Tag: balance

When Feelings Don’t Lie

Since the time of Aristotle and no doubt even before, human kind has contemplated our existence. Every individual’s life experience is unique yet we all are conceived, born into existence, live, die and “feel” along that journey.

Where do “feelings” come from? This question is definitely hard to answer. I believe it’s more important to ask what feelings are grounded in. Plato developed more understanding around the latter question. Each individual has their own body/soul linkage…neither are independent from the other because one needs the other to form the basis of the human capacity to feel whether it’s the tangible aspects or the emotional aspects. Yet the body will one day decompose so humans are left with one more question, “What then?”. In this post I will focus only on those feelings that happen while we are alive.

Let’s start with the notion of “world view” which is different for everyone because we all have various family, religious, educational, cultural and geographic situations. This is our immediate experience, our “grounding”. Is the experience (aka grounding) “normal”? Heavens no! There are too many variables to account for. The grounding is the individual’s acceptance of their earthly experiences. It’s all relative to the order that is necessary for procreation of the human race without which we would not exist. This order is actually that which is normal. Societies are meant to thrive by bringing forth life within a structured familiarity (i.e. world view).

Our “world view” experience can expand with the help of modern technology. Travel, communication and media connect us with even more variety, but is this experience “grounding”? Heavens no again! These technological advances are a marvelous tangible distraction, but they do very little to advance our metaphysical sensibilities. The human soul was already a package deal from conception…Life on this planet is a distraction from the soul’s real purpose which is a oneness with God’s love for us. Ultimately He created us and wants us to live our physical lives graciously with each other before returning to Him in the metaphysical world.

As I have pointed out in my previous blogs (see https://shrewview.com/2019/04/03/a-religion-for-our-time/), order is based in the Male Principle (MP). Feelings that are grounded in the MP are orderly and cause no emotional distress. On the other hand, feelings that are grounded in the Female Principle (FP) are chaotic and cause much emotional distress…our metaphysical selves are always trying to balance these two Principles while we live in the physical world. Our feelings are expressions of this dual energy. Hence, our physical capacity to exist in this duality may or may not “fit” into the physical order of earthly circumstances. We see extremely ugly expressions of these dualistic feelings revealed as depression, anxiety, addiction, self harm or harm to others. The oneness with this ugly energy is our satan, our evil. There is no grounding, only physical and metaphysical unrest.

Honor your feelings but learn their value. The awareness they bring is for only you to understand because there is a much deeper duality at play…The middle path is not necessarily the safest and each extreme is not always the only choice. You must comprehend the metaphysical Male (order) and Female (chaos) Principles to actuate a balanced life in the physical world. The lie comes when you shun this reality and exist on a merely physical basis…living life becomes chaotic and difficult in a real sense.

Soon humans will be sold a non-physical experience in order to create a more “perfect” concept of “reality”. This experience is not metaphysical even though the Company logo identifies itself as “meta”. This will be corporate cronyism at its finest. Remember what I said previously, societies are meant to thrive by bringing forth life within a structured familiarity. We are not meant to be used and manipulated by others for a social purpose…The Male Principle and the Female Principle will be replaced with radically formulated principles in this new non-physical experience. This artificial “grounding” will give us everything we want and need for a fulfilling yet manipulated life experience. It “feels” wonderful, but it will cost us our God given free will…just what satan wants.

Lies can be easily sold to you if your feelings are not grounded first and foremost in God’s love for you. Removing the familiarity of God from society IS destructive to your soul.

Turn, Turn, Turn

Ecclesiastes 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. I know the verses better through how the Byrds sang them in a song called “To Everything There Is A Season” by Pete Seeger and originally released by the Limeliters in 1962 which happens to be the year I was born. I’m sure you know it:

To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rain, a time of sow
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late

This song has entered my thoughts many times over the last year. Recession in our economy, war in Europe, and sparring leadership in the federal administration have given me an uneasiness. Yet when I am able to focus on my own work, family and community my tensions ease and all seems right in the world. Things change and time changes…It’s how we build wisdom. Life was never meant to be easy, but we can certainly turn lemons into lemonade with a willing mind or even a good biblically inspired verse or song:

To everything turn, turn, turn…

The Shrew View: New Year, New Perspective

2023 is a year to lean back. All through 2022 I heard the term from main stream media (MSM) and progressive leaders to “lean in”.

What does it mean to lean into something?

From Wiktionary…To embrace; to experience fully or respond to wholeheartedly. quotations ▼ To take on or embrace something difficult or unpleasant, usually through determination or perseverance; to find a way to benefit from, or alleviate the harm of, risk, uncertainty and difficult situations. quotations ▼

As you can see, the term is meant to encourage a person to use their energy, skills and knowledge to turn a bad situation to better. But today’s MSM and progressives abuse the term by politicizing it. For example; they use politics (aka “equity “) to encourage social/cultural change because the “old way” of doing things to “alleviate harm of risk and difficulty” they believe only benefits the already “privileged”. Leaning in allows a progressive mindset to disrupt the old way and force a new way that changes familiar systems to better benefit “marginalized groups”. Trouble comes however when this change enforces “re-education” tactics that are tyrannical in practice. Leaning in removes questioning and debate both of which are cornerstone principles of a free society/culture.

Leaning back preserves questioning and debate. Conservatives know this to be true which is why our Constitution is full of checks and balances to limit the possibility of tyranny. Liberals used to believe these same principles as the foundation of States rights, but their quest for power has blindsided them. By relying on the progressive agenda for Democrat political power, liberals have lost sight of their own strength of being part of the power balance which is shared by individuals of different beliefs and backgrounds.

Conservatives in the 118th House of Representatives got it right! They leaned back on formerly accepted methods of congressional rules to force the Speaker into being more mindful of The People’s Business. No longer can this one person in a position of power force an action through Congress without proper time allowances and debate. “But,” you say, “the process will slow down work for The People!” Of course it will! Not all bills, laws or use of taxpayer funds are deemed appropriate by every elected representative. Each representative has a perspective and a voice which is guided by their constituents, not by the elite swamp of Washington D.C. or the political party in the majority. This is true for State legislators too.

History of shore erosion.

As a former city councilor I was privileged to see this perspective, and in all honesty I can tell you that help for the individual in a community begins with this relationship especially if a person has not been able to build a strong family or faith community foundation. The Federal Government will never have your best interests at heart because it is much too big a swamp of ulterior motives to see your specific needs and all too often mismanages the bureaucracy. For example; when my city had a serious problem with many homes, streets and shoreline destroyed and lost due to shore erosion that the Federal Government admitted to starting by building a poorly implemented Army Corps of Engineers project, it took decades for our representatives in D.C. to have our voice heard. Wouldn’t you know that funding wasn’t in the huge infrastructure bill, better known as the climate change bill (of which this project would have certainly qualified)…Our swamp Republican Senate representative was later swayed to vote for the huge omnibus spending bill in December because the swamp elites who put the bill together added our erosion project funding to it! We shall see if the project ever really starts. How many other projects were funded in this way? Meanwhile some of our citizens struggle with inflation because of these poorly designed spending bills. Who wins? Think about it…

So lean back this 2023. All we need is right there for us if we would only question and debate the merits of a bill, policy or anything for that matter. Risk, uncertainty and difficult situations are learning opportunities that should lead to growth and mentorship, not ignorance and dependency.

Shrew U: Local Economy and Balancing Faith with Commerce

The fact that so many faiths can co-exist in U.S. Culture today speaks volumes for our progress as a nation.

In my last blog I stated that balance is a welcome state of being for humanity and very important for all facets of our lives. Because I am finding that certain elements in this country are ginning up much hostility toward capitalism, in this blog I would like to reflect on how we balance faith with commerce.

low angle view of cross against sky at night
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Once upon a time in order for a new community to be established in the North American territories it needed a church and a pastor.  Faith was central to existence because life presented a multitude of hardships (One could argue that we still have many hardships, but that is a topic for a future Shrew blog).  Many of these communities still exist today with a First Parish Church in its midst.  Of course today most of these communities also have several other churches along with perhaps a Temple and even a Mosque.  Faith in God or a Higher Power can be a grounding influence for many people, and I believe that religious practice in communities is a key ingredient for goodwill among humanity.  The fact that so many faiths can co-exist in U.S. Culture today speaks volumes for our progress as a nation.

So which came first, faith practice or commerce?  I think this question is comparable to the chicken and egg hypothesis.  We know that Britain colonized America in 1607 at which point the North American resources became valuable to many markets (Again, exploitation of these resources is another great topic for a future Shrew blog).  In the very early days the settlers bartered their goods and services, no money was needed to support their basic lifestyles.  Indentured slaves and negro slaves were in full use by 1640 thanks in part to the Dutch who brought the first negro slaves…Britain benefited the most from this practice because new markets for cotton and tobacco amoung other things were expanding at great rates and new immigrants to America were smart enough to know that this work on southern plantations was less than desirable.  Moving ahead 50 years, the first paper money wasn’t issued until February 3, 1690 to pay for military action during the King Philip’s War (military personnel required payment to make their fight worthwhile).  By 1776 the British pushed American “free spirits” to their limit.  Because religious freedom was central to the impending free nation, British rule equated to Anglican hierarchical practices.  I find it interesting that it took 170 years for these European free spirited transplants to break away from Imperial bonds, but honestly that is what tyrannical control can do to people…dependence on the “Mother Land” is like clinging to your mother’s warm bosom.  It took tremendous personally inspired faith to fight for independence.

And so, the land of opportunity was born…Each man and woman sovereign to him/herself with inalienable rights and property protections.  Property of course also includes your business and ability to make money which involves a tremendous amount of creativity.  God created the Universe and we, as part of this creation, are inspired to also create .

I believe the best economies are local.  They reflect the community of people united with threads of purpose.  And many times they use the bounty of resources located in their region.  These communities educate their young, learn from their past, celebrate their better days, reflect on their challenges, honor Mother Nature and love life through a respectful relationship with their Creator.  A nation that respects a community’s innovation to thrive will reap the rewards.

pexels-photo-164661.jpeg
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Which came first, faith practice or commerce?  One definitely defines the other and in my dictionary faith defines commerce…Just look on the back of our currency! In God We Trust 🙂