[note from kelly: this was copied with thanks from Max's Oct. 12 newsletter. to subscribe visit Max's page to the right. the title is my own.]
"Freedom From Fear"
Warm greetings from Beijing. What a time. There have been so many world changes in only two weeks, and the extraordinary recent events in our global economy have many of us extremely frustrated and frightened. Contraction is happening quickly, even here in Beijing, the heart of the most robust economic engine in the world, factories are already closing due to a sudden decrease in demand.
When world events such as these, events outside of our control, shift suddenly and challenge our livelihood and sense of survival, we naturally feel anger, fear, and discouragement. It is situations like these that put to the test our beliefs in ourselves, our spiritual vision, and our moral fiber. Events such as these reveal who we are and what we are capable of.
As we watch our leaders fail us, anger and fear are natural responses but we must not dwell in them too long. Our anger will dissipate only when we channel that energy and begin to take action to repair and renew our circumstances. Action with a clear and ethical path replaces anger with strength, and empowers us to make the changes we need for a life richer in substance.
Fear: We tend to fear change, especially imposed change from exterior forces. In fact it could be said we most of us spend a lot of time and money creating the illusion of permanence and safety. Times like these remind us that life is more mutable than what we like to believe it is. This material life, including our very body is ever changing and impermanent.
Ultimately in this life, every one of us will lose the material form of everything - but we never lose what is truly ours. What is ours we keep eternally.
As I have journeyed through my own life, I have realized that the most wonderful and meaningful moments are connected to my heart, and not the circumstances of the day. I have had some of my most fulfilling days when I owned only a suitcase full of possessions, and have had considerable distress while living in material comfort. The external circumstances usually did not make a lot of difference on my scale of happiness.
As I look back though the past, all of my most powerful memories are all connected to either spiritual epiphanies or to love, the people I was interconnected with. The big "goals" that I set for myself as a young man fade from my memory like they were mirages, meaning less and less. True quality of life has always been determined, whether I knew it or not, by the degree of my own inner peace and my ability to love and accept love.
Once I began a daily yoga practice that cultivated these aspects, I became less interested in “self-determined circumstances of pleasure,” and more engaged and integrated with what was in and all around me. In other words, I began to let go of demanding happiness in a certain form, and began to let Providence determine the form, believing its vision of what is best for me is far superior to my own, by comparison, very narrow view.
The writer/teacher Viktor Frankle, a concentration camp survivor said a fascinating passage in his writings after World War II: “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
Today we cannot pretend to know the outcome of these global financial events. Catastrophes create new opportunities. Often when things explode in our face, they also blow open new doors. We can reinterpret this negative situation into A Wakeup Call for Action and Wisdom.
To have our courage stripped away by others is something we cannot afford to let happen. Money and property can be taken away by others, but our strength of spirit and human good is ours alone to keep or give away.
With love and brotherhood--Max
"Freedom From Fear"
Warm greetings from Beijing. What a time. There have been so many world changes in only two weeks, and the extraordinary recent events in our global economy have many of us extremely frustrated and frightened. Contraction is happening quickly, even here in Beijing, the heart of the most robust economic engine in the world, factories are already closing due to a sudden decrease in demand.
When world events such as these, events outside of our control, shift suddenly and challenge our livelihood and sense of survival, we naturally feel anger, fear, and discouragement. It is situations like these that put to the test our beliefs in ourselves, our spiritual vision, and our moral fiber. Events such as these reveal who we are and what we are capable of.
As we watch our leaders fail us, anger and fear are natural responses but we must not dwell in them too long. Our anger will dissipate only when we channel that energy and begin to take action to repair and renew our circumstances. Action with a clear and ethical path replaces anger with strength, and empowers us to make the changes we need for a life richer in substance.
Fear: We tend to fear change, especially imposed change from exterior forces. In fact it could be said we most of us spend a lot of time and money creating the illusion of permanence and safety. Times like these remind us that life is more mutable than what we like to believe it is. This material life, including our very body is ever changing and impermanent.
Ultimately in this life, every one of us will lose the material form of everything - but we never lose what is truly ours. What is ours we keep eternally.
As I have journeyed through my own life, I have realized that the most wonderful and meaningful moments are connected to my heart, and not the circumstances of the day. I have had some of my most fulfilling days when I owned only a suitcase full of possessions, and have had considerable distress while living in material comfort. The external circumstances usually did not make a lot of difference on my scale of happiness.
As I look back though the past, all of my most powerful memories are all connected to either spiritual epiphanies or to love, the people I was interconnected with. The big "goals" that I set for myself as a young man fade from my memory like they were mirages, meaning less and less. True quality of life has always been determined, whether I knew it or not, by the degree of my own inner peace and my ability to love and accept love.
Once I began a daily yoga practice that cultivated these aspects, I became less interested in “self-determined circumstances of pleasure,” and more engaged and integrated with what was in and all around me. In other words, I began to let go of demanding happiness in a certain form, and began to let Providence determine the form, believing its vision of what is best for me is far superior to my own, by comparison, very narrow view.
The writer/teacher Viktor Frankle, a concentration camp survivor said a fascinating passage in his writings after World War II: “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
Today we cannot pretend to know the outcome of these global financial events. Catastrophes create new opportunities. Often when things explode in our face, they also blow open new doors. We can reinterpret this negative situation into A Wakeup Call for Action and Wisdom.
To have our courage stripped away by others is something we cannot afford to let happen. Money and property can be taken away by others, but our strength of spirit and human good is ours alone to keep or give away.
With love and brotherhood--Max
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