Jim Palmer's Blog, page 37
March 3, 2014
a plan to change everything
The future of our world does not yet exist as facts. The word has always been an expression of the dominant consciousness. The way things are now is simply a reflection of the views, mentalities, narratives, and ideologies that drive and govern our daily lives. If we can change that, we can transform our world.
With that in mind, consider this simple plan:
Start with yourself
The lack of peace, freedom, harmony, and well-being in the world is a reflection of the lack of these within yourself. Address the root cause of your own disharmony, and you will be able to aid the liberation of all beings.
Raise your critical consciousness
Stop and question the views that are determining your life. Deconstruct what you’ve been told, and hear every day. Stop externalizing authority, and stop outsourcing the core components of your life. Reclaim possession of yourself. Start trusting and listening to yourself, and apply critical and free thinking as a regular course of life.
See the interrelated nature of reality
There is no “us” and “them.” See every human being as your mother or father, sister or brother, or son or daughter. Recognize that all living things are inseparably interconnected, and what any one of us does affects the whole.
Have compassion
Realize that what any human is doing in any moment is the result of a lifetime of conditioning. Taking personal responsibility for one’s life is fundamental but each of us can appreciate that it’s not always so easy to shed those dynamics that have shaped us into the people we have become. Start with the person in the mirror, and have compassion on others as you go.
Do your part
Don’t accept the premise that things will never change or can’t change. Do not hide your light under a basket or pine away in passivity. Consistently and tangibly give expression to what you are most passionate about in creating a new world that works for everyone.
Don’t let our individual differences divide us
Every person can fully embrace and follow their religious tradition, spiritual interests, cultural values, or philosophical views without creating division, hostility, violence or hatred. Whatever our individual differences may be, each of us can find a rationale and motivation for being an instrument of goodness, peace, love, and compassion in the world, and affirm the inherent, equal, and unconditional worth of every human being.
Encourage self-actualization in one another
Every person can participate in a process of personal growth, self-actualization, and fulfillment of one’s highest beliefs and aspirations, and encourage the same for others. All of us have something valuable to learn from each other. The future of our world rests in our willingness to work, play, live, grow, and be… together.
If you want to change everything, read this…
A plan to change everything, and create a new possibility:
1. See the fundamental truth of the way things really are for yourself first. This results in knowing yourself, others, ultimate reality, and life in a different way. Address the root cause of your own suffering so you can aid the liberation of all beings.
2. Raise your critical consciousness. In other words, stop and question the ideas, narratives, theologies, ideologies, and views that are driving and determining your life. Deconstruct what you’ve been told, and what you hear everyday. Stop externalizing authority, start trusting and listening to yourself, and apply critical and free thinking as a regular course of life. Take possession of yourself, and do not outsource yourself to others to do the thinking for you.
3. Internalize the interrelated nature of reality. See every human being as your mother or father, sister or brother, or son or daughter.
4. Have compassion. Realize that what any of us are doing in any moment is the result of a lifetime of conditioning. You can’t expect anything different from a person who is not awake. Seek to do what aids the liberation of others, and have compassion as you go.
5. Don’t accept the premise that things will never change or can’t change. Do not hide your light under a basket or pine away in passivity. Consistently and tangibly give expression to your highest truth along the everyday paths of live and living.
March 2, 2014
It begins by thinking for yourself
The last few days in Texas, I had the chance to meet several FB and blog friends. Some of them were in their 50′s and 60′s. These folks have great wisdom and know the way things really are. However, some of them (you) need to be coaxed out to play. There’s too much at stake for the people who know better to be on the sidelines observing or pining away in passivity.
It’s too easy to criticize, find fault, rail against what you think is wrong, and lob bombs of disapproval from the sidelines. Make a personal investment in being the alternative. It’s not that difficult to see what people are against. I just can’t figure out what they are for.
It doesn’t take long for one to see that the institutions of religion, government, and education often add up to about the same thing. The cure starts with people deciding to think for themselves. Step back and take a good look at things. Why are we doing this? Because its just been this way for so long? Because some “expert” said it’s supposed to be this way? When are you going to wake up, and start questioning the way things are? When are you going to start listening to and trusting that still small voice within? It’s going to put you at odds with the way things currently are. When you start feeling the tension of this, you know you are in the right place.
February 27, 2014
Jim Palmer in Texas this weekend
So, come out and let’s visit tomorrow night in Texas! I’ll be at the DFW Airport Marriott South in Fort Worth on Friday night. There’s a “Meet & Greet” from 6-10pm. There will be copies of each of my books available for purchase, and I’ll be signing them. Bring a friend, and stop in to say hi and chat. I’m looking forward to meeting some of my awesome Facebook friends in person. I’ll also be at the Marriott Saturday if you want to stop by and say hi, just let me know. You can check out this link for more details.
Thanks! Jim
February 26, 2014
When will you wake up?
“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.” ― Noam Chomsky, The Common Good
February 25, 2014
God’s love is not a reaction
“God’s Love is not tied to the performance-based system that religion is fond of teaching. God’s Love is not a reaction to your actions or beliefs. God’s Love is not a spigot that turns off and on based on the accuracy of your theology, how religious you are, or how far you’ve progressed on your journey. That is why it is UNCONDITIONAL. You have already met every condition by simply being who you are and there are no further conditions to meet.
It’s not that God DOES loving things – God IS unconditional Love. You’re never going to show up in a moment when this is not so.
Unconditional Love is the underlying, unchanging, and fundamental fact. It is the reality of your life and all things. You are born out of unconditional Love, born into unconditional Love, born as unconditional Love, and to unconditional Love one day you will return.
God’s Love does not fluctuate. It cannot be earned or lost. It is never threatened. God’s unconditional Love is available to all people, all the time, everywhere.”
- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge
February 24, 2014
Jim Palmer: Texas Meet and Greet
I wanted to let my blog friends know that I will be in the DFW area of Texas this Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. On Friday evening from 6:00-10:00 pm I will be doing a book signing, and anyone is welcome to stop in, say hi, and visit for a while. I will be at the DFW Airport Marriott South. See you there!
The one premise we cannot live without
The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim that essentially states either of the following:
1. One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.
2. One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated
This isn’t terribly complicated. It is self-evident. Any religion, spirituality, or philosophy will easily spot the ring of truth in this maxim. Any and every person can adopt this basic premise for life and living. So, we start with this. We seek to be and live this truth today.
(Photo by Darla Winn)
Jesus was not a Bible teacher
“In many religions, authority is based in a sacred book or Scripture, and often, by extension, to those who are deemed most knowledgeable or equipped to interpret and understand them. Jesus’s religious tradition, Judaism, was very much a religion anchored in a sacred text, the Torah and the rabbinic commentaries.
But Jesus was a sage and story-teller, and typically did not take his point of departure from texts of Scripture. In his core sayings and parables, the Scriptures are conspicuously missing.
The province where Jesus spent most of his public life and drew most of his support was in Galilee. This was a region noted for its more cavalier or indifferent attitude toward the religious traditions of Judaism. The crowd who followed Jesus, for instance, was declared to be under a curse because they were ignorant of the Torah or Holy Scripture. Yet there is no evidence that Jesus took on the role of a Bible teacher to remedy their Scriptural deficiency. In fact, the only people he chided for their ignorance and misuse of Scripture were the orthodox elite.
Neither did Jesus write anything, or instruct his apostles to record what he said or did. It was not Jesus who commissioned the writing of the New Testament. Instead, Jesus confronted the religious elite, finding them guilty of what amounted to Bibliolatry – the glorification of a scared writing. Jesus said to these religious leaders, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”
Jesus was continually challenged, “By what authority do you say this or do that.” He never answered by appealing to the authority of the Bible. He laid no claim to a vision from any kind of special revelation. In fact, what makes Jesus immeasurably greater than any religious guru is precisely the fact that he spoke and acted without authority and that he regarded “the exercise of authority” as a pagan characteristic.
Jesus’s perception and teaching of the truth was direct and unmediated. He did not even lay claim to the authority of a prophet. Unlike the prophets he did not appeal to a special prophetic calling or to a vision in order to legitimize his words. Jesus never used the classical prophetic introduction, ‘God says…’ What gave weight to the words of Jesus were the words themselves. Jesus was unique among the men of his time in his ability to overcome all forms of authority-thinking. The only authority which Jesus might be said to have appealed to was the authority of the Truth itself.”
- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge
