Imagine (eBook)

Step 1:
Develop the Right MindSet

The first step is to develop the right mindset. In order to accomplish this, I will discuss some of the ways it can be done. Being open to receiving new knowledge is the most important thing to consider. So, keep an open mind. Remember, you are the cup (the Knower). Keep the lid open so you can gain more knowledge.

Perspective

The main thing I wish to convey is that everything is a matter of “perspective.” The idea of the person you hope to become is just that, an idea. What will live on longer—your human body or the immortal spirit and consciousness within you?

Ripples, waves, drops in the ocean. Recognize you are but a drop in an ocean. Recognize you are the ocean in a drop. Thy Self in the Universe. The Universe in thy Self.

Do we recognize our universality? Do we see the similarities we all have with one another? Human beings on planet Earth. We all have the same size eyes. Do we all desire love, truth, knowledge, happiness? Do we cling to our perspective in order to have stability or a sense of control within our ever-changing environment? Do we recognize the limitations within our own thoughts? Are we consciously able to perceive that which we desire? Are we able to perceive consciousness or is consciousness the perceiver?

Does the philosophical perspective to life make you wonder if individual beliefs have an effect on the ability to manifest things into the environment? Are you able to identify your beliefs? Are you conscious of your beliefs or do you have some beliefs that may be unconscious based on what you’ve been taught to believe? Can you see how our beliefs have guided us through our lives whether consciously or unconsciously?

Basically, I’m a self-proclaimed genius who has finally figured my Self out after years of depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and therapy couldn’t. Is this Narcissism? I don’t know. Sometimes I laugh at my Self for all of the different perspectives I’ve held at one time or another. Letting go of them can be hard at first. But humans shed their egos like snakes shed their skins. Let it go. Let it grow.

I wanted to be a professional football player, but I only made it to Division III. I’ve had hip surgery, separated both shoulders, and probably suffered a little brain damage. I didn’t make it to the NFL; life goes on. I’ve recorded a few rap albums, written this self-help book, and realized God. I wish I’d figured out this thing we call “reality” at a younger age. But now my goal is to help you recognize your limitless potential so you can live the life of your dreams.

Right View and the Golden Rule

Our views or perspectives are an accumulation of social and mental conditioning. Our view, perspective, or understanding of life is a symptom of conditioning, rather than a pure observation of potential choices. According to early Buddhist texts, Buddha, having attained the state of “enlightenment” or the “unconditioned mind,” is said to have “passed beyond the bondage, tie, greed, obsession, acceptance, attachment, and lust of view.”

In Buddhism, it has been said that those who wish to experience nirvana must free themselves from everything binding them to the world, including philosophical and religious doctrines. “Right view” is the first part of the Noble Eightfold Path, which ultimately leads not to holding the correct views, but to a detached form of cognition, nirvana. Nirvana is a term used for the state of enlightenment that can be reached through the practice of meditation. But this state of enlightenment has also been referred to as Samadhi. In my experience, the term Nirvana is used more often in Buddhism, while Samadhi is used more often in Hinduism or the Vedic Tradition. But the attainment of either is said to come from some form of meditation practice.

In Buddhism, the term right view or right understanding is basically about having the correct attitude toward life. This is explained by the system of karma and the cycle of rebirth. It states that our actions have consequences, that death is not the end, and our actions and beliefs also have consequences after death, and that Buddha followed and taught a successful path to liberation or freedom from suffering.

This sounds similar to Christianity. But in Christianity, Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). How can I say this so you understand? Jesus and Buddha were both enlightened beings. They were both God-realized or Self-realized and tried to teach people of their times how to accept God into their lives.

The way I see it is that God is Within Everything. I think God can be realized/perceived/experienced/manifested/cultivated within by human beings through our own evolution of consciousness. I believe different people past and present have accepted God and allowed God to work through them. There will always be a choice. So for me, I choose to surrender through prayer, meditation, and contemplation and try to learn to be a channel for the Divine to use. I love Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, and all the enlightened masters.

To protect the righteous and destroy the wicked, to establish dharma firmly, I take birth age after age.

-Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 4 V. 8

I know religion can be a controversial subject for some, but in my life, I’ve tried to see the good in all religions. I believe religions are like rivers, all coming from the same source. And I believe God to be the source of All. I’ve studied a few different religions and I’m not afraid to try and see from different perspectives. I still remember the “Golden Rule,” which was created because it is the one thing almost all cultures and religions have in common.

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

-The Golden Rule

One should never do something to others that one would regard as an injury to one’s own self. In brief, this is Dharma. Anything else is succumbing to desire.

-Mahābhārata

If the entire Dharma can be said in a few words, then it is—that which is unfavorable to us, do not do that to others.

-Padma Purana

One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.

-Dhammapada

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.

-Udanavarga

Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you.

-Isocrates

Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you.

-Seneca the Younger

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

-Leviticus

Love your fellow as yourself.

-Rabbi Akiva

What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.

-Shabbat

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

-Galatians

None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.

-An-Nawawi’s 40 Hadith

In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self.

-Lord Mahavira

Precious like jewels are the minds of all. To hurt them is not at all good. If thou desirest thy Beloved, then hurt thou not anyone’s heart.

-Guru Arjan Dev Ji

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

-Confucius

The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful.

-Tao Te Ching

Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you.

-L. Ron Hubbard

One who is going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.

-Yoruba Prover

Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. [is] (…) the single greatest, simplest, and most important moral axiom humanity has ever invented, one which reappears in the writings of almost every culture and religion throughout history, the one we know as the Golden Rule. Moral directives do not need to be complex or obscure to be worthwhile, and in fact, it is precisely this rule’s simplicity which makes it great. It is easy to come up with, easy to understand, and easy to apply, and these three things are the hallmarks of a strong and...