Tag Archives: Occam’s razor

Rethinking Change

March 24th marks the launch of my YouTube Channel, RETHINKING CHANGE.

Here, I’m sharing with you the link to the Premier video, as well  as the script which appears below.

Rethinking Change Banner

Hello and Welcome to Rethinking Change. I’m Pat West.

So. Let’s start right in with a riddle. Here’s a list of thought leaders in fields like:

  • Finance – Napoleon Hill. Robert Kiyasaki.
  • Science – Gregg Braden.
  • Healing – Joe Dispenza.
  • Energy Work – Donna Eden, Jeffrey Allen.
  • Hypnosis – Marisa Peer.
  • Martial arts — Bruce Lee
  • . . . . the  list goes on

But here’s the question. What do they have in common? By the end of this video, you’ll have the answer to that question, as well as an appreciation for the value Rethinking Change has to offer you  and those you care for.

As a special bonus, at the end, I’ll share with you what the Book of Change has to say about the COVID-19 pandemic. As you’ll come to find out, the I Ching is the foundation of energy medicine and Tai Chi. It’s the missing link we need NOW to survive and thrive in this intense time of extremes. I think you’ll find its message . . very interesting.

You’re probably wondering by now, who I am to be saying all of this. Well, there’s a long version, because I have plenty of stranger-than-fiction stories to share with you in good time. But here’s the short version.

I was trained as a musician. I played piano and various string instruments — guitar, a bit of sitar, but primarily violin. I shared this life-saver in common with my man, Einstein, who was also a violinist. It led me to yoga and to the magical, marvelous I Ching, the Book of Change, which maps the laws of nature, the repeating cycles of change which everyone everywhere share in common. For more than 8,000 years, it’s been used as a decision-making tool by leaders in every walk of life, all over the world. It’s used to bypass danger, optimize opportunities and to maintain balance in the midst of change.

Psychologist Carl Jung wrote an introduction to the Wilhelm/Baynes translation. He taught us to use it as a tool for making the unconscious conscious.

In 1975, I wrote my own version. It still works for me. My idea was, it shouldn’t be so tough . . and it should be made available to everyone. You can find it on Amazon. It’s called The Common Sense Book of Change.

I’ve been growing with the book for over 40 years now, taking it with me through every imaginable situation to understand the dynamics that drive human behavior. It’s become a good friend and mentor. More than once, it’s saved my life. If you want to know more, you can check out my website, rethinking survival.com. You’ll find several related posts. One is “The I Ching and Me.” Another is “How the Common Sense Book of Change (CSBOC) Came To Be.

In the late 1970s, I earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. From writing books to fill the shelves that weren’t there when I needed them, I went on to earn the credential to build schools to fill what I call the fatal knowledge gap in what we’re taught in schools.

Basically, though, what you need to know about me is summed up in my latest book, You Are Already Enough: How Would Your Life CHANGE if you really Believed It? There, I give you my personal Why, How and What.

Basically, though, what you need to know about me is summed up in my latest book, You Are Already Enough: How Would Your Life CHANGE if you really Believed It? There, I give you my personal Why, How and What.

My WHY is to pay forward the extraordinary blessings I’ve received over a lifetime. I experience it as a calling. My HOW has been to write books, blog, give an occasional class, and now, to create content for this YouTube channel. My WHAT, the end result I’m aiming for, is to restore sanity to a badly fractured world, one person at a time.

Okay then. The Book of Change is one self-awareness tool. The second is a spin-off. And here things get even more interesting.

I came to it by applying yoga sutras to Einstein. Take the archetypal Life Wheel that repeats through all cultures and all times, well known to meditators. Then take the variables of Einstein’s formula – M = mass, E = energy, C = light – and plug them into the increasingly deeper levels of the Life Wheel. The result is the Unified Field Theory – including the elusive “consciousness factor.” Einstein had already received it, but for lack of yoga training, he missed it.

02a. Unfied Field Theory

Now. . . . just like the Ching’s repetitive cycle of hexagrams, this quantum pattern of creation also repeats throughout nature, on every scale of magnitude . . . smallest to largest, from atoms to solar systems. It repeats in every cell of our bodies. In Already Enough, I give pictures of this pattern repeating throughout nature and world art.

But what’s important to emphasize here is that this isn’t just an interesting, abstract idea. The formula e=m2 has powerful applications, for destruction – the atomic bomb – as well as creation. We can personalize the Life Wheel to make it real in our own lives. We can use it to assess how we’re doing, to identify what’s missing, decide what we intend to change, and then to plan how to get from here to there. It’s a powerful tool. It can bring us back from an incomplete, fractured lifestyle into full alignment with our true complete nature, the original design of creation.

Here’s just one picture of what wheel-work looks like:

happy face

And here’s my Why, How and What prioritized inside the Life Wheel structure.

My Why, How & What

So. The answer to the riddle I asked at the beginning . . is this. What all those thought leaders share in common is an intuitive fidelity to this basic structure, the quantum reality embodied in the Life Wheel. It explains . . for example. . the effectiveness of Napoleon’s Hill Think and Grow Rich formula. And so on. . . In You Are Already Enough!, I show that, just as Einstein’s formula plugs into the Life Wheel, so do the ideas that get the powerful results each of these thought leaders has achieved.

Before moving on to the COVID-19 section, I briefly want to tell you this. When I was brainstorming for future video content, the list got huge . . . because the Life Wheel truly meets the Occam’s Razor standard of greatest simplicity with maximum inclusiveness.

Once you start rethinking change, seeing how the dynamics expand and contract from the inside out, and how the levels of the Life Wheel link up . . the possibilities become infinite. It’s like, anywhere you focus the laser beam, it illumines the field.

Here’s a short list of potential subjects:

  • The MPI standard – motive, purpose, and intent. (Being aware of what you’re doing and why.)
  • Abundance. Magic. Manifestation. Wealth.
  • Change. Change agents. Affirmative action. Positive Action.
  • Unity. The United States.
  • Conflict. Common sense. The law of Karma. Ethics.
  • Creativity. Intuition. Self-awareness. Self-actualization.
  • Relationships. Empaths and narcissists.
  • Interdependence. Cooperation.
  • Communication. Community. Intentional community.
  • Education. Higher Education. Paradigm shifts. And opportunity.
  • Authority. Inner authority. Conscience.
  • Medicine. Healing. Mindfulness. Meditation.
  • Codes. The Emotion Code. The Healing Code.
  • Stress. The suicide epidemic and its prevention.

So, if you have any preferences among those topics or other related questions you’d like me to address, please comment below and I’ll do my best to respond. And please do take the time to like, share and subscribe, so we can get this urgently needed information out to a badly fractured world that – for lack of it – is in SUCH deep trouble.

Now, here’s the COVID-19 bonus I promised you.

There are many ways to approach the Book of Change. It starts with finding a quiet place and settling down the noisy mind. After deciding on a question, there’s a process for arriving at an answer. I’m saving the technical side for later. Today, I’m going straight to the answer I got on March 14th to this written question: “What advice does the Book of Change have to offer the general public about the COVID-19 pandemic?”

The initial outcome was 14, SELF-POSSESSION. It looks like this:

14 Self-Possession

It seems to me that the general public expects leaders to demonstrate calmness, integrity, and fairness. We want them to give us a clear picture of what’s going on. Deep down, we really want leaders who inspire us.

However, the initial answer was dynamic. It had two changing lines that offer warnings or advice. These combined to result in a different outcome.

The advice from line four is “Do not compete with others. Use your skills to build.” It advises restraint and to avoid careless waste. So I would be concerned that precious time is being wasted, that this crisis is being used BY SOME as a political football, and that it’s possible resources being mobilized might to some extent be misdirected.

The advice from line five reads “When you prove yourself responsible, others will trust you.” The shadow side here is that unless leaders prove themselves trustworthy, people won’t trust them.

But even when there’s restraint and responsibility, the second outcome remains FRUSTRATION. This makes good sense. We have expectations that aren’t always being met. It’s related to the leadership issue, but just as importantly . . . we need to be aware that there’s a lot going on – hidden – behind the scenes. Things aren’t exactly what they seem.

Number 9 reads: External factors you may not even be aware of will cause FRUSTRATION. New projects will not work out now. This cannot be avoided. Arguing will not influence those who could help. Your choice is either to wait patiently or to leave the situation. “

So it seems to me that right now we’re in for a waiting game. Getting emotionally caught up in the upheavals that have been set in motion would be counter-productive. To the extent that worry is a waste of time, refocusing attention . . . rethinking the change going on all around us . . . is a better option.

So, the next question that arises is Where should we turn our attention? For one thing, I would look for the opportunities hidden within current dangers, because it’s a rule of Natural Law that in duality, there are two sides to every coin.

It’s quite possible we’ve been looking in the wrong places for IMPORTANT answers. And that the Book itself is welcoming the pandemic as an opportunity to reintroduce itself as an inspirational way to access the deeper energy and light levels of our Life Wheels for a better understanding what’s truly going on – within ourselves . . . as well as in the world around us.

NOW this opens WIDE the door to a whole new world. I will continue this thread in my next video, which I’m calling “Blessings in Disguise.”

So, here’s what you can expect from now on. In each Thursday video, I’ll balance discussion with a hands-on reading from different versions of the Book of Change. The plan is to illumine key issues in terms of the Life Wheel pattern, supported by readings to make the Book of Change increasingly more familiar.

Again. Please comment below. Like, share and subscribe. Hit the bell to be notified each time I publish a new video. And I’ll see you again next time. Until then, do take good care of yourselves.

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Rethinking SURVIVAL

Today’s post is written with a wink and a nod towards the venerable Bruce Lipton, who confirmed through science what the ancients earlier believed about our eternal spirit.

I’m winking because I totally empathize with the frustration you experienced, being ahead of your times, virtually unheard for decades. The good news is, however long it took, the public is finally getting there.

Being in my 74th year, I too have waited a long time, the patient custodian of work with the potential to alter the outcomes of our extreme times. This work augments yours.

I’m nodding towards you here, thinking perhaps getting your attention could make a difference in whether this vitally important work finally sees the light of day.

The stakes could not be higher, so here’s my best shot. But not to worry. I’ll keep it simple and interesting, so the taste of this sample leaves you wanting more.

My point has three parts:

  • Part One describes your discovery and how it validates ancient wisdomin particular, Lao Tze.
  • Part Two looks forward towards the work I could bring to the table. It complements both empirical science and ancient wisdom – in particular, the Life Wheel which embodies Einstein’s Unified Field Theory. (Yes, though unawares, he had, in fact, received it.)
  • Part Three looks at apparently contradictory definitions of “survival.” I place them in the context of the Life Wheel, the better to confirm that part of us which never dies, and, further, to suggest how best to use that knowledge to regenerate ourselves and in the process, create a better future.

Phoenix - sized

Part One. Here, in your own words, transcribed from a 2015 Youtube video, “A Message of Love,” is the story of your transformational discovery:

The most profound teachers I ever sat before . . . were so magnificent that I can’t fully put [their lessons] into words. Who were those teachers? They were the cells that I was working on in a petri dish. Talking to them. Watching them, day-by-day. Seeing how they lived. And then opening to the message.

That message?

They showed me from my point of view and my reference to life, that there was something called “spirituality” that I didn’t know existed. . . . And the moment I saw the mechanics of how a signal from the universe comes into my body-suit, my virtual reality suit. . . There was this instant of recognition. I said, “Oh my God! I can’t die!”

The result:

It was an OWNING of spirit. . . And the moment I owned it, a weight I never even knew I was carrying around . . . whoosh . . . disappeared. Because I became free for the first time to recognize I’m here for something other than my [mundane] life. I’m going to own who I AM. I’m a spirit that has come to this planet to experience and to create and to manifest heaven on earth.. . It’s an understanding that it’s all driven by love.

Now, in the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tze repeatedly confirms what you experienced as our inherent immortality. For example, Passage 16 describes the creative process:

16 quote

Conscious life continues on, rooted in a reality larger than a single lifetime. Passage 54 tells us:

54 quote

Passage 33 urges us to be steadfast in our experience of eternal life:

33 quote

Even further, when meditators intentionally pierce the veil of illusion, traveling back through and beyond time and space, they are, as Dr. Joe Dispenza puts it, “reborn in the same life time.”

Or, in your words:

I now have two lives. I have previous learning life. Struggle, anger, control, trying to fix everything. And I have post experience. A calmness. An understanding that it’s all driven by love. Even if other people can’t see through their filters of criticism, they’re still driven by love. Every one of you is a piece of all that IS. Every one of you!

The first Passage from my version, Two Sides of a Coin, gives words to the way ancients experienced travel beyond time:01

Tai Chi Tu

Part Two. Now, how do we identify and connect with that unchanging source, the “unified center achieved in stillness” of which Lao Tze speaks? Where is it located? Within us? Outside and all around us? Both?

To quote myself:

In working with wisdom traditions, I’ve become certain that each is striving to express a particular aspect of a single, unnameable Truth. Further, each is a mosaic piece of a larger picture. When the pieces are put together, the sum is greater than its parts.

The Positive Paradigm of Change adapted from the Life Wheel is that larger picture. It draws from wisdom traditions, both East and West. It is consistent with biblical teachings and the essence of I Ching philosophy. It is yoga-compatible. In addition, it’s equally compatible with modern science.

In Rethinking Survival, the Positive Paradigm of Change is described as:

. . . . a new, inclusive reality map, one people worldwide can easily comprehend and agree upon. It is equally compatible with scriptures and science, bridging the gap between them. It fulfills Einstein’s intuited search for the Unified Field Theory, picturing how all parts of creation are related, interwoven and interdependent.

Working with the Positive Paradigm empowers the “substantially new manner of thinking,” which, Einstein said, is necessary “if mankind is to survive.”

It looks like this:

Unified Field Theory

The Positive Paradigm wheels-within-wheels model consists of concentric circles around a common center. It places the three variables of Albert Einstein’s famous formula, e = mc2 (energy, mass and light) in a two-directional, infinite continuum.

This Synthesis Wheel mirrors the microcosmic structure of atoms as well as the macrocosmic structure of planetary systems. On the largest scale of magnitude, it reflects the in- and out-breaths of perpetually expanding and contracting universes.

This familiar structure repeats smallest to largest in the patterns of nature, from snow flakes and intricate flowers to spiders’ webs and sea shells. Similar patterns repeat worldwide in the art of every culture — including the prayer wheels of Native Americans, the colored sand mandalas of Tibetan Buddhists, the stained glass windows of European cathedrals and the intricate geometrical patterns covering Muslim mosques. They offer proof of the universal awareness of a central inner reality, of an inner structure common to all humanity, and to a continuity of experience deeper than individual lives or transitory cultures.

Elsewhere, I’ve described its value thusly:

This Wheel of Change is a paradigm, meaning a worldview. It offers a positive alternative to the prevailing, dysfunctional paradigms which cause so much misery. It is an inclusive reality map that accords with the way life truly is, showing the full spectrum of human potentials. It explains how the world works, how the individual fits into it, and what is required to truly survive.

Unlike exclusively materialistic, atheistic, hedonist or religionist paradigms, all levels of experience are present, and in balanced, aligned relationship with each other. Nothing is missing. Nothing is out of place.

This paradigm pictures an elegantly simple yet complete reality map that meets the standard of Occam’s razor: maximum inclusiveness with greatest simplicity.

I explain the levels, with this caveat:

Yoga scriptures correlate the three levels of the Wheel with three different states of consciousness. Most of us experience the states of waking, sleep and dreamless sleep separately. However, it is possible to experience the entire continuum simultaneously while remaining fully conscious.

In the terms of modern brain science, this is accomplished by not only integrating functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, but by simultaneously coordinating the full span of vibrational brain wave frequencies from fastest (beta) to slowest (delta). The fully enlightened sage’s experience of linking the levels is called “turyia.” In that state, a highly accomplished being is said to be “here and there at the same time.”

The concentric circles aren’t literally separate and discrete. Rather, they are a continuum along the infinite spectrum of creation. Within each layer are numerous distinctions verified only by direct experience. For the sake of the following discussion, however, the three levels are described as if discrete, starting from the surface of the Wheel and moving inwards.

And with that said, here are the three states:

m = mass. The outer rim of the circle is the realm of the material, manifested world of creation. This level is the abode of empirical science which measures tangible, measurable things. It is the plane of duality, the fluctuating ebb and flow of mortal life, the ups and downs of daily experience.

It is the realm into which public school education too often squeezes and flattens children. This is the level of which Einstein said, “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.”

Those focused excessively here are unduly attached to material possessions as well as to money, social status and institutional power. Here appearances are more important than substance. Saving face replaces authentic virtue.

Paradoxically, out of balance, abundance on the material plane seems to foster an insatiable sense of lack. Limited connection with the center breeds insecurities and greed. The infinite variations on the same eternal forms are misconstrued as grounds for cultural conflict and competition for illusory supremacy.

When people live primarily on the surface, with the middle (primarily “unconscious”) level clogged and in conflict, systems break down. Attempting to fix problems caused by this inner turmoil at the superficial level can not achieve any lasting, qualitative improvement.

e = energy. Much ignorance, misinformation and confusion surrounds the energy level of the Wheel. The state of chaos into which the world has degenerated attests to this deficiency, as well as the urgent need to correct it.

The middle level is the domain of Natural Law mapped in the Chinese I Ching, the Book of Change. These changes are the energetic underpinnings of the dynamic, physical world, experienced as the recurring cycles of seasonal change, as well as humans cycles of birth, growth, decay, death and rebirth.

The middle layer is the realm of less tangible but still measurable states of energy, including electricity. More subtly, it is the chi, ki or prana described in Asian traditions as the life force which animates all living beings. In Greek and Christian contexts it correlates with the breath, the psyche.

These subtle energies influence internal [most often ‘unconscious’] psychological states and drive external human behavior, which in turn affects social relationships. A clear understanding of these dynamics is essential to personal survival.

Now, as you’ll recall, I earlier asked, “How do we identify and connect with that unchanging source, the “unified center achieved in stillness” of which Lao Tze speaks? Where is it located?”

The answer rests deep within the levels of “Light” and “Source of Light” at the central hub of the Wheel:

c = light. The hub of the wheel, the Source of Light, is innermost state of being. It is silent yet fertile, that from which all forms emanate and to which all return. It is the alpha and omega, the ultimate and exclusive source of infinite light and power.

Merging with this all-encompassing source of consciousness is what scriptures refer to, quite literally, as “enlightenment.”

The deepest center is the original seed of life from which creative solutions and new beginnings emerge in answer to the prayers and sincere efforts of those who hear and do. It’s the unfailing source, deeper than ephemeral fears, which gives survivors the inner strength to withstand the sudden shocks and catastrophic changes of Titanic times.

The experience of light is described with worlds like inspiration, intuition or guidance.

Unlike the levels of mass and energy, which can be described at length from experience, the center of light is best honored in silence. Or at least as few words as possible.

0 Hush

Here’s just one example of the myriad ways the Life Wheel is adapted to picture deep understanding. It plugs Passage One into the levels of the Wheel, depicting Lao Tze’s travel away from previous life learning – struggle, anger and control on the outer rim of the Life Wheel – towards the innermost, post-experience of supreme calm.

Inward-pointing arrows trace the path of release; outward-pointing arrows point towards physical manifestation. In the words of the biblical God of Moses, this repetitive, full-circle dynamic is spoken as a command: “Return unto me and I return unto you.”

II-8 rev

Way cool, huh!

Part Three. At the outset, I promised to look at apparently contradictory definitions of “survival” by placing them in Life Wheel context. Briefly, it’s important to rescue the word from the negative context of stress. Survival emotions are counterproductive. However, survival also means to continue to exist through dangerous situations, to live when death seemed imminent. It can be associated with being alive and enduring. Viable ancient customs and beliefs, for example, are said to survive through the ages.

The ongoing concern of this website, RethinkingSurvival.com is based on this premise:

Human survival, Einstein warned us, can no longer be taken for granted. Tipping the scales of history in favor of survival depends on freeing ourselves from the mental prison of limited, delusional thinking.

Again, quoting myself:

Chances of success in life are slim to none without an accurate reality map. It’s imperative to have a complete picture of your potentials along with a correct understanding of the world around you, and what’s required to survive in that world. Basing decisions on a worldview that’s distorted, incomplete or otherwise out of synch with the way things really are seriously diminishes chances of survival. In times as dangerous as these, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re operating on complete and correct information.

To the point, just briefly, I’ll introduce the Fifth Axiom derived from the Positive Paradigm. “History Is Neither Progressive or Linear, Nor can Human Survival Be Taken for Granted.”

The final Corollary E: An apparent death sentence makes time remaining all the more precious. In biblical terms, awareness of impending disaster is motive and opportunity to repent (meaning to change one’s heart and ways), and to atone (meaning to realign – be ‘at one’ – with the center), using the gift of whatever time is left gratefully, wisely and well.

Some will actually defy medical/historical prognosis and survive to carry on, whether it be here, in other dimensions or even different universes. (Science fiction fans of TV’s two-hearted, regenerating time traveler Dr. Who are well-acquainted with these possibilities.)

CONCLUSION

Bruce, your time has arrived. You get to travel the world, sharing your insights. I’d love to do the same. But mine has yet to come. The I Ching, the super-ancient foundation of Lao Tze’s wisdom, has yet to be reintroduced, refurbished, for survivors who urgently need access to the cosmic clock. Its 64 hexagrams (does that non-coincidental number make you think of DNA?! ), and each of the six-level AC-DC, binary-digital constructs are a short-hand representing the dynamic interactions amongst the six primary energy centers. . . tons of information is stored here like buried treasure to be recovered through diligent re-search. (Understatement.)

But, just maybe, my reaching out to a fellow early-adaptive thinker might change that. After all, within the quantum field of God, all things are possible!

N.B. I’ve already written a post for your compadre, Gregg Braden. On the drawing board is another, on Creativity and Genius, favorite words of another amigo, Joe Dispenza. So is a final one, The Universal Pattern.

Ripples in Time

 

 

Rethinking Our Common Humanity

Rethinking Survival

Excerpts

Without an accurate reality map, chances of success in life are slim to none. You need a complete picture of your potentials along with an accurate belief system, one that explains how the world works and what it expects of you.

Basing decisions on a worldview that’s distorted, incomplete or otherwise out of synch with the way things really are seriously diminishes chances of survival. In times as dangerous as these, it’s more important than ever to operate on correct and complete information.

But, as comparative religion legend Joseph Campbell observed, traditional creation stories no longer serve us well. He called for a re-vision of the timeless wisdom shared in common by the world’s great religions. We need a unifying view of creation that transcends cultural differences. In The Power of Myth, he put it this way:

“If we’re to solve the problem that’s confronting the world today, we will have develop a new mythology. The old myths are no longer serving us. We don’t have a mythology for people recognizing the humanity of a person on the other side of the hemisphere. I’ve often wondered if some of the notions coming out of quantum physics, quantum interconnectedness, don’t express that.”

Humanity needs a more inclusive reality map, one people worldwide can understand and identify with. The Positive Paradigm model meets this urgent need. It’s based on universally recognized and accepted physics, discovered by an internationally known and loved world citizen, Albert Einstein.

The Positive Paradigm of Change pictures an elegantly simply yet complete and correct reality map that accords with the way life truly is. It meets the Occam’s Razor standard: maximum inclusiveness with greatest simplicity. It has the power to give life travelers, wherever their journey starts, a new vision of life’s possibilities and with it, a realistic hope of survival.

It’s not “myth” as the slang implies, meaning unscientific, false and fictitious. To the contrary, it’s pure science, meaning “with knowledge.” It expresses the perennial philosophy embodied in the world’s great scriptures and shows them to be compatible with modern physics. The Positive Paradigm is equally consistent with science, the visionary poetry of culture-specific myths, and the Star Wars movies of George Lucas.

The Positive Paradigm structure satisfies Campbell’s call for a new mythology as the term is traditionally used. It is a symbolic representation of the creation story (genesis) and how humans fit into the picture. If it has a hero, as myths are said to center around a key figure, it would be Albert Einstein. He intuited the unifying theory which Campbell sought, and gave us the formula which, when plugged into Positive Paradigm Wheel, bridges the apparent gap between world religions and modern science.

The Positive Paradigm pictures what Campbell called “quantum interconnectedness:” a circle that, no matter where on the surface people stand, they are all connected to the same center. Every spoke of the wheel is linked to one unifying hub. The Positive Paradigm Wheel (which represents the whole world, of which everyone is part) literally gives us Einstein’s option of “widening the circle of compassion.”

It pictures a worldview where delusional separatist thinking has no place. Because, contrary to the conventional, competitive manner of thinking, the apex of individual achievement isn’t to rise above, separate from and dominate others. Quite the opposite. Paradoxically, the pinnacle of human attainment rests at the center of the Wheel of Life. Here, the illusion of Einstein’s dreaded separateness disappears.

Uniqueness belongs to the surface of the wheel, but the true height of attainment rests within. However, when the surface is linked with the center in an endless, infinite loop, there’s no conflict between individual freedom and universal compassion.

Tyrants of the world hate enlightened unity. They’ll do anything to prevent you from remembering that everyone, everywhere shares a common origin, that we are all inherently okay.

Because once you know this, as Einstein did, no one can intimidate, control or dominate you. No one can sell you on the virtue of warring against your neighbor. You’re aware that nothing anyone has for sale can make you more perfect. Nor can anything that anyone threatens to take away alter your essential okayness. It’s your inalienable birthright. A given.

“You are already okay.” This is the basic premise of the Positive Paradigm. It’s the realistic foundation upon which to build valid self-esteem. It’s the key to personal freedom — freedom from ignorance, freedom from fear. It’s the rock-solid foundation of functional democracy. It’s grounds for rethinking what the word really means and how to implement its promise.

One minor caveat: it all depends. While we all have the option to remember who we truly are, most of us are like Lambert, the sheepish lion. It takes a smack with a two-by-four upside the head before we’re finally ready to WAKE UP.

Often it takes the form of life-threatening danger to those we care for. A personal health crisis will also do the trick. So will job loss or a run-in with natural disaster. But, like Dorothy stranded in the land of Oz, when you want dearly enough to return “home,” you can click your heels whenever you chose — and come to find out, you’re already there.

Educators can use the Positive Paradigm of Change as a positive tool for motivating students. It is easy to understand, uplifting and unifying. It confirms the innate okayness of everyone everywhere. It simplifies the essence of world religions without bias. It emphasizes the importance of rational thinking and is compatible with science. It shows students the importance of experiencing every aspect of their lives. It’s the optimal tool for building the philosopher kings urgently needed today.

globe

Rethinking Survival can be purchased at amazon.com.