Spiritual and Personal Growth

Why does God allow evil, suffering, tragedy and other assorted bad things happen to good people? According to the Centers for Disease Control, during 2002, there were approximately; 28,000 infants deaths, 17,000 homicides and 100,000 accidental deaths. Officially, 2,986 innocent people were killed by terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. If you’ve allowed your spiritual growth to be hampered or stopped because you can’t reconcile the question of how an all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God can permit these to happen, then you’re suffering from what I call the ultimate spiritual hang-up.

Hung-Up

What’s a spiritual hang-up? Well, first, in general, a hang-up is something that keeps you stuck and prevents further progress. Examples of physical objects that get hung-up include a record that skips (remember LP’s?), computers that “freeze up” and a car that won’t “turn over”. A spiritual hang-up is an attitude, belief or thought than hinders your spiritual development. For example, you may believe that that there are stupid, negative and evil ideas in some of the world’s Holy Books. You might feel that there are stupid, negative and evil people who are, or were, leaders of the world’s major religions. You might think that religions are useless because the people who go to Church, synagogue, mosque, etc. are the very same people who do bad things in the world. These spiritual hang-ups may thwart your spirituality; however, they may be overcome or at least put aside as you also recognize that there are loving, positive and healing messages in the Holy Books, there are may religious leaders, past and present, who have done constructive things in the world and many worshippers have become better people by attending services.

The Ultimate

This “how-can-God-allow” question is the ultimate spiritual hang-up because, with it, you have a greater chance of completely closing off the source - God - and the resulting idea of the inner divinity that’s within you (that is you). The confusion over this question can totally block off any further evidence and understanding of a loving God. It locks you into limited, concrete thinking when the idea and concept of God requires broader, abstract thinking. The limiting line of reasoning goes like this; God is suppose to be omniscient, omnipotent and loving however terrible things happen to innocent people, therefore God must be “allowing” it otherwise He/She/It would use Their power to stop it, since it’s not stopped He/She/It must not care or doesn’t exist, either way, all praying, worshiping and believing is worthless so I’m not going to bother.

Types of Tragedy

To answer the question “how can God permit (fill in the blank)?”, we have to start by recognizing three types of tragedy; man made, mysterious, and innocent bystander.

1. Man-made tragedies are when a person or a group hurts, kills, steals, rapes another person or group.
2. Mysterious tragedies are those that seem to have no explanation or cause and effect completely innocent people. Examples of this include infant death, disease and handicap and the sudden illness or death of a relatively young person.
3. The innocent bystander tragedy includes the illness or death of innocent people during war, climatic events (e.g. earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc.) and major catastrophes (e.g. Titanic, Hindenburg).

How Can God Allow Pain, Tragedy, Suffering and Evil?

With this background we can now address the specific question of “how can God let these tragedies happen?” First, God “allows” the man-made tragedies to occur because they are built into the fundamental structure of how we are created and put on this earth and they are one of the main methods used to increase our understanding of life. To fully explain this, permit me to give a quick meaning-of-life summary. We have two selves; a divine self and a human self. The divine self is abstract, impersonal and detached. The human self is concrete, self-centered and attached. The divine self is following the command of God to redeem the physical, emotional and mental planes of the world. It does this by investing itself in this very material and thereby incarnating in the earth plane. The issue is that this physical, emotional and mental material has a life of its own and it, rightly so, seeks greater comfort, security, pleasure and self-preservation, while avoiding pain, and all with the least possible effort. The divine self works gently “behind the scenes” working to raise and refine the quality of the material it is incarnated in so that eventually the human self is responsive to the divine self. The divine self intends to express its divinity, namely, love, joy, peace, wisdom, compassion, goodwill and vitality, through the human self and thereby redeem the world and fulfill God’s plan.

When a person or a group hurts, kills, steals, rapes another person or group the lower, human self of the aggressor has a very limited view of life and is simply looking for greater comfort, security, pleasure and self-preservation, while avoiding pain. From simple muggings and assaults to the extreme acts of Hitler and Osama bin Laden, all aggressors are acting in their own interests and desires however misguided and ignorant. The divine self of each aggressor has not been able to turn the lower self around to see life from a broader perspective. However the divine self retains the lessons learned during an incarnation and applies them to the next incarnation thereby increasing its ability to take command of the human self. This spiritual evolution is all a part of God’s unfolding plan and these man-made tragedies are to be seen in a wider perspective and are not to be taken personally.

Next, God allows the mysterious tragedies, however difficult to endure, because they are also opportunities for a greater understanding of life but they also have a better ability to facilitate the greater expression of a particular aspect of divinity. For example, being born or becoming blind, deaf, handicapped, or deformed are heightened opportunities to perfect the expression of strength, courage, endurance, perseverance and optimism (did you know Helen Keller wrote a book title Optimism?). Similarly, pre-mature diseases help to increase these and other divine ideals and they also help us realize mistakes in our self-expression. This later point is explained by Edward Bach, the creator of the Bach Flower Remedies, in his 1931 book “Heal Thyself – An Explanation of the Real Cause and Cure of Disease”;

“Disease is in itself beneficent, and has for its object the bringing back of the personality to the Divine will of the Soul; and thus we can see that it is both preventable and avoidable, since if we could only realize for ourselves the mistakes we are making and correct these by spiritual means there could be no need for the severe lessons of suffering. Every opportunity is given us by the Divine Power to mend our ways before, as a last resort, pain and suffering have to be applied. It may not be the errors of this life, this day at school, which we are combating; and although we in our physical minds may not be conscious of the reasons of our suffering, which may to us appear cruel and without reason, yet our Souls (which are ourselves) know the full purpose and are guiding us to our best advantage. Nevertheless, understanding and correction of our errors would shorten our illness and bring us back to health. Knowledge of the Soul’s purpose and acquiescence in that knowledge means the relief of earthly suffering and distress, and leaves us free to develop our evolution in joy and happiness.”

Finally, God allows the innocent bystander tragedies because they are part of the larger growth and development of humanity. This type of tragedy differs from the two above in that the victim does not go through any obvious period of growth and learning. However it’s important to remember that the body of humanity is also working on increasing its ability to express divinity. Wars, climatic events and other catastrophes are opportunities for humanity to correct its mistakes and express greater love, compassion, peace, wisdom, forgiveness and tolerance. The individual victims of these events who either die or are injured play a heroic part in the unfolding of the divine within mankind.

Conclusion

God allows pain, suffering, tragedy and evil simply because it’s a part of His Divine Plan for increasing divinity and thereby redeeming and refining this world. To understand this Plan, we need increase our wisdom and understand and place all tragedy into a larger perspective. Tragedies need to be recognized as opportunities for growth.

A critic may say that I’ve just gone through a worthless, long exercise since I’ve only managed to give God all the credit for the good events of life and no blame for the bad. I would respond with a brief passage from Alexander Pope’s poem “An Essay on Man”,

All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee;

All Chance, Direction, which thou canst not see;

All Discord, Harmony not understood;

All partial Evil, universal Good:

And, spite of Pride, in erring Reason’s spite,

One truth is clear, Whatever is, is Right.

Welcome to the 34th edition of the Carnival of Healing! This Carnival is a weekly round-up of blogs and articles across the Internet that focus on holistic health, wellness, self-empowerment, and spirituality. I am very glad to be hosting this week and I’ve enjoyed being the one with a “sneak peek” into what’s going to be in the Carnival. The Carnival’s “home-base” is found at About.com’s (a part of the New York Times Company) Holistic Healing site run by Phylameana lila Desy (thanks for everything Phyl!). Now, let’s get on with the show.

Deepak Chopra, M.D., the well-known spiritual teacher, best-selling author, and medical doctor, offers a health post and spirituality post this week through Intentblog. In “Why People Get Sick”, Dr. Chopra addresses the intriguing question of why does some of us get sick when others, exposed to the same conditions, don’t. We tend to assume that medical science has it all figured out and, as they’ve explained to us, if we just diligently avoid germs, we won’t get sick. It doesn’t work like that and other factors, namely stress and spiritual health, are the true keys to health.

In “Does God Have a Future” (the first of a three-part series), Deepak Chopra addresses the growth and problems of religious fundamentalism. What’s the basic problem? It’s the inability to reconcile the seeming differences between reason and faith. Deepak suggests that, “people have to find their way back to spirituality one person at a time” and, I would suggest, regular Carnival of Healing readers and hosts seem to be doing just that. I can attest to this individual search for spiritual understanding as nearly everyday someone types in Google something like “bible, literal, figurative” and comes to my article “Bible: Literal or Figurative?”

From one spiritual teacher to another…Carl Japikse has been teaching about spiritual growth, meditation, creativity, and the development of the mind for over 30 years. As part of Light and Ariel Press, he has written numerous books including “Active Meditation”, “Forces of the Zodiac” ( both co-authored by Robert R. Leichtman, M.D.) and “Exploring the Tarot”. Carl writes an Internet column called Above the Mean twice a week. In his recent article, “Half & Half”, Carl welcomes us into spring and Aries with an invigorating dose of the-glass-is-half-filled optimism. With all of the seeming problems of the world it’s easy for some to succumb to pessimism. What’s the problem with pessimism? As Carl so eloquently writes, “Pessimism is a parasite that lodges in the value system of the person who entertains it, and slowly feeds on his or her thinking capacity, until it is fully destroyed.” Carl leaves us with an optimistic spring fever from William Shakespeare, Robert Frost and Helen Keller and he implores us to “let the seeds of optimism take root in our mind.” (Note, Above the Mean is a subscription-based column and “Half & Half” is a free sample. I am an extremely satisfied subscriber and I highly recommend it but I do not benefit or profit from new subscribers and I am not affiliated with the publisher.)

In his Parapsychology articles and blog, Jacob encourages us to believe, through his article “Belief levels and the path of a healer”. Can a healer heal you? Can you be a healer? Are psychic phenomena true? The answer is NO…if you don’t at least believe in the possibility. When you do, as Jacob says, “almost anything is possible, be it your health, your career or your new abilities.”

In, “Time for Letting Go…”, Jodie Foster, an Intuitive Counselor & Consultant, explains the Art of Surrender, which is to let go of any preconceived outcomes and to trust that what we create will blossom as it’s suppose to. In her article she uses a phrase that rings true; Divine Right Timing. Jodie is referring to surrendering to the fruits of our labor but I think she is also suggesting we surrender during the process of creation. All of us bloggers can relate to this letting go or surrender when we write. I find that the words come easiest when I’m not trying too hard and I “let go” of trying to be perfect.

No Carnival of Healing is complete without a nutritional health article or two. In “The Two Sides of Malnourishment” we learn that malnourishment, typically thought to represent people who are too thin, can, paradoxically, also represent people who are obese. How? Poor food choices. People can be overweight and malnourished because the cheapest and most pleasure-packed foods are basically varying forms of packaged fat and sugar with little to no nutritional value. This article goes on to explain the differences between good and bad fats. In “Don’t Take This with a Grain of Salt” we learn that most of us are significantly exceeding the levels of sodium we need and that there are excessive amounts of sodium in many foods. It concludes with links to other sites for more information on recommended sodium levels.

Finally, yours truly, has completed a seven-part series of articles (most are short) addressing another person’s deep and personal question, “What the Hell is the Meaning of Life?” The series’ topics include money, work, prestige, relationships, meritocracy and religious faith. The first entry is called What’s the Meaning of Life? A Response, Part 1. Please feel free to look around and let me know what you think.

The 33th edition of the Carnival was hosted at Holistic Healing.

Next week (Saturday, April 1st) the Carnival will be held at Intuitive Living.

Attention Bloggers: We are interested in your healing, spirituality, personal empowerment blog posts for future carnival attractions. Submit your healing blog posts at the Carnival of Healing.

I will be hosting the 34th Carnival of Healing, this Saturday, March 25, 2006. The Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of personal Web sites and blogs on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment. Please spread the word and/or send in your posts!

Just a sample of some of the past contributors/hosts include:

Phylameana lila Désy – Waiting for the Fog to Clear

Evelyn Rodriguez - So What Now: Responding to Our Calling

Lucy MacDonald - Five things you should know about forgiveness

Steve Pavlina – My Favorite Meditation

Elisa Camahort - Listening to your body?

Jodie Foster - A Return to Joy

Christopher Stewart - Healing the Person, Place and Planet

You are welcome to submit anything you have recently written in your blog pertaining to wellness, holistic health, spirituality, personal empowerment, or healthy lifestyle.

To Be Included in the Carnival use this link: Submit your URL and description of your blog or personal Web site.

Marty Nemko, a career coach, author and radio talk-show host in the San Francisco area, who has very practical career and educational advice that I highly recommend, wrote a very personal article titled “What the Hell is the Meaning of Life”. This article is the conclusion (here is the first) of a seven part series in response to Marty’s question.

Marty wrote,

“Here’s my current thinking, highly subject to revision. It comes down to being nice to everyone possible: look for opportunities to give heartfelt praise, a kind letter to a long-long friend, an unnecessary gift, etc. Don’t expect anything in return–you too often won’t get it. Take pleasure in the giving itself. That approach to life will ensure you do some good, it doesn’t require Herculean effort, and you will feel good no matter how other people respond.”

Your “current thinking” about being nice and giving praise is good advice however when you say “don’t expect anything in return – you too often won’t get it”, you sound a bit defeatist. As you say, be nice, kind and express goodwill however also remember to be optimistic, enthusiastic and always focus one the best within others. Don’t despair if they don’t respond ideally.

Finally, you ask, “how do you wring the most from life?” Broaden your perspective. You are more than what you think you are. Working with life from a higher, spiritual perspective, as discussed in Part 1, is the only true satisfaction you can have. It’s what lasts. The potential for this exists for all of us regardless of our wealth, prestige, gender, race or health. After all the sun shines for everyone, right?

I want to give Marty the “last word” on the question of the meaning of life and I recently visited his website and found this recent entry on his blog which mirrors some of my comments in my article “The Meaning of Life: Rise and Shine”(which he hadn’t read before he wrote the following), and, along with all of what Marty writes is solid, sound advice. Marty wrote,

“Today, my client, Evan Wright, asked me, “How do you get so much done?” Here’s what I said: It starts with the spiritual. The meaning of life to me is defined primarily by how much I contribute to the world. If I act merely to give myself pleasure, my life has made little difference. So, I rarely procrastinate; work is not only what I should do, but want to do.”

Marty Nemko, a career coach, author and radio talk-show host in the San Francisco area, who has very practical career and educational advice that I highly recommend, wrote a very personal article titled “What the Hell is the Meaning of Life”. This article is the sixth (here is the first) of a seven part series in response to Marty’s question. In this article I’ll address relationships from a spiritual perspective.

Marty wrote,

“Many people find the meaning of life through relationships. While I have a decent marriage, I’m not sure the meaning of life, at least for me, fully resides there. And my only child, who is an ardent employee of The Diversity Industry, refuses to talk to me, in large measure because of my views on reverse discrimination. So, I won’t, as so many parents do, find life’s meaning through his children.”

Relationships, like work, are another prime way for us to express our inner divinity and are therefore a major part of the meaning of life. From a limited perspective, relationships are seen as self-serving leading one to ask, “what am I getting out of this relationship?”, “how is it benefiting me?”. Further these people feel that if they are not “getting anything” out of the relationship that it’s always the other person’s fault due to what they are or aren’t doing. From a broader perspective, relationships are opportunities for us to be “other focused”. They are ways for us to contribute to each other’s growth and express peace, goodwill, love and wisdom. Each of us are part of the body of humanity and we are all connected at the spiritual level. We should identifying with this connection and treat other with the respect and compassion due children of God.

When relationships hit a “rocky road”, a higher perspective is truly needed. For example, regarding your specific issue with your daughter, if your problem really is about your views on reverse discrimination I would suggest that you ease up on this issue with her. Assuming you’re right, and I think you are as discussed in Part 5, look at this from a higher perspective and realize that it will all work out in the end. It’s all a part of a divine plan that will work out as it always has and always will. Whatever is, is right. I’m not suggesting that you stop trying to correct this “diversity problem” through your work, I’m just suggesting that you don’t have to convert your daughter or anyone of your personal relationships. But if you’re already following this advise, you’re not trying to convert her, and she’s putting up the resistance because you address this issue in your work, realize that she’s an adult who’s learning and growing. As much as you may want to simply impart your wisdom on her to ease her path through life, the enlightened approach is to allow her to realize lessons on her own. These are the types of lessons that last and deeply enrich a person. Finally, if you can’t reconcile, know that there’s no spiritual requirement that a parent-child relationship stay intact physically, but the emotional, mental and spiritual bonds can never be broken.

Next is the issue of religious faith but more particularly the question of how can an all-powerful, all-loving , all-knowing God allow evil and all the tragedies of our lives to occur? Marty wrote,

“Many other people find the meaning of life in religious faith. But I can’t find meaning in a God that would, for example, allow thousands of babies to be born every year with horrifically painful diseases and then die months later leaving bereft parents.”

This is what I call the “Ultimate Spiritual Hang Up” and it’s so common a belief that I’ve addressed it more thoroughly in a separate article called, The Ultimate Spiritual Hang Up”.

Next time – the conclusion to Marty’s question “What the hell’s the meaning of life?”

Marty Nemko, a career coach, author and radio talk-show host in the San Francisco area, who has very practical career and educational advice that I highly recommend, wrote a very personal article titled “What the Hell is the Meaning of Life”. This article is the fifth (here is the first) of a seven part series in response to Marty’s question. In this article I’ll address the issue meritocracy from a spiritual perspective.

Marty wrote,

“I particularly value meritocracy. I believe that more good accrues from ensuring a meritocracy than nearly anything else. 30 years ago that would have meant dismantling the ol’ white boy’s network. But alas, today, the ol’ boy network has largely been replaced by the Diversity Industry, all-powerful and hell-bent on ensuring that women and minorities get slots in colleges and employment even when less qualified.”

I agree with you. Diversity is considered politically correct but meritrocity is superior because it is spiritually correct. From a lower, material perspective diversity seems right. Of course we should all just “get along” and any attempts to force this diversity along seems appropriate. However, it’s in the forcing that the diversity industry makes the mistake. By forcing, the diversity crowd actually causes an imbalance resulting from the resentment of the discriminatee and the false achievement of the discriminator.

From a spiritual perspective, diversity for diversity’s sake is unnecessary and unsound; after all, do you see forced diversity in nature? Meritocracy is how the natural world and the divine plan work. We are blessed with the potential to express unlimited amounts of love, wisdom, joy, compassion, peace, strength and courage. But we’re not given the ability to perfectly express these qualities. We’re not given the ability to perfectly express any talent or skill. We have to work at it just like anything else. We have to earn what we have.

Even though you are correct in your endorsement of meritrocracy, you’re attitude about is seems too militaristic or fundamentalist. Although you don’t want to let the diversity crowd “walk all over” the “silenced majority”, put it in a higher perspective and, while you continue to make your points, trust that what will work out is correct and that God’s divine plan will ultimately prevail, as it always does. With this loftier perspective you can allow the diversity crowd, including your daughter (of whom you say, “And my only child, who is an ardent employee of the Diversity Industry, refuses to talk to me, in large measure because of my views on reverse discrimination”), to have their opinions. Look at it as an opportunity to develop and express tolerance, goodwill, and peace. You can have mature discussions about it but don’t let it degrade into pettiness and positioning. Let them be “right”.

Next time – are relationships and/or religious faith the answer to the meaning of life?

I’m feeling extra thankful and grateful today. Perhaps it’s due to a combination of the recent, all-to-early deaths of Dana Reeve, 44 and Kirby Puckett, 45 and the residual effects of hearing last Sunday’s Academy Award recipients thanking all those who’ve helped them. But I have a renewed sense of appreciation for my family, my friends and my job and all that I have. Also, in January I started this blog on a topic that I’ve been studying for a long time, spiritual and personal growth. I am enjoying it very much and I’ve been most grateful and thrilled with the positive and complimentary comments I’ve received so far.

So, I want to extend this sense of appreciation to the whole blogging community. I want to publicly thank all of the fellow bloggers that, although they don’t know it, have helped me very much. I also think that this kind of public thanks is the best way we can show our fellow bloggers how much we appreciate each other (maybe “tipping” is the best way and please do so if it’s accepted and you have the means). So let’s see if we can start a Thank You Fellow Bloggers Meme. Who has helped you start your blog? Who has taught you how to increase traffic to your blog? Who has shown you how to earn money from your blog? Who has best explained the key blog characteristics like comments, trackbacks, tags, categories and blogrolls? Who taught you about RSS and feed aggregators? In general, let’s publicly thank our fellow bloggers, particularly those that don’t already know us, who have helped us with our blogging.

My Thank You Fellow Bloggers Meme

I have to start my public thanks with the first blogger I’ve ever read, Seth Godin. Seth is a marketing expert who I was introduced to through another marketer and big Internet presence, Joe Vitale (at the time Joe didn’t have a blog but he does now – Beyond Marketing). To read Seth’s blog I would pull it up from my favorites when I would remember (what an antiquated idea after discovering RSS, which Seth introduced me too). The big thing that Seth did to really get me into blogging is put out his four, free ebooks; Knock, Knock, Who’s There, Everyone’s an Expert, and Flipping the Funnel. One of the best examples of what Seth does to help us think correctly about our blogs is this short but powerful post; How can I get more traffic? Thank you Seth!

The next blogger I want to thank is one of my most favorite, Steve Pavlina. I found Steve’s site by doing a Google search on quitting coffee and found this article. Immediately I knew Steve and I were “kindred spirits”. He was writing about a lot of the things that I’ve been interested in and studying for 20 years namely, personal and spiritual development. All of his articles are interesting but some that have really inspired me to start and grow my blog including How to Build a High Traffic Website (or Blog) and Blogging for Personal Growth. Thank you Steve!

Next, I have to thank, not one blogger, but the gang at Performancing.com, particularly Nick Wilson, Chris Garrett and Andy Hagans. These guys are really inspiring and bring a sense of “I did it and you can too” to new bloggers. All of their articles, and the comments that follow, have been extremely helpful but here are three that I want to point out; Chris’ reviews of the available blog software (which was instrumental my decision to use Wordpress), Nick’s straight talking Ten Signs of a Cheap Blog and Andy’s Monetization Makeovers. Thank you Nick, Chris, Andy and all the other contributors at Performancing!

Reading these three blogs lead to starting my own blog using Wordpress. A big thank you goes to Matt Mullenweg, Ryan Boren and all the developers who created and maintain this excellent, FREE, blog software program. If you’re new to Wordpress there is an excellent support system of bloggers who contribute to the extensive Codex and who patiently answer questions on the Support Forum. But when I was first learning I stumbled upon a person that really helped me with the basics of CSS and other Wordpress stuff (of which I was clueless); Podz. Here is his WordPress Guide and his blog. One of the invaluable things that Podz taught me was to download the WebDeveloper toolbar in Firefox to directly tinker with and edit the CSS. Thank you Matt, Ryan, all at Wordpress and Podz!

After a long search I decided to use the great K2 Wordpress theme created by Michael Heilemann and Chris J. Davis. It is clean, flexible and easy to use. As with Wordpress, the K2 theme as a lot of people who support and answer newbie questions at this forum. One person who has really helped me with K2 is Paul Stamatiou. A perfect example of his great articles supporting K2 is the first in a series called Customizing K2. Thanks Michael, Chris and Paul and all the K2 community!

I also want to thank the following Wordpress plugin developers for helping to make my site so much better; Arnaud Froment for Extended Live Archives, Alexander Malov and Mike Lu for Related Posts, Scott Merrill for Subscribe 2 and the Backup and Wayne Keith Walrath for Adsense Deluxe. All of your plugins are excellent. Thank all of you for your time and effort!

The next blogger that I would like to thank is Dave Taylor. Dave’s site is Ask Dave! and he provides such a wide range of Internet, blogging, marketing, writing and general computer advice, it’s hard to know where to start. These two posts are typical of the great service that Dave provides and the advice in these two post in particular have stuck with me; Why would I bother with a Weblog or Blog when I could just build a regular Web site? and How do I get more traffic to my blog? Thank you Dave!

One of the best educations you can get on blogging, building traffic and earning a few buck from blogging can be found at Darren Rowse’s Problogger site. You can literally spend days there learning how to blog. If you have any questions about how to increase your traffic this is the first place to go. Again, Darren has taught me so much it’s hard to pinpoint specific post but here are two that I’ve bookmarked because they inspire me; 18 Lessons I’ve Learnt About Blogging and (Another) Day in the Life of a Problogger. Thank you Darren!

Last, but not at all least, is someone who isn’t as well known as the above bloggers, (I could be wrong), but who deserves to be, Lorelle VanFossen. When I thought to thank all the bloggers who helped me get started; Lorelle is the first who comes to mind. She is the most thorough, thoughtful and prolific teacher of all things about blogging and WordPress that I’ve have come across on the Net. Her two main areas of focus are improving blog traffic and blog quality (e.g. the writing). Lorelle cares more about the quality of blogs than anyone else does. For example, in the article The 12 Biggest Problems with Your Blogs, Lorelle taught me that my site had poor navigation since my single post view had no site navigation other than the next and previous posts. A seemingly small tweak to your site to fix something like this will help your readers stay longer. Another great example of what Lorelle teaches is The Top Ten Clues That You Are an Amateur Blogger. Thank you Lorelle!

If you’re interested in continuing this meme, don’t forget to link to this in your entry. Suggested link back text: “This entry is inspired by the Thank You Fellow Bloggers Meme at BrendanMcPhillips.com”.

Marty Nemko, a career coach, author and radio talk-show host in the San Francisco area, who has very practical career and educational advice that I highly recommend, wrote a very personal article titled “What the Hell is the Meaning of Life”. This article is the fourth (here is the first) of a seven part series in response to Marty’s question. In this article I’ll address the issue of prestige from a spiritual perspective.

Marty wrote,

“Next, I tried prestige: got a PhD from Berkeley, became a professor. But in my social science field, I often felt like an emperor with no clothes. So much social “Science” is poorly substantiated, politically motivated theory. My students ate it up but I felt I was often feeding them ersatz food.”

This idea of trying to find meaning from prestige is similar to the issue of noble work mentioned earlier. Again it implies that it’s not work that you truly want to do but rather you’re only doing it because you expect society to stroke your ego when you tell them about the initials after your name and what you do. This is not a proper perspective. Your personality is the only part of you that’s concerned with prestige. It’s hoping that with prestige comes safety and security. This seems logical from the personality’s perspective but there is no true security from this…it’s empty and vapid. True prestige is a result of understanding and expressing the divinity within you. It is a spiritual prestige that comes from being a shining example of true love, wisdom, beauty, peace and compassion (see “The Meaning of Life: Rise and Shine”). Spiritual prestige follows from your service and contribution to humanity. However, this prestige is not recognized publicly nor is it desired to be recognized that way. It’s an inner knowing and acknowledgment that results in “J-O-Y” after your name rather than any other initials. And from what I can tell you are providing good advice and seem to truly want to help people and this is worthy of divine prestige.

Next time – is meritocracy the answer to the meaning of life?

I was going to call this “How to Live Forever” but I chose “How to Avoid Death” because the idea for this article came when I heard Rush Limbaugh talking about an article titled “Test Helps You Predict Chances of Dying”. As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this test asks, “What are your chances of dying within four years?” It is based on data involving 11,701 Americans over 50 who took part in a national health survey in 1998. Researchers used 12 risk factors to predict when the participants will die. It turned out to be roughly 81 percent accurate and can give older people a reasonable idea of their survival chances. However, as the article indicates, “it (the test) isn’t foolproof”! By this they mean that this test isn’t perfectly accurate, particularly for younger people, and it doesn’t include family history. But this quote can comically imply that the test doesn’t help you avoid death. We’re all going to die. Or are we? I suggest that you can avoid death.

How can you avoid death? By having a particular realization. What’s a realization? It’s when you learn what’s, well, real! It is more than being aware of or accepting an idea. You’ve heard people say, “I don’t think, I know.” A realization is a knowing, a certainty. You absolutely know it to be true. For example, do you think you love your children or do you know it? Do you feel that being honest is the right way to behave or do you know it? Do you guess that it’s good to be kind to others or do you know it to be true?

So what’s the realization you need to have to avoid death? As I discussed in my articles “The Meaning of Life: Rise and Shine” and “What’s the Meaning of Life, A Response, Part 1”, it’s that you have a part of you that is eternal, divine and immortal. This part of you was created in God’s image; in other words it is the God immanent, as opposed to the God transcendent. We refer to this divinity by many names including the higher self, real self, true self, soul, Christ consciousness, Buddha consciousness and spirit. This self is distinct from your “human” self, which is the combination of your physical, emotional and mental bodies. The aggregate of these bodies is who we think we are. However these bodies are temporary and finite. Because we primarily identify with this lower self we suffer, are confused, undisciplined, depressed, and incompetent and fear death.

But to complete the realization, and truly avoid death, we need to understand that we don’t have a soul, we are the soul, who uses the lower bodies to express its divinity in this world. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), a Jesuit priest said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Of course your lower self will die, but this divinity within you, your real self, lives on.

One way to truly “get” this realization is to contemplate the following exercise as adapted from “Active Meditation” by Robert Leichtman and Carl Japikse, the best book about meditation on the market. They refer to it as the detachment drill and it’s a way of detaching from your attachment to your lower self (the personality) and realigning yourself with the more subtle realms of life and your higher self (the soul). It is used primarily as a prelude to meditation. Find a quite spot and take a few moments to review the following in your mind as you sit in a relaxed position.

Detachment Drill

I have a physical body, but am something greater than the physical body. The body is important to me – it allows me to act in the physical world and be productive. The body can be tired or rested, sick or healthy, but I am able to observe these changes in the physical body – and even direct them. My higher self, the real me, is greater than the conditions of the physical body. It is the source of vitality within me.

I have emotions, but am something greater than my feelings and emotions. The emotions are important to me – they help me express goodwill and interact with others. They can be sad or happy, selfish or cooperative, but I am able to observe these changes in my emotions– and discipline them. My higher self, the real me, is greater than the state of my emotions. It is the source of love and benevolence within me.

I have a mind, but am something greater than my thoughts and memories. The mind is important to me – it enables me to make sense of life and express my talent and wisdom. The thoughts are sometimes destructive, sometimes constructive, but I am able to observe the changes in my thoughts– and guide them. My higher self, the real me, is greater than my thoughts. It is the source of wisdom and intelligence within me.

I have a personal will, but am something greater than this will. The will is important to me – it gives me motivation and intention. My intentions are sometimes defensive, sometimes purposeful, but I am able to observe the changes in my will – and use the will wisely. My higher self, the real me, is stronger than my personal will. It is the source of divine intention within me, and thus the true source of my personal authority.

My life also brings me many experiences, which allow me to learn and grow and serve. Sometimes I overreact to my experiences, and let them control me; at other times, I control them. But I am able to observe these experiences, see their value, and use them profitably. My higher self, the real me, is greater than my experiences.

Who am I? I am not my body, nor my emotions, my mind, my personal will or my experiences, although I do have these things and they are valuable. I am the higher self, a center of pure love, wisdom and power.

This is my true identity.

As you contemplate this over time you will realize that you are this divine self, who uses the physical, emotional and mental vehicles for a relatively short period, they eventually die out, but the real you lives on. In this sense you’ve learned to “avoid death”.

Cheers,
Brendan

P.S. Get an immediate download of your FREE copy of Enlightenment and the Meaning of Life by clicking here.

Marty Nemko, a career coach, author and radio talk-show host in the San Francisco area, who has very practical career and educational advice that I highly recommend, wrote a very personal article titled “What the Hell is the Meaning of Life”. This article is the third (here is the first) of a seven part series in response to Marty’s question. In this article I’ll address the issue of work, and noble work, from a spiritual perspective.

Marty wrote,

“Then I tried noble work—teaching in the inner-city. But the problems those kids faced were so big, so multi-dimensional, that despite my trying hard, very hard, I felt I wasn’t making much difference.”Later he wrote “I’ve been trying the values route: focusing on what did I most value: work. To that end, I decided to be a career counselor. I believed that helping people find right livelihood would make my life feel meaningful. But now, 18 years and 2,400 clients later, despite a 96 percent client satisfaction rate and the San Francisco Bay Guardian naming me “The Bay Area’s Best Career Coach,” that feels empty too.”

You separately mention noble work and work. Your discussion of “noble” work implies that it’s not work that you truly want to do but rather that your doing because you’re “suppose to” according to society or your family. Obviously this is not the right attitude toward proper work. However your discussion of “regular” work and your accomplishments are from a higher perspective! Work is one of the main places where we’re meant to express goodwill, competence, wisdom and peace. We’re meant to serve humanity and contribute to it’s growth and one of the main ways to do that is through work. You are doing that! You provide great practical advice and guidance for people particularly in the areas of career and education. Your are “shining” as I discuss in my article “The Meaning of Life: Rise and Shine!”

I have to mention your comment about how your services may negatively influence another and, by extension, society since it’s a perfect example of how you’re looking a life from a limited perspective. You wrote,

“Even when a client lands a good job, I too often wonder if my efforts to package my client yielded a net negative to society: some more deserving person, who couldn’t afford a career coach, didn’t get the job.”

From this perspective you “see” how your services may negatively influence another and, by extension, society instead of “seeing” that from a broader perspective that these other people are guided and influenced by their benevolent Higher Self and that what is meant for them will be…maybe the job they would have gotten but for your client with your influence would have been a terrible disaster for them, maybe they’ll find their own “Marty Nemko”…maybe they’ll totally change careers and do something they’ve always really wanted to do…who knows….the point is that they’ll be “OK” in the end.

Next time – is prestige the answer to the meaning of life?