Beginning Right Here and Now, by Bill Dougherty

Having been jolted out of the comfortable inertia of our previous religious and scientific dicta by decades of discoveries into the nature of man and the universe, we are being forced to ask ourselves the age-old questions: Who am I? What am I to do with myself? What is the value and significance of life, and death? Honestly faced, such issues can so assail our self-satisfied preconceptions as to alter the entire course of our thoughts, our feelings, and consequently of our lives. And naturally enough, when a great many people are called to sincere self-questioning, every aspect of human existence feels a corresponding restlessness.

But where to turn for a general view, a perspective of understanding with which to address these ultimate questions and hopefully gain better insights through them?

There is a path of true spiritual development which has been universally recommended by the great teachers of mankind throughout the ages. It is a path which is as wonderful and simple, and as difficult, as each one of us. It tells us to forget entirely our own advancement and instead to begin right here and now to live up to the grand, selfless love within us; without seeking anything in return, but with only the welfare of others fixed firmly in the center of our consciousness. Naturally enough, the radical changes in our thoughts and feelings necessary to fully reorient ourselves along these lines will take a long, long time to accomplish. On the other hand, however far we may have wandered from this path, we can turn toward it at any moment. And with that very first step we instantly begin to move in sympathy with the highest aspects of ourselves and others. In this way we can do more real good in a day than we might achieve in lifetimes of struggling to overcome our particular weaknesses. For in following this path we are actually living the most sublimely beautiful and infinitely powerful mystery in the universe, the heart and root of us -- compassion.

-- Bill Dougherty

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Add Your Reflection

5 Past Reflections

powerleveling

Nov 6, 2009

i am really feeling good after rading
yours good thouhts

aion kina

Jul 2, 2009

There are aion kina in the game

madhur

Oct 16, 2008

As I understand these beautiful words, they talk about letting go, utmost freedom where botherations such as security should not bind or prevent one from experiencing love, kindness or giving all he can.

anu

Oct 14, 2008

i am really feeling good after rading
yours good thouhts

Suzi Nance

Oct 14, 2008

Our power and responsibility to create peace. "Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission." Ralph Waldo Emerson To work toward personal, interpersonal and global peace we must subscribe to the two following statements: 1) We are all personally and collectively responsible for creating peace. 2) We all have the ability to create peace, in our hearts, in our relationships and globally. To talk about being responsible for peace, we must first acknowledge that we are responsible for creating or restoring our own inner peace. Requesting that we take responsibility for our peace in no way underscores any pain or suffering we have endured. For those that have been personally persecuted or have first hand lay witness to a life of injustice and pain, finding that inner peace may be a far more daunting task. Or perhaps not…perhaps its equally hard for just us...the ordinary people…the ones who’s wins and losses can’t be found in any book or on the news, those of us who suffer silently from the benign chill of the world rather than the Artic frost, to turn a loving eye on ourselves and others. I would never attempt to rate one’s suffering against another’s, nor begin to judge the affect of ones life on any human heart. We are all wired differently, my thought is just that suffering on any level can harden ones heart and we need to work to soften it. Going on the assumption that we have all been hurt, even if we have lived a life entirely supported by the most loving and nurturing people we can not walk away unscathed by the events that have unfolded in our lifetimes. We all need to heal… heal our hearts and embrace peace. So if much of the pain we feel has been cause by others, how do we take responsibility for our peace? By understanding that although we may have little control over events that happen to us, we do posses complete control over how we wish to allow those events to effect us. We are “Captains of our souls, Masters of our fate”. How we see the world and our place in it is entirely up to us. We are the stewards of our souls and of our hearts. In many ways, for some ,granting someone else the power to form our lives relives us of any responsibility to the outcome. It allows us full admission in the blame game. Although living in a controlled environment one may endure a life of pain and frustration, for some that pain and frustration may be alleviated by embracing the role of victim. Not to say there are not true victims, every minute, everyday, there are victims, victims of violent crimes, victims of natural disasters, as well as victims of circumstance, and not to say that the wounds from theses acts are not real, or they do not bleed. They are real, they do bleed, they bleed from our skin and they bleed into our hearts and our souls. But the power to stop the bleed is inside of us. The power to govern our hearts and souls is ours alone, one cannot have access to the inner sanctions of our hearts and souls without our permission. We must believe that the true power is the power inside us is ours, ours alone to protect or give away. Hide full comment