Discovering Spirituality - Episode 12 - Adversity of the Human Spirit - Podcast Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Discovering Spirituality podcast. Episode 12: Adversity of the Human Spirit. In this podcast I will be sharing my thoughts on the writing "Adversity of the Human Spirit" taken from the channeled book "The light in Your Life is Spirit" by George A. Thompson.

Firstly I would like to examine the word "Adversity". To me, at this point in my human understanding, adversity means basically conditions that cause suffering. Conditions that are adverse are less than ideal, but is it fair to say that these conditions can change and if we apply our will and understanding we can develop the appropriate solution to the problem.

Conditions that can affect human development are conflict, fear, hate, misunderstanding, inadequate environmental factors, financial misfortune, abuse and acts of violence. These of course are just a few instances that come to mind at the time of this writing.

If we examine the adversity that is faced by children we cannot avoid the role of the parents and the immediate family within the child's environment.

We can pick out obvious causes of adversity like abuse, violence, neglect and poor education, which the child may face but what about the less obvious adversity, the adversity that goes unseen because it has been normalized.

Hard working father and mothers that work all hours or maintain a certain degree of lifestyle. What kind of adversity does this child face in this instance? There could be inconsistent relationship development, the child may feel abandoned, lacking a sense of belonging. This may cause varying types of psychological and behavioral issues.

What about over bearing mothers who rob the child of the freedom to explore and self expression, who force the child into activities just to meet the standards of their peer group. They may be forced to dress a certain way with designer brands as a type of status symbol again to impress or keep up appearances with their peers. No one ever questions behavior like this because it is masqueraded as being normal. Yet just as it is regarded as being normal, is it possible that this type of behavior causes suffering?

These are just a few examples of inadequate parenting in the west, but what about less affluent countries where children are sent out to work or are married off due to poverty and cultural traditions.

We may not recognize it or even want to believe it, but the adversity caused by suffering affects both the wealthy and the poor alike. And the cause of these failures is our lack or understanding. The real tragedy is that suffering in the name of love is far more prevalent than we care to recognize.

If we consider one of the basic principle of evolution, the law of cause and affect can be applied to all creatures. If that creature faces adversity it will either adapt or die. This principle suggest that adaption in its various forms is the key to survival of that particular creature.

Man, unlike many creatures, has the capacity at adapt to the adversity that his environment thrown at him, and he survives.

But what about the internal environment, how does man fair against mental adversity? Should the individual be faced with a hostile environment then the adaption would encourage the individual to develop the necessary skills to survive, which would probably lean very heavily on the more primitive aspects of mans nature. Now considering what would happen to the individual mentally.

A hostile environment could cause the individual to experience fear. Other effects could be a lack of trust, deception, cowardice, violence, aggression, hatefulness, vengeance, cunning or intimidation. These may be experienced in varying degrees depending on the situation. Needless to say negative behavior patterns would develop to ensure the survival of the individual. This goes for both adult and child. One other important factor to consider would be the individuals tendency to fight or take flight.

If we go back to what we would consider a normal environment, it is still possible to experience negative character traits without any external hostility. The human mind is more that capable of creating fear through the power of thought, to the point where the body will experience fear on a physical level.

Fear can be manifested in several ways, one way, which is the most obvious is related to survival. Another way that fear can be experienced is due to a lack of understanding, and this is how mental adversity can be created. We have the power to limit ourselves because we can choose to remain ignorant or deny information that could elevate our understanding.

We seldom pay attention to the fact that we can overcome fear if we choose to learn. One human flaw that plagues most people is their insistence on being certain. Call it stubbornness or just plain ignorance, we are quite capable of remaining mentally locked in a state of fear.

Ignorance also has a damning effect on how we experience life from a more positive perspective.

Have you ever stopped to consider what makes you tick, why you think the way you think, why you behave a certain way and even act a certain way? Do you understand your sense of morality, your values, your virtues? How do you see yourself, are you a success or are you a failure?

If you look around, do you imagine that other people have the same thoughts as you, the same aspirations, the same doubts?

Are you honest with yourself, do you just accept that you are you? Do you see life as a never ending cycle of struggles?

If we look at the benchmarks of success and trace the origins of these benchmarks it is not difficult to discover that success is defined by how much money you have in your pocket, in short, wealth is the driver of success and social aspiration for most people. Failure to meet these standards can result in a more negative outlook on life as well as increased bouts of self loathing and self doubt.

We may find ourselves locked into a cycle of comparison and plagued with increasing feelings of inadequacy, in varying degrees. What may have been regarded as a bright future full of opportunity turns out to be an endless effort just to maintain our sanity.

There are rules you do not fully understand, effort that you are unwilling to put in, in short, the reality that you occupy is yours. How you see it, how you interact with it how you understand it. And do you realize that you are responsible for it, and it is yours to change if you choose.

Are you going to focus on the struggle and become everyone for how your life is? Are you comfortable living in ignorance?

Modern society would have us believe that money, power and status can bring us happiness, satisfaction and contentment. Do you believe this and hold this to be true? is this the meaning of life?

Financial success is only a relatively new invention, yet in a very short period of time it has been held up as the only path and the ultimate purpose.

The reverence for life, do you love your life? Do you respect the life of others and nature? Do we truly see life for what it is, do we take value in that, do we find meaning in our lives or do we succumb to its struggles?

What is life but the opportunity afforded to us to not only experience it but also to understand it, all of its beauty and its horror.

For those who take life for granted and live only to fulfill their desires, their existence is one of loneliness and pain. The pain of not knowing, with a lack of meaning and regret.

Then there are those who take life. They bring a premature end to what is not theirs, this is the ultimate of universal violations, For them, life holds no meaning and no value, whether it be premeditated in combat or by accident. There is no honor in such an act, no justification and no cause worthy of agreement.

Is this not what is asked of us, to simply appreciate the life we have? To understand that we are capable of ascension and growth, that we need not accept the limitations presented to us and that we create ourselves.

Just as the seed needs water, light and nutrients to flourish, we also need the necessary factors to also flourish. But have we learned what they are yet? Apart from the basics of food, shelter and water, what else does man need to flourish? It is certainly not wealth or status as our social doctrine would have you believe.

What we need is something more, a sense of belonging, the need to be needed, love, education, freedom and an environment that supports our capacity to learn.

If some of our world leaders actually understood the value of life would they insist on starting wars just to secure precious resources to fuel the machines of industry?

If they understood life they could change the course of human evolution, they could create a future that also understands the value of life.

Maybe this is why our existence is fraught with such complexities that we struggle to understand. We, each individual, are failing to recognize this great opportunity we have to create a better life, more suitable conditions, better education and more peace.

I feel that I need to ask this question . How is it possible to be tormented by doubts about God when we have so little understanding of what God is or does?

Is it that we fail to believe or have faith in God? Or is it something more complex?

How can we doubt something we know nothing about? I suppose the answer to that question is quite easy. There are some individuals that doubt and deny the earth is actually round, instead they opt from the medieval theory that the earth is flat.

So if we consciously doubt God or even deny God, what is it that we are doubting? Is it the religious vision of God on high passing judgement to the masses?

Do we doubt because we choose to put our faith in science to explain the workings of the universe? Do we hang onto the every word of celebrities, authors, poets and philosophers?

What does it say about us if we deny and doubt our own minds, our thoughts and feelings? If we fail to think for ourselves do we not deny ourselves the opportunity to discover our own truths?

It always strikes me how certain we are about life, or maybe it's just laziness. Paradoxically I think we exist in a state of doubt and certainty simultaneously without realizing that our certainty exists not through exploration but through doubt.

When we doubt, we grasp at the tangible to create a false sense of security so that our reality remains intact. What is happening is that we are creating our own truth, a truth that feels safe and comfortable. When we have doubts we feel uncomfortable and so we search for reasoning that justifies our need to avoid this discomfort.

Seldom do we ask ourselves the question about why we feel doubt, what it is we doubt. When we experience doubt there is an uneasiness we feel, something is not right, something we do not understand.

But to explore doubt is to question our thoughts, our actions, to be honest with ourselves and to face truths.

The truth is something very pure and very revealing. It can either make or break our reality, our identity. Perhaps this is why we have become so very adept at avoiding truth.

When you become open to truth you are more capable of seeing the consequences of your thoughts and actions. The truth can help you make better choices and to communicate more effectively. But to what end? To avoid chaos? To avoid doubt? To be more open minded and accepting that to be certain is not always the truth.

And those where my thoughts on the writing Adversity of the Human Spirit.

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.