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does anyone respond to . We
have a suggested response . The lives of every human being on the planet were forever changed by the events of 9/11/2001. At 8:46 a.m., apathy and our small personal concerns were literally blown away. Grief, anger, rage, fear, sadness, disbelief suddenly ruled the day. But as profound as that senseless tragedy was, another amazing phenomenon sprang up almost immediately and with an even greater power. Compassion, love, caring, courage, concern, and kindness filled the hearts of literally hundreds of millions of human beings, all at the same time. Differences of race, religion, political ideology, and geographic location paled in the face of an overwhelming unification of humanity. A historian looking back on this day will undoubtedly call this day one of the watersheds of human history. Obviously, organized terrorism must be (and will be) dealt with on its own level and eliminated, but... . What if we were to wage war first and foremost on ignorance rather than on other people? What if the first casualty of that war was to kill the false belief that violence solves problems? And one of the best aspects of a war on ignorance is that we wouldn’t actually be killing anybody or anything, unless, of course, you believe that turning on a light kills the darkness. What if we actually listened when great men like Martin Luther King, Jr. offer us profound truths such as: “We are divided not by race, religion, or nationality, but rather by ignorance.”? What if we really believed and practiced the words written in our respective sacred texts? What if Jesus was right when He said: “Know the truth and the truth will set you free.”? What if we stopped denying our own ignorance? What if we stopped projecting onto others all those things we can't or won't see in ourselves? What if we stopped hating others simply because they see the world differently than we do? What if we stopped believing in and martyr-izing victim-hood? What if Peanuts was focused at least in the right direction when he said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”? What if the real enemies of life, love, and freedom are the illusions and the ignorance that we each carry within us and our refusal to acknowledge the universal truths such as the unity and the interdependence of all living creatures. Chief Seattle eloquently expressed that unity in these words: “Whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the people on the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” And what if we acknowledged the words of Jesus: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” . If we declared war on ignorance, we would still need to clean up the messes we’ve made, but we could put away most of our weapons of violence. We could commit our time, effort, and resources to following the trail of ignorance all the way into the bastions of illusion. The new warriors could use truth, compassion, and love to challenge those who peddle divisive beliefs, false stories, and unbelievable fairytales. The energy now wasted holding on to our illusions (such as the illusion of separateness) could be focused on creating peace, joy, and harmony; on creating abundance for all; on offering freedom for everyone; on acknowledging the brotherhood of all human beings; and on caring for Sacred Mother Earth. What if we stopped blindly believing our so-called authority figures and simply said, “OK, you just said such and such, now show me the evidence. Prove it!" Here are a few questions worth asking: *** Is it true that the greatest threat to human survival is overpopulation? *** Is it true that there's a set of immutable, non-physical, universal laws that govern all human life and human experience -- non-physical laws that are as undeniable as the physical law of gravity? For example, is it true that within the context of human life on Earth, we each create our own personal reality by a combination of our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, attitudes, words, and actions? *** Is it true that we are not punished for our "sins," but rather by them? Are we really victims or did we individually and collectively create the dire circumstances we find ourselves in today? *** Is it true that billions of us hold religious beliefs that have absolutely no proof or factual evidence to support them? Is it true that billions of other people have equally unprovable yet vastly different religious beliefs -- beliefs that directly conflict with our own? Is it true that some of us kill people simply because they believe in a different religion? *** Is it true that lies of omission are as deadly and as evil as lies of commission? *** Is it true that to turn your back and ignore someone who will die for lack of food and basic health care is equally as evil as intentionally killing another person with a bomb, a gun, a knife or a jet plane? *** What is the true nature of a human being? How do we deal with the fact that we have absolutely no idea how to answer that question with any sense of certainty? Seeking the truth, obviously brings us face to face with our respective religious faiths. To put these questions in the perspective of getting beyond 9/11/2001, see the Question About Religious Faith on the Frequently Asked Questions page. What if we found and followed the truth no matter where it led us? . Where
there are no definitive answers, 1)
temporarily embraced the most logical working hypotheses, 2) applied those hypotheses to our daily lives, and 3)
regularly revised those hypotheses whenever What if we also accepted responsibility for what occurs in our lives, both individually and collectively? Manifesting this transformation in consciousness is obviously a monumental task, so: How do we start? If you’re ready to stop fighting symptoms and seek a permanent solution, we’ll share some possibilities with you. Where and when do we start? Right here! Right now! Why here and now? Because no matter where you are, it's always here and no matter what the clock says, it's always right now. Who goes first? You and I do. What do we do? Well, that’s what we’ll share with you when we talk. We'll show you how to transform your family or your group of friends into a mutually supportive success team. What will this cost? The introductory consultation is free. See the page Costs and Fees for complete details. To arrange an introductory session... To find out if this something you are interested in... Check out the rest of this website, and if our assistance is something you consider worth investigating further, then send us an E-mail. Be sure to include your phone number. . . . . . .
(818) 727-0727 Fax: (818) 727-0735 Copyright © 2001-2002 The Life Center All rights reserved. See: Terms of Use . Waging War on Ignorance http://www.joy101.org/ignorance-truth.html --- 02-08-14 ... |
