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Useful Philosophy
The
essence of any useful philosophy is that a man should live so that his happiness
and fulfillments shall depend as little as possible on external things. Such
being the case, we come to our own feelings. Commonly, confusion over
responsibility reigns. Action seems to many to follow feelings. But really,
action and feeling work harmoniously together. Even when we re-act to another’s
actions with feelings of our own, we are in reality and by definition,
experiencing our very own actions. And by regulating our actions, which are
under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate our
feelings, which are not. In short, blaming others for our feelings is like
pretending to be able to excuse our actions by claiming them to be mere
re-actions to another. It is irresponsible, and inconsistent with any useful
philosophy. TOP ^
Friendship
The
true essence of friendship shall be its usefulness. A wise and prudent man shall
choose his friends so that this usefulness is unique and manifests with or
without his approval. Otherwise, he shall not be choosing friends, rather
judging people. Since he knows he is unable to judge with certainty, this choice
is easy. Commonly, the choice is averted by an eagerness to be with others under
the pretence they have some magical ability to “make us feel good”; a pretence
often bolstered by a sharing of “similar interests”. Such a pretence obviates
the great advantages of our uniqueness, and requires by definition, uniform
conformity. It is more often a display of insecurity and fear of being unique,
than it is evidence of a useful friendship. Only when one is perfect, may one
wisely judge that he does not need the useful advantage of a distinctly unique
friend – one very different from himself in most every way. TOP ^
Natural Beauty
A
simple stage with five men and five stringed instruments presenting to about
twelve hundred patrons. A Celebration called "Mozart-Week" in Salzburg, Austria,
1990. In reverent silence to the ensemble, we found our emotions being played
upon. We listened, we wept, we smiled and we wept some more. All twelve hundred
of us marveled that music without any words could convey such a powerful moving
of our emotions.
I thought perhaps the beauty of it all was because the instruments
were such perfect extensions of the impartial players. Then I thought perhaps
the beauty of it all was really because the players were such impartial
extensions of the perfect instruments.
But no, it was more.
The humility of the players and the purity of their love for the music set down
by the true artist decades earlier was miraculous. A wonderfully gifted child
somehow wrote music that has endured and remains beyond the talents of even the
greatest artists of today.
I realized the true
beauty of it all, was not because of what any man knew or was capable of, rather
it was purely because of the foreknowledge of Yahweh. Only Yahweh could know
that when perfect music was expressed by perfectly tuned instruments that were
managed by perfectly impartial technicians, that the true listeners would enjoy
perfect emotional participation.
Only Yahweh could gift
the young child with such understanding that enabled him to write perfect music.
Only Yahweh could gift the craftsmen with the skills necessary to create the
perfect instruments. Only Yahweh could gift the technicians with the perfectly
impartial, perfect skills so necessary to play those instruments. And only
Yahweh could gift the listeners with the emotions that could so joyously
appreciate it all.
The original genius,
the true Artist, is Yahweh; Musical Conductor Extraordinaire! Naturally! TOP ^
Vanity - I
The
vanity of human nature is a fascinating thing. Consider hair care products.
Marketing experts have capitalized upon our vanities, and created multi-billion
dollar products for pre-shampooing agents, shampoos and hair cleaners, basic
conditioners, revitalizers which are not to be mistaken for mere conditioners,
colours, tints which are not colours, frizz controllers, anti-static formula,
hair spray, hair gel, setting gel, straightening agents, curling agents,
de-tangling formula, hair (food) therapy formula, shine enhancers, body
enhancers, texture enhancers which are not hair-body products, split end
formula, colour sensitive products in each category, hair dryers, hair curlers,
hair curling solutions, hair crimpers, curling irons, and heat sensitive
products in each category, and most amazingly, special treatment products for
chemically sensitive hair. The money spent, not to mention the vast time
shopping for and applying all of these things, evidences vain priorities. It
demonstrates a cultural acceptance of the vain concern for the image, rather
than the substance of the package; a state of our culture without defense,
regardless of an individual’s most noble effort at trying. TOP ^
Character
The
true essence of character shall be its perception. For perception to be true, it
must look without judgment beyond the temptations of the obvious. To see without
judgment, and to thereby perceive, one must fully accept what is viewed without
partiality. Any temptation or desire to change what one sees when one looks, is
a bastardization of one’s perception, and is akin to fantasy. Or put simply,
what is in your view is what you must see, your perception of it however, is
subject to opinion. How you regulate your opinion is a measure of your
character. A man of character, will look upon another with unfettered
acceptance. What others may fantasize as dislikes or personality flaws, are
accepted by the man of character as challenging opportunities for his own
growth. He knows he is responsible to control that which resides within and to
accept that which is outside of his control. Therefore, by all means everyone
and everything is acceptable and well liked. TOP ^
Vanity - II
The
vanity of human nature is a fascinating thing. Consider modern automobiles.
Marketing experts have capitalized upon our vanities, creating “cars”, designed
to reflect the “image” of the owner. The average consumer spends well over one
third of his income on cars, whether sporty cars, sexy cars, muscle cars, family
cars, suburbanite cars, utility cars, sport-utility cars, executive cars,
limousines, luxury cars, touring cars, racing cars, economy cars, limited
edition cars, custom personalized cars, middle class cars, or cars designed for
elderly drivers. All of these cars come with personal choices of hundreds of
colours, fabric or leather covered seats, smoking facilities, dual vanity
mirrors, “appearance” packages, “convenience” packages, and sometimes, even
built-in safety features. None of the cars are designed to really last and the
styles are changed in order to provide a “dated” look to any that do. Car
companies admit that it only costs about one eighteenth of the price of a car to
produce it, but in a free economic society where the “consumer” is boss, that’s
just the way it is. The success of this manipulation evidences vain priorities.
It demonstrates a cultural acceptance of the vain concern for the image, rather
than the substance of the package; a state of our culture without defense,
regardless of an individual’s most noble effort at trying. TOP ^
Nobility
There
are no truly Noble thoughts that remain unspoken, nor Noble deeds which remain
undone. The true measure of Nobility lies not in the relating of blood, but
rather in the eloquence of the expression of words and in the sincerity of the
deeds done. A poor man, who knows how to conduct his manners and deeds in
silence if needed, in isolation if necessary, and with his dignity, integrity
and honour intact, is capable of expressing the most chivalrous character – a
truly Noble man to the core. Whereas it has become popular for many of lesser
character, to seek for the recognition of their desired Nobility rather than the
evidence of their true character. Proclamations of superior bloodlines, displays
of material accomplishments, philanthropic gestures designed as rehearsed public
presentations and various other glamour's, are sought to immortalize the desired
image rather than the true substance of the package. Sadly, the audience, our
society, has degraded to the point of actually preferring this type of shallow
behavior, as evidenced by its overwhelming support; a state of our culture
without defense, regardless of an individual’s most Noble effort at trying. TOP ^
Silence is Golden
When
a man of character can think of nothing positive to say on a topic, he will
remain silent. It is without doubt known to him, that the negative thoughts he
was tempted to speak were but mistaken in any event. TOP ^
Natural Compassion
“Seeing
they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand”!
(Mark 4:12). The Messiah spoke these words to explain why He used parables,
which in part, was “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom
of Yahweh; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables” (Mark
4:11).
The parables in fact
were all very fully explained, yet nearly everyone still misses their meaning,
even to this day. Perhaps focus should be placed on “the peace of Yahweh, which
surpasses all [human] understanding, [which] will guard your HEARTS and MINDS
through the Messiah Yah'shua” (Phil. 4:7). For when a man, Simon by name, did
not understand the gift of His Holy Spirit, he was admonished with a reason for
his misunderstandings: “for your heart is not right in the sight of Yahweh ...
and pray Yahweh if perhaps the THOUGHT OF YOUR HEART may be forgiven you” (Acts
8:21,22).
So it is that our
thoughts do not all emanate from our minds! Some in fact emanate from our
hearts! Thus it is with our hearing also. If we hear with the same heart that we
generate our thoughts with, then we may not “hear” the truth, even when it has
been spoken to us! In fact, we are told quite simply that the things of Yahweh
will be very hard to explain “since you have become dull of hearing” (Hebrews
5:11).
Notice it says dull of
“hearing” not dull of “understanding”! Remember, for “hearing they may hear and
not understand”! For when speaking of man’s heart, Yahweh says through Jeremiah
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;” (v. 9). And
again in Matthew “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. THESE ARE THE
THINGS THAT DEFILE A MAN” (v. 19, 20). “Do you not know that you are the temple
of Yahweh and that the Spirit of Yahweh dwells in you? IF ANYONE DEFILES THE
TEMPLE OF Yahweh, Yahweh WILL DESTROY HIM. For the temple of Yahweh is Holy,
which temple YOU ARE” (1 Cor. 3:16, 17).
Yahweh lives in you.
Yahweh has gifted you with the very life you live. Yahweh knows your every
thought, of both heart and mind. Yahweh cries out in heart-felt agony over your
own deceitful heart! It is the deceit of the heart that causes all of the pain
and suffering, the death and agony, the torture, the wars, the starvation, the
abuse, the excesses of this world that are justified by the excuses of mankind!
New-Agers, pious
religious believers, deceitful politicians and people in general, fall back on
platitudes surrounding their myths of some “universal” power or force that seems
to be uniting the minds of millions around the world. They boast of new
scientific discoveries, modern advances and accelerated human potential due to
these mysterious universal forces being at work! Indeed they are correct. What
has accelerated is the totality of all of this disastrous human behavior at a
rate unparalleled by anything except the equally staggering disintegration of
the collective human consciousness. Only calloused minds; numb to the realities
of life, could find “progress” in what the world has endured.
Yahweh is love. Yahweh
FEELS! Those few that truly know Yahweh, also feel deeply and compassionately
about the world’s wrongs. They, and Yahweh, do not see these events as progress,
but rather as evidence of a firmer resistance to the compassionate nature Yahweh
gifted us all with. And Yahweh feels what you feel –He KNOWS what you feel! If
it is not embarrassing to feel good about the world we have made for ourselves,
it should be very much so!
It should be
embarrassing to face Yahweh and admit to being one of these human beings that
have collectively failed so miserably. It should be embarrassing to face Yahweh
and not have anything to say to justify your position. No excuse, no reason why
you just went along with things, or why you did nothing in the way of
prevention. We are of all things, pitiful in our endeavors to be kind, caring,
loving, compassionate human beings. We are lazy and irresponsible, and we lie,
cheat, plunder, loot, steal, rob, murder, war, fight, abuse, and take for
granted everyone and everything on this planet, and justify ourselves in this
“progress” as it is “just the way things are”, as if “things” have created the
circumstances!
Close your eyes and
FEEL! Feel the pain, the anguish, the distrust, the skepticism, the fear, the
hurt, the anger, the uncertainty, the relentless pressure of “success”, the
hunger, the thirst, the starvation, and you know what, you just may find
yourself crying! Yahweh is!
Grace and peace to you, from our Father, Yahweh, and Yah'shua our
Messiah!
TOP ^
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Updated on
10/06/2008
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