Joe's Gems

What was it the ancient Master said? "Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to you. So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own evil."

We offer some more precious jewels to soothe the soul. Remember, if we don't happen to answer your question . . .

1. An answer brings no illumination unless one asks the right question.
2. Have the wisdom to abandon the values of a time that has passed and pick out the constituents of the future.
3. The truth that links the divine to the mundane is incomprehensible to the cerebral intelligence.
4. Experience is a journey, not a destination.
5. The bad master makes the seeker into a slave.
6. A man's heart holds his own truth.
7. Ignorance is the temple of the presumptuous.
8. All seeds answer light, but the color is different.
9. Experience will show you. A master will only point the way.
10. If you search for the laws of harmony, you will find knowledge.
11. Images are nearer reality than cold definitions.
12. Never believe a word without putting its truth to the test.
13. A pupil shows by his own effort how much he deserves to learn.
14. The key to all problems is the problem of consciousness.
15. Organization is impossible unless those who know the laws of harmony lay the foundation.
16. Exuberance brings action, but the inner light grows in silence and concentration.
17. Discernment of truth does not grow in lazy minds.
    
18. Altruism is the mark of a superior being.

Altruism:

1. the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism ).

Egoism:

1. the habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's personal interest; selfishness
2. egotism or conceit.
3. Ethics. the view that morality ultimately rests on self-interest.

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--Joe

Time for More Gems

Any of these little GEMS work for you?

1. A man can't be judge of his neighbor's intelligence. His own vital experience is never his neighbor's.
2. Have the wisdom to abandon the values of a time that has passed and seek out the constituents of the future.
3. Social good is what brings peace to family and society.
4. The body is the shrine of divinity.
5. We mustn't confuse mastery with mimicry, knowledge with superstitious ignorance.
6. Always watch and follow nature.
7. People bring about their own undoing through their tongues.
8. To know means to record in one's memory, but to understand means to make part of oneself.
9. All thought comes from within, but the master gives the keys.
10. Everyone finds himself in the world where he belongs.
11. A man's heart holds his own truth.
12. Organization is impossible unless those who know the laws of harmony lay the foundation. [*]
13. Sound skepticism is necessary condition for the discovery of truth.
14. If you are searching for beauty, observe nature.
15. The first step to knowing wisdom is knowing your ignorance.
16. It is the passive resistance from the helm that steers the boat.
17. Have the wisdom to abandon the values of a time that has passed and pick out the constituents of the future.
18. If you search for the laws of harmony, you will find knowledge.

Joe says, "Watch out for the 'Dominator Hierarchy'." They think they are unique, exceptional people God gave the right to lord it over everyone else.

These are the people that moralize the right to butcher innocent women and children because they say "terrorists" hide among them. They justify their obscene existence by saying the deaths were caused by a bomb or two that landed in the "wrong place".

--Joe

More Gems

Some of my favorites are,

1. Ignorance is the temple of the presumptuous. [*]


2. The bad master makes the seeker into a slave.


3. There are two kinds of error: Blind credulity and piecemeal criticism. [*]


4. Envious greed must govern to possess and ambition must possess to govern.


5. Know yourself... Your beginning will disclose your end.


6. The gift of knowledge is so great that no effort whatsoever could hope to 'deserve' it.


7. In every vital activity it is the path that matters. [*]


8. What you are doing does not matter so much as what you are learning from doing it.


9. Your body is the temple of knowledge.


10. The first step to knowing wisdom is knowing your ignorance [*]


11. All organs work together in the functioning of the whole.


12. Images are nearer reality than cold definitions.


13. A house has the character of the people who live in it. [*]


14. Leave him in error who loves his error. [*]

ADDENDUM :: Thursday, January 8, 2009

Some good words on Light and Darkness I took the liberty to copy here:

There is an ancient Chinese saying “It is easy to give sinister words, but hard to utter good phrases”. In other words, human beings have tendency to criticize, condemn, and judge. Yet it takes great understanding and big heart to console, encourage, and build up.

Why our human nature has this tendency to blame others, and not ourselves? It’s because we are all prone to the self-righteous attitude. Then, why this direction and not the other way around? I’ve been pondering over this question for a long time now, and I believe the explanation can only be found from theological point of view.

There are two forces exist in and beyond this universe. Force of Light and force of darkness. The force of Light creates, nurtures, fosters, encourages, and gives meaning to otherwise mundane existence. The force of darkness destroys, depresses, demolishes, defeats, and judges. Similar notion was vividly illustrated in C.S. Lewis’s book.

Seek and walk in the Light. Everyday let’s put a smile on a child’s face, cheer up a grieving heart, and console a languishing soul.

--Joe