The Guilt Industry

Christians say we're born with original sin but in my experience sin is quite difficult to achieve. Sin take some organising. Sin requires a separate credit card and a post office box. Sin requires the ability to lie under pressure.

It's more likely we're born with original guilt. Guilt is easy.

Your average person spends most of the day bathed in non-specific guilt. That's why we all flinch when we see a police officer. We can't precisely recall being part of a major bank robbery, sometime in the previous 20 minutes, but in the back of our minds there's a suspicion we probably were.

The world conspires to make us feel guilty. For every person who is peddling sin, there are 10 who are peddling guilt.

Just the other day, researchers in London accused fat people of causing global warming. Those of us with a few extra kilos are now to blame for the death of the planet. Up to now, we'd merely been blamed for adding an unattractive element to the streetscape. Suddenly we're to blame for the disappearance of the street itself!
It was like being called up before a magistrate and finding your crime had been suddenly upgraded.

"But I thought I was charged with littering..."

"No, sorry lady, it's now the destruction of all humanity. Now, how would you like to plead?"

The Guilt Industry also offers bucket-loads of official advice, all of it designed to make us all feel like failures. One example is the new recommendation on wine: drink more than one glass of wine in a 24 hour period and you'll die young. It's an unlikely piece of advice which, if followed, would bankrupt the Federal Government, so I'm guessing they don't expect people will actually do as they are told.

It's not only the wine. The Guilt Industry believes you need to spend at least an hour each day exercising, 8 1/2 hours sleeping, 8 hours working, 1 hour meditating, 10 minutes teeth cleaning, 3 minutes teeth flossing, 1 hour reading to your children, 1 hour eating dinner together in the European mode, 3 hours enduring public transport, all finished off with 20 minutes of vigorous daily sex.

By my calculation, you need 48 hours in every day just to lead what the various experts consider an acceptable life.

Just one question: if I manage to get through all 48 hours of tasks, could I at least have a second drink?

Jesus, they say, died for our sins. Shame he couldn't have also snuffed out some of the unproductive guilt!


We were not feeling at all guilty when we were barging in France in July 2008!

Doubt verses Enlightenment

Great doubt - great enlightenment
Small doubt - small enlightenment
No doubt - no enlightenment

Zen belief


It's the simplest thoughts that carry the biggest punch.

The quote came to me in a newsletter article with the heading "And when we seem to fail?". It brought home that sometimes it is all right to feel no progress in any and every aspect of our lives. It isn't failure. It's looking deeper.

Here is real power in enjoying the fullness of nothing!

Feeling pleased with yourself about a breakthrough? Think about this quote.

Feeling at the end of your tether about a relationship? Look once more at this quote.

There are days when I am too smug and too comfortable about the search for meaning. "This trusting and having faith and being confident and positive is easy", a smart voice inside says. Then a whirlwind of new experience and testing shatters the comfort zone and I find myself blown from my safe mooring into a sea of doubt.

That's when I particularly appreciate the first line" "Great doubt - great enlightenment". Whatsmore, it is true! On those days when I feel annoyed with myself I feel I have moved one step forward and two steps back. Keeping this line in mind allows me to look deeper. It actually provides a light at the end of a tunnel. I ask myself "So what are the lessons from this?"

This explanation by the Zen masters is a comfort and at the same time, it is provocative. It is an attack on ego.

Only by being tested do we examine our focus on life, its meaning, our purpose and our happiness. Only by reassessing, do we grow.

When we fall into ego driven patterns, we need to bring reality into our lives by again contemplating this Zen wisdom.


I was over at Joseph's place on Wednesday and this Cockatoo came for a chat and posed for many photos. I managed to get a few photos of Joseph as well, although he is getting more reluctant these days to have his photo taken.

Two Wolves

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life:

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,

"Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied, "THE ONE YOU FEED."



I know many of you have read this before but it has a powerful message. It was read out in our philosophy class on Thursday as an example of how different choices effect our life.

So the question we face is not whether or not we will be making choices in our life, today, tomorrow, next month or next year - but which choices are we going to make.

Reflecting On Our WORDS - August

I feel empowered today because four of my blog friends and myself are joining together AGAIN and reflecting on our WORDS for the year. It is really a gift for me that we chose to do this project together as I feel these posts help keep my WORD in the forefront of my mind.

We began our journey with our WORDS back in January. Caroline over at The Zen in You gave us the inspiration.

The ideas lady, Coach, suggested "this month we make one statement......one sentence about how we are feeling about our Word and where we are in the month of August. An honest assessment of how it is going. Pitfalls or Pleasures".

Now as I am such a music freak the song I associate with this post is:

ON MY WAY HERE by CLAY AIKEN:

"On My Way Here
Where I am now
I've learned to fly
I have to want to leave the ground
I've fallen hard
But I've been loved
And in the end it all works out
My faith has conquered fear
On my way here".

Here are our reflections for August:

Coach - ABUNDANCE


In August, I recognized the ABUNDANCE of seeing old friends, listening to great music, feeling the cool mountain air, and having a real time phone conversation with a good mate!







Annemarie - DISCIPLINE


DISCIPLINE is setting your eyes on the prize, recognizing what you need to do to get there and removing all obstacles that will prevent you from finishing the race.







Roban - JOY and FAITH





I have found that JOY is all around me.... It just takes opening my eyes and heart to really see it and feel it!







Julie - EXCELLENCE





EXCELLENCE: A process and a discipline, not a destination.











Moi - BALANCE






Striving for BALANCE between complexity and simplicity, constantly evaluating and re-evaluating the trade-offs I have to make to get there.








This quote I dedicate to my lovely friends:
"By associating with wise people you will become wise yourself".
Menander

Please join us in reflecting on your word by commenting or posting on your blog and linking to this post. The blogosphere is a wonderful community, a place to share, dream and smile!

Namaste
Peggy

Enlightenment - Are We There Yet!!

There is a fabulous Van Morrison song called "Enlightenment" that I have been playing over and over lately. Unfortunately I can't find any video or music on the web to play it here, so I have copied the words, the fabulous words!

"Enlightenment"

Chop that wood
Carry water
What’s the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is

Every second, every minute
It keeps changing to something different
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is

It says it’s non attachment
Non attachment. Non attachment

I’m in the here and now, and I’m meditating
And still I’m suffering but that’s my problem
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is

WAKE UP

Enlightenment says the world is nothing
Nothing but a dream, everything’s an illusion
And nothing is real

Good or bad baby
You can change it anyway you want
You can rearrange it
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is

All around baby, you can see
You’re making your own reality, everyday because
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is

Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
It’s always up to you
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is
It’s up to you, the way you think.

************************************************

Then Suzanne Vega found her way into my car CD and talked about being tired of sleeping and wondering when I'll be waking.

"Tired Of Sleeping"

Oh Mom, the dreams are not so bad
It's just that there's so much to do
And I'm tired of sleeping

Oh Mom, the old man is telling me something
His eyes are wide and his mouth is thin
And I just can't hear what he's saying

Oh Mom, I wonder when I'll be waking
It's just that there's so much to do
And I'm tired of sleeping

Oh Mom, the kids are playing in pennies
They're up to their knees in money
And the dirt of the churchyard steps

Oh Mom, that man he ripped out his lining
He tore out a piece of his body
To show us his "clean quilted heart"

Oh Mom, I wonder when I'll be waking
It's just that there's so much to do
And I'm tired of sleeping

Oh Mom, the bird on the string is hanging
Her bones are twisting and dancing
She's fighting for her small life

Oh Mom, I wonder when I'll be waking
It's just that there's so much to do
And I'm tired of sleeping

*******************************************

Both these songs carry important messages for me as I meander along my spiritual path full of questions about the purpose of life and the nature of the universe around me.

My spiritual journey is about discovering my relationship with myself and with the world. I find music is food for my soul and affects my decision making and thus my way of living.



Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia, June 2007. An extremely spiritual place.