The Shift - Two Options

I have felt for a long time that man was entering a "new" age, and many others have expressed the same belief. There's no denying that we are at a pivotal point on our planet. Wars are waging. Diseases are spreading. Climates are changing. We have advanced more technologically in the last 200 years than we have in the previous 2000! Yet we still wage war, pollute our planet, and live in states of fear, anger, and depression. So while we've figured out how to split an atom and map the brain, we still can't seem to get along with one another on a global scale. We can't even get along with "that idiot" in front of us while we're driving. Well, I think that's about to change.

World peace will be realized only if the consciousness of the world elevates to the point that the majority of people realize that we are one. We must realize that we are all one. There is no separation. The thought that we are separate from one another is all in our mind! Our egos have established identities with our labels of ourselves and others. For example, I am a good person. If you believe that you are a person that is good and someone accuses you of being bad, your ego recoils in the thought that someone does not recognize that you are a good person. "You can't accuse me of being bad! I'm a good person! How dare you!" Substitute "good-bad" with "wise-dumb", "rich-poor", "righteous-evil", etc. Anytime someone accuses you of being something that you do not believe yourself to be it causes severe bruising to your ego and you will want to retaliate. This is one of the leading causes for most of the strife we experience in this world. It all comes down to the thought that we are separate and as such we must define what we are and are not. Then we condemn that which we are not. For example, a Democrat will condemn a Republican, a Christian will condemn a Muslim, a Red Sox fan will condemn a Yankees fan. This need for identity through separation is a most peculiar one. I have struggled for a while to understand it and it's purpose and have come to the conclusion while this paradigm serves a unique purpose it is one which has run its course and is about to be replaced by a new paradigm.

If you had asked me a few months ago if this was even possible I would have said bullocks! However, after contemplating this subject for a while and looking back at where we've come from and realizing where we are headed if we don't change course, I now see the logic of it all. I am going to attempt to convey to you my big-picture theory here so fasten you seat-belt.
One of the biggest questions I have held without answer for a long time has been, "Why is conflict necessary, and why do people seem to thrive on creating these dramas and conflicts in their life?" We all have experienced this irrational behavior both unto us and by us. And we love it! Think about it. Without drama and conflict our lives would be pretty boring, no wars, no divorce, no Jerry Springer. Hey wait, that actually sounds like a good thing, and indeed it would be. However, there are always unseen consequences. Let's look at the root of what causes these conflicts to begin with.
Every great conflict begins with someone feeling that they have been wronged in some way. This can take many forms and ranges from one feeling a lack of respect to having a loved one killed. These ego-created conflicts can last for generations as neither side will ever admit that they were wrong and in some way can justify their actions. The ego will never admit that it is in the wrong. That is part of its function. The ego is the part of our mind that separates us from each other by way of judgments. It's the part of us that says, "I am this, but I am not that." Ego likes definitions and relies on others to confirm these. This is why we have clicks, clubs, churches, and countries. We love to be defined. Why is this? Why is it necessary for us to see ourselves as separate from one another, and why must we condemn those we find in opposition to what we have defined ourselves as? Well, here's my theory.
Einstein proved that the physical reality that we all know is one of relativity. If you have a hard time understanding this one, think of it this way. In order to have the concept of temperature you must not only know what heat is but what cold is as well. If all there was was white, we would have no concept of black or any of the gradations in-between. So if we follow this logic we realize that far cannot exist without near and good can not exist without bad. This is the great polarity of our universe and is present in almost every aspect of it. From the magnetic poles, to gender, to matter itself. (Oh yeah, scientists recently proved that such a thing as anti-matter does exist.) So if this is the nature of reality how could there ever be world peace? We just established the fact that in order for us to know what peace is we must also know what war is. So how could a level of global peace ever be achieved within the current paradigm of reality that we currently exist within? It can't! But what if the paradigm changed?
Changing the paradigm of our entire species would require one of two things. (Or both) The first would be a global cataclysm. Something on the order of a meteor strike or severe climate change. This would force many to realize that what we have here is precious and fragile and should be handled with care and love. The sense of global community would be strengthened only after emerging from such an event, as preceding and during a so called Armageddon the world would be in absolute chaos and panic. Those who are unable to coexist with others in a civil manner would find themselves ostracized from the new close-knit communities and will either starve to death or find the business end of a shotgun. This would truly be a time of chaos and pain. However, true growth usually requires pain, and as we emerged from such an event, a renewed spirit of connection and peace would begin to take hold as man reconciled his differences in light of the fact that we are all stuck on this big rock together and need to learn how to get along. This has happened before. It will happen again.
The second option for a global paradigm shift is one of less gloom and doom and the one I would personally like to see. Are you ready for this one... Extra Terrestrials! Imagine if they decided to show up one day. What would our reaction be? Naturally, there would be those of us who out of fear would immediately try shooting them down. However, if a species has evolved to the point of interplanetary travel, don't you think their consciousness has evolved as well? This is the point I had a hard time answering. My first thoughts were of our own culture and the fact that as an American I am living on land that was conquered by a technologically advanced race, and Nazi Germany was the technologically superior country until the end of WWII. So what would make me believe that if a race of beings from another planet have developed the technology to travel the stars why would they not be malevolent in character? Because we're talking about a species that have had over a million years to evolve. Let's look at our own time-line for a minute. We have only 6,000 years of recorded history. This is a blink of an eye in cosmic terms as our planet is believed to be billions of years old and our species is actually a relatively new one at only 200,000 years. Our current boom in technology is only 200 years old and one can only imagine what we'll come up with in the future if we can manage not to blow ourselves up. Man has become much more civilized than his predecessors though, and although corruption and plunder still plague our politics and murder and rape still plague our streets, it's not as bad as it once was. We do still act more like parasites than symbiotic creatures, but we are gradually improving. We are slowly evolving, and each succeeding generation seems to slowly be grasping the concepts of coexistence and unity. We are however at a fork in the road in our time-line, and the direction we take will depend on the state of our collective consciousness. This is why I believe that the introduction into the Universal community would help us to realize that we will not only identify ourselves as Americans, Mexicans, Asians, etc, but as Humans and as Earthlings (or Earthians, which I prefer). Think about it. What if you could actually stand face to face with a being from a planet halfway across our galaxy. How would that change your perception of reality? Would you view your place in the universe differently? Now imagine everyone elevating their concepts of existence to a higher level. This would truly spark another age of enlightenment! The technology exchange alone would be incredibly powerful. Imagine finally gaining access to free energy and gravitational amplification. This is the holy-grail of transportation and energy production. This would eliminate several of the issues and perils man-kind faces today. And although a convenient visit from ET would be nice, I fear we are going to be responsible for cleaning up our own mess. Nature has a thing for learning the hard way. Survival of the fittest exists because it works. If we are to survive we must become more fit, mentally, physically, and especially spiritually. No alien is ever gonna ask us to come out and play if we can't figure out how to get along amongst ourselves.
So begin to affect the change you want to see. Practice random acts of kindness. Hold the door for one another. Help when you can and thankfully accept help when it is given. Don't get upset if you don't get your way! Grow Up! We're an advanced species and we need to start acting like it!

Alternative Energy - Weening Ourselves Off Of Oil

What you're about to read may upset you and I'll probably get a lot of grief for this entry but it's something I feel very strongly about, so here goes.

If you read my previous entry about the power of anger then you will understand why I am writing this entry. I'm angry at state of the world today. I'm angry at the politics of my country. I'm angry at the state of our economy and I'm angry at how much I have to pay for gas!

If you've filled up your vehicle within the last year then you're aware of the price we're paying for petroleum. At an average $3.50 a gallon we are paying more than 150% for fuel than we were only 10 years ago. While there are many theories as to the cause of this dramatic increase (including some pretty convincing conspiracies), the short of it is the fact that demand is rising and supply is shrinking. This is a fact! It took the earth millions of years to create it's oil (it isn't called "fossil fuel" for nothing) and it's taking us a few hundred to use it (a blink of an eye when you consider Earth's history). We are addicted to cheap and abundant energy. Just think about all of the appliances in your home and your automobile. Could you live without your car, washing machine, lights, or television, what about your computer? We love to use energy, after all, it allows us to leverage our time in order to be more productive. However, this has had a profound impact on our environment. If you do not believe this then you are either blind or brainwashed (as I myself was). Environmental impact aside, cheap oil and the energy it produces has allowed the world (primarily the west) to grow economically and technologically at an amazingly compounded rate for the last one hundred years or so. The impact of which is just now fully being realized by the masses.

Now that the price at the pump has grabbed your attention (money, or the lack thereof, always gets our attention), are you willing to do a little research to find out why we are where we are, and what we can do about it? Stop and think for a moment about how far we have come technologically in the last 100 years. Computers used to occupy entire rooms and were less powerful than our modern laptops. Think about how far the automobile has come in a hundred years, and the airplane. However, they still use petroleum fuel for their power and they haven't relay become much more efficient. So if we can figure out how to send a robot to mars, why haven't we come up with a new energy source? ...We haven't had to! Until now. Now we are being forced (by economics) to explore new alternatives.

If you're wondering why oil prices are getting so high and what it means to our economy and politics I recommend doing a Google Video search for "Peak Oil" and "The Long Emergency".

So what the hell can we do? What is the solution to pending energy crisis? My answer is the same answer that has made our country so great. Personal Freedom!

We must learn to produce our own energy!

Sounds great James, but how the heck do I produce my own energy?

Great question, and one that's easily answered but not easily implemented. We have several methods now available to produce electricity, heat, and power. These include solar, wind, hydro-dynamic, wave-energy, nuclear, geothermal, hydrogen, and cavitation. As you can see there is no shortage of alternatives to fossil fuels. The caveat lies in the efficiency, cost, and total power output of these alternatives. However, as technology advances and efficiency increases these choices for power production will gradually phase out the use of fossil fuels.

Instead of focusing on all of these choices at once, I'm going to write a few separate entries about each. The first will be on the the most common and abundant source of energy - our sun. Until then enjoy this video showing Roy McAlister demonstrating a Sterling Engine. Be Well!

The Power of Anger

I have spent the greater part of my life believing that anger was a "bad" thing and should be suppressed. For example, if I felt anger toward an action someone took toward me I would simply become aloof and allow that anger to pass without saying anything to that person for fear that an argument or fight would result. The same logic held true for my finances. If I realized that there wasn't going to be enough money at the end of the month an anger would begin to swell, therefore I would turn that anger into depression for fear that my anger would hurt myself or the others that were around me. I now realize that this logic was extremely flawed.
Fear is the root emotion of anger. When we are in fear that we might not be able to have something we might need, that emotion turns into anger. Anger suppressed turns into depression, and depression is extremely self-destructive. So the trick is to learn to harness the power of your anger and use it's energy to drive you into positive change. This is much easier said than done of course.
In studying some of the world's most powerful leaders and businessmen I realized that aside from several other common characteristics was the ability to transform their anger towards something into positive change. Take Martin Luther King for example. His anger over equality created a drive within him to create massive change. Another good one would be the the founding fathers of our country who were fed up with the taxation and religious oppression they had experienced in England. As I began to see that anger could actually be a positive emotion, I began to take account of the instances in my own life in which I had not channelled my anger properly. I have battled depression for a long time and until recently never understood the source of that depression. Realizing that I was turning my anger into depression in order to either prevent confrontation or prevent action which I held some fear of.
Anger is supposed to be used in conjunction with courage and wisdom in order to help you overcome your fears and create the change you desire. So anger is a good thing? Yes, it can be. It can also be used improperly as it often is. So there is a fine line there in which you must harness that inner fire generated by your anger without letting it control you. When you establish that you are the master of your emotions you will begin to see that all emotions serve a useful purpose. Emotional mastery is perhaps the one character trait all the great luminaries throughout time were able to achieve. Most people allow their emotions to control them instead of controlling their emotions. This creates a plethora of issues within their psyche, and leads to the dysfunction of the ego. However, if you are able to tame your anger and use that powerful energy to create a positive change you will begin to move toward the solution of the problem which caused that anger to begin with.

So the next time you get angry because your bills are stacking up and your paychecks aren't enough to cover them, GET MAD! I mean it! Get really angry! Tell yourself that you aren't going to take it any more! Scream and shout! Find something to punch (preferably something that won't break your hand and definitely not someone)! Then sit down, quiet your mind, and ask yourself how you could use this energy produced by your anger to make changes in your life. Use this new found energy to overcome the fear that has been holding you back for so long. I used this tactic to quit smoking. I got really pissed that some big corporation had control over my mind, so I used that energy to prove to myself that I was in control of my mind and body. Now I have begun to focus on the anger of my financial situation. I'm absolutely sick and tired of having to stretch every dollar just to make ends meet. I'm furious that I have not yet developed the kind of income I feel that I am worth. So, I am developing new strategies and techniques for producing money and wealth. The first thing I had to do was actually learn how to properly manage what little money I currently make. This was very difficult as this revealed to me just how deep in the hole I really was, which just made me even more angry! But this was a good thing as before I would have just become depressed and quit about halfway into the project. Now that I actually know where I stand, I can actually plan out where I need to go. You can't get directions to a destination if you don't know where you are now!
So use your emotions to feed your desires. I guarantee a renewed sense of courage and optimism. Also remember to be here now! There is nothing that you can not overcome right now! Concentrate on the one step you are taking in this moment instead of the distance you are traveling. We must have goals, but once they are set we must focus on the task at hand. Living within the current moment will give you clarity and strength to overcome any obstacle that presents itself along the journey.

Peace and Love - James Hastings Reece

(For information on how to make more money using the law of attraction click HERE)

Applying The Secret - What Now?

So you've begun to practice the law of attraction, or at least understand it, but have yet to see any true results in your life. I know how you feel. It often takes many months for real fruits to begin manifesting on your new tree of thought and belief. So let's take a look at what is truly necessary for you to truly begin receiving the benefits of the law of attraction.

First, I want to look at the law of attraction itself and how it works. The law of attraction is very simple in concept, just as gravity is a simple concept. Both, however, are incredibly complex at the level of quantum understanding. In fact, scientists still can't explain why gravity does what it does. It just does! So for all of you deep thinkers out there, I want you to stop trying to figure out how it works for a moment and just assume that it does. (We'll get into the "how" later.) Like energy attracts like energy, and our minds have the capability of producing pure energy in the form of thoughts and more specifically emotions. Think of emotions as your energy in motion. If you have a thing that you are particularly passionate about, you have emotions toward that thing. The Universe doesn't parse words or differentiate between weather you actually want that thing or don't want it. The Universe only recognizes that this emotion you are holding is powerful and must comply by giving you more of what it is that you are thinking about. If you feel great joy and gratitude when you receive money then you will receive more money. However, if when you receive money there is a fear that you will now have to manage that money, and protect it from others, and figure out how to spend it, and so on. The Universe recognizes that you are not in alignment with receiving money. The same is true for relationships. If after you start a relationship with someone you begin to fear the loss of love, you will bring that into your life. This is why the study of our fears is so important. If we fear a thing in any way, we are pulling that which we fear toward us instead of the actual thing we want.

So make sure your emotions surrounding that which you want are pure and free of any kind of fear! You should have a positive passion and love for that which you desire.

Another thing to be careful of is attracting opposites, which happens quite frequently, especially in romantic relationships. This happens according to the law of attraction, but we need to understand why. Let's say you've expressed to the Universe that you are a loving soul. The Universe will then send you another soul that is in need of love. If you are a giving person you will find someone who takes. This happens because we must affirm who we are to the universe. If I state that I am a loving and giving person but have no one to demonstrate that to then my being giving and loving are only thoughts. Thoughts must become experiences in order to know ourselves! So welcome these people and events into your life for this is your moment to shine! Prove to us that you are all that you say you are. For it is through the experience of giving your love, and enjoying it, that will bring you more. It is the experience of giving money, and enjoying it, that will bring you more. It is the experience that makes it real.

Now when you have aligned yourself mentally to that which you desire and have eliminated all your fears surrounding that which you desire, you will begin to find that your actions are effortless in taking you toward that goal. Our actions are guided by our emotions. Our emotions are guided by our thoughts. Our thoughts are guided by our beliefs.

Therefore if your beliefs about something are in conflict with you receiving it, then you can not have it. For example; money is the root of all evil, I'm not intelligent enough, nobody likes me, others think I'm ugly, etc. These are what we call limiting beliefs. Eliminate them from your life as fast as you can. This is easier said than done and requires a great deal of effort and patience. The rewards, however, are greater than you could imagine! I'll go over changing your core beliefs in my next article so be sure to subscribe! Until then Be Well!

-James Hastings Reece

(For information on how to make more money using the law of attraction click HERE)