11.
Is your world view limiting or enhancing your life experience?
NOTE:
This is an excerpt from the book The
Least You Should Know About Life.
Understanding is the key to progress. Humankind has progressed immensely
since the age of the cave dwellers, and the reason is that people’s
world view has been expanded. Historically, this process has gone through
several phases. One world view evolved gradually for a time, until it
was replaced by a new view through a revolutionary change. During each
phase, people tended to believe that they had the final world view,
the highest possible understanding of the universe. No world view has
stood the test of time; all belief systems have eventually been replaced
by a greater understanding.
You were brought up with a particular view of the world, and those who
gave you that view probably claimed it was the highest possible view,
perhaps even an infallible view. If you believe this claim, you have
no need for this book. Obviously, if your world view is complete and
infallible, it can give you everything you need in order to take command
over your life experience.
If you are open to the possibility that your world view could be expanded,
you can begin to consider whether there might be elements of your existing
world view that are limiting your life experience? This does not mean
that you have to abandon your present world view. However, it does mean
that you need to expand it so that it is no longer preventing you from
taking command over your life.
As you grow up in the material universe, your world view is shaped in
subtle ways by your senses and your everyday experience. Your physical
senses have a rather limited capacity. For example, science knows that
there are many forms of light rays that your eyes cannot see. There
is something beyond what your physical senses can detect, but the subtle
message sent by your senses is that your options for changing your life
are limited to the level of reality that can be detected by your senses.
Your senses also tell you that you live in a world that is primarily
made up of a solid substance called “matter.” Your senses
furthermore say that your physical body has very limited powers in terms
of changing matter. These powers can be extended through modern technology,
but even technology sets strict boundaries for how much you can change
your physical circumstances. Matter seems to be following laws that
are largely beyond your control, and thus there is only so much you
can do to change the world of matter. According to your senses, your
mind has no power to change your material circumstances.
As you grow up, you experience that you are surrounded by circumstances
that seem to be beyond your control. You cannot change where you were
born, you cannot change your parents or your society. You cannot change
your past and you – seemingly – have little if any influence
on your future. The subtle message that is being programmed into your
mind by your senses and everyday experience is that you are a limited
being who has virtually no power to change your outer circumstances.
This leads to an inescapable dilemma. In Part One it was explained that
happiness is an inner condition and that your life experience is not
an automatic product of your outer circumstances. Yet this book will
not simply present some “touchy-feely” ideas about how to
be happy about being stuck in a miserable situation. The inescapable
problem of human existence is how to improve your life, and this must
involve two elements, namely your inner circumstances and your outer
circumstances. To be fully in command of your life experience, you must
have some control over your outer circumstances.
The purpose of Part One is to demonstrate that any change in your life
experience must begin by a change in your inner circumstances. To improve
your life, you must begin by taking command over that part of your life
which is the easiest to control, namely what is happening inside your
psyche. The purpose of Part Two is to show you that when you have taken
control over your mind, you have the foundation for using the powers
of your mind to take control over your outer circumstances.
However, for you to believe that this is possible, you must expand your
world view so you understand how the material universe really works.
You will then see the connection between your mind and your outer circumstances,
the connection between your mind and the material universe. This will
make you realize that mind over matter is a distinct possibility.
12.
The first step toward a life-expanding world view
Back to Main
Page.
Back
to top
Copyright
© 2007 by Kim Michaels |
