There are two aspects to the normal condition of living in the world.
First we have the external condition of the planet, the world that man has created for himself and built on the surface of the earth. The earth and the world are not one and the same. I would put it this way. The earth came first and man has since built his world on the surface of the earth. Man has created a superstructure of cities and networks for transportation and communication purposes. We call this world our civilization, it is the basis for our social structure, and it includes the worlds of politics, commerce, science and organized religion etc.
When the earth was first “born” it was free from mans world, but since man arrived on the scene things have changed. The world that man has built on the surface of the earth is slowly suffocating the planet, but please note, if man were no longer on the planet then the earth would return to its original state.
This is how I perceive it.
“The natural state of the earth has been conditioned by mans world.”
“The Normal Condition of Living in the World” is the cause of all problems on earth. If you could remove the condition from the earth there would be no more problems and the earth would be free. In order that the earth can be free from all problems you have to take the first step by removing problematic living from your own life. This book will show you the way to do that.
Now let us take a look at the second aspect of the normal condition of living in the world. There is a well known saying that is most apt here, “As within so without.”
The reason that man has created a world of conditioning on the surface of the earth is because he has a world of conditioning within himself.
By within himself I mean within his mind/psyche. Put more accurately I mean within your mind/psyche.
Your mind has become conditioned. Its present condition is problematic, it thinks problematically. It perceives events and circumstances as difficulties to be overcome through effort and trying, and the result for you is a life of worries, problems and unhappiness, which you attempt to overcome through personal effort and trying.
I’m not suggesting that you are worried all the time or that you see every event in your life as a problem. Nor am I suggesting that you are unhappy all the time. I am pointing out that the normal condition that you are experiencing on a day to day, week to week or month to month basis is one which swings from periods where you are worried to periods where you are free from worry. There are times in your life when you see every event and circumstance in your life as being problematic and there are other times when you are at peace with yourself and therefore you feel in control and better able to manage your life adequately. The fact is that there are times in your life when you are desperately unhappy with your circumstances and times when you feel blissfully happy. Sometimes things are on the up and at other times they are down . . . why is this? It is because you have been conditioned to live your life in this way and it is totally unnatural.
My task now is to make you aware of this conditioning, and show you how it creates unhappiness within your mind before then manifesting as unhappiness and problematic living here in your external life.
The normal condition within the mind consists of the following:
1. The Aimless, willful and problematic thinking that runs incessantly through your mind and the minds of everyone else around you.
2. The attitudes, beliefs and opinions you have acquired since birth.
3. Interpreting, Judging, Analyzing and labeling everything you perceive through the senses.
4. Attachment to concepts, notions, ideas and ideals of the mind.
5. Attachment to people, to places, objects and physical things in the world.
6. Psychological and emotional pain, misery and unhappiness or suffering.
In my next Post I will give you some typical examples of your conditioning beginning with thinking and I'll introduce you to a basic exercise in self-awareness. I'll do this only because it will help you to be more “present” as you read through this material and it will automatically expand an awareness of your body and senses here in existence . . bringing your attention into the eternal Now moment.
"The past is dead,
The future is imaginary,
Happiness can only be
in the Eternal Now Moment."Ken Keyes, JR Handbook to Higher Consciousness
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