Tuesday, April 11, 2006
The Will to Live
Acquiring the will to live is an important step toward self-empowerment and mastery of our physical lives. How can we achieve this strength of will?
There is an instinct or primal will to live deep within each of us. It is the collective will of the human species to survive into the future, to grow and expand.
We are a part of the human race and there is within us something that wishes the human race to physically survive. There is something that wants the human race to be alive billions of years into the future when our sun goes nova and dies out.
There is within us something that wants the human race to expand beyond planet earth, to explore the stars and other galaxies. Something that wants humanity to build miraculous cities beneath the oceans and on top of the highest mountains. Something that wants us to go ever onward in the face of overwhelming opposition.
There is something within us that delights in healthy bodies with fine athletic ability. Something that delights in competence, problem solving and new challenges. Something that wants the human race to take the next evolutionary step toward physical perfection. That something is the WILL TO LIVE.
Why is this will to live so strong in some people and weak in others? When confronted with obstacles and strong adversities why do so many people give up? More important why do those few not give up?
Most of us have learned we are more than physical bodies, we have a soul or astral body and awareness. We have learned to value our "spiritual" selves over our "physical" selves and been taught that physical life is not spiritual life.
Spiritual and mental pursuits are what have become important in our society. Even watching football or basketball on television is a passive pursuit! It isn't a physical one. Has anyone ever thought it strange that people become more emotional about watching sports than actually playing sports? Perhaps the only way some people can become emotional in today's world is by watching someone else do something.
We have become a society of "watchers" and not "doers". Our sense of personal responsibility has been lost. We allow the few "doers" to dominate and control our lives. Because we have no "self discipline" we submit to "external discipline". Rules and regulations are constantly eroding our personal freedoms while we say and do nothing. Each new law places a restriction on our lives that was not there before.
Our society encourages reliance on "outside" help and discourages self-reliance. We are encouraged to remain passive and let others do our thinking and our living for us. Everywhere someone is trying to entertain us and direct our thoughts. We are told there is no need for a will to live. We are told we no longer have instincts, we have outgrown the need for them.
Yet when we try to entertain others, when we feel we have something of importance to share, no one listens or is interested. When we try to "do" something we are blocked. Our society wants us to remain right where we are in life.
Give us noble spiritual goals and ideals. Tell us how important the next political election is going to be. Saturate our minds with words and ideas until our heads spin. Seduce us into living fantasy lives that have little to do with physical reality. Encourage us to give our personal power away to external authorities.
But at any cost, do not let us actively and physically take steps toward making our world a better place. Don't tell people they must take baby steps before they can run. Don't tell people a goal must be small and attainable at first.
Show people great heroes and tell them, "Look, you can do that too!" But forget to tell them hard work is involved. Sell everyone the easy route to success that never works.
Our society does these things and our society is seriously flawed. Our society is falling apart and all we are doing is watching! We are watching because we have been taught to.
This over valuing of the spiritual and mental life prevents us from acquiring mastery of our physical lives.
Yes, our soul is immortal. Yes, the Christ spirit is within us if we will reach out to it and listen to the still small voice of our conscience. No, the spiritual life and mental life are not more important than the physical and emotional life.
Life and awareness require both. The vital life force and awareness that flows through us are the result of a resonant circuit formed from equal parts of physical and spiritual material. Each side is equal in importance for life. Each world is valid and has its own laws. We do not need just one. We NEED BOTH!
The concept of reincarnation is valuable because it helps us realize the importance of a life of growth and learning from one life to the next. It helps us realize the situations we find ourselves in are the result of things we have done in the past. It tells us the things we run and hide from will still be waiting for us in a future lifetime. It tells us there is no escape from the consequences of our actions.
Our life situations are lessons we need in order to grow. We chose to experience these major lessons before we were born. The concept of reincarnation helps us become responsible for our physical actions on a day to day basis. If we do not treat others fairly we will someday be treated unfairly by others. In this way we realize what it is like to be treated unfairly. There are consequences to everything we do, both good consequences and bad consequences. These consequences are called karma. What goes around, comes around.
It is a tragedy that this concept of reincarnation is also misused in a way that destroys the WILL TO LIVE within each of us. Many that believe in reincarnation also believe at some point it is no longer needed to be born in a physical body. They believe we will have learned all the lessons a physical body can give and we must evolve and go on to a spiritual body beyond physical life.
They believe someday we will live in a spiritual world and have a spiritual body. THEY NO LONGER IDENTIFY WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD. IT IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT!
Traditional Christianity teaches that if we believe in the teachings of Jesus and accept him as the Christ spirit within us we will be saved. We will have a spiritual body and reign with him in heaven, a non-physical place. THEY NO LONGER IDENTIFY WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD. IT IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT TO THEM.
By over valuing the spiritual body and awareness we lose contact with our own WILL TO LIVE and are less effective in our physical lives. In my opinion there is only one way for us to regain our WILL TO LIVE .
We must believe with conviction that physical life and a physical body are as much a requirement as a spiritual life and a spiritual body. We must believe they are equal in value, that awareness and life itself somehow demands both a physical body and a spiritual body. We must believe with conviction that a billion years from now we will still require both a physical body and a spiritual body.
We must believe that if we want a world of peace, love and beauty we must somehow fashion it out of the one we physically live in. If we want to live in heaven and reign with Jesus we must create heaven right here in the physical world we live in. We must accept the Christ spirit into our physical hearts every day of the week and by our actions show what type of Christian we are.
We must work with the materials in front of us first and use them to form the materials that will help us achieve our goals. We must find a way to bring our visions of a spiritual life into practical and livable physical reality.
We must develop strong emotions about the beauty of the world we live in. God created the world and it was good! God looked at his creation and it was good! God created man and woman in his image and it was good! The Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. It is right before us and it is good.
We must physically act and do those things needed to bring the Kingdom of God into physical reality. We must physically and emotionally struggle and gradually master our own lives. By example we can inspire others to take responsibility for their own lives. We can turn our physical world into the heaven that God intended it to be.
Only this belief will give us the will power to roll up our sleeves and do the physical WORK needed to achieve mastery of our physical lives and world. We need to make our world a heaven and not a hell. We need THE WILL TO LIVE.
There is an instinct or primal will to live deep within each of us. It is the collective will of the human species to survive into the future, to grow and expand.
We are a part of the human race and there is within us something that wishes the human race to physically survive. There is something that wants the human race to be alive billions of years into the future when our sun goes nova and dies out.
There is within us something that wants the human race to expand beyond planet earth, to explore the stars and other galaxies. Something that wants humanity to build miraculous cities beneath the oceans and on top of the highest mountains. Something that wants us to go ever onward in the face of overwhelming opposition.
There is something within us that delights in healthy bodies with fine athletic ability. Something that delights in competence, problem solving and new challenges. Something that wants the human race to take the next evolutionary step toward physical perfection. That something is the WILL TO LIVE.
Why is this will to live so strong in some people and weak in others? When confronted with obstacles and strong adversities why do so many people give up? More important why do those few not give up?
Most of us have learned we are more than physical bodies, we have a soul or astral body and awareness. We have learned to value our "spiritual" selves over our "physical" selves and been taught that physical life is not spiritual life.
Spiritual and mental pursuits are what have become important in our society. Even watching football or basketball on television is a passive pursuit! It isn't a physical one. Has anyone ever thought it strange that people become more emotional about watching sports than actually playing sports? Perhaps the only way some people can become emotional in today's world is by watching someone else do something.
We have become a society of "watchers" and not "doers". Our sense of personal responsibility has been lost. We allow the few "doers" to dominate and control our lives. Because we have no "self discipline" we submit to "external discipline". Rules and regulations are constantly eroding our personal freedoms while we say and do nothing. Each new law places a restriction on our lives that was not there before.
Our society encourages reliance on "outside" help and discourages self-reliance. We are encouraged to remain passive and let others do our thinking and our living for us. Everywhere someone is trying to entertain us and direct our thoughts. We are told there is no need for a will to live. We are told we no longer have instincts, we have outgrown the need for them.
Yet when we try to entertain others, when we feel we have something of importance to share, no one listens or is interested. When we try to "do" something we are blocked. Our society wants us to remain right where we are in life.
Give us noble spiritual goals and ideals. Tell us how important the next political election is going to be. Saturate our minds with words and ideas until our heads spin. Seduce us into living fantasy lives that have little to do with physical reality. Encourage us to give our personal power away to external authorities.
But at any cost, do not let us actively and physically take steps toward making our world a better place. Don't tell people they must take baby steps before they can run. Don't tell people a goal must be small and attainable at first.
Show people great heroes and tell them, "Look, you can do that too!" But forget to tell them hard work is involved. Sell everyone the easy route to success that never works.
Our society does these things and our society is seriously flawed. Our society is falling apart and all we are doing is watching! We are watching because we have been taught to.
This over valuing of the spiritual and mental life prevents us from acquiring mastery of our physical lives.
Yes, our soul is immortal. Yes, the Christ spirit is within us if we will reach out to it and listen to the still small voice of our conscience. No, the spiritual life and mental life are not more important than the physical and emotional life.
Life and awareness require both. The vital life force and awareness that flows through us are the result of a resonant circuit formed from equal parts of physical and spiritual material. Each side is equal in importance for life. Each world is valid and has its own laws. We do not need just one. We NEED BOTH!
The concept of reincarnation is valuable because it helps us realize the importance of a life of growth and learning from one life to the next. It helps us realize the situations we find ourselves in are the result of things we have done in the past. It tells us the things we run and hide from will still be waiting for us in a future lifetime. It tells us there is no escape from the consequences of our actions.
Our life situations are lessons we need in order to grow. We chose to experience these major lessons before we were born. The concept of reincarnation helps us become responsible for our physical actions on a day to day basis. If we do not treat others fairly we will someday be treated unfairly by others. In this way we realize what it is like to be treated unfairly. There are consequences to everything we do, both good consequences and bad consequences. These consequences are called karma. What goes around, comes around.
It is a tragedy that this concept of reincarnation is also misused in a way that destroys the WILL TO LIVE within each of us. Many that believe in reincarnation also believe at some point it is no longer needed to be born in a physical body. They believe we will have learned all the lessons a physical body can give and we must evolve and go on to a spiritual body beyond physical life.
They believe someday we will live in a spiritual world and have a spiritual body. THEY NO LONGER IDENTIFY WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD. IT IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT!
Traditional Christianity teaches that if we believe in the teachings of Jesus and accept him as the Christ spirit within us we will be saved. We will have a spiritual body and reign with him in heaven, a non-physical place. THEY NO LONGER IDENTIFY WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD. IT IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT TO THEM.
By over valuing the spiritual body and awareness we lose contact with our own WILL TO LIVE and are less effective in our physical lives. In my opinion there is only one way for us to regain our WILL TO LIVE .
We must believe with conviction that physical life and a physical body are as much a requirement as a spiritual life and a spiritual body. We must believe they are equal in value, that awareness and life itself somehow demands both a physical body and a spiritual body. We must believe with conviction that a billion years from now we will still require both a physical body and a spiritual body.
We must believe that if we want a world of peace, love and beauty we must somehow fashion it out of the one we physically live in. If we want to live in heaven and reign with Jesus we must create heaven right here in the physical world we live in. We must accept the Christ spirit into our physical hearts every day of the week and by our actions show what type of Christian we are.
We must work with the materials in front of us first and use them to form the materials that will help us achieve our goals. We must find a way to bring our visions of a spiritual life into practical and livable physical reality.
We must develop strong emotions about the beauty of the world we live in. God created the world and it was good! God looked at his creation and it was good! God created man and woman in his image and it was good! The Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. It is right before us and it is good.
We must physically act and do those things needed to bring the Kingdom of God into physical reality. We must physically and emotionally struggle and gradually master our own lives. By example we can inspire others to take responsibility for their own lives. We can turn our physical world into the heaven that God intended it to be.
Only this belief will give us the will power to roll up our sleeves and do the physical WORK needed to achieve mastery of our physical lives and world. We need to make our world a heaven and not a hell. We need THE WILL TO LIVE.
