You know we live in a world of reality, a plane of tangible reasoning in which we can discern fact from fantasy, that which is real and that of make believe. The internet has caused us to blind ourselves to that fact. Let's not say the blame is with the internet, it was the vehicle to hope, a desire to make something real. A chance to turn those dreams we had into something more.
Is it foolish to place such expectations on something that is so close to us in a world that at best can be described as something less than reality? It was created as a means of sharing information, that was the concept of the World Wide Web and in its infancy it served its purpose well and it fulfilled that need to be able to exchange information, knowledge and ideas between people. But it has morphed and people learned to take advantage of the possibilities it offered outside of its original concept. In doing so they have created a world of fiction and fantasy that plays on those hopes and desires of others. It has given us the ability to extrapolate beyond our dreams, to overlay fact and fiction, to release our limitations and live in a pseudo reality. Our concept of how we see ourselves and our reality. What we would like to be or what we want from life.
I am not saying we should not have dreams or hopes or that fantasizing about something is wrong or that it makes us different from anyone else. We all have these within us, no one is exempt from this. We do however need to be able to tell the difference in them and not place our futures, dreams, hopes and desires in it and expect it to "pay off". We create and set our own expectations in life, we are creatures of reasoning, something that few species in this world possess. The difference that sets apart from the other species that have that ability to reason is that we have an advanced capability to reason. Or do we? An otter knows it is hard to open an abalone shell with just paws and teeth and reasoning tells him that he must incorporate something to facilitate him getting access to the meal locked inside. He knows and in doing so assists those efforts by using a tool, a rock to crack open his meal.
Even birds possess this reasoning and some species have also been able to expand their reasoning beyond their genetic inheritance. The crow for example already knows that to drop a walnut from a great height onto rocks he is apt to have a meal when the shell meets the ground, but crows that inhabit an urban environment have learned by reasoning that man can do this for them and save them energy in doing so. All they have to do is wait for a light to turn red, place their nut in the intersection and wait for the light to turn green, sooner or later a car will drive over it. Some may say this is nothing more than conditioning on the bird's part when driven to alternative solutions. But is it conditioning or advanced reasoning? I prefer to think it is the latter of the two. In order to reason you have to have the ability to think, conditioning is a repetitive action taught and no one taught these crows, this would require an outside intervention of a higher thinking entity. They could have kept dropping these nuts from a high altitude as they have always done and expelled great amounts of energy in doing so, but they reasoned there was a better way and in doing so expanded their thought process to find it, which expanded their ability to reason. It then became genetically inherent in their offspring. Now you may say this is nothing more than evolution, that they just evolved taking advantage of man's advances, but self evolution requires that you have the ability to reason.
Primates have proven this theory over and over again through out the evolutionary process. From sticks to bones to weapons of mass destruction we have taught ourselves to reason that there was always a better way. Chimps know now that a stick or a bone has more use than pounding a nut and trees limb to release the fruit, they have reasoned that it can be a decisive factor in the outcome of a dispute between rival tribes of chimpanzees or from another species that preys upon them. Somewhere within the time line of evolution, our ancestors reasoned that by adding a stone or a piece of shaped flint the effect of such a tool can be multiplied to his advantage and make their life easier and safer knowing that they had a superior advantage over others.
You may be wondering what this has to do with how I started off this post and where it was going in my process of reasoning. We have let the internet in a lot of aspects cause us to stop reasoning. It is a tool, just like anything else man has created to make life easier and we need to understand that it is nothing more than this. A tool to increase our knowledge and expand on our process of reasoning and evolve from that. It seems that a lot look at it as a means of salvation though. Salvation from their current situation in life, whether it be financial, emotional, relationships and a number of other things we think life has plagued us with. To a certain extent it can assist us in those endeavors to find help in these things, but it cannot save you from it. Reasoning tells us that to affect a change, we are that vehicle to change and once we realize that it is by our efforts we can seek and ends to a current means we can make a change. So many it seems have placed their faith in what they think is an answer when in fact in most cases it has done nothing more than compound the problem they were seeking an answer to.
Case in point, so many seek an end to two things on here and I have found that it is probably the most prevalent reason they are here seeking those answers and in their reasoning have bundled the two together, in effect seeking to kill two birds with one stone. Those reasons are financial and matrimonial. These are two entirely separate problems, but they feel one will fix the other. They have went beyond logical reasoning and extrapolated that line which separates the two to see both as one. Reasoning should tell them that a majority of what they will find is more problems taking that line of thought and will do little more than cause them undo emotional pain. So in some way this, the internet has become a tool that they feel has inflicted pain on them. When in fact when they turned to something such as this as a means to alleviate them from the pain they were going through, they inflicted more pain on themselves.
At our basic we are adventitious creatures, we have learned the easiest way in life is to take advantage of something or someone to our gain. None are guiltless from this fact, not that there is anything wrong with it to a certain extent, but as we all know there are various levels to being advantageous, from it being beneficial to all involved to where it is used for self purposes. The internet has given those with only their personal and selfish gain a fertile and sustainable world to exploit this. Have we learned from it? Have we utilized our ability to reason that by being a victim or witnessing another that has been victimized that we need to change our thought process and realize that for reality's sake, the answer is not here? Or that being creatures of habit we will continue to seek those answers to our lives on here? Being such creatures we continue our reasoning on the basis of objective reasoning and keep playing against the odds thinking that sooner or later we will be dealt a winning hand or as that in a lottery our number will come up. This world has really done nothing more that when utilized in such a manner and not what it was truly meant for, but to personify and give validity to Murphy's Law, that if there is the possibility of something going wrong, it will go wrong. More often than not, it ends up going wrong.
We have tried to create a perfect world paralleled with the imperfect world in which we live. In doing so have created a recipe for disaster when we cannot separate the two. We have left the reality of one world to live in the pseudo reality of one we created thinking we would find something real. Fact and fantasy rarely intermingle and if it does it is on an individual basis. It is when fantasy replaces reality in our lives and causes us to stop using our ability to reason we are setting ourselves up for disappointment, but this we learn too late and is usually realized after the damage has been done. When we have placed ourselves in the path of a storm we could have avoided, escaped from, we have lost our common sense to realize that there will devastating effects if we continue to do so. This is not a benign world, it is a world with very serious emotional consequences and sooner or later can be seen as a self destructive pattern with a very dire outcome. In a sense if viewed in such a manner it can be the ends to a means or rather a meaning to an end.
At this point I feel we need to digress in order to progress. To go back to a more logical process of reasoning and realize the answer to something better is within each of us and stop thinking we will find it outside of ourselves. To separate fact from fantasy and depend on our own inherent strengths to find a better way for ourselves. Relearn those lessons of survival and self preservation to overcome setbacks in our lives. To be dependent on ourselves again and not on something that in order to exist is dependent on us. Stop being fed by something that feeds on us. We need to evolve.
Later...
Stories posted here are the exclusive property of the Smiling Pig. No other use or reproduction of the content contained here is permissible without written prior consent.
She gave me encouragement when I needed it the most. Like the whisper of a breeze that cools a fevered brow she gave me comfort. She taught me to look into myself so that I might understand and grow. She taught me to step outside of myself and see me as others may. She offered so much of herself unselfishly, never asking for anything in return. Now I find myself thinking of her in her time of silent torment. Her fear she holds within not letting those close know the pain she is feeling and my heart cries for her now. What can I offer to comfort her? What can I offer to calm her fears? How can I return to her what she has given to me? This sweet delightful soul who dances in my thoughts and springs from my memory. This refuge once sought when the storms of life about me threatened me and cast me upon sands of doubt. Like a lighthouse she was there. A beacon above the storm beckoning to me, a safe harbor to calm my soul and quiet my fears.
She now rides upon the angry sea and is tossed in a turmoil of fear. Alone she bears this weight and asks no one to share it with her. Her words she offered can no one speak in like kind and return to her some of that strength she gave? In quiet agony she waits, waiting for that day to come. Trembling with thoughts of loneliness, looking for that safe harbor to rest. Does not anyone's light shine for her now? Cannot one be that rock she now needs to cling to?
My thoughts, hopes and prayers are now with her in this time of her need.
I miss our talks.
Later...
When is the truth not enough? Some would tell you that you should never have to offer anymore than the truth, that the truth in itself should stand on its own. To me that is being very naive and innocent in thought to think that just speaking the truth in itself should warrant nothing more substantial to solidify it. That is like believing that when you read the package on the cold cuts you buy at the supermarket when it says 100% beef, when in actuality a lot of it is beef by products. Parts of the cow you would probably never consume to begin with. Oh and another thing, the USDA makes an allotment for a certain percentage of foreign matter. Stand outside the gate of a meat packaging plant and do not let your eyes stray from the hands of the workers as they pass through the turnstiles and you will see what the USDA was talking about when they allot for that percentage. But even the missing digits aren't all the foreign matter they are thinking of when they made their allowances for this. If there is to be such a thing as truth in advertising the package should state what the foreign matter could possibly be. With boning methods becoming a science and all viable meat stripped from the bone, the next time you buy a pound of hamburger and you bite down on a piece of bone, if I were you I would wonder where it came from, chances are it didn't come from the cow the meat did. Fortunately I don't eat any beef product. Not only for the fact it is really not that good on anyone's digestion tract, but I really don't relish wondering what the foreign matter could be the USDA is talking about. By the way, rats are a fact of life in any processing plant, the USDA knows that and also knows that total eradication of the rats is impossible, so the next time you eat cotto salami and you bite into one of those peppercorns, hope that it was a peppercorn. You ever see a rat dropping next to a peppercorn? You honestly think that there is someone there watching for rat droppings through out the processing of cotto salami?
Enough with processed beef and its foreign matter policy. I do agree that the truth is important and that one should always tell the truth, when they can. There are times when the truth can be more detrimental than a lie. Your loved one has been dieting for months now, they even bought clothing 3 sizes to small as a goal reward to fit into. Well that day finally comes when with great effort and sucking in they manage to get them on, buttoned, zipped and snapped. They walk into the room and ask your opinion about how they look and you notice the strained buttons, the zipper about ready to burst and that snap that just won't stay snapped. Now do you tell the truth and say how they should maybe wait and continue the diet couple of more weeks and then ask you or do you tell them a little white lie and say how wonderful they look or that you thought they never looked over weight to you to begin with? At this point the only thing you really need to weigh is the circumstances of your answer. Do you like your meals cooked or frozen, do you prefer the couch over the bed or do you really want to wear Books Brothers knee length shorts into the office every day? Never underestimate a woman with a pair of scissors and a closet full of $700.00 suits. At that point in time the price of something holds no value to her. I opt for the lie and tell her I have never seen her look more ravishing.
I can remember the first pot of red beans Linda cooked for me. We had purchased a new set of cast iron pots and took them home. She did not bother to read the instructions, especially the "before use" instructions. I grew up with cast iron pots and pans and was very familiar with seasoning them and scrubbing them and what should be done before their use on a new purchase. Cast iron pots are from a sand casting process, which means the molds are made of sand, so there is a bit of preparation before use. Anyway I went to work that following Monday to return home that evening to a pot of red beans and fresh hot cornbread. They smelled delicious and there was steam still coming from the cornbread she had made in the cast iron skillet. I sat down at the table while she fixed me a plate of beans and buttered me some cornbread. I could not wait to taste them. She set the plate in front of me and then sat down next to me smiling. I took a bite and thought I was going to grind my teeth to the gums. Without saying a word I took a bite of the cornbread and thought I was eating sandpaper. She was till smiling when I looked over at her, "So?" she asked. Now how was I to address this? We did not own a couch, it was the middle of winter in New Jersey and I had grown accustom to the mattress we slept on. So I asked her about the new pots and pans and how she prepared them before she used them. "I rinsed them out." was my answer. I asked if she had ever used them before and she assured me she had, many times when she was living at home with her parents. That was why she liked them so much. I then asked if she had tasted the beans before I came home and she assured me that she had tasted the broth. I got to thinking that sand was pretty heavy, especially casting sand and it was most likely down in the lower parts and she probably only tasted it after testing the beans by the mashing method, where you mash a bean on the inside wall of the pot to see how tender it was and then lowered the heat to a simmer allowing the sand to settle to the bottom. So I asked her if she read the instructions before using the pots, I could see the confusion in her eyes at this point. "No I didn't, why should I? I know how to cook." came her defensive answer. Not wanting a confrontation or to sleep on a cold hardwood floor I walked over to where the box was the cast iron ware had come in and fished out the instruction sheet and set it in front of her. I was not going to be the one to tell her she did something wrong by not reading them, I just wanted her to understand that there were certain steps that should have been taken before using them. She looked at them and read them several times, "So I was supposed to boil them out several times then coat them in grease and place them in a 500 degree oven for two hours to season them?" she asked. I explained to her the casting process and that they do not clean the sand thoroughly from them and that there were things that had to be done to them before using them. Her response was, "It is your fault if you knew I should have done something to them and did not tell me." I shook my head still thinking of the cold hardwood floor and told her she was absolutely right, it had to be all my fault. "So how were the beans besides that?" she asked smiling. "You can cancel my dentist appointment to have my teeth cleaned." I answered. I think that was the hardest and coldest wood floor I ever slept on that night.
Now do you correct someone's grammar and pronunciation? This is a very ticklish thing to do and it is one of my pet peeves to hear a word pronounced wrong. Something I will refer to as stupidity rises up in me and I fail to fight that need to correct them. Case in point, Linda had her own language, she would sound things out as she thought they should be said. Compromise took on a whole new meaning to me one evening while we were discussing relationships. She said we should make compromises, now in Linnie language it is pronounced "com-promises" not "com-pro-mises", yeah, I corrected her. Then the word erogenous came up or rather erogenous zones, she pronounced it erroneous zones because she thought the "g" was silent. I could have just let them slide right past me and blown it off and just kept using the words repetitively through out our conversation until she got it right, but I didn't and I should have. At least we had carpet then so that night on the floor wasn't too bad.
Responsibilities came up in one of our conversations once. You know that is a very touchy subject, because I do not care how well you know or how long you have been with someone that is an ever evolving situation. She would tell me that there were specific things that a man did, she called them "man things" and he was obligated to do them. I made the mistake of asking her just what specific "man things" were that she felt it was my responsibility to do. Walk the dog, okay I could do that. Take out the trash, I could do that too. Honor our marriage vows to the letter, that was a given I told her. The list just kept getting longer and longer so I stopped her and asked what were her responsibilities in all of this, she said she would be busy enough making sure I was holding up my responsibilities to take on anything. So stupidly I said, "So it basically boils down to the fact that anything you do not wish to do automatically is put on the "man things" list." I was so happy we had finally purchased a couch.
So when is the truth not enough? When you realize that the truth can be detrimental to yourself, that is unless you like sleeping on floors and couches and eating processed lunch meat.
Later...
One of the things I talk about on the margin of this page is hindsight, that regressive view into the past where your mind's eye has 20/20 vision and we can see with perfect clarity that mistake we made that caused us to be where we are today. This would apply to anything that happens to us. It could be something we did, something we said or something we failed to do or say. At the point of conception when we do that one thing that has put us in the present dilemma we seem to be in, it was a rational choice to make or not to make, at least that is what we tell ourselves at the time, until it does not go our way. That is when that regressive vision starts to pull apart and analyze our actions, dissecting it like a high school kid in biology class with a frog. Then as in chemistry class, breaking it down to its basic elements trying understand the ester that we created. We scratch our heads and pace the floor, toss and turn in bed trying to understand why we did or failed to do the appropriate thing. My father had a saying about it, he said it was nothing but guilt that drove us to revisit something we felt that we should have done different and would tell us that at that time if we would have just "manned up to our responsibilities" we would be progressing instead of digressing.
Going over past mistakes and trying to rationalize to ourselves why we did things the way we did at the time is only satiation for ourselves. We are trying to vindicate what we did in order to feel better about it. It does nothing for anyone else it affected, they are still going to form their own opinion. It is what we do to sleep at night, to clear our conscience and so we can rationalize that what we did was right. What it does is paint over the truth and bury it under layers and layers of excuses or what at that time we refer to as reasons. But as we break it down to its most basic element we find it is nothing more than a lie.
Can this be corrected or atoned for? I think that depends on how many times we failed to man up to someone that believed in us. On how many times we tried to rationalize the reasons for our actions at the time. So many descriptive words for one little three letter word. One consonant and two vowels. How we skate around it. But I digress, so let me get back on track. If we have failed numerous times in our rationalizations to someone, no, I do not think that it can be corrected or be forgiven for. The reason I believe in this is because people do not forget. They do not forget their pain or hurt and those numerous rational reasons we gave them. If you use them long enough, you will find them used on you.
So what can we do once we realize we have over rationalized something? When we have given one to many reasons for why we did something or didn't. Take notes. That is not meant to take notes in order to perfect our rationalizing and to make it more reasonable or plausible. Rather to realize that we have rationalized ourselves into a corner and reason tells you it is time to man up. Now be it as it may, chances are we will never regain what we had and chances are more likely that we will lose everything and be left with nothing but our rational thinking.
This is something that we do not need hindsight to understand. It should be as clear as a crystal bell when we first offered it as a rational reason. It will come back to "bite us" do not ever doubt that it won't. And remember, we are being dissected long before our hindsight starts ripping it apart and we try to understand exactly where it went wrong, it went wrong with the first rationalized reason we gave.
By the way, do you know who gives the most rationalized reason? The person who say they never rationalize their reasons. (Wink..Wink..)
Later...
On the previous post I basically gave my thoughts as to how I see the so called Secret Society based on an ancient Greek manuscript written 2300 years ago that would bring one riches, fame and romance and what type of person these cons are targeted at. It still amazes me to think that someone has the audacity to try and take it a step further by trying to tap in on another type of person that has sought a cure to their addictions or afflictions, whether born with them or through the course of their actions has become dependent on them. I am talking about the addicts and the physically impaired. They claim that by becoming a member that you can rid yourself of bad habits, addictions and be healed of your physical impairments, that where medical science has no cure that this is your cure. This through out their literature has no disclaimer as to its truth in healing those, so it would lead one to think that where they thought all hope was lost that within these words lies their cure. Playing on the fact that these people have spent thousands of dollars already searching for a way to rid themselves of an addiction or a cure for their affliction they touch on the idea that this is the answer you have been looking for.
It leads one to believe or rather they try and lead you to believe that within these teachings is a cure all to whatever ails you, whether it is physical, emotional or financial it is the source to the answers to all your problems. They go as far to claim that people born blind gained their sight, that people who were crippled were able to walk again, wreaked marriages reunited and made stronger than before, drug, alcohol and gambling addictions cured, people with social disorders reentering society and the deaf hearing. A one stop shop for anything you are looking for. Some of the testimonials even go as far as to say the moment they placed their hands on this heirloom text that they immediately felt its power coursing through them and they felt all their troubles dissolving. That "miracles" began to take place in their life and things that were wrong in their life were set right.
But I found that they contradicted themselves here, they claim to cure you from addictions. As most know gambling addictions rank right up their with alcohol and drug addiction and yet they claim they can cure someone of this even though they say that once you accept the invitation to enter this secret society you will never again lose at a game of chance. See the flaw here? Why would someone addicted to gambling and losing all of their money, home and family want to quit gambling at this point if all they have to do is become a member and recoup all those years of loss? I would be more apt to seek revenge on the gambling industry and break the bank, I mean after all knowing the secrets that the other society members do you can predict the next hand, roll of the dice, spin of the wheel or which slot machine is going to pay off next. It is in their acclamations they have cut themselves off at the knees and have no foot to stand on.
But can it cure other addictions such as alcohol, drug abuse and smoking? Of course it can, as matter of fact if Quaker Oatmeal printed on their packaging that by eating a bowl of oatmeal everyday for the rest of your life you can be cured from these three forms of addiction they too would be reaping the benefits of those seeking a cure and Americans would be much healthier for it. It would be no different than replacing one dependency with another. The first step in any rehabilitation of an addiction is to recognize and admit that you have a problem, the second is wanting to find a treatment and a support group and the third is having faith in yourself and realizing that it is only within you to pull yourself away from the addiction.
If what they offer could truly cure someone from these types of addictions you would find the ancient heirloom personalized copy at every AA meeting, every rehab clinic, oh wait a second here, what am I thinking? If these teachings could possibly do all that for someone there would be no use for such help and support groups. As a matter of fact they would be nonexistent, their halls and beds would be empty because for the mere sum of $139.95 anyone could be cured and have their lives and health restored with change in the bank to boot.
In one part of the orientation booklet it talks about physical abuse to a child witnessed by a society member at a fast food restaurant and how he rushed over with his personalized copy of the heirloom text and held it out towards a gentleman that was about to push his fist through his son's face and demanded that the man touch the book and upon doing so that gentleman instantly recognized the errors of his ways and instantly broke down into tears and hugged his son sobbing crying out his apology and then the son forgiving him. Another miracle manifested in the site of others. Now it would seem to me that someone would have dialed 911 and called the police if such a scenario was taking place and the man placed into custody and charged with child abuse, injury to a minor, disturbing the peace or a number of other charges in order to separate him from his desire to hit his son. Maybe someone did and upon the arrival of law enforcement they asked the society member for his statement and found that the man in question had touched his copy of the ancient heirloom writings and said, "Oh, no problem here I guess, this gentleman has been cured by the miraculous teachings of the ancient Greek text. We can see we are of no further use here and will be on our way." Would we really have a need for law enforcement if such a book could make such an impact on society? We would make sure that on every coffee table in America there was a copy of these ancient teachings because it would be through these text we would see the error of our ways and never raise a fist or voice at a loved one again.
Another part I find amusing and contradictory is that everyone wants to be your friend and that you will be able to thwart your enemies, bring them to their knees, read their minds and stay one step ahead of them as they plot against you. You will also know if there is someone trying to scam you out of your fortune. Do you see the the problem here? If everyone wanted to be your friend then why would you have any enemies? What would be there or rather who would be there for you to thwart? (damn I love that word "thwart") And how would you curtail someone trying to scam you out of your money, easy enough to answer, invite them too to become a member of the secret society that way they too can share in the bountiful wealth you have been reaping in.
They even play on those with a social disorder such as schizophrenia, "Have you ever felt like someone was out to get you? That everything you try seems to be working against you and then you constantly have this feeling you have been cursed or that there is a dark cloud hanging over you?" And then those with a bipolar disorder, "I have tried all kinds of things to overcome these feelings of having no self esteem. I read every self help book out there to find an answer. One day I would be happy and the next withdrawn and angry that nothing was going right. There was so much to memorize and to have to follow, but when I laid my hands on my personalized copy of the ancient Greek text all this seemed to melt away and I regained all my self esteem and life just got better from that point on." Who out there that suffers from this racking mental disorder would not want to be free of those demons that inhabit them? How low can someone go to play on something like this? To lead one to believe that the troubles that plague them could have been cured a long time ago by just accepting the invitation into the secret society. That these demons that haunt them would be cast out and their lives would be normal again.
A failed marriage or relationship mended and living happily ever after is another area they talk about. How through the teachings of this book and applying the knowledge of the ancient Greeks that your marriage problems will just go away and you and your spouse will be totally devoted to each other for the rest of your lives and then goes on to say that you will have the ability to see your future and that the wisdom of the ages will befall you and if it is not meant to be then you will move on in your life to find a more meaningful relationship. (by the way in all the testimonials they married famous actresses, models, singers and corporate leaders because they found that these people were fascinated by them and wanted to be in their presence all the time.) That you would know if your spouse or partner is cheating on you. That is easy enough to tell without the help of the ancient writings. Habits change, dress changes, attitude changes, they start distancing themselves from you and you notice they have new interests in life. It could not be more prevalent that something was going on if they hung a neon sign around their neck that they were cheating. It is called "getting a clue" something we all need to do.
It is as I read back on this post and the material that was sent to me that I realize just how stupid we as human beings truly are. That we have wasted so much time and squandered so much money on education, doctors, health insurance and counseling because we thought that in everything we had learned that common sense and a good education was the way to success and living that life we all dream of having. As I read the testimonials and all the fortunes that were bestowed upon on them by being one of the select few with those special abilities to be a part of such an honorable and noble sect and an exclusive member of the secret society I found myself wondering how I was going to spend my millions.
But reality sat in because I know there is no one pill cures all. This is nothing more than a modern day medicine show complete with hawker and the charms, fetishes and snake oils being offered neatly packaged and offered to those desperate enough to believe that finally someone is listening and knows what they are going through. They expound on the miraculous healing powers of their ointments and cure alls and then play on the misfortunes of the sick, weak and misguided. That they work on the misfortunes of others and their disparity and desperation offering them false hopes and empty promises to bring them good health and prosperity if they just take advantage of what is being offered to them, blinding them to the truth that they are the ones being taken advantage of. The only cure there is, the only way to success is through your own faith and hard work. That knowing that the only one who can affect a change in your life is yourself and finally realizing that you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Stop looking for someone else to solve your problems and finding those answers to why your life is the way it is. All that you seek lies within yourself and just realizing that you are only limited by your own fears. That it is you and only you who can affect a change in your life and become successful. That does not mean you will be rich and that people are going to flock to you and beg you for your secret to how you made it in life, but rather happy with the idea that you are successful in doing what you are doing and happy at where you are in life. Open your mind to yourself and you will find you have all the tools necessary to make a change for the better in your life. If you truly want to change the way things are going you will make that change. It lies in you, not some 2300 year old ancient Greek writing, not in some web based pyramid scheme and especially not at the hands of someone else. You, me, we were all born with the ability to adapt, to change and to overcome what ever obstacles that have been placed before us. We have been given the ability to reason, to question and to find answers. Wisdom lies within each of us, experience gives us that wisdom we seek. Be strong and have faith in yourself and your own potential and capabilities.
Later...
I call it the weak preying on the weaker, because it takes a pretty weak person to take advantage of someone going through economic, financial, personal or emotional turmoil and try to use that to their own personal gain. It is sad to say that the old adage still holds as true today as it did when it was first coined by P.T. Barnum of Ringling Brother's Barnum & Bailey Circus that "There is a sucker born every minute." And this is exactly the credo that these parasites on society live by, it is how they make their living, seeking out those suckers. Living off the misfortunes of desperate people trying to find the easy way out of their meager existence to better their lives and that of their family.
What governs how one receives such information on how to free yourself from the bondage of indebtedness and rise above those around you to become independently wealthy beyond anything you could ever imagine is an easy explanation. The economy dictates this. They see the economy collapsing, banks going under, stocks falling, housing going under, businesses shutting their doors, large scale cutbacks in old established companies and the cost of living rising, all of this factors into their con and they know that during desperate times, people will take desperate measures in order to relieve themselves of financial burdens and live a life of that beyond the American Dream.
The two most sensitive things we possess are our ego and our desire to become someone more than we presently are and they know how to act on both in a manner that leads you to believe that they believe in you and the hidden talents or potential you have locked inside you and that they are the only ones who hold the key to unlock those special traits you possess. That you will be one of a very few chosen that will receive the secrets to riches from money to romance, the ability to see the future and make decisions by seeing all the pieces to the puzzle before the puzzle is completed. That you will be able to control others and cause your enemies to fear you and love interests to fall at your feet begging for your attention. That no matter what you do in life, from that point on of entering their "Secret Society" nothing will ever harm you again and you will succeed and prosper no matter what you do, even if in the past it had failed before. They send you testimonials from those who have been accepted into this society and have learned these ancient secrets and within a very short period of time have begun reaping the riches it has to offer. Rags to riches, despondent to self confident, from ignorant to enlightened. It is all there and they regale you with their unexplainable good fortunes that in the past had eluded them. They encourage you take advantage of a once in a life time opportunity in this and become a part of the very few that will be the future decision makers of tomorrow, that they are the ones that control the destiny of tomorrow's economic crisis and recovery and how you can profit during these hard times. That by just applying what you will be taught that no matter what the world situation is, whether it be disorder, chaos, war, recession, depression or a total economic break down, being a chosen member of this exclusive Secret Society you will still ride the crest of success as others around you sink into the dismal depths of despair and poverty.
There are other types they prey upon also, those are the greedy and lazy people that either want something for nothing or are too lazy to go out and work for it. Those that feel that the world owes them something and the goose that laid the golden egg has been laid at their feet. They play on this by pulling them in with their promises and guarantees that they will never have to work again, that the money will just come to them while they live the lavish lifestyle they crave. Women will flock to them and find them interesting and offering their favors and he will be able to control them and have them at his asking. That games of chance will only fatten their already bulging coffers, that every roll of the dice, every spin of the wheel, every deal of the card and every pull on a one armed bandit will be a winner. The odds are stacked in your favor if only you accept the invitation given to you to be a part of this secret society. Play the ponies, your horse will win, set great odds on the underdog in an NBA playoff, you are sure to watch the winning basket and even predict who will shoot it. Name what round in a boxing match the match will be over, you will be capable of all of this because you will know how the pieces of the puzzle fit and what the "big picture" looks like.
To impress you further they pepper their assault with famous names like Socrates, Copernicus, Galileo and our founding fathers of this country as being members of this very exclusive society. That by applying the secrets written by the ancient Greeks over 2300 years ago they were able to succeed and become immortal legends. Now if history serves me correct most of our founding fathers were Masons, a society of men coming together for the spiritual betterment of self and the good of the whole. That this society founded its root in Christianity and the teachings of Solomon. Not some secret society based on the writings of the ancient Greeks who at that time were still worshiping Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hades, Poseidon and a multitude of others known to the Greeks as the Immortals that dwelt atop Mt. Olympus and still a number more called the Mortals who dwelt among them. The ancient Greeks gave us many things and I will have to admit that they have managed to immortalize themselves in history with their teachings and discoveries, but if this secret society has Greek origins, then why did they get conquered? Did some misguided society member accidentally have delivered to some Macedonian an invitation to become a member? Did a messenger stand before Alexander the Great's throne and offer him the secrets of this society and informing him that by utilizing these secrets he could see unforetold wealth and rule the world? I doubt it.
One thing about "secret societies" is that they do not remain secret. Eventually some disgruntled member will start talking and before long the so called secret society has become very public. They refuse to give you names of the "famous" people who are members of this very select group, but they boast movie stars and politicians, hence the explanation to the crossover in careers and how Ronald Reagan became President and Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor of California and Clint Eastwood Mayor of Carmel, California, oh, lets not forget the wrestler who became governor of a Midwest state too. I guess they were fortunate enough to be inducted into this very secretive society. They go further to tell you that you will meet all these famous people at their secret meetings held in different places around the world and then all will be revealed to you as they take you under their wing to share with you these secrets that will place you at the acme of riches. As I think of it, if I possessed the key to unlock riches beyond anything I could imagine, why would I want to share that secret? Why would I want to create competition in my endeavors to become the filthiest richest man in history? I would think that this would be something I would guard with my life and keep my mouth shut about how I made my money and call it an inheritance and good investing and just leave it at that.
The one word I have a problem with in all of this is the word "secret". The word itself can either be an adjective or a noun and has several different meanings. It can mean 1. kept from knowledge or view 2. marked by the habit of discretion 3. working with hidden aims or methods 4. conducted in secret. The word in itself seems to be a contradiction in meaning. The first two are the ones we akin to a whisper in another's ear, but the second two seems to take on a more deceptive connotation and it seems that deception is what this society is built around. With only hints of an endorsement of so called reclusive personalities that have benefited time and time again from being a member of the secret society. In all the propaganda that you are sent you are told that within the 56 page orientation booklet that the secret is there and if you are truly gifted you will be able to find it and understand it and use it. Well I read the 56 page orientation booklet and I read it again and yes, I read it again. I am very thorough when it comes to a challenge and I will admit I did find a secret embedded within the words in a form of a disclaimer, "I cannot guarantee that you will obtain the riches I have." I actually thought that was pretty sly of him to bury his disclaimer within the testimonial swearing to the success he has had by being a member of this secret society. He has now admitted there is a risk and he offers no guarantees as to your success.
Still not wanting to label this a con just yet and trying to remain objective concerning the validity of his claims, I went to the internet to do a little research on this so called secret society. Using several different search engines I plowed through the internet like a combine through a corn field and before long I had tab after tab referencing websites that had testimonials from people all over the United States. They had reference words like con, ripoff, pigeon, deceit,duped, but nothing positive, nothing stating how their life had changed for the better by becoming a member of this very exclusive secret society. They were lamenting their loss and bitching about how stupid the whole thing sounded.
He states that soon you will be laughing all the way to the bank and those that have chided you in the past will be jealous. You will profit beyond your wildest dreams and it will only cost you $139.95 to receive the ancient texts and then another $99.95 to unlock them, oh then you have to learn Annabell's Secrets for $99.95 and then finally, another $99.95 to unlock and understand Annabel's secret. He further states that this is a bargain at any price, that he has refused private offers of $50,000 and a $70,000 offer from a Fortune 500 company for these secrets. A pittance when compared to the monetary gain he claims he has made and I cannot really blame him at all for not selling at such a low price. He should wait for an offer of a presidency to some oil rich country and then milk it dry like he is trying to do to millions in the United States.
He is right about one thing, someone will be laughing all the way to the bank and I believe it will be him making his next deposit. Keep your money, feed your family and remember that there is no secret formula, no secret society that is going to rocket you to a position in life that you did not earn. If you want to gamble, then by all means, buy a lottery ticket, play the ponies, feed the slots, you have a much better chance of becoming rich that way than to be drawn into some secret society that preys on people looking for an easy way in life. And if you are still adamant about giving your money away, please send it to me, I will be more than happy to invest it in a retirement fund, mine.
Later...
Being pulled deep into the center of a whirlpool of thoughts where the flotsam of the mind starts to bind together in a cohesive train of words. Compiling these words into a tangible and legible coherent meaning to try express what is in the mind and then convey that to another. When you can take an indecisive subject and turn it into an objective point of view. Maybe not in agreement with another's idea, but one that the author feels strongly about. The ability to be able to harness your thoughts and transpose them to writing is an art in itself and to be able to get some meaning out of it is what all those who do write try to achieve. Everyone has something to say, an experience to share or a thought to project, but the question is can everyone put to words that which lies inside them? I think they can, they only have to have the desire to do so. Being successful in his endeavors not only to entertain, but to educate too.
Desire, the one thing that drives everything we do or want to accomplish. No matter what you do if you do not have a desire to do it, you will never be proficient in doing it. You may learn the basics and do what it is you have to do to keep doing it, but you will never excel in it. You will just continue doing what you have always done. It is desire that is the driving force in being successful and exceeding even your own expectations.
With expectations, whose is it that you should live up to? Your own or the expectations of others? When we find ourselves trying to live up to another's expectations, to what another expects of us, then we are in for disappointment. You may receive praise for your efforts and momentarily be recognized for you work or contribution, but once that has settled down new expectations are placed upon you. I have found a lot of people confuse the difference between expectations and responsibility. It also gives them a scapegoat because you did not live up to what was expected of you. This is not really seeing your potential, it is living up to what others expect of you. Being able see your own potential and conveying that to others is when you will be able to start realizing what it is you can really do and understand the difference between expectations and true potential.
We all have potential, we just have to be able to understand what our potential is. Being complacent in life smothers our ability to see this within ourselves. Either we have just got so use to the life we are leading and thinking that we are happy doing it we have failed in realizing that what we really wanted out life. We have buried ourselves in doubts that we will never rise above where we are and we force ourselves to accept that which has been handed us and be happy with it. We have replaced our potential to succeed with complacency. Others may tell us that we are not living up to our true potential or that we have shown potential, but the only one who knows our true potential is ourselves. If in what we do we find interesting, challenging and something we enjoy then we have crossed that threshold in realizing what our potential is. It is that in where we seek to understand more of what it is we are doing, asking questions and searching answers wanting to know more. That is when our potential is starting to develop and grow and it is our accelerator as to how successful we will be. Our potential can be fueled, nurtured and supported in order to make the most of it and keeping it accelerating us forward. Potential is fueled by our inner momentum.
Momentum, how do we develop it or acquire it? It is that force within us that will propel us to succeed. It fuels our hunger to be successful and increases our drive to do so. It will determine how fast we will reach that pinnacle of success in our life. To gain or attain momentum in our life that will determine a successful outcome in our life we need to find that one thing that piques our interest, that satisfies us and makes us want to take it to the next level.
Merriam-Webster defines the obsolete success as outcome or result. The definition that we most are familiar with is a favorable or desired outcome, the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence. I believe we all have our own personal definition of success, not measured by someone else, recognized by others, yes. Success I feel is being happy with who we are and where we are at in life. Success is measured in many different ways, it is how we see it that defines it for each of us. Is there a formula for success? There is, but it is not found in infomercials or in the junk mail the postman stuffs our mailbox with or the spam that floods our inbox. No one except for ourselves can determine our success. No one can set us on the path to success nor can they lead us to it. That is something we must find for ourselves. No one carves out a place in life for us, we wield our own chisel and deliver our own blows with the hammer to shape our future, our own niche in life.
In this maelstrom of thoughts that I have tried to put some meaning to and maybe in my feeble attempt convey some measurable meaning of understanding offered in these words that I have given some something to think about. Whether you agree or not.
Later...
Like an unleashed behemoth it rolled in from the southwest in a furious onslaught of hurricane force winds, rain and hail that ripped through everything in its path. Leaving in its wake a path of destruction and dampened spirits as they dug out of the carnage of a typical spring storm in Texas.
It came in waves through out the afternoon and on into the evening hours. Each one more powerful than its predecessor in it strength as they began releasing the energy stored deep in its core. Mezo-cyclones they are referred to, with thunderheads towering up in excess of 35,000 feet and stored inside its massive semi-vaporous cloud a hell that has to be witnessed to believe. Very little is known about these unpredictable storms outside of the destruction they can cause and the torment they rain down of those unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. With ground lightning strikes in excess of 60+ an hour and torrential rains pelting down intermixed with hail at the rate of 2+ inches an hour and winds that can shear off trees to the ground like a lawn mower cutting grass can cause as much damage and loss of life as any made made weapon and when conditions are right can make them look like a child's toy when compared to their destructive force.
Some refer to this as a cleansing and other refer to it as nature's hell. Whatever it is called what it can do and in the short amount of time it takes for it to wreak its havoc on those less prepared for its onslaught of unbridled hell. Still they clean up after it passes, lamenting their losses and rebuilding their lives, slowly, methodically putting back the shattered pieces left in the storms wake.
These storms are usually born west of Mexico's Baja peninsula when an area of low pressure starts to absorb the Pacific's energy, gradually growing and building and then as the low pressure starts to move inland in a northeasterly direction to begin its long journey across what is known as the Tornado Belt of the U.S. Each spring this scene unfolds as the warm air from the south collides with the cooler air from the north. A dry front develops and along that front storms start unleashing their fury. Mezo-cyclones are the incubators for tornadoes, a hook will develop along the lee side of this storm and then rotating winds develop in what is known as a wall cloud. This area of the mezo-cyclone is very noticeable by its dark ominous wall shape. It is preceded by torrential rains and hail stones up to the size of softballs or grapefruit and ripping winds, all preparing the ground for the hell that is fixing to be unleashed. Then all goes quiet, suffocatingly still. No leaf stirs, no sounds are heard, then off in the distance you can hear a low roar, like that of a freight train or of a jet engine as the devil's tail starts to descend from the cloud to touch down in a horrendous clash of man and nature. One were man has never known to win. Complete towns have been erased in a matter of minutes, reduced to rubble and ruining countless lives. Roofs sheared, brick and stone hurled through the air like artillery projectiles not discriminate in its victims nor remorseful for its actions. Unbent and undeterred it will continue until the source that feeds it has been exhausted and as quick as it manifested itself it will leave.
If you have ever wondered what is was like to dance with the devil, a mezo-cyclone will offer you that chance. A dance where it will lead and you can only follow.
Later...
An Echo....
When you find you are lost, always go back to where you started...
