Today, many of us feel intimidated by what's happening in the world. The wars, starvation, unstoppable bickering by powerful countries, and the fratricidal warfare waging in many developing countries are all contributing to the uncertainties in our lives. Those whom we trust to protect us seem to have abandoned us. Now, by all accounts, we are alone and worried about our futures.
We have grown accustomed to depending on others to take care of us during the difficult and uncertain times. It seems that as far as we can remember someone has always been there to take care of us. And when we couldn't find someone to take care of us, we could always turn to The Creator to take care of us. As victims, many of us opined: "Someone has to protect us, it's always been this way."
Our dependency on others is a social phenomenon we pay very little attention to. It's like our furniture or a new suit, we only notice them when they're taken from us. Unfortunately, it is this social phenomenon that's the genesis of our spiritual and social welfare. These are the beliefs that inextricably tie us to victim consciousness and powerlessness.
As many of us know by now, we are the creators of everything in our lives. If we are poor, it's based on what we think about our abilities to overcome poverty. If we are failing in school, work, our relationships, and in life, we are right there every step of the way making decisions and effecting outcomes. At this level of development and action, there's nothing spiritual or otherwise telling us what to do. We are acting based on what we think about ourselves and the powers we have to change the way we think and live.
At some point in time, we become victimized by the madness we have created in our lives and begin to search for a scapegoat or for a spiritual power to remove the madness from our lives. We find it difficult to believe we are responsible for the way we are living. Even in the most difficult situations, most victims cannot accept that we created whatever is happening in our lives.
Similarly, as children we could blame our parents for not having adequate incomes, educations, the personal disciplines to refrain from various addictions, or the propensity to provide us with the love and comfort we needed to feel secure within ourselves. So a natural response to this is to blame them for the way we are living now.
Nearly all victims at one time or another express the sad, pitiful stories of childhood. And some share them after they believe they have succeeded in life. These stories are intended to make the other victims feel good about themselves. They are designed to give them hope.Yet most victims hear the stories and continue to live the way they are accustomed to living. No changes, nothing at all, except doubts and fears. That's what most of us feel after the stories disappear.
After the sad stories are toppled by other sad stories, we find ourselves left with our memories of them. We know at a certain level of consciousness that our parents, at least those equipped with good parenting skills, did the best they could with what they had. And since we are now parents, we clearly know we desire the best of everything in life for our children. However, if we ask them -- particularly the ones not doing too well in life -- what they think of their parents, we might be shocked at their answers.
Meanwhile, in spite of everything we work to do for others, we cannot live within their consciousness. They pick and choose what lives there. Although they are our children, we are not responsible for whatever madness they are experiencing in their lives. They, and only they, are responsible. And they must do the work to change how they think and live. Fortunately, if they take the time to reflect, to examine their behavior, they will clearly understand how the madness was created in their lives.
The goal of enlightenment is to wake us up from victim consciousness. To make us aware of the great power within ourselves. It is this power, which is revealed to us during the self-discovery process, that allows us to accept personal responsibility for what's happening in our lives. And it is this awareness that allows us to become self-reliant on the intuitive power -- that which is beyond the victim -- we have to solve all of our problems.
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