WHAT’S GOING ON?
2022 MARCH NEWSLETTER
#164 March 2008
ALONG THE WAY
Everything that happens is a gift.
THIS MONTH’S THOUGHT
Live with uncertainty and be happy about it.
ATTENTION
(Excerpts from THE FOURTH WAY by Dr. Bob Gibson)
You can choose what you put your attention on. And I think about the last thing that is interesting to put your attention on is what a “not-I” is saying. Because it’s a lie. They are demons. They are the kind of people you don’t want to associate with. And they want to destroy you. The make you look old and decrepit and sick and they can do a very, very good job of it. So, let’s see if we can recognize a “not-I” for what it is.
Now, as we cease to listen to them, we begin to be in charge. The greatest thing a person does is to take charge of what your attention is going to be on.
Your attention is the one thing you can be totally in charge of. And I think it’s probably the only thing in the world we CAN be totally in charge of.
Now, if you want to put your attention on the spot on the front of that box, you can do so. If you want to put your attention on your elbow, you can do so. If you want to put your attention on what a wonderful state of affairs you have in this world, that you arrived here with everything set out for you, you can do that. Or you can put your attention on what a terrible victim you are.
Now most of us spend considerable amount of time on seeing how much we’re victimized. Now, generally, that is not choosing your attention. So, if a noise comes along and you put your attention on the noise, the noise is in charge of your attention. And what your attention is on determines your inner state of being, your inner feeling, what you’re really experiencing. So, if you want to put your attention on a certain incident, or a person, or a memory, you can be miserable all day.
But you can determine what you put your attention on. But first you’ve got to know that the “not-I’s” are going to try to take over your attention. If we’re not in charge of our attention, it is floating all over the place all day long. But you do have the capability, right now, to determine what your attention is going to be on. And our feeling goes along pretty well with what our attention is on.
Now, maybe this is a little bit of work. We call this study THE WORK, but it is very worthwhile. Now, we have been miserable because we weren’t directing our attention. There is always something around to put our attention on that feels pretty nice. And your inner feeling is hooked up with what your attention is on. What you are really experiencing is your inner feeling. You can feel resentful. You can feel angry. You can feel bored. Or you can feel delighted all the time. If your attention is on certain things, you feel delighted. And of course your outer state of affairs goes along with your inner feeling.
So, we have times where there is nothing we are in charge of. If we don’t take charge, we are bound to feel that we are a victim. We feel we are a victim of circumstances.
LIFE’S WORD
( Page 12)
Shall thou say to Me, “Does God do it all and is there nothing for me to do?” Yes, I do it all; thou hast but to Be, and to Grow, and I see fit to develop thee. When thou canst no longer hold thyself up as a separate person from Me, thou wilt surrender to Me and I will use they body to radiate My love to others.
HEADLINES: (PAGE 15, AND 16)
Without an understanding of second force, every expectation will be based on an ideal and will result in a sense of disappointment, which produces a feeling of being hurt, and then a look for the cause of being hurt. This results in the emotions being manifested which mankind is not designed to handle—anger, guilt, fear and insecurity, which are stress and lead to disintegration.
When one is awake to second force, one’s expectations are based on fact. The fact: that one or more things will be in the way or interfere with the aims or purposes or plans that one initiates.
This is called being a new man, a man with knowledge. One who sees second force as a helpful challenge to inner and outer development or completion of Self. This new man expects second force to manifest in all affairs, is free to experience second force, and continues toward the aim or purpose; and makes a worthwhile discovery on the way.
Not being conscious of second force, one is mechanical and reacts to his or her own destruction.
It could be said that the factor manifesting the most difference between the old man and the new man is how each sees second force.
A STORY
Several years ago I had a parakeet named Bradford. For the first several months we were together, his purpose for living was to escape from his cage. Whenever the cage door was opened, he fluttered in a flurry of flying, trying to find the way out of captivity. He was single-minded about this.
Over and over we practiced one small procedure. Several times a day I would put my hand in the cage. He finally grew accustomed to this and eventually he perched on my finger. This trust had to be established before letting him out of the cage or I could spend several hours, maybe days, trying to find or catch him. With limited intelligence, I didn’t think he would be able to find his cage by himself and his cage held his only food and water.
Finally, the day came. Perched proudly on my finger, I lifted him out of the cage. He flew all around the house and came to rest in a plant. (He thought it was the rain forest). It took some effort to coax him back in the cage. I hoped he was enjoying the freedom. Wrong! Once back in the cage, he planted himself in the corner of the cage and refused to move. The world outside the cage was too threatening and scary. He was terrified. Gradually Bradford overcame his fear and is learned to find his way back home.
Am I, also, addicted to the comfort of bondage? It is easier to leave things the way they are, rather than to step out of my own cage into the scary world of freedom. For instance, I am free to do what is to my advantage. Although, sometimes, I don’t know what is to my advantage. (I asked Bob once, “How do we know what is to our advantage?” He said, “Go ahead and act on the information you have. At least you’ll have more information than you did before the action”.) Sometimes what is to my advantage may displease others or invoke criticism. Others may not like me. What if I hurt someone’s feelings? Alas, I’m once again in bondage to the cage with its four dual basic urges.
Paying attention to when I use the words “should” and “ought to” help me to see misconceptions. “I should go to that funeral, but I really don’t want to” quickly places me in the cage of conflict.
Bradford was a great teacher. His lessons were simple and easy to understand.
I followed him along his path to freedom and knew the door of the cage would always be open.
THE GOLDEN RULE
Science of Man Lesson 31
“And even as you wish men to do to you, so also, do you to them.” Now, of course, this is called the Golden Rule. Did it ever occur to really think how we would have men do to us that we would do to them? Obviously, it is not talking about, if you like rare steak, that everybody you would give a rare steak to. ‘Cause some of them wouldn’t like it. So, possibly, in agape, as understood and experienced from a deeper level, it might be that we would consider other people and that’s what we really would like for them to do is to think about how we like things, our tastes, our viewpoints, etc. And we would like them to be harmless to us. Not necessarily do us so much good, but to be harmless. And that they would make a contribution to the environment, to all the things around life that would make it, shall we say, more livable and more worthwhile for everyone concerned. So, possibly, if we consider these three, we would be considerate toward all; harmless toward all; and make a contribution to Life in a broad sense. Not to any given one, but what benefits all mankind that lives on Earth. That is something to think about as to what is meant by the Golden Rule.
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HEADLINES
Page 11
If one asks the question, “Where am I?” one may see that one is a privileged invited guest at a beautiful estate called the earth and that Life is the host. If one were to see this, one would also see that everything that one does is for the Host. One might also see that the Host has always provided food, clothing, and shelter through one channel or another ever since one has been at the party. A few other things one may see is that the Host must find all his guests interesting and he didn’t ask me to approve of the guest list. Further, one may notice that nothing was brought to the party and that those who leave do not take anything with them. And last, one may discover that a lot of games are being played and begin the play the games consciously.
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Don’t worry about what people think; they don’t do it very often.
If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.
A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter is not a nice person.
Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
Don’t confuse your career with your life.
Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
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Written material, books, tapes, videos of Dr. Bob Gibson can be ordered on the Web: www.rhondell.com or www.pictureofman.com
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With the exception of the subjective I Am, all knowledge is just belief, and all beliefs are just costume jewelry that can be torn off and tossed in the gutter like the cheap egoic adornments they are. We don’t have beliefs, they have us.
