How do you see yourself in the world?

[hippie37]

Albert Einstein once said, "the single most important decision any of us will ever have to make is whether or not to believe that the universe is friendly."

What do you believe? Is this a dog-eat-dog world where unless you exercise extreme caution and control you might lose it all around the next corner?

Or, do you believe that even if the world has its share of tragedy, selfishness, stupidity, and mystery, that beneath it all is a loving force faithfully moving us towards greater awareness, compassion and purpose?

While many of us would aspire to the later belief, our cultural default leans towards the former. In other words, we have a long history and lots of training to be well motivated by fear. "Study hard or you will not pass, will not get a job, will not earn a living, etc." "Buy this product or you will not be attractive, find a partner, be happy...."

Fear is a great motivator. The problem is it can never lead you to fulfilment or a deep experience of success. No matter how much money, power or status you get, it will never be enough to placate the voice of fear.

The path beyond fear begins with greater awareness. Becoming aware at how frequently our thoughts, beliefs and actions are rooted in a fear-based, "you have to do this... or else" energy, leads you back to a place of being present. Once present you can decide to believe it is a friendly universe and make choices based on what will best serve you, inspire you, or contribute the most to what you are trying to create in the world.

Fear is omnipresent in our world and it is killing us. Fear makes functional atheists out of us all.

Find your way to choice, inspiration and purpose.

Help make this an even more friendly universe.


Many Blessings
Phil

[Wagoneer]

How do you see yourself in the world?

Beautiful post Phil. Thank you.

[ATLThrash]

How do you see yourself in the world?

Phil--One thing I learned about myself was that fear is a good short term motivator-- it used to motivate everything I did and I was lucky enough up until my late 30s that any isues i was confronting (weight, job trouble, etc) had a quick fix-- that htey had not gotten out of hand.. However, when I finally had a longer term issue (the drinking was a big one and huge pregnancy weight gain) it did not work long term. So I am in the midst of trying to learn coping skills and startegies fairly late-- I was fortunate that I had it so relatively easy in some ways earlier. with that said-- I actually believe that people are good for teh most part== pretty naive but I guess it gets me through the day. Your post is very thought provoking-- thanks for that!

[KateH1]

How do you see yourself in the world?

Great post, as usual Phil!
I see myself as a seed for change in the world. Each one of us creates the "Whole". So, if we treat others with kindness, dignity and respect, we are planting seeds of the same. Indeed, if we plant seeds of Peace, we give others a glance of what Peace can look and feel like.

I think the greatest danger to all of us is EGO. This is not the same as self confidence. Thought the two are often confused. Ego, needs to be fed from the outside in. Fear and control are the supper foods of Ego and serve no true and positive purpose. The truly confident person does not require these super foods as, they are not worried about what others think of them.

Just some random thoughts that I have on this topic!

Blessings, to All!

Kate

[KundaliniGirl]

How do you see yourself in the world?

Nice post Phil.

I don't feel motivated by fear and as I get older I believe more in karma. I see that coincidence and good things happen when we put good things out into the world. It's hard, though, to look at what's going on in the world globally - never ending wars, nuclear proliferation, corporate greed, etc. - and not have fear on a global level. So for me, the personal world I create is pretty peaceful and harmonious. But, I don't think we can say the universe is friendly because by nature there are really hostile elements to it. Conversely, though, there are many good things about life and the universe. So to me, it is a mixture of both. And, yes, oftentimes we can choose to view it positively and create good things from that.

[hippie37]

How do you see yourself in the world?

Likewise KG, I like your post and it brings into question my own confusion at times as to whether or not I'm seeing things as 'personal' or 'global'. I've probably spent a lot of my time making global issues very personal and in doing so making myself a victim in the world. Hence why I've seen it as a very hostile one rather than a friendly one. Like you though I totally believe that if I project love, compassion, tolerance etc. etc. into the world I'm not adding to the chaos and confusion that's being played out on the world stage right now.

Thanks for your thoughts too Kate and ATLThrash and your kind words Wagoneer.