What Do You Think?

I have an opinion on every subject, and if you have the time and can give me half an ear, I will tell you all about it. At the same time, I am genuinely interested in what you have to say, and I will listen to you. That element may seem somewhat unique considering the way most talkers like me tend to take up all the air in a room :-)

Genuinely listening to others almost always offers me ways to refine my thoughts about whatever is going on in my life at the moment. I guess mostly because I am open to the way God offers to help me in my every moment, while at the same time recognizing that wisdom does come from the mouths of people when I am really listening to them.

Last night I had the honor of discussing a particularly sensitive subject with a gentleman I have known for a while, but I am just now really getting to know. Without going into detail, let me just say that our conversation was a reminder to me of why I talk so much, and why drawing others out into the open to express their own ideas is so rewarding for me. There is so much wisdom in the world and I want to hear what others have to say.

I had such a blast you see because we talked for a few hours and never once did either of us get offended or bothered. Neither of us attacked the ideas that were presented by the other. (World leaders should take note.) It was not only a lively discussion, with Cornelia patiently listening and sometimes contributing, but it was also heartfelt and honest. It was simple. It was great!

I awoke this morning refreshed from the experience. It's been a fine day, and I am reminded as I sit in the Memphis airport, waiting hours for my plane, that if we could all each one of us engage in the type of talk I just described, there could be no limit to the good that could come from it.

Sitting in airports exposes me to much negativity as the news channels constantly spew the latest awfulness while somehow maintaining a smile. I don't waste much time on watching or reading the news precisely because of that, but as I sit here today, I remain encouraged and hopeful for the day when all adults world wide will arrive at that place where there is no agenda, and motives are replaced with genuine interest in the ideas of another. Whether you are a politician, a preacher, or a pimp you have an opinion, and your opinion matters. It really does. But don't be mistaken. You are no more important than anyone else. And the opinions, ideas, and interests of other people, countries, and religions can aid all of us when approaching solutions to the many issues we all face.

Sometimes we should talk less and listen more.

There is no prerequisite that we agree, only that we honor each other. We are not required to do anything, just listen to each other. There is no shortage of wisdom on this beautiful blue orb that we all live on together. And the sooner all of us tune in to the rest of creation, by crawling out of our place of perfection, the sooner we can get on with the business of healing the hurts that exist today. (Forgiveness is a good place to start, and when would now be the right time to do something about it?) Wisdom is certainly to come when two or more are really intent on honest discussion regarding matters that have real meaning.

We are the ones who are going to have to find common ground. We are the ones charged with making things work while we have the chance. We are the ones our children are counting on to get it together once and for all.

When we move into that special place of acceptance without judgement, honor instead of disdain, and love without limits, we will indeed be entering heaven on earth. I believe in it as surely as I believe in our ability to get there. I am not waiting around for my ticket to heaven to get punched. I am not sitting around twiddling my thumbs doing nothing, anticipating liberation from above either. What I am doing is engaging any and all comers who honestly want to make the world a better place in which to live and learn.

Together we humans have what it takes to make lasting change by simply being aware of the things that take place in our immediate field of experience. Don't let an injustice go as "just the way it is." Get up and do something about it. Don't wait on saviors or messiahs to come. Don't sit around and waste this chance. We are the ones who are alive right now. Let's get together and stop believing in separation. Recognize the inherent goodness in and connection with everybody else that you can see. We are the human family. Together. Brothers and Sisters. Sons and Daughters. We are all part of The One.

One world. One hope. One love.

One way or another, we will get there. How much more enjoyable it will be when we make the choice to get there together.

Love and Peace -- jb

Who is observing?

The one I am looking for is the one who is doing the looking.

Ok. I have alluded to a future post, one in which I would be offering my thoughts on the internal theatre that takes place within each of us. You know how we have these inner observations and there is someone talking and someone listening, or someone doing something and someone watching. (If you don't do this, that could either be really great or really scary.) But assuming you do --

That someone is you, right?

Right? I don't know, but it seems that I have always had these private observations. I have always had a movie of sorts playing on the screen of my mind, and I am able to see it, modify it at will, and/or discuss what it is happening on that screen with myself. It feels just like being the director of a film. I love it! I have a vivid imagination anyway and I recently posted the transcript of a dialogue in which I was supposedly talking with God. Was I? Am I crazy? My wife loves me the way I am, so I am sworn to secrecy on that subject. :)

Before we dive in, I'd like to start with a definition of the "observer effect." This is central to the perspective I am presenting as it relates to what goes on inside of every living human being:

Observer effect --
From Wikipedia:
In experimental research, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observing will make on the phenomenon being observed. It has application in many fields of scientific inquiry, and may refer specifically to:
Observer effect (information technology), the impact of observing a process while it is running
Observer effect (physics), the impact of observing a physical system
Observer effect (psychology), how people change their behavior when aware of being watched

Are you still with me?

Ok. Let's consider an illustration and see if we can relate: If I am having a thought and there is a visualization of what that thought is about, who is the subject of that visualization and who is the one observing? Can it be that I am both? I mean, if I'm watching me do something in my mind, and in my mind, I'm the one I am watching, how can it be that I am both? Think about it.

Here's something else to consider: You've, no doubt, heard the famous phrase by Descartes, "I think, therefore I am." Well, I have come to believe that I am, therefore I think. We all think. I think, you think, we all think of world peace... or some children's song like that.

You're thinking, but you are only observing your thoughts. You are not your thoughts. When you are doing something and consciously thinking about what you are doing, you are only observing... you are not your body which is doing the thing.

Does that make sense?

Yet another way to frame it might be to consider that some of us picture God observing our every action in judgement. We sometimes feel watched as we do something. And we are thinking about the fact that we are being watched, and so because we are being watched, we act differently than we might otherwise? If you are following me, then you may recall times when you were thinking about that fact that YOU were watching what you were doing so you acted differently. Are you your Conscience? Are you God? Are you the hall monitor for your ever-wandering thoughts?

What happened? Did he change subjects? Yes... you caught me, I've change directions. But this is very important: God is not the only observer. God is all things, and by nature, in all things and he/she does not wait in judgement to pounce on us when we mess up. Many of us are coming to understand this. It is God and God in us that compels us to right thought and action as we evolve in Love. Love is our teacher and guide. God is love, and if we desire it, we are continually expanding in that love. We are becoming like God in the way we observe, when we observe in love... assuming we want to. We are becoming like God when we are consciously -- actively involved with our thoughts, words, and deeds.

For you conservatives that are hearing the other voice in your head, don't listen. I am not speaking in contradiction to Scripture. Christ was in God and God was fully in him, and he prayed the same for us. I'm pretty sure when he prayed about something, it got done. So, open your mind and accept the fact that you are responsible for every thought, word, and deed that you create. That makes you responsible for the world you create for yourself and those close to you. God had the same responsibility when creating us. We are created to operate in like manner, so the sooner we learn to deal with it the better. Think about it. God is ok with us thinking about those kinds of things. It's the way we are wired, so God has to relate.

My friends, we are now living in the embryonic awareness that we are really supposed to think like God. Not that we haven't, down through history, thought like God. It's just that we are now observing it as it happens. The paradigms of time and space seem to operate in subtly different ways as we move closer to our collective awakening. Things move faster and take place at a quicker pace than at any other point in recorded history. Technology is screaming at us to see how connected we all are to God AND to each other. We text, IM, e-mail, voice mail, surf, search, "Google" even -- all the while missing the fact that we are being RE-connected by the same technology that many of us hide behind.

Beloved, lift up your head! Get out in front. Get your eyes off the monitor and your ears out of the ipod and OBSERVE!

The one I am looking for is the one doing the looking. Think about it.

God, I love you!

Peace -- jb