The Real Harvest of Life

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self-realization

The Buddha

Siddhartha and Septimius

Siddhartha was a young prince in ancient India who walked away from ruling a kingdom, the love of a beautiful wife, the adoration of his people, and an opulent lifestyle that fulfilled all of his material needs to pursue his goal of self-realization. He burned with an inner ferocity to find out who he really was. In the pursuit of his quest of self-realization Siddhartha lived in forests, bathed in streams, wore a loincloth, journeyed from teacher to teacher, and ate whatever the forest would yield or people would give him. When he found his answer years later, he became Buddha, the enlightened one. Based on his self-realization, Buddha realized that his purpose was to teach and share his knowledge of enlightenment.

Buddha

Due to the strength and truth of his teachings, Buddha, the enlightened one who achieved self-realization, is more famous now than he ever would have been had he remained Siddhartha, the ruler of his people. If he had chosen the path of kingship, only a few obscure scholars would still know the name of Siddhartha, and no one would have ever heard of Buddha.

How many people today remember Septimius? In his lifetime, he had everything a person could desire. It did not fulfill him, nor did his fame last. His voice echoed for a short time then died. While Buddha has been dead for over two millennia, the noble truths he brilliantly articulated about the path of self-realization still guide the lives of countless millions.

In the end, only the truth matters. Self-realization is the real harvest of life. If we haven’t found the truth of our being, what remains in our soul is the bitter darkness of our failure.

Change and Changelessness

In the material world, fashions come and go. Trends change. What was once hot becomes cold, and what was long out of taste becomes sought after again. In contrast, the truth of self-realization never changes. Somewhere, deep inside us all, we each have a hunger to find out who we really are. As human beings, we can’t escape that hunger, no matter how cold, hard, distant, or unreachable we choose to make ourselves. We might bury our truth and our need for self-realization, deny it, and even try to disown it, but no matter what we do in our attempts to escape it, it will always be with us. It is a hunger that has been programmed into us as a species, one that has existed in all generations since the beginning of time. It is our deepest need and our most defining one. Self realization is the ultimate life quest.

The Growth of the Soul

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soul growth

Dalai Lama

Forms of Service

A spiritual path that aims for soul growth can be compared to a snowflake. Like snowflakes, all paths are similar, but none are the same. There are as many ways to achieve soul growth and serve, as there are people on the planet. The Divine is an equal opportunity employer who calls us all to His service. Achieving soul growth by serving the greater good requires a change of consciousness, an open heart, an attitude adjustment, and little more. It does not require a starched collar and a dark robe. We don’t have to be ministers, priests, rabbis, nuns, monks, or imams. We don’t have to leave our jobs. To achieve soul growth we just have to consider the well-being of others around us and be helpful to them when we have the opportunity to do so.

The Negative Ego

As long as the negative ego dominates our psyche, it will obscure our true identity, block us from our path, and negate all attempts at soul growth. For however long this condition prevails, the negative ego will keep us bound entirely in selfish pursuits without any gratitude whatsoever for the sacrifices others may have made to help us achieve our goals. It will completely stymie our soul growth.  Sri Aurobindo commented on this condition when he wrote:

“The vital, (negative ego) is too selfish to have any gratitude. The more it gets, the more it demands, and it takes everything as its right and every denial of what it wants as an injustice and an offense. The unregenerate vital (negative ego) in the average human nature is not grateful for a benefit; it resents being under an obligation. So long as the benefit continues, it is effusive and says sweet things; as soon as it expects  nothing more it turns round and bites the hand that fed it. Sometimes it does that even before, when it thinks it can do it without the benefactor knowing the origin of the slander, fault finding, or abuse.”

Ignorance and apathy about who we really are discourage many people from seeking soul growth. Those among us whose world-view is largely shaped by material values and considerations often pay little attention to their non-physical needs and dismiss the all important work of soul growth. Frequently, what matters most is getting ahead in the world. Prestige, power, money, and status are what count. These are the things that are valued and prized. It’s how most of us keep score and why we compete to get ahead of each other. As long as we get what we want in the world, what does the state of our soul really matter and who really cares about soul growth?

After all, we can’t measure our internal light, compare it to others, compete for more of it, or place a monetary value on it. We can’t buy it or sell it. It isn’t a commodity. It won’t improve our bottom line. So if we can’t prove that we have more light than everybody else, then why should we bother with the whole exercise of soul growth? It’s a waste of time and energy and won’t make us richer or more famous.

Our Soul Asset

There is a profound reason why we should make that effort. Our conscious connection with our soul is the most important asset we will ever have. That connection must be developed here. Soul growth cannot be developed after we die. If we throw away our opportunities for soul growth in this lifetime, we will not make the inner growth we came here to make or find a lasting fulfillment in our life. A major part of us will remain missing. A great resource that could successfully guide us through life’s many challenges will remain untapped. Our true power and creativity will never be utilized. Our potential for happiness and inner peace will not be realized. If we fail to make our soul growth in this lifetime, it may make that task much harder in future lifetimes.

Since the purpose of life is to develop our soul connection and make our soul growth, we never escape the pressure of that purpose. When we deny the most essential need of our nature, we unwittingly increase the hidden pressure of that purpose on our lives. That pressure may heighten our suffering, highlight our unhappiness, or widen our sense of alienation.

To the Divine, the most important factor in evaluating our life is the soul growth we made in our time on earth. Did we turn on our light, find out who we really are, and make our unique contribution to the world? From the Divine perspective there is no more important task than soul growth.

The Arrested Development Society

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Arrested Development

Western culture is in a state of arrested development. It is narcissistic, self-absorbed and focussed on personal sexual gratification. Arrested development  has contempt for love and committed,enduring relationships. This is not by accident. It is part of an insidious social engineering agenda. In America for the first time, there are now more single adults than married adults. The culture of arrested development has taken complete hold of this country.

Consequences of Arrested Development

There are several consequences to a lifestyle of arrested development that is focussed on  sexual gratification and  promiscuity. These include an inability to form lasting relationships; a failure to grow emotionally and mature; an increasing sense of lonlieness that when combined with desperation leads to depression. A culture that has fallen into a state of arrested development is a rehab society in which people develop all sorts of addictions and dependencies to deal with the dark hole of emptiness that constitutes their inner life. An arrested development society is full of lost souls and weak individuals who are easily programmed to feel even more isolated and alone.

In a society that has fallen into the trap of arrested development the family structure crumbles, the divorce rate soars and children become increasingly vulnerable to all sorts of negative influences and programming. When people are  focussed on sex their root chakra is wide open. When this chakra is open it creates a direct channel to the subconscious mind so that the individual can be easily programmed thru TV, movies, satellite and cell tower microwave transmissions. This programming  further instills the values of arrested development in the individual’s subconscious. Welcome to the world of the lost and lonely, where in the lyrics of the Eagles  Hotel California, “You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave! ”

Be Wise!!

Consider Howard Stern’s radio show. What is he selling? Arrested development. How much is he getting paid for it? Somewhere in the neighborhood of  four hundred million. Wherever you look in this culture you are being bombarded with programming designed to make you part of the arrested development culture and lifestyle. Be wise and careful about what you let into your mind and into your life. The mainstream media is not your friend. It’s there to program and control you.

 

War Crimes Convictions

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War Criminals

War Crimes Criminals

Former US President George W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo can now add the title WAR CRIMES CRIMINAL to their resumes. The Bush Eight were tried in absentia in Malaysia and found guilty of war crimes. While this conviction is largely symbolic, it’s the first of its kind and could eventually lead to further prosecution in the World Court and other jurisdictions.

war criminal

From President to War Criminal

Bush recently canceled a trip to Switzerland. His conviction as a war criminal may have been instrumental in reaching that decision. If nothing else, the Bush Eight will now have to think long and hard about traveling outside the United States.

Naturally, this news has not been reported in the mainstream news media in America. You can read more about this startling development at http://carloz.newsvine.com/_news/2012/05/12/11673512-bush-cheney-convicted-of-war-crimes-in-absentia

The Largest Oil Deposit in the World

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OIl Deposit

Oil Field

The Green River Formation

The largest oil deposit in the world is the Green River Formation located in parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado.  The USGS estimates there are three trillion barrels of oil in the formation. The Rand Corp estimates that 30 to 60 percent of that is recoverable.  That’s anywhere from one trillion to two trillion bareels of oil that are recoverable. This amount is equal to all proven reserves in the world. That means the US has more oil than Saudi Arabia and everyone else combined. This is the equivalent of a two hundred year supply of oil.

The question is now political. Will the PTB allow this field to be developed for the benefit of the United States? The field sits in a remote and largely uninhabitable region of the country. Will the PTB finally allow America to achieve energy independence or will they attempt  to keep us dependent on foreign oil and drain money out of this country in order to destroy the middle class and short circuit an economic recovery? America has huge proven reserves of natural gas. Now we have equally huge reserves of oil. Will we be allowed to develop these reserves and achieve economic prosperity orwill the PTB find a way to sabotage that development? What do you think?

For more information on the Green River Formation go here:

http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2012/05/12/200-year-supply-of-oil-in-green-river-formation/

 

 

Finding Your True Life Purpose

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The Five Common Features of a True Life Purpose

All manifestations of a true life purpose have five common features.

  1. A true life purpose is the result of Self-realization, of becoming who we were always meant to be. The foundation of Self-realization is the merger of the conscious, rational mind with the soul.
  2.  A true life purpose is a form of unconditional love.
  3.  A true life purpose serves and uplifts other people.
  4.  A true life purpose creates acceptance among people and fosters group consciousness.
  5. A true life purpose encourages creativity and allows freedom to flourish.

true life purpose

How Great Things Begin

Anyone who has the privilege of pursuing his true life purpose realizes that when he fulfills his life purpose, he also fulfills himself. Great things, even vast things, start in small ways with small actions that hardly register at the time. The beginning is often undetected until the true life purpose gathers momentum and attracts attention. The Roman Empire began over six hundred years before the birth of Christ with a small band of people in the Italian peninsula searching for a new home on a group of hills. That tiny blip on the screen of history became a great Empire that was to last a thousand years. Christ began with a few followers in Judea, Buddha with a small band of disciples in India. Two millennia later, each of these great spiritual masters has a religion named after them and more than a billion followers.

Service and the Higher Light

The lives of Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, and the others demonstrate an important spiritual principle. If we move in the direction of serving a greater good than our own self-interest, the higher light of the spirit will support and protect our work. Our efforts to serve others will open the door to draw down a larger measure of Divine light. When we find our true life purpose we do not work alone. We have the support of  spirit world. We don’t have to free a country like Gandhi, found a religion like Christ and Mohammed, or discover the path to enlightenment as Buddha did. We only have to free ourselves from the chains within our psyche that bind us to our negative ego and desire nature. That is the first step in discovering a true life purpose.

Whenever one of us discovers his true self and activates his true lie purpose, another inner light goes on in the world. The more spiritual light that is present in the world, the less that evil can live here. Our lives all count. We are all important. We each have a unique contribution to make that will allow the world to be a better place. Our identity and true life purpose are not only important for our own personal well-being, they are also important for the well- being of the world.

Soul Power

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soul

Mother Teresa with Princess Diana

Building the Link to the Soul

Since life  is always a struggle of one sort or another it is imperative to build the link to our soul. We must fight against the stupidity, intolerance, prejudice, and hatred that are so entrenched in the world. We must also fight the negative qualities that are firmly entrenched within our own nature and constantly seeking to undermine us. Our greatest ally in the battles of life is the hidden power of our soul. When we overcome our negative ego and its urge to exert control over all that it can, we are unstoppable. When we have built the link to our soul, we stand in the true light of our being.

Moses, Christ, Krishna, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa all had the very real advantage of that soul link. They knew who they were; they knew what their true purpose was, and they had the support of a higher power in fulfilling that purpose. In their work and in their lives they demonstrated what can be accomplished when we find our real self,  discover our true purpose, and stand firmly in the light of the soul.

No one individual can lead the world out of its present morass. The world is too large, the problems we face too complex. But together we can stand up, and joined by a clear and loving purpose, we can heal ourselves and help the world move forward to a better future for all.

Gandhi and Self-discipline

The story of Mahatma Gandhi and his campaign to free India from the yoke of British colonialism is a case in the development of soul power. When Gandhi returned to India from his sojourn in South Africa, he traveled by train around the Indian subcontinent and witnessed firsthand the great suffering caused by the widespread poverty of the Indian people. His initial plan was to help India overcome her impoverishment. As he moved forward to implement constructive economic change he soon realized that British rule was a main impediment to the economic aspirations of the Indian people. In time, his campaign for economic freedom became a movement for political freedom from British rule. Freeing India from the yoke of British rule became his life purpose. In order to reach that goal, Gandhi realized that he had to conquer his shadow and find his center so that the light of his soul might shine through. Self-discipline was among the important qualities that Gandhi cultivated in himself to reach his goal of soul linkage.

In the long years of the struggle for Indian independence, Gandhi never wavered in his determination to reach his goal and stand firmly in his soul. He maintained his poise, rarely lost his self-control, and disciplined himself not to react to challenging events in a negative manner. Instead he would respond as positively and forthrightly as he could. He never sacrificed his commitment to the truth, compromised his principles or went against the intuition that sprang from his soul. The final result of Gandhi’s quest was inspiring and miraculous. He defeated a great empire peacefully, without violence. His only weapons were the truth in his soul and the strength of his character.

Through the years of struggle Gandhi had deliberately forged a very deep soul connection. He possessed inner peace, strength, and great clarity, qualities that helped him to understand who he was and what he was about. He clearly had a mission that required great strength and courage on the one hand, and little ego on the other. These attributes were amplified by the unconditional love that flowed through him. His love for all people, combined with his deep soul connection, created an opening in his energy system that magnetically pulled Divine love down from above, and distributed that energy to everyone within his sphere of influence. Wherever Gandhi went, whether to a prison or a podium, Divine love went with him. He had direct access to a higher authority and Divine support for his mission. That is what happens when you live in alignment with your soul. With that support, Gandhi fulfilled his mission.

Turning the Other Cheek

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gandhi non-violence turn the other cheek

Gandhi

When to Turn the Other Cheek and When Not To

Sometimes, when we are confronted with negativity in a personal context, the best course of action is non-action or non-violence. Rather than getting drawn into a situation where the goal of our opponent is to taunt us into doing something foolish that will be used against us later, the wisest choice we can make is to not react in any way. If we don’t permit ourselves to be drawn into a toxic embrace we can’t be showered with toxic energy. Since no blow has been struck, we’re under no obligation to defend ourselves. If we can maintain our self-control and not let our ego react as our adversary hopes it will, we will escape the danger he hopes to bring our way. In this kind of situation it is best to do as Christ advised and turn the other cheek. Keep cool. Do not react. Move on.

Gandhi and Non Violence

There are also times when we cannot afford to turn the other cheek, practice non-violence  and walk away but instead must take a stand and actively resist evil. Sometimes, the right way is to stand and fight against an encroaching darkness in order to create a lasting peace and a freedom that endures. During World War Two, for example, many in India wanted Nazi Germany to win the war. Those who supported this position did so because they felt that if the Nazis won the war, the British would be forced out of India. While this may have been true, what they failed to realize was that if the Nazis replaced the British in India things would get worse for the Indian people, not better. Others wanted to apply Gandhi’s philosophy on non-violence to opposing a potential Nazi invasion, even though Gandhi himself had said that ahimsa, or non-violence, would not work against the Nazis because they were an immoral political force with no conscience.

Aurobindo

Like Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, an Indian spiritual teacher of wide vision, also saw the folly in either supporting a Nazi invasion or opposing it with non-violence. Aurobindo, moreover, perceived the Second World War as part of an ongoing cosmic struggle of good versus evil in the world. Nazi Germany had to be opposed and defeated or the world would be shrouded in darkness and the flame of freedom extinguished everywhere. With the outbreak of hostilities he was certain that the fate of the world hung in the balance. In keeping with his vision, Aurobindo raised money for the British war effort and called on his fellow Indians to actively fight the Nazis, not with non-violence but with armed force.

Aurobindo’s strong and vocal support for the British was most remarkable considering that as a young man he had been a firebrand and a political radical, extolling the use violence to secure India’s independence from British rule. However, instead of securing India’s freedom he had been captured by the British and tried for sedition. If he had been convicted of the charges brought against him he would have been executed, but he was acquitted instead. His acquittal marked his renunciation of violence and the beginning of his spiritual path.

Although Aurobindo had been devoted to peace for two decades before the war began, he knew that non-violence as a defensive strategy would insure a potential Nazi conquest of India rather than defeat it. Faced with a ruthless foe, he resolved to stand and fight the tide of evil that was determined to overwhelm the world. Peace at any price was simply too high a price to pay for a peace that would be intolerable.

The Munich Pact

This truth was never more evident than in the early days of the war. In September 1938, Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, attempted to appease Hitler and forestall further conflict by conceding the Sudetenland to him. The Sudetenland was a region of disputed territory in Czechoslovakia that contained a large German speaking population. Hitler was delighted to accept Chamberlain’s concession, which the parties formalized in a treaty of non-aggression, known as the Munich Pact. Chamberlain then made a famous speech proclaiming “peace in our time.” Unfortunately, that peace lasted only a short time. In March of 1939 Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and then rolled over the rest of Europe. In Britain, Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement brought down his government and returned Winston Churchill to power.

For many years before the war began, Churchill, like Aurobindo, had seen the threat of Nazi Germany for what it was. Both men took unpopular positions far in advance of their fellow countrymen. They both knew it was folly to appease an evil that sought the destruction of freedom and liberty.

Establishing Soul Contact

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the soul

The Forgotten Soul

The soul has been forgotten and is largely ignored. The world breaks from its moorings. The pace of life and the stress of living grow in quantum leaps. Even though the sense of stability in the world seems to be diminishing, relatively few people have begun to consciously develop the vital link to their soul. The future consequence of the failure to act in one’s highest interest is that many will be without access to their inner center when they need it most.

Establishing a strong, clear link to our soul marks a crucial stage in our evolution. It is this step that definitively separates those of us who are whole from those who are wounded. If we choose to take this step, we can move forward to heal ourselves and elevate our lives.

Soul Contact

When we consciously develop our connection to our soul we become peaceful, clear, and strong. These three qualities of soul contact provide a stabilizing bulwark against life’s constant challenges. When we have these qualities the pressures of life will not break us. We will be able to stand up to hostile challenges and beat them back without losing our inner center or relinquishing our power. Every challenge we face will serve to make us stronger and wiser. Each success we have will increase our light and deepen our faith in ourselves.

The reason why soul contact makes us peaceful and clear is that the soul is at one with a higher power. It is eternal and fears nothing. It knows joy, and is filled with dynamic power and creative energy. Death cannot touch it, scare it, or destroy it. The soul is our link to the conti- nuity of life. Our other assets come and go. Sometimes we profit from our material endeavors. Sometimes we fail, but regardless of what we may have accumulated or lost, when we die we will surrender all of our material assets. However, we never surrender our soul. It counts in life, and it counts after our physical life is over.

The Rising Tide of Fear

When our soul connection is dormant a recurrent sense self-doubt and repeated questions of self-worth often rumble through our system. Those doubts and questions are like a major breach in a line of military fortifications. They leave us unprotected and allow many forms of fear to seep into our psyche. Fear is highly contagious when we do not have a strong inner center to defeat it. Fear feeds the negative, champions the hysterical, breeds confusion and paranoia, and exacerbates the tide of chaos running rampant in the world. Meanwhile, peace is almost nowhere to be found, neither in countries nor in individuals. The world becomes more polarized daily, and the voices raised above the growing din grow shriller. If the power of the negative continues to grow, where will we find our hope for the future? If the power of the negative mutates into new crises and the speed of its proliferation increases, what kind of world will we be passing on to our children? Will the future take care of itself if we go on blindly as we are doing and ignore the perils of the present?

The Tide of Negativity

We are all that stands between the rising tide of negativity in this world and progressive waves of conflict, chaos, and destruction. If we are wise and act together, we can generate the necessary critical mass to create a new positive trend, and we will be in time to make a difference. If we choose to forge the vital link to our souls, we will be strong enough and light enough to ease the massive pressure in the world.

If, on the other hand, we choose not to heal our lives, we are actually increasing the negative pressure in the world, making it that much tougher for the planet to heal and move forward to peace and safety. When the world is as polarized as it is today, there is no place to hide. Either we add to its polarization by neglecting our obligation to face our own darkness, or we contribute to its salvation by choosing to develop our inner light.

Soul contact has the capacity to transform negativity, reduce its threat, and slow its progress until it dies out altogether. The solution to what ails the world is as political as it is spiritual. If we find our wholeness, we can stand together in the light, united in our will to serve a high and loving purpose, and build the momentum to move forward, creating a peaceful and productive world.

Power and Darkness

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Septimius

The Septimius Syndrome

In ancient times there was a Roman Emperor named Septimius Severus. Septimius was highly educated for his times, extremely intelligent, charismatic, handsome, and polished. He spoke several languages, studied literature and philosophy in Athens, and later became a lawyer in Rome. Long before he became the Emperor, Septimius was thought of as one of the most brilliant minds in Rome. As a soldier and general, he was known for his daring and ruthlessness.

In 193 AD Rome was in political turmoil. The Emperor Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, had recently been assassinated. After his assassination and the assassination of his successor, Pertinax, the Praetorian Guard decided to auction off the office of the Emperor to the highest bidder. The unfortunate winner of the Emperor sweepstakes was a senator named Didius Julianus, who had been talked into bidding for the office of Emperor by his wife and daughter. Julianus agreed to pay each member of the Praetorian guard five thousand drachmas to become Emperor. Shortly after Julianus’s installation, however, Septimius decided that he wanted to be the Emperor. He also knew that other Roman generals were thinking the same thing. So he seized the moment, marched his legions on Rome, and took control of the empire with hardly a struggle.

During his takeover, a tribune in Septimius’s service found Julianus cowering in a palace bathroom and beheaded him. After his ascension to imperial power, Septimius executed many more senators. He ruled the Roman Empire with a strong hand for eighteen years, becoming the most famous, powerful, and wealthiest man of his age.

On his deathbed in York, England in 211 AD after an extensive military campaign in Caledonia (Scotland), Septimius had a chilling revelation. In a moment of clarity, he saw the real worth of his life and remarked, “I have been everything, and it is worth nothing.”

While Septimius may have been everything, he had failed to find himself until it was too late to nurture his soul. He had fulfilled his desires and taken from life all that his vast appetites had demanded, but it hadn’t been enough. His accomplishments and acquisitions had never relieved the burden of his inner darkness. All his power, wealth, and fame had done was obscure his emptiness and dissatisfaction with life. At the end, when his moment of truth came the great wealth he had accumulated and the power and fame he had seized mocked him. No time remained to burn out the darkness in his soul that tormented him: no time to turn on his inner light, redeem himself, or clear his karma. He went to his death internally bankrupt, the inner person starving, incomplete, and unfulfilled. His life of external magnificence had been a life of internal failure.

Septimius had controlled an empire and decided the fates of entire populations, but he had never found real freedom. He had conquered the world but never conquered himself. He had been too in love with power to bother with his soul. In the end, his love of power had not liberated him, but had, rather, enslaved him. Unfortunately for Septimius, his failure to find himself was not the end of his journey but only it’s beginning. In addition to neglecting his inner person, he had generated a great deal of negative karma that would have to be worked out in future lives.

Choices

Life is about the choices we make. Those choices determine our future. The wise person chooses to advance his evolution and contribute to the common good. The foolish person wastes his time wallowing in the gulf of confusion, creating more negative karma that will slow his progress toward life’s inevitable goal. It is far better to discover the light within us and walk the path of wisdom while we still have the time to travel far down that path. It does no good to come too late to this work.