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Permalink Reply by James Rick on July 28, 2009 at 8:19am

Kathy Potts on FB asked: Do you have a tip on something physical we can do to get out of being in a bad attitude?

JR Answered: Well first lets define "bad" attitude .. an attitude that is decidedly not serving a person. But unless a person realizes that their attitude does not serve them, they will be defensive about you labeling their attitude "bad" which will then produce more of what you perceive is a "bad" attitude. Secondly - the only way to change a "bad" attitude is... if the person wants to change it. And if they want to change it they need to know how to change it. And the easiest way to change your attitude is to change your beliefs; beliefs about life and the future. To change your beliefs you need new distinctions. New distinctions can come in the form of meeting new people, reading new books, or taking new actions that create new experiences. If they are reading the "right" people, reading the "right" books or taking the "right" actions they should develop a "right" or "good" behavior. I use quotations to emphasize a relative statement.

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Permalink Reply by James Rick on August 3, 2009 at 11:29pm

A member asks:
What is Right and what is wrong? Who defines these? I personally feel that human beings have defined right & wrong according to their own convenience. For example, most people would say killing someone is a crime and is wrong. But everyday, millions of people kill animals and eat them as meat. In Gods eyes, the value of a human being is no different from the Goat or the Pig we eat. Even vegetarians eat plants & plants are living beings too. I see around and feel that hurting other living beings have become a way of life for all of us. But we have to hurt other beings for our own survival. God has made us that way. So I imagine that God(or superpower governing us) has deliberately created death as a part of the life cycle. If that is so, then how can it be wrong? If killing something is not wrong then what else could be wrong?

All our beliefs/value system are there because right from our birth we are hard wired to think that way. I mean dishonesty, stealing etc are considered bad values. This is the fundamental belief system humans are trained to think irrespective of the country/religion they are in. But lot of things have made me to question this belief system. This is because there are contradictions in this belief system. I could not find a belief system gives me the ideal way to life life. where good and bad are defined explicitly, with no contradictions. Is there such a belief system?

JR answered: You are asking some important questions. What is right or wrong?
As you pointed out - that are all kinds of contradictions - namely, is it wrong to kill a human but okay to kill an animal and eat it? Or what about killing a human being if they threaten millions of innocent lives? There is no easy answer other than - humans are still deciphering right or wrong and establishing laws and morals as we go. Morality is the foundation of our culture. Right or wrong is usually based on what serves the greatest good. Some define the greatest good based on humans alone while others include all life forms, not just humans.

You are looking for a belief system that you can follow to the letter with no contradictions, and no I don't believe any such belief system exists. The reason is that although a rule for can be useful a million examples there is always one exception where the wisdom to determine the best course of action, takes precedence over a blind rule.

For example a blanket rule such as "never lie" is useful in most cases until there comes a time when lying could potentially save millions of lives. The blanket rule such as "never kill" is useful in most cases until you are faced with a madman that threatens you or your family and there is no other immediate option.

The answer to your question really is this: seek wisdom. Yearn for it. Learn from your experiences and seek the best path at all times. Seek pure wisdom, let this be your rule.

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Permalink Reply by Seeker on August 7, 2009 at 9:16pm

What is wrong? What is right?
It's natural to want to create suffering in another in order to aleiviate your own suffering.
In one's mind, it's creating balance.
If there is no suffering in one's self then how can one want to even think of creating suffering in the other? It becomes impossible.
Since the presence of suffering is endless and wanting to alieviate it is also endless, then it's an illusion to try to end it.
Since suffering is endless then wanting to create more of it is 'wrong' in my book, there is so much we can already pick from, why create more? What's the point?
Since it's all over, it common, it's ordinary, then creating suffering is also 'ordinary' and your creation becomes an extention of you.
You are 'right' if you are not harming yourself and others.
You are 'wrong' if you are harming yourself and others.
If you can't help than at least do not harm.

What about those who find pleasure in creating suffering. Are their actions 'right'?

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Permalink Reply by Seeker on August 7, 2009 at 10:10pm

What is better? Being conscious that your actions are creating suffering or being unconscious about it?
If being unconscious is better in this case then is being unconscious better than being unconscious?
If you are aware that you are creating suffering at least you have a chance of ending your negative actions. But if you are unconscious you don't even have that chance. In this case being conscious about your wrong doing is a good thing.
So there is really no absolute right or wrong...
But if you are aware that you are creating suffering and this makes you happy..then maybe something is really wrong..then conscious or unconscious, there is not much hope.
What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Sharan on August 12, 2009 at 9:52pm

you said that " You are 'right' if you are not harming yourself and others.
You are 'wrong' if you are harming yourself and others". But i feel at lot of times it is not possible to find a clear line . Lot of times if you dont harm others you harm yourself. Can you survive without even hurting a single living being? I dont think so. From the food we eat, to the leather couch we sit and even when you heat food you kill the germs in it. So we constantly hurt other beings for our own good. That is survival. well, I guess the intention will proabably decide right or wrong. when the intention in harming others is for our own survival and the intention is not to cause suffering to others then its ok. And we have to constantly try to survive by hurting other beings the least. For example, being a vegeterian you eat plants & fruits. It is proven that plants have less feeling than animals, so when you kill them they are proabably going to be less hurt that when you kill animals & eat.

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Permalink Reply by James Rick on August 22, 2009 at 6:44am

You hit on a very important point here Sharan - INTENTION

Human action is evaluated on the basis of intention. Two people can perform the same deed but if one's intention is "good" and the other intention is "evil" we consider one "right" and the other "wrong" even though the action was the same; the action is neutral, it's the intention behind the action that helps us determine whether it is right or wrong (relative to our position.)

For example if a person gives a gift unconditionally - that generosity seems "right". But if a person gives in order to obligate or make another person feel guilty - that kind of giving seems "wrong". It's not the gift giving that's right or wrong but the intention behind it.

~~
As for "right" or "wrong" in terms of killing plants over animals - this just proves relevancy. Unless you've actually communicated with a plant about it's self-sacrifice, you must assume that the plant wants to live. A plant would not sustain it's own life if it did not desire to live. Any action to destroy the plant is considered "wrong" at least as far as a plant is concerned. Unless you feel that a plant is a wise martyr that willingly gives its life for the cause of human or animal survival. This would make it more wise than most humans. It's hard to imagine a watermelon or carrot making such a decision.
From the plant's position eating it is "wrong" since it opposes its natural tendency to live. But to the human eating it is "right" since it supports human survival.

In the grander scheme of things, no energy is destroyed it simply transforms. So in a greater context eating a plant or animal is "right" because we are elevating its consciousness. But if healthier alternatives to the animal are available, or if we desire to cause less suffering to the life force (since plants don't have a nervous system) eating animals could be considered "wrong".

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Permalink Reply by James Rick on August 22, 2009 at 6:31am

HI Seeker

Again it's hard to label something right or wrong. Sometimes a person does not know when they are harming others and will consider their actions right. Again right or wrong is always relative - it just depends on where are you at the time an action is performed. A person cleaning the house may feel their action is "right" but to the bacteria destroyed by cleaning solution the actions were "wrong". (Which is why I don't clean the house very often ;) )

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on August 8, 2009 at 6:00am

What makes human content?

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Permalink Reply by James Rick on August 22, 2009 at 6:26am

HI Sarah --

It helps to know the general template of Human Needs (in no particular order they are):

Human Needs (Ego)
1) Significance
2) Security
3) Sex
4) Love
5) Adventure

And Soul Needs (Spirit) are:
1) Contribution
2) Growth

~~

The human needs are Ego based while the Soul needs are Spiritually based. A person on a strictly spiritual path forsakes their Ego needs to pursue their Spiritual ones. A person on an Ego path forsakes spiritual needs to pursue Ego ones. The happiness of a person is based on how well they feel they are meeting any or all of these needs. It is possible to be fulfilled meeting strictly Spiritual needs but it is not possible to be happy meeting strictly Ego needs. That's why a person that is successful and "has it all" will still wonder why there's something missing.

The path to greater happiness is knowing how to balance both, especially aware of Ego needs and their potential to consume the Soul. Ego needs are never satisfied - they are the thirst that is never quenched and can be very blinding to the Soul if not watched over carefully.

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Permalink Reply by James Rick on August 27, 2009 at 6:25am

Vladimir -

When I say general template I don't mean that the average human being is a clone. I'm not referring to identity.. On the basis of our genetic hardware we do have a 'general' template. The 7 Needs serves as a way to understand what drives the hardware. Nearly all human actions at their core are based on these Needs.

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Permalink Reply by Kitty P on September 2, 2009 at 5:03am

Is a non-truth ever justified since you, the teller, are tainted by knowing you told a non-truth?

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Permalink Reply by James Rick on January 7, 2010 at 7:28am

HI Kitty -

I'm not sure what you mean.. a non-truth is a non truth.
Justice is another matter entirely - for example if you tell a lie to save a million people - is it justified? Most people would agree it is. Did you tell a lie, yes. So is the lie justified? Most would agree - except for the person you told the lie to.

Justice is contextual (depends on the situation) whereas truth is objective (facts).

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