In life and business, how many of us ask: is what I’m doing good? Do my actions improve the quality of life or undermine it? Do they increase humanity’s chances for survival or threaten it?
These are important questions because our dependence on money can be a corrupting influence. It can become an addiction where enough is never enough! How many of us do things we don’t want to because “it’s our job”? How many of us do things for money, power and privilege that hurt other people and then rationalize our actions with convenient beliefs like, life is about “survival of the fittest”, it’s “eat or be eaten, kill or be killed”? How many of us flush our ideals and self-respect down the toilet to feel like we’re somebody? How many of us sell our souls to the highest bidder?
Instead of creating a world of predators and victims by letting thoughts of fear, separation and competition dominate our thinking why not ask:
WHAT WILL WORK BEST FOR ALL OF US?
This takes YOU, ME and US (everyone and everything) into consideration. It not only accounts for the fact that we’re both one AND separate, it accepts that we are not only products of creation; we are creation itself! To expand discussion, ask:
- What will work best for ALL of us in personal terms?(What is the best way for us to fulfill our own unique potential in support of the world AND ourselves?)
- What will work best for ALL of us in terms of business?(What is the best way for us to sustain the health and well-being of the planet and humanity?)
- What will work best for ALL of us in terms of education?(What is the best way for us to learn and grow? What are the most important things for us to know?)
- What will work best for ALL of us in terms of the environment?(What is the best way for us to treat nature and the earth?)
- What will work best for ALL of us in terms of peace? (What is the best way for us to treat ourselves as individuals and nations?)
The growing collapse of our economic and social system (increases in the number of people in the world and in jail, homelessness, joblessness, food shortages, disease, wars, global warming, unsustainable growth and the loss of wealth), can be laid at the feet of putting individuality and self-interest (ego) ahead of oneness and the common good. A similar imbalance occurs when we put the common good ahead of self-interest. Why not create a system that balances both? By giving equal value to both our oneness and individuality, we make it possible to cooperate, not compete with one another. By asking questions that include ALL of us, we not only acknowledge our oneness and individuality, we acknowledge our individual and collective roles, and responsibility, in co-creating our shared reality.
Is humanity in the process of moving away from a Value Judgment World, where money, power and privilege (objective values) define success? Are we moving toward a Value Fulfillment World, where love, truth and joy (subjective values) are used to define success? I think so, what about you?
In this new world, we will live by value fulfillment and practice idealism. In other words, we will personally determine the qualities of life and being we value most, our ideals, and actualize them to the best of our ability. Instead of living programmed lives, we will live project-centered or purpose-driven lives with self-improvement and value fulfillment at the center. We’re beginning to understand that personal responsibility is the key to freedom and that freedom without responsibility creates fear, oppression and instability, which too often erupts into conflict and violence.
Roger “Pete” Peterson – http://realtalkworld.com/
RightThinkingOne, on Alternet wrote, in response to Roger Peterson:
No, the Conservative worldview is courageous. The Leftist worldview is fearful, and the reason is very simple:
What, in general, does each prefer in the economy? Please do not go off on tangents about corporations or some evil rich people. I am referring to the general mindset and desires of each – Conservative and Leftist.
It is clear: Conservatives prefer to live with the risks and vagaries of the free market, and Leftists want the security and guarantees of Socialism.
Ask what each thinks of social security (notice the word, “security”) and healthcare: The Conservative will often prefer the private route and the end of social security starting with the young people; the Liberal wants the government option only.
Healthcare: The Conservative is willing to take a chance, rely on family, or work to buy private insurance, hoping he can afford it. The Liberal wants government guarantees of medical care.
Jobs and virtually everything else: The Liberal wants the government to promise to provide the job or the income. Liberals talk about “entitlements” to a decent standard of living.
In a nutshell, Liberals operate from FEAR. They want security and promises of security from the GOVERNMENT. Conservatives, in the main, reject that.
It is clear who lives in fear.
And it is outside of the economic realm. Conservatives are willing to defer to communities and states’ rights. Liberals want uniformity imposed by the federal government; they FEAR the possibilities of the states’ having more power. The Liberals scream for “diversity,” yet they reject the main thing that could bring it about: More states’ rights and less federal government involvement. With less government involvement, we will truly be a more diverse nation, but it will be unpredictable, and liberals FEAR that.
Unpredictability TERRIFIES the Left.
My response on Alternet to RightThinkingOne
I can’t change what you believe, that’s your responsibility. However, I can ask you some questions:
- What’s more important to you, YOU, or the ideas you have about who you are and what “reality” is?
- What do you think about yourself and how do you treat yourself? Be honest!
- If you could see yourself in everyone else, what would you think about them and how would you treat them?
- If you could see yourself in everyone else, how would you feel after you injured or killed someone through negligence or intention, as a soldier or civilian?
- Again, if you could see yourself in other people and nature, how would you feel about exploiting them for personal gain?
Our individual worldviews are the result of how we perceive ourselves and reality. Your username and statements reflect self-righteousness – I’m right, you’re wrong and I’m good, you’re bad (self-serving value judgments all). For other people, you express contempt. How does that work for you and, does it make you happy? This is not a judgment; it’s an observation. When I was younger, I felt anger and contempt for almost everyone. Come to find out, I was angry because the people around me made it so hard to love them. Eventually, I figured out that we’re all doing the best we can with what we know and that, eventually, we all get better.
This discussion is not just about you and me, it’s about society as a whole because we all share similar ideas in common. I agree that diversity is very important but we can’t let things get so far out of balance that everything collapses. It’s not about dying, it’s about creation. Life is a creative work of art and we are the artist as well as the canvas.
From We Create Our Own Reality:
During the course of everyday events, we often forget the role of thoughts in the forging of our material reality. We get lost in the visible symbols, the material by-products of our imaginations, forgetting the invisible blueprints from which they, and we, emerge.
Pure energy like money, its material equivalent, is shaped into matter and experience by thought. It can be used to lift up or smash down, to build character or destroy character, to express love or express hate, to beautify or make ugly.
The purpose, or challenge, of life is to learn how to use the power of thought and imagination to shape energy into a pleasing reality. The prize is a sense of satisfaction, a feeling of a job well done. And, like learning to walk or talk, it is a personal, subjective endeavor that requires creative aggression. It is a great balancing act, where one must accept falling down in the course of learning how to stand up.
Remember:
Thoughts are “things” with a reality of their own, and you, an artist. With thoughts in the forms of belief, attitude, value and expectation, you paint the landscape of your life. Create a great day!
© Copyright 1991, LifeSong
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having (creating) a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“How you define yourself and the world around you, forms your intent, which, in turn, forms your reality.” – Seth
In other words, we create our reality from what we believe about ourselves, and the world around us.
If we do not consciously choose our beliefs, we unconsciously absorb them from our surroundings.
If our beliefs, attitudes, values and expectations create our reality, can we afford not to question them?
The more we love, understand and appreciate ourselves, the better we treat ourselves, and the world.
Blessings of love and understanding be to us all!
The secrets of the universe lie hidden in the shadows of your experience. Look for them!
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