Prosperity Engine — Update — The Value of Humility
I’ve performed dozens of miracles and that set of accomplishments could have made me arrogant—for confidence without humility is hubris. Remarkably, such miracles become impossible without humility. Now, my goal is to maintain that confident humility all the time.
I’ve long known that I have much more to learn. That’s one brand of humility. Another brand of humility involves the ability to do self-inspection with the attitude that “self” is still imperfect—not omniscient and not omnipotent (all knowing and all powerful). Even if we have an area of expertise, it is only a relative expertise with an unknown body of yet undiscovered knowledge.
But I have also long known that there is real benefit to be had in granting value to things we’ve already learned, to the knowledge of others, and even to the observations and viewpoints of those who might otherwise seem disadvantaged—the poor, the uneducated and the very young. Out of the mouths of babes we sometimes receive great wisdom and powerful insights. Not always, of course, but when we expect such gifts from the world around us, we are more likely to see them when they do occur. This is another brand of humility.
And on the subject of relearning what we’ve already learned, most people bristle at the idea of restudying old material, and miss out on a gold mine of benefit. For example, most people, it seems, would find it distasteful to study first grade mathematics—adding and subtracting. Yet, if they were to do this, after a decade or more as adults, they may discover old confusions they had which for them afterward made mathematics a chore. Revisiting the basics with the attitude of “the joy of learning” could break through the source of any difficulty.
Recently, I have learned a lot from the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza and David Bayer. I haven’t always agreed with the language or terminology they used to describe their methods and wisdom, but I can also see the utility of their words. Through them, they reach a broader audience. So, instead of feeling resentment or conflict, I remain grateful that so many people are receiving relative truths that are helpful. For even my own discoveries are relative truths which remain imperfect.
I have come to the realization—through humility—that every teaching has value, even if it is horribly wrong. We gain insights by looking, by becoming aware, by being humble enough to see the intent behind the words, and to realize, by contrast, how any one teaching compares with Absolute Truth. We may not see this relationship with precision, but we may be able to feel the relative value. If nothing else, these things can help us gain our bearings, especially if we do not become attached (confident without humility) to any one idea.
Thus, any one interpretation of Buddhism, of Christianity or even of Scientology, can have value, because they give us a broader appreciation for the viewpoints which make up this physical universe.
Even the tyranny of one religious group fighting against another can help us toward our ultimate goal—complete awakening as spiritual children of God—maturing and graduating out of our need for physical things and separate selfishness.
Humility: A Primary Ingredient in Learning
[image error]A foundation for our Prosperity Engine is humility to nature. Father and son walk through the forest. Photo: #2770301 by ljcor (CC0) Pixabay.
Imagine for a moment someone who knows that the stars are fixed in the sky—all of them except the special “planets” or “wanderers”—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Now, imagine how you would feel when you discover contrary evidence—comparing the ancient records of Hipparchus with modern measurements of the stellar locations in the heavenly sphere, colloquially called the “sky.”
This happened in 1718. English astronomer, Edmund Halley (1656–1741) had noticed that the first magnitude stars Aldeberan, Arcturus and Sirius were more than 30 minutes of arc from the locations documented by Hipparchus (c.190–c.120 BC), one of the leading, ancient Greek astronomers. Thirty minutes of arc is the apparent width of the Moon in the sky. This may not seem like much, but the fact that it took more than 1,800 years for these stars to move so little amplifies the immensity of space between stars. We now know that the stars move relative to one another in double-digit kilometers per second. And because the distance to those other stars is measured in trillions of kilometers, the apparent motion of any one star, as seen from Earth, will be missed by any casual observer in their own lifetime.
Halley was humble enough (and honest enough) to follow the evidence, rather than the two millennia of dogma. Other researchers had not been so humble. They had remained attached to one idea to the exclusion of any evidence which might otherwise prove it wrong. See the problem?
In our own work, producing our own Prosperity Engine, we need to remain humble to Absolute Truth, rather than to the limited teachings of any one person or group. Even to the words of your current author.
We should not be too proud (egoistic, separate, selfish) to use various sources to help us understand more completely and accurately the wisdom required to achieve our goal. Thus, we can use the imperfect wisdom of David Bayer, Joe Dispenza, Tony Robbins, as well as the modern interpretations of Christ’s and Buddha’s teachings. Despite all the bad things we’ve heard about Scientology, we can even use some of the good from there, too.
Every piece of wisdom—every viewpoint—is a valuable stepping stone toward all of humanity “graduating.”
Humility Combined with Creativity
When we give up any and all of our “know-it-all” attitude, we open our awareness to new possibilities. We find it easier to see the patterns of the universe around us and to compare them to other patterns.
[image error]The type of inspiration which led to the laser can be used in building our Prosperity Engine. Photo: Laser Systems Lab, Novosibirsk State University (PD).
Thus, American scientist, Gordon Gould (1920–2005), was able to look at traffic controlled by signal lights and to imagine the technology required to build lasers. Ultimately, he won his many court cases to obtain and to protect his many laser patents, winning far more money, because of the maturity of the laser industry, than if he had been able to gain his patents right away.
Thus, while studying electronic engineering in the late 1970s, I was able to see how every atom is both broadcast and receiving equipment, similar to the radio tank circuit—combining both the coil (electron orbit) and capacitor (electron-nucleus separation) into one tidy, natural package. So, each atom type has its own unique set of tuned frequencies. With this type of insight, suddenly all of nature starts to seem simple, despite the apparent complexities.
This type of creativity—combining humility with creative imagination and critical thinking—is one of the skills I want to teach at my InDyn University (Infinity Dynamics). Who knows what we can discover at a research lab staffed with scientists and engineers with this kind of mindset?
The Von Liebig Effect
[image error]Justus von Liebig. His humility for learning continued long after his discovery of NPK fertilizer. Photo: 1866, NIH (PD).
German scientist, Justus von Liebig (1803–1703), was one of the founders of organic chemistry. His work led to the creation of the huge fertilizer industry, supplementing soils with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK).
Ironically, later in life von Liebig discovered that the NPK fertilizer was destroying the soil and creating less nutritious food. He realized that his “discovery” had been made without the proper humility to God’s wisdom in creating nature. But it was too late. The Big Chemical industry had already established hefty profits from NPK fertilizer sales. Reverting back to more natural chemistry would have proved too costly. So, late in life, Justus von Liebig gained sufficient humility to see that there had been a far more wise approach to agriculture that he had missed because of a lack of humility. He had come to regret his “big” discovery. But more modern sources never mention this regret.
Thus, the von Liebig effect is one of hubris in discovery without making the entire discovery needed for wisdom to occur. This can also be described as “short-term gain, with long-term failure.”
[image error]Peaceful serenity of a mountain valley near sunset. A key ingredient for our Prosperity Engine is the stillness of humility. Photo: Jahazbanda #3708659 by dilshad3 (CC0) Pixabay.
We need to remain humble to the bigger picture—whatever that “picture” ends up being. We have to realize that there will always be more to learn until we are able to create entire universes, just as God has done.
Even then, we need to realize that one of the four elements of God is humility. So, it seems there will never come a time when we put aside humility, for it is part of our natural, spiritual state.
Prosperity Engine Progress
It now seems as though I have all the pieces I need for constructing and sculpting my own Prosperity Engine. “Constructing,” because there is some building or creating involved, especially in specifying my own Designed Future. And “sculpting,” because, like a sculptor, I will be stripping away the unnecessary ingredients to reveal the desired “art” within the raw material.
I realized, today, that it’s too easy to become cocky with the enthusiasm of success, reaching out to speed things up. And this is not a new discovery, but one I’ve had numerous times before. I am reminded of the need for the humility of patience. The more impatient we become, the longer it will take.
Conversely, the more patience we use, the easier and faster will be the entire process. This is because spirit does not use effort or time. If we insist on these physical ingredients, then naturally, we will be forcing the process to take longer, with far more difficulty.
A couple of times, recently, I have felt a solid foundation of happiness which made smiling easy—smiling for no apparent reason at all. One of the first, short-term goals in this process will be to make that feeling increasingly more common, and one that does not require outside events or internal decision.
Coming Up Next
In tomorrow’s article, we will be looking at the power of pessimism. Yes, that’s right. Instead of treating that negative feeling as “useless,” we will be exploring how we can use negativity for our own benefit. This kind of fearless creativity could end up making the building of our Prosperity Engine even more fun, making the journey as rewarding as the end product.
