TheLeaderInside.com

Big Picture — The Stories We’re Told

“The total alteration in underlying circumstances has not been squarely faced. As a result, we are guided, in part, by ideas that are relevant to another world. … We do many things that are unnecessary, some that are unwise, and a few that are insane.”

~~~ John Kenneth Galbraith

You would think the above Galbraith quote was from about a week ago, wouldn’t you? I don’t know exactly when he said it, but it definitely wasn’t recent. He died in 2006.

I wrapped up the Big Picture article last week talking about how the corporate and political leaders, the mainstream media, and the guy next door keep telling us to get real. They say this notion that we have in our heads of a peaceful, loving, compassionate world is never going to happen. We’re told that to think such a thing is remotely possible is just a pipe dream. In fact, I’ll bet some of you have been thinking the same thing as you read these articles.

Here’s the story we hear over and over again:

“Let’s face it, a part of our human nature is to be fearful and focused only on what we want. We use violence as a way to solve problems. We’re also greedy. If we don’t grab it for ourselves, the other person might beat us to it. In order for us to be safe, we have to rely on our leadership to do whatever is necessary to protect us from terrorists and criminals. In order for us to get all the things we want and need, we have to farm out our production and services to other countries where it won’t cost so much to get it into your hands. Sure, it may mean that you have to put up with inferior products and see your jobs go overseas and your home values diminish faster than your mortgage will go down, but hang in there folks, someday this will all bring you the life you want. It’s all for the best.”

Do you believe that?

Maybe you don’t believe it, and that’s wonderful. How many people in this world do believe it? Just here in the United States where we are getting ready for a presidential election, one candidate doesn’t believe this story and the other one does. If you look at the polls, almost 50 percent of the people in this country do believe this story to be true, despite the fact that their standard of living has diminished drastically over the past eight years. They believe it because the media is driving the stories of violence, corruption and greed into their brains every day. This is where most people get their facts– and if the news says it’s true, it must be. They hold up corrupt politicians and greedy corporate executives as being the models we should emulate.

Why do we buy into these stories? Maybe it’s because this is the story we humans have been hearing for the past 5,000 years. Maybe it’s because it’s so much a part of us that it has become who we are. Maybe it’s so instilled in us and our ancestors that it has entered our gene pool. This is the story we were taught in school. We even hear this from some of our pulpits. Scientists give is the same information. This is brainwashing to the highest degree. We’ve been put to sleep and we’re only now beginning to wake up.

Students of history will know about the fall of the Roman Empire. If you’ve studied this at all, you’ll be able to see some stark similarities between that fall and where the American “empire” is today. Our fall may not come from another country invading us, but will more likely be the result of our huge foreign debt and the fact that so many of our assets have been purchased by other countries. Yes, the United States of America is heading down the road to being owned and operated by China and the oil barons of the Middle East. That’s where this big picture of ours is heading.

What makes me sad is that so many of us, including our political and corporate leaders, don’t seem to notice. We’re too busy spending billions of dollars we don’t have on wars we shouldn’t be fighting, trying to figure out how to keep gasoline prices from going through the roof, and wondering what to do about all the American people who are losing their homes because of foreclosures.

How can we change this?

I do have some ideas and thoughts that I’ll be talking about next week. Come on back next week when this important discussion will continue. Invite your friends. We need many more people to be listening and sharing.
=================================================

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

~~~ Buddha

I’d love to hear your comments on this. At the very end of this post (after the commercials and the tags) you should see a place where you can leave your comment. It will be a link that says “No Comments” — or “Comments”. Let me hear from you. Thanks.
==============================================
I meditate every day to help keep me sane in this crazy world we live in. Those glimpses we get of peace, love, acceptance and happiness when we’re meditating will soon grow into more than glimpses if we keep practicing. Keep those feelings alive. A meditation can be as simple as one, deep, conscious breath. When something happens in one of your moments to cause you to suffer, just stop and take one of those breaths and remember, “This too shall pass!” Another thing that is wonderful, especially at this time of year, is to have a fresh flower where you work. Just stop from time-to-time and look at it — don’t label it — don’t judge it — just be with it for a couple of moments. It really does work. I’m looking at mine as I write this.

“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature”

~~~ Gerard de Nerva

=======================================

“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”

~~~ Buddha

Namaste!

I share these words for you in closing — remember these words …

“Be happy now, my dear friends. Today is all we have. Be good to one another. Take comfort in whatever spirituality you are so inclined (or not), and learn to be happy despite your circumstances. Follow your path; pursue your dreams. Work hard, love your family be generous and forgiving. Do it today, while you still have the flicker of life, for one day your own candle will dim.”

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~~~ Buddha

~~~ Ron
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.buddhistbelief.com

P.S. Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.
================================================================

In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution
================================================================

====================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, inner peace, Buddhist Belief, Buddhism, Buddhist, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life, Big Picture, Mother Earth, sustainability, compassion[/tags]

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

~~~ Dalai Lama

Over the past few articles I’ve been repeating the concept that all of us, regardless of our culture, religious beliefs, political persuasion, or philosophical ideologies, in the deepest part of ourselves we all seem to want the same things. I’ll repeat those desires again today because they do need repeating, not only here in this blog, but also in our minds and hearts everywhere. We all want healthy, happy children, loving families, and a caring community with a beautiful healthy natural environment. We want meaningful work, a living wage, and security in our old age. We want a say in the decisions our government makes. We want world peace.

That’s the big picture that we all desire.

What is equally interesting to me is that despite all this wonderful cultural diversity we have in the world, there is some scientific support for why we all want the same things. Some scientists who look into how our brains function have found that our human brains are actually wired for this. In our truly natural, non-egoistic selves, that innermost essence of ourselves that is a part of each and every one of us, we are happiest when we are in a cooperative, loving, peaceful, compassionate and generous life role or frame of mind.

(For more about this true, inner self, see my new blog, Buddhist Belief.)

Think about what this could mean to the world. Our world could be what we all want it to be, couldn’t it?.

So, what’s wrong here? If we’re wired to be these ideal people — if in our most natural state we’re loving, kind, compassionate, helpful and full of peace, why is the world in such a mess? When all of us good-thinking people saw the world teetering on the edge of the abyss of destruction, why didn’t we all just step up and make the changes that needed to be made?

Why are we allowing our world to become the garbage dump of the universe?

Do you think it might have something do with the fact that our corporate leaders are exceedingly greedy? Could it possibly be that our governments are being led by corrupt politicians? I know, I just said that we’re all wired to be good and wonderful, so what’s the story with the corporate and political folks? Aren’t they wired the same way? The answer is yes — they are. But, like so many of us, so many of them have lost touch with that innermost part of themselves and are being controlled by desire and greed. I know, it’s not all of them, but there’s enough of them so that they are able to cause the mess we’re in today. The sad fact is that it’s these morally corrupt leaders are getting the most attention from the media which has a way of glorifying this disruptive behavior.

Add to that the fact that the mainstream media is the source of information that most of us rely on for our news, and you can see why this has a way of bringing or own thought patterns into line with those of our corrupt leaders. We start to think that their way is the way to follow. This only causes greed, corruption, wastefulness, and abuse of power to grow exponentially until it takes over.

And therein lies the greatest problem with our big picture — it’s the way our minds have allowed the message of the politicians, the message of the corporate leaders, the message of the mainstream media, the message being taught in our educational institutions — those are the messages that we’ve allowed our minds to absorb and accept as true.

We’re being told over and over again, that those niggling thoughts we have in the back of our minds that say this is all wrong — you know — those thoughts that we should begin right away to change the way we are in this world — well, we’re constantly being told that thinking that way would make us unpatriotic, or stupid, or naive. They say that this idea that the world could be a better place is just a fools desire. They tell us that wanting healthy, happy children, loving families, and a caring community with a beautiful healthy natural environment isn’t possible in the big picture. They insist that wanting meaningful work, a living wage, and security in our old age, is just pie in the sky dreaming. They’ve convinced too many of us that we have no business being involved in the decisions our government makes. We say we want world peace. They throw a bucket-load of fear in our faces saying that the only thing that works is more and bigger weapons of mass destruction, violence and war. They make it sound so cool, though. They tell us it’s to make us safer and more secure.

Once again, I’m leaving this post on a sour note. I apologize for that, but at the same time I’m convinced that these words need to be said. I promise that this series will end eventually with some great steps we can all take to turn our world around. Please stay with me here. And thanks for hanging in there.

That’s it for this week. As I said last week, I’m going to cut this a little short throughout the month of August, as I’m participating in “The Thirty-Day Challenge” with some of my friends from various places around the world. This is a challenge to learn how to do a better job of doing some marketing on the Internet. If any of you are interested in this sort of project, just go to: Thirty day Challenge to learn more. We’re half-way into it but there’s still time to get in. It’s possible to start late and still get the training. Let me know if you do! I belong to a great team.

Come on back next week when this important discussion will continue. Invite your friends. We need many more people to be listening and sharing.
=================================================

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

~~~ Buddha

I’d love to hear your comments on this. At the very end of this post (after the commercials and the tags) you should see a place where you can leave your comment. It will be a link that says “No Comments” — or “Comments”. Let me hear from you. Thanks.
=====================

I meditate every day to help keep me sane in this crazy world we live in. Those glimpses we get of peace, love, acceptance and happiness when we’re meditating will soon grow into more than glimpses if we keep practicing. Keep those feelings alive. A meditation can be as simple as one, deep, conscious breath. When something happens in one of your moments to cause you to suffer, just stop and take one of those breaths and remember, “This too shall pass!” Another thing that is wonderful, especially at this time of year, is to have a fresh flower where you work. Just stop from time-to-time and look at it — don’t label it — don’t judge it — just be with it for a couple of moments. It really does work. I’m looking at mine as I write this.

“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature”

~~~ Gerard de Nerva

=======================================

“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”

~~~ Buddha

Namaste!

I share these words for you in closing — remember these words …

“Be happy now, my dear friends. Today is all we have. Be good to one another. Take comfort in whatever spirituality you are so inclined (or not), and learn to be happy despite your circumstances. Follow your path; pursue your dreams. Work hard, love your family be generous and forgiving. Do it today, while you still have the flicker of life, for one day your own candle will dim.”

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~~~ Buddha

~~~ Ron
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com

P.S. Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.
================================================================

In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution
================================================================

====================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, inner peace, Buddhism, Buddhist, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life, Mother Earth, sustainability[/tags]

Big Picture — We Are Not a Minority, Folks!

“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man’s proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it’s yours.”

~~~ Ayn Rand

We’ve been talking about the fact that everywhere in the world, most people truly want the same things — We want healthy, happy children, loving families, and a caring community with a beautiful healthy natural environment. We want meaningful work, a living wage, and security in our old age. We want a say in the decisions our government makes. We want world peace.

But, what about here in the good old USA? We have all this division in our government with the Republicans and the Democrats getting very little done because they’re so busy trying to get reelected or trying to make the “other side” look bad. We have all these red states and blue states.

The funny thing is though, (well it’s not really funny — just sort of “scratch-your-head” hard to understand) is that we are much more “purple” than you’d imagine. We really are more understanding of the big picture than you’d imagine. We tend to believe otherwise, especially if you go along with the stuff the main stream media feeds to us every day. According to most polls, eighty-three percent of us believe that as a society the United States is focused on the wrong priorities. Huge majorities of us, over 80 percent, want to give a higher priority to the needs of children, family, community, and our environment. Almost two-thirds of us agree that big corporations have way too much power over us and our government.

Put it together and we find out that Americans want a world that puts people ahead of profits, spiritual values ahead of financial values, and international cooperation ahead of international domination. Note that none of these are distinctively conservative or liberal values. They are widely shared human values. What if all of us who live in this country were to wake up one morning and recognize that we are one nation yearning for healthy children, families, communities, and natural environments? Guess what? We are — every morning! We get it! We do understand the big picture! Now, let’s do something about it.

The question that you as the reader of this blog need to ask yourself is, “What do you believe?”

Do you feel that our society is focused on the wrong priorities? How do you feel about the way our children are being educated? What about the health and dental care of our children — is that up to snuff in your opinion? What about your own family? Do you have adequate, affordable health care? Are you finding it more difficult to pay for the things you need? Have you lost your job — or do you fear losing it? What about your home? IS your mortgage in good shape? What about the air we breathe and the water we drink and the foods we eat? Is that getting better or worse? Do you think that big business has too strong a hold on everything? How about those gas prices, huh? Do you think that Exxon’s latest quarterly profits of almost 12 billion dollars is something they deserve? Or is that just dollars flowing out of your pocket into theirs because they’ve got too strong a hold on you?

I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of you have pretty much the same feelings and beliefs. We are not a minority, folks! We, in fact, are at the leading edge of a national and a global supermajority and we need to get in the habit of speaking and acting accordingly.

That’s what I’m doing by writing this blog and publishing it every week. That’s why I’d like it if you would pass this blog on to your friends and family and business associates — and then ask them to also pass it on. If we can get enough people speaking out about these issues, then someone is going to take notice and pay attention. We know we have a corrupt government and the best way for us to speak out and make the sorely needed changes is at the polls and in our advocacy. Don’t just buy into whatever we’re being fed on the evening news and the morning paper. Dig a little deeper and you’ll see that there’s a lot more that you need to know. Check out the Internet. There are plenty of news sources and blogs like this one to help you learn more of the facts.

That’s it for this week. As I said last week, I’m participating in “The Thirty-Day Challenge” with some of my friends from various places around the world. This is a challenge to learn how to do a better job of doing some marketing on the Internet. If any of you are interested in this sort of project, just go to: The Thirty Day Challenge to learn more. We’re just a few days into it so there’s still time to get in. Let me know if you do! I belong to a great team.

I’m not done with talking about the Big Picture, so come back next week when this important discussion will continue. Invite your friends. We need many more people to be listening and sharing.
=================================================

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

~~~ Buddha

I’d love to hear your comments on this. At the very end of this post (after the commercials and the tags) you should see a place where you can leave your comment. It will be a link that says “No Comments” — or “Comments”. Let me hear from you. Thanks.
=====================

I meditate every day to help keep me sane in this crazy world we live in. Those glimpses we get of peace, love, acceptance and happiness when we’re meditating will soon grow into more than glimpses if we keep practicing. Keep those feelings alive. A meditation can be as simple as one, deep, conscious breath. When something happens in one of your moments to cause you to suffer, just stop and take one of those breaths and remember, “This too shall pass!” Another thing that is wonderful, especially at this time of year, is to have a fresh flower where you work. Just stop from time-to-time and look at it — don’t label it — don’t judge it — just be with it for a couple of moments. It really does work. I’m looking at mine as I write this.

“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature”

~~~ Gerard de Nerva

=======================================

“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”

~~~ Buddha

Namaste!

I share these words for you in closing — remember these words …

“Be happy now, my dear friends. Today is all we have. Be good to one another. Take comfort in whatever spirituality you are so inclined (or not), and learn to be happy despite your circumstances. Follow your path; pursue your dreams. Work hard, love your family be generous and forgiving. Do it today, while you still have the flicker of life, for one day your own candle will dim.”

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~~~ Buddha

~~~ Ron
http://www.theleaderinside.com
http://www.wecould2.com

P.S. Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.
================================================================

In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution
================================================================

====================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, inner peace, Buddhism, Buddhist, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life, Mother Earth, sustainability[/tags]