Category Archives: UNIFYING PRINCIPLES

THE HIGHER LIFE – 25 PRINCIPLES

Live Higher 11x14 jpgLife mastery is not difficult once we believe in its possibility and also desire to achieve it. Following are my top 25 principles for living a higher life and I hope you find them to be a helpful guide:

  1. Worry Less – Laugh More

  2. Sit Less – Move More

  3. Analyze Less – Feel More

  4. Text Less – Talk More

  5. Work Less – Volunteer More

  6. Complicate Less – Simplify More

  7. Rest Less – Sleep More

  8. Conceal Less – Discover More

  9. Discriminate Less – Understand More

  10. Complain Less – Appreciate More

  11. Consume Less – Give More

  12. Waste Less – Save More

  13. Think Less – Act More

  14. Abuse Less – Support More

  15. Eat Less – Taste More

  16. Critique Less – Love More

  17. Follow Less – Lead More

  18. Amuse Less – Learn More

  19. Blame Less – Value More

  20. Control Less – Flow More

  21. Doubt Less -Trust More

  22. Hesitate Less – Risk More

  23. Watch Less – Read More

  24. Resist Less – Accept More

  25. Plead Less – Pray More

ATTAINING INNER PEACE

Hugging the CoastOur objective should not be to eliminate all unhappiness but rather to balance it with increased opportunity for joy. Buddha may have reminded us, A hundred loves, a hundred losses. No loves, no losses, but are we prepared to abandon the potential for love because we fear the potential for loss?

Would there be any value in giving up our rights to search for a single sliver of happiness because we must first dig through a mountain of sadness to locate it? For that matter, would we not search for truth because it is hidden among deceit? Or would we not seek honor because we feel that it is surrounded by contempt? Or not seek courage because it is covered with cowardice? Or not seek morality because it is shrouded within an immoral society?

Happiness is ours to discover despite the deterrents that stand in our way; it is our human right to be elated despite a world that flagrantly flaunts its despairing side. Our purpose, therefore, is to strive toward a sense of internal peace within ourselves.

This does not mean that we will live in perfect contentment but rather we will be contented with ourselves. The difference is that the former implies an unrealistic, stress free state of consciousness while the latter implies that we are in conscious control of our state of gratification.

We will feel it is possible to rise above the vagaries of unhappiness that may surround us. We will resist the feeling of being dragged into a maelstrom of discontentment because we will see ourselves as the calm center of the storm. And our joy will abound through our sense of calm purpose being recognized and lived through our daily actions.  Inner peace then becomes our right and our choice.

AN ALARMING PREDICTION

Our world society is heading down a very dangerous path at an alarming speed. As a collective people, we are rapidly losing the essence of collective Purpose. If each of us live without Purpose, we all live without Purpose, suffering the consequences together.  Perhaps we are approaching the end of human history. If we are indeed a post-industrial, cyber-techno society where crass commercialism and personal gratification exceed our desire to love, share and live with greater Purpose, then we will receive what we have asked for: the finalization of our right to exist as a human race. This is a harsh indictment of ourselves and an unpleasant proposition to consider but the evidence of this possibility surrounds us.

We are now living in a world dominated by greed, instant gratification, and weak cultural values. We are losing our ability to live with moral consciousness and belief in our Purpose and our Higher Self. We work ourselves to exhaustion, then have little more to show for our efforts than mounting debts and consumer products that are obsolete the next year. We educate our children; then lament their inability to reason, much less read. We have removed the front porches on our homes where we used to converse, moving inside to play with our electronic toys.

We are destroying our environment for profit and then complain that our fish have died, our beaches are gone and our parks are overcrowded. We embrace technology like a religion, then lose our jobs to the same machines that we created. We advance our scientific knowledge of ourselves while watching our inner cities decay. We sit mindlessly in front of true confession reality shows rather than read books or create art. We use video games to babysit our children, then complain that they won’t communicate with us. We spend more money on prisons than universities; then wonder why our crime rates escalate.

We have become a people of paradoxes, a people without Purpose. It is indisputable that our problems have not been solved through advances in technology, science, medicine or government. We still pursue inner peace and happiness, pursuits that still evade us despite our progress in human engineering. Nothing has really changed with all the changes made to our Selves and the world in which we live.

The reason is simple: We have forgotten how to love, give, share, or live for higher causes than ourselves. We simply do not have a Purpose that extends beyond our own needs for comfort and personal satisfaction. We are not willing to give up ourselves for something that is infinitely more important than our gratification for the moment. Our children are becoming our greatest victims, and the world they inherit may not be the world we intended or wished for them. We are wasting our Purpose and our cultural values for our expedient desires of today. We are running out of time.  But we have still time to change this.

SEEING YOUR PURPOSE

Purpose Image 3

  • If we see hunger, our Purpose must be to find one family to feed.

  • If we see hatred, our Purpose must be to offer kindness. 

  • If we see greed, our Purpose must be to counsel. 

  • If we see ignorance, our Purpose must be to teach. 

  • If we see pain, our Purpose must be to comfort. 

  • If we see pollution, our Purpose must be to cleanse.

  • If we see sadness, our Purpose must be to cheer.

  • If we see loss of hope, our Purpose must be to encourage.

  • If we see helplessness, our Purpose must be to support.

  • If we see chaos, our Purpose must be to calm.

  • If we see deceit, our Purpose must be to inform.

  • If we see war, our Purpose must be to make peace.

     

SHARE YOUR PURPOSE

Sharing Your Purpose JPGIt is important to understand that our Purpose, while uniquely ours, is not fully manifested until we find cause to share it with others. We cannot find true meaning in life without connecting ourselves with something larger and more pervasive than we are.  Existing in isolation of the larger world will only turn us inward, while our Purpose needs outward expression to find its fulfillment. It is said that no man is an island because no one of us can find lasting peace and happiness through any other channel than participation in the greater world in which we live.

Our Purpose can find expression along two major pathways: First, giving of ourselves to others; and second, having a cause to live for. Our greatest opportunity to feel totally alive and significant is to share ourselves to the larger community, to have something meaningful to believe in and stand for. We celebrate our Purpose by discovering the many ways in which our life can significantly impact and improve the lives of others.  We will not have to look far for these opportunities. Likewise, if we possess a deep commitment to a cause, a crusade or a conviction that we hold fundamental to our Purpose, we will possess the most exciting, rewarding reasons to exist while ensuring great meaning for our life going forward.

We do not have to live in a world characterized by empty values, unabated greed, hatred and unintelligent gratification at the expense of our collective well being. Not unless that is our Purpose, and we must believe that should not be our Purpose. Our Purpose should center upon our caring for the world that our children will inherit. We can find great Purpose in giving of ourselves with selfless love. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, Love is everything. It is the key to life, and its influences are those that move the world. If we cannot accept the world as it is becoming, we can make it our Purpose to change it.

Through giving of ourselves to others and to a cause that we deeply believe in, we will find our Purpose. There are infinite opportunities to make our lives more Purposeful as we extend ourselves out to the world community. All anyone needs to do is just look around . . .

WHY HAVE A PURPOSE

Purpose provides us hope and inspiration.

Purpose gives us an intended, clear direction.

Purpose offers us promise for the future.

Purpose teaches us our values and goals.

Purpose provides us a daily roadmap to follow.

Purpose puts passion into our life.

Purpose gives us control of our destiny.

Purpose is the total source of our spirituality.

Purpose sustains our commitment to achieve.

Purpose creates our self-confidence and self-esteem.

Purpose provides meaning and significance to our life.

Purpose is the basis for our happiness and joy.

Purpose focuses our efforts and gives us perseverance.

Purpose creates productivity by managing time for us.

Purpose provides us balance and harmony.

Purpose is the source of our strength and inner peace.

WHAT IS THE SIMPLE LIFE?

A simple life is where we are simply living! It is nothing more and nothing less. When we are in touch with just the simple process of living, relishing in the uncomplicated pleasures that are abundantly available to us, we will find the inner peace that we are seeking.

A simple life focuses on what we do have rather than being critical of what we don’t have. It finds less joy in material possessions and greater joy in natural wonders, hearty laughter, warm embraces, stimulating conversations and long walks in the woods. It values ideas over things, peaceful meditation over argumentative debates, reading over television, quiet solitude over pushy crowds and lasting trends over temporary fads.

The simple life favors giving more than receiving. It is to live humbly with pride, rather than ostentatiously without virtue. A simple life knows what is most important, content with the quiet conviction of lasting principals.

IT IS OUR LIFE

 

We have been given that marvelous gift to do with as we choose. It is life itself that we should embrace. It is ours to live. Too often, we lose sight of this miracle called life. We take it for granted. We abuse it. We waste it. We criticize it for its difficulty. We believe we didn’t get our fair share. We fault our opportunities and condemn our lack of good fortune. We feel that the best of what life has to offer rarely comes to us. But with all this blame and criticism of our life, we rarely believe it is our fault. We expect happiness to come our way, and if it doesn’t, then the rest of the world is whom we indict for its unfairness. Yet, we alone create the good fortune that we will receive. We cannot wait for our ship to come in. We must swim out to it. We should not waste another moment agonizing over how unfair life can be; rather we should rejoice that it even exists.

DESIDERATA

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The following quote from Max Ehrmann is probably the best self-help piece ever written. If we all lived our lives with the following words in mind, we would have no need for any other advice:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Nor be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann