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When I hear people complain that "life sucks", "life is a
struggle", or that "life is hard" I wonder, in what kind of
reality these people live.
Every one of us experiences constantly two kinds of reality,
the reality of facts and the reality of opinions:
REALITY OF FACTS:Facts are neither good nor bad.
Facts are neither positive nor negative.
Facts are simply facts.
In order to know what are the facts, you only need to
utilize your Natural Knowing.
(Which essentially means using your eyes and ears in the
present time).
When I ask a group of people in a room, whether the room is
hot or cold, the responses nearly always vary. Some
individuals find that the room is too hot, others saying
that it is too cold, whilst others still, will say that the
temperature in the room is just right.
So, is it a fact?
Of course not!
The only fact is the actual room temperature in degrees
Celsius (or Fahrenheit).
Too hot, too cold or just right are only opinions.
REALITY OF OPINIONS:
Everyone has opinions.
OPINIONS are what people think happens.
Once an opinion proved to be right, or if there is no
information to the contrary, it becomes WISDOM.
This does not mean that the person is wise; it simply means
that this opinion has become their wisdom of how to do
things or how to behave in the given situation.
Once that wisdom is agreed upon by a lot of people, it then
becomes an AGREEMENT.
And once everybody agrees with that agreement, it then
becomes "REALITY".
I am not saying that one reality is "better" than the other.
Or that one is truer.
All I am saying, is that both of them exist.
In order to function in the reality of facts, you don't need
anything to recognize it.
Reality of facts stands alone - it is unconditional.
Nobody can teach you how to look or how to hear.
They might teach you how to interpret what you hear or what
you see (which is of course their understanding/opinion).
But the actual action of looking or hearing or even walking
we learn ourselves - this is our Natural Knowing.
In order to function in the reality of opinions, you need to
learn what the agreements are that people have collectively
"decided upon" and what are the norms and codes in relation
to the interpretation of these.
If you don't, you might end up in a lot of trouble.
This means that the reality of opinions is conditional.
Your survival in this reality depends on your ability to
learn the agreements and work within their boundaries.
Let's take a couple of simple examples to demonstrate:
MONEY
What is money?
In the reality of facts - it is a piece of paper that
someone designed, signed, water marked, before printing a
serial number on it.
In the reality of opinions - it is a method of exchanging
goods, necessary, in order to survive and gain power,
influence, status, value, etc...
Let's put these societal opinions to the test.
Let's take a quick trip to the jungles of the Amazon.
How much would you really be able to exchange for your
money? Not a lot.
Certainly your paper money won't help you survive in the
jungle...
And it doesn't give you a lot of power, influence and status
whilst facing a huge, hungry Anaconda, does it?
I can hear you say, "yeah, but I don't live in the jungles
of the Amazon, but here in the 'civilized' world."
Let's see...
In our 'civilized' world - would you pay more for an
original piece or a reproduction thereof?
An original - of course!
So I take a small piece of paper, paint it, sign it, print a
serial number on it and even water mark it.
Now, what will happen if I take my original piece of paper
to the bank and ask the cashier to exchange my valuable,
original piece of paper, for a few of the bank's green,
ordinary, reproductions?
I will end up either in jail or in another closed
institution such as the mental hospital.
Do you realize how much we need to learn in order to survive
in the "reality of opinions"?
Let's take another example.
CLOTHES
When you look around, all the grown ups are dressed up -
that is the reality of facts.
But, were we born that way?
NO!
However we all go dressed to work, unless we want to get
arrested.
But what happens when you walk on the beach?
Do you also walk with your suit and tie?
If you did, you would feel uncomfortable or ''out of place".
What then, creates the essential difference?
The AGREEMENT.
The standard societal ''agreement" states that people on the
beach go with bathing suits or even naked.
On the basis of that agreement, the "reality" has
immediately changed and everyone on the beach is either
naked or wearing bathing suits.
First was the opinion, then the agreement - and soon this
opinion manifested itself as your reality.
Therefore, isn't it time to take a closer look at your
reality and confirm which parts of your reality are indeed
FACTS and which are just OPINIONS that were agreed upon by
enough people to become "reality".
As you begin to distinguish between your reality of FACTS
and your reality of OPINIONS you might realize that many of
the opinions are not even yours.
They belong to your parents, your teachers, your religious
figures and political leaders.
Many of them have existed for generations.
So what?
For many generations, the Earth was flat and the whole
Universe revolves around it...
By discriminating intelligently between facts and opinions,
you can re-evaluate your opinions and choose to adopt those
that support you and your life purpose, and reject and
replace those that do not.
The easiest place to start examining your reality is in
those areas where "life sucks", "life is a struggle" or
"life is hard".
In today's practice, we offer you a self-discovery
questionnaire.
When you answer the questions, your awareness will expand
and you may open some doorways to new opinions, new actions
and as a result - new, happier and more fulfilling reality.
Article by: Vered (Tanmayo) Neta, trainer, coach and
lecturer, specializes in relationships and women issues.
To learn more about her workshop, Art of Relating, click
here.
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