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Today's Feature Story

Seven Steps to
Making a Difference in an Indifferent World

by Robert Elias Najemy

We live in troubled times where our peace and safety are often in danger. Most feel helpless and unable to affect the unfolding events in our present world. And yet many are uniting their minds, energy and actions in order to create a peaceful and safe world with dignity for all.

Some groups work politically while others spiritually or socially. Some focus on the poor or refuges, others on human rights, some on the
politicians themselves who seem to be making the decisions.

During this period of our evolution, it is so important that each of us makes his or her personal statement through thoughts words and actions.

We do not have the luxury of being indifferent. If we are not part of the solution, then through our apathy, we are part of the problem itself. Unfortunately many good and loving people like you and I have been too occupied with our small personal lives, ignoring the directions our society has been taking.

What can we do to more powerfully effect the world we live in?

1. Create your personal vision of the world you would like to live in. How would you like this world to be? Should there be justice, equality ,love, abundance and dignity for all regardless of race, nationality or religion?

This is an important first step. You cannot create what you do not desire or cannot imagine.

This vision is within us all. We all know what we want from others and life. What is often not as clear is if we also want the same for others. It is important for us to decide whether it is also important for us that others equally have what we so much want from life.

Try writing a description of your personal vision as to how you would like your world to be and also how you would like the rest of us to be and live.

2. Aligning ourselves is the next step.

We cannot inspire others to such values as peace equality, love and justice if we ourselves do not embody these inwardly and practically in our lives.

We need to align our lives with our highest values and behave in ways that we believe all will need to behave in order to create the world we want to live in. Actions speak much louder than words.

Think, «if everyone did this, how would the world be.» If you think the world would be great, then go ahead. If you perceive that there would be problems if everyone were to act (or not act) as you, then perhaps you need to align yourself more completely with your higher self.

3. Clarify your «sphere of interest and action».

We will need to clarify our «circle of identification». We have two circles of identification. One has to do with our tentative interest and the second has to do with our willingness to act.

Our circle of tentative interest refers to how wide a group of people (or beings in general) we actually care about and are interested in their well-being. This might include only ourselves or only our immediate family or our extended family. As our sense of «who we are» expands, our circle of interest grows to include friends, co-workers and perhaps members of our religion, nationality, race or political group. Then as we move even further beyond our narrow perceptions of «self», we care about people of all religions, nationalities, races and political groups and even animals and trees, rivers etc.

Our circle of willingness to act is usually somewhat smaller. We might care about a lot of people – even perhaps people in far off countries (hoping they will not be bombed or will have enough food or medicines), but not be willing to actually sacrifice time, money or energy for them, whereas we would be willing to help the homeless in our own city.

As will have limited time, energy and interests, this is a personal choice. Of course, we can always pray for those beings living in those far off places.

4. Unite with others towards common goals.

Alone we are weak and helpless, but united we can be very powerful. (Think of Ghandi or Mother Theresa.) Seek out others who share your ideas and visions. You may want to work together towards various possible goals such as: a. Greater communication between conflicting groups such as religions, political parties, different generations, workers & employers, countries etc.
b. Rehabilitation for prisoners or physically or emotionally unwell.
c. Food, shelter and employment for refugees and homeless.
d. Protection for orphans, unwed mothers and the elderly.
e. Political actions through letters, emails, faxes, telephone calls,
speeches and marches for causes.
f. Protecting the environment and animals.
g. Prayer and positive visualization and invocation for peace and the
highest possible good for all.

You can think of so many other aspects of our reality that need healing and help.

5. Identify with and understand the beings in your cause.

We can get much insight into the actual needs of the beings we want to serve in the following way:

a. Close your eyes and relax and then imagine that you are one of the
beings who belong the group you are seeking to serve.
b. While identified with this being, sense inwardly what his/her real
feelings and needs are.
c. Then write a letter to humanity expressing your (as this being) feelings and needs.

This will awaken in you a clearer perception of what needs to be done.

6. Dedicate as much time and energy as you can to the cause you choose - without of course, neglecting your family and work.

We all have at least an hour a week (and many have much more) that we can dedicate to creating a healthier, happier more equal reality for all humans and other beings. Our immediate environment has a great need for our positive energy and actions.

7. Our prayers and positive thoughts will always increase the effectiveness of our efforts.

Also there are situations that may be going on beyond our sphere of physical influence. In such a case, prayer and positive visualization are our main tools.

Avoid the trap of hate

We need to avoid cultivating hate or violence towards those whom we consider the «causes» of the problems we perceive. These beings and especially our political and religious leaders are simply manifestations of our collective beliefs and needs.

They represent the state of our social and religious consciousness which is still at a low level of evolution. They are showing us how we, as a mass, think and behave. There could and can be a Hitler only as long as those qualities of hate, prejudice and misuse of power exist in us all to some degree.

Thus, hating these leaders or others will not help anyone. We need to send them light and love and pray for their and our connection to higher aspects of our beings.

Let us look into ourselves to see how we, in our small world, act in ways that are similar to those leaders. Most of us have misused power and behaved violently (with words or actions) to our spouses, children, siblings and parents or those who annoy us. What we are seeing in the world is our inner world on a larger scale. When we change, the world will.

Learned the possible lessons

While praying for and acting towards the highest possible good for all, we also need to have faith that each present situation is the perfect reality (until changes) that we need in order to learn our next lessons. We may need to learn inner security, sacrifice, selfless love, courage, dedication to a cause, self-esteem, forgiveness, unity, humility, selflessness or inner strength, among many other possibilities.

Some situations exist in our lives, simply to offer us these lessons and once we learn them, they disappear or cease to be problems.

Please get started

I sincerely hope you will get started today or this week, at the latest, with this process of:

1. Remembering your vision of the world you want to live in.

2. Aligning yourselves with those virtues and qualities.

3. Clarify your «sphere of interest and action».

4. Uniting and cooperating with others towards common goals and causes.

5. Identify with and understand the beings in your cause.

6. Dedicating thought, time and energy towards those causes.

7. Praying for all – even the perpetrators – that we may all act for
ever-higher aspects of our beings.

A prayer for our troubled times

We can all help during these difficult moments by sending out as much
positive energy as possible.

When we pray, we create thought fields that affect our common reality.

It is better to thank God and all Angelic Beings for doing what is best, rather than ask for it. This sends out a more positive energy field of confidence this is already happening.

Rather than cultivate negative feelings towards various leaders, we can help us all by visualizing us all in contact with our higher self and inner guidance, so that we are all are aligned to the highest possible good.

From that point on, we accept whatever happens as the best possible solution for us all at this time.

Dear God and all Angelic Beings,

We thank you for enlightening us and our leaders with inner spiritual
guidance so that we may all act as instruments of the highest possible good for all beings.

******************************************
Robert Elias Najemy, a life coach with 30 years of experience,
has created a L i f e C o a c h T r a i n i n g Course over the
Internet. Info at: http://www.HolisticHarmony.com/introholisticcoach.asp
He is the author of over 20 books, 600 articles and 400 lecture cassettes on Human Harmony. His book The Psychology of Happiness is available at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971011605/holisticharmo-20 and
Download FREE 100's of articles, find w o n d e r f u l e b o o k s and get g u i d a n c e at http://www.HolisticHarmony.com