Acceptance:
Accept things as they are in the here and now.
The present can never be changed.
Keep in mind that "This too is for the best".
Resistance is futile and wastes energy.
Be submissive like water.
Flexible enough to take any form
Strong enough to crumble mountains.
The Afterlife:
If one wishes the knowledge of what lies for us after death,
One should consider contemplating
What came to us before life.
Atonement:
In seeking atonement, one should atone
Not only for all the things he did
And should not have,
But also all the things he did not do
And should have.
Bias:
Nothing blinds a man so much,
As to be part of a majority.
Being an outsider has it's advantages.
It can give one a unique perspective.
Cause and Effect:
What is hateful to you, do not do to others.
If you love, you will be loved.
If you hate, you will be hated.
If you give, you will receive.
If you take, yours will be taken.
Destiny:
There is only one destiny.
That which returns to it's source.
Emotions:
Emotions arise out of desire.
Fear, from a desire to be safe and secure.
Love, from a desire to be loved.
Hate, from a desire to have things your way and yours alone.
Sadness, from a desire to fill an empty space within.
Who is happy?
He who is content with what he has and what he is.
Environment:
Our environment is directly related to our state of being.
If we allow our environment to decay,
Then we are allowing ourselves to decay.
By protecting and nurturing our environment,
We are protecting and nurturing ourselves.
Forgiveness:
If one is to only ask for forgiveness
When one is expected to
Then he is not worthy of it.
If one is to only forgive
When one is expected to
Then his forgiveness is meaningless.
One should ask for forgiveness the moment he realizes
He has done something which would require forgiveness.
One should offer forgiveness of the transgressions of others
The moment it is requested sincerely.
Home:
If one's personal space is in disarray,
Then his mind will be as well.
If one's personal space is orderly and efficient,
Then his mind will be as well.
Honor:
Of what does a man posses that is truly his?
His honor.
No honor is given to a man.
It is earned through his actions and his actions alone.
One should never guard his honor
At the expense of another's.
Let the honor of your fellow man
Be as dear to you as your own.
Humility:
Never should one dismiss any person
Be they alive or dead
Nor should one ever hold himself
In a higher esteem than another.
For from each man's words
There are lessons to be learned.
One should strive to be a student of every man and woman.
Immortality:
There is an axiom,
"Nothing is ever created,
Nothing is ever destroyed"
All that is, has always been, and will always be.
Infinity:
Realize the infinite can be contained
Within the finite.
Influence:
One should be mindful of the company he keeps.
Positive people will influence you positively.
Negative people will influence you negatively.
Kind people will promote kindness in you.
Hateful people will promote hatefulness in you.
The scholarly will incite you to study.
The foolish will incite you to waste the day.
Interconnections:
A spider spins his web on one side of the world.
A bird takes flight on the other side.
Nothing happens in isolation.
The Middle Road:
Do not be overly righteous,
And do not be too wise,
Lest you be led into iniquity.
The middle road is the path to righteousness.
Mind-Body-Spirit:
Exercise the mind, the body, and the spirit
And each will serve you well.
Neglect one and you neglect the others.
Nothing:
Nothing is not nothing.
The absence of something only implies that specific thing.
Once nothing is recognized as nothing, it is indeed, something.
Perspective:
Strive to see the space, not the objects.
Remember the whole when dealing with the part.
Problems and Solutions:
In one's own reflection
Can be found the source of all one's problems
And the solutions to them as well.
Receptivity:
A ground cracks when it is hard.
Nothing can grow until it softens.
An open mind is the key to wisdom
Relativity:
Good exists only when evil does as well.
Something can only be beautiful if something else is ugly.
Long and short exist only in relation to each other.
Science:
Only when one truly understands
Both the nature of God
And the science of man,
Will he understand
That there is no contradiction
Between the two
The Second Commandment:
Recognize the difference
Between what is created by man,
And what was created by God.
Self-Awareness:
Each day, one should be conscious of
The quality of his breath,
The correctness of his posture,
The flow of his body's energies,
The source of his thoughts,
The value of his actions,
The reasons for his reactions,
The rhythm of the universe,
And his place within it.
Time:
Without perception
To perceive the before, the after, and the now
None of them can exist.
� Copyright 1999, Russ Schneider. All Rights Reserved. Distribution or publication of this article in any form, electronic or otherwise, without the consent of the author is a violation of copyright.
This document may be distributed freely if it remains unaltered, (meaning it still contains this message, author credits, and the copyright information) and no profit is derived directly or indirectly through its distribution.
