Your Need To Know

Not being able (or willing) to understand other people’s behavior can cause quite a lot of frustration in our own lives. 

We focus on other people’s irrational behavior and see them as “guilty.”  We get frustrated over their rude comments and actions, mean-spirited acts, and selfish behavior.   And of course, my personal favorite – their road rage.  When we do this too much, we are allowing other people to make us miserable.

Dr. Wayne Dyer sarcastically said, “Round up all the people who are making you miserable and bring them to me.  I will counsel them, and you will get better.”  What Dr. Dyer meant by this is that we are the ones getting frustrated, so we are the ones who need to change. We are the ones who need to stop letting other people make us miserable. 

We need to learn to be less bothered by the actions of other people.  I don’t mean we should accept or ignore these things, I mean we should try to see beyond the behavior and try to understand where this behavior is coming from.

Try to put yourself in the other person’s position.  Have you ever acted or behaved in the way that this person is acting or behaving?  Did you have what you felt was a valid reason for your actions? 

Have you ever heard someone say, “Don’t mind him; he doesn’t know what he’s doing”?  If you have, you have been exposed to the wisdom of “looking beyond behavior.”  And if you have children, you most certainly know the importance of this simple act of forgiveness.  If we based our love on our children’s behavior, it would be difficult to love them at all.

Of course, my personal favorite is, “Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do.”  This has been helpful to me in many situations, not just those involving my children.

Have you ever been really rushed and had to accomplish something or be some place in a short amount of time?  Because you were rushed, maybe you said or did some things, or acted in a certain way that might have been aggravating to one or more other people.

More than likely, someone’s irrational behavior is the result of a stressful situation they are in at this moment.  Keep in your mind that there must be a valid reason for this behavior.  It is not because this person is just rude, selfish or uncaring.  Very likely, this person doesn’t realize they are being offensive or selfish.  

This is similar to what I said in Never Own Someone Else’s Anger.  We are blaming someone else for being annoying in our life.  These things are their problem and once we see them as their problem, we can better deal with it.   We can try to see the “innocence” in their actions. We should try to “look beyond the behavior”. 

If we don’t, there is a price to pay – our inner peace.

Gina

Technorati Tags:Self-improvement, Personal development

By ERIC GORSKI, Associated Press Religion Writer

You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.

Ads proclaiming, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake,” will appear on Washington, D.C., buses starting next week and running through December. The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign Tuesday.

In lifting lyrics from “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” the Washington-based group is wading into what has become a perennial debate over commercialism, religion in the public square and the meaning of Christmas.

“We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you,” said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group. “Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion.”

To that end, the ads and posters will include a link to a Web site that will seek to connect and organize like-minded thinkers in the D.C. area, Edwords said.

Edwords said the purpose isn’t to argue that God doesn’t exist or change minds about a deity, although “we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people’s minds.”

The group defines humanism as “a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.”

Last month, the British Humanist Association caused a ruckus announcing a similar campaign on London buses with the message: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

In Washington, the humanists’ campaign comes as conservative Christian groups gear up their efforts to keep Christ in Christmas. In the past five years, groups such as the American Family Association and the Catholic League have criticized or threatened boycotts of retailers who use generic “holiday” greetings.

In mid-October, the American Family Association started selling buttons that say “It’s OK to say Merry Christmas.” The humanists’ entry into the marketplace of ideas did not impress AFA president Tim Wildmon.

“It’s a stupid ad,” he said. “How do we define ‘good’ if we don’t believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what’s good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each ourselves defining what’s good, it’s going to be a crazy world.”

Also on Tuesday, the Orlando, Fla.-based Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group, launched its sixth annual “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign.” Liberty Counsel has intervened in disputes over nativity scenes and government bans on Christmas decorations, among other things.

“It’s the ultimate grinch to say there is no God at a time when millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Christ,” said Mathew Staver, the group’s chairman and dean of the Liberty University School of Law. “Certainly, they have the right to believe what they want but this is insulting.”

Best-selling books by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have fueled interest in “the new atheism” — a more in-your-face argument against God’s existence.

Yet few Americans describe themselves as atheist or agnostic; a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll from earlier this year found 92 percent of Americans believe in God.

There was no debate at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over whether to take the ad. Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency accepts ads that aren’t obscene or pornographic.

Published in San Francisco Chronicle 11-11-08

The American Humanist Association wants to raise public awareness of humanism and raise controversy. I certainly believe this will do it. Humanists don’t need supernatural explanations for their life here on earth. They do not believe in any God or any afterlife. Their new web site for this effort is whybelieveinagod.org. While this group has a right to their advertisements, I am offended by their use of Christmas music to do so. My opinion.

Yes, I also believe in being good - being good because we were given the Godly ability to know right from wrong. Because it is the Godly thing.  I must agree with the 92 percent of Americans who believe in God.  There is no other explanation for me.  That’s why we are Godlike.  That’s why we have a Soul-our own Godliness given only to mankind.  What is your opinion?  Leave a comment and speak your mind.

Gina

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Humanism

We seem to be hearing more and more these days about the power of meditation. It seems meditation is now embraced by modern science, tested and proven to help heal the body and mind of illnesses and disorders. Meditation is no longer viewed as just a spiritual or religious tradition.

Admittedly, I can’t personally attest to all the claims of the benefits of meditation as I am a relative newcomer to the process, but I am practicing and learning.

Meditation is one of the easiest and most inexpensive forms of self-therapy: all you need is yourself and a quiet room. It is simple, cheap and effective.

While there are many methods of meditation, the primary object is to clear your mind of conscious thought and concentrate on simply existing in the moment.

Wikipedia - Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. It often involves turning attention to a single point of reference. Meditation is recognized as a component of almost all religions, and has been practiced for over 5,000 years. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and/or psychophysical practices which may emphasize different goals — from achievement of a higher state of consciousness, to greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.

Meditation is a time-honored relaxation technique that has been used successfully in Eastern cultures for centuries to alleviate stress and focus the mind. Meditation has recently gained popularity in the United States as millions of people are discovering both the physical and mental health benefits, while realizing that it’s not as difficult as it sounds.

Meditation is also gaining recognition worldwide. More and more doctors are recommending meditation. It is claimed to help depression, control pain, increase longevity, slow down cancers, invigorate the immune system, and significantly reduce blood pressure.

Time Magazine even devoted an entire issue to meditation on and credited it as a solution to range of illnesses from skin conditions, stress, and chronic heart disease to AIDs and infertility. It even reported that meditation can sometimes be used to replace Viagra.

Imagine that stress, headaches, tensions, anger and insomnia could truly being a thing of the past just by meditating.

It is said; with meditation, you can tap into your intuition to understand your purpose in life. Imagine having intuition that can always help you make the right decision and point you towards your mission in life. Imagine having intuition that knows what lies ahead, and has the ability to lead you to success, happiness and fulfillment.

Did I say meditation is not as difficult as it sounds? Yes. At least, not after a while. At first, you’ll find that meditation isn’t all that easy. Your mind will fill with thoughts the moment you attempt to keep it still. It’s rare for a beginner to be able to focus attention for more than a few seconds. I think the trick to becoming a successful meditator is to be consistent while not getting discouraged.

In as little as five to ten minutes a day, you can train your mind to be still and quiet. This stillness can be incorporated into your daily life making you less reactive and irritable. What you may find is that your days begin more peacefully and you will carry that calm throughout the day.

Meditation can be done any time and anywhere. You don’t need to sit cross-legged on a mountaintop chanting a mantra. Just start by meditating each morning for five minutes and increase the time or frequency as you get more comfortable with it.

The easiest way to begin is to find a comfortable, quiet location where you won’t be disturbed. Then close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply focusing only on your breath. Let any thoughts that arise float away on a cloud or a river. It’s okay to notice the thoughts, just don’t spend any time with them. Try to focus only on your breath as you relax.

After your meditation period, read your goals list (you do have a list of written goals, don’t you?) and focus on your goals with a clear quiet mind, tapping into the power of your subconscious mind and becoming more creative in attracting your goals and dreams.

Do you meditate? Have you experienced improvement in any areas of your physical or mental health from meditation? Please leave a comment and share your experience.

Gina

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