Do you have a set of principles that guide your life?

[I Have A Dream]

I'm not talking about things like "Always pay cash". I mean things that really guide the way you live in the world as a conscious being who is aware that there's more going on here than meets the eye.

If so, please share them if you're so inclined.

Here are a few of mine: (Just very basic, simple things...)

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (It truly is my Golden Rule.)

"Do no harm; otherwise, do what you want to do."

"Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself." - Richard Bach - Illusions

"All life has value." (OK, I do have a hard time with mosquitoes, but -- big picture -- I understand that even they have value and are here for a reason. I just want them to stay away from me! x()



I'm sure that I have others, but these are all that are coming to mind right now.

:hi:


(On edit: Oh, and I'm certainly not always successful at following them. :blush:)

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. The standards displayed by the higher dimensions/Pure Lands.

Which have about zero bearing at this time in humanity.

[GliderGuider]

2. Here are mine

"An unexamined life is not worth living" ~Socrates
"An it harm none, do as thou wilt."

The Deep Ecology platform:

1) The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves (synonyms: inherent worth; intrinsic value; inherent value). These values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.

2) Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization of these values and are also values in themselves.

3) Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs.

4) Present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.

5) The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.

6) Policies must therefore be changed. The changes in policies affect basic economic, technological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.

7) The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent worth) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living. There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.

8) Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly to participate in the attempt to implement the necessary changes.

"Houston, we have a problem" ~Apollo 13

[northernlights]

3. do unto others

and be true to yourself work for me.

After studying microbiology, however, I'm no longer convinced all life has value. ;)

[MorningGlow]

4. An it harm none, do as thou wilt

and the Rule of Three (karma)--Whatsoever you do comes back to you three times three times three.

That's about it, really. We witches are a simple, straightforward lot. ;)

[winyanstaz]

12. MM MorningGlow....

and Blessed Be :)

[Silver Gaia]

5. Harm None.

That about covers it all for me. ;)

[Celebration]

6. the golden rule, and

what you dwell upon, you worship.

[OneGrassRoot]

7. This has come up frequently of late for some reason...

in discussions with family members and close friends.

1. Cause no harm.

2. Do your best to do your best.


The second is actually key to how I live my life.

From a young age -- no idea why -- I have had this fear of being in the wrong place at the wrong time...being accused of something I didn't do.

That actually plays in with my #2: I do my best to prevent unnecessary drama, crisis, etc. by doing my best to not put myself or others in situations not of our choosing.

And, the other critical element for me, personally, that plays in with my #2: Regret is a useless emotion and can eat one alive. I therefore, consciously, do my best with everything. And it's the one bit of advice I consistently give my daughter: simply do your best. If you know you have done your best in any given situation, regret should never enter into the equation.

Sometimes we don't do our best...we're human. Therefore I say we should do our best to do our best.

:)


ON EDIT: I just realized one of the reasons why regret is one particular emotion I choose to avoid and always have: it leads to living in the past rather than the present and moving forward, one step at a time. Regret, in my experience from observing others, causes them to stay in the past -- reliving it over and over, "if only..." -- rather than move forward. Learn from situations but do not stay in a sea of regret is my motto.

;)

[GliderGuider]

8. Regretting the past and worrying about the future...

Both keep us stuck, unable to access the infinite, infinitesimal moment of the present.

[Silver Gaia]

14. This discussion reminds me of something my favorite psych professor said

on the first day of a class called "The Hero's Journey" (GREAT class, BTW, and ultra-cool prof). He said that most of us do not live in the present moment because we pay far too much attention to what he called the Twin Harlots of the Mind: Remember When and Wait Until. I've always remembered that! What a colorful way to put this idea. :)

[I Have A Dream]

9. Oh, yes... your second one is one of mine also!

:)

The channeled being with whom I work has said that as long as we do "the best we can... with what we have... where we are at the time", the Universe expects nothing more of us.

I may still feel occasional twinges of regret (wishing that things could have been different), but I certainy don't feel guilty.

This is really, really important to me; I'm so glad that you brought it up, OGR! Thank you! :thumbsup:

[rumpel]

10. Great question...

I think I used all, but one of them: "Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself." - Richard Bach - Illusions

This is a newer concept I am working with, after all the discussions here -

I think there are a few things which are taught, by family or your cultural background. These kind of principles, are sort of ingrained from childhood, and act on auto-pilot - without much thought or truth and unconsciously passed on. There is some glorification in some cultures (at least mine) of self-sacrifice - and yet this brews unconscious resentment within the self - it is the complete opposite of "true to yourself". It is more about, honor, pride and judgment vis a vis how others view you.

Here are some from my Japanese background and are cultural:

You should not be a burden, nuisance (mei-wa-ku) on anyone
You should not have any debts
You fall seven times and get up 8 times
You shall not stand out of the crowd

On the European side

Do not speak until spoken to
Do not talk back to your elders
etc.

At some point in life, we get to examine all sorts of hand-me-down principles, and I do think as you progress in life, they start to change, and you form your own.

In my mid-teens, when I had my first conflict, over copyright, I decided that: "I'd rather be cheated and defrauded than cheat and defraud". Little did I know, this proclamation - was in fact an affirmation perhaps of everything that so far has happened to me, over an over.

Now, the interesting thing I notice in this regard is that a lot of these are what NOT to do. Considering all the discussions of manifesting, it seems, we may have to change these in the new century, it may be part of the shift. Just like the "Anti War" protests vs. "Peace Rallies"

I want to be helpful when needed - ... being compassionate, rather than the nuisance/burden thing, which only instills guilt feelings.

A lot of all these little principles had a lot of self-limiting, self-sabotage type effects on me, to which I rebelled on and off - but ended up feeling very bad about myself for not living up to these societal expectations, I adopted to be my own.


I like "Walk the talk", because it is neutral in a sense -
just about self-discipline, respecting all including oneself.

:hi:

[get the red out]

11. Learn by example

Try not to be greedy like Republicans or hate and control others like the religious right.

[NJCher]

13. a few

Understand the other person's point of view.
Learn everything I can.
Be happy.
Acknowledge mistakes.



Cher