ALONG THE WAY:   Let life happens as it happens. Don’t push.

THIS MONTH’S THOUGHT:  What value does being less than happy have?

CREATIVITY:  (Excerpts from School Talk #3 by Dr. Bob Gibson)                                                       

    A person said that they had a great urge to be creative. And I said,  “Well, what do you want to create?” “Well, I don’t know, I just want to be creative.  This has been a great urge for years.” Well, we tried many different categories as to what would be creative.  None of seemed them to have had an appeal. So I started elucidating and philosophizing. So the point was that everybody has an urge to be creative, believe it or not, everybody has it.  And the urge is to create integration or oneness from duality, at least, and maybe more. Maybe we’re three people instead of two. At least we’re two. In the old days they called this being creative is creating a soul.  I don’t know much about that word, but at any rate that’s what they called it a long time ago. And they said that the person that was split down the middle and we’re drawn the picture innumerable times. Now the feeling that goes on considerable amount of the time that we allow to get through and pay any attention to it is usually a little bit on the obnoxious side.  So if we can allow everything that’s in us to come to the surface without condemning it or justifying it we can bring about a unification or an integration. Now we used to use the word integration. And finally it got to meaning black and white sleeping together or living together or whatever, so I quit using the word. But anyway we’ll use it again. Integration or being whole, complete and one.  That everything in us has a value and can be expressed. Now most of the time we keep it hidden away and the only way it expresses, and so it’s well to become acquainted with it that way, is the attributes we attribute to others. We had a friend here not long ago who visited with us for several days that everybody in the world, besides him, was a stupid bastard. That’s called projection. In other words that’s the way the intellect feels about himself.  But he did not allow that to come out. So then you project that onto everybody else. So it’s been said that all the fault-finding we do with others is that we feel it in ourselves but we project it outside. Now I wouldn’t say that that is 100% correct. But it is basically a fundamental that when you sit around and find fault with everybody that basically you have the feeling that that is going on in you but you don’t allow that feeling to be there so I’ll put it on Bonnie – Bonnie does all those things.  Or Paulette does them or Howard does them. And so on down the line. So this is an excellent way to become acquainted with this side that is not verbalized or used in words. Inasmuch as we think in words they call that the subconscious or unconscious. I prefer the word unconscious much better. That we’re unconscious of it but it is there in no uncertain terms. And so let’s observe for awhile what we find about other people.

Now as all of this finally comes up to the surface and we can look at it without condemnation or justification—that is called being integrated.   And all of that material that was formerly a little bit on the vicious, primitive side becomes civilized because the intellect absorbs it into itself.  And now we have one being. And that being is far more productive, creative, whatever word you choose to use. Shall we say more alive. Conflict comes to an end.  Because the basic conflict in a human being is between intellect and all these feelings that we have that makes a lot of noise in there. That’s where the real conflict comes in.  That I want to be the goody-good two shoes, that’s what mama taught me to be. There’s a lot of stuff comes up. A writer some two thousand years ago named Paul wrote that the things I would not do I find myself doing and the things I would do I find myself not doing them.  So all those things make the conflict. And as long as we’re in conflict we’re not ONE person. We’re two people having a war in here. And it is a little rough on the body. It’s a little rough on abilities and everyday living and everything that we do. And when conflict comes to an end we have basically come to the place where we are ONE person. And a person always has a feeling of having unfinished business as long as you have conflict.  There is always something else that needs to be done. And if you have the occasion, as I do quite frequently, to find somebody who is in the last few months of their existence in this world, (twelve to fourteen months) they begin to realize what it is. And it is a very sad situation to see a person who says they look back over their whole life, I don’t care how many romances they had, how much money they made, how much prestige they had, how much acclaim they had, they feel they blew it.  They lost the whole frigging deal. They didn’t get accomplished what they were to do. And I think about the last minute they begin to realize that that conflict is going on and now they’re too sick to do a dern thing about it and they have a very upset feeling. I have the sad occasion to be around those people quite often and it’s kind of pathetic. I wouldn’t say kind of, it is. Probably the most pathetic thing I run into in all the efforts that I work with is a person who sees that I’m on my way out and I blew the whole deal.  I missed it. Because I think if you go out of this life in a conflict that’s probably the end of the show. If you got it altogether you’re probably around. I don’t know. But it seems to me they seem to feel they’re around and they can talk a whole bunch of different games. So I would highly recommend that we begin to allow and encourage all these inner feelings that arise in us that we hastily try to put out of sight most of the time, allow them to be there.  (To be continued next month)

A CONSCIOUS PERSON (INTEGRATED):

1. Lives without conflict.
2. Makes no judgments.
3. Is happy with what is.
4. Has no need to change anything or anybody.
5. Is not controlled by suggestion, although he remembers that he is 100% subject to suggestion, 100% of the time.  He checks it out.
6. Knows:  What he is, where he is, what is going on, and what he can do
7. Sees that negative emotions are not to his advantage and does not identify with them.
8. Makes NOTHING important.  
9. Has no ideals to struggle for.
10. Is free to experience whatever may arise in his way.
11. Has reverence for all Life.
12. Is in charge of his inner state.
13. Is at ease and peace wherever he is.
14. Has no problems, only challenges.
15. Is self-determined, not other determined.
16. Can play any role consciously.
17. If free of all conditioned ideas.
18. Does not turn his life over to any institution or anything or anyone else.
19. Is in charge of what he does, how he feels and how he acts.
20. Has nothing to be upset about.
21. Is in no hurry.
22. Sees  ‘what is’ clearly.
23. Does not listen to propaganda and does not get caught up in causes.
24. Does things for the joy of doing, not because he has to.
25. Uses simple good manners.
26. Is not sentimental.
27. Does not give advice.
28. Has no choices to make.
29. Pays attention.
30. Does not know what ought to be for anything or anybody, including self.
31. Lives in the present moment.

A STORY:

“Enter by the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there are who enter that way.  How narrow the gate and close the way that leads to Life! And few there are who find it.” (Matt:7)

The key to the narrow gate is self-observation.  This is the message of the Teaching material. Integration is impossible without self-knowing.

So how am I doing with self-observations?  I’m finding that I am addicted to distraction.  Looking more closely, I discovered that distractions are “Not-I’s” whose purpose is to destroy the living being by keeping the point of awareness asleep.  What are some of the distractions? Television; movies; videos; needing people around to entertain and to entertain me; sports; food, etc. These are not good or bad, it’s how I use them to avoid knowing self.  Inner conflict is painful and distractions can dull the pain. It is not easy to sit quietly without having outer stimuli for an anesthetic or excitement. However, if I am to evolve into an integrated, whole person, I must be constantly aware of what is going on in the inner state, whether I like it or not.  Distraction allows me to avoid responsibility.  (Lesson 1, Science of Man: And we might say that when we become angry or worried or excited or frightened… that we are bent out of shape…We are far from being conscious).  The key is simple, but not easy.  Whether I use it or not depends on how much value I put on building a spiritual body.  Nothing is more precious or valuable than the spiritual body.

I will have a quiet mind.  I will be still. I will observe.

• NEWS FROM THE YEAR 2029:

• Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formally known as California.
• Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern US crops and livestock.
• Baby conceived naturally…scientists stumped
• Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.
• Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only
• Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.
• 85-year, $75.8 billion study:  Diet and exercise are the keys to weight loss.