"I'm trying to get my Aura BRIGHTER than any of yours..."

I heard this the other day, and had to write about it.

This quote came from someone who saw what he thinks were auras escaping people as they were dying. So it asks the question:

Is there a competition for whose Aura is brighter?

I say there IS.

I say that most people ARE somehow competing with each other for who is the "better person", and that the "scoring mechanism" changes depending on who is doing the thinking. For example:

Rich people think they're winning
Poor people think they're winning
Ugly people think they're winning
Pretty people think they're winning

They all think they're winning- but the game has arbitrary rules, and no one is following them anyway!

Can you play a game of basketball without a net?
Can you play a game of "tag" if no one is "it"
Can you run a race without a finish line?

No- and similarly, you can't play the "Who is BETTER" game unless everyone agrees to the rules, and is playing the same game.

I might think I'm playing basketball against you, but if you think we're playing soccer, we BOTH think we're winning the game- and meantime:

THERE IS NO GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ask a Muslim, and he'll tell you he's winning the game against the Christian, who thinks he's winning the game against the Jew, who thinks he's winning the game against the Muslim.

Not only that, but even in those LARGE competitions, they compete against each other:

Muslims are trying to be "More Muslim" than the other Muslims.
Christians are trying to be "More Christian" than the other Christians.
Jews are trying to be "More Jewish" than the other Jews.

In this "Better than you" competition, everyone agrees that the scoring mechanism is to be "More Liked by God" than anyone else. However:

No one is asking the same God!

And more importantly- HE IS NOT ANSWERING!!!!

(and by the way, atheists and the "non-religious" DEFINITELY feel superior too)

And it's not just in religion:

"My CAR is better than you car, therefore I am better"
"My WIFE is better than your wife, therefore I am better"
"My CHILDREN are better than your children, therefore I am better"

Sometimes we subtly agree to these games and their rules, but then find a game where WE are the winner:

"Yeah, he drives a nice car, but our house is bigger"
"Yeah, she's pretty, but at least I'm smart"
and my favorite:
"We're not rich, but at least we're honest" (spider man 1)

It would seem that we all think we're in a million different races, but none have a finish line, and in the meantime, we could actually be helping each other run our OWN race.

Look, I'm not saying that I am above ANY of this- (in fact, my wife actually IS better than your wife :-) )

But I AM saying that we have LEARNED all of this, and we can UNlearn it too.

You don't compete with your friends about who learns their ABC's faster, because you have all already learned them, and they aren't important anymore. In fact, if one of your friends or family members didn't know their ABC's, you'd try to help them-

we'd ALL try to help them.

So what do we have to learn before we can ALL try to help each other in our OWN races?

Beats me, but in the meantime, why don't we work on helping YOU get your Aura brighter according to what YOU think it should be, and I'm gonna ask you to help me with mine?

"I'm trying to get my Aura BRIGHTER than any of yours..."

I heard this the other day, and had to write about it.

This quote came from someone who saw what he thinks were auras escaping people as they were dying. So it asks the question:

Is there a competition for whose Aura is brighter?

I say there IS.

I say that most people ARE somehow competing with each other for who is the "better person", and that the "scoring mechanism" changes depending on who is doing the thinking. For example:

Rich people think they're winning
Poor people think they're winning
Ugly people think they're winning
Pretty people think they're winning

They all think they're winning- but the game has arbitrary rules, and no one is following them anyway!

Can you play a game of basketball without a net?
Can you play a game of "tag" if no one is "it"
Can you run a race without a finish line?

No- and similarly, you can't play the "Who is BETTER" game unless everyone agrees to the rules, and is playing the same game.

I might think I'm playing basketball against you, but if you think we're playing soccer, we BOTH think we're winning the game- and meantime:

THERE IS NO GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ask a Muslim, and he'll tell you he's winning the game against the Christian, who thinks he's winning the game against the Jew, who thinks he's winning the game against the Muslim.

Not only that, but even in those LARGE competitions, they compete against each other:

Muslims are trying to be "More Muslim" than the other Muslims.
Christians are trying to be "More Christian" than the other Christians.
Jews are trying to be "More Jewish" than the other Jews.

In this "Better than you" competition, everyone agrees that the scoring mechanism is to be "More Liked by God" than anyone else. However:

No one is asking the same God!

And more importantly- HE IS NOT ANSWERING!!!!

(and by the way, atheists and the "non-religious" DEFINITELY feel superior too)

And it's not just in religion:

"My CAR is better than you car, therefore I am better"
"My WIFE is better than your wife, therefore I am better"
"My CHILDREN are better than your children, therefore I am better"

Sometimes we subtly agree to these games and their rules, but then find a game where WE are the winner:

"Yeah, he drives a nice car, but our house is bigger"
"Yeah, she's pretty, but at least I'm smart"
and my favorite:
"We're not rich, but at least we're honest" (spider man 1)

It would seem that we all think we're in a million different races, but none have a finish line, and in the meantime, we could actually be helping each other run our OWN race.

Look, I'm not saying that I am above ANY of this- (in fact, my wife actually IS better than your wife :-) )

But I AM saying that we have LEARNED all of this, and we can UNlearn it too.

You don't compete with your friends about who learns their ABC's faster, because you have all already learned them, and they aren't important anymore. In fact, if one of your friends or family members didn't know their ABC's, you'd try to help them-

we'd ALL try to help them.

So what do we have to learn before we can ALL try to help each other in our OWN races?

Beats me, but in the meantime, why don't we work on helping YOU get your Aura brighter according to what YOU think it should be, and I'm gonna ask you to help me with mine?

"Let Go and Let...HUH?"

Ok, so if you read my REAL MEN'S GUIDE TO OPRAH blog, then you know that I wrote about this woman who has been trying to get pregnant, and who is FREAKING OUT about it not working.

I happened to catch the "after the show" episode, and it all centered around her, and her need to "Let Go and Let God".

I dunno if I buy that one Oprah.

Here are my thoughts on it:

We are all taught that persistence, prayer, and whatever else you can do to get something you want should be done or else it is YOUR FAULT if you don't get it.

I firmly believe that our lives are in our own hands, and I think every other success person feels that way. However, when something DOESN'T work out, you hear:

"It wasn't part of God's plan"

Was it not part of "God's Plan" when Edison failed 1,000 times before inventing the electric light?
Or rather- 10,000 times??

What about after Lincoln failed at EVERYTHING he tried, but then became one of the best presidents of the United States?

Why wasn't it just "part of God's plan" to have him fail? Wasn't he going AGAINST the "signals from God" when he persisted?

So, I was taking a lot of issue between being persistent, and "letting go".
To me, it sounded like "Letting go" was kinda just "hoping", and basically giving up.

But then Oprah said "It's not giving up- it's using MORE POWER"

Oooh- what the hell does THAT mean?

Well, she meant using "God's Power"- but what the hell is THAT?

It was very frustrating for the woman trying to get pregnant, and for me, as I like things to be explained WELL, or not explained at all.

However, as I sat there, and listened very carefully, and also discussed things with my ever-patient wife, and thought back on all of the success books I have read, I think I got it.

Between many platitudes:

"God helps those who help themselves"
"When you prey, move your feet"
"Do what you can, and let God do the rest"

I think I understood something that I had read before:

It's ok to want something, but it's the being too attached to it that drives it away.

So, she WANTS to get pregnant, but she is SO PETRIFIED that she won't, she gives more energy to the fearful future than to her being pregnant.

It's like when I am HYPER-FOCUSED on making money, it's really out of a fear of NOT having any, so even when I DO make a bunch, I get so scared of losing it all- and I do exactly that.

(I SHOULD edit that last sentence to be all in the past, but I'm going to let it go for now!)

So, I have heard that it's the "Attachment" to your dreams that can trip you up- the vigorous NEED for a CERTAIN, PERFECT result that is really a fear that it won't work out EXACTLY that way.

Joe Vitale mentions that you should end every prayer or visualization or whatever with the words "This, or something better", just to allow for the Universe to add to your dream, and maybe even surpass yours.

Oprah always says that God has a bigger dream for you than you can imagine.

So, I have taken this away: As I am working towards my future stardom and wealth- I am doing what I am doing, and staying focused and all that, but it's the FREAKING OUT that can mess it all up.

Now I'm gonna try not to FREAK OUT about not freaking out!!!!

"Let Go and Let...HUH?"

Ok, so if you read my REAL MEN'S GUIDE TO OPRAH blog, then you know that I wrote about this woman who has been trying to get pregnant, and who is FREAKING OUT about it not working.

I happened to catch the "after the show" episode, and it all centered around her, and her need to "Let Go and Let God".

I dunno if I buy that one Oprah.

Here are my thoughts on it:

We are all taught that persistence, prayer, and whatever else you can do to get something you want should be done or else it is YOUR FAULT if you don't get it.

I firmly believe that our lives are in our own hands, and I think every other success person feels that way. However, when something DOESN'T work out, you hear:

"It wasn't part of God's plan"

Was it not part of "God's Plan" when Edison failed 1,000 times before inventing the electric light?
Or rather- 10,000 times??

What about after Lincoln failed at EVERYTHING he tried, but then became one of the best presidents of the United States?

Why wasn't it just "part of God's plan" to have him fail? Wasn't he going AGAINST the "signals from God" when he persisted?

So, I was taking a lot of issue between being persistent, and "letting go".
To me, it sounded like "Letting go" was kinda just "hoping", and basically giving up.

But then Oprah said "It's not giving up- it's using MORE POWER"

Oooh- what the hell does THAT mean?

Well, she meant using "God's Power"- but what the hell is THAT?

It was very frustrating for the woman trying to get pregnant, and for me, as I like things to be explained WELL, or not explained at all.

However, as I sat there, and listened very carefully, and also discussed things with my ever-patient wife, and thought back on all of the success books I have read, I think I got it.

Between many platitudes:

"God helps those who help themselves"
"When you prey, move your feet"
"Do what you can, and let God do the rest"

I think I understood something that I had read before:

It's ok to want something, but it's the being too attached to it that drives it away.

So, she WANTS to get pregnant, but she is SO PETRIFIED that she won't, she gives more energy to the fearful future than to her being pregnant.

It's like when I am HYPER-FOCUSED on making money, it's really out of a fear of NOT having any, so even when I DO make a bunch, I get so scared of losing it all- and I do exactly that.

(I SHOULD edit that last sentence to be all in the past, but I'm going to let it go for now!)

So, I have heard that it's the "Attachment" to your dreams that can trip you up- the vigorous NEED for a CERTAIN, PERFECT result that is really a fear that it won't work out EXACTLY that way.

Joe Vitale mentions that you should end every prayer or visualization or whatever with the words "This, or something better", just to allow for the Universe to add to your dream, and maybe even surpass yours.

Oprah always says that God has a bigger dream for you than you can imagine.

So, I have taken this away: As I am working towards my future stardom and wealth- I am doing what I am doing, and staying focused and all that, but it's the FREAKING OUT that can mess it all up.

Now I'm gonna try not to FREAK OUT about not freaking out!!!!