LIFE INSIDE OUT – REAL MEN June 15, 2008
Posted by cosmicsandbox in Uncategorized.Tags: Caring, Entitlement, Integrity, Kind, Real Men, Tim Russert, Truth
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If I could point to a single man who exemplified what a life lived INSIDE OUT would look like in our world today, it would be Tim Russert. Known for his program, Meet the Press on NBC, he was suddenly snatched from us last week. He passionately lived from his heart, which sadly gave out on him at the young age of 58 – right before Father’s Day, which is oddly significant. Fatherhood was such a vital part of him as the only son of Big Russ and as father to his only son, Luke.
His dad, Big Russ now 88, was immortalized in his book Big Russ and Me, which was all about the legacy his dad instilled in him to live and love 100% from his heart. His dad stressed one thing that Tim has lived by and used as a bench mark in raising his own son, Luke. “Always know that you are loved, but not entitled.” Holding to this truth, he remained humble, real and loving to all. He was the same man with everyone, whether a laborer or a President.
Our world is in dire need of men who, like Tim, can be strong and male and still be grounded in self knowledge so deeply that they can be soft and caring. The fact that he was so dedicated to integrity made him the “gold standard” of political and social journalism. His command of the truth exposed the counterfeits that found themselves in his presence proving the power of living from one’s heart. He was never mean or controlling. He simply and strongly pursued the truth until the interviewee revealed it.
It takes great courage and strength to hold to the “gold standard of truth” in a world awash in lies, deception and ego trips. But every single time we make the choice for truth with ourselves and others we enlarge our hearts and our world. The fact that the world press revered this trait in Tim is his legacy to us, the public he worked so hard to serve. From this we can hope that others will realize how vital it is to put truth ahead of profit in our media and corporate board rooms.
Real men are so desperately needed in our ailing world right now. We can’t tolerate any more “boy men” needing to prove themselves, using the world as their private playground for power plays and war games. This routine is part of the old patriarchy that’s been driving civilization into the ground for a few thousand years. We crave to have men who are strong but also grounded enough to live Inside Out from the heart.
I think this is possible and that it can happen quickly. Because of economic and political turmoil worldwide, people are tired of the status quo and business as usual politics. We want to believe in ourselves and our leaders. We want to honor our heartfelt convictions.
When we experience the shock of losing great men who give their lives to do the right thing we wake up. We hear a call from within to rise to a higher standard. Mediocre isn’t okay anymore. If we don’t do our best it isn’t worth doing. Every moment counts. Every person counts. There are no “accidents”. We never know when our heart will punch our ticket and tell us the trip is over.
The wakeup call is becoming louder and louder, “Make life count every moment.” But, we can be so distracted and busy that we don’t hear. A shock like Tim’s passing can be very precious and sacred, especially if we take it to heart by stopping and listening to our own hearts within.
I hope men as well as women around our country and the world will hear the message of these men’s lives, and have courage to live for truth Then they may just “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks”. Isaiah 2:4
ARE YOU IN ‘CONTROL’ OR ‘COMMAND’? June 9, 2008
Posted by cosmicsandbox in Uncategorized.add a comment
From the time we are little kids we strive to be in control. But very early on it becomes obvious that we aren’t in control. We are controlled by almost everything in our lives…parents, school, community, police on down to the bully on the playground. We don’t like it one bit. We want control and a predictable life, darn it! We believe we can create this life by force. It takes a lifetime to learn we can’t.
The need for control is built into our hard drive as human beings and is a key to our survival. Another hard wired human need is to be nurtured, which includes being listened to, accepted and understood. This need is even more vital to our thriving than food and shelter, because if one is truly loved and respected for themselves they are empowered to do almost anything! However, we can’t force someone to love and respect us.
The word empowered is the key here. The difference between empowered and enforced is huge. It is the difference between controlling and commanding. As children we are not empowered because we haven’t earned it yet. Power is bestowed. Others will willingly submit to another who is trustworthy no matter the age, sex or race. We have examples in Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and many others.
The intent for wanting control over others determines whether one will be a dictator or a diplomat, whether one will hear an opposing idea or be closed minded. If the intention to control comes from fear of losing face or security, then authoritarian measures will be used to reign others in, and prove who is boss.
But the flip side of controlling from fear is commanding from love, which overrides and transforms fear. It is a head vs. heart issue. Control is of the head (or left brain ego mind) and command is from the heart (or right brain, intuitive mind). We speak of someone “having command” of a situation. It is so much broader and comprehensive than saying someone “has control”. With control you get the feeling of great strain to hold things together that could fall apart at any second. But with command there is a peace and security that every contingency is covered, and that all will be well in the end.
We must wake up and realize controlling by force just makes what we’re resisting more persistent and bigger? Look at all the things we are at war against…drugs, poverty, terrorism, immigration. What would being in command over drugs, poverty, terrorism, etc. look like? We can find out by questioning our motives for wanting control.
To take command we must be willing to hear the opposition’s viewpoint. Why are people taking drugs? Why are people drowning in poverty? Why are individuals choosing terrorism to get their message through? Why are people risking their lives to enter our country illegally? We will never have command if we don’t question the motives for these “wars”.
The toxic part of controlling is that it can never instill trust because its source is fear. Inability to trust causes control freaks with a myriad of psychotic disorders manifesting as addictions, perversions, and fanaticism, both political and religious. When we don’t trust ourselves, we can’t trust others. Without trust, true power or command is impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!
Trust originates in the heart, not the head. We can’t talk ourselves into trusting ourselves. We can only earn that trust of ourselves by being authentic and honest with ourselves and others. Then we have command of our circumstances and have clarity for decisions.
Our biggest and only enemy that needs to be controlled is fear. It truly is the root of all evil. It takes over our minds and drowns out our heart’s wisdom, which makes us desperate to have control, which then creates more fear…the classic vicious circle.
Think about your motive the next time you find yourself wanting to control another. Knowing it won’t work, can you refrain and choose instead to empower the situation by following your heart, knowing what is the very best for all in the long run? Control can be a quick fix, but never the solution. The issue merely subsides to create a bigger problem later. Gaining command of the situation through trust and understanding transforms it. The choice is always ours.
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? Part 1 June 25, 2008
Posted by cosmicsandbox in Religious commentary.Tags: catastophe, corruption, dictatorship, elite, Jesus, poor, super hero
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We hear this question bandied about lately. I think it is because we’re at the same place that Israel was in under the Roman rule in the first century before they were crushed by the Romans in 70 A.D. At a subconscious level people now feel a great unease as they did then when Jesus lived.
Imminent catastrophe looms on the horizon as it did then. Governments are mostly corrupt dictatorships pandering to the super rich, while masses grovel in the trenches to eek out a living. Our government is much like Rome was – a miltaristic empire suffering from ED, or Empire Dysfunction as Caroline Casey* has defined it.
Control but no Command* is the rule of the day. No reverence for God or Creation. People are commodities, not valued spiritual beings clothed in flesh. Inequities abound between rich and poor, free and slave. Sounds awfully grim, doesn’t it? Things haven’t changed much in 2000 years. Alas!
Jesus was not a super hero. We are seeing a lot of those movies now, because in our weakness we think that might just be the only salvation for “the huddled masses yearning to be free”. But bigger, stronger attackers can’t be the answer. Jesus came on the scene as a prophet consumed with compassion like Jeremiah in the Old Testament who was also called the “weeping prophet”. Not your typical Super Hero to the rescue.
If you could conjure up Jesus and ask him what he would do in 2008, he would probably weep like Jermiah. Most religious leaders of the world would condemn him as they did then, because he would tell them the same thing he did the leaders in Jerusalem: “Love your enemies, feed the poor, love God with all your heart and your neigbor as yourself.” Wow! Not a very popular or politically correct message. And I might add…impossible to do in one’s own strength.
The rich and powerful would certainly disdain him. He proclaimed, “Sell all you have a give to the poor. You can’t serve two masters – God and Money.”
Jesus’ demographics was the disinfranchised who had no money to spend on stuff. They were not anyone’s “target market”. No one polled them ever. They had no say in anything. Can you imagine setting a career path to minister and teach this group? Yet that’s what Jesus did. More in Part 2
*Caroline Casey – visionaryactivism.com *See previous post on Control or Command