Lessons for Life ~ Life and Death

14^th of July 2009

Series called:

LESSONS FOR LIFE ~ LIFE AND DEATH

The subject of death seems to be extremely emotional for people. The obvious reasons are the loss of a loved one. How would it change your views on death and the living, if you accepted that those who passed away were not gone; that they remain a passive element of our lives?

In the West, we’ve been taught that there are only three things that are certain in life; we are born, we pay taxes and that we die. We directly and indirectly learn that once we die, there is nothing more. We are buried, the ones we leave behind must grieve our passing and unless you “repent and accept God,” there is nothing more.

Jesus spoke multiple times about the soul lasting beyond the death of the physical body. Christianity taught for over three hundred years that the soul within each human being, came from God and once physical death occurred, it traversed back to God. Three hundred and twenty five years after the death of Christ, Emperor Constantine created the Council of Nicaea. Constantine was a life long Pagan, but understood humanity enough to know, that if family member would kill another family member due to a difference in ideology, then he must unite their beliefs. He set out to create a unified religion that took from all other ideologies and set forth as the only religion in the world upon which he mandated its practice. Constantine did not feel reincarnation benefitted this unified religion and had all references to reincarnation expunged from the Old Testament. He then established that no one should teach reincarnation directing the Council of Nicaea members (three hundred religious and political leaders of the time) to establish an ideology that would guide members to the church for salvation, thereby changing the world’s view of life after death.

This background information is to establish that most Western people do not have an in-depth belief in reincarnation. They identify this ideology as one from the East. However, this was not always an ideology specific to the East. It was believed, practiced and taught by almost all organized religions. They unilaterally believed, that the soul return to a dimension other than our own until such time that it chooses to return in a new physical body. If this is truly an old belief, why then does it enrage so many and invokes with great passion, retributions such as that forced upon the ruling cardinals of 545 A.D. to draft a papal decree stating that anyone who believes that souls come from God and return to God will be punished by death;

“If anyone asserts the fabulous preexistence of souls, and shall assert the monstrous restoration which follows from it: let him be anathema. (the Anathemas against Origen), attached to the decrees of the Fifth Ecumenical Council, A.D. 545, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2d ser., 14:318).”

For those who don’t believe, I ask why not? Why do you suppose we are born to live a singular lifetime and only learn what we are exposed too within it? Would it not make more sense, that our soul has been here before and with each lifetime comes a series of lessons? Our soul gathers the cumulative knowledge from each life as we return from our physical adventures to a place of peace, meant for resting between lifetimes. If you believe in an omnipotent being that created us and this universe, why would such a being only construct us for a single life? What do you do if the singular life you have, happens to be a difficult one or maybe a down right crappie one? Do you get angry if you don’t come into this world as Bill Gates, but rather the child born to no father and a mother infected with HIV, no food, no home and no family? Wouldn’t it make more sense that we have hard lifetimes mixed with good lifetimes to solidify the lessons we are meant to learn from?

I believe that we are an accumulation of all of our lifetimes. That we add to our base of knowledge by our experiences. We can learn when we are resting between lifetimes, but we learn more when we interact with other souls, here in this earthly realm. That being said, I’ve come to understand that we agree to the lessons we are set to learn in each lifetime. Understanding the lessons we must learn and the path of the life we are set to endure, we choose the family that will best establish our experiences. For the most part, we choose souls that we’ve experienced in other lifetimes. We come into each lifetime as an established being that will best serve our learning the lessons we agreed to learn: male, female, straight, gay, color, nationality, ideology, etc. will all be established to meet the needs for those lessons we must discover.

When you view life in this manner, I have found that it is easier to understand the arduous experiences that some of us endure. When you question why you are with a family, it is easier to accept that you chose them in service to your needs in teaching you the lessons that you agreed to learn. When we understand life in this manner, it changes how we view the harshness of some of our lessons. None of this will ever remove the greatest gift we’ve been given, “FREE WILL.” We can choose to remain on the journey that was established or we may decide on a different path. However, I have found that life is so much easier when you don’t fight the path you need to be on, and yet, I know that it is always our rights to change our fait.

Life is meant to be a wonderful and amazing experience for us. Our souls excel when you learn the lessons you are meant to learn and teach those lessons that you can teach. This knowledge is written from the perspective of a belief in God (an Omnipotent being), but if you are not of the faithful, please accept that in the life you now live, it may best serve your needs in not believing. That will always bring us back to a common place that says LOVE, HONOR and RESPECT all who surround you. They may be in a different position, learning lessons that you’ve already learned. It may be you who is learning the lessons that those around you have already digested. We can learn every lesson with love, or we may need to learn them through harm, hate, anger or misery.

These articles are building a base of knowledge (A Series: LESSONS FOR LIFE), we all start from the same place as exactly the same thing…..a SOUL. Our goal is to end at exactly the same place and that is an enlighten soul with grace. The only way to obtain our destination is to learn all of the lessons we must learn. If we do not learn our lessons in this lifetime, we will learn them in another. Some lessons can only be taught with distress, while some may only be taught with love, but we are the accumulation of all that we learn.

Your humble servant – Todd M Dobson

Lessons for Life ~ The Golden Rule

4^th of July 2009

Series called:

lessons FOR life ~ THE GOLDEN RULE

It is no mistake that almost every religion and most organized ideologies, such as Buddhism, have a similar saying; “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

This phrase is known by many as the “Golden Rule,” and it says something that Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Ancient Greek philosophy, Wiccan and even Paganism all have similar phrases. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is the verse used by Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible chapter Luke. It is one of the more common quotes of this passage. The reason this phrase is so important is because when we start thinking of all people as much as we think about ourselves; we grow exponentially.

Taoism:

“The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful.”

A great lesson we must learn in life is that we are not alone. We must care as much about those who walk with us, as we do for ourselves. We become so focused on our needs, what to do for our children and what is in our own best interests that we forget there are others souls inhabiting this planet with us. We are so busy with work, family and what we consider living life, that we don’t know our neighbors. We don’t know their names or anything about them, much less if they need our help. We must get to know our neighbors and learn to care as much about them as we do for ourselves.

Judaism:

“That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.”

Before you do anything to your fellow being, would you take the same action against yourself? If you would not consider the same act against yourself, you should not take that action against your neighbor. Much of what we do against others is done out of fear. Fear and not hatred is the leading instigator that perpetuates harm and the killing of fellow souls. If the act is not that which you would do to yourself without fear, then it should not be done against others, especially in the presence of fear. The only thing we fear is fear itself.

Islam:

“Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.”

To be a good steward of humanity, we must make choices that show our own individualism and yet we must also ensure all fellow people are able to do the same. That will not always be easy, but we must find a way and the means. Humanity will never survive if we think solely about ourselves. We must think, act and learn to love all others as much as we do ourselves.

Confucianism:

“Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself”

If we are to live in accordance to the Golden Rule, we must learn to Love all others as much as we Love ourselves. Love is the greatest lesson that we can possibly learn or teach. The next time you make a choice that places you adverse to another, take a moment to answer this simple question: would I do this to myself or would I like if they did the same to me? If you cannot answer that question easily, you should rethink the action you are about to take.

Baha’I Faith:

“Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.”

Your humbled servant – Todd M Dobson

Lessons for Life ~ Judging Others

6th of June 2009


Series called:

LESSONS FOR LIFE ~ JUDGING OTHERS

I think every one has watched Will & Grace on television. Many people love the bitchy, alcoholic woman named Karen that had a harsh word for everyone and everything that happened around her. While her sardonic demeanor was funny to watch, in real life, there’s not much joy being at the end of such wrath.

No body likes to be demeaned and talked down too like they’re a child or somehow inferior. If you read my last post, you understand that we are all the same. We start at the same place and ultimately when we’ve learned all of the lessons we must heed, our final destination is the same for everyone. I’ve also written many blogs that explain how when we enter this world, we come in knowing one thing as a person…how to LOVE. We learn everything else.

We are taught how to bully. We allow our confidence to be stripped away by others. We learn how to people and situations in order to make them feel inferior while we make ourselves feel superior. It is through our own ego’s need to feel in someway better than others, that we justify our own self loathing that leads to treating people as Karen does on Will & Grace. If we all start from the same place and we all end equally, the only difference for each of us is within the paths we take towards our final destination. Some turn to focused ideologies such as organized religions to navigate the treacherous waters of this world. Religion is a wonderful source to focus us, but most religions teach their parishioners to feel superior over those who are not members. That within itself is a judgment over the billions who chose another path.

We are all on our own path with our own journey that is as individual as our finger prints. Because we start at the same place with a singular goal of completing all of our lessons, but the differences between you and me is how we learn. For some of us religion will not speak to our hearts. There is no wrong means to learn life’s lessons or to educate those we must disseminate knowledge too. For some, organized religion is not the ideology that educates our way through life. My point is that we need to focus more on the lessons to be learned and taught and less on how we are different or better than those who surround us. Accept that what you choose to be may be right for you, and likewise may not for me as I step through my journey. That does not make either you or me wrong, just different. In no way am I superior to you or does that make you superior to me, so we should leave the judgments to happen after we pass from this world. Let the only one judging, be something or someone that is worthy of true superiority without ego causing the inflation.


TO JUDGE IS TO INDIGNANTLY CLAIM SUPERIORITY OVER OTHERS


Your humble servant – Todd M Dobson

Lessons for Life ~ Common Ground

1st of June 2009

Series called:

Lessons for Life ~ Common ground

In the introduction to this series, I alluded to the fact that we all start from the exact same place. When you read that point, you may very well say NO, I was born into this life with a family of status, or just the opposite to a family with no status and no means. While that is not what I refer too, it gives you a place for beginning these lessons.

I’ve come to understand that we are born into this world (dimension) to learn lessons and to teach them. It would be wonderful if all of the lessons we learn were taught in a class room setting or done through positive reinforcements. However, life does not always educate us in that manner. Many of the lessons we learn are taught in life as we experience it. Some are even taught through negative reinforcement. The people who enter our lives do so not by mistake, but rather with some design and they do so, to learn from us or to teach us. In some cases both actions are transpiring. Some will leave us wanting more while we are happy and blissful, while others will educate use during which time they break our hearts and rip away at the very fabric that makes our lives flow. Any of these means are purposeful and we should all embrace both the lessons we learn and those we disseminate.

If I am right and we are all the same, why then do we allow ourselves to fall victim to such vile like HATE, VIOLENCE or BIGGOTRY? These are the vices we cling too when we fear and do not understand. They are also that which teaches us some of our most profound lessons. The greatest of these lessons is not to give in to the power of FEAR! If we allow ourselves to fear, it will always cloud our vision and keep us from seeing those who might otherwise teach us so profoundly. If we are beholden to FEAR, we may not allow ourselves to associate with white people if we are black, black people if we are white, people of different nationalities, different cultures, different religions or even different ideologies. Because we hold ourselves back from those who are dissimilar, we loose the beautiful view of life through their eyes. We cannot experience life through their perspective and the lessons we might otherwise be exposed to through the wonders, joy and beauty that is Life itself.

When I state that we start from the same place and end at the same place, I mean that we are all here to learn the same lessons. Our ascension brings us to the same destination once we have learned all that we are intended to. We must garner the same knowledge and we will only ascend once we have achieved it. We start with nothing and we must learn everything. The knowledge that we must gain is specific and will step us through to the next lessons we still have yet to learn. Only once we posses all of it can we ascend to the next level. Because we all begin with no knowledge, that is how we all start and are exactly the same. Not one of us is given anything more than the others. You might argue my point and say that you are more intelligent than others; you have more resources (money) than others and so on. Some may acquire during a lifetime different means, but we must all learn exactly the same lessons regardless of our means during a given life. Some of us may learn faster than others and to some, the lessons may come easier. Money, power, intelligence are all wonderful components, but none of them will help and in many cases may even hurt learning that which you must learn during a lifetime.

Regardless of anything I say, we were all given something that transcends all religion and non religious ideologies. Something that can never be paused or taken from us….FREE WILL. You have the ability of free will to do, believe and say anything that you wish. No one can take it away from you….not a tyrant, not a government, not a religion. Free will is always your gift. I mention it because many of us turn away from the most power force within our lives or within the world…..LOVE. With love in your heart, you can over come any obstacle that is placed before you. With love in your heart, you can learn all of the lessons that we must and ascend as we are all meant to do…..and yes, eventually we will all learn the same lessons. The question remains, when will you learn them?

Your humble servant – Todd M Dobson

Lessons for Life

30th of May 2009


Series called:

LESSONS FOR LIFE

The last fifteen years have brought about enormous changes in my life. I had an amazing life fifteen years ago, but I could never have imagined that the path I would turn too might be the one I am on now. This is the setup for a series of articles I will be writing over the next few months. I hope that as you read this knowledge, that something will resonate with you.

This series is meant for everybody; however, only a few will garner knowledge from these teachings. They are designed to fill in the gaps you may have in learning life’s lessons. My greatest hope is that you will pass this information on while you teach others. I hope to not only provoke your learning, but also the transference to others that you encounter. Some will read my words and ignore or even get offended. I am truly sorry if any one refutes this information. We are all the same; starting at exactly the same place, we all learn and understand our lessons differently; therefore we begin at the same place, knowing the same thing and we will all end exactly at the same location. I can only explain that this knowledge is delivered with the LOVE in my heart and with the hopes for a brighter tomorrow for us all.

These articles are meant for everyone. From time to time they may resonate with your religion, and for that I am grateful. However, they are designed for all religions as well as all non-religious people. You don’t have to be spiritual to walk away from these lessons with the knowledge, love and faith. The FAITH that I speak of is the faith you must have within yourself and for yourself. You may think, well I don’t love myself or have faith within myself! If that is the case, please read more and let me know when you find that love and faith within you, because regardless of anything else, we are all exactly the same! Yes, one of the very first lessons you will learn is that we are all start from the exact place. Yes, some of us during our lifetimes may have something that seems to set you aside from all others, hell, Bill Gates, may seem to be slightly different than the rest of us, but he is just like the rest of us and must learn the same lessons and teach that which is intended for him to teach, just like you and just like me. If at any point you doubt the messages within these posts, search your heart and your soul for the answers that are truth for you. I know that when you connect with your pure heart and your higher self that this information will be shown to be absolute truth, of that I am not worried.

My first post will follow this and you will find another post from me on this subject at least one per week, if not more. I hope with all my heart that these blogs may say something to each one of you reading.

May you all be filled with Love, Light, Peace and Blessings


Your humble servant – Todd M Dobson