Out With The Bullshit... In With The Truth

It was Socrates that said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

I unequivicably agree with his statement. I don't think truer words could be said. It is because of this statement and others like it that this year has been the most defining in my entire life. Had my thought process on things been different it is highly probable that I would be saying the exact opposite right now; That this year was the worst in my life.

What changed? The way I examine my life with respect to the world around me. For a while now I've been on a quest for truth, knowledge, and wisdom. It just so happens that everything came together this year. What I didn't see coming was all the life tests. It's as if God said, "So you think you've learned something? Well... lets see how well you do applying it."

I've been a member of a body building forum for a while now. Lately, I've been getting various private messages from people asking for my input on things. It's become appallingly clear to me that I and so many other people in this world have been force fed bullshit. The body building forum is rampant with statements like, "I'll be happy when I lose 20lbs" or "I'll be happy when I look like this guy." A while back I was playing poker in Lake Charles and I caught myself saying, "I deserve to win this hand." One of my all time favorites is, "The government owes me..." Life owes you nothing. We're not entitled to anything. You have as much money as you MUST have. You have the love that you MUST have. You have the happiness that you MUST have. You have the life that you MUST have. Life doesn't owe you these things, you owe them to yourself.  You want more money?  Get a second job, find a higher paying job, or go back to school.  You want love?  First, learn to love yourself, then find someone of equal value.  You want to be happy and you want a better life?  Make a choice and start living like it.  Make those things a MUST instead of a SHOULD.  We always get our MUSTS but we SHOULD all over ourselves.

Where does all this bullshit come from? They are all beliefs and therefore are a product of your mind or better yet... conditioning. We believe that touching a hot stove with our hand will hurt. Break it down, it is simply math:

Hot Stove + Hand = Pain

Where did this belief come from? Chances are when we were a kid we put our hand on a hot stove, it burned, and we felt pain. What is another one? How about fighting with a sibling. Chances are you got in a fight with your sibling and you got spanked by Mom or Dad. So...

Sibling + Fighting = Pain/Wrong/Spanked

Both of these are products of conditioning. When you are first born you know nothing. A baby knows nothing and its curiosity is marvelous. They wan't to touch everything in sight. They are the quintessential learning machine. I would venture to say that children are inherently perfect. Children are great teachers of clarity; We should model them to an extent. A child will be upset one minute and pefectly content the next. Children don't hold grudges. Children operate with a clear mind; They don't hold onto emotions and let them purposefuly dictate their actions.

As we grow older we get corrupted by society. I doubt a one year old looks in the mirror and says, "I have baby fat and I won't be happy until I lose it." That belief is predicated on culture/environment. There are perfect cultural examples where being overweight is good. Have you ever seen one of those Buddha statues where he is overweight and happy? The media does a good job with conditioning. It is no stretch to the imagination why Happy Meals are called exactly that. You probably wont see your favorite sports star with a frowny face when they're advertising something on TV. Parental figures (role models) play the biggest role. They are the ultimate filter. If your role models put great emphasis on physical appearance, chances are you will to. The same goes with money, sports, religion, materialism, and hundreds of other things.

There are so many things that we have been taught (like the stuff in the paragraph above) that is just garbage. All of it corrupts the mind. All of it clouds the true nature of things. Nothing has any meaning except that which we give it.  Pain?  There are some people in the world that feel no physical pain. Sound?  What meaning does sound have to a deaf person?  Don't underestimate the minds ability to make sense of bullshit...

The mnid is an azniamg mhaince but, it in iletsf connat be tsetrud.  You msut dineetrme waht is rael and waht is bsihllut.

Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Don't take things at face value.  The true nature of things only comes by asking the right questions.   The clip below is a perfect example of that:



Lets take an easy one.  Why do you style your hair a certain way?  Some typical responses might be, "I like it this way", "It looks cool", or "The girls/guys like it."  Those are all viable answers but, they are all crappy.  So you formulate a better question: "Why do you care whether girls/guys like it?"  A good response might be... "Because it makes me feel good."  Why does it make you feel good?  Now you start getting into the true nature of things.  Questions like these tend to evoke anger in people because the truth hurts.  It signifies that they are broken, that they aren't who they would like to think they are, and that a real change is necessary.  As I stated in my previous blog, people hate change.

The mind is a funny thing.  It will answer whatever questions you ask it.  Poor questions will come with poor answers.  If you ask yourself why you failed a test you'll probably get answers like, "I'm dumb", "The teacher sucks", or "I'm lazy."  None of those answers are very empowering.  However, if you ask yourself: How can I make an A on the next test?  You might come up with answers like, "I'll get a study group", "I'll put in extra hours", "I'll study every day instead of cramming."  You have to recondition yourself to come up with better questions.  I saw a guy on the body building forum asking something like, "Why does being short suck?"  That's another question that stems from all the bullshit above.  Being short doesn't suck but, he's conditioned himself to think it does.  Maybe he should ask, "How might being short be beneficial?"  Lets see... you can climb mountains better, you can move weight easier (physics), its easier to look bulkier, and you can probably do "the limbo" better than a tall person.

Do you see where all this ties in?  Bullshit beliefs, lead to bullshit questions, which lead to bullshit answers.  What is so amazing is that the real truth can stare us in the face and we just ignore it.  The conditioning is that strong, that corrupt, and has perverted us that bad.  Think about it...

Millions of dollars = happiness
Movie star looks = happiness
Being famous = happiness
A house, car, wife, and kids = happiness

If all of that is even remotely true then why do we have shows like celebrity rehab?  Why are so many people that have all these things so miserable? Why is someone like Britney Spears so unhappy?  If all the above is true... why was Gandhi so happy?

Start getting rid of the bullshit.  Become like a child again.  Be aware of your feelings and what they are really telling you.  Be mindful of your thoughts, less you become those thoughts.  The habit/conditioning is the problem.  All you have to do is be conscious of your thoughts and actions, and accept responsibility for them.  Take out the trash and replace it with the truth...




Get rid of all the bullshit.  Get rid of every limiting thought someone has told you or that you believe about yourself.  Get rid of all the bullshit people have told you about who you are, what you can do, what you can't do, how you're suppose to be, and what dreams you're capable of and which ones you aren't.  Become like a child again: clear, happy, and limitless.

Jesus was once asked, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"  He responds by showing them that the way to greatness is to become like children.  If you study Buddhism you'll notice the same truth.  It's not a truth about religion but a truth about how to live your life.  Free your mind.

Do you want the blue pill... or the red one?