"It is OUR false hope that overwhelms us not these people who've behaved the same way their entire lives..."

Someone wrote:

"You let go by accepting... Insanity is rooted in not accepting... Once you learn acceptance life becomes more a mechanical process and less of a drama... Life can only be overwhelming as long as we carry poisonous false hope within us... It is OUR false hope that overwhelms us not these people who've behaved the same way their entire lives... Replace false hope with acceptance and you'll be free... By accepting (accepting full responsibility for) the reality we create, we ensure this false reality will never be recreated... Focus on what makes you susceptible to these expectations shaped by false hopes... All of life really happens inside of you. Resist the temptation to look outside... looking outside gives others power over you and drama is born..."

Yes, I have come to learn that everyone in the world is on a different journey and lives in their own reality they create. So how they treat me or respond towards me is a reflection of how they perceive themselves and others, which is something I have no control over. Like what the above  post says, I can learn to accept the full responsibility for the reality I create so that I will not be easily disappointed or disillusioned by my false hope or expectation of "people who have behaved the same way their entire lives". 

It reminds me of the example Ralph Smart gave in his video “How to Boost Your Confidence—You Are Worthy…Time to Fly!” - he also learnt to let go of expectations and accepted the fact that not everyone will resonate with his videos. There will be some people who respond positively and there will be others who respond negatively to his videos. So he shared that our perception of ourselves is what really matters because it is what shapes and governs our reality. 

I was reflecting that how people treat me is influenced or determined partly by how I treat or carry myself - if I practise self-love and acceptance and carry myself with dignity, perhaps there is a higher chance people will treat me the same way because according to the law of attraction, I will be attracting more of the good vibes I cultivate towards myself. 

Another part of the equation is that how others treat me is also partly determined by how they treat themselves. For example, if people are kind and friendly to me, it is because they are kind and friendly to themselves first. Similarly, if people like us and show respect to us, it is because they first like and respect themselves, and they like that part of themselves they see in us. I learnt this mainly from Carlton Pearson's teachings, and I find this observation to be mostly true. 

So having this awareness helps me to manage my own perception of the world, and reminds me to focus on living my own life and creating my own world instead of dwelling too much on what people may be thinking about me or how they treat me, which is not really within my control. It is an ongoing process as I need to remember this as often as I can and practise mindfulness so that I can continue to live in inner peace and harmony. 

The narrow and hidden path

"To judge others is a wide path, easy to access and get carried along upon. But to love others is a narrow path; hidden at first glance, in fact it takes time to even discover its trail, but blessed are those who seek it out and journey upon it."- Mick Mooney

The above quote on the wide and narrow paths reminds me of Jesus' words on the mount of beautitudes. It is interesting to see that the narrow way that leads to life can be referring to a non-judgemental approach to living life. I believe it not only promotes inner peace and well-being but also enables people to experience eternal life, which is knowing our highest self and our true identity as one with god/divine love, and one with one another.

I suppose the wide path, on the other hand, leads to destruction in the sense of destroying the sense of unity and harmony when people judge one another, which we all tend to do from time to time as part of human nature. But as the above quote says, the narrow path is a hidden path at first glance, and it is worth seeking this path of our divine nature, for its reward is life (peace, wellbeing, unity and harmony with self and others). This is a timeless reminder, and I believe each person can discover and re-discover this hidden and narrow path that  leads to life through contemplative living in stillness and silence, as well as reminding and exhorting one another.

We all need revelation of the gospel

We all need revelation of the gospel, for Proverbs 29:18 says "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law." The new covenant interpretation of "keeps the law" is to believe in Jesus (seeing our true identity in Him), for He has fulfilled the law on our behalf.

I believe it is possible to have peace and harmony in the world, when we all see one another as new creations in Christ, no longer from a worldly point of view. What we need is a constant reminder of who we are in Christ - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

The proverbial lake of fire

What do we make of verses from the Bible such as:

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:" (Matthew 25:41)

and 

"The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelation 20:10)

An angel from heaven is like a messenger of thought from our consciousness. Some thoughts need to be refined in the proverbial lake of fire to be cleansed from self-righteousness so that they no longer have the power to condemn and accuse us, when they are transformed into loving thoughts of unity and peace. How good it is to learn to accept ourselves and love ourselves the way we are when we are free from the illusion of separation. We are made in Love's image and are worthy of unconditional and unbridled love. Knowing this will cause us to love ourselves and others without discrimination. "All love is self-love and all hate is self-hate". :)

Christ our true self and identity saves us from the illusion of separation, and renews our mind to see we are one with God (who is also ourselves), thus reconciling us to ourselves and ending the conflicts within us. We will experience inner peace, which will emanate as outer peace and positive vibrations to the rest of the world. When the world awakens to who they really are - knowing they are perfect, complete, beautiful and beloved, there will be peace and unity and harmony.