BILL MOYERS: Do you ever have the sense of… being helped by hidden hands?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time – namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.

That quote from The Joseph Campbell Foundation is remarkable.  It says to me that God put an inner compass in each of us and that compass is bliss.

In The Secret, In The Science of Getting Rich, and anywhere that the Law of Attraction is discussed they speak of gratitude and getting your emotions involved in the vision you create.  They are all speaking of bliss though not quite as eloquently as Joseph Campbell.  You should have joy in your life… you know your whole life long, it whatever it is you are doing, you are seeking happiness.  Sometimes what we perceive in our conscious mind as happiness is warped from what our inner compass says, yet we are seeking happiness.

The trick is to move past those screams of consciousness and listen to the bliss within.  The bliss is our compass in life and it is not deflected by the magnetizing affects of the world around us.  If we bring a compass near a magnet it will no longer point North.  Our bliss is the joy within and it always points to our true North we need only follow it.

What things suck the joy out of your life?  Many of us work only for money and not for the joy of contributing. We do a variety of tasks because of what others might think and we brush right past what we might really think.  It’s time to take a look at those scripts running in your head, those scripts running your life.

Most of us go through life giving little thought to why we do the things we do.  For many of us the same things play out over and over and we don’t even realize it; we don’t realize that it is not our thoughts producing the actions that produce the life around us.  Often this life does not bring us the satisfaction and happiness that we seek and deserve.  Our friend Socrates said as much:

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

That’s perhaps overstating it for most of us and yet we live far below our potential.  How could it be otherwise since we are living the thoughts that others put in our heads.

1. There are things we have to do.  Responsibilities given to us that we must do rather than realizing ourselves that these tasks are something we do of our own choice.  Tasks of these kind tend to seem difficult to us because they are done not for the joy they bring us but of obligation.
2. Things others expect, what will the neighbors think?  Is this why we keep our yards in order?  Or do we do it for the joy and the beauty.
3. Because of the money.  We keep an unsatisfying job because we need the money – probably couldn’t make as much in a job we’d like better.  Most don’t work for the joy of producing something of value to the world but for money.   There is no more certain path to being unhappy than doing a job only for the money.

It is almost like being forced to do after school chores by your parents when your head wants to be in that big game or adventure with your friends that you are missing out on.

And so we put all these reasons and scripts that came from others as central tenants in our lives never having given them a second thought.  These are just a few of the common scripts that we run.  In fact many more govern a great deal of our lives.  These scripts guide us but they do not serve us well.  How could they serve us.  Some ideas from long ago are pulling the strings of our lives.  And we come back to Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  Timeless wisdom that we all need to stop and consider.

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EXAMINED LIFE

The Unexamined Life

Third and most importantly, we attended the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit school that required a tremendous amount of introspection in its coursework, it’s motto being “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

“The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living” – Socrates (469 BC – 399 BC)

It freed me from the past-unresolved problems and to truly begin growing and living my life. However, without the influence of the unsubstantiated Vatican’s antigay teachings I would have begun to truly living my life over some 50 years ago.

The “Unexamined” Life

The lecture room had Socrates’ saying over the door: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I expected this sort of thing, and had prepared a talk for those very fine people.

The “Unexamined” Life

An internet library of journal articles, essays, book excerpts, and other texts chosen for their objective, concise, and clear presentation of Catholic teachings, history, and culture.

We hear it so often: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”  That quote from Charles Dickens is almost cliche, but what a great observation.  It’s an observation that is always true.  The thing is you can flick the switch on which it is, best or worst,  just by your focus.

In a magic show the illusionist keeps your focus on one hand while he is making something else seem to disappear with the other.  In life if you are so focused on the sadness then your happiness will seem to disappear.  Is there a magician that you are allowing to control your focus?  Who or what would you give such power to?

It’s time for a musical interlude with Barbra Mandrell.

“Sittin’ on the front porch the rain is pourin’ down, news comes on the radio there’s trouble all around, but that’s the way it’s always been and the way it will always be…”   –Barbra Mandrell In Times Like These.

The lyrics have it down like Dickens… it’s the way it’s always been and the way it will always be…  It’s the best and the worst.

A lot of people are getting rich, a lot of people are happy, a lot of people are making plans, a lot are moving their lives forward.  It doesn’t matter what the times are, just look to the things you want to do and start moving, start taking action.  Get your focus off whats wrong and on to what you are going to do next.  See it’s good outcome.

Don’t let the magician keep you focused on something else while he hides your happiness.  Keep your eyes on your happiness…  Can you see it?

In Times Like These, indeed.