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Manly P. Hall’s Lessons of Self-Unfoldment (Part 1): Personal Growth

Jason Cooper — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:29:29 +0000

I wish to share with you selected passages from the book ‘Self-unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization’ written by Manly P. Hall.

This book contains many wise lessons and practical instructions on how we can penetrate deep within ourselves so to understand the Truth of who we are, and how we fit into this universal existence.

The ultimate aim is to attain the self-knowledge for us to grow effortlessly towards wisdom and a blessed life.

I am still in the process of reading this fascinating book, and will endeavor to post more enlightening and insightful passages as I go along.

From ‘Chapter 1 – Theory of Disciplines’:

I

Growth is natural to man. No one thinks of a flower trying to bloom, or of a tree trying to grow. The blossoming of the flower is a manifestation of universal law flowering through the plant; it is the will of the Infinite made manifest in the finite. Illumination is the blossoming of the soul in man; it is just as natural, simple, and inevitable as the flowing of the rose. The wise man does not try to be wise; wisdom is as natural to him as folly is common to ordinary mortals. Man does not have to try to be himself.

Effort is evidence of inconsistency in the individual. Most religious organizations impose strict rules and regulations upon their members. These rules and regulations consist principally of “thou shalt nots, ” the purpose being to force man into a state of grace by inhibiting and limiting him. Any individual who tries to crush out with brute force of will the vices within himself, achieves only inhibition and neurosis.

What can we learn from the previous passage:

You cannot force growth, or more-so, no person or religious organisation (or any other type of ideological organisation for that matter) can teach you how to grow through discipline – in fact, they will instead constrict or stunt your opportunity for growth in life.

You must be absolutely independent, free and rational to plant the seed of wisdom within so that you can then, for yourself, sprinkle the invigorating water of self-knowledge, which is most needed for the seed to burst forth.

How does one then break into blossom? To encourage continuous growth, you must try to learn from every encounter and every experience in life – good or bad. Also, I highly recommend you to heighten your awareness and attentiveness to everything around you as much as possible. The illuminating lessons that can be learnt from this exercise of gaining self-understanding and elevating consciousness will be most rewarding.

This all will ultimately help to strengthen the roots of your mind and spirit in preparation for whatever the unpredictable winds of change brings.

Use your personal growth in a positive way towards:

learning to understand yourself so that you have better insight and can become a little more wiser
developing maturity of mind
improving relationships and connecting with others and nature
being able to deal with trials and tribulations in a positive way
discovering total contentment and joy

Liberate Your Mind with the Empowering Wisdom of Hip-Hop – Part 2

Jason Cooper — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:48:44 +0000

This particular post is dedicated to my good friend, Mr Blobby of The Wisekick Electronic Cigarette, who is a fellow Truth-Seeker.

We are both on a Mission Impossible to avoid being distracted by the very tools of propaganda wielded by those in power, and to relieve our conditioned minds so that it has the freedom to perceive the truth which has been conveniently obscured from our view up to now.

So why don’t you join us?

Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to:

turn off the TV and radio
dispose of the newspapers
question everything you have been told and taught to be true
inquire for yourself to discern what the truth may be – in other words, educate yourselves
Seek and gain the practical and beneficial knowledge that can actually help you to become conscious beings, self-reliant, self-determined, pragmatic and wise
Look within yourselves for the true answers towards achieving your aims in life – the truth and wisdom is within you to use to your advantage
Take responsibility for your own health, income, and general well-being

This illusory existence that has been conditioned into all our minds must be dealt with by us making an effort to destroy these false images which are destroying us – so emancipate yourselves and see what is.

Once we can see, there then maybe a realistic possibility that we can make this world a paradise that it’s capable of becoming – and that’s no frivolous statement that I’m making here…it can be done…it will be done.

This message will self-destruct in five seconds…

Fight The Power!

The following self-empowering song by Public Enemy provides us with some inspiration towards liberating ourselves from a system of deception and who, unbeknown to the masses, have power over our minds…The Truth shall set us free!

Public Enemy – “Fight the Power!” Lyrics

1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hittin’ your heart cause I know you got sould
(Brothers and sisters hey)
Listen if you’re missin’ y’all
Swingin’ while I’m singin’
Givin’ whatcha gettin’
Knowin’ what I know
While the Black bands sweatin’
And the rhythm rhymes rollin’
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

Chorus

As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you’ve realized the prides arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
from the heart
It’s a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothin’s strange
People, people we are the same
No we’re not the same
Cause we don’t know the game
What we need is awareness, we can’t get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say…
Fight the Power

Chorus

Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant —- to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother—- him and John Wayne
Cause I’m Black and I’m proud
I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped
Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check
Don’t worry be happy
Was a number one jam
Damn if I say it you can slap me right here
(Get it) lets get this party started right
Right on, c’mon
What we got to say
Power to the people no delay
To make everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be

(Fight the Power)

Change the World for the Better by Taking Responsibility for all Challenges in Life

Jason Cooper — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:33:00 +0000

We Must all Feel Responsible for Change Within Ourselves and the World

Let me start this post with a couple of questions:

What does it mean to be responsible in life?

How can one feel responsible in a world filled with nothing but irresponsibility?

Allow me to give the late Spiritual Philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti the opportunity to answer the previous two questions in the following quote,

“And if one sees the truth of this matter, then what is our responsibility? Not only one has a family, wife and children, one has to be responsible for those naturally, but what is your responsibility globally? You understand my question? For the whole of mankind, because you are the mankind, you have your illusions, your images of god, your images of heaven and so on and so on. You have your rituals, you know, the whole business, exactly like the rest of the world, only in different names, they don’t call themselves Christians they call themselves Muslims, or Hindus, or Buddhists, but the pattern is the same. Right?

So when you realise that, what is our responsibility? That is, how do you respond to the challenge? You understand my question? How do you answer? What is your reaction when you feel that you are humanity? This is a challenge – you understand? How do you meet a challenge? If you meet it from your old individual conditioning, your response will naturally be totally inadequate. Right? It will be fragmentary, it will be rather shoddy. So one has to find out what is our response to this great challenge? Does your mind meet it greatly, or with your fears, with your anxieties? You follow? The little concern about yourself?

So the responsibility depends, if I may point out, upon the response to the challenge. If one says this is your responsibility, join – not the League of Nations but some other nations, form a group, do this and do that, that is not an adequate challenge. How do you respond to this challenge psychologically? Inwardly? Is it just a flutter, a romantic appeal? Or something profound that will transform your whole way of looking at life? Then you are no longer British, American, French – you follow? Will you give up all that? Or merely play with the idea that it is a marvelous Utopian concept? Right?

So the responsibility to this challenge depends on you, whether your mind is capable of meeting this enormous human wholeness, this human current.”

Eloquently said, my old boy!

As you can see, there will always be challenges in life that will prompt us to respond the best way we can. We can either let certain challenges overwhelm us, or we can assume the mantle of responsibility and show courage by dealing with them head on.

The one thing we should not do is to remain ignorant and shirk all responsibilities in our midst, or we may find worse troubles ahead that can lead to great detriment to our lives.

Maybe this is the main reason why we were put on this seemingly unforgiving planet. Maybe the true purpose of our existence is for our very characters and spirits to be put through their paces with the many trials and tribulations of life.

How one deals with their particular test depends on what permeates through their mind. At one end of the scale, we have a mind filled with ignorance and that will no doubt attach itself to irresponsibility and fail to deal with any major challenges adequately, but at the other end we have a mind filled with wisdom which is capable of responding successfully to any test life throws at it.

The question is, can we develop the presence of mind, individually and collectively, to use wisdom when it’s called upon, so that we can learn from the experience of dealing with challenges? If we do decide to tip the scales in favour of wisdom it should immensely help to cultivate growth and improvement for the better throughout.

Challenges of Parenthood

One such responsibility that challenges me presently in life is parenthood. There is perhaps no greater challenge than bringing up a child to be wise, peaceful and compassionate in a violent nonsensical world. Obviously it requires you to have a healthy relationship with your child and a whole lot of luck.

What I have learned since my boy was born is that not only am I responsible for him, but at the same time, I must also be responsible for myself.

Why? Because children are an impressionable lot, so I must be careful not to set a bad example. If I am somehow found wanting in my efforts of providing positive guidance to my son, then I can have no complaints if he becomes irresponsible in his behavior by the time he reaches adulthood.

So having a responsibility in life can be a motivating factor, but can also cause stress through the pressure of being constantly attentive to something.

This however, should not stop you invoking action in overcoming challenges, as well as it giving you a sense of duty to see through every situation to the end – this will more than likely be to your advantage in the long run.

Challenges of Ourselves and the World

However, other than parenthood, another unavoidable challenge that we will face in our life is ironically ourselves. We seem to think that challenges come at us from only external situations, and if we can somehow conquer these we would have been successful towards our goals. But we seem to forget that it is usually our own minds that can debilitate us and that cause conflict whenever an obstacle needs to be surmounted.

Hence the imperative need to develop the motivation and determination within ourselves to rise above the difficult challenges that lie ahead, especially in regard the problems that we have unwittingly created to begin with.

We as a whole must feel responsible for a world which has suffered by our hands since history began because of the past folly of wars and ignorance which still continues to haunts us today. So there is an urgent need for wise cooperation and not bellicose competition to deal with the present problems that humankind now faces.

We seem to have been forever standing on the brink of the precipice. So trying not to tempt fate, I have no wish for us to fall into the abyss just yet. Peace and wisdom seem to be the only possible solutions for our salvation.

I now leave you with a enlightening quote that perfectly describes the true meaning of why we all should be responsible in life,

“Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”

~ Viktor E. Frankl, from the book ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’

Attain the 6 Key Virtues of W.I.S.D.O.M and Live a Heavenly Existence

Jason Cooper — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:19:16 +0000

Is Wisdom a Gift from the Gods?

I wrote the following in an earlier post, ‘Will your Journey of Life take you Down the Road to Wisdom or Perdition?’,

‘As the ancient philosophers would say, “Wisdom is a much vaunted prize from the Gods! Where only a select few of seasoned competitors, who have trained hard in the sport of virtue, can lay claim to it once they pass all the tests of life. Upon receiving their prize their minds are then rewarded by being set free to ascend to the very heavens themselves.”’

The Gods may or may not exist but we can become gods of ourselves if we choose to use the gift of wisdom to conquer all mortal obstacles that dares stand in our way.

Let us now elevate our minds to the heavens so that we may excel in the art of living, which will enlighten us on how to realise a paradise of our own making.

What are the 6 Key Virtues of Wisdom?

There are 6 virtues that we can hope to attain, that’s if we can somehow pass the tests of life – in other words, having the motivation to instigate self-learning toward wisdom. If this Wisdom can be won then we are sure to be rewarded with a life filled with enlightenment, happiness and serenity.

Let us now look at the virtues that awaits us:

1. (W)ell-being
Wisdom, if embraced, can immensely improve your well-being in all areas of your life not to mention help guide you to overcome any external circumstance that dares to challenge your personal growth. Well-being can enhance your character, health, happiness and prosperity for the better, so cultivating wisdom in your life is imperative.

2. (I)nsight
Wisdom, if embraced, can provide you with the common sense to do the right thing at the right time and in as simple a manner as possible. This insight or intuition can also help you to perceive the most obscure things with the most pristine clarity, such as with apparent difficulties. On the surface, many difficulties look insurmountable, but insight can help penetrate and reveal an easy path toward a stress-free solution.

3. (S)elf-knowledge
Wisdom, if embraced, can provide you with this key concept of self-improvement and self-growth. Self-knowledge can provide you with a deeper understand of yourself, as well as giving you the knowledge to react positively to any external situation that may affect you in your life.

4. (D)evelopment
Wisdom, if embraced, can encourage continuous growth and development in both mind and spirit during your whole lifetime. Other benefits include developing reason and common sense so that you can be more logical and make better decisions in every situation in life.

5. (O)bservation
Wisdom, if embraced, can enhance your observational skills which can help develop better understanding and awareness of yourself, environment and other human beings in general.

6. (M)eaning
Wisdom, if embraced, can open up avenues for you to find greater meaning in your own life. Having a purpose in life to fulfill can ultimately give you meaning and something to live for. This will help to eliminate any pessimistic or apathetic attitudes that you may have in regards your own existence.

How Does One Hope to Win this Material Prize of Wisdom?

1. Invoke continuous self-learning; of yourself, from other sources of beneficial knowledge, and from your surroundings
2. Speak less, listen more
3. Remain independent in thought, humble and objective in everything
4. Learn from your relationship with nature and other human beings
5. Read Books written by the great Ancient Philosophers, such as from Plato’s Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Lao Tzu and Confucius
6. Observe and learn from nature’s workings. There is nothing man-made that can compare to nature in terms of wisdom.
7. Learn from Life’s experiences and past mistakes

Search for Meaning in your Life Towards Personal Growth

Jason Cooper — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:59:12 +0000

Manly P. Hall again demonstrates his inexhaustible knowledge and wisdom as he gives an educational talk on the Search for the Essential Meaning of Life.

For human beings to grow we must learn to understand our divine and true purpose in life; and where we fit in the universe.

Please enjoy and learn from the following talk on video:

Jiddu Krishnamurti Points the Way Toward Wisdom

Jason Cooper — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:27:29 +0000

In the following two videos, Jiddu Krishnamurti advises us to illuminate the way, for ourselves, to freedom, peace, and spiritual enlightenment.