mind and reality


In any circumstance or situation we need to ask ourselves, “What am I creating here?”


This is not to mean that we create all of our situations. For to think that would be a highly egotistical fantasy. Other people create situations that we have to deal with, so it is not just our self creating situations. Thus, we could first consider what the world is presenting to us. But nonetheless, each of us are creators of present reality. This is not so much about the physical reality as it is about the reality we experience. For our experienced reality is more mentally layered than the obvious physical reality. That is, what we experience as a situation or circumstance is much to do with how we are thinking about it or how we are interpreting it or judging it. It is in this sense that we are creators of our reality. Of course it is also true that we partially create the physical reality. But much more so, we help create how circumstances are experienced. And we also help create the emotional atmosphere of circumstances. So if a situation has a feeling or quality tone, this is at least partially our own creation.


These are very profound understandings. But even more profound is to realize this in the very moment of a circumstance and to realize our responsibility in being the creator of this experience. So if one is experiencing negative situations or having less-than-good experiences, one needs to understand what is being created here by oneself. Know that at least some of this experience is self-created!


What are we creating? As already said, we do have some degree of power in creating physical circumstances. This is the realm that most philosophies speak about. It’s the very concrete reality. Our thoughts and emotions help create this physical reality. But our experience is more than just experiencing physical reality, since it also includes how we think about and feel about the present moment. In fact, our experience of a situation, a place or moment, is just as much about our thinking and feeling.


It is quite obvious to everyone that anyone can create a reality on the physical plane. We cannot create our whole reality, but we can certainly create pieces of reality. For example, anyone can make a garden, make a dinner, etc. This is creating reality. If create a wonderful meal, the reality is different from if we did not. If we create a beautiful garden, our reality is different from if we did not. So it is obvious that we can create physical realities. Yet we can also create emotional realities, which goes beyond just ourselves. That is, we emanate emotional qualities, which create an emotional reality around us. We also create from our mind and thought.

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self-beliefs –

Don’t be fooled by systems of belief telling you who you are or what kind of person you are. All of the occult systems, the astrology systems, the religious systems and the psychology systems are all merely making generalizations. These systems are like throwing darts in the dark and hoping some will hit the mark. Trust none of them. They also defile a person by imposing a fixed self-concept. In addition, don’t be fooled by your own self-beliefs either. Anything but immediate and sincere self-discovery is foolish. Everyday, throw away every belief you have about yourself, then begin a fresh self-discovery.


Realize that you have the power to create who you are. You are not stuck in any box, and don't allow anyone to put you into a box. Everyone is potentially free to be whatever. So don't let astrology or anyone convince you about who you are. It is merely a form of suggestive convincing, or mental hypnosis. Astrologers are not trying to do this; they mean well. But in essence, all of this is just a mass hypnosis, a mass suggestion; so if you allow this to be a truth, then you are not free and you are not creating your own reality. Break free and create who you want to be. Or, become who you really are. Not just glibly letting others tell you who you are.



mind creating reality

We can create our reality with thought; this is true. We can be creators with our mind. But much of the time we are not. We can, but mostly we don’t. Much of the time, or for most people, we passively let others create reality for us – so then we are not creating our own reality. This is the kind of stuff that gets confusing for people. Some so-called teachers say that each person creates their reality. It is true that one can create reality with thought. But this option is seldom taken. The principle of reality-creating is only actual if one decides to do it, then consciously and intentionally makes it happen. It is a possibility, but not something that automatically happens. The automatic pattern is to be passive about reality creation, and thus our reality is made by others in the world or by media manipulators. Also most often, our automatic patterns and habits of mind/emotion help to continue on our reality-matrix. So to say that we create our own reality is true in one sense, but not true in another sense. Mostly we do not create reality due to our passivity and unwillingness to make new efforts. Yet we could be creators of our reality, if we would put in the effort of conscious intentional thought. Reality is built by everyone, potentially. If we do not help make it, then someone else will.


I cannot force someone else to believe as I do. But I can hold my own known truth so firmly that others will eventually hear it and feel it. And if it is the truth, they will eventually be transformed by this.


One needs to practice this, for it to work. One has to consciously and intentionally use thought to build the reality.

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We can create reality, but our own creative power is limited. Some people have more, some less. But no one creates the whole of their reality. This would be absurd to believe. For what about everyone else creating reality as well? No one person can be the sole creator of the reality around them. It is always a mixture of people creating reality.


In fact, Reality is created by many factors:

  1. Physical actions and emotional vibration

  2. A person’s conscious intentional thought

  3. A person’s beliefs and ideas

  4. A person’s subconscious patterns

  5. A person’s inner soul intelligence

  6. Greater Souls, the Ascended Masters

  7. Universal Creative Powers – Solar, Galactic, and finally Our Universal God

  8. Natural Earth intelligences and forces

  9. Karmic energies carried on from the past


1 and 2 we can work on daily.

3 and 4 we evolve more gradually with study and intelligent decisions

5, 6, 7, and 8 we can be receptive to and cooperative with.

9 we can become aware of and work at changing for the better.

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Reality check !!


People sometimes think that circumstances of the world are special messages or guidance for themselves. In one sense this is true, but in another sense it is delusional. It depends how we think about this as a truth. The basic reality to realize is that the world is not making special circumstances happen for you. You, individually, are not so especially important that the world makes things happen just for you, or just for your learning. To believe this is especially egocentric. Neither is God making things happen for you or for your special learning.


Some spiritual or religious teachings give an impression that God is providing each circumstance especially for each of us. This kind of thinking may help us be more aware of what’s going on and how we can individually learn from things. It may help us awaken to some personal meaningfulness in what’s going on around us in the world. But one needs to also be cautious about this model of belief, because it could lead to an egocentricism or an obsession about everything is happening for my own growth.



Things happening around us in the world are not happening especially for us and are mostly independent of what we wish or what we need. Though at times, the world does seem to produce circumstances that we happen to need or that we can learn from. But it is simply egotistical to believe that the world or God makes stuff happen just for us, or that what happens is always directly correlated to what we need.


The true reality is that we can get what we need from world experiences, and we can learn from world experiences. We can usually learn some wisdom from whatever happens around us. We can usually get something of learning value from anything. But it is up to us how we do this. The world provides a tremendous diversity of information and phenomena, and thus there is seldom a lack of learning opportunities. And in all that happens around us there are surely many possible lessons, messages and guidance.



Our subjective experiences of what happens in the World are a result of selective filtering. From a vast array of phenomena happening around us, we selectively perceive what is meaningfully important – what is important from our own perspective. At any one time we are experiencing various personal needs, desires and wishes, which are seeking fulfillment. As well, we have our temporary struggles, inner conflicts, and also inner questions; which are seeking answers, guidance, or resolutions. So our psyche seeks out such fulfillments and answers from the world around. The psyche selects out from the immediate world what it needs and what it is wanting to learn. And thus, the psyche is selecting and receiving ‘messages’, learning clues, or what might appear to be guidance from the world. Some people may even go to psychics or mediums to receive helpful messages or guidance, or seek guidance from Tarot cards or the I Ching. Yet this guidance will work in the same way, that is, one’s own individual psyche will select what it needs to hear or know from what is given in the reading. Shamanistic mediums work in similar ways, divining guiding messages from bones or from tea leaves or simply from the world of phenomena around them.


In this sense, the world is the great provider of guidance and wisdom; yet really it is our own psyche that is doing the real wise skill of selecting out what is most important to know or learn. Mostly this is all done subconsciously, so we kind of have to just trust it, trusting in the inner wisdom skill of our subconscious psyche. But it can all work even better and with less obstruction and obscuration from the conscious mind, if we participate in this more consciously, which is to pay more attention to how it is going – thus making the subconscious more conscious, and thus having a fuller view of all this.


What can help to make this selecting process more conscious is to have a conscious and intentional question of what is most important or most meaningful for me in the circumstances around me. Or ask, what can I best learn from what is going on? – that is, from what the world and others around me are manifesting. What for me is meaningful here? What can I especially learn from what I am now noticing (in nature or in another)? And what is the wisdom message that I can hear in relation to what I’m perceiving or to what’s going on?


This helps us bridge the usual gap between outer and inner reality. For remember that there is certainly an important and meaningful relationship between what’s happening in the outer world and what’s happening in the inner world, or between our outer circumstances and our inner realizations. But it’s not simply like messages and guidance being dealt to us like cards, as we passively receive. Rather, there is a dynamic relationship between ourselves and the world. There is a kind of dynamic dialogue between psyche and world, much like inner conversations we have when reading a novel – as we inner dialogue with characters and plot. Thus, there is an interplay between our inner self and the outer circumstances around us. And this interplay involves some degree of selectivity in the meaning we gleam from the world, but also in response to the unexpected and undetermined circumstances of the outer real world. We certainly do not simply make the world happen as it does. For the world is mostly independent of us, though of course we do have effect upon the world and others. Yet also, what guidance and wisdom messages we receive from the world will greatly depend on our own inner psyche questions, needs, and selective processes. For remember that we select from the world what we need or what we find most meaningful.

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Through mind I am a creator of reality, both my own reality and the reality of this world. This is the metaphysical law of mind. Our thinking and our beliefs create reality. Mind patterns physical manifestation. Many western teachings have made this an important part of their discourse, as for example the “new thought movement” and many other offshoots from this idea. The name, “new thought” is fitting to this metaphysical law, because it gives a clue that we can make new thoughts, or make our thoughts new, and also create a new life, a better life. All of this is very significant.


This is also connected to the law of karma, as taught in Buddhism. Three important insights are taught in relation to karma. One insight is that where we are now as a person, or the present state of our subjective experience, is the result of previous states of mind. That is, my present experience of life is the result of my past states of mind, which include past thoughts and emotions. The second insight is that our future will be the result of our present thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. And finally, the third insight is that right now, here in this present time, we are creators of our own future and part creators of the world to be.


One caution in this, though, is not to become overly absolute about this, because other factors are also at play. People want truths to be incredibly simple, so they accept simple, absolutist generalizations. It is not true that the reality of anyone is only the result of their individual thoughts and actions; because other people and also nature come into play and have effects as well. Our circumstances of life and also even our own experience of life are the result of both oneself and world. So we need a balanced understanding of this law of mind, and a balanced understanding of karma. Other people, families, groups, cultures, and the world in general have a large effect on who we become and how we experience life. The larger, general truth is that we all are creators of reality – for our own selves and also partly for others and the world around. We are all together in this law of mind and law of karma.


Nonetheless, we need to realize our own responsibility and creative power – realizing that each individual mind (each I am) is a powerful creator of the future. Our own thoughts, beliefs and emotions, from our past, are causes of our present experience and also [partly] of our present circumstances. As it is, for most people, their reality is more the result of outer circumstances and influences from other people, groups and cultures. But one could point out that these people have more power, potentially, than they are presently applying. In other words, each person has a great creative power in themselves, which is not fully being actualized.


Each has their individual creative power of thinking, which can make new changes to life. Each has a potential to use this power right now, to make a better reality. That is, I can begin right now, right in this time, to create a finer reality, both for myself and people around me. And the secret to this is to begin with mind – begin with my own thoughts, beliefs and emotions – all of which I have the power to make new in this present time. For, this mind essentially creates the reality of one’s experience, but also as well, this sets up causes 1for how the objective world will manifest.


That is, the physical or outer reality will tend to follow from our mental reality. This can be called the law of subjective to objective. Subjective reality is mind – which is how one experiences life – including what is thought and believed about life, others, world. While objective reality is what is actually happening or manifesting. The subjective leads to the objective. This is the metaphysical law. And it is also what the law of karma means. The law of karma is partly to do with how past and present actions create future circumstances. But it is also about how past and present thoughts and beliefs create circumstances. Yet since physical actions in the world, as well as what we say, are causally connected to what we think, believe and feel about life, others, world; we could point out that mental causes are most important in the law of karma.


(of course, also the objective tends to condition or influence the subjective)

But we can acquire more power in this relation)



I help create new reality – a new me and a new world – by my present thoughts and subjective actions (these include: intentional thoughts, visualizations, invocations, inner decisions, and directed energies from mind). This the power of mind. But also remember that this power of mind exists only in the larger Spiritual Context. What this means is that all powers of an individual mind, including the mind’s power to effectively help make a new reality, is metaphysically dependent on the Greater Power available and numerous spiritual qualities inherent in us. Calling this the Spiritual Context is appropriate because we have to make use of powers and qualities that are spiritually available to us. We use powers and qualities from a greater Reservoir of potentials. Or in other words, we have a potential for being powerfully creative and effective from the level of mind, yet this potential is from the Spiritual Realm (or Spiritual Context). The Spiritual provides this power to be creative. That is, we draw from this Spiritual Realm our power to be creative and effective through the medium of mind. The Spiritual is not enforcing us to use this power in any particular way, nor is the Spiritual always deciding how Its power is used; but IT is providing the power, just as IT is also providing all of our potential beautiful and intelligent qualities of being.


In Buddhism there is no teaching about one God or One Source. Neither is the Buddhist dependent on a transcendental power for salvation. Each person is responsible for their own salvation – which is liberation from the karmic causes of suffering and bliss in the annihilation of selfness, rather than like the Christian salvation of being closer to God. Also, each person has to do their own work to achieve this liberation. There is no dependence on God for one’s salvation. God does not liberate us; we have to liberate ourselves. This makes sense, since we are the ones who produced our own bondage by way of our ongoing (and reincarnating) thoughts and beliefs. And since our own thoughts and beliefs are the foundation of this karmic bondage, it makes sense that we are also the ones responsible for changing this situation. So the Buddhist does not think that great God will solve the problems in our self or in the world. It is up to each of us. Thus, self responsibility and self work is especially significant in Buddhism. Although, people can receive guidance and help from others, especially from teachers who have already liberated themselves, and many Buddhist do pray in some way to Buddha for help – since Buddha is the already liberated one and also regarded as a compassionate being.


So even though Buddhism emphasizes self-responsibility and work, most Buddhists seek guidance and help from Buddha or living Buddhist teachers. Therefore, Buddhism does admit some need for help from outside of oneself. This might not be God, but receiving help from Buddha is not much different than receiving help from Jesus. Moreover, even Buddha probably received a lot of help in previous incarnations in order to get to the place where he was able to make the final transition into absolute liberation. And if there is always some being who is more advanced in mastery, then we might ask who helped the one Most Advanced who would have helped someone else. In other words, who helped the very first liberated being? We don’t have to posit the existence of some man-like God, but intuition tells us that we are all in a Sea of possible Awakening. Light and consciousness must have already existed and preceded Buddha and all great teachers. That is to say, Light, Love, and Wisdom Mind must have already been before Buddha. He didn’t invent Light, Love and Wisdom. For these were already available, already Potential.


(still sidetracking on the topic of Buddhism)

Also, the liberating self-work is not merely to achieve self-annihilation into nirvana (self-emptiness), but also is to return to ones’ true nature. This true nature of all human beings, called our Buddha nature, is essentially self-emptiness, which requires a non-attachment and non-clinging to any thoughts or beliefs about oneself and non-clinging to any desires, patterns, habits, etc. It doesn’t mean that one instantly disappears from this world. This true self nature is not something that one invents. Buddha did not create his own self nature. Rather, he discovered it. It was already here; it was merely covered by samskaras – repeating patterns of thought, desires, and reactions. These samskaras are what is really reincarnating. These are the wheels of karma. They are self created. It is said that one’s present quality of being is the result of karma from past lives, so our present samskaras are carry-overs from our past lives.


(footnote?) In some schools of Buddhism the continuing, repeating samskaras are carried on by an individual soul which is like a body or container for the karmic samskara seeds. In other schools of Buddhism there is no individual soul, but only the continuing samskaras; such that there is no container (such as a self essence or soul) but only the karmic content reincarnating in some new physical body.


The most common thinking in Buddhism is that our present samskaras (repeating patterns of mind, desire, emotion and reactive behavior) are the result of previous lives; that this stems from how I was in my past life – it is because of how I was and what I did. This is the primary view. But we need also realize that all sorts of samskaras are all around us, and we can be susceptible to picking up on these. Especially as children, we often pick up the samskaras of our parents, or our tribe, or our culture. The wheel of reincarnation is all over the place. It can even be embedded in social institutions or even in social customs. So to be liberated from samskara also requires liberation from social beliefs and motivations. This does not mean, necessarily, that one needs to act in opposition to social norms or ignore social etiquette. Liberation only means that one is freed from attachment to these norms, etiquette, and group belief systems, and any compulsive need to follow them.


Anyways, one might be able to see that even Buddhism has to have a Spiritual Context and the Buddhist must work in this Spiritual Context. This means that a truly practicing Buddhist, who is practicing self-responsibility and self-work, in order to be liberated from karmic patterns and conditioning, and in order to discover and abide in their true nature, requires help from a greater Spiritual Context, and also requires that there already be liberating wisdom and light and an already existing power in oneself that can work all the way towards final liberation. There has to be something very special in oneself, or at least available in oneself as a potential, in order for self-liberation to be possible. The samskaras just by themselves could not self-liberate themselves. So our self reality cannot just be a bundle of samskara nor just a bundle of karma. Well… it could be that we each are just a bundle of samskara, without any spiritual essence; but then, this would require a power or person outside of us to liberate us, and also one would have to question how self-work could do anything – for this would be samskara liberating samskara. The more likely truth is that there is a spiritual power already in us, as a potential or essence, which requires some self effort and work in order to actualize it. With the help of teachers and teachings, we make the effort to actualize this inner, inherent spiritual power – which is the liberating power – already here in us. This inner liberating power is our true spiritual nature. It is already present – though usually unnoticed and most often unactualized. So this is the meaning of Spiritual Context. It refers to the greater Spiritual Powers of existence that surround us and compassionately are available to help us, and it also refers to the spiritual essence or potential spiritual power/wisdom/love in oneself that is already here – to be realized and actualized. Buddhism believes in help from outside oneself and also believes in a wisdom and power within – all of which is necessary for the goal of self-liberation and entering into true being. Therefore, Buddhism implicitly accepts there being a greater Spiritual Context – surrounding us and also within us (the context of who we really are). In a mystical sense, this is the same as God.

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Generally speaking, in the purer forms of Buddhism there is little emphasis on knowing the metaphysical background (the Spiritual Context) of powers beyond us. The first Buddhists, including Gautama Buddha, did not seem interested in metaphysical questions about if there is one God or what powers were ontologically precedent, because early Buddhism more particularly emphasizes Method rather than Metaphysics. The Buddhist is most concerned with how to be liberated, rather than the question of if there is one God or not. Wisdom is all about Method or Way; not the anatomy of the Cosmos. In other words, whether there is an ultimate God, or not, doesn’t really matter. It simply is not important to know. What is important to know is what kind of situation one is in, psychologically, and how to get free of its limitations and causes of suffering. Pure Buddhism is quite practical and tries to get to the most simple point about reality; like here I am, here is my situation, and what can I do about it. Later forms of Buddhism add in various layers of metaphysics, imagery, and rituals.

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Let us return to the topic of self-responsibility and self-work, emphasized in Buddhism. It is told that Buddha’s last words of advice were, “strive on untiringly for your liberation.” Yet let us consider what the self-work is. There is certainly an effort required, because any possible change in oneself is up against the forces of self habits and conditioning. We are creatures of our own patterns. We are like an automatic program that repeats itself, though this comes out slightly different depending on the circumstance or people around. The human being is most often automatic. Yet what can save one from this is a motivation to learn and evolve in oneself. Anyways, some extra effort is needed, to be used in intentional awareness, in order to observe these automatic states, including repetitive thoughts, self-desires, and emotional reactions.


The first step is to observe and learn about oneself; and this first step never really ends for the truly committed one on the path. It has to become part of the path. We can call this the first liberation – to liberate oneself enough from the conditioned automatic mind, in order to really see oneself, this [psychological] situation.


Next is a kind of effort that is not effortful. An appealing model for the spiritual path is to see a problem, then eradicate it. I see something dislikeful or stupid in myself, so I make effort to destroy it. This might be practical sometimes, but most often it does not work. It creates a battle between the observer and the conditioned pattern, but the conditioned pattern more often wins – because it has home advantage and is more entrenched, while the observer is usually just an intellectual occasional visitor. Instead, the effective way is much deeper. It is renunciation. This is the effort that is non-effortful. Nothing in oneself can really transform until the problem itself renunciates. So, the pattern itself has to renunciate. It has to give up. The role of the intellect, in this self-interaction, is to convince this pattern to give up, for the sake of something greater.


Self-desire has to give itself up; it has to renunciate. Self-desire is desire for one’s own pleasure, achievement, or success. The Buddhist pure path is to give all that up. The master might have personal pleasure, achievement or success, but he/she does not intentionally seek it out. The master is not attached or clinging to personal desires. The Way of liberation is non-attachment and non-clinging… to anything, whether it be what is happening now, or to the past, or to hopes and desires for the future.


… the Way of liberation is to give up and let go. .. to be Free, by way of non-attachment and non-clinging to any belief or desire.


We have desires, reactions, and also beliefs, which have become repeating patterns. These need to surrender themselves. The desire has to let go of itself. But it is too easy to speak about these desires, patterns and fixations, as if they were something we can simply study and then remove. No, it is not so easy because we are in it! I am the problem. In other words, self-desire, fixated beliefs, and reactive patterns are the realities of who I am as a person. Hopefully there is more to one’s being than just this, but for most people this mostly what their personal reality is. Even for spiritual practitioners of many years, these realities of oneself can be deeply embedded.


First, one needs to recognize this in oneself, not just as an abstract idea but as an actual occurrence as it is happening. That kind of self-observation and self-honesty is already difficult. Second, one must be willing to give it up and let it go. This is even more difficult. It is especially difficult because it is I who has to give it up, and I am the desire. The desire itself has to give up, and this desire is the I am of that moment.


It really is of little use to talk about or think about giving up desires in oneself, or reactive patterns, or whatever. Well, it might be the beginning step, but it certainly is not enough. The desire, the reaction, the repeating worry, or whatever it is, is, in this moment, who I am; that is, I am this desire or reaction or worry. So, I have to let it go. I am the one who is clinging and does not want to give it up. And of course, I think of all sorts of reasons and justifications for holding on and not letting it go.


So real change comes when I surrender, I let go, I give up myself. Or when a self-desire is evidently present, or any self-obsessive focus, I realize this is I. It is not just a desire in me. It is… I desire, I want. This in fact is the catch. Notice. I want. Notice I want, I feel, I think… this.. or that. The renunciation is very deep. It is all about what is I. and the real renunciation is … I give up, or I let this go. It doesn’t help much to merely intellectualize about this, as though the problem were something other from me; but I am this desire (or whatever) at this moment. In essence and potential I am much more and beyond this; but in this moment of fixation, this is who I am. So I have to let it go.


Overall, this could be a self letting-go. Give up self, then all self-desires go with it, as well as all self-concerns and self-referencing. Give up oneself, then nothing present but the Greater World of Being.


This is the emptiness. It is emptiness of selfness. And when there is not self-fixation, then consciousness is open and able to include a much greater sphere of what is important.


If one could reach complete emptiness – being completely empty of selfness – then consciousness and interest would be universal. Thus, emptiness of self brings one into unity with the Whole.


Yet to add to this:

It would be silly to believe that the spiritual goal is to be devoid completely of any self-thinking, self-feeling, or self-sensation; neither to be devoid of any self-interest or self-focus. There is a value in consciousness upon self interests and feelings, etc. – just not all the time or as a pattern. The problem is really self-fixation.

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Principles for prosperity


Prosperity means to have what is needed and enjoy a good life. When considering prosperity we usually think of material desires being fulfilled, but prosperity also includes the fulfillment of mental, emotional and even spiritual goals. First to realize about prosperity is that it is not opposite to a spiritual life. In some teachings the model of a spiritual person is someone poor and unconcerned about the material world, while wealthy people are considered unspiritual. This could be true, but not necessarily. Wealth and abundance can be as spiritual as good health, and to have beautiful things and a beautiful environment is certainly spiritual; or in other words, abundance and beauty are manifestations of God’s Creative Potential. So fulfillment is spiritually good and enjoyment is spiritually good. One of the great purposes of life, in general, is for greater and finer enjoyment and the manifestation of beauty. We might even consider that God loves beauty and also prosperity and abundance.


However, there is an important distinction between fulfillment of good for ourselves and a possible greedy over-accumulation of things and wealth. Each person will need to consider where to draw that line, for it is possible to be greedy and gluttonous, which is to take more than our share and actually deprive others – since the resources of our world are limited. For example, not everyone could possibly have a ton of gold stored, a jet and a yacht, and a mansion built right along a beach. But most of us do not yet have to worry about going overboard with material possessions.


Acceptability and love for prosperity is a new theme in spiritual discussions. This goes along with a return to the Truth that this material world is a spiritual manifestation and not something anti-spiritual. Some basic mental principles for reaching prosperity will be discussed now, which are also the same principles for all creative manifestation that necessarily involve the mind. These principles are part of perennial spiritual teachings and to do with bringing spiritual potentials into living reality.


The complete spiritual teachings, however, will also include a personal motive towards generosity and service. In other words, the basic principles for achieving prosperity do not usually include deeper spiritual motives, and so they might appear to be merely self-serving, as in ‘the good I can manifest for myself’ or ‘my desires being fulfilled’. As we have noted above, there is nothing anti-spiritual about having personal prosperity or personal desires being fulfilled. But the complete spiritual principles go further than personal fulfillment; they also include generosity, service to others, and even a possible self-sacrifice for the greater Good. We might also note here that, for the greater Good of all humanity and the planet, it is generally good for us all to live with less consumerism and less obsessiveness for having more and more.


These trans-personal considerations will help balance the prosperity goals for our self, so that we have a balance between self-focused prosperity (what I need and desire) and trans-personal prosperity (how I can help others and the planet). A summary idea for transpersonal consideration is service, but this is really just a will-to-give or will-to-share, once one is not so desperately focused on mere personal needs. It does not mean becoming a servant/slave for others, nor does it mean to give everything away to others. Rather, think of service (or givingness) as a balance to self-receiving (or gaining personal prosperity). For again, this ideal of prosperity can turn into personal greed, if one’s focus and desire is always towards personal gain. This is why spiritual teachers very often have some sort of service idea in their teachings, and if a teaching never speaks of givingness then it lacks real truth. Jesus taught people to feel loved by God and to feel deserving of good health, yet he also taught service and humility.


Service becomes an inner motive, and humility is the right attitude. Humility means being humble on this Earth and to not take more than we need. Humanity overall has been arrogant in relation to the planet and other kingdoms, so we can learn much from the older earth-based cultures and earth-loving people. Humility also means being humble in relation to the Divine Power and Will. Realize humility in relation to the Divine Power, Love and Intelligence; and know that you are only a portion of this and that you are dependent on the Greater. And finally, humility is being humble in relation to other people. Humbleness in relation to others can be difficult. It doesn’t mean being subservient to them, nor feeling inferior. Rather, it means to be non-arrogant -- not thinking that they are dumber or less spiritual than oneself – but instead being awake and receptive to the (as yet) hidden intelligence and spirituality in them. What is hidden from our view about others may, in fact, be due to our own blinders and presumptions about that person. Arrogance creates blinders to the intelligence and inner spirituality of others, while humility opens up the possible perception of their inner spirituality and also its actualization in them. Scientists and spiritual seekers alike often discover that they actually know very little.

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In a more complete description of prosperity it is the fulfillment of our spiritual purpose in this life. This has to do with potential qualities we can actualize in our self, realizations and experiences we come to, and also about what we do in life. Thus, we will need to meditate on the various kinds of spiritual purpose, such as: love, knowledge, creative thinking, exploration, enjoyment, fulfillment of our spiritual capacities. and helping to make our world more harmonious and beautiful. This is just one possible list; each person really needs to understand for themselves what is a spiritual purpose. It is better for each person to question and inquire into this on their own, rather than being taught what it all is, for the most important realizations in life have to come from one’s own meditation and inner knowing.

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So, having made such preface, let us now consider the basic principles for prosperity and creativity.


First, one has to desire prosperity. If one does not desire it, then it often won’t happen. Desire gets the energies of the universe in motion. Second, one has to believe in the goodness and rightness of prosperity. If one does not, then this negative belief about prosperity will block and undermine the possibilities for prosperity. For example, if one believes that personal prosperity and enjoyment is contradictory to a spiritual life, then subconsciously we will undermine possible successes. We actually need to weed out any negative thinking about prosperity, in order to open the channels for it. This is done by honestly considering one’s beliefs, then bringing a more reasonable mind to them with a positive thought about the spiritual goodness. So, positive thought and belief are also necessary. Realize that any success in life requires some physical action or effort, but a mental and emotional action is also needed -- an undiluted desire and positive belief.


Positive belief, at this point, is about believing in the goodness of our prosperity. But we also need a positive belief that prosperity is on its way, which could also be called positive expectation and confidence, or might also call it faith.


Mentally and emotionally, then, we begin to radiate vibrations of positive desire and belief, which will then attract energies and circumstances of prosperity.


Mind governs energies.

Belief is all-important. For instance, if one doesn’t believe that something is possible, then one would never look for the opportunity nor would one move towards that direction.


We need to believe that:


Visualization:


Finally:

ADD:

Positive thought about my future !!

Positive thought about others !!


Law of Increase:

As part of all this work towards success and prosperity, applying the basic principles of metaphysics, we could also check on our motives and the harmony of our wishes with the Good of all. Is our wish, our goal, helpful to others and world? This really depends on what we hope to do with our success.


The question any of us should have is, how are we hoping to serve the world?

The answer to this needs to be integrated into our overall Wish.

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WISH

The difference between goal and wish is very subtle. It is simply that goal is from mind, while wish is from heart, but they can be the same. Really, the wish is more important because it comes from heart, while the goal is more practical for planning purposes.

Our goals need to proceed from our wishes. Remember that mind is supposed to be servant to heart, to real heart which is the same as soul. True wishes of the heart come from soul. What is most fascinating about wish is that we can naturally understand that some wishes come from very deep in the heart, while other wishes don’t have this origin from depth. So goals of the mind need to proceed from wishes of the heart.


Wishes and motives are very related. If I wish just for the benefit of myself, then this goes along with a selfish motive. But if I wish for the benefit of others, then my motive is selfless. Most people, if they are honest, would have to admit that their wishes are often for the primary benefit of one’s own self, and thus self-ish. Wishes primarily for the benefit of others or the planet are truly self-less and made by the spiritual loving heart, rather than the self-serving manipulative ego. Each of us can introspectively observe ourselves, in order to distinguish between these two kinds of wishes. But let us not become too critical of our self-serving wishes. The selfless wishes will increase along the spiritual path of unfoldment, but we cannot expect ourselves to be completely selfless overnight. In fact, many people reject spiritual teachings just because the ideal of selflessness is so beyond what they feel they could ever be.


The easier approach is to aim for a balance between self-serving wishes and selfless wishes. In other words, first accept yourself as somewhat selfish, or having self interests. We each deserve a good life, a happy and prosperous life, with good health, physical and social enjoyments, development of our natural potentials, and fulfillment of our interests. Let us be comfortable with our wishes towards these self interests. Spiritually speaking, we might consider how taking care of our own self is important first, so that we then have gifts to give from our self to others. Mainly though, let us accept and even nourish these wishes for our own self. However, we need to also consider the interests, needs, and feelings of others, and we might even be lucky enough to have some greater experience of our planetary relationship. So, we accept our self-interests and our wishes for our self, but we also open our heart and mind to the interests and wishes of others, and also to the greater needs of all humanity and the whole planet. Then, little by little, we focus on the selfless interests, while the self-serving interests gradually are less important. Thus, selfless interests and wishes grow. But through this gradual process it is always good to love ourself, to treat ourself with love and respect.

To be watched and avoided is a tendency to be so self-obsessively fixated on self-interests and being one-over on others, that there is no sensitivity to the interests and well-being of others. This problem can get quite subtle, and most people cannot see this in themselves.


There are various types of ego-tendencies which the spiritual seeker is advised to watch for.


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more notes

The metaphysics of an open system of possibilities, vs. a closed deterministic system


That all is possible. The future is never completely fixed, so the power of choice is paramount.

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Reality according to belief -- beliefs are the reality creators. – but usually, these are merely old patterns or conditioned beliefs – so this carries on and continues the world reality – yet it is possible to transform/evolve our beliefs by insight, intuition, understanding. This is the kind of thought needed. One does not need just any made up thought.

Thought is the creator. Thoughts are like the building parts for a new reality.

Yet, beliefs (or understandings) are the cement – the actual substance making reality.

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Reaction and free choice, and how predominately we actually are not choosing nor are we free, rather we are mostly (now) and in past lives) we are simply being influenced by society etc and other’s thoughtforms.


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Everything is born from nothing.

So use the mind to create from nothing

Begin as nothing and create a life.

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remember that it is somewhat true about God setting it up and our lack of freedom, in terms of our deeper predispositions – that each has certain GIVEN talents and interests. Though it is also true that we are not fully trapped by our predispositions, and we can make new interests and talents by intentional choice and effort.

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karma theory

people who were hurt in previous lives might then have desire for revenge and to get back on the perpetrators. So they would reincarnate to revenge and hurt those who previously hurt them. Those who previously hurt others would then have to reincarnate as victims to experience the hurt they previously caused others, as karmic balance for the psyche. And thus, history continues on as a drama of pain and revenge. Until people forgive, ask for forgiveness, and wake up in love.

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1 this is – mental or subjective causes