What do you see?

What do you see?nnThis article is a continuation of a series. They are based on the book – “A Belief Statement for the New Millennium”nnFor more information on this writing visit www.Beliefstatement.com or email us at GBA_LLC@yahoo.comnnThe following addresses some aspects of our awareness of our-selves and the world around us. Some of the concepts mentioned here are more fully discussed elsewhere. Please refer to these other writings for a more complete discussion of them.nnPlease remember some basic premises when reading this article:nnKeep an open mind and an open heart.nnCommunication of an idea or concept takes time. Accomplishing this may take several attempts. While this article may not help accomplish this others might.nnTake time to reflect. True understanding comes from within. True insights are those that occur once you realize a new degree of awareness.nnExpect change to occur. Expect that your awareness and sense of self will grow.nnSome BackgroundnnAll things are in motion. The universe is full of forces and physical manifestations. Various forces act on all items. These forces range from gravity, to various Electro-magnetic ones. We see them in the geologic changes on earth, the changes in weather. We can observe the changes in the cosmos as various forces play out amongst the heavenly bodies.nnLife itself is a force. nnIt makes us who we are today.nnThat elemental force caused the basic components of life to come together to manifest the first vestiges of living cells eons ago. That same force is found in all forms that we see today.nnEach living bacteria, plant and animal that we see today is the result of a process that has been in the works for eons. That process is the active expression of life as found on our planet. This force of life is an ongoing process. nnWhat are your motivations?nnOur perception of the world is shaped by our motivations. For many of us these are essentially self-centered in nature. nnWhat we saw when we where younger and the potential it held.nnSomewhere in the course of growing up many of us have lost the innocence of our youth and the path that we where once on. nnWhen we where younger we saw the world with wonder. During this time our sense of self-awareness was just beginning the process of maturing. New experiences shaped who we would become. For the fortunate those experiences nurtured a personality rich in the strengths of virtue. This path would enable one to mature as an adult to maintain a healthy emotional state. To live in the world in a healthy state of Joy, having the skills to cope with all the experiences that one may face. This path allows us as adults to maintain the same view of the world through those eyes of wonder that we had in our youth. For those few they see the world as alive. In turn they live a life full of energy. nn Unfortunately few of us are on this path.nnMany of us have been turned from reaching our potential.nnSomewhere in our individual history of experiences that shape who we are many of us have been turned. We have turned away from the path described above. As adults we fall far short of our potential. We live lives that are unhealthy. What we seek out thinking that it will bring us happiness and fulfillment is actually just a temporary distraction. We are not people of virtue. We do not live in a state of Joy. Many of us have forgotten that the potential that we have even exists. nn Many of us have lost the ability to see wonder in the world around us.nnSomewhere in the process we have been turned to individuals that seek distractions. As such our view of the world has been altered.nnMany of us perceive the world only in terms of our confused sense of self.nnThe state of most people’s sense of self is lacking. This influences the way they view the world and their place in it. Simply put most of us spend our days seeing the world only in terms of how it relates to them individually. They only see the world in terms of how it can gratify their own base personal needs. Many see the world possessively. They live with the basic motivation that they are to obtain all that they can, that they are the center of all existence. Various forms of self-gratification motivate most humans.nnAs with other articles we will not discuss fully the sense of self and the distractions that turn us away from a path to full-filling our potential. Those discussions can be found elsewhere.nnSome Questions to ask of yourself (all this is leading to the purpose of this article), try to be honest with yourself.nnWhat do you see?nnWhen you see a fellow human?nnDo you experience some form of basic emotion? Do you compare yourself to them? Do you see yourself as either better or less then they? Do you feel nothing?nnIf it is someone you know how do you feel? Is it different for different people that you know? nnMany of us see others and experience various emotions. These tend, in general terms, to be positive or negative in nature. Depending on the situation you may be reminded of a similar situation that you have previous experienced. nnYou may feel empathy for the other person. You maybe reminded of a happier time or experience. Some of us experience a sense of anticipation. This can be positive or negative emotion depending on our relationship with the person.nnWhat we could be seeing.nnDo you see yourself? nnThe sense of awareness that we each of us possess is essentially the same. It is an expression of life, an expression, eons in the making. This awareness is found in all living things. The degree of awareness is dependent on those characteristics of each individual life form.nnWhen you see another try to become aware of this. They are you. Their emotions, their sense of self is the exact same awareness of self that you have.nnThe person before you is very much you. Granted the sum of all their life experiences have been different then yours. Their genetic profile and subsequent predisposition to behaviors may differ from yours. But the resulting awareness is the same. nnThe depth of their awareness may vary from yours. Our individual degree of awareness varies for each of us. But the existence of that awareness is the same. It is a commonality that all living things share.nnWe all possess the potential to expand our sense of self. The state of Joy that we find our selves in can deepen, becoming rich as we nurture it. nnWhen you see another do you see an individual who is at some stage in their growth? Just as you yourself.nnAre you aware that they are experiencing life just as you are?nnThat they too are full of fears hopes and desires?nnHow about when you see an animal?nnWhat do you see when you see an animal? Pretty much the same that has been said about humans can be said for animals. They too have an awareness of self. It is dependent on the sum of their physical traits just as ours. nnDo you see a form of life that is similar to you in terms of its awareness? Awareness is the result of life seeking expression. It doesn’t matter what form it takes.nnHow about when you see a plant?nnDo you have an appreciation that even this lower form of life is alive? That it is an expression of life as well? nnHow about when you look out into the world in general?nnDo you see that all things are in motion? Various forces are play wherever you look. Life is just one of those forces. It seeks expression. Over the eons this expression has resulted in the many forms that we see today. nnDo you see or feel that you too are in motion? Hopefully you are in harmony with the world around you or striving to become so.nnThe purpose of this article is to provide some additional insight to our self-awareness.nnIt is just one small part of a larger endeavor that we all need to engage in. The path to a healthy emotional state is not an easy one. If we have been turned from this path it is even harder. It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss this further. If you are interested in this endeavor please seek out additional writings by others or myself.nnThank Youn