Things are not what they seem. Nothing is "common" or "ordinary". For instance, what is commonly thought to be reality is an illusion created by an individual's belief systems, and reality itself is that which is commonly thought to be imagination or illusion. The illusion created by the hypnotic beliefs held by the individual is commonly called the real world, or the physical world, while reality itself, the "real" real world, is the manifesting, or invisible world - the world that has no names and cannot be discussed. The reader is encouraged to turn his attention away from attempts at manipulating the physical world of people and events, and begin to learn to cooperate with what "is", and in this manner re-create the world in which he lives.
Ordinary observable truths not normally a part of an individual's awareness are revealed for the purpose of re-activating the wonder found in ordinary existence. The wonder generated functions as an agitator that loosens the mind's hold, enabling the mind's owner to observe new truths, thus increasing the sense of wonder, furthering the discovery of other truths, continuing the chain of new awareness revelations.
Some practical instructions will be given, but only as a furtherance of some theme. The main purpose of the writing is to "nudge" the reader into an awareness of another form of livable life, and not to lay out a foundation for that life.
Truth exists.
As one travels through life, one necessarily picks up from one's culture, certain beliefs and myths. Beliefs are seen as reality - as truth by the individual holding the belief. Myths are thought to be not real, but many myths are in fact often disguised as truths, and therefore not seen as myths. Thus beliefs and myths remain as the prime source of truth, although neither has any but an incidental association with truth itself. Truth is that which stands on its own two feet, quite independent of anyone's belief or opinion. Truth just "is".
It should be obvious, but apparently it is not, that to live one's life based on what is real, or true, is more efficient than to live one's life as one wishes things were, or as one believes things to be. It should be obvious, but apparently it is not, that every belief a person has is treated as if it were truth, as if it were real, by that person. It should be obvious, but apparently it is not, that it is not logical to assume that all of one's beliefs are true. It should be obvious, but apparently it is not, that if one wishes to find out which of one's beliefs is false, one must discard them all and start fresh, making sure that any new ones are based upon reality and not based upon the beliefs and opinions of experts and authorities.
Beliefs create.
It is not possible to live as a human and not entertain beliefs, and no attempt will be made to suggest that one should do so. Instead, an attempt will be made to convince the reader to look upon beliefs as just that - beliefs, and nothing more. To believe that the sun is actually hot is simply what it is - a belief that the sun is hot. If one believes that the sun is hot, then THAT is Truth - that one has that belief.
The fact that our beliefs creates our experience of the physical world, along with the fact that our experiences are all that we have, should cause us to see that what we believe has an enormous effect on the quality of our life. So what we want to do is to put beliefs on a back burner in relation to truth, while at the same time we want to make sure that the beliefs we do have are formed from an experience of seeing truth, and not formed simply because most people have that belief, or that some expert or authority has claimed the belief to be truth.
It is not possible to believe simply because one wishes to believe. One must have facts, otherwise it's just faith or wishful thinking. Facts are what makes things look real. Fortunately, because of the duality of our nature, we can find facts to fit any belief we wish to entertain. All we have to do to change one belief into its opposite, for instance, is to ignore those facts opposing our wanted belief, and focus our energy upon the facts which support our new and upcoming belief. For instance, there is good and bad in everything. If you wish your new world to contain only good, and no evil, focus your attention upon the good in events, ignoring the bad. Make excuses why things look evil but really aren't. Presupposing other considerations, the belief will form, and to you it will look real that only good exists. You will have your proof, your facts.
The discarding of beliefs picked up from life's travels with one's culture, and the replacement of those beliefs with beliefs that are consciously chosen eases the chore of living and causes the disappearance of problems, of worry, anger, fear, greed, jealously, pride, and the re-appearance of the serenity, confidence, humility, and joy that we enjoyed as very young children.
My wife loves to talk, and she has this habit of over-explaining. She will say, "I have to go to the store because..." I usually reply, "well, as long as you have a reason". The "I have to go to the store" is "Truth". Anything that follows after "because" is chaff. It is a consideration. It has nothing to do with anything. People who have trouble saying no to salesmen have this trouble because they say something like "I can't afford it". This is not truth, and the salesman can argue with it. If the person would say, "I don't want to buy it", that would be "Truth", and the salesman couldn't find a crack into which to wedge his argument. A good salesman will ask why you don't want to buy. He will try to get you to give an excuse. If he can get you to give an excuse, he has a chance. To say "I don't want to buy it because I can't afford it" leaves a crack. The salesman can show that you can get it for pennies a day, and surely anyone can afford that. "I don't want to buy it" is truth. It is what is. "I can't afford it" is a consideration, an excuse, a reason. It is chaff. It has nothing to do with anything. Truth has value, chaff has liabilities.
Continued in next issue!