Everyone should be familiar with they saying "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back". I assume that most of us have felt that, at some time or another, this is how are lives are operating. But are they? Is this phrase a reality or an ill conceived mantra?
While not a catchy a phrase, I argue here that a more accurate and possibly mentally healthier phrase would be: "One Step Forward, and I can see my next two steps more clearly now." Or perhaps, "One step at a time", is a short and sweet recognition of reality.
Certainly, after we take a step forward on any adventure or undertaking the next steps become more clear. And, as our idea moves from the unseen into our physical reality, additional constraints that were not imagined may appear. But when they do, is this really two steps back? I don't think so. In fact, I think many of us are too quick to proclaim disheartening things. Some of these phrases seem to pop out of our mouths before we even take a moment to think about what we are about to say.
Before blindly pronouncing negative comments into your life, I urge you to take a good look at your current circumstances. Are your words in alignment with your idea of what your reality should be? If everything that came out of your mouth was like a wish from a genie, would you better guard what you say? The road may be longer than it first appeared, but you have none the less started the journey and have one step behind you.
It may seem like just a foolish game with words, but what we think and what we say impact our realities. This fact has been taught by many of the great wisdom teachings of the world. Some say that ultimately it is thought that shapes our physical reality from the quantum field into our Newtonian space. For others this is pure fantasy. As with most things, the truth most likely lies somewhere in the middle ground. It is clear enough that everyone isn't magically popping things into and out of existence with every whim. Yet, too, I have seen perpetually miserable people reinforcing their current state of affairs, as well as positive-thinkers perpetuating prosperity. If we all have the ability to create with our thoughts and words, perhaps there is some sort of averaging effect.
Even many of the self-proclaimed realists understand that there is something to all of this. Many successful athletes, for example, meditate on, or visualize winning. If our ideas are only in our heads and have no bearing on the physical reality that surounds us, why would such individuals choose to spend time in meditation that could otherwise go towards physical training or some other physically necessary pursuit?
We can see the Judeo-Christian emphasis on the power of the words we speak in The Book of Proverbs:
"From the fruitage of a man's mouth his belly will be satisfied; he will be satisfied even with the produce of his lips.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and he that is loving it will eat its fruitage." (Proverbs 18:20-21)In the above quotes from Proverbs, we see that there is some power ascribed to a man's words. If the writers of this Proverb aren't talking about words coming forth from one's mouth, I'm not sure what else they could be talking about. While some scriptures can be argued to have different meanings, this one seems to be pretty cut and dry, even if puzzling to the uninitiated.
If we are willing to concede the similarity of something being in your heart to being on or in your mind, we could also look at Jesus' assertion in the Gospel of Matthew for a notion of the alignment of thought and spoken word:
"...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)But, in the twelfth chapter of Matthew, Jesus is saying more than just what is in your heart will come out of your mouth. You need to read the whole chapter, but at least the verses that follow 30. To paraphrase, and try to sum up Jesus' teaching here we have to read and re-read these sections to piece it all together.
Jesus says that "the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven." He then goes on to provide an example regarding the difference between speaking a word against the Son of man and speaking against the holy spirit, the former being forgiven, and the latter - not so much.
What exactly is the spirit? What is the holy spirit? I've been "educated" in what these things are - but from a tradition of "because I said so", not from scripture. If God is a personal God, and The Holy Spirit is a part of God, then it too must be of some sort of personal nature.
Let us continue to try and piece this all together. Jesus also says in this part of Matthew that we can either "make the tree and its fruit fine or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten." That sounds like free will. But then he says, "Offspring of vipers, how can YOU speak good things, when YOU are wicked?" Now, that sounds like pre-determination. But the core of the message seems to be: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." I don't think the message has as much to do with free will versus predestination, as much as it is about what we speak about, we bring about. There does seem to be a choice here though. Each of us has a choice regarding the tree that Jesus speaks of, and its fruit. Somehow, this all has to do with what we say and what we do.
"I tell you that every unprofitable saying that men speak, they will render an account concerning it on Judgement Day; for by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36)It would seem that we can get away with saying an awful lot of things, yet speaking against the holy spirit is unforgivable. There must be a good reason for this. I was taught to fear God, and out of this fear there came a "respect". This seemed to all be based upon the Law of God. But, Jesus makes no bones about breaking "the Law". In fact Chapter 12 starts with an account him defending his disciples for plucking and eating heads of grain on the sabbath. So, I don't think that Jesus is telling us we had better not speak against the Holy Spirit because he said so, or that it is a new law. There must be some practical reason for it.
He is saying blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. He is telling us that we can make a tree and its fruit good. He is telling us that what is in our hearts we will speak. Then he says, "The good man out of his good treasure sends out good things, whereas the wicked man out of his wicked treasure sends out wicked things." So this isn't just about what we are saying (although it is all clearly connected), it is also about the things we are sending out into the world. What is in our hearts, and what we are speaking, becomes real in the things we send out of us into this world. So, it would seem that Jesus is saying that what we speak about, we bring about.
Approximately five-hundred years before Jesus came to Earth, the Buddha gave us Four Noble Truths, and an Eight-Fold Path to lead to enlightenment and the end of suffering. I personally find many similarities between what I've learned Jesus has said, and what the Buddha proclaimed. I have also seen perversions in the form of Religions both by so called Christians and so called Buddhists. No one is perfect, including your's truly. But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for perfection. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't work towards a greater understanding of the seen and unseen.
Very briefly, the Four Noble Truths can be summarized as:
- To the unenlightened mind, the experience of life is characterized by discontent.
- Dissatisfaction with life arises from desiring to have what cannot be had, or desiring to avoid what cannot be avoided.
- Because causes always generate results, and effects always follow causes, it is possible to overcome the discontented life orientation.
- The way to overcome dissatisfaction with life is to follow The Eight-fold Path.
- Proper View
- Proper Thought
- Proper Speech
- Proper Action
- Proper Livelihood
- Proper Effort
- Proper Mindfulness
- Proper Concentration
Each of these items could be entire chapters in a book, if not entire books in and of themselves. But you should notice that we can see what some refer to as "the three secrets" in the eight-fold path. The three secrets are the alignment of your "thoughts", "words", and "deeds" to effectuate the change you want to see in the world.
All of this talk about the power of thoughts and words may seem trivial to some of you. The idea that what you are saying can impact your existence and your happiness may be more than you are willing to consider at this stage in your life. But I offer for your consideration the man who starts out only having one beer a day, until one day he finds that a good portion of his life has passed him by in an alcoholic haze. I offer for your consideration the little girl who wanted to learn to dance, but put off dance lessons one day at a time until one day she found herself an old woman who never learned to dance. The thoughts each of these individuals had, set the stage for the play that became their lives.
Our lives are created by us - moment by moment. In all of those moments we are thinking. In some of those moments we are pronouncing words. In others we are performing actions. All of these accumulated moments can be witnessed as our current state of being. Are you where you want to be? Are you able to consciously respond to the events in your life (i.e. responsible), or are you seemingly at the whim of the world? How many thoughts contradict your desires? How many spoken words proclaim the truth that is yours?
What do you think? What do you say?
Happy Holidays!
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