From earliest childhood, parents and other well-meaning adults instruct us on how to behave, what to do and say, how to avoid problems with others, cultivate good manners and relationships. As we become a little older, these early instructors are joined by fashion and makeup designers, the media and the advertising industry who tell us just how and who to be in order to gain the approval of others. All of this is supposed to help us navigate through life without emotional pain — as author Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith explains in his book, Spiritual Liberation, “to assure your ego’s survival and protection from getting hurt.” In other words, all of these well-meant efforts are geared towards our ego, but what about our Spirit?
Beckwith distinguishes between living from personality (ego) and living from character (Spirit). The word “personality” comes from the Latin word “persona,” a word that denoted the mask worn by actors. When we live from our personality or ego, we move through life based on acceptance by our peers, following the latest trends, looking for happiness that can be extracted from our experiences; when things get emotionally challenging or don’t feel safe, the personality-driven person will panic. And according to Beckwith, living from personality is “an agreement with mediocrity.”
The word “character” on the other hand represents our innate strengths and virtues. It is related to the French word “caractère” and means “imprint on the soul,” Beckwith says. Webster’s New World Dictionary lists the root of the word “character” as Greek, meaning “to engrave.” While our personality is the façade that we tend to display to the world, “character is revealed when the mask is removed.” When we live from character, we move through life even-minded; happiness is an inherent quality of our life, regardless of the situations in which we may find ourselves. Our character is longing to express its innate gifts, skills and desires.
To find out whether you are currently living from character or personality, you have to be willing to take an honest look at yourself. Find out what is running you: is it fashion and trends, being accepted by others, being “cool?” Have you made a conscious decision about what is running you? Are your own core values determining your life? Do you serve the world, or do you expect the world to serve you? Living from character means living in integrity with your true and divine nature.
To borrow Martin Luther King’s terminology, living from character means being a thermostat instead of a thermometer — while the thermometer merely reflects what is, the thermostat sets the status quo. Living from our true character means contributing to the improvement of our civilization, coming from compassion versus judgment; it means “that we draw an energetic circle large enough for everyone to fit into.” While not all people that have made history have been living from character, all positive forces in history (people that we revere for the social improvements they have instigated or fought for) have this in common, Beckwith says. They all dared to be different and put up with scorn and ridicule from people who were going through life based on personality. All these contributors to the betterment of civilization have been (or are) nonconformists and are “creatively maladjusted.”
What exactly does that mean? Living creatively maladjusted means two things. The first is the courage to defy society’s standards and step out of the stale conformist’s role; “living creatively maladjusted is beautiful because it creates space for you to be transformed by the moment-by-moment renewing of your mind, heart, and spirit.” The second thing that being creatively maladjusted means is entertaining “new ways of being in the world” since it is our “complete lack of creativity that keeps our world enmeshed in false fear, useless wars, greed and global warming.” The creatively maladjusted person will look and allow for new creative solutions to old issues, regardless of seeming impossibilities and past failures. In Beckwith’s view, becoming creatively maladjusted opens the way towards a “genuinely civilized global society.”
Are you ready to leave your mask behind and exhibit your true character, to live from Spirit instead of your ego? If so, you will find yourself in good company: Desmond Tutu, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King and Albert Einstein, together with countless other social innovators whose names have not entered the annals of history. As Beckwith states: “Being creatively maladjusted in a society that values materialism over evolution is the higher part of wisdom.”
Annette Kahmann, MA, CR HTPA combines her training in career counseling, literature and languages with energy healing to assess where people’s passions lie and guide them along their chosen path. 970-407-9973, AllowGrace@gmail.com
by Tuula Fai
Marci Shimoff, New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason and Love for No Reason likes to begin her talks with showing a picture of herself at age two. In the photo, she has one hand on her head and a worried look on her face. Shimoff says she was born with “existential angst” and a “deep pain in her heart,” which she tried to fill with food.
At age nineteen Shimoff asked her dad, “What is the secret to life? He said, “Honey, just be happy.” Shimoff asked, “How do I do that?” He thought for a moment and then replied, “Honey, I don’t know.” Her dad didn’t know because he was a naturally happy person. So Shimoff set out to find the answer for herself.
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by Donna Gates with Lyndi Schrecengost
Born in prosperity, harbingers of change, Baby Boomers have made a significant impact on the world. But what will be our final legacy?
It’s been nearly 40 years since the Baby Boomers arrived at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre alfalfa field to attend Woodstock, an outdoor festival that was as much a counterculture “happening” as it was a celebration of music. Area residents didn’t know what to make of these “hippies” in bohemian dress who abandoned their cars and walked for miles to stand before the concert stage. Woodstock’s political provocation, defiance of convention, and back-to-nature innocence would make it one of the defining moments of an entire generation. Now, 78 million strong and approaching retirement, we Baby Boomers are showing few signs of slowing down.
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by Linda M. Potter
I was just notified through my Angry Birds software that I have now accumulated several achievement awards for such notable accomplishments as: smashing 500,000 blocks, busting 1,500 clouds, breaking open 2,000 cages, shredding 300 chocolate boxes, and snow- plowing down 1,500 ice blocks. Wow, I’ve been busy! All in the pursuit of the total annihilation of over 2,000 chubby little cartoon pigs that taunt me with their annoying squeals and rapid-blink eyes. Of course, I’m not really destroying anything — I’m simply assisting the snarly, vengeful birds out to take down the pork industry one little piggy at a time.
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Brent Hunter
“We have the opportunity to build a Rainbow Bridge into the Golden Age. But to do this, we must do it together with all the colors of the rainbow, with all the peoples, all the beings of the world. We who are alive on Earth today are the Rainbow Warriors who face the challenge of building this bridge.” - Brooke Medicine Eagle Daughter of the Rainbow, Crow and Lakota Medicine Woman
During a time of great darkness, the Earth’s waters will be dirty, the air polluted, the land ravaged and filled with warring peoples. During this time of unrest and sadness, a great new wind from the land of the Eastern Sun will blow across the land worldwide.
People of all colors will come together in the spirit of love, compassion, peace, unity, reconciliation and understanding, with respect for the sanctity of all life, the sanctity of nature and the sanctity of the Earth herself.
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by Brent Hunter
All over the world, people are tired of waiting for their government leaders to make the necessary changes that are promised year after year. While we try to remain optimistic about our future, some of us are frustrated, some are understandably angry, and we all hunger for change. Change is at the heart of the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party Movements in the U.S. and for the Occupy Movement in many other countries.
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by Danny Long An unemployment rate as stubborn as the politicians trying to fix it. Debt as deep as The Waste Land. A global economy as fragile as a geriatric Humpty Dumpty. Say it with me: we’ve got problems. Yet…
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by Katrina Pfannkuch
So, you’re starting off 2012 with a new Smart Phone, fully equipped with must-have applications (apps) like Google Maps, iTunes and Angry Birds. Apps can brighten your day and make life a little easier. Now they can also help you respect the environment!
With technology an ever-growing part of our daily routine, sometimes we forget how it can also simplify our lives by helping us meet important personal goals. If you’ve been meaning to transition to a greener lifestyle but aren’t sure how, try downloading some apps to your mobile phone or laptop for helpful resources on easy, greener ways to manage travel, make purchase decisions and connect to important environmental causes.
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It’s a new year and time for a new list of resolutions! If you’re tired of old “promises” you know you’re not going to keep past January 31, mix things up a bit in 2012 with a few resolutions that will not only make your life cleaner and greener, but give the environment an eco-friendly boost. We asked a few green living experts to help us put together a do-able list. Check out the list and “begin anywhere” for a new year you’ll be proud to call your own.
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by Linda M Potter
In 1952, 22 year old Barbara Marx, the daughter of Marx Toys founder, Louis Marx, accepted an invitation to the White House. There she famously asked President Eisenhower, “What is the meaning of our new power that is good?” It was a question that had weighed heavy on her heart for seven years – the seven years since the bombing of Hiroshima. He didn’t have an answer. She was determined to find one.
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by Beth Buczynski
How many times a week do you take out the trash?
If you recycle your trash or compost your organic waste, you will notice a dramatic decrease in the amount of discarded trash generated by your household.
But achieving zero waste is about more than just recycling and composting.
Zero waste is an eco-conscious concept that involves viewing waste not as useless trash, but as a resource that can create jobs through collection and recycling, open up new financial opportunities for resellers, and most importantly, act as a raw material for the creation of new products.
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