Judgments Kill

Are you judgmental?  You know most people don't like to own up to the fact that they are judgmental.  They either make excuses for it, "the bible says. . ."  Or try to justify it by saying it's necessary to discern to what they're being exposed.   Let's see, how can I put this clearly?  Judgment KILLS!

Most of us are caught up in this idea that all the extrinsic stuff matters.  So we evaluate people on "stuff:"  The problem is that we get deluded into thinking that the "stuff" some how matters.  I guess in this capitalistic society we put worth in things not in people.  Things like possessions, degrees, positions, you get the point.  Things begin to own us rather than our owning them because we project so much of our self definition into them.  

Now this is getting off into a different area, I'll deal with materialism another day.  You get the idea we judge not that all life has value but that there is a hierarchy of value based solely upon things that are temporal.

Our judgments don't hurt the people we judge against, they hurt they one that judges.  Judging keeps you trapped in the physical and block your own growth.  You will not recognize that you and your brother are one if you are judging him, you won't recognize him as your brother either.  

Judgment is one of the biggest games that the ego has going.  It keeps you stuck in your separateness.  It puts you in the position of the "all knowing" because you assign values and get to determine what has worth and what does not.

People who feel worthless are usually the ones who judge.  If they knew that they had an inherent value then they would look on everyone else as having value as well.  There would be no need to judge them because all is one.  If you are judgmental check yourself, it is not hard to recognize the divinity in you is in all of life.  Its just God experiencing God. 

The Choice

Where am I today?  Well, I was thinking that each of us are born with our own set of personal issues that we must overcome.  For some of us identifying those issues is the largest task of all.  Let me explain.  

I hear ministers quoting from the text about it being harder for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.  Now we can talk about historically what that meant, (the eye of the needle did not mean then what it means today) but that would be to belabor the issue.  We could talk about values and money, but that would miss the issue too.  The real significance of that statement is how we relate to the physical as opposed to the spiritual.  (Remember, you are just ease dropping on my thoughts). 

It is in our triune nature (mind, body, soul) to try and reconcile our being.  Our mind trying to comprehend the fact that we are eternal with the temporary body.  If our mind totally focuses on the physical, we literally become the walking dead.  (I want to elaborate on that in a second.)  If we focus totally on the soul we miss the entire purpose of our incarnation.  So the reconciliation process is necessary.  

Now on the physical side.  Whatever is physical is temporal, meaning it is born into space and time and therefore subject to decay and extinction.  Follow me.  Put your faith in temporal things and you are headed for a let down.  Some folks determine their self-worth by a job, a car, a title, a house, a relationship or whatever.  Those things while not all physical are temporal and are subject to change or extinction.  That means your self-worth is always contingent on some tangible object over which you have no control.  How scary!

On the spiritual side, (I have to laugh because this woman told me one time that I was so heavenly minded that I was no earthly good.  Not true, I love my incarnation but I am not attached to it.)  Sometimes we can misidentify what it means to live a spiritual life.  I once told a friend of mine "that peace is not achieved through removing the noise that surrounds us, it is finding that place within that knows that eternality is the truth."  That in the face of all that is occurring around us we can not be hurt, attacked, or diminished because we are spiritual beings having a human experience and not the other way around.  So the statement that says if you seek to save your life you will lose it is so true because saving your life is believe that that life is the totality of your being.  

I don't know if that is clear, but let me move on, these are just my thoughts, remember?  

When I see people depressed about the "stuff" of life I can't help but to think that they've missed the beauty of it.  They get caught up thinking the "stuff" matters.  Sometimes its just about learning to maneuver through the mess that's the point.  Deciding and proclaiming peace.

I'll never forget when I was overseas there was this cocoon outside of my window that I watched daily.  Well, when I saw the cocoon starting to open I figured I would assist the butterfly in getting out into the world.  I didn't know that the struggle to squeeze out of the cocoon is how a butterfly pushes the blood back through its body to develop its wings and legs.  My denying him his struggle ended up leaving the resulting mutation unable to continue its journey properly.  

Some people may never get it.  They may die unhappy because they will have thought that happiness was an achievement rather than a choice.  Even that choice is a struggle that must be declared over and over again.  Looking for the easy way out could leave us with mutated lives.  Fortunately, spirit is so wonderful it wont let up, if there is something you must learn, learn it you will.  Now that's what I call peace being thankful for the ass kicking because you realize that in the end it's because you are loved, because you need to learn and its for your own good.  

Hey these are just my thoughts.  We don't own thoughts so feel free to share them.  If you lie and say that they are yours, you do yourself a disservice.  Life copyrights.  Thanks for reading this, your opinions are valued please share them.

Copyright© 2001 By Sandra Bishop Ministries

Clear Chanel

Where am I today?  We all evaluate our actions and the reasoning behind them.  I do, a lot.  Before the radio show I ask myself "what idea or feeling do I want people to walk away with?"  After the show I ask "did I communicate that point and make it clear?"  Did I convey my highest thought and if not why not?  Was the point one that everyone could understand even if they didn't care?  Believe it or not, this dialog is constant for me, especially on the radio.  Yes, I live in the present and doing so means that I accept my actions in that moment, however that does not stop the reflection process that follows.  

When I first began college majoring in philosophy I thought it was something special to use big words that tied up a thought nicely into a neat bundle placing it before my listeners.  Then one day someone said to me that the measure of intelligence is not how well you can confound your audience, its how well you can make them understand.  Anything short of that is pedantry.  I try, probably failing sometimes,  to make ideas so clear that the simplest mind can understand.  After all, what is the point of talking if you are not understood?  Inherent in the definition of Communication is understanding.  Using words and phrases that your listener cannot comprehend, is equivalent to speaking a different language.  He may pick up on your emotions, but not your ideas.

Now, we can make our ideas crystal clear in our own minds that does not mean they will be received that way.  We each have experiences or opinions that color our ability to hear without prejudice.  Certain words or thoughts may trigger associations to other ideas that have little to do with the situation at hand.  For example, in a past relationship whenever we had a disagreement or my feelings were hurt I would automatically go into the communication "model" known as reflection.  He would talk and then I would stop him and say "so what I hear you saying is . . "  we were both amazed at how poorly we understood one another.  I don't know that all women draw the conclusion that when a man says "my mother did it this way, or my ex did it that way .." that a comparison is being made, I did.  In my mind I heard a judgment be it good, bad or indifferent.  Using the reflective model I found that he was actually trying to justify eating all my vegetables that he told me he didn't like.  He thought hated vegetables, until he tried mine. 

I love to read books or listen to people who challenge me expand my mind, but this is not true for everyone.  Confounding your listener can often leave them feeling alienated or intellectually inadequate.  If the purpose is to communicate, then we must do so with the thought of sharing in mind.  Whenever possible, pay attention to who you are talking to making sure you are speaking to them and for them, not just for yourself.  That's my thought for today.  I hope you got it!

The Sparkle

Did you see that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Terminator 2" I think it was?  There was this scene where the Terminator had gotten trapped in a huge press and you could see its eyes that had a red light in the center, remember?  When the press came down on him and he got crushed the light dimmed and then went out.

It's sad but most people I see are walking around like that, no light in their eyes.  I often wonder what makes it go out and at what age?

I was sitting in a restaurant with my girlfriend Vel having lunch one day.  This man walks in the door that I nodded a hello to and went on with my conversation with Vel.  I thought where do I know him from?  It started nagging me in the back of my mind .  I could hear his voice but I didn't remember a conversation.  He got his order and was headed out the door I suddenly remembered.  I said "I know you, you're an actor I saw you in. . " I named the play it escapes me at the moment.  

You should have seen the instant transformation.  A light came on, his posture became erect and he even held his head differently.  We watched this man go through a metamorphosis right before our eyes with the mere acknowledgement that he was an actor.  

I don't know what that man was doing that day but it was clear where he got his joy.  If we would just do what gives us joy, we would have that light on all the time.  We would live our truth.  Our purpose.  Our passion.

Copyright© 2001 By Sandra Bishop Ministries

Who am I? - What brings Joy?

I don't know what year this was written in originally but here is the first of many. . . 

"Birds do not sing so others will applaud . . .so we sing"  Larry Bey

Seems as though I've been away for a while and unfortunately I can't say that I am totally back, I'm back for the moment.  This hiatus has been wonderful for me.  I've done a lot of reading, writing and introspection.  I finally finished the book I'd been working on, the editing should be done by the end of April and then off to print.  I'm really excited.  

Over the past few months I've given a lot of thought to what I do and why.  I am a speaker, a teacher and a writer who focuses on spirituality and self-development.  I do this because it gives me joy. 

A Course in Miracles says that man is generous out of his own self interest and in this regard I would agree.    I get great joy from what I share with others.  

Its been my belief that we each have talent, some of which are more marketable than others, and we each have a purpose for being.  I know that I've found mine simply by following what gives me joy.  (If it gets any better I might pop.)  I know that others can find that same joy by doing what makes them happy.  Realizing that the onus is upon the individual to speak to what brings them joy and to follow that.  

The ultimate question becomes "who am I and what makes me happy?"  "What gives me joy?"  This is the only path leading to a truly authentic life.  To find that central referential "I" and begin work from there.  

I remember when I first started doing my radio show.  I would listen to other shows to see what other host did. At the same time realizing that I had to find my own voice, my own way of being that spoke to who I am.  It is important that we each seek and find our voice.  I know the saying that "imitation is the best form of flattery" but copycatting is demeaning.  Your uniqueness certain.  Play your part because only you can.  Don't simply  pander to the ideas and fears of others by doing what you perceive is tried and true. 

Life requires that we shake from our minds the shackles of other people's ideas and opinions.  We must decide what it means to be who we are in this space and time even if we must do so defiantly.  There is nothing glamorous about "blending in."   Don't get me wrong this is not about glamor as much as it is about pushing the limits placed upon you.  

Let me not leave this manifestation with the idea that I simply traveled new roads.  I want to be like Star Trek or Daniel Boone who went where no one has gone before.  I'll cut a path and leave a trail for others to follow and not so that I can beat my chest and say look at what I did, its not about me its about ME.  Since I know its only one of us here.  It reminds me of when Jesus went into the garden to pray just before the crucifixion.  He came out and found all his disciples asleep.   How symbolic.  At the risk of sounding trite - "if not me, who?  If not now, when?"

Wake up we need you too!