William L. Ingram's Blog: Author William L. Ingram's Blog, page 2
March 7, 2021
HOW TO BE UNHAPPY!
HOW TO BE UNHAPPY!
Go to a place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit and relax your body and begin to think about yourself. Just sit quietly and think about yourself. Every time your thoughts wander to something else bring them back gently to thinking about you.
*Think about your past. Think about all of the mistakes you’ve made since childhood.
*Think about all of the time you’ve wasted and the opportunity’s you missed.
*Think about how other’s have disrespected or mistreated you!
*Think about your body. Dwell on every ache and pain.
*Think about your looks and how gravity is distorting your appearance.
Think about being a victim of life.
*Eat and drink indiscriminately.
*Cut down on your sleep.
*Never relax naturally, instead use alcohol or drugs.
*Avoid all exercise!
*Read about diseases and ailments often.
*Whine about your own ailments regularly.
*Think about your finances and worry about your future even if things are going well for you.
*Mind everyone else’s business so you can avoid dealing with your own.
*Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
*Never plan or really get organized.
*When things are in a chaotic mess call it Bad Luck or God’s Will!
*Ridicule those who are more successful than you. Blame your failures on their success.
*Never question yourself or try to learn from experience. To do so would disturb your sense of entitlement.
*Use your wits destructively.
*Get very emotional over every little event especially if it doesn’t concern you!
*Be defensive about your dignity and take every casual comment personally!
*Never be original and resent those who are!
*Conclude that you know all that is necessary to learn about life.
*Finally, conduct your life as though there were no KARMA or GOD.
When it comes to changing the UNHAPPY conditions of your life you will discover that nothing about your life can truly change until you do! Whatever is holding you captive to a wrong life view is far weaker than the REALITY that wants to set you free!
Learn to “Be Still and Know” (psalm 46:10) that there is a God and a Way To Be.
https://williamlingram.com/blog-posts/
Go to a place where you won’t be disturbed. Sit and relax your body and begin to think about yourself. Just sit quietly and think about yourself. Every time your thoughts wander to something else bring them back gently to thinking about you.
*Think about your past. Think about all of the mistakes you’ve made since childhood.
*Think about all of the time you’ve wasted and the opportunity’s you missed.
*Think about how other’s have disrespected or mistreated you!
*Think about your body. Dwell on every ache and pain.
*Think about your looks and how gravity is distorting your appearance.
Think about being a victim of life.
*Eat and drink indiscriminately.
*Cut down on your sleep.
*Never relax naturally, instead use alcohol or drugs.
*Avoid all exercise!
*Read about diseases and ailments often.
*Whine about your own ailments regularly.
*Think about your finances and worry about your future even if things are going well for you.
*Mind everyone else’s business so you can avoid dealing with your own.
*Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
*Never plan or really get organized.
*When things are in a chaotic mess call it Bad Luck or God’s Will!
*Ridicule those who are more successful than you. Blame your failures on their success.
*Never question yourself or try to learn from experience. To do so would disturb your sense of entitlement.
*Use your wits destructively.
*Get very emotional over every little event especially if it doesn’t concern you!
*Be defensive about your dignity and take every casual comment personally!
*Never be original and resent those who are!
*Conclude that you know all that is necessary to learn about life.
*Finally, conduct your life as though there were no KARMA or GOD.
When it comes to changing the UNHAPPY conditions of your life you will discover that nothing about your life can truly change until you do! Whatever is holding you captive to a wrong life view is far weaker than the REALITY that wants to set you free!
Learn to “Be Still and Know” (psalm 46:10) that there is a God and a Way To Be.
https://williamlingram.com/blog-posts/
February 23, 2021
WHAT���S SO GREAT ABOUT ���FINDING HEAVEN IN THE DARK?���
Q ��� What is the significance of the title of your book?
February 22, 2021
This title is Available for Sale on Audible, Amazon and iTunes!
FINDING HEAVEN IN THE DARK:
A Memoir About A Black Boy Lost In The 1960's American Dream by author:
William L. Ingram
This title is Available for Sale on Audible, Amazon and iTunes!
Listen to Audible Sample with link below:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NWDF974
A Memoir About A Black Boy Lost In The 1960's American Dream by author:
William L. Ingram
This title is Available for Sale on Audible, Amazon and iTunes!
Listen to Audible Sample with link below:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NWDF974
WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT “FINDING HEAVEN IN THE DARK?”
Q – You write that as a youth you had a “confused life view”. What do you mean by that?
A – The short answer is that I had no clear understanding of why life mattered. We are all born with that lack of the purpose or meaning of life. We just adapt the ideas of our family, tribe, or culture and that forms our beliefs. We all go through some form of identity issues as we grow from childhood into adolescence. Life view confusion involves our perception of morality and other principles that help us form our identity into adulthood. There is a war within each of us between what I'll call a darkness and a type of light we call 'conscience'. Well that light represents our potential, all our possibilities as a human being, but most of us don't know that. When we are tested by life's challenges and tragedies we are forced to answer life's question; "Who do you think you are?". Our conditioned responses to those defining moments reveals "who" we are. Negative thoughts and wrong choices reveal our inner darkness. The longer we resent the consequences we will remain unteachable. The light is always there to guide us towards change. There is no darkness that is greater than the Light.
My childhood wasn’t extraordinarily painful. Many others have suffered through poverty and dysfunctional family experiences. But there were secrets and lies about my birth and identity that caused me to struggle through an additional layer of insecurity during a critical time in my life. I write about those times and my thoughts because it is still truthful of what much of today’s youths experience.
A – The short answer is that I had no clear understanding of why life mattered. We are all born with that lack of the purpose or meaning of life. We just adapt the ideas of our family, tribe, or culture and that forms our beliefs. We all go through some form of identity issues as we grow from childhood into adolescence. Life view confusion involves our perception of morality and other principles that help us form our identity into adulthood. There is a war within each of us between what I'll call a darkness and a type of light we call 'conscience'. Well that light represents our potential, all our possibilities as a human being, but most of us don't know that. When we are tested by life's challenges and tragedies we are forced to answer life's question; "Who do you think you are?". Our conditioned responses to those defining moments reveals "who" we are. Negative thoughts and wrong choices reveal our inner darkness. The longer we resent the consequences we will remain unteachable. The light is always there to guide us towards change. There is no darkness that is greater than the Light.
My childhood wasn’t extraordinarily painful. Many others have suffered through poverty and dysfunctional family experiences. But there were secrets and lies about my birth and identity that caused me to struggle through an additional layer of insecurity during a critical time in my life. I write about those times and my thoughts because it is still truthful of what much of today’s youths experience.
February 20, 2021
February 19, 2021
This title is Available for Sale on Audible, Amazon and iTunes!
FINDING HEAVEN IN THE DARK:
February 18, 2021
WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT “FINDING HEAVEN IN THE DARK?”
Q – What is one of the reasons you decided to write your memoir?
A - One of the main reasons I wrote “Finding Heaven In The Dark” was to show how I, as a young rebel without a cause or a clue, eventually became a productive citizen with a positive purpose.
I try to express that idea with both of the subtitles I use to describe the book. The primary subtitle is: “A Memoir About Discovering Life’s Meaning” and the secondary subtitle is: “A Memoir About A Black Boy Lost In The 1960’s American Dream” Each subtitle is important because it helps express the depth and breadth of my story.
A - One of the main reasons I wrote “Finding Heaven In The Dark” was to show how I, as a young rebel without a cause or a clue, eventually became a productive citizen with a positive purpose.
I try to express that idea with both of the subtitles I use to describe the book. The primary subtitle is: “A Memoir About Discovering Life’s Meaning” and the secondary subtitle is: “A Memoir About A Black Boy Lost In The 1960’s American Dream” Each subtitle is important because it helps express the depth and breadth of my story.
January 25, 2021
Excerpt from CHAPTER 1 HARD TIME page 10
I was a deserter! I deserted my fellow marines during a time of
war. I was genuinely ashamed of what I did. Desertion proved to be
just another self-inflicted wound. That’s why I was determined to turn
myself in. It was the most telling statement I could make. It said that
I realized what I did was wrong, and I was prepared to accept my
punishment.
I didn’t deserve the respect of my fellow marines. I didn’t deserve
their understanding, either, but most offered it. Perhaps they
extended empathy, because I didn’t come back in chains like others.
Or it could have something to do with the ties that bind US
Marines—once a marine, always a marine. Most likely, though, it
was the strains of war that led my fellow marines to relate to me. The
Marine Corps—with its rich history of successful combat and
heroes—was trapped into playing a role in a war that politicians
couldn’t resolve. For good or bad, we were bonded.
The Vietnam War was becoming more unpopular every day. It
had become an open and running sore in the American consciousness.
Its toxicity oozed into every facet of American life, and poisoned
our relations with each other and our government leaders.
It wasn’t that way when I joined the corps in 1966. The Vietnam
War was definitely on the radar screen, as antiwar protests and draft card
burnings were increasing. In addition, student deferments or
“escapes” to Canada were encouraged by antiwar activists. However,
by 1970, much of the pride that Americans held for their armed
forces was eroded by guilt-ridden, self-hating Americans. These citizens
took delight in accusing our military of hideous deeds and
atrocities. They gave no allowance for understandable over-reactions
by our troops to horrors committed routinely by the enemy. More
than ever, the war divided the nation.
Before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. publicly denounced the
war—and its disproportionate impact on black Americans—he and
many other courageous Americans (of all colors and religions)
demanded that the nation live up to its creed and guarantee all citizens
equal rights under the law. All Americans witnessed the horrors
of forced racial segregation; the images were thrust into our living
rooms. We watched peaceful civil-rights marchers sprayed with water
hoses and attacked by club-wielding police and their dogs. The
scenes shocked and disturbed us. Those who grew up outside the
Deep South were especially horrified to see the ugly racial hatred in
the eyes and faces of fellow Americans.
While he was respected and admired for his civil-rights positions,
Dr. King’s patriotism was questioned when he spoke out about the
war and the negative way it was changing America. Even his
strongest supporters in the government resented his outspokenness.
They did not want him “meddling” in international politics. They
condemned his denouncement of the war and questioned his
motives.
Dr. King hit a nerve, which the Black-Power movement leaders,
black separatists, and Afrocentric thinkers and agitators tapped. Why
was the poor and black underclass doing a disproportionate amount
of the “heavy lifting” in this war when they didn’t have full rights at
home? The outrage at this injustice changed the Marine Corps’
atmosphere during the time that I was gone. The espirit de corps still
existed, but a big, black-and-white elephant was in the room. It was
impossible not to notice it.
war. I was genuinely ashamed of what I did. Desertion proved to be
just another self-inflicted wound. That’s why I was determined to turn
myself in. It was the most telling statement I could make. It said that
I realized what I did was wrong, and I was prepared to accept my
punishment.
I didn’t deserve the respect of my fellow marines. I didn’t deserve
their understanding, either, but most offered it. Perhaps they
extended empathy, because I didn’t come back in chains like others.
Or it could have something to do with the ties that bind US
Marines—once a marine, always a marine. Most likely, though, it
was the strains of war that led my fellow marines to relate to me. The
Marine Corps—with its rich history of successful combat and
heroes—was trapped into playing a role in a war that politicians
couldn’t resolve. For good or bad, we were bonded.
The Vietnam War was becoming more unpopular every day. It
had become an open and running sore in the American consciousness.
Its toxicity oozed into every facet of American life, and poisoned
our relations with each other and our government leaders.
It wasn’t that way when I joined the corps in 1966. The Vietnam
War was definitely on the radar screen, as antiwar protests and draft card
burnings were increasing. In addition, student deferments or
“escapes” to Canada were encouraged by antiwar activists. However,
by 1970, much of the pride that Americans held for their armed
forces was eroded by guilt-ridden, self-hating Americans. These citizens
took delight in accusing our military of hideous deeds and
atrocities. They gave no allowance for understandable over-reactions
by our troops to horrors committed routinely by the enemy. More
than ever, the war divided the nation.
Before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. publicly denounced the
war—and its disproportionate impact on black Americans—he and
many other courageous Americans (of all colors and religions)
demanded that the nation live up to its creed and guarantee all citizens
equal rights under the law. All Americans witnessed the horrors
of forced racial segregation; the images were thrust into our living
rooms. We watched peaceful civil-rights marchers sprayed with water
hoses and attacked by club-wielding police and their dogs. The
scenes shocked and disturbed us. Those who grew up outside the
Deep South were especially horrified to see the ugly racial hatred in
the eyes and faces of fellow Americans.
While he was respected and admired for his civil-rights positions,
Dr. King’s patriotism was questioned when he spoke out about the
war and the negative way it was changing America. Even his
strongest supporters in the government resented his outspokenness.
They did not want him “meddling” in international politics. They
condemned his denouncement of the war and questioned his
motives.
Dr. King hit a nerve, which the Black-Power movement leaders,
black separatists, and Afrocentric thinkers and agitators tapped. Why
was the poor and black underclass doing a disproportionate amount
of the “heavy lifting” in this war when they didn’t have full rights at
home? The outrage at this injustice changed the Marine Corps’
atmosphere during the time that I was gone. The espirit de corps still
existed, but a big, black-and-white elephant was in the room. It was
impossible not to notice it.
Excerpt from CHAPTER 1 HARD TIME page 10
��I was a deserter! I deserted my fellow marines during a time of
