Contrast is Calling

If it were not for contrast in our experiences, would we have the capability of recognizing just how good Life really is? This may seem a strange question at first glance. However, being confronted with change, which is simply contrast -- or opposites as others put it -- we are offered opportunities to consider things from a different perspective, and this equates to growth potential.

But Please Pay Attention!

Bloggers come from all walks of life, and I have been given a larger world view completely free of charge just by being open to what they write about. In the same way, being open to change lessens resistance to growth, and we find that we flow more naturally with the current of Life. I have found that it is much more enjoyable than swimming upstream! And the key is the awareness that change is not intended to hurt me.

Stop Fighting Change.

Allow. I did not say tolerate. Tolerance screams, "I still disapprove!" Allowing simply allows. No fighting. No judgement. In much the same way we are guided through this life by a benevolent Love, we can more easily maneuver the maze-like "obstacles" we sometimes face by just letting go of the desire to control.

Desire is good. Control is dangerous.

Would you rather win, or would you rather offer love? Do you prefer being right over being open? Do you even think about it?

Think. About. It.

Do something ridiculously kind for someone in need today. And do it for no other reason except to experience the contrast of otherwise pretending to be too busy to see them.

There is no them, and I love you! -- jb

What Price, Freedom?

Is freedom worth fighting for? Are we really free if we have to battle something or someone? I like asking questions, and I want you to think about, and envision with me, a life free from any reason to bear arms, or fists, or ugly words. That, my friend, is the freedom I am talking about.

Let's be frank: Life is supposed to be enjoyable, and if you find yourself constantly fighting, then somewhere along the way you have missed out on the original plan. It happens to all of us, and we can unwittingly fall prey to blaming or lashing out when things are not going the way we would like. This leads me to the main point of this post --

Am I trying to control things when I place a definite expectation on something or someone?

It would appear that after years of analyzing this idea, it is a fact that when I am disappointed in some outcome, I can always trace it back to having a certain expectation. When I am truly participating in the art of allowing, then I no longer have a need to control how something turns out. I can be expectant and I can have my dreams and goals. This is a very important element in personal development, however when I expand that into demanding things be a specific way, I am no longer enjoying myself. I can all but guarantee a disappointment when I set myself up like that.

Instead of worrying about how something will go, I have found that by simply wanting and desiring the good and the true, and furthermore, leaving the "how" to God (this is where faith comes in), I am very likely to be ok with the end result. I want world peace. I also understand that I alone cannot achieve it. I can pray about it, meditate on it, dream about it, and truly desire it... I do in fact, but I ultimately must trust God to bring it about. It could be that many others are feeling the same as I, and at some point out there in the near future, there will be enough of us that a critical mass will occur. I don't really need to know how it will look, I just need to look for it.

My friends, I am tired of the way I give in to my lower nature and start whining when things do not go my way. I have seen enough of the "my way or the highway" mentality to know that it is a primitive mindset. I am making every effort to be consistent in my daily walk by allowing things to be what they are. This is an important effort in my way of thinking because it is a way of accepting without selling out on my dreams. I always lean into any risk for the sake of seeing my dreams come true, all the while being ok with my state of affairs right now.

I hope that makes sense, and I would love to hear your comments. Otherwise, I am just talking to myself. I already do enough of that :)

Peace to you, love for you, and accepting thoughts about you and this world. -- jb

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Who is my neighbor?

Happy Friday! If you've been following this blog from the outset, then you know that I have a big issue with exclusion. Oh yeah, I have been excluded but that's ok, my skin is a little thick. I blog some about the term "them" and how we are all touched by this powerfully descriptive word. Today I'm talking about the verb "exclude" and how we all participate in its energy. There may be times when we are aware of it, but at other times it seems to be some sort of auto-load program that just kicks in as a result of some long-held belief. It could simply be our upbringing. Whatever it is, and in spite of our effort to ascend and grow in love, we unknowingly fall into an automatic response mode when confronted with anyone that does not meet, even an unspoken, criterion or condition that we have already set in our minds. When we take place in the experience of judging someone for some reason, the act of exclusion takes place. The really sad thing is that it takes place in our hearts because suddenly we get a case of amnesia in the head. We forget how it feels to be left out and so we do it to someone. How I wish it were not so.

Now, I am not Jeff Baker Psychic. I am Jeff Baker Talks, so I am only speaking/talking from my observations. If you have never excluded, left out, ignored, or snubbed anyone, then I am humbled that you are reading this blog and I insist that you immediately inform me of the source of your secret power -- just kidding -- sort of. I'm certain I don't personally know of anyone that has never done it... but I am nearly equally as certain that most of us have been on the receiving end of it and we know it sucks!

Were it possible (it is not only possible, it is inevitable) -- but even if it was only a remote possibility that we could all remember a truth each time we encounter another person, I believe the world would change in that instant. Now, this may sound like a ramble, and if it does, it's because this is on my mind continually. I am sick of myself and the way I have conditioned my mind to filter people. Some call this profiling. It's not important what we call it. What is important is that we become aware of it and stop it.

Here's a truth: Each person alive today is who they are because of the things they have experienced even up to the very point that their path converges with yours. You are who you are for the very same reason. Of course, you already know this about yourself, right? You do know that you have evolved into the one that others observe by encountering the things you've encountered along your life's journey. You also know that by applying what you've "learned," you now view Every Thing through that specific lens. Agreed?

So, you're walking along and someone with a gas can walks up and tells you they need some money for gas. Their car is stranded up the road. This person has a funny odor and bad teeth. They're dressed shabbily, and they definitely missed out when God was handing out the best skin color. You suspect they are lying anyway so why did God let this horrible situation occur in the first place? Whoa child of God. Remember, you just met another child of God, and they are only the way they are because. So if I'm you, my only appropriate response is to allow that person to be who they are in that moment. Of course, I give them some money. There is never a question of the other's worth, so in a time of need I am honored to help out. Who knows? I might need help one day. I am not judging. I am allowing. For clarity purposes, I am not referring to tolerance. I can tolerate someone and still look down my big nose at them.

However, if I hold in my mind that all any of us really wants is to be loved and accepted just like we are, and like I do, then I can truly allow "them" to be them and I can be me. If we look through the lens of love at each other, we can only see God. Now who would not want to help God out with a little gas money?

Think. About. It.

Peace to them, love for them, including thoughts about them. They are us. And God bless us each and every One. -- jb

Hey! Drop me line. I'd love to hear what you think about these rambles. Who knows? You might just save us all a bunch of time while I'm trying to figure this thing out. In the meantime Join my blog network on Facebook Blog Networks. Thanks!