Writing a paper on the paradoxes entailed in America’s “self-evident” truths.
got any input?
Post(s) tagged with "philosophy"
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“Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind.”
What have you made up today and how is it affecting you?
I’ve written a blog on thoughts before ( http://shethjuice.tumblr.com/post/3602431495) , but sometimes we all need to remind ourselves about what we need to do with the thoughts our mind come up with.
We either know something is certain or we’re making things up. When I say “making things” up I mean:
- we’re thinking about what someone will think, say, or do because of something we are about to do or have already done
- we think about how the action we are performing will reflect on us. Will we do it right or wrong? What will people say if we do it wrong, wait…what will people say if I do it right?
- like the above- we are afraid of failing at something (without even trying it yet and if we have failed at it before…what if we do again?)
- what will people think if I wear this? Or if I don’t wear this?
- Thoughts of unworthiness
- Judgement of people, places, and things.
- etc
Most of the stuff we make up involves what others will think about us. But, um, HELLO! We can only control what we think about ourselves. Whatever you think about yourself or what you’re doing will be projected onto others. If you think you’re going to do great, you will! If you think you’re going to be happy, you’re HAPPY! We also tend to make up thoughts about the outcome of an act we are going to do or are in the process of doing. We cannot predict the future. All we can do is focus on the now.
These made up thoughts are formed by our ego, the false self. I wrote a blog on this as well: http://shethjuice.tumblr.com/post/3477547900/the-false-self. We need to be aware of our thoughts and decide which ones are benefiting us and which ones aren’t.
Our mind/ego is constantly stirring things up and you have the control to choose what you want to keep in your mind and what you don’t; you are the only one who has the power to control your thoughts. No one else has this control unless you choose to give them that power. As long as we are aware of our thoughts we are capable of controlling them. We can laugh off whatever craziness our mind comes up with and forget about it and keep the thoughts that benefit us. Here’s an example of what I mean by the craziness the mind formulates:
- Checking out at the grocery store and having a cashier who is rude or has a bad attitude. I get pissed and curse them out in my head, but then I realize “Dude, what if they’ve had a bad day.”
- When someone can’t say my name (even my American name) properly I used to get so angry because I thought I had simplified it enough. I’d wonder, ”How freaking illiterate are you?!” But then I realized I can’t understand people sometimes, so, in turn, I should be more understanding.
We never know what someone is going through fully. Our mind/ego thinks up these thoughts that are sometimes really mean and horrible, but, remember to chill out. We’re all going through stuff, maybe great or maybe horrible, so just laugh off your crazy thoughts and go on your merry little way. Don’t let these crazy thoughts piss you off or get you down. Keep the good shit and dump out that bad shit! Also, be aware of the fact that everyone makes up thoughts. They might not be aware of it like you so have compassion towards them.
If any of the made up thoughts becomes a fact that isn’t benefiting you, then just brush your shoulders off and laugh it off. The only thoughts that matter are the ones that you decide to keep in your noggin!
I watched a video by Joyologist, Tricia Huffman, about this. It was an amazing video and reminded me to be more aware of my thoughts. Check her stuff out @ yourjoyologist.com. I always try my best to be aware of my mind’s tricks, but I sometimes forget. I really needed this reminder and hope by reminding myself I’m able to remind you as well.
Don’t just think outside the box look at it from every angle.
I have said this numerous times; it’s the theme to my blog. It means to look at objects, issues, etc. from every perspective and not just your belief on the subject or the narrow angle you see the subject from.
If you were to look into the mirror straight on you’d see an identical portrait of yourself. However, if you’re at an angle facing the mirror you only see your side profile. You’re looking at yourself through the same object, but you see different views at every angle you turn. In the same sense, if you do that with everything you look at in life you will start seeing it in a very different way.
No one person has the same experiences or comes from the same background. Therefore, everyone has a different perspective on life based on their own experiences and perception. This isn’t their fault, nor is it yours. Understanding is the key, I think, to learning how to view things from every angle. Some may be completely ignorant to the subject being discussed or grew up with a different view on it. This is why understanding is very vital; if you can do that then you can see why someone may see things in a way you never have before. It comes in handy when having conversations or even arguments. It is frustrating at times when you see things from others’ perspective, but they are unable to see it from yours. In time, though, if you’re persistent and keep your mind open hopefully others will learn to as well.
Each culture has it’s own set of traditions and values. When living in a world that is a melting pot of cultures, though, it’s vital to blend these views together or to even change some of these into new ones. We live in an ever-changing world and so our thought process has to coincide with it.
The elders in my family are very traditional and believe things are meant to be done certain ways. When I try to expose them to new ideas it usually gets thrown to the side and disregarded. I know they think they can’t help it because that’s all they’ve ever known to do. Once they’ve been exposed to different ideas (more regularly) it’ll erase any misconceptions and allow them to have a broader view and a more open mind.
Three years ago I went to FL for Thanksgiving for a mini family reunion. My cousin, who was in his late 20’s at the time, brought his gf. I remember him telling me that he did that to make it easier for the younger ones in the family. That was the first time anyone had ever brought their bf/gf to a family gathering. My brother has a girlfriend who everyone is the family knows about. About 5-10 years ago this wouldn’t have been acceptable to my family. Now she comes on family vacations and over to the house all the time. Whenever my family goes to a wedding and she comes with us, all the elders automatically think that she is my brother’s fiancée. The concept of openly dating is still quite new to the Indian community. It’s starting to be more accepted because people are openly doing it.
The more open you are the more open people around you will become. People don’t like change or the unfamiliar. It scares the shit out of them. It scares the shit out of me. But change isn’t a bad thing; it’s just different from what you’re used to. It’s okay to change your views or broaden your knowledge. In fact it is more than okay. Not everything is right or wrong, black or white, yes or no. Keep an open mind, about life, and it can be the best thing to ever happen.
A closed box serves no purpose so make sure to keep yours open.
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
We let so many of our life decisions revolve around our age. What if we didn’t know how old we were though? Then we could make our decisions based on merely how we feel in the present moment.
+ > -
Exactly one year ago I wrote this blog post on wordpress. I thought it would be nice to share it on my tumblr.
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Do you ever wake up thinking its going to be a horrible day, and that’s exactly what it becomes? Or had to give a presentation you were dreading and so stressed about, but kept telling yourself it would be ok; to your dismay it turns out to be. You can always turn negative thoughts into positive ones that can be beneficial to you. But if you keep those negative thoughts within you, that’s all you will get in return. I used to always think that I would always get in trouble, for things that didn’t even matter or weren’t trouble worthy. But because I always put my energy into those negative thoughts, thats exactly what would happen. I would either punish myself or get yelled at by another. Once I changed my outlook though, this stopped happening. I started looking at the things I did in a positive way and things started going more smoothly.
Thoughts are only words strung together that you yourself have given meaning. The thoughts purpose can change from the energy put towards it. It can turn heaven into hell or hell into heaven. Just like the presentation example above, if you kept the negative thought of doing badly that’s most likely what would happen. Your performance gets affected by your thoughts. By telling yourself ”everything is ok and I’ll do just fine” makes you more comfortable and able to handle the situation at hand.
Have you ever gone to a party and knew no one you were friends with were going to be there, so you just went into it with a bad attitude knowing you wouldn’t have a good time. My mom used to make me go to things I didn’t want to, and I’d just mope around alone and have a horrible time. Recently, I had to take my mom and aunt to a wedding function and only their friends were going to be there. I decided to go to it with a positive attitude; ended up talking about the movie 2012 with the elders and had a great time.
Many people like to make excuses for things that have gone wrong in their life or if a mistake arose. Excuses are made only to trick ourself rather than see what the problem was and see how to resolve it. Making us feel better is the underlying result of excuses. No one wants to admit they are in the wrong or imperfect, but we don’t realize that no one in the world is. Once we accept everything we’ve done for what it is, its easier to start cycling on the path you want. If you say that you hate your job, but you can’t quit because of so and so, you will never be able to find another job and be happy. However, if you say that you are sure that you will find a new fulfilling job, it will come to you much easier.
Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” Negative things sometimes just happen and we tend to stay stuck in that mindset because we’re upset. If you get fired from your job, lose someone close to you, your computer breaks, etc. we want to blame ourself or someone else for it. We stay stuck in a rut because it’s hard not to, but then it’s harder to get out of it once we’ve been in that state for so long. I know how hard it is to stay positive when everything seems to be falling apart, but that’s the only way to keep things together. If you move your energy towards positive thoughts, the “misery” can end in a flash. “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
Complaining, negativity, quick to judge, stress, fear, pain, etc can dissolve from your life if you just keep your thoughts positive.
The energy you put out initiates the energy coming within. Be positive and everything you perceive will be in a joyous light, but be negative and everything will be poisonous.
Disappointments are just expectations not met. Therefore, if we do not keep expectations and take things as they come we will never be disappointed.
The False Self
I wrote this about a year ago on my wordpress blog. I re-read it today and realized I’ve forgotten some of what I said. It’s exactly the type of read I was needing though. Hope you enjoy :) The False Self- Have you ever wanted to do something and feared you weren’t capable of doing so? Said “no” to listening or watching new and different things, or going somewhere new because we think we wouldn’t fit in or wouldn’t like the people there. I know that a year ago, I never would have fathomed being interested in yoga, the ps3, nursing, etc. Our mind has built up walls by the help of our ego. We usually don’t even know these walls exist. The ego is the false self. It’s everything you’ve accumulated within this life. It identifies itself with everything – possessions, reputation, social status, religion, family history, beliefs, relationships, job title, etc. It is very judgmental; always complaining and comparing. Every complaint is a story the mind makes up that we believe. Complaining shouldn’t be confused with informing someone of a mistake or deficiency so that it can be right. The ego is also very resistant. It never wants to accept what is in the here and now. It’s terrified of change. It isn’t our enemy however most of us have given the ego complete control. Most of us haven’t learned how to control it, but that’s only because we didn’t know we could. First, we must recognize that we are separate from the ego. Then we need to watch how the ego reacts in situations. Don’t put your energy into the thought, just watch the thought. Observe it as if it isn’t you with the thought. Accept the situation for what it is and take action from the higher self, the consciousness. Look at it from every angle, rather than the egoic mind. If you are aware of it, it cannot control you, it will serve you. By being the observer of how the ego reacts to things will make the ego diminish on its on. “The real can be known only through the false, so the ego is a must. One has to pass through it. It is a discipline. The real can be known only through the illusion. You cannot know the truth directly. First you have to know that which is not true. First you have to encounter the untrue. Through that encounter you become capable of knowing the truth. If you know the false as the false, truth will dawn upon you.”
The ego doesn’t let you be present. It is aimlessly wandering in the past and/or thinking about the future. Making you worry about events that don’t even exist besides in your mind. Worry, stress, and other forms of fear arise from thinking of the past or future and not focusing on the present moment. It creates thoughts to cause us stress. The ego lives off of this, it needs identifications from the past and the future for its fulfillment. The egoic mind is never satisfied, it is always seeking for more due to the ego never feeling complete. The Buddhists refer to the ego as a hungry ghost with an enormous belly and the mouth the size of a needle.
The ego survives through suffering by finding or creating problems. It can solve these problems as well, but for it survive it stays in control and manipulates the issues.
Live in the present moment. The ego cannot live in the present moment because it cannot identify with it. It has no fear, worry, or planning to feed on by living in the now. All that is left is your awareness, which guides you with intuition and feelings as to how to effortlessly achieve everything that you desire. This doesn’t mean don’t make goals. Make goals and strive to achieve them, don’t think about the destination, more so the journey, the now.
People don’t understand me, maybe it’s because they don’t understand themselves?
Since I already have a blog where I write about things that interest me and isn’t really a personal blog, I figured tumblr can be the place where I post pictures, videos,music, silly things that fascinate my special senses and just write whatever I feel like.
So I’ve been on that “spiritual hunt” the past few months and have realized so much about myself, others, and the beautiful world we live in. It was so crazy realizing that majority of what I’ve been taught about life from peers and my surroundings is all a bunch of crap:
That the future is not real! - it doesn’t exist besides in our head
That the past will haunt us. -The past can’t and never will change what’s going on in the PRESENT, so forget it.
That love is not what we do -It’s what we are.
That money=success. -Money has no real value, it’s just PAPER!
That we’ve been given freedom. -HA. hopefully you don’t need an explanation to unnderstand this is false.
Being original means doing what the new trend is. -WRONG, being original is doing something no one has.
I could possibly go on, but I’ve got much to do. I can’t deny that I’m still learning, it’s hard to learn and live the way we’re meant to be in the crazy world we’re producing. It’s hard to find out what’s real in this 89% fake world, but it’s possible! I know I know, I should go live in a hut.
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Don't just think outside the box look at it from every angle
Being is loving, loving is Being
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