Rising Above Hate And Frustration

I was thrilled to hear that the Inner Peace issue was extended into the month of July, as much important information was still uncovered.  We have heard a variety of methods to find, and establish inner peace this month, but how do we maintain inner peace when our actual belief structures and fear-based reactions are so deeply rooted into our subconscious, that they eat at us daily like a cancer?

            Who among us would be bold enough to admit their underlying prejudices? Who can say that they were not somehow driven to frustration when hearing about the most recent shootings in Orlando Florida?  How do you think that today’s Jewish population feels when hearing racist Holocaust humor? And how do Native Americans feel when European immigrants celebrate their heritage on the forth of July, in a country taken through the literal massacre of their recent ancestors?  How does the American of African decent feel when they are constantly reminded of the horrors of slavery through racial slurs and a still present social discrimination?

            The truth is, there is much to be bitter about, and no matter if we are talking about major human historical injustices, or daily insults at the work place, we all must somehow deal with rising above our hate and frustrations. This month, I will offer a traditional Buddhist philosophy to help ease the burden of underlying hate and frustrations carried within our psychological programming.

            Like most things, when we broaden our perspective, we can see the entire picture with far greater clarity. So lets look at what makes the human being feel frustrated to the point of hate in the first place.  It may not make immediate sense to you, but the most direct answer to this, is attachment. Yes attachment! From the moment we intensify our beliefs and passions to the point of actually feeling a need to defend them, we have become attached to an idea that will anger us if insulted. Even if this idea is as fundamental as you being the body you look down to see again each morning.  When the Buddha spoke of detachment, he was not merely referring to worldly belongings of material possession. He was, in fact, enlightened to the point of realizing that even the human vessel in physical form, must be detached from by the true spiritual seeker. Do you feel offended when you’re insulted directly? Of course you do, its human nature.

            The philosophy I want to reference today is that of the Buddhist example of the birds perched on the branches of the large tree.  They teach that the perched birds, are like our beliefs, our emotions, our bonds, our relationships, and even our human life. The Buddha teaches that each bird will inevitably fly off, to leave an empty branch, while another bird may land to take its place. Throughout our lives, many thousands of birds will land, and fly away from our own branches, filling us with transforming motives and inspirations, all based on a temporary perspective of what we believe defines us. The work of the spiritualist is to remain at a certain level, independent of these worldly influences, (the birds) while still co-existing among others as a responsive human. Realize that even your personality is a reflection of your recorded memories, which have shaped your present state of being. 

            Most of us are driven to hate something when we feel it insults our beliefs. But I ask you, how radically have your beliefs and understanding of the world changed from your early childhood to your current age? How many birds have flown away from your branches to be replaced by another completely different one? Although we feel it’s nearly impossible, we must establish a firm detachment form the perched birds, and realize that in reality, we are the tree itself, and that the tree is never dramatically affected by the temporary visitors upon its branches.

            To incorporate a few seemingly simple, yet most real examples, consider the following. Instead of being insulted when your religion or political party is slandered, see that persons opinion as nothing more that a temporary belief that has driven them to act out against conflicting opinions. Then go one step further, to admit internally, that even your perspective is temporary, and does not truly define what you really are. Getting caught up in the seeming real dramas of daily life is all too easy, and it does contribute to the rich textures of a life experience. However, remaining truly detached from the opinions and feelings that cause us to act out in frustration and hate, will infallibly liberate you from these.

            Moving a step deeper, to the level of a personal insult, realize that even a personal attack has very little to do with what you truly are. I might go as far to return to our birds on the tree example, and say that when two people are in verbal, or even physical conflict, in reality, their birds are at war, intent to hurt one another’s pride or opinions, but could never in a million years damage the trunk of the others tree through this primal skirmish.

            As even I was shocked, and deeply saddened by the recent Orlando shootings, I beg that the families and loved ones of the victims find it in their hearts to at least acknowledge the deep frustrations of the murderer.  While there is never a method to justify the extreme cruelty of human nature at times, we can seek to find inner peace through acknowledging the acts of others as their own sufferings.

            And while on this current event, I leave you with the groundbreaking lecture from the late Dr. Leon Paul Masters, founder of the University of Metaphysics. If you, or anyone you know, struggles to understand the composition of spiritual energies that manifests distinct gender types, this short lecture will no doubt evolve your understandings. I personally, have never heard the phenomena of physically manifested gender better described. You will not find a more insightful, more compassionate presentation of the manifestation of alternate genders on the web, and we are truly honored to present this lecture from the University of Metaphysics last gathering in Sedona.

Be certain to leave your comments below.

-Dr. Joseph Kenneth

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