Let’s All Get On the Same Page

by Sharon Mendenhall

Language is limiting, to say the least. I suppose it is somewhat due to those troublesome Nyms, but then that’s another article.
Until we notice that words which create pictures in our mind also link us to our own hidden beliefs, we don’t realize that each of us holds different perceptions and definitions for the same words.

As Oprah ushers us into the “New World” via internet and satellite radio, I think it might be handy to review some common words and phrases being bantered about lately. What is she saying? What are we hearing through the filter of our own beliefs? Just what is this supposed magical universe of New Age thinking?

~ How to silence the hamster wheel
in your head just short of having a stroke. ~

To silence the mind often brings up images of zen master meditation and beliefs about methods that involve regiment, discipline or special time set aside to walk in the woods. Whatever mental images come up with the word meditation, it usually incorporates a full set of beliefs utilizing the practice of taming the unruly mind, along with your personal beliefs regarding good or bad, right or wrong. But meditation need not be so limiting and could include something as simple as paying attention to what you are doing. Meditation is merely a movement of attention.

~ Looking for Nirvana in all the wrong places. ~

Nirvana, utopia, or bliss all describe a state of mind, or a place where nothing bad ever happens, as though we are expecting ourselves to strive for constant goodness in a world of no discord. Not only is this state of heaven boring, it cannot even be defined, as bad and good are judgments. Who does the judging? It won’t suddenly transform into a perfect world because the world is already perfect, it is our ideas and beliefs that suggest otherwise.

~ Enlightenment is the end result. ~

There isn’t an end result of total enlightenment, even after death. You cannot know everything, because everything hasn’t been created yet. Nor will it ever be. Just enjoy the ride.

~ Fulfilling your life’s purpose. ~

Life doesn’t automatically come with a spiritual purpose or a mission, other than the ones that you invent for yourself. It could be as simple as “If it is not fun, don’t do it.”

~ Let go the ego. ~

Freud gave the ego a bad rap, but ego is nothing more than your own identity. It is your story and your place in it. Although it is advisable to step outside of your story every now and then for a refreshing viewpoint, the ego doesn’t need to be destroyed. Ego is part of who you are. No use shooting yourself in the foot.

For more definitions from a dead guy named Elias see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lfdeale/2510922855/

Reference: Oprah’s Soul Series Internet Radio Show