Day 186
Introducing The Principles of Discovery
The keynote of the Higher Self, which is linked to God, is truth. It is important for the seeker to realize that like attracts like, and, in order to establish a close relationship with the soul, that one must love the truth and apply correct principles in discovering it.
It would be nice if all seekers could easily establish a complete link with the Higher Self and establish a direct pipeline to access all the truth there is, but the fact is that most have difficulty finding all the truth they desire. It seems that the conditions on this earth plane are set up so seekers have to struggle to find the truth as well as struggle for each step of spiritual advancement they make.
Many seekers do not see themselves as having extra sensory or spiritual abilities but still want to find as much truth as possible and desire to make solid soul contact. They may wonder if there is anything they can do to lay a sure foundation.
The lessons offered so far give some good advice that will assist the seeker into advancing toward the light of the soul, but, in addition to this, there are some practical things one can do to move further into the light of truth. Therefore, in the next series of lessons we will present practical steps any seeker can take who is willing. We call these The Principles of Discovery. Here is the first:
“Find Anchors – Take the things you know (for reasonable surety) to be true and use them as a foundation or stepping-stones for testing additional truths.”
This is an important step to take in creating a foundation belief system that is based upon truth rather than deception. You would think that everyone does this, but sadly this is not the case. Many will accept a teaching that sounds good and not realize it contradicts something they know to be true. They just haven’t taken the time to make the comparison and think it through.
For instance, we know for sure that the sun rises in the east. Having this piece of knowledge will cause us to raise a red flag on anyone who teaches otherwise.
Now each of us knows thousands of true facts, but for this lesson we want to focus on important truths that are known that can lay a foundation of further discovery.
For instance, most seekers know there is a Divine Intelligence and that there is life after death. Anyone teaching otherwise will take us in the opposite direction of the soul.
The assignment today is to list ten important truths that you know with a fair amount of certainty.
Affirmation: “As I seek truth the soul will seek me.”
Day 187
Using Proven Truth
The first Principle of Discovery is:
“Find Anchors – Take the things you know (for reasonable surety) to be true and use them as a foundation or stepping-stones for testing additional truths.”
Your first assignment was to name ten important ones. By important we mean truths that lay the foundation or that can be used for a measure to find other truths. Here are some you could have named.
(1) Basic math. If someone tells you that 2+2 does not equal 4 then there is a problem.
(2) Truth does not contradict truth. If two statements contradict then one or both of them are wrong or not understood correctly.
(3) Experience is to be trusted unless one comes across a good reason to doubt it.
(4) For every cause there is an effect.
(5) Data can be easily fabricated but principles cannot.
(6) Unchecked emotions can make that which is not true seem true.
(7) The inner self can recognize truth when distortion is eliminated.
(8) It is possible to make higher spiritual contacts, including with your own soul.
(9) God is good
(10) There is a plan for my life and the human race.
Being aware of truths of which you are reasonably sure are true is important for this gives you a measure on which to judge various claims that are constantly being made.
Now, is it possible that some of your foundational truths are not correct? Yes, but if you are careful in selecting them the likelihood of them being wrong is small. For instance, it is not likely that simple math will ever be proven wrong.
On the other hand, if you select a certain church, book or belief system as a foundation truth you are likely to be disappointed in the future for all complex belief systems have error in them.
It is therefore important that the seeker find a number of foundation beliefs which he is very certain to be true. He can then use those truths to test for other truths.
Assignment: Let us suppose you come across various teachers giving out the following as true:
(1) The earth is going to shift into a new dimension on June 6, 2020. If you follow this teacher you will survive and if not you are doomed.
(2) This was a story I just read that was published on Feb 10, 2018. David Meade, a Christian conspiracy theorists predicts that Planet X, or Nibiru, will appear later this year (2018) and cause end of the world type destruction.
(3) Bob says he is Jesus reincarnated and you need to follow him and give him money.
Use your tested foundation beliefs and figure out how you would respond to these three teachers.
Affirmation: “I will use truth to find truth.”
Day 188
Examining Claims
Let us examine the three examples from the last lesson and use the first Principle of Discovery.
(1) The earth is going to shift into a new dimension on June 6, 2020. If you follow this teacher you will survive, and if not you are doomed.
So if you use what you know to be true how will you approach this claim?
Here is what the average seeker will know with reasonable certainty.
First, in all the known history of the world there has never been an observed planetary shift from one dimension to another.
Second, many such predictions like this have been made in the past and have not come true.
Third, many past gurus have made such false claims to gain power and money.
So then, if we go by what we know to be true the likelihood of this coming to pass is close to zero.
Now let us look at the next one.
(2) This was a story I just read that was published on Feb 10, 2018. David Meade, a Christian conspiracy theorist predicts that Planet X, or Nibiru, will appear later this year (2018) and cause end of the world type destruction.
Rather than just believe wild claims we can discover his track record with reasonable certainty. When we do we find that he has made many failed predictions in the past. According to him doomsday was supposed to have occurred Sept 23, 2017. When that did not happen he moved it forward to October 15. Now that prediction failed he has presently moved it to later this year. In addition to this, he has made numerous other failed predictions. On top of that over the past couple decades many others have made failed predictions about the coming of Planet X.
Planet X is supposed to be a brown dwarf much larger than earth. Even if it was traveling toward us astronomers would spot it years before it would arrive here and no such announcement has been made.
Conclusion: The likelihood of Planet X giving us any problem in the near future is close to zero and its existence is certainly questionable. There are probably undiscovered planets in the solar system, but they are not likely to be any threat to us.
Here’s the last one:
(3) Bob says he is Jesus reincarnated and you need to follow him and give him money.
There are a large number of people claiming to be some great one from the past. Why do they do this? Because if they can get their followers to believe it then their words will be given much more weight. David Koresh claimed to be Christ, convinced his followers of it and they followed him to the end and even refused to leave him as the fires at Waco burned them alive.
We do know a lot of the things accomplished by great individuals of the past and if they were to be reincarnated they should still possess those qualities. Can any of those claiming to be Jesus walk on water or raise the dead – or even come up with sound new teachings? Has anyone claiming to be Tesla invented anything comparable to the Tesla Coil? Is anyone claiming to be George Washington demonstrated great leadership?
We can use what we know for sure and discount most of these claims.
Then when the gurus ask for lots of money or maybe wants to have sex with you or your spouse you should run and not look back.
Conclusion: If we use what we know, or can learn, with reasonable certainty we can avoid much of the deception in the world and arrive at the truth.
Now let us look at the second principle:
Principle Two: Be willing to let your beliefs be either altered or dropped when evidence is presented that they are incorrect.
False beliefs are a huge hindrance to the discovery of truth and hence an obstacle to soul contact. We humans just do not want to admit we are wrong even when presented with hard facts.
On the other hand, the true seeker must be willing to drop a belief when presented with strong evidence that he is wrong.
Assignment: think back on your life and try and find beliefs that have changed. Then ask yourself if you have any current beliefs that may be wrong? Are you willing to drop or change them when presented with greater truth?
Affirmation: “My beliefs are subject to change.”
Day 189
Crystallization
Principle Two: Be willing to let your beliefs be either altered or dropped when evidence is presented that they are incorrect.
The principle of crystallization applies here. When we are young both our minds and our bodies are flexible and adaptable. As we age every thing becomes more rigid and crystallization sets in. What this means is that the seeker will often reach a point where he is satisfied with where he is and ceases any aspirations that will demand significant change of beliefs or new learning.
He has mastered his branch of endeavor and becomes mentally lazy and is satisfied to be the expert in his field or proficient at a trade and just does not feel the impetus to start any new learning venture outside of his specialty. Usually he only has minimal learning in his own narrow field of interests. He reaches a point of stagnation and stays there for the rest of his life and must wait until he is put in a new challenging situation in a future life to make further progress. This crystallization does not have to set in and it doesn’t happen in every case. Most of its seeds are sown by the time a man is thirty or earlier. The seeds are as follows:
(1) The man and, or woman studies or follows only one or two lines of thought or ideology and does not look outside them for light.
(2) The person sets an ultimate goal in life and is not opened to a higher goal that may offer itself later. Thus when his goal is reached he relaxes and crystallizes.
(3) An inflexible attitude that resists change, new ideas and additional learning.
If a person does not make a conscious effort to correct the trend to stagnation he will then crystallize in his early fifties and no power on earth can then teach this old dog new tricks. He may be very proficient and distinguished in his field, but his progression for this life is at that point at a halt and unfortunately he cannot seem to muster enough reason to see his situation clearly.
The first 28-30 years is like a mini-life. If one has solved his problems and learned needed lessons then the next 28 will be like a new birth or like a second life. If the needed lessons are not learned, then the second 28-year period will bring one face to face with the same problems he had in the first twenty-eight. If the pilgrim ignores the solving of these problems he will just coast along the line of least resistance and become crystallized by the second cycle. He is also likely to suffer ill health.
When the person rests on his laurels and relaxes and takes it easy as far as progress and learning is concerned he is likely to crystallize in his early fifties. The signs of stagnation always appear earlier, but they are reversible in the first half of life, but almost irreversible in the second half.
To understand crystallization, think of raw honey when no heat is applied to it. Crystals begin to form and it will no longer freely pour and gets too hard and brittle to be usable.
This is what happens to one who passes the age of 30, gets comfortable with his vocation, his education and his belief system. He rests upon his past learning and no longer tackles new projects – no longer challenges himself. Without heat and movement his life essence becomes like honey and resists motion and becomes hard and immovable.
Assignment: Examine your life for signs of crystallization. If you are under thirty you will still have a natural flexibility, but could be planting the wrong seeds. Have you explored teachings outside of your church or belief system or do you check out arguments made by more than one political belief?
If you are over thirty you will be settling into a life long agenda and may be developing some rigidness in your beliefs and ways of doing things.
If you are over 50 you will start to feel forces pulling you toward settling down so new endeavors and changes become more difficult to initiate. The seeker will have to manifest his power of will so even as he ages he can become “born again” into new ways of thinking should the situation require it.
Take stock of the forces in your life that may be pulling you toward crystallization and how you can neutralize them and move forward.
Affirmation: “I will myself to be born again into new and better ways of thinking.”
Day 190
The Problem of Change
Continuing Principle Two: Be willing to let your beliefs be either altered or dropped when evidence is presented that they are incorrect.
I enjoy watching political debate on TV. Ever so often one side will offer some solid facts that prove his point and what does the other guy do? Does he admit he may be wrong or even express a willingness to incorporate those facts into his belief system? We all know that such an event rarely, if ever, happens.
If the facts get in the way the guy will tune them out and ignore them as if they did not exist. He will then either resume his argument or change the subject to something immune to the facts just presented.
Many also elude questions where the answers may force reflective thinking or an acknowledgment that there is some flawed thinking. The response to such a question is usually acting as if the question was never asked and then an attempt to change the subject matter to something where the answer to the question does not apply.
It is indeed human nature to seek out a belief system and dig in with a mindset that will defend that system at all costs. Of course, the greatest cost paid by such a person is the truth.
All belief systems have their positive and negative points. All have some truth mixed with illusion. If the believer is willing to defend the whole package without analyzing and verifying the parts he will often find himself defending falsehoods. He will then want to change the subject when a question is asked that will cause him to reflect on that falsehood. Shining a light in the darkness of his mind will be terrifying to him.
Indeed, it is difficult for even the most enlightened and open minded to change their minds, especially concerning their core beliefs. Why is this?
The answer is that our core beliefs lay the foundation for something akin to a computer program that manages our lives. If you were a programmer and had worked long and hard on software and then discovered a major flaw that demanded a major rewrite, how would you feel? Well, you would not be excited about all the effort it would take to start over. Many would just look for a quick fix that masks the problem.
And that is what many tend to do with their lives. If a new truth stares them in the face and demands some new thinking they just apply the quick fix of rationalization that pushes it into the background.
It is indeed important that the seeker be willing to accept and apply inconvenient truths. It may seem to be a downer at the time but in the end great satisfaction will come, for the acceptance of light and truth always lead to joy – though it may not seem that way at first.
Assignment: Reflect on these questions:
(1) Which religion is the most correct?
(2) What is your concept of God?
(3) Which political party is most correct?
(4) What happens after we die?
(5) What kind of person would be the best mate for you?
Now consider how you would handle it if you found out for sure you were wrong on all of them.
It is not easy to receive correction and move into greater light but sooner or later we all must do it.
Affirmation: “I receive the truth with gladness.”
Day 191
Applying Logic
Let us move on to the Principle of Discovery number three:
“Those things accepted as true should be in harmony with logic, reason and common sense.”
This statement may seem self-evident and you would think that most people would happily apply it but unfortunately, this is not the case. The belief systems of most people have gaping holes in their logic. This indeed should not be the case because in the end all that is true is also logical once it is understood.
Those who make the strongest claims to follow that which is reasonable are the scientists yet despite overwhelming evidence they cannot admit that some type of higher intelligence designed the DNA, a huge computer program within each cell that has the necessary code for creation and duplication.
Since this course is centered on spiritual truth let us see how this principle applies to various religious belief systems. It is interesting that orthodox believers will point to alternative spiritual people and accuse them as being crazy and misled but often overlooked is that orthodox believers generally refuse to logically look at their own beliefs.
Many common beliefs about God do not conform to logic or common sense. Some see him as a fatherly figure sitting on a throne watching every thought and move that all the billions of people make.
Why would any being even be interested in doing such a tedious and boring endeavor?
God is supposed to know everything that ever was or will be including who will be saved or damned. If so, then why would he create so many that he knew would be damned and suffer for eternity?
And speaking of the damned – a common belief is that the wicked will be sent to a burning hell for all eternity, yet, on the other hand, they proclaim that God is love and God is a more loving parent than us mortals.
So would the average mortal parent send his imperfect kid to burn in the fires of hell for eternity? Of course not. We do what we can to help even the most rebellious of our children avoid suffering and have no desire to inflict pain upon them. Would not a loving God provide a way for all his children to progress and learn their lessons?
Concerning salvation, many say that all you have to do to be saved from the fires of hell is to accept Jesus. The problem is that many read the Bible and get different ideas of God and Jesus, but true believers will insist that the saved must accept their version. If you sincerely study the Bible but get the wrong version of Jesus in your mind you will not be saved.
Is this logical? Would you condemn your own child to misery if he had some wrong ideas about you because you did not make yourself clear to him?
Then there are the scriptures. Many believe they are 100% accurate and every word is from the mind of God. Overlooked is the fact that we have no original manuscripts and we know that many of the writings have been altered as they have been reproduced numerous times. In addition, they were written by imperfect men so accepting every word as infallible is indeed a stretch.
Then there is the belief of many that the universe is less than 10,000 years old. This defies the fact that we have observed objects so far away that it has taken billions of years for their light to reach us.
We could go on indefinitely, but this gets the fact across that logic and reason is definitely lacking in orthodox believers.
Assignment: Ask yourself, have you applied this principle in your own life? Did you find some flaws in logic, reason and common sense in the religious beliefs taught you as a youth? Did questioning lead you to greater light and knowledge?
Do you still hold some beliefs that are not logical? Are you prepared to examine them in the light of truth?
Affirmation: “I will question that which does not make sense.”
Day 192
Enlightened Sources
Principle of Discovery number four:
“Seek out true sources of knowledge; study and incorporate them into your life. Knowledge dispels error and illusion.”
This expands on the first principle, which is to find dependable true anchors as a foundation for which to test various claims of truth.
There are a lot of frivolous teachings out there that do not have a lot of validity to the rational mind, The seeker is wise to not spend too much time on them, though some may be good for entertainment. The wise seeker will take those writings which are the highest and most consistently true in his judgment and study them.
I read quite a wide variety of materials myself and much of it is questionable, but as a writer and spiritual teacher it is beneficial for me to be aware of what is out there. In addition, you never know when you are going to find some pearls of wisdom. Some teachings I find interesting and read them all the way through and others without much light I will just read enough to get an idea of what they are about.
Throughout my life I have found maybe a half dozen sources of spiritual light I consider profound enough to return to, read again and study with focused intent. An author has to strike a strong chord of truth with me to cause me to pick up his writings again after reading it once.
Once the seeker does find a source that he considers high quality truth he should do likewise and not only read it more than once, but study the material. It is important to highlight, take notes and select important passages and impress them on the brain or memorize them.
After the seeker has found sources of light that register with his soul, and studied them, he must also incorporate the principles into his life. Applying teachings thought to be true is the best way to verify that they really are the truth. This principle was mentioned by Jesus:
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” John 7:17
In other words, Jesus was saying that if one applies what he teaches he will prove to himself that it is true.
If a teaching leaves you flat and has nothing to apply then it may be best to ignore it and move on.
Of course, the highest source of knowledge for seekers taking this course is the soul itself. It rarely comes to you and gives you facts, but it will guide you to true sources and verify to you true principles.
Assignment: Review in your mind sources of valuable knowledge that elevated your spiritual thought and pick the three that are most important. Have you read them more than once? Have you reviewed important passages or memorized some content? Have you incorporated some of the teachings in your life? What more can you do to benefit from them?
Affirmation: “I seek, I read, I evaluate and return to the gold.”
Day 193
Do All You Can Do
Principle of Discovery number five:
“Gather all the reliable information you can about a subject of interest and try and see the principles suggested by the data. Then draw conclusions and run the conclusions by your soul and see if you receive a response.
This is a simple but important idea. If the seeker really wants to know the truth about a subject he must do more than dream of knowing it. He must apply effort in advancing toward discovery,
First he must find all knowledge of the subject available. There is a spiritual rule which says, “Before you can receive divine assistance you must first do all you can do to accomplish the goal yourself.”
Let us say that you wanted to solve the mysteries of the Great Pyramid. Nothing much would happen if you just made a casual attempt, such as reading a couple books and surfing the internet. If you really want to go beyond what is out there and readily available in knowledge you first must absorb all the knowledge that already exists.
If a seeker is serious he will read everything he can find on the subject. He will read establishment thinking and out of the box thinking. He will thoroughly check the internet for data and go to any available public presentation on the subject. Then, if he has the means, he will travel to Egypt and visit the structure and get a real time feel of its majesty.
After finding out all one can on the subject he will hen visualize the Pyramid and imagine how it may have been built and the mysteries contained therein.
Because energy follows thought the time will come when ideas will flash into his consciousness and you may come to conclusions not written in any book. In addition to this the seeker may have dreams that will reveal information on the subject.
Finally, one can apply the principles discussed in this course and contact his own soul which may provide further enlightenment.
The point is that you cannot expect to sit back and relax and expect new knowledge to just pour into your mind. Breaking new ground takes a focused effort.
Asignment: Think back on your life and ask yourself if you have applied this principle with a subject, especially a spiritual one. Have you explored subjects like life after death, God, scriptures, esoteric writings, out of body experience, channeling etc.? Have you ever placed an intense effort in one direction?
Now think of a subject that you would like to explore in depth. Are you willing to spend the time and effort necessary to find out all that is possible on the subject? If so, you will be a step closer to attracting the attention and help of the soul.
Affirmation: “I will do all I can to reach the goal, and, if not reached, I will then ask for help.”
Day 194
Eliminating the False
Principle Six: “Use the process of elimination.”
This is another simple but effective principle that is often neglected.
If you are looking at ten different potential truths and have proven to your satisfaction that seven of them are flawed then the logical thing to do is to eliminate them and focus on the three that still make sense. You would think that everyone would do this, but our feelings often get in the way and cause us to revisit and embrace error when we should know better.
Many are a little like the abused person in a relationship who vows “never again” but then is drawn to another abuser and suffers all over again.
Even so, some discard that which is false, but then return to it because it feels familiar.
You do not need soul contact to use the process of elimination or most of the Principles of Discovery, but such principles will make soul contact easier by eliminating much obvious error so the seeker can focus on truth.
Let us suppose you come across a teacher who claims to be in contact and speak for Zor, a mighty solar being that is far more advanced than Jesus. Friends give you literature and encourage you to follow him. You decide to do some checking and use the process of elimination.
You give it a fair shot and read the literature plus some extra material you found off the web.
The first question you ask yourself is whether or not the guy could have just made up all the supposed revelations. You conclude the answer is yes.
Then you ask if the intelligence revealed in the writings seems to be beyond an imaginative human. You conclude that is not.
You figure that if this contact is real that there should be little or no error in the writings. Then you find several predictions that did not come true. The explanation given is that consciousness has changed and the predictions did not need to come true.
You conclude that this is a lame excuse many false prophets give and is evidence that the there is no great being involved.
Finally your research indicates that the prophet makes a lot of money from the enterprise and is very promiscuous. On top of that your soul does not verify his overall teachings though some things he says may be true.
You decide to eliminate this guy as a source of light and take whatever he says with a grain of salt.
Assignment: Think back to some teacher you have encountered who made fantastic claims. Ask similar questions about him or her and see if you can prove with reasonable surety whether he is either the real thing or a false teacher.
Affirmation: “I eliminate the false and the truth is seen.”
Day 195
Earned Authorities
Principle Seven: “Seek out proven authorities and learn from them.”
Earlier we talked about the principle of the Beast and that it represented unearned and unjust authority. We pointed out that many are deceived by the pure power of authority itself which often leads to disaster.
On the other hand, there is duality in all things and just as there are many deceitful authorities in positions of power there are also positive authorities who are earned authorities because they have proven over time that they are reliable and can be trusted.
There are many unearned authorities in politics, religion, big business, education and even science. Government and religion has the most fertile soil for them. On the other hand, the highest percentage of earned authorities are in sports. Most any athlete whether he be a football player, basketball, baseball or any other field cannot keep his job unless he can actually demonstrate skill in his profession. Most of us will readily admit we cannot throw a ball like Tom Brady, but most feel that they could do a better job than a lot of the politicians out there. That is because one field is dominated by unearned authorities and the other has those who actually demonstrate their skills for all to see.
The seeker needs to be like the coach who selects his players after testing them to make sure they have the skill that he needs. How many people do you know that have followed some movement without verifying that the authorities leading it can be trusted? And how many have discovered even in their own lives that spiritual authorities they once trusted did not really know that much that was true?
Many escaping from orthodox religion still follow some authority, or at least give him or her a lot of weight. This may be a prophet, priest, guru, teacher or author. Whoever his authorities are he needs to test them. If the seeker has reasonable soul contact the best way is to run their words and teachings by their own souls. If the soul consistently acknowledges truth in their words then they can become earned authorities.
If the seeker has not yet proven his own soul contact then the use of these Principles of Discovery will be helpful.
Finding a proven authority is indeed a pearl of great price for such can lead the seeker to open his mind.
How is that?
As you study the words of an earned authority you will occasionally come across something that seems questionable, or maybe even thought by yourself to be false.
But, because it is stated by a proven authority your thought process may be something like this.
“I know the guy is not infallible but he has been right very consistently so maybe there is something I am not seeing. Perhaps I should think seriously on this.”
Diligent seekers will have this happen to them with their earned authorities. Sometimes they will wind up rejecting the teaching, but other times their minds will expand and they will come to greater understanding. When this happens trust in their earned authorities will go up a notch.
Assignment: Reflect on earned and unearned authorities in your past and try and identify three earned authorities in your current life. Are you sure they are worthy of your trust. Why?
Affirmation: “I will give trust to those who have proven themselves.”
Day 196
Correct Perception
Principle Eight: Use the power of your mind to insure that you are perceiving correctly.
I mention the mind because the emotional self cannot be trusted to reliably interpret what the senses perceive. If the person dislikes the source he will slant the meaning of the data in a negative light and if he likes it he will often show bias in a positive light. The seeker, therefore, must quiet the emotions and look at all things perceived as they happened, not as he feels they happened.
Even if one lays aside bias it is difficult to maintain correct perception. This is illustrated in our courtrooms every day. Two unbiased witnesses who saw a crime or accident will sometimes give conflicting details in their accounts.
On the other hand, if you want to see how the emotions distort, listen to the answers given by two opposing people involved in a car accident. Often both will think it is the other guy’s fault and their testimonies will conflict much more than that of unbiased bystanders.
We’ve talked previously about the importance of not letting the emotions create static and distortion to interfere with soul contact. This principle is good practice for one must learn to minimize distortion of that which is perceived on the physical plane before he can negate it on higher planes.
Let us look at some examples of distorted perception.
Person 1: “You’re always burning the toast.”
Person 2: “No I do not.”
Person number one, like most of us, when saying something like this is not speaking literally. When we say “always” or “all the time” what is literally meant is often, “periodically” or “cyclically, ” but who speaks that way? Hardly anyone. The fact is that we often use phrases that imply something different than the literal meaning.
Person Two may be interpreting the statement too literally. If he perceived correctly he would realize that Person One is saying he burns the toast too often, but not literally every time.
This type of miscommunication may seem trivial but it causes problems, not only on a personal level but national as it manifests regularly in the current hot political climate.
For instance, a politician may say something as a joke and an opponent may take it literally and use it to attack the guy.
Another may innocently use a politically incorrect phrase and again wind up attacked because his obvious meaning is not perceived correctly. Of course, in politics good intentions of an opponent means nothing if one can use his words to destroy him.
Bible believers are a great example of distorted perception. We all have the same book available printed in black and white yet interpret what is perceived in many different ways.
So, what can the seeker do to insure he has correct perception? There are several things:
(1) Make sure you register correctly the written or spoken word. I don’t know how many times I have heard someone incorrectly quote the written or spoken word. We have a tendency to remember what we feel was said rather than what was actually said. The true seeker must accurately register what was spoken or written.
(2) The seeker must assess whether the communication is to be taken literally or not. If not he must learn to “read between the lines.”
(3) If there is doubt about what is meant the seeker should ask questions so he can clearly understand what is meant.
(4) Do not insist the speaker means something he says he does not mean.
Let me explain. This happens often in arguments. One may make a statement that was badly worded and when he sees he is misunderstood he revises it to correct the meaning. The problem is the other guy will often not accept the revision and insist he literally meant what he said the first time.
The fact is the speaker knows what he thinks more accurately than anyone else so we must let him clarify his thoughts if his first statements were not worded precisely.
(5) Have intent to accurately perceive. I once read instructions on how to remember names and it made the statement that the average guy can increase his ability to remember names by 50% if he just pays attention when he first hears the name.
Even so, many seekers can increase their ability to perceive correctly by a large percentage by just making a sincere effort to receive the communication accurately.
Assignment: When there is an argument then one or both parties do not perceive something correctly. Think back to the last couple arguments you had. Was it really the other guy who was perceiving incorrectly or could you have been at fault also? If so, what could it have been.
Affirmation: “I see what is, not what I feel should be.”
Day 197
Effective Communication
Principle Nine: Communicate clearly to avoid distorting the truth.
The last lesson stressed the need to register correctly that which is perceived. Sometimes, however, perception itself is problematic because the material is either not presented clearly or distorted. Sometimes it is obfuscated on purpose and other times the person is just careless.
Whatever the case, it is the duty of the sincere seeker to do his part in effective communication and not being a part of the problem.
The first step is for the seeker to make sure that all the words he either speaks or writes are true to the best of his ability. To deceive or to lie sets the person on a path contrary to the direction of the soul, so even the small so-called white lies need to be avoided.
Do you expect that which you receive from your Higher Self to be true? Well, it expects all that you give out to be true also if you are to commune or merge with it.
Secondly, there are times that even the sincerely honest person has difficulty in communicating his thoughts effectively.
It is interesting that many arguments that people have are not caused by actual disagreements, but by bad communication. If communication were clear then many of those in an argument would discover that they do not really disagree after all. Then there are other arguments where the disagreement is not over the core principle, but the degree with which it should be applied.
Overall, effective communication will increase the perception of truth, reduce error and reduce conflict. It will also condition the mind of the seeker to be in greater harmony with the soul.
If the sensitive person is explaining something he will sense when his words are not getting across correctly. Other times it is perfectly clear there is a problem because of the response of listeners.
If one feels he is not getting his thoughts across accurately there are several things he can do.
(1) If the seeker is speaking rather than writing he can ask for questions.
(2) He can rephrase his ideas using different language.
(3) He can expand on his ideas. Maybe he has not presented enough of the picture for understanding.
(4) He can illustrate with analogies, stories or parables. The simpler the better. One reason that the words of Jesus are so enduring is that he illustrated his ideas with simple parables that made at least some truth easy to see.
Assignment: Monitor all your speech for the next day and ask yourself if all your words are clearly communicated with as much honesty as possible. Also look back on a recent argument you have had and ask yourself where the communication was defective. Were you partly responsible?
Affirmation: “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Plato
Copyright by J J Dewey
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