THE BLUEPRINT OF LIFE

  In life our blue print should be sound and solid to attain success ..... martin Luther king suggested some substances that should be in this blue print. they include:
1. A deep believe in you own dignity, that you are worthy and your somebodiness. Never allow someone tell you you are not worthy or you can't achieve something.
2. You must have as a basic principle in your life a determination to achieve excellence. you must understand what you want to be and set out to do it and do it well. Be a bush if you can't be a tree, if you can't be the sun be a star, for it is not the size that win or fail, but about being the best at whatever you are.
3. finally in your life's blueprint there must be a commitment to beauty, love and justice.
WELL LIFE FOR ALL OF US IS A CRYSTAL STAIR, WE MUST KEEP MOVING.
IF YOU CAN'T FLY, RUN.
IF YOU CAN'T RUN, WALK.
IF YOU CAN'T WALK, CRAWL, BUT BY ALL MEANS KEEP MOVING.----- MARTIN LUTHER KING jnr.
# lovely # reminisce # keepmoving
# thefutureisnow # godonthepulpit
# martinlutherboy

ARE YOU LIVING IN YOUR OWN WORLD

                                       
Each one of us is the star, producer, director and audience of our very own feature film in the theater of our mind. It’s like living in our own parallel universe. There is the “real world” — within which we all exist and interact with one another — and then, within each of us, there occurs a creative interpretation of reality that may or may not bear any resemblance to objective reality or to the creative interpretation of others. Our ongoing emotional and ideological responses reflect who we think we are and what we think is going on. That creates our inner movie — a refracted reflection of reality that serves as the foundation upon which we base our actions and reactions in our shared world. The implications of this are enormous.

When we become too insulated in our own little world, we lose contact with other people and lose sight of the importance of their wants and needs, hopes and dreams and and their ability to contribute to our shared world. We also tend not to notice how our way of being is impacting them. One of life’s greatest challenges is striking a balance between living in our very own unique world and cohabitating in a shared world — bearing responsibility for our contribution. So, I have two questions for you:

1. What goes on in the theater of your mind?
2. What are you contributing to our shared world?

We have a tendency to think in polarities: “I am right and you are wrong if you disagree with me.” Many of us go about our lives assuming that our inner movie is pretty darn close to objective reality, that anyone whose inner movie tells them otherwise is way off the mark. It takes some skill, wisdom, sensitivity, compassion and humility to recognize that we are each a product of our unique blend of nature and nurture — not inherently better or worse than others, but different. Even identical twins have their dissimilarities. Each of us lives what we believe and what we learn. As in Rumi’s allegory about the blind men and the elephant, no two people have the exact same point of view. As a result, we see what we see. It can be difficult to convince us otherwise.

The fact is, we can’t get anywhere near the whole picture until we get out of our own little monologue and truly listen to, and take into consideration, the point of view of others. It is very easy to jump to conclusions about the thoughts, beliefs, motivation and actions of others — based solely on our own interpretation. It can be very educational and yield far better results to consider what movies others are watching and why.

How often have you gotten into a misunderstanding in your business or personal life where one person misread the other’s motives, intentions or integrity? It happens all the time. I remember a time when I was working in Corporate America and there was a major change of management in my division. I happened to run into our new leader at the elevator one day, and he asked me, “Are they keeping you busy over there?” I naively responded with honesty: “Unfortunately no, and that concerns me.” The next day I arrived at work to find that my boss was in our division head’s office fighting to save my job. The big boss wanted me fired for insubordination. He settled for an apology which I gave, knowing that I didn’t owe him one but needing to keep my job. How different that experience might have been, had he taken my words as sincere and wanted to know more about why I felt as I did. After all, I was telling him that — as one of his resources — I was being underutilized.

It’s good to get out and about from your own inner theater. If you don’t, your myopic focus is likely to make you a very selfish and self-centered person, who contributes little positive nature to the rest of the world. Get out! Be challenged, and enrich your point of view through intentional and meaningful exposure to the worlds that others live in. Try caring about the well-being of others, even if you don’t know them. It is essential to consider that the inner movies of others are worth taking into account when trying to get along and play nice.

Consider the collective impact of our selfishness. Just as my new division head missed the opportunity to make me a more productive member of his team, we do the very same thing when we dismiss the needs and concerns of others. Just imagine what we could create, promote and allow in our collective world if we understood the power of loving, caring and sharing as ways to unite and empower us all. When we silence and suppress one another, as in political debates, we miss the point. When we contribute our knowledge and skills to creating a collective, where all individuals are fully supported in being productive members of society, we build a rich and rewarding shared world.

I think we go way off track when we interact primarily from our mind and ego and place our concern on getting other people to agree with us. When we encounter differences in opinion from this point of view, we attempt to dominate and silence one another. When we allow ourselves to also connect through our hearts and souls, we seek to understand, to care and to find a solution and a way to participate that serves the highest good of all concerned. Whether disagreeing with our partner, or those who vote differently than us, we need to learn how to appreciate, support, embrace and be kind to those who walk to the beat of a different drum.

WHO AM I?

   This question - asked so often - suggests that there is actually a plausible answer. Almost as if our being were a fixed thing. People who ask this sort of question are typically struggling with their identity and are searching for a core sense of themselves. The irony is that the more you seek to identify who you are, the more fragile you are likely to feel about yourself. There may be an inverse correlation between the question being asked and the ease with which you experience your life. The emphasis shouldn't be on discovering who you are (what is buried beneath) but on facilitating the emergence of what you'd like to experience.
   Our identity should be seen as an ongoing process. Rather than a static snapshot, we should embrace a flowing sense of self, whereby we are perpetually re-framing, re-organizing, re-thinking and re-considering ourselves. How different would life be if rather than asking who am I, we contemplated how we'd like to engage life?
   A sense of inadequacy often informs the question around "Who am I?" As people engage the deepening complexity of understanding themselves, they would fare much better to devote themselves to the unfolding process of life. Witnessing our thoughts, not reacting out of old habit, and becoming present enable us to better craft our lives. As such, the identity that we seek fires the wave of life, enriched by the flow.
   Imagine that you've been in prison for twenty years, incarcerated since the age of eighteen. You literally have no adult life experience outside of the penitentiary. Your sense of self is tragically limited. You might ask yourself, "Who am I? This would likely provoke a fragile sense of self that paradoxically might leave you most apprehensive about your imminent release. You'd hardly choose to remain imprisoned until you could find your identity. You'd have to permit that new sense of self to flow from your new experiences.
   I have worked with people who have been married more or less for their entire adult lives. Upon divorce they are often confronted with a distressing thought. They claim that they don't know who they are. More to the point, they may not know who they are as a single, autonomous adult, not partnered.  After all, how could they?  Rather than remaining mired in fear, you'd need to summon up a sense of wonder and adventure. There is a new sense of self waiting to be born. You get to re-craft yourself along the way.
   At the other end of the identity continuum are those who claim to know themselves so well. This other extreme also signifies a fragility about one's identity. To know yourself so well leaves no room for growth. Even more, it suggests a deep vulnerability that is being defended against - as if it were too dangerous to take a closer look.
   It makes perfect sense to seek a deeper sense of self. To become intimately aware of your thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears is obviously advisable. The key is to engage your sense of self as malleable, more like a willow tree than a sturdy oak. The willow is flexible and survives the storm as it bends with the wind, whereas the more rigid oak is more likely to crack.
   The universe purportedly exists in a state of flowing potential. And it is essential to understand that we are indeed part of that universe. The goal then is to access that potential, keeping the parts of our identity that continue to serve us well and shedding the old, habitual pieces that constrain us. This process is known as positive disintegration. This permits us to find balance between the extremes previously discussed and enter into a relationship with self that commits to our personal evolution.
                                                                                             ADAPTED FROM  MEL SCHWARTZ'S
                                                                                                          "A SHIFT OF MIND"

SCIENCE, THE PROOF OF THE BIBLE

   What have science done and have not been foretold in the bible already?, is it not ironical how science try so much to disprove the bible but end up creating more concrete evidence to the words which the bible have said? Today we shall be looking at how science have been able to affirm the words of the bible.

   Scientists have always shown discontent towards the immaculate conception of our lord Jesus christ, they said how possible can there be a pregnancy without fertilization?,and then the science of cloning was discovered. Cloning involve asexual propagation where fertilization or inter-gamete relationship is not required for reproduction.

   About a thousand years, science change the believe of the populace about our cosmic home(earth). Before this time it was believed that the earth was flat and was on the back of a giant turtle or was floating on a water, and then through enough scientific proofs, it was ascertained that the earth was standing on nothing and is sphere and not flat. Thousands of years even before this discovery the bible have said it all, for prophet Isaiah said "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:22). And job confirm the floating of the earth in (job 26:7)

   It was only of recent that science start establishing the existence of dinosaurs through fossil records and other means, but the bible provided for the existence of these animals even over 3000years ago in the book of job, it also gave a reason to why dinosaurs disappeared. Why then did the dinosaur disappear? The answer may be in Job 40:15–24. In this passage, God speaks about a great creature called "behemoth." Following are the characteristics of this huge animal: It was the largest of all the creatures God made; was plant-eating (herbivorous); had its strength in its hips and a tail like a large tree. It had very strong bones, lived among the trees, drank massive amounts of water, and was not disturbed by a raging river. He appears impervious to attack because his nose could pierce through snares, and Scripture says, "He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him." In other words, God caused this, the largest of all the creatures He had made, to become extinct.

   The Bible specifies the perfect dimensions for a stable water vessel (Genesis 6:15). Ship builders today are well aware that the ideal dimension for ship stability is a length six times that of the width. Keep in mind, God told Noah the ideal dimensions for the ark 4,500 years ago.

   When dealing with disease, clothes and body should be washed under running water (Leviticus 15:13). This was not discovered until the 18th century. For centuries people naively washed in standing water. Today we recognize the need to wash away germs with fresh water.

   There are mountains on the bottom of the ocean floor (Jonah 2:5-6). Only in the last century have we discovered that there are towering mountains and deep trenches in the depths of the sea.

   There are so many more provisions which the bible have ascertained thousands of years before their actual discovery by science e.g leprosy as in Leviticus, the rotation of the earth in luke, atoms in Hebrew and romans etc.

MOTION WITHOUT MOVEMENT.

     It is very pesky, when you see people who have invested much activity into their works and life without really seeing a the effect of such activities. The main reason for this is that this people only worked hard and not smart, they keep working in motions(changing of position that does not entails change of location) refusing to move with the essentials and basics of success.

   The French assertion 'mouvement sans effet?' Meaning movement without effect is a clearer interpretation of the topic "motion without movement". For example the rocking chair keeps rocking to and fro, from back to front and vice versa, without the chair really changing its location. This is a perfect example of what we are saying here; even though the chair tries hard shaking so many times it wont still move.

   The type of motion painted supra, is very common among individual today, we see alot of people today who certificates but no work, even some have business which they have invested a lot of money into and still the business is running down, why?, this people lack the common sense of working smartly. They don't even understand the concept of follow up, some got certificates through crude means(and you want work) some don't even know when to sell and not to sell, when to attack and when to evade and so on. No wonder they keep trying all their best without much success.

   Another perfect example is the state of economy of Nigeria. One thing have not been able to understand is how people in Nigeria work tirelessly, ranging from the peasants to the politicians and even government officials and the economy of the country is still in a state of disarray. The simple truth must be told the governments are trying their best but it is not enough as they still take some very crucial part of the country administration with flippancy. Imagine when the minister of sport, housing, power, labour, economy budget etc are all lawyers, what does a lawyer know about economy or power. Lawyers are not the only sensible people in the society. Arguably there are still competent people who are in a discipline which are more compatible with the portfolio aforementioned, why are this people not appointed? I think it is time for Nigeria to start working smart rather than working hard alone, the president keeps travelling and travelling and the economy keeps worsening, is he just working for working sake or for the betterment of the Nigerians. A true change is needed, these motions without movement must stop.