Discovering Spirituality - Episode 11 - Man's Perfidy - The Spiritual Truth - Podcast Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Discovering Spirituality podcast. Episode 11: Man's Perfidy - The Spiritual Truth. In this podcast I will be sharing my thoughts on the writing "The Human Soul" taken from the channeled book "The light in Your Life is Spirit" by George A. Thompson.

Do you know your own mind? Do you understand your thoughts, your motivations, your virtues and your principles? Are you motivated out of fear or love, truth or lies?

It is important to ask these simple yet penetrating questions of yourself to get to know yourself. Not an easy task by any measure, but nevertheless worthwhile. The challenge for many is always the distractions, what counter measures does your mind employ to steer you away from insights that could bring benefit to your life. Are you easily manipulated, fearful or give in to your primal desires? One could say that self protection is a mechanism natural to man, harking back to the days when he was nothing more than a hunted animal.

It would seem that given the view of humanity, as it stands at the moment, the influence of fear has far from left us.

Modern fears, although different from primal fears, still have a focus on survival, only now it is ones perceived identity that demands protection. What we have are calculated thoughts and behaviors designed to manifest an identity that is nothing more than a display of strength, success or desirability. In truth you could boil this down to an immature need to be needed, to be accepted by the group.

This need can manifest itself with varying degrees of sophistication. But one has to ask the question why this need is so strong? Is it because the sheer volume of society is so large that in order to be of significant value one has to become that which stands out or rather, what society deems as standing out.

The obvious benchmarks for society are wealth and beauty, for women, being desirable goes beyond simply attracting a mate, although this is still a factor. Instead beauty and desirability leans more to getting attention. Attention fills the void of the unknown, the individual who relies on others to tell them who they are.

It is the same for men, but instead of physical attractiveness male success is defined by how much money you have.

If we rely in such superficial means so we can define ourselves then what is lacking is a clear understanding of how little we know ourselves. For if we choose to examine our superficial needs and desires we would find that they have little to know real depth of meaning and leave us feeling hollow.

And because we understand so little of ourselves we act in desperation to fill this void over and over again until we are left only with our regret. We may come to reflect upon all the missed opportunities that passed us by due to fear or misunderstanding.

Self understanding is the key to feeling more secure within ourselves, because the more we understand and know about ourselves and the world, the less fear we allow into our lives.

And with more clarity of mind we will become more aware of the thoughts that support our best decisions. The decisions that move us forward, the decisions that open new doors of insight and understanding. The decisions that enable us to discover more of who we are, so that we may become a light in the darkness for other.

We are a walking contradiction full of hypocrisy and denial. We say we have principles and rules, codes of conduct but do we really believe in them or understand them?

Most people would have you believe that they are upstanding and moral, but in truth for most, they are self-centered and live in fear.

Man is a being of great weakness and corruption due to his own lack of insight and understanding of himself and others. It is amazing how easily we can be corrupted and manipulated. And in the shadow of our shame we profess our piety with lies and deception.

It is our selfishness that manifests our own corruption, our own denial. Large or small, the unanswered lie, the unresolved dishonesty leaves us with an unease and contempt for our own being, our own flaws and damned if we should expose these to the world.

If we acknowledge our weakness should we not take steps to overcome and to create strength? More often than not, we continue to live with the human lie, repeating the same mistakes over and over again, until the day we reach our final moments, begging God for forgiveness as we draw our last breath.

How stupid it was that I denied so simple a truth. A truth that would have changed my life. A truth that was a light within the darkness, yet I chose to ignore it because I was convinced of my own certainty and unaware of the alternative that stared me right in the face. For my sins, I am the arrogant and the self righteous, the architect if my own reality and harbinger of my own folly.

What I would give to have a second chance to right the wrongs, to love instead of hate. And chances you will have, a second, a third, a fourth and so on so you may learn of the world so you may stand in the light of peace as the architect of a new reality, a new time, a new history.

And you can have this new life, if you choose to pay attention. To clean the lens of your own capabilities of observation. Do not make claims of righteousness when you know you are ignorant. Listen for that which will bring you peace and learn to understand what you have been given.

Careful what you wish for you might just get it. There is a lot of truth in this saying which is worth paying attention to.

In moments of doubt and confusion one might be compelled to ask questions of themselves, to ask "why me", or simply just "why?"

And if you are paying attention you might just discover the answer. But since we have freewill the choice of action and inaction is entirely up to ourselves. Even when we experience moment of doubt there must be some kind of alternative thought or consideration that compels us to doubt.

Doubt is an indicator within the subconscious that should be paid very close attention to, for it is within doubt that we can discover truth. This is by no means an easy task since fear can act as a deterrent towards finding the truth.

Fear is a means of self preservation and also acts as a warning of threat. But we should always ask ourselves, "what is it that we fear?" What is so bad that prevents us from taking action or correcting our thoughts? What is the worst that could happen?"

Is it the shame of knowing or being expose to our imperfection and weakness? Have we convinced ourselves that we are incapable of action? What is so precious to our identity that we are unwilling to face?

Each individual has their own collection of fears and each individual is only capable of understanding a certain depth depending on their intellect. So growth is something that is very unique to each individual, and the journey towards truth is very personal. We all have very unique perceptions, thoughts and ideas and life experiences which makes applying a blanket solution impossible.

I find myself asking in light of the above information if I am capable of dealing with growing on my own with no external support. No books, no sages, no psychiatrists or no counselling, just me trying to figure things out. Do I have the awareness to see the answers to my own questions? Is this the point when I am asked to have blind faith? To trust in my own search, my own discovery?

Life will let us know soon enough if we are heading in the right direction. If our truths and beliefs need to be reexamined. I suppose there is one constant that is applicable to all of us and that is, whether we like it or not, we will all be challenged at some point. We will all experience fear and doubt because of what we fail to understand.

As adults are we not tasked with being responsible for ourselves? If so, then why do we relinquish so much of our personal responsibility?

It seems that we are far more comfortable blaming other people for our misfortunes, the parents, the schools, the teachers, the bosses, the government the list is endless. Some people blame their past or to be frank, use it as an excuse to remain ignorant. This of course would be met with vigorous protest if it where suggested.

I was thinking about faith again, and realized that faith, (spiritual faith) is not just about having faith in God. If we know nothing of our eternal relationship with God then who or what are we supposed to have faith in?

I think the first and most obvious application of faith should be in ourselves. But in order to have faith in ourselves then we must first take responsibility for our lives. To view ourselves as beings that are in need of nurturing, a being that needs to be understood.

With a sense of responsibility we would take care of ourselves. A responsible individual does not cause harm to themselves or others. The responsible person seeks to understand and learn so that they can make better decisions. Decisions that are ultimately to encourage the discovery of their better selves, in the face of adversity. To live with suffering in dignity and know that the suffering that is endured can be overcome.

If one is willing to observe and take ones time, there is nothing that we cannot discover, should you seek to find it. If we choose to find truth, then we will find it. If we choose to find ourselves we will find it. If we choose to find God, we will find God.

The uniqueness of our lives underlines the obvious truth that we are responsible for it. Know one can live it for us. This may come across as obvious and simple in nature, but it is the truth.

There is nothing wrong with asking for support during times of need, but it is when we cling to that support we begin to loose faith in ourselves. We rob ourselves of the opportunity and sink into hopelessness.

I cannot help shake this feeling that since world war 2 there is a discontent lingering in societies all over the world.

I think this may have something to do with the concept of freedom. People have a need to be free, which I think really started to take shape during the industrial revolution with growing trade and commerce societies started to change.

The common man could realistically become something more, wealth and hard work was the means to fulfill aspiration. There was opportunity like never before and as the standard of living improved so the mortality rates increased. For those, big ideas and the will to manifest these ideas, aspirations could become a reality.

With a bit of money in your pocket you could improve your standing within society. You could be respected and depending on the position you reached you could have power.

But if you were to look beyond the riches and power, what individual would you find? Would you find honor, respectability or integrity? Or would you find nothing more than a hungry slave to primitive desires. In this day and age the serf can become a king.

With growing social success it is only natural that differences in standing would occur. Society naturally divided into classes, the working, the lower, the middle and the upper class. Each one would produce individuals who would aspire to ascend.

Also included in this growth was changes and shifts in types of governing ideologies. Monarchies and feudalism shifted into democracies, communism, socialism and societies governed by religious doctrine. All of which manifested varying degrees of revolution.

If history is our judge, then each form of social governance has succumb to corruption in one way or another. The source of corruption is always centered around power. The need to control the populace and to manifest ones desires.

If you look at the corrupt individual, all you will see is a flawed human being with a story. There is always a background that caused the individual suffering and their corruption is nothing more than an infantile effort to strike out at the cause of that suffering.

Of course the exercising of power has little to do with any kind of moral stance or ideology. It has more to do with selfishness.

The corrupt individual is not just to be associated with the higher ranks of society, the truly corrupted are those who stop at nothing to feed their ego. They are the lost, the ones who fail to understand their nature.

Desire is to worship at the feet of the false idol, so to speak. It is to live in ignorance of life's true value.

It is quite amazing how easily we give in to lies and how angry we become when we discover them. How easy it becomes to blame the liar without questioning our ignorance. In our shame we become overwhelmed by how pathetic and ignorant we are.

I don't know what is worse, not knowing or knowing and doing nothing. There is a saying that evil only exists when good men fail to act. Applied on a personal level, we can only remain ignorant for so long before life confronts us with reality and shines an all too obvious light on how dark we really are.

With so much to understand about life it can be easy to become overwhelmed especially when it comes to direction. But instead of getting bogged down with complexity, one should always consider the simplicity.

What is meant by simplicity is to pay attention to the occurrences of the day to day goings on in our lives. For it is here that one can find true value and meaning, by paying attention to what gives is us true joy.

It is when we pay attention that we come face to face with what and how we think. This can be rewarding and scary at the same time, sadly fear can cause us to avoid the darker aspects of our character, preferring to seek the shelter of our ignorance.

But what is it that we are afraid of? Is it the complexity of not knowing how to overcome these flaws or it is that other people would think of us? These questions are in themselves worth paying attention to, even if you say to yourself, "I don't know". This is a valid starting point, because it is an acknowledgment of our ignorance that the truth or answers to our questions begin to reveal themselves.

Since we are prone to emotional distraction it is worthwhile finding a suitable means to record or look back on your efforts. For many simply make the time to write offers an opportunity to explore ones thoughts, perceptions and ideas. Having conversations with others helps us to discover new ideas and also challenges.

It's not always about determining if you are right or wrong, it is more about being open and evolving. Bring change to areas where change can be applied.

The direction and path towards enlightenment will reveal itself, and ironically we will discover that we have been standing on the path all along even if have failed to observe the signs along the way.

For us to become our better selves involves action. We will not always understand and we will miss obvious signs but the beauty of this life is that there will always be opportunity for understanding. If we start to look for it, that is a start, a single step on the road to discovery.

What is the opposite of truth? Lies! The question is, how much lie can you bear? How developed is your capacity to lie? Do you tell strings of little white lies on a daily basis, once a week or once a month? Or do you consciously tell well constructed and premeditated untruths? One could be forgiven for rating lies on a scale but the truth is a lie is a lie.

But there is a difference between with holding information and blatant fabricated deception, because deception is an illusion and has no place in reality.

There is something quite profound about the life cycle of a lie. Some people may regard the lie in such a way that it fits into their perception of reality. There is also the question of trust, especially when considering the source of the lie.

Lying to yourself can serve a number of different purposes. We can lie out of fear or to protect the ones we love. We can also lie to ourselves to justify our behavior or to deny it. We can also lie to ourselves as a means of avoidance or establishment, especially when it comes to maintaining our identity. But the root cause of this nearly always centers around fear. Paradoxically we can deny and accept truth simultaneously.

If you are wondering or asking yourself the question how we developed the art of lying, all you need to do it study the behavior of children. When confronted about their mischief or ill mannered behavior a child will lie through their teeth, it's almost like second nature. It's amazing how eager and elaborate they become when trying to explaining themselves. Perhaps it's an instinctive response to figures of authority or a primitive defense mechanism to prevent being ostracized from the group.

Most people are able to spot lies, but this varies depending on their understanding. And their willingness to accept the truth. So both acceptance and understanding are needed to make progress, to grow up.

Naturally, when confronted with truth their is a shift into a state of denial, which illustrates a lack of acceptance. Being exposed to truth can touch us very deeply and exposes the lie and its path of consequences. We can fight it, we can avoid it, but on an inner level we cannot deny it. There is something inside of us where truth resonates, where it wants to live and thrive.

Like it or not, our body responds to truth, it can also reveal how we can deny truth in the form of physical gestures. Avoiding eye contact, ticks, facial expressions and many more.

Mentally however, we are at the mercy of memory, which is not 100% accurate. If we lie, we know it and it won't go away.

One has to confront lies with understanding and the hope that we are willing to accept it. This again speaks to me of faith.

And those were my thoughts on the writing Man's Perfidy - The Spiritual Truth.

If you are interested in reading the writing from the book "The Light in Your Life is Spirit", you can download it from this link.

D.B 03/04/2020