involves all of those spontaneous processes that go on beneath our conscious attention. When we are young our beliefs are quite clear — that is, our conscious and unconscious leanings and expectations are harmonious. As we grow older, however, and begin to accumulate negative beliefs, then our conscious and unconscious beliefs may be quite different.

Consciously we might want to express certain abilities, while unconsciously we are afraid of doing so. The unconscious beliefs are not really unconscious, however. We are simply not as aware of them as we are of normally conscious ones. Negative beliefs can block the passageways between Frame-Mind-1 and Frame-Mind-2. It is an excellent idea for those in any kind of difficulty to do the following simple exercise.

Relax yourself as much as possible. Get comfortable in a chair or on a bed. Tell yourself mentally that we are an excellent person, and that you want to reprogram yourself, getting rid of any ideas that contradict that particular statement.

Next, gently remind yourself again: “I am an excellent person,” adding: “It is good and safe for me to express my own abilities, for in doing so I express the energy of the universe itself.”

Different phrases with the same meaning may come into our own mind. If so, substitute them for the ones I have given. There are endless exercises that can be used to advantage, but here I will only mention a few that appear most beneficial.

For another exercise, then relax yourself as much as possible once more. If you have some disease, imagine it as particles of dirt. Tell yourself that you can see inside your body. You see streets of boulevards instead of muscles and bones, but go along with the image or images that appear. You might see streets lined with dirt or garbage, for example. Then mentally see yourself sweeping the debris away. Order trucks to come and carry the garbage to a trash heap, where you may see it burn and disappear in smoke.

Instead of the drama I just outlined, you may instead see invading armies, attacking home troops. In such a case, see the invaders being driven off. The pictures you see will follow your own unique leanings and characteristics.

The unconscious levels of the self are only unconscious from our own viewpoint. They are quite conscious in actuality, and because they do deal with the spontaneous processes of the body, they are also completely familiar with our own state of health and well-being.

These portions can also be communicated with. Once again, relax yourself as much as possible. Sit comfortably in a chair or lie on a bed. A chair is probably preferable, since it is easy to fall to sleep in you are lying down. You can refer to these portions of the self altogether as the helper, the teacher, or whatever title suits you best.

Simply make a straightforward request, asking that some picture or image be presented in your inner mind, that will serve as representative of those portions of your own inner reality.

So do not be surprised, for you may see a person, an animal, an insect, or a landscape — but trust whatever image you do receive, if it seems to be that of a person, or angel, or animal, then ask it to speak to you, and to tell you how best to rid yourself of your disease or problem.

If the image of a landscape appears instead, then ask for a series of such images, that will again somehow point the way toward recovery, or toward the resolution of the problem. Then follow through with whatever reply you receive.

In all such cases, we are opening the doors of Frame-Mind-2, clearing our channels of communication. Since our physical body itself is composed of the very energy that drives the universe, then there is nothing about us which that energy is unaware of. Simply repeating these ideas to ourselves can result in release of tension, and an acceleration of the healing process.

These exercises may suggest others of our own. If so, follow through on them — but to one extent or another each blog reader should benefit from some of them.

Again, every effort should be made to insert humor into the living situation as much as possible.

The patient might begin to collect jokes, for example, or funny cartoons from magazines and newspapers. Watching comedies on television will help — and so, in fact, will any distraction that is pleasing to the patient.

Crossword puzzles and other word games will also benefit, even if only done mentally. It might also be advisable for the patient to take up some completely new field of knowledge — to learn a language, for instance, or to study whatever books possible in any field to which he or she is attracted. The patient could even combine crosswords and learning a language by asking a friend or family member to use a crossword maker to create a puzzle which will challenge knowledge of the new language. Word-Mint fully supports foreign languages in the creation of their crosswords. This also makes them ideal for use in the classroom.

The more actively and fully such a diversion can be indulged, the better, of course, and yet the mental playing of games can be quite fruitful, and serve to give the conscious mind a needed rest.

Everything should be done to insure that the patient is given a hand in whatever physical treatment is involved. He or she should be enlightened enough through doctor-patient discussions to make choices about the treatment. In some cases, however, patients will make it clear that they prefer to hand over all responsibility for treatment to the doctor, and in such instances their decisions should be followed. It is a good idea for the doctor to question the patient sometimes, to make sure that the decision is not one of the moment alone.

Whenever possible, it is far better for the patient to remain home, rather than live steadily at a hospital. When hospitalization is required, however, family members should try to act as honestly and openly as possible. It is a good idea for such family members to join other groups of people who are in the same situation, so they can express their own doubts and hesitations.

One family member, in fact, may be quite surprised by a barrage of unexpected reactions. They may find themselves furious at the patient for becoming ill, and then develop unfortunate guilt feelings over their own first reactions. They may feel that their lives are being disrupted through no cause of their own, yet be so ashamed of such feelings that they dare not express them.

A therapist or a group of other people facing the same problem can therefore be of great assistance. The patient may also feel abandoned by God or the universe, and may feel unjustly attacked by the disease, thus arousing a whole new tumult of anger, and it is most important that the anger be expressed, and not repressed.

Such a person might imagine his or her anger or fury filling up the inside of a gigantic balloon that is then pricked by a needle, exploding in pieces from the pressure within, with debris falling everywhere — out over the ocean, or caught up by the wind, but in any case dispersed in whatever way seems agreeable to the patient.

It is also vital that such people continue to receive and express love. If the person is mourning the death of a spouse or close family member, then it would be most beneficial for the individual or the family to purchase, or otherwise provide , a new small pet. The patient should be encouraged to play with the pet as much as possible, and to nourish it, to caress and fondle it.

Often such a procedure will reawaken new stirrings of love, and actually turn the entire affair. This is particularly true if one or two beneficial changes simply seem to happen in other areas of life.

The re-arousal of love might well activate Frame-Mind-2 to such an extent that the healing energies become unblocked, and send their threads of probable actions into the person’s living situation as well — that is, once the channels to Frame-Mind-2 are open, then new possibilities immediately open up in all of life’s living areas. And many of these, of course, have a direct bearing on health and the healing processes.

In these, and all situations, it should be remembered that the body is always trying to heal itself, and that even the most complicated relationships are trying to untangle.

For all of life’s seeming misfortunes, development, fulfillment, and accomplishment far outweigh death, diseases and disasters. Starting over can be done — by anyone in any situation, and it will bring about some beneficial effects regardless of previous conditions.

Behind all maladies, in most basic manner lies the need for expression, and when people feel that their areas of growth are being curtailed, then they instigate actions meant to clear the road, so to speak.

Before health problems show up there is almost always a loss of self-respect or expression. This loss may occur in the environment itself, in changing social conditions. In the matter of the disease called AIDS, for example, we have groups of homosexuals, many “coming out of the closet” for the first time, taking part in organizations that promote their cause, and suddenly faced by the suspicions and distrust of many other portions of the population.

The struggle to express themselves, and their own unique abilities and characteristics drives them on, and yet is all too frequently thwarted by the ignorance and misunderstanding that surrounds them. We end up with something like a psychological contagion. The people involved begin to feel even more depressed as they struggle to combat the prejudice against them. Many of them almost hate themselves. For all their seeming bravado, they fear that they are indeed unnatural members of the species.

These beliefs break down the immunity system, and bring about the symptoms so connected with the disease. AIDS is a social phenomenon to that extent, expressing the deep dissatisfactions, doubts, and angers of a prejudiced-against segment of society.

Whatever physical changes occur, happen because the will to live is weakened. AIDS is a kind of biological protest, as if symbolically the homosexuals are saying: “You may as well kill us. We might be better off than the way you treat us now,” or as if it were a kind of suicidal drama in which the message read: “See to what ends your actions have led us!”

I am not saying that AIDS victims are outright suicides — only that in many instances the will to live is so weakened and a despondency so strong sets in that such individuals often acquiesce, finally, to their own deaths, seeing no room in the future for their own further growth or development.

The attitude even of doctors and nurses toward the handling of such patients shows only too clearly not only their fear of the disease itself, but their fear of homosexuality, which has been considered evil and forbidden by many religions. Emotions run at top pace in such cases, and the AIDS patients are often shunted away, out of human society. Often even their friends desert them. Yet AIDS can be acquired by those who are not homosexuals, but who have similar problems. It is a great error to segregate some individuals, like some modern colony of lepers.

Luckily, the disease will run its course as sociological conditions change, and as man’s and woman’s inhumanity to man and woman becomes clear even to the most prejudiced.

Homosexuals can benefit from the ideas in this blog, particularly if small groups get together, examining their own beliefs, and reinforcing their will to live, their right to live, and the basic integrity of their being.

Any anger or hostility should also be expressed, however, while not being overly concentrated upon.

Many other diseases that seem to be spread by viruses or contagions are also related to the problems of society in the same manner, and when those conditions are righted the diseases themselves largely vanish. It should be remembered that it is the beliefs and feelings of the patients that largely determine the effectiveness of any medical procedures, techniques, or medications.

Unfortunately, the entire picture surrounding health and disease is a largely negative one, in which even so-called preventive medicine can have severe drawbacks, since it often recommends drugs or techniques to attack a problem not only before the problems emerge, but simply in case it may emerge.

Many of the public-health announcements routinely publicize the specific symptoms of various diseases, almost as if laying out maps of diseases for medical consumers to swallow. There are many techniques apart from medically conventional ones, such as acupuncture, the laying on of hands, or the work of people who may be known as healers. The trouble is that these other techniques cannot be monitored sufficiently so that their benefits can be honestly appraised.

The main issue is always the vital importance of the individual’s belief systems, however, and the sense of worth he or she places on body and mind.

We have dealing with quite drastic diseases, but the same concepts are true in other areas also. There are people who undergo a series of highly unsatisfactory relationships, for example, while another person might experience a series of recurrent diseases instead. In spite of all problems, the life force operates continually in each person’s life, and can bring about at any time the most profound, beneficial changes. The idea is to clear the mind as much as possible from beliefs that impede the fine, smooth workings of the life force, and to actively encourage those beliefs and attitudes that promote health and the development of all aspects of healing experience.

The Will To Live

Starting over — changing one’s belief, is a bold endeavor. It is quite possible that along the way we may become discouraged or disillusioned.

At such times it is a good idea to give oneself time to relax. Turn one’s attention to something else entirely, and mentally say, “To hell with it all for now.” The entire idea involves a process in which we try and not try at the same time, in which we do not strain to achieve results, but instead gently begin to allow ourselves to follow the contours of our own subjective feelings, to uncover those spiritual and biologically valid beliefs of early childhood, and to bring to them the very best wisdom that we have acquired throughout our life so far.

So when we do become discouraged, a playful diversion should give us refreshing release. An escapist movie or novel, or the purchase of some small frivolous item may also serve to relax our conscious mind. We are actually involved in changing a way of life, in altering our very view of the self and the world in the hopes of acquiring a new sense of harmony with our bodies, our minds, our fellow creatures, and the environment.

Indeed, there is no more exciting adventure, and it will bring about more surprises and discoveries than any expedition to alien landscapes. Our beliefs are indeed alive in their own fashion. Now, instead of taking them for granted, we will begin to notice both their uniqueness and their variety.

If we are talking about starting over, however, we may as well begin at one of the lowest points and work upward. This way we can see beliefs in their darkest form, and then little by little watch them begin to show energy, vitality, and fresh impetus.

In nearly all matters of poor health, or unfortunate living conditions or mental or physical stress, there exists a strong tinge of denial, fear, and repression.

These are seen at their most severe and their most obvious where suicide is involved — particularly in the suicide of the young. In later blogs we will discuss some special cases of reincarnational influence connected with suicide, but for now we will be concerned with the increasing numbers of suicides by young adults.

At one time or another most people consider the possibility of their own death. That is a quite natural reaction to the conditions of life. With some people, however, the idea of death seems to grow obsessive, so that it is felt to be the one escape from life’s problems. It may even achieve an allure in some people’s minds.

The propelling force in all of existence is the desire to be, however — the impetus toward expression, development, and fulfillment. Some people who consider suicide believe in life after death, and some do not — and in the deepest of terms all deaths are somewhat suicidal. Physical life must end if it is to survive. There are certain conditions, however, that promote suicidal activity, and the termination of one’s own life had been held in great disrepute by many religions and societies, though not in all.

Individuals innately want to cooperate with their fellow human beings. They have a need to help other people, and to contribute to the common good. Many people who commit suicide feel to the contrary that they are no longer needed, or in fact that their very existence stands in the way of other people’s happiness. Young adult suicides are not necessarily from the poorest or the lowest strata of society at all. In fact, poverty often serves as a strong impetus, leading the individual to fight for his or her daily needs.

Such a person’s day may be so crowded with desperate activity that there is no time with which to even contemplate suicide, because the struggle for life itself is so intent.

Again, the desire for value fulfillment, development and purpose is so strong that if those seem denied, life becomes — or seems to become — less precious. In many cases it is the son and daughter of the upper middle-classes, of the well-to-do, who run into such life-endangering dilemmas. Some youngsters are so overly provided for by their families that it seems that there is no way for them to achieve any more than they have.

If their parents are overly indulgent, then the youngster may actually feel as if they were adjuncts to their parents, or possessions alone. On the other hand, some upper-middle-class families stress competition to such a degree that it seems to the children that they are only valued for their achievements, rather than being loved for simply being the people they are.

To most people, none of these situations seem particularly drastic, and certainly there are far worse cases of human disillusionment in the world. Yet many such youngsters literally see no future for themselves as adults.

They do not visualize themselves as future parents, or as having certain careers. It is as if their whole lives accelerated to the brink of adulthood — yet they could see nothing beyond. Along the way, whether or not it was obvious to parents, such youngsters begin to feel that life is meaningless. Often such individuals are highly gifted, yet they feel as if that promise will never blossom.

In most cases these youngsters are actually quite secretive — though the self they show to parents and friends might appear to be lively and gregarious.

Such persons can help themselves, however, and they can be helped by others.

First of all, let me make it clear that no one is “damned” for committing suicide. There are no particular “penalties.”

Would-be suicides, for all their secrecy, usually do mention the subject to a friend, relative, or close family member. The subject should not be ignored or condemned, but honestly examined. Part of the mystique of the suicidal impulse is indeed the secretive aspect — so the very expression of the feeling is beneficial, and leads to better communication.

Indeed, part of the would-be suicide’s dilemma may be caused by a lack of communication with others, a misinterpretation of the motives of friends or family members, and a difficulty in expressing one’s own needs and wishes.

When To Ignore, Instructions, Suggestions And Resolutions. A New Beginning

The thoughts and beliefs that we want to rearouse are those that were often predominant in childhood, as mentioned in earlier blogs. They are spiritual, mental, emotional and biological beliefs that are innately present in the birth of each creature. Children believe not only that there will be a tomorrow, and many tomorrows, but they also believe that each tomorrow will be rewarding and filled with discovery.

They fell themselves couched in an overall feeling of security and safety, even in the face of an unpleasant environment or situation. They feel drawn to other people and to other creatures, and left alone they trust their contacts with others. They have an inbred sense of self-satisfaction, and they instinctively feel that it is natural and good for them to explore and develop their capabilities.

They expect relationships to be rewarding and continuing, and expect each event will have the best possible results. They enjoy communication, the pursuit of knowledge, and they are filled with curiosity.

All of those attitudes provide the strength and mental health that promotes their physical growth and development. However simple those ideas may sound to the adult, still they carry within them the needed power and impetus that fill all of life’s parts. Later, conflicting beliefs often smother such earlier attitudes, so that by the time children have grown into adults they actually hold almost an opposite set of hypotheses. These take it for granted that any stressful situation will worsen, that communication will worsen,that communication with others is dangerous, that self-fulfillment brings about the envy and even of others, and that as individuals they live in an unsafe society, set down the middle of a natural world that is itself savage, cruel, and caring only for its survival at any cost.

Our body actually lives on large quantities of joyful expectation.

The fetus is propelled by the expectation of future growth and development. It is bad enough to anticipate that most unfortunate situations will worsen rather than improve, but it is foolhardy indeed to believe that mankind is bound to destroy itself, or that nuclear destruction in nearly inevitable.

Many people no longer believe in life after death, and so large numbers of the population are philosophically denied a spiritual or a physical future.

This deprives body and mind of the zest and purpose needed in order to enjoy any pursuits or activities. Such beliefs make any human endeavor appear futile. There are ways of reacting to the dangers of nuclear energy that are far more healthy and beneficial, and we will discuss these in later blogs.

For now, I simply want to suggest that all such beliefs should be understood and dismissed as soon as possible. We hope to show how most natural health-promoting beliefs can be applied to all mental, physical, or emotional illnesses or difficulties. I want to assure that regardless of our circumstances, age, or sex, we can indeed start over, re-arousing from within ourselves those earlier, more innocent expectations, feelings and beliefs. It is much better if we can imagine this endeavor more in the light of children’s play, in fact, rather than think of it as a deadly serious adult pursuit.

In other words, we will try to instill a somewhat playful attitude, even toward the most severe problems, for the very idea of play encourages the use of the imagination and the creative abilities.

This starting over. Again, because of simultaneous nature of time, beliefs can be changed in the present moment.

There is no need to search endlessly into the past of this life or any other, for the “original” causes for beliefs. Making a change in the present of a certain kind will automatically alter all beliefs “across the board,” so to speak. It is important, however, that we do not strain too hard to achieve results, but allow ourselves some leeway. We react to our beliefs habitually, often unthinkingly, and in usual ideas of time, and in our experience of it — we must allow oneself “some time” to change that habitual behavior.

As we do, we will discover oneself reacting to the desired beliefs as easily and automatically as we did to the undesirable ones. As we do, keep the idea of child’s play in mind, however. this will allow us to keep the entire affair in a kind of suspension.

The child plays at being an adult long before he or she is one, and so we can play with more desirable beliefs while we are still growing into that more beneficial picture.

One of the issues I want to discuss in depth is that of spontaneity in relationship to health and disease.

Our very physical existence itself is dependent upon the smooth functioning of many spontaneous processes. Our thinking, breathing, and motion are all guided by activities that are largely unconscious — at least from the standpoint of what we usually think of as the conscious mind.

Our body repairs itself constantly, and our mind thinks — all without our normally conscious attention. The same applies to all of those inner processes that make life possible. Our thoughts are conscious, but the process of thinking itself is not. Spontaneity is particularly important in the actions of children, and in the natural rhythmic motion of their limbs. Feelings also seem to come and go in a spontaneous fashion.

It is indeed as if some inner spontaneous part of the personality is far more knowledgeable than the conscious portion of which we are so rightfully proud.

Many people, however, fear spontaneity: it evokes extravagance, excesses, and dangerous freedoms. Even people who are not so fervently opposed to spontaneity often feel that it is somewhat suspect, distasteful, perhaps leading to humiliating actions. Spontaneity, however, represents the spirit of life itself, and it is the basis for the will to live, and for those impulses that stimulate action, motion, and discovery.

In the truest regard, our life is provided for us by these spontaneous processes. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, at one time the human personality was “more at one with itself.” It accommodated unconscious and conscious experience more equitably. Man and woman were more aware of his and her dreams and so-called unconscious activity.

It is only because civilized man and woman have somewhat overspecialized in the use of one kind of knowledge over another that people fear the unconscious, spontaneous portions of the self. The fear alone causes them to block out still more and more unconscious knowledge. Since the spontaneous portions are so related to bodily activity, they are very important in facilitating good health, and when people feel divorced from their spontaneous selves, they also fell divorced to the same extent from their own bodies. Such individuals become frightened of freedom itself, of choices and of changes. They try desperately to control themselves and their environment against what seems to be a raging, spontaneous mass of primitive impulses from within, and against a mindless, chaotic, ancient force of nature. In the physical world, such behavior often leads to compulsive action — stereotyped mental and physical motion and other situations with a strong repressive coloration. Here any expression becomes almost taboo. The conscious mind must be in control of all actions as much as possible, for such a person feels that only rigid, logical thought is strong enough to hold back such strong impulsive force.

These attitudes may be reflected in rather simple compulsive actions: the woman or man who cleans the house endlessly, whether it needs it or not; the man or woman who will follow certain precise, defined routes of activity — driving down certain streets only to work; washing his or her hands much more frequently than other people; the person who constantly buttons and unbuttons a sweater or vest. Many such simple actions show a stereotyped kind of behavior that results from a desperate need to gain control over oneself and the environment.

Any excessive behavior may enter in, including over-smoking, overeating, and overdrinking.

It will be difficult for some people to believe that spontaneity is to be trusted, for they may be only aware of feeling destructive or violent impulses. The idea of expressing impulses spontaneously will be most frightening under those conditions.

Actually the people involved are repressing not violent impulses but natural loving ones. They are afraid that expressions of love, or the need for dependence will only bring them scorn or punishment. Therefore, they hide those yearnings, and the destructive impulses actually serve to protect them from the expression of love that they have somehow learned to fear.

Science itself, for all of its preciseness in some areas, often equates instinctive, impulsive, chaotic, destructive activity as one and the same.

Nature and the inner nature of man and woman are both seen to contain savage, destructive forces against which civilization and the reasoning mind must firmly stand guard.

Science itself often displays compulsive and ritualistic behavior, to the point of programming its own paths of reasoning, so that they cover safe ground, and steadfastly ignore the great inner forces of spontaneity that make science — or any discipline — possible. As I have said before, spontaneity knows its own order. Nothing is more highly organized than the physical body that spontaneously grow all of its own parts.

As our life is provided for us, so to speak, by these spontaneous processes, the life of the universe is provided in the same fashion. We see physical stars, and our instruments probe the distance of space — but the inner processes that make the universe possible are those same processes that propel our own thinking. It is erroneous, therefore, to believe that spontaneity and discipline are mere opposites. Instead, true discipline is the result of true spontaneity.

Value fulfillment of each and every element in life relies upon those spontaneous processes, and their source is the basic affirmative love and acceptance of the self, the universe, and life’s conditions.

Since ancient times religions has tried to help man and woman understand the nature of his or her own subjective reality — but religion has its own dark side, and for this reason religion unfortunately has fostered fear of the spontaneous.

Instead of promoting the idea of man’s and woman’s inner worth, it has taught people to distrust the inner self and its manifestations. Most churches preach a dogma that stresses concepts of the sinful self, and sees man and woman as creatures contaminated by original sin even before birth.

This distorted picture depicts a species of sinners innately driven by evil, sometimes demonic, forces. In this dogma man and woman needs to apologize for his or her birth, and the conditions of life are seen as a punishment set by God upon his or her erring creatures. Unfortunately such concepts are also reflected in fields of psychology, particularly in Freudianism — where, say, slips of the tongue may betray the self’s hidden, nefarious true desires.

The unconscious is understood to be a garbage heap of undesirable impulses, long ago discarded by civilization, while again much religious theory projects the image of the hidden self that must be kept in bounds by good work, prayer, and penance.

Amid such a conglomeration of negative suppositions, the idea of a good and innocent inner self seems almost scandalous. To encourage expression of that self appears foolhardy, for it seems only too clear that if the lid of consciousness were opened, so to speak, all kind of inner demons and enraged impulses would rush forth.

Again, people who have such views of the inner self usually project the same ideas upon nature at large, so that the natural world appears equally mysterious, dangerous, and threatening.

In political terms such persons also look for strong authoritative groups or governments, stress law and order above justice or equality, and tend to see the poorer, less advantaged members of society as impulse-ridden, dangerous, and always ready for revolution. It is quite frequent for persons with those beliefs to discipline their bodies overmuch, take positions as police guards, or set themselves up in one way or another in control of their fellows.

I am not here stating that all police guards, members of the military or whatever, fall into that category. Such people will, however, tend toward a strongly disciplined life. Many of their health problems will deal with eruptions — interior ulcers, skin eruptions, or in very definite mental and emotional eruptions, and great outbursts of force and temper all the more noticeable because of the usual disciplined patterns of behavior.

In most such cases there is a lack of the normal range of emotional expression. Such persons often find it extremely difficult to express love, joy, or gratitude, for example, and this lack of expression is taken for granted by others, who do not see it in its true light, but think instead that the person is simply reticent.

Secondary personalities and schizophrenic episodes are also somewhat characteristic — again appearing as sudden explosive behavior when conflicting beliefs are dammed up and held back. And when it is believed that the inner self is indeed a bed of chaotic impulses, then it becomes less and less possible for an individual to express normal range of activity. The person then feels lethargic and out of touch with work of family.

Expression is a necessity of life, however. Each person feels that drive. When one set of rigid beliefs threatens to make action appear meaningless, then another set of buried, repressed beliefs may surface, providing new impetus precisely when it is needed — but also forming a secondary personality with characteristics almost opposite to those of the primary self.

We will have more to say on all of these issues — but now I want to discuss spontaneity, or its lack, in relationship to sexuality and health. Sexual health is incredibly important for each of the partners involved but especially for women as it can cause many health problems for them if certain guidelines are not followed. If you are looking for expert advice, visit www.advancedgynecology.com by following the link.

All of the negative beliefs just mentioned touch upon sexuality in one way or another. Those with the beliefs just mentioned often think of sexuality as bestial, evil, and even humiliating.

These attitudes are intensified where the female sex is concerned. We have, of course, a strong drive toward sexuality, and if we believe that it is to be shunned at the same time, then we are in a very ambiguous position. Women with such beliefs and conflicts often wind up having hysterectomies, performed incidentally by male doctors, who hold the very same beliefs.

Many men look forward to having sons, while at the same time they revere marriage as a necessary part of respectable family life, and also feel that marriage is somewhat degrading — particularly to a male — and that the sex act itself is only justified if it brings him an heir.

Such a male will seek sex with prostitutes, or with women he considers beneath him. In a strange fashion, he may even feel that it is wrong to have sex with his own wife, believing that the sex act so degrades the both of them. In many cases these people will be great sportsmen, follow conventionalized male pursuits, and perhaps express contempt for the arts or any interest considered remotely feminine.

Many schools of religion and so-called esoteric knowledge have promoted the idea that sexuality and spirituality are diametrically opposed to each other.

People in the sports arena also often encourage the concept that sexual expression is somewhat debilitating to the male, and can weaken his constitution. Priests take vows to ensure sexual abstinence, in other words they tightly fasten the package, and any urges they may have in a form of “sexual discipline”. The fact is that sexual expression is, again, an important element in the entire range of human experience, encouraging mental and physical health and vitality.

Some people may have a stronger or weaker sex drive than others, and yet that drive is a strong part of any individual’s natural rhythm. Damned up, such sexuality still keeps trying for expression, and it is often men or women of habitual “sexual discipline” who suddenly break out in bouts of sexual promiscuity or violence.

In actuality, the combination of a philosophical stress upon discipline, physical and mental, with the belief in the sinful self, often brings about the most unfortunate human dilemmas. These ideas usually ride along with feelings that power is desirable but dangerous. To abstain from sexuality then means to store up one’s own power. People with such beliefs often have severe problems with constipation, and have retention symptoms — retaining water, for example, or salt or whatever.

They may also suffer with stomach difficulties, many being overly fond of extremely spicy foods. Some have unusually heavy appetites, even though these may be regulated by a series of diets — which are then broken by overeating.

There are so many other elements involved in human nature that I do not really want to point out any culprits, yet male-segregated communities are obviously notorious for encouraging that kind of behavior. Every individual in such institutions or societies is not affected in the same fashion, of course — yet we do have these kinds of closed societies, relatively speaking, and they can indeed serve as cradles for fanaticism and rigid stereotypes of behavior. Again, here we find that discipline, rather than free will, is stressed, so that the opportunity for choices is drastically reduced. The more open a society, the more healthy its people.

What I have said also applies to organizations segregated along feminine lines, though to a lesser degree.

In both cases the sexes are denied any true communication, and an extremely artificial framework is maintained, in which the sexes literally become strangers to each other. This also encourages various kinds of hysterical reactions, as well as a larger frequency of “contagious diseases” than is experienced by the normal population.

These conditions also occur in some varieties of religious cults, whether or not strict sexual segregation is enforced. If human relationships are highly regulated and supervised, or family members encouraged to spy upon their relatives or friends, then we have the same kind of curtailment of natural expression and communication.

People in such societies often suffer from malnourishment, frequent beatings, an excessive use of the enema, and often indulge in physical punishment. The children are strictly raised, and a lack of normal spontaneity is the rule rather than the exception. Members of such organizations often suffer maladies in which their bodies do not utilize nutrients. They are often food faddists of one kind or another, but because they do fear spontaneity to such a degree they will often become afflicted with diseases of maladies associated with the body’s unconscious processes.

We can also find single families, of course, that operate like cults — or an entire nation — that are given over to repression with its resulting violence.

The ideas that we have, then, play a large role in the way the body handles its nutrients, and utilizes its health and vitality. If we believe that the body is somehow evil, we may punish it by nearly starving to death, even though our diet might be considered normal by usual standards. For it is possible for our ideas to cause chemical reactions that impede our body’s ability to accept nourishment. If we believe that the body is evil, the purest health-food diet will or may do us little good at all, while if we have a healthy desire and respect for our physical body, a diet of TV dinners, and even of fast foods, may well keep us healthy and nourished.

If we are talking about health, it is our beliefs that we must look. We have the most efficient and beautiful physical organs, the most elegant joints and appendages, the most vibrant lungs and the most exquisite of senses. It is up to us to form a body of beliefs that is worthy of our physical image — for we are nourished by our beliefs, and those beliefs can cause our daily bread to add to our vitality, or to add to our cares and stress.

The weight of unfortunate beliefs perhaps falls heaviest on the older segments of the population, for the beliefs have had a longer period of time to operate relatively unimpeded.

Those particular beliefs actually take hold in young adults, so that it seems that all of life is meant to come to its fullest flower in young adulthood, and then from that prestigious position fall quicker and quicker into disuse and disarray.

These ideas do not inflict severe difficulties upon older members of the population, but they also have a vital part to play in the behavior of many young people who commit suicide directly or indirectly. It seems to such youngsters that the pinnacle of life is just at hand, to last upon youthful beauty and youthful achievement, so that it appears that all of the rest of life’s activities must suffer by contrast.

Knowledge through experience is not considered a practical-enough method of learning, so that the skills and understanding that come with age are seldom taken into consideration.

Again, to a certain degree, religion and science — and the medical sciences in particular — seem devoted to encouraging the most negative beliefs about human nature. It is taken for granted that all mental, physical, spiritual and emotional satisfactions become lesser with advancing age. It is taken for granted that memory fails, the body weakens, the senses stagnate, and emotional vividness dims. It is often considered scandalous to even imagine sexual activity after the age of even 40 or 50.

Faced with the kind of a projected future, no wonder many adolescents prefer to die before catching sight of the very first hint of deterioration — the first wrinkle or touch of gray in the hair. What forerunner of disaster such natural signs must seem! And at the other end of the scale, older parents are treated by their grown children as if they themselves were falling into a grotesque version of a second childhood. Many people actually speak louder to older persons, whether or not they have any hearing difficulties at all and require the help of cordless phone for hearing impaired or not.

Our entire world of commerce and advertisements, of competition and of business, prolong such attitudes. This is aside from the impact of the entertainment industry, which reflects that same glorification of youth, and that fear of growing old.

There are very definite, excellent side-effects of growing older, such as being able to use a site like www.keyadvice.co.uk/equity-release/calculator to receive equity from the value of your home. That we will also discuss in future blogs — but here I want to assure the blog reader that basically speaking there are no diseases brought about by old age alone.

The body often wears out because it has been used less and less — and that is because little study has been given to the true capabilities of the healthy physical body in the later years of life. That period also contains certain rhythms in which normal healing processes are highly accelerated, and the life force itself does not wear out or lessen within a body. Its expression may be impeded at any time, but the unique energy of each individual is not drained away because of age alone.

We will have more to say concerning older people and their ways of life, and also discuss the many beliefs and ideas that can come almost immediately to their aid. The subject of suicide will also be discussed in a different context, and when I invite my blog readers to start over, I want it understood that we can indeed start over regardless of our age or circumstances.

Living At Cross Purposes, You, You, You And You

Each person is so unique that it is obviously impossible for me to discuss all of the innumerable and complicated strands of belief that form human experience — yet I hope here, some way, to present enough “specific generalizations” so that the blog reader can find many points of application as far as our own life is concerned.

In fact, we may discover not just one you, but several you’s, so to speak, each pursuing certain purposes, and we may find out furthermore that some such purposes cancel others out, while some are diametrically opposed to each other. Such cross purposes, of course, can lead to mental, spiritual, physical and emotional difficulties.

Many people believe that it is dangerous to make themselves known, to express their own ideas or abilities. Such individuals may be highly motivated, on the other hand, to become accomplished in some art or profession or other field of activity. In such cases we have two cross-purposes operating — the desire to express oneself, and the fear of doing so.

If both beliefs are equally dominant and vital, then the situation becomes quite serious. Such individuals may try “to get ahead” on the one hand, in society or business or in the arts or sciences, only to find themselves taking two steps backward for every step they take forward. In other words, they will encounter obstructions that are self-generated. If such a person begins to succeed, then he or she is forcibly reminded of the equally dominant need for lack of success — for again, the person believes that self-expression is necessary and desirable while also being highly dangerous, and thus to be avoided.

Dilemmas result in many ways. The person might succeed financially, only to make a serious or faulty business judgment, thus losing the financial benefits. Another person might express the same dilemma through the body itself, so that “getting ahead” was equated with physical mobility — so that it seemed that physical mobility, while so desired, was still highly dangerous.

Such reasoning sounds quite outlandish, of course, to most individuals, but the person in question, say with a disease like arthritis, or some other motion-impairing aliment, might ask themselves the question: “What would I do if I were free of the condition?”

Like the alcoholic’s wife mentioned in my earlier blog, such a person might suddenly feel struck by a sense of panic, rather than relief, thus experiencing for the first time the fear of motion that underlay the problem.

Yet why should motion be feared? Because so many individuals have been taught that power or energy is wrong, destructive, or sinful, and therefore to be punished.

Often playful, rambunctious children are told not to be showoffs, or not to express their normal exuberance. Religions stress the importance of discipline, sobriety, and penance. All of these attitudes can be extremely detrimental, and along with other beliefs are responsible for a goodly number of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional problems.

Unfortunately, there are also some particular teachings that are sexually oriented, and that therefore show their effects often on one sex rather than the other. Boys are still taught to “be cool,” unemotional, aggressive, and assertive — as opposed to being emotionally warm, cooperative, gregarious but without fake bravado. Boys are taught that it is unmanly to be dependent in any way. They become embarrassed in late boyhood when kissed by their mothers, as a rule — yet it is quite natural to be both independent, cooperative and competitive. Maybe it would be useful for some men to consider male enhancement pills for fast erection to allow men to better cooperate with their women in the bedroom.

Such young men grow up with the desire to be independent, while at the same time they also experience the natural drive for cooperation and dependence upon others. Many end up punishing themselves for any behavior they consider dependent or unmanly. They are often afraid to express love, or to accept emotional nourishment gracefully.

As a result some such people become severely afflicted with ulcers, so that their stomachs becomes sore and ulcerated at the acceptance of physical nourishment.

Epilepsy is a disease often experienced also by people who have strongly conflicting beliefs about the use of power or energy, coupled with a sometimes extraordinary amount of mental and physical energy that demands it be used. Epilepsy is a condition that can be difficult to treat; however, with advancements in medicine over the years, we can now manage Epilepsy and its symptoms. From benzodiazepine medications such as midazolam to more recent research in the effects of THC, CBD, and marijuana strains such as Gorilla glue strain, we see more improvements in treating Epilepsy. If you would like to learn more about CBD and its effects on Epilepsy and other ailments you can do so by reading something like CBD School’s Medterra review, you can find out some of the best ways to help deal with a condition of that nature.

In many such cases the individuals involved are highly intellectual, and possess obvious gifts that are, however, seldom put to full use. Such people are so frightened of the nature of personal power and energy that they short-circuit their nervous systems, blocking the ability for any purposeful action, at least momentarily. Using a CBD oil or even a CBD vape may help relieve this issue and overcome it. Relaxing the body can really calm someone’s body down. This then can create a good environment to go ahead with whatever they were planning to do.

Because they realize that they do indeed innately possess strong gifts and abilities, these people often seek attention for their disease, rather that for their abilities. They may become professional patients, favorites of their doctors because of their wit and repartee in the face of their affliction. They are determined to express themselves and not to express themselves at the same time. Like so many others they believe that self-expression is dangerous, evil, and bound to lead to suffering — self-inflicted or otherwise.

This particular group or people are also usually possessed by an extraordinary anger: they are furious at themselves for not being able to showcase their own strength and power — but “forced” instead into a kind of behavior that appears sometimes frightening and humiliating.

Individuals who suffer from epilepsy are also often perfectionists — trying so hard to be their best that they end up with a very uneven, jerky physical behavior.

In some instances, stuttering is a very mild example of the same kind of activity. On the one hand some epileptic patients feel a cut above the usual run of humanity, while on the other they perform far more awkwardly than normal persons. Again, many also believe that those with special talents or gifts are disliked by others and persecuted.

This brings us into a conglomeration of beliefs unfortunately connected with romanticism.

These beliefs are centered around artists, writers, poets, musicians, actors and actresses, or others who seem unusually gifted in the arts or in various other methods of self-expression. The beliefs lead to the most dire legends, in which the gifted person always pays in one way or another for the valued gifts of self-expression — through disaster, misfortune, or death.

These concepts have many cousins, so that we actually have an entire family of beliefs that are all in one way or another related.

Foremost, connected with the distortions about creativity and expression, is the belief that knowledge itself is dangerous, evil, and bound to lead to disaster. Here, innocence is seen as synonymous with ignorance. What we actually have behind such a belief is a fear of free will and of making choices.

The more extensive our knowledge, the more aware we are of probable actions, and of the conglomeration of choices that then become available. There are also people, then, with an intense thirst for knowledge who believe that knowledge is indeed good and beneficial, while on the other hand the belief just as fervently that knowledge is forbidden and dangerous.

All of these instances lead, of course, to severe dilemmas, and often pull an individual in two directions at once. They are the cause, also, of many spiritual, emotional, and physical difficulties.

It should probably be noted here also that this suspicion of knowledge is intensified when the female sex is involved, for the legends quite erroneously give the impression that knowledge is twice as disastrous if possessed by a woman. This should be kept in mind whenever we discuss beliefs that are specifically sexually oriented.

It must seem obvious that behind all such beliefs lies the distrust of nature, man, woman, and life itself.

We must also remember, however, that in a fashion beliefs themselves are tools, and that in some situations beliefs that seem quite negative can also clear the way for more beneficial ones. With all of this discussion of negative beliefs, therefore, it is a good idea not to call any beliefs bad or evil in themselves. They are no more bad or evil in their way own, say, than viruses are in theirs. If we look upon them in that manner, we will avoid being overwhelmed by what seems to be an endless parade of negative thoughts and beliefs that can only lead to destruction. Instead, compare the negative beliefs, for example, with the storms that sweep the country: they have their purposes — and all in all those purposes tend to promote and support life itself.

While we are still in the middle of such discussions, however, remind oneself that any situation can be changed for the better. Remind oneself constantly that the most favorable solution to a problem is at least as probable as the most unfortunate “solution.” Remind oneself also that despite all of our worrying, the spirit of life itself is continually within our experience, and forms our physical body.

Large numbers of the population do indeed live unsatisfactory lives, with many individuals seeking goals that are nearly unattainable because of the conglomeration of conflicting beliefs that all vie for their attention. They are at cross purposes with themselves.

This leads not only to private dilemmas, illnesses, and seemingly futile relationships — but also to national misunderstandings, entanglements, and world disorders. There are indeed ways of breaking through such conflicts, however, and those broader avenues of expression, peace, and satisfaction are available to each individual, however unfortunate the entire picture seems to be.

It is possible, therefore, to improve our health, and to deepen the quality of all or our experience.

In terms of earthly life as we understand it, it is overly optimistic to imagine that eventually all illnesses will be conquered, all relationships be inevitably fulfilling, or to foresee a future in which all people on earth are treated with equality and respect. For one thing, in that larger framework mentioned in earlier blogs, illness itself is a part of life’s overall activity. Disease states, so-called, are as necessary to physical life as normal health is, so we are not speaking of a nirvana on earth — but we are saying that it is possible for each blog reader to quicken his or her private perceptions, and to extend and expand the quality of ordinary consciousness enough so that by contrast to current experience, life could almost be thought of as “heaven on earth.”

This involves a re-education of most profound nature. All of the conflicting beliefs that have been mentioned thus far are the end result of what I have called before the “official line of consciousness.” Certainly people experienced disease long before those conflicting beliefs began — but again, that is because of the part that disease states play in the overall health of individuals and of the world.

What we are going to have to do, then, is start over. It is indeed quite possible to do so, for we will be working with material with which we are intimately familiar: our own thoughts, emotions, and beliefs.

We must start from our present position, of course, but there is no person who cannot better his or her position to a considerable degree, if the effort is made to follow through with the kind of new hypotheses that we will here suggest. These ideas are to some extent already present, though they have not predominated in world experience.

This alternate way of thinking is biologically pertinent, for it should be obvious now that certain beliefs and ideas serve to foster health and vitality, while others impede it.

These ideas are translations of the emotional attitudes of all portions of nature and of life itself. They are better than any medicine, and they promote the expression of value fulfillment of all kinds of life, whatever its form.

Reincarnational Children’s Play, And Health

When children play, often the play events seem as real or even more real than ordinary physical events that are experienced outside of the play framework. Children playing at cowboys and Indians, or cops and robbers, can on occasion become quite as frightened by the pursuit or the chase as they would be if they were actually caught up in such an adventure in ordinary life.

Even watching such programs on television will almost make it feel like they are there in the scene themselves. They become engrossed. With all the latest cable TV statistics, (look at the source here), it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that more and more people are tuning in to these shows, and in turn, get to experience what they’re watching as if they were there in person. That’s the magic of television. It opens up doors to a whole new world of adventure for so many people, especially children. Alongside letting their imaginations run wild through play, there is no better feeling than being able to broaden your horizons.

Children then apply their imaginations more vividly, and even utilize all of their senses at certain times, to follow or reinforce those pictures that imagination paints. There are indeed many kinds of reality, many versions, and it is some time before human beings learn to focus into one particular package of reality. It’s important that children utilize all their senses so that they can truly pursue their imagination. There are a few things that can be done to help with this. The first is to let them play and to just have fun. The second is to let them listen to nursery songs like KLS , to help them flourish in their development. There are a few other things that you can do to help them as well, you just have to find the right thing for them.

In so doing, they then apply their imaginations in structured ways that serve to reinforce the prime reality-framework. For some time, however, young children utilize a remarkable imaginative freedom, so that, for example, they can experience “alternate” events with as much focus, strength, and vitality as that with which they experience ordinary life. A potent daydream may, in fact, appear far more real than the other daily events that surround it. When the child is playing, its sense of joy or anger is very strongly felt. The child’s body will often reflect those conditions and reflexes that would be elicited of the so-called “play” events were real.

Most of our experience happens directly, where senses, imagination, motion and physical actuality meet. In dreams, however, we often feel as if we are in another location entirely, and all of our senses seem pivoted in that location. Our experience is separated from our usual living area, in other words. We may dream that we are running or walking or flying, yet those activities are divorced enough from that area where imagination, motion, and physical actuality meet, so that our body remains quiet, relatively speaking, while we seem to be moving freely somewhere else.

In a fashion, reincarnation can partially be explained using the same kind of analogy. We have many existences at once — but each one has its own living area, upon which that portion of us focuses. In fact, that portion has its own name and selfhood and is master of its own castle, so to speak.

Each self has its own inviolate point where imagination, motion, and physical actuality intersect. Like the child play-acting, however, events occur within events, all dramatically real and vivid, all eliciting specific responses and actions, and each one possessing its own private living area.

On any given day a youngster may take a ride on a merry-go-round. The same little boy or girl might also sit astride a toy horse, and pretend that the horse is part of the merry-go-round. The same child might see the image of a merry-go-round on the television screen, or be told about another youngster’s visit to a playground, and a subsequent ride on a merry-go-round.

The child will be completely absorbed in the merry-go-round ride that was directly experienced. He or she may indeed be just as engrossed — or even more so — in the imaginary ride on the rocking horse. There will be some involvement, of course, as the child watches the images of the merry-go-round horses on the television station, while the story about the child’s visit to the playground will not take nearly as much of his interest.

In somewhat the same way, events appear and are reflected in reincarnational existences. All the lives are actually occurring at the same time, as the hypothetical youngster’s merry-go-round experiences happened all in one day.

In the reincarnational terms, however, the merry-go-round events might be experienced directly in some existences, or appear in a dream in another existence, or turn up simply as an image in another, or happen in an event involving real horses instead of merry-go-round horses. In other words, in one way or another the events of one living experience are reflected in each other living experience.

I am not saying that the events in one life cause the events on another, but that there is an overall pattern — a bank of probable events — and that in each life each individual chooses those that suit his or her overall private purposes. Yet those lives will be connected. An individual may have a serious illness in one life. That event may turn up as one uncomfortable nightmare in another existence. In still another life, the individual might have a dear friend who suffers from the same disease. In still another existence the individual might decide to be a doctor, to seek a cause and a cure for the same disease.

No one is fated, however, to suffer in one life for any crimes committed in another. The reasons and purposes for one’s own existence in any life can be found directly in the life itself.

Many proponents of reincarnation believe most firmly that an illness in one life most frequently has its roots in a past existence, and that reincarnational regression if therefore necessary to uncover the reasons for many current illnesses or dilemmas.

There is also a rather conventional stereotype version of karma that may follow such beliefs. Therefore, we may be punished in this life for errors we have committed in a past one, or we may actually be making up for a mistake made thousands of years ago. Again, all of a person’s reincarnational existences are, indeed, connected — but the events in one life do not cause the events in the next one.

I must remind once more that all time happens simultaneously, so the confused belief about punishment now, in retaliation for past action would actually be meaningless, since in simultaneous time all actions would be occurring at once.

We may have overall reasons for a particular illness, however, that have nothing to do with crime or punishment, but may instead involve an extraordinary sense of curiosity, and the desire for experience that is somewhat unconventional — usually not sought for — exotic, or in certain terms even grotesque.

Each life, regardless of its nature, possesses it own unique vantage point, and an individual may sometimes take an obscure or a long-lasting disease simply to present himself or herself with experience that most others would shun. An individual might seek such a vantage point in order to look at the universe in a different fashion, asking questions that perhaps could not be answered of asked from any other position.

Another life, for example, might deal with exquisite health and vitality, and as mentioned, still another life might be devoted to the arts of healing — but overall, few people take health problems per se as frequent reincarnational themes, though they may be implied strongly in situations where one is born into a large populace of poor, underprivileged people.

If one does have health problems, it is much better to look for their reasons in our immediate experience, rather than assigning them a cause in our distant past. The reasons for maladies are almost always present in current life experience — and even though old events from childhood may have originally activated unhealthy behavior, it is present beliefs that allow old patterns of activity to operate.

If we are concerned about any given problems — mental, emotional, or physical — there are certain facts we should hold in mind. I have mentioned most of them in previous blogs, but they are particularly vital in this context.

We must realize that we do create our own reality because of our beliefs about it. Therefore, try to understand that the particular dilemma of illness is not an event forced upon us by some other agency. Realize that to some extent or another our dilemma or our illness has been chosen by us, and that this choosing has been done in bits and pieces of small, seemingly inconsequential choices. Each, however, has led up to our current predicament, whatever its nature.

If we realize that our beliefs form our experience, then we do indeed have an excellent chance of changing our beliefs, and hence our experience.

We can discover what our own reasons are for choosing the dilemma or illness by being very honest with oneself. There is no need to feel guilty since we meant very well as we made each choice — only the choices were built upon beliefs that were beliefs and not facts.

If we are in serious difficulties of any kind, it may at first seem inconceivable, unbelievable, or even scandalous to imagine that our problems are caused by our own beliefs.

In fact, the opposite might appear to be true. We might have lost a series of jobs, for example, and it may seem quite clear that we are not to blame in any of those circumstances. We might have a very serious illness that seemed to come from nowhere, and it may strike us as most unlikely indeed, that our own beliefs had anything to do with the inception of such a frightening malady.

We may be in the middle of one or several very unsatisfactory relationships, none of which seem to be caused by us, while instead we feel as if we are an unwilling victim or participant.

We may have a dangerous drug or alcohol problem, or we may be married to someone who does. In both instances the situations will be caused by our own beliefs, even though this may at first seem most unlikely. For the purposes of this particular blog, we will discuss illnesses or situations that have arisen since childhood, so we are not including birth defects or very life-endangering childhood accidents, or most unfortunate childhood family situations. These will be discussed separately.

In most cases, even the most severe illnesses or complicated living conditions and relationships are caused by an attempt to grow, develop or expand in the face of difficulties that appear to be unsurmountable to one degree of another.

An individual will often be striving for some goal that appears blocked, and hence he or she uses all available energy and strength to circumnavigate the blockage. The blockage is usually a belief which needs to be understood or removed rather than bypassed.

In my blogs we will be involved with the nature of beliefs and with various methods that will allow us to choose beliefs that lead to a more satisfying life.

Throughout my blogs, we are not speaking of physical health alone, but of mental, spiritual, and emotional health as well. We are not healthy, for example, no matter how robust our physical condition, if our relationships are unhealthy, unsatisfying, frustrating, or hard to achieve. Whatever our situation is, it is a good idea to ask ourselves what we would do if we were free of it. An alcoholic’s wife might wish all her heart that her husband stop drinking, but if she suddenly asked herself what she would do, she might, surprisingly enough, feel a tinge of panic. On examination of her own thoughts and beliefs, she might well discover that she was so frightened of not achieving her own goals that she actually encouraged her husband’s alcoholism, so that she would not have to face her own “failure”.

Obviously this hypothetical situation is a quick example of what I mean, with no mention of the innumerable other beliefs and half-beliefs that would encircle the man’s and the woman’s relationship.

There are no doubts about it confronting substance issues can be an incredibly complex process. Harmful drinking can cause significant issues not only for the alcohol user but also for members of their family. This can appear in the form of health problems, financial worries, relationship breakdown, and even parenting difficulties. Above all, these families need and deserve support. Family interventions can play a role in this and can help to reduce overall alcohol harm.

Accordingly, if you, or someone you know, have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article there are details of organizations that offer advice and support including several different alcohol treatment center websites available online.

They will be able to provide different types of services that you can use to help support yourself if you are going in for treatment. You might find that they will offer support groups, and will have routine drug/alcohol tests (using something like this 5 panel instant drug test). All of this will be done to help you stay on your path to recovery.

Ultimately, working jointly with alcohol users and their families during treatment has been shown to be effective, particularly where the user is an adolescent.

What do you think should be done to tackle alcohol dependency issues within society? Get in touch and let me know your thoughts on this fascinating topic.

Learn Through Play-Acting

I have mentioned in previous blogs that play is essential for growth and development. Children learn through play-acting. Even getting your children singing can make a huge difference in their growth and development (however, there are plenty of other ways to help your child learn). They imagine themselves to be in all kinds of situations. They see themselves in dangerous predicaments, and then conjure up their own methods of escape. They try out the roles of other family members, imagine themselves rich and poor, old and young, male and female.

This allows children a sense of freedom, independence, and power as they are acting forcibly in all kinds of situations. It goes without saying that physical play automatically helps develop the body and its capabilities.

However, not every child grows and develops at the same pace, and it may worry some parents. It is crucial to keep track of a child’s physical and mental growth and contact a pediatric if you see any behavioral issues, mood swings, interaction issues, lack of social skills, etc. You can also explore pediatric therapy options near your location or online facilities similar to Kinspire to avail the necessary treatment at the early stage.

You could slowly indulge your child in activities with other kids to gradually teach them the concept of social interaction. To a child, play and work are often and the same thing, and parents can utilize imaginative games as a way of reinforcing ideas of health and vitality. When a child is ill-disposed or cranky, or has a headache, or another disorder that does not appear to be serious, parents can utilize this idea: have the child imagine that you are giving it a “better and better pill.” Have the child open its mouth while you place the imaginary pill on its tongue, or have the child imagine picking the pill up and placing it in its mouth. Then give the child a glass of water to wash the pill down, or have the child get the water for himself or herself. Then have the youngster chant, say, three times, “I’ve taken a better and better pill, so I will shortly feel better and better myself.”

There are other steps you can take to instill healthy habits in your child too. For example, we all know how important it is to encourage your child to look after their teeth. Remember to set a positive example for your child by brushing your teeth and using mouthwash together when you get ready in the morning and at night. Furthermore, remember to book regular check-ups with a dentist for you and your child. No one wants to need to have Dental Implants in Washington Heights due to bad oral hygiene after all.

The earlier such a game is begun the better, and as the child grows older you may explain that often an imaginary pill works quite as well — if not better — than a real one.

This does not mean that I am asking parents to substitute imaginary medicine for real medicine, though indeed, I repeat, it may be quite effective. In our society, however, it would be almost impossible to get along without medicine or medical science.

While I want to emphasize that point, I also want to remind that innately and ideally the body is quite equipped to heal itself, and certainly to cure its own momentary headache. We would have to substitute an entirely different learning system, at our present stage, for the body to show its true potentials and healing abilities.

In other cases of a child’s illness, have the child play a healing game, in which he or she playfully imagines being completely healthy again, outdoors and playing; or have the youngster imagine a conversation with a friend, describing the illness as past and gone. Play could also be used even in old people’s homes, for it could revive feelings of spontaneity and give the conscious mind a rest from worrying.

Many ancient and so-called primitive peoples utilized play — and drama, of course — for their healing values, and often their effects were quite as therapeutic as medical science. If your child believes that a particular illness is caused by a virus, then suggest a game in which the youngster imagines the virus to be a small bug that he or she triumphantly chases away with a broom, or sweeps out the door. Once a child gets the idea, the youngster will often make up his or her own game, that will prove most beneficial.

Instead of such procedures, children are often taught to believe that any situation or illness or danger will worsen, and that the least desirable, rather than most desirable, solution will be found. By such mental games, however, stressing the desirable solution, children can learn at an early age to utilize imagination and their minds in a far more beneficial manner.

One of the most disastrous ideas is the belief that illness is sent as a punishment by God.

Unfortunately, such a belief is promoted by many religions. Children who want to be good, therefore, can unfortunately strive for poor health, in the belief that it is a sign of God’s attention. To be punished by God is often seen as preferable to being ignored by God. Adults who hold such views unwittingly often let their children in for a life of turmoil and depression.

In all cases of illness, games or play should be fostered whenever possible, and in whatever form. Many dictatorial religions pointedly refuse to allow their congregations to indulge in any type of play at all, and frown upon it as sinful. Card-playing and family games such as Monopoly are actually excellent practices, and play in any form encourages spontaneity and promotes healing and peace of mind.

Play together, even if only mind games are involved — games with no particular purpose except fun.

Children’s Innate Love Of The Body And All Of Its Parts

For adults, ideas of health and illness are intimately connected with philosophical, religious, and social beliefs. They are even more entangled with scientific concepts, and with science’s views of life in general. Children, however, are far more innocent, and though they respond to the ideas of their parents, still their minds are open and filled with curiosity. The development of children is important to any parent, and we would do anything to help with their Developing Minds, whether that can help them out, and if your children mean everything to you, find out the cost of life insurance as a way of protecting them.
Children learn in many different ways including hearing, smell and sight which is why things like song education on YouTube are so popular to teach young children. They are also gifted with an almost astounding resiliency and exuberance.

They possess an innate love of the body and all of its parts. They also, feel an eager desire to learn all they can about their own physical sensations and capabilities.

At the same time, young children in particular still possess a feeling of oneness with the universe, and with all of life, even as they begin to separate themselves at certain levels from life’s wholeness to go about the delightful task. Seeing themselves as separate and apart from all other individuals, they still retain an inner comprehension and a memory of having once experienced a oneness with life as a whole.

At that level even illness is regarded simply as a part of life’s experience, however unpleasant it might be. Even at an early age, children joyfully explore all of the possibilities of all sensations possible within their framework — pain as well as joy, frustration as well as satisfaction, and all the while their awareness is propelled by curiosity, wonder, and joy.

They pick up their first ideas about health and disease from parents and doctors, and by the actions of those people to their own discomfiture. Before they can even see, children are already aware of what their parents expect from them in terms of health and disease, so that early patterns of behavior are formed, to which they then react in adulthood.

For now we will speak of children who possess ordinary good health, but who may also have some of the usual childhood “diseases.” Later we will discuss children with exceptionally severe health conditions.

Many children acquire poor health habits through the well-meaning mistakes of their parents. This is particularly true when parents actually reward a child for being ill. In such cases, the ailing child is pampered far more than usual, given extra special attention offered delicacies such as ice cream, let off some ordinary chores, and in other ways encouraged to think of bouts of illness as times of special attention and reward.

I do not mean that ill children should not be treated with kindness, and perhaps a bit of special attention — but the reward should be given for the child’s recovery, and efforts should be made to keep the youngster’s routine as normal as possible. Children often know quite well the reasons for some of their illnesses, for often they learn from their parents that illness can be used as a means to achieve a desired result.

Often parents hide such behavior from themselves. They deliberately close their eyes to some of the reasons for their own illnesses, and this behavior has become so habitual that they are no longer conscious of their own intent.

Children, however, may be quite conscious of the fact that they willed themselves to become ill, in order to avoid school (even if they would have loved to have a ball with the school gym equipment) , an examination, or a coming feared family event. They soon learn that such self-knowledge is not acceptable, however, so they begin to pretend ignorance, quickly learning to tell themselves instead that they have a bug or a virus, or have caught a cold, seemingly for no reason at all.

Parents frequently foster such behavior. Some are simply too busy to question a child about his or her own illness. It is far simpler to give a child aspirin, and send a child to bed with ginger tea and a coloring book.

Such procedures unfortunately rob a child of important self-knowledge and understanding. They begin to feel victims to this or that disorder. Since they have no idea that they themselves caused the problem to begin with, then they do not realize that they themselves possess the power to right the situation. If they are being rewarded for such behavior in the meantime, then the pressure is less, of course, so that bouts of illness or poor health can become ways of attaining attention, favorite status, and reward.

Parents who are aware of these facts can start helping their children at an early age by asking them simply the reasons for their illness. A mother might say: “You don’t need to have a temperature in order to avoid school, or as a way of getting love and attention, for I love you in any case. And if there is a problem at school, we can work it out together, so you don’t have to make yourself ill.” Again, the reasons for such behavior are often quite clear in the child’s mind. So, if the parents begin such questioning and reassurance when the child is young, then the youngster will learn that while illness may be used to attain a desired result, there are far better, healthier ways of achieving an end result.

Some parents, unfortunately, use the nature of suggestion in the most undesirable way, so that a child is often told that he or she is sickly, or weak or overly sensitive, and not as robust as other youngsters. If that kind of behavior is continued, then the child soon takes such statements as true, and begins to act upon them, until they do indeed become only too real in the youngster’s everyday experience.

Good health is closely related, of course, to a family’s beliefs about the body. If parents believe that the body is somehow an inferior vehicle for the spirit, of if they simply view the body as unreliable or weak and vulnerable, then children will at an early age begin to consider good health as a rarity, and learn to take depression, poor spirits, and bodily aches and pains to be a natural, normal condition of life.

If, on the other hand, parents view the body as a healthy, dependable vehicle of expression and feeling, then their children will look at their own bodies in the same fashion. It is very important that parents express a fond affection towards each other, and toward their children. In this way most children are assured of their parent’s love, and hence need not resort to illness as a way of gaining attention or testing a parent’s’ love and devotion.

There is no natural reason for children to feel a sense of shame concerning any bodily part. No portion of the body should be spoken about in secret, hushed tones. Each child should be told that his body, or her body, is a precious private possession, however, so that it is easy to build up a desirable feeling of bodily privacy, without any hint of shame or guilt.

It goes without saying that parents should hold the bodies of their male and female children in equal favor, so that one is not considered inferior to the other. Each child should be educated as early as possible by their parents, so that the youngsters are repeatedly reminded of the body’s natural resources and healing abilities.

Parents who are actually quite worried about their children’s’ susceptibility to illness often go overboard, stressing all kinds of sports and sports-related projects, but the children sense their parents’ unspoken fears, and they try to reassure their parents through achieving high goals or merits in sports programs.

There is no area of thought or belief that does not touch upon the subject of health in one way or another. Therefore, throughout my blogs we will be devoted to many ideas that may at first seem unrelated to the topic at hand.