Our belief in ourselves and others creates outcomes. We attract good people and things into our life when we follow our moral compass. That doesn't mean we are insulated from bad things in life, but there are always divergent choices available, and we must choose our actions bravely in the face of challenges and setbacks. Dare to make mistakes. Course corrections are an integral part of our journey. We create our own destiny.

Keith Vaught
TGIF



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2013 06:25PM by tgif.

I couldn't agree more!

One of the best things about escaping the cult was that challenges and losses became an opportunity for growth - instead of evidencing haven broken some random 'sin' nonsense.

Really made a difference, escaping that primitive world.

And growth just accelerates.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2013 06:42PM by zenjamin.

yeah, makes sense.

Most of us spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think of us. I've grown out of this.

Did the people of Tacloban attract Typhoon Haiyan because they didn't follow their moral compass?

Tell me how the fuck they're going to create their own destiny now, now that their lives are either taken, or destroyed, or unrecognizably altered?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25046721

Oh, that's right, they need to be better, not bitter, right?



New age bullshit.



Sorry.

Try some Viktor Frankl.
Might make sense then.

Somehow I doubt all those people created that disaster because of their beliefs.

Sometimes, ofttimes, bad stuff happens to good people. No matter how many positive thoughts they might be having before the inevitable dropping of the hammer.

And the universe appears to be full of random events and occurrences.

Ascribing a personal cause / effect coupling to everything that happens to me in my life is not a useful thought pattern. I gave that up (in bits and pieces) as soon as I saw JS for the charlatan that he was.

Sure, we choose how we react to those random events, to the extent that they touch on our respective lives.

Id est, Mr. Bagley has learned how to cope with his parents' abuse / dysfunction from his childhood by essentially, based on what I've read of Don's numerous posts, casting them out of his life (mostly) in his early forties.

Don, as a child, through no actions or thoughts or vibes of his own, was saddled with a terrible set of parents. Nothing he did or didn't do as a young boy caused him to have such a poor set of parents.

He has, however, chosen how to respond to his parents' behavior later in his life. He has chosen how to react to a terrible, dare I say random, occurrence of the universe. But he didn't cause the event in the first place.

The universe can be a bitch some days.

Is this is some sort of empowerment theology that tries to lend structure to things that you inherently cannot control or manipulate?

Hi Jacob!

Fer instance - very benign statement.
- But some folks get very angry over it.

It's not totally benign. In many instances, the statement is true, but I have seen that statement used to blame people who get cancer for "attracting" cancer to themselves; to blame rape victims for "attracting" a rapist; and to blame men and women for "attracting" abusive, dishonest manipulators into their lives. The extreme black-and-white adherence to that belief could turn people into dismissive jackasses, so I can see why it would make some people angry.

Speaking of Rape victims, I know more than one woman that believed they would never get raped, but did they create a life free of being raped? No, they did not create what they believed.

Exactly.

Some people get very angry - and at that moment That Anger is their world.

You can not justify a global statement like "You create what you believe!" With things that only apply to some.

On this evidence the best you could say is "some people create what they believe".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2013 12:43PM by MJ.

We are not simply stimulus-response.

We are not all the same, we do not react the same, we do not all "create what we believe".

Thanks for seeing my point.

So - how one sees oneself in the Universe, has a lot to do with the kind of Universe one lives in.

Do you really think you have any influence over the Universe?

If I believe there is a Pepsi Machine on Pluto, does that create a Pepsi machine on Pluto? Of course not. Beliefs have no affect on the Universe.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2013 12:49PM by MJ.

If I see myself as a victim, alone, the Universe is hostile, for example. And I become reactive to every stimulus as a threat, a personal affront to my ego, so I have no choice but to fight to preserve myself.

If I am 'connected to the Universe', adversity "passes through" one. I do what must be done, but there is no residue of bitterness.

Such a one may choose to not respond, because nothing of the ego is at risk, for example.

Again, Viktor Frankl - great resource.

Must be true for ALL cases.

So, try to actually answer the question instead of just relying on your faith promoting ideas that do not address the flaws in the statement.

Can "belief" create a Pepsi Machine on Pluto? Yes or No. Any other answer would be considered a no.

Wow! Found out how to inadvertently erase my comment :)
Sorry 'bout that.

So: it's kinda like this.

If I believe I am a victim, the Universe becomes a very hostile place - because there is always perturbance (not intentional, it is the Universe being itself) and each 'bump' is a personal threat and affront to my ego. So I Must respond, I have no choice in the matter.

If I have come to be 'one with the Universe' it is no longer a threat. Bad things happen, even really terrible, but these 'pass through' one, leaving no residue. One does what one must to respond to the situation, but carries no bitterness, no residue.

So: such a one can actually choose to NOT respond to a situation, because there is no 'ego' to defend. It does not become do-or-die. There is no "me" to defend. The Universe is less hostile.

Viktor Frankl is a great resource, because cannot get much worse than a concentration camp situation, yet he describes what I am trying to communicate.

It really does not have to be an awful, threatening, bitter universe. Even though there is much evil.

"Again, Viktor Frankl - great resource." Some people say the same for the writings of Joseph Smith. But unlike what you appear to be, I can think for myself. Unless you can provide why I should take Viktor's word for anything, much less things that contradict observable evidence, I see no reason to buy into anything he, or Joseph Smith say/said



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2013 01:00PM by MJ.

There is no fate, there is no karma. People refuse to believe that they may be f!cked at any time by the random number generator of life. The "Just World Hypothesis" is not true.

Exactly.
And holding there is an economy of morals is one of the greatest generators of unhappiness.

There may be karma, but that doesn't necessarily mean a good person (in this lifetime) ISN'T going to experience bad times, because (taking into account the doctrine of reincarnation until salvation) one doesn't know what one's past lives have been.

That doesn't give the right to judge, necessarily, because one may not know what might have been the circumstances behind someone else's weakness that could have "earned" the later suffering to come. But it does mean to be alert, try to be good, humbly admit when you aren't perfect, and don't necessarily assume that you'll be spared of trouble just because you're good now.

Being able to move beyond thinking my net worth depends on how much I have sinned, did I repent the correct way, and have I contacted the Higher Up Person in prayer enough and was he/she listening, took time and gaining the where-with-all to reprogram my thinking.

Also, not having the cloud hanging over my head that I must make everyone happy and like me, has broken chains that kept me tied to people's legs and being dragged wherever they chose to go.

I try to live by the idea, as tgif referred to and stated, that, "We make our own destiny," and, for me, this means it is my job to separate fact from fiction the best I am capable of, to be honest, enjoy the sunsets, and laugh and then laugh again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2013 07:50PM by presleynfactsrock.

For many, many years I made things worse for myself by trying to get along with my parents. They made it clear that they consider themselves blameless for my abusive childhood and all the lies they told me during my adult years. The judgment and the backstabbing, all of it. It'll be worked out in the afterlife, they say.

Somehow I had come to believe that I deserved those monsters for parents, and that's what I got. Monsters for parents. In my late forties I wised up and let them go. I had come to believe I would be better off without them, so I'm affirming tgif's point.

instead of a straight life?

Kind of a version of "You become like the 5 people you hang around the most." If you hang out with people who share your beliefs, then you would become like them, thereby creating your beliefs too - or making yourself in the image of your beliefs.

I agree. A case in point would be language. I have noticed that I pick up the jargon and idioms of the people I spend time with.

To the OPs point, I do believe that we create our own outcomes in terms of relationships. You can be a doormat, a welcome mat or a do not disturb sign. Those three approaches will net three different responses, and that's just the beginning.

I like how you think, CA girl!

Or everyone retains their individuality.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2013 12:45PM by MJ.