Monday, August 17, 2009

Vision Quest '09



“Don’t be trapped by dogma -- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
These words were spoken by Steve Jobs at Stanford University.

Recently, I have had reason to recall these words after coming up against a person whom I both love and respect - - but is now espousing such vitriolic narrow ideas that I am both confounded and saddened by their choices.

Tolerance is a word widely bandied about, but not often broadly defined. I believe that to be tolerant, one must be open to all viewpoints, religions, races, and thoughts in general. This doesn’t mean we must abandon our own truths, but that we make room to listen and accept that others have an honest right to own their truths too.

We are not all alike, but we are all on the same journey. I believe that our journey is progressive and needs to encompass the study of our deeper nature and the natural laws and principles that apply to man and all living creation.

There are two kinds of thought, the first is more fluid in form. It encompasses those that support the limitless possibilities of growth and expansion that lie within each one of us. People who are fluid in their intelligence are attracted to studies that aren’t limited to the current paradigm.

The second type of intelligence is more static. People unwilling to consider information or experiences that challenge their established beliefs fall into this category. Unfortunately, these people often use an attack mode when they hear something that is outside “their box”. Is it fear or jealousy that motivates someone to attempt to discredit anything that is outside their sphere of influence?

My choice is to be open to all ideas, incorporating those that resonate with my own deeper nature, and letting go of those that don’t. My daily choice is love over hate, and consideration for those that choose to isolate themselves within a box of someone else’s rationale.

It is our emotional attachment to certain beliefs that limit our ability to see the greater realities.

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