Are they Geniuses or Really Good Listeners?

As you peruse the biographies of individuals, the world would call the greatest of geniuses, you find a very interesting dynamic.  These individuals credited their amazing discoveries, inventions, poetry, music and ideas to either an inner guide or to their dreams.

Robert Louis Stevenson describing his inner guides said, “…and for the Little People, what shall I say they are but just my Brownies, God bless them!  Who do one-half my work while I am fast asleep, and in all human likelihood, do the rest for me as well, when I am wide awake and fondly suppose I do it for myself.”

Puccini stated, “…the music of Madam Butterfly was dictated to me by God; I was merely instrumental in putting it on paper and communicating it to the public.”

Goethe said of his writing of the novel, Werther, “I wrote the book almost unconsciously, like a somnambulist, and was amazed when I realized what I had done.”

William Blake said of his work, Milton, that “I have written this poem from immediate dictation, twelve or sometimes twenty or thirty lines at a time, without premeditation, and even against my will.”

Richard Strauss, said, “While the ideas were flowing in upon me, the entire musical, measure by measure, it seemed to me that I was dictated to by two wholly different Omnipotent Entities…I was definitely conscious of being aided by more than an earthy Power, and it was responsive to my determined suggestions.”

Brahms said, “I have to be in a semi-trance condition to get such results – a condition when the conscious mind is in temporary abeyance, and the subconscious is in control.”

“The English poet Shelley declared that ‘One after another the greatest writers, poets and artists confirm the fact that their work comes to them from beyond the threshold of consciousness.’”

The 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Otto Loewi, who discovered and demonstrated that nerve impulses are both chemical and electrical in nature.  The experimental procedure to prove his theory came to him in a dream.

Rudyard Kipling stated that he had an ‘inner helper’ who he could get into contact with if he did not think consciously about reaching him but rather drifted toward him.

Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869 “…went to bed exhausted after struggling to conceptualize a way to categorize the elements of nature based upon their atomic weights.  He later said, ‘I saw in a dream a table where all the elements fell into place as required.  Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper.’”

Elias Howe worked for years to invent a lockstitch sewing machine.  For years his attempts were futile.  Due to a ‘nightmare,’ as he defined it, he was shown exactly how to build the device that he sought for so long.  “He dreamed he was captured by a tribe of savages who took him prisoner before their king.  ‘Elias Howe, ‘roared the monarch, I command you on pain of death to finish this machine at once.”  Within the dream he was given the answer that he needed.

According to the poet Keats, “the description of Apollo in the third book of my poem, Hyperion, came to me by chance or magic – to be, as it were, something given to me.”

Obviously the names I have mentioned have been recognized as great innovators, trail blazers and individuals of great genius.  They are recognized as great due to their contributions in their various fields.  But would they have been considered great if they had not made their discoveries, composed their music or written their books?  Perhaps and perhaps not!

There are hundreds of more examples of individuals who perceived through dreams, visions and help from within, information that has thrust them into the category of genius.  I am proposing that some of them were just great listeners.

In my late twenties after I would awake during the night from a dream I would hear poetry.  I keep a legal size pad next to my bed and without opening my eyes I would write down what I would hear.  Some of the poetry is 24 lines long.  I have never rewritten any words as they were dictated to me.  If you are curious you can find some of my poetry at www.lesscomplicated.net  I am fully aware of the two different entities that have given me the words as each has their own particular subject and style.

I also have over 5 thick books of dreams that I have recorded over the last 15 years.  I wish that I had kept my dream journals from my late twenties through late forties.  My dreams answered questions that I was pondering during the day; gave me commentary on the lives of people from the past or present; foretold future events and inspired me toward my healing work.

So, I am not just sharing stories of people from the past, I can tell you that all of this is possible. 

Some of the individuals that I mentioned were seeking the answer to some question while others stated that they weren’t particularly searching for anything but received information.  So, what about YOU!

Why not YOU!  I believe, although I am biased, that our group is very spiritual, loving, beautiful and talented.  If you have been with me for the last couple of years you know that I continue to share with you that all things are possible.  All things are possible and you don’t need gurus, special courses or secret symbols to achieve wonderful results.  So now I coming to you with an easy approach…how about just listening.

If you realize that this is possible then it will manifest for you.  You can place your question in your mind and now you know you will get the answer if you believe and just listen.  Hopefully you will now understand that if you weren’t meant to have this happen to you that you would not be reading my lines.  I am here to awaken this concept in YOU. 

Why not YOU?  Yes, your guides and dreamers will work with you.  In fact, they have always been working with you but you were not listening.  By the way, in my last post I mentioned about sitting quietly for twenty minutes during the day.  Just drifting off, relaxing and listening then will work for you.

With love, in love and through love to you.

“Don’t Bite My Finger.  Look Where I Am Pointing”

The inner secret of every mystery cult and the inner meaning of the words of every great teacher upon this plane has been to become aware of our highest potential, to understand that we can remember more of who we are.

There is another part of yourself that dwells just beyond your ordinary consciousness, some call it a supra-consciousness, an Overself or an Oversoul.

When we come into a life we are hypnotized from infancy by our environment and culture, into certain beliefs, attitudes, systems and practices that have been fostered upon us by individuals who have not had contact with this deeper aspect within themselves.

The reading of scripture or sacred texts, while enlightening and potentially empowering, is not a replacement for the actual practice of becoming in touch with this higher aspect within yourselves.

A famous neurophysiologist, Warren McCulloch was known to say, “Don’t bite my finger.  Look where I am pointing.”

While some people are stating that a wave of spiritual awareness has come to the earth plane in these last several years, I would ask, ‘what does the term spiritual awareness really mean?’

I would suggest that we are hypnotized by routines that we want to believe make us spiritual.  Attending places of worship for one day a week and then acting in manners that are contrary to what we read, is this acting in a spiritual manner?  In today’s world that appears to be little life in the documents that we label as our spiritual literature, the true life is only in our actions in resonance with the scriptural words.

As you become hypnotized by the political climate and religious figures who act contrary to the highest morality and teachings in sacred scripture, and you accept their actions because of who you think they are, you move further away from your own inner truth.  When you begin to make excuses for those who you follow in the religious, political and social areas, you move further away from your own center of knowing.

Every great teacher, philosopher and enlightened guide has pointed to the pathway of your going inside and having a direct contact with your Creator God.  Within you, you will find the answers that you seek and not from those who talk a good story but don’t walk their talk.

For me, spiritual awareness is the recognition of a spiritual realm that is the underpinning of this physical reality that we are experiencing.  Those enlightened individuals, who periodically come to the earth plane, and live lives as examples of the highest aspects of love, truth, beauty, compassion, brotherhood and selflessness show us what it means to have spiritual awareness.

Wearing a robe, holding a sacred book and preaching does not make one a spiritual or even an enlightened being.   How you talk, how you walk, how you act and the light that shines from your being is more of an indication of how close one is to that highest aspect that resides within themselves.  That light within you has a closer connection to your source than your physical consciousness has at this moment.

Some of you have commented how much you like the positive and loving aspects of my posts.  I have not discussed politics or discussed current events but continue to point out higher potentials and what more is possible.  It is in this vein that I am writing these words to you.

You are getting too involved with the drama of the show.  Instead of observing and recognizing there is a higher purpose for what is taking place at this time in the world, you have fallen into someone else’s script and become their actor.

We have come into the schoolroom to demonstrate how we use our creative energies.  We have been given the opportunity to demonstrate, love, compassion, truth, beauty, selflessness and to understand that everything, and that means everything on this planet, is interrelated.  Exemplary individuals, throughout history, have demonstrated to us the highest spiritual precepts we are capable of attaining.

You have the choice to do whatever you please; to think and act in every situation as you feel is necessary and true to your character.  This is free choice.  While the religious texts have not lost their examples and true meaning, we are beginning to lose sight of the spiritual essence behind the words.  Our modern interpreters do not really understand what they are talking about.  They are bending and twisting and interpreting based on their own limited understanding and beliefs.

The surest way to understanding is to go within the closet of your own being; make contact with your own innermost spiritual essence and break this hypnotic trance that seems to be so prevalent.  Might is not right, power is not truth and the one with the most money is not necessarily the one with the highest spiritual insight.

My love for you and purpose for writing this post is that you don’t listen to others because of who they say they are or what position they hold, but that you go within and recognize your own highest truth.  Does it make sense that your sacred book might say to love all people and treat all as you would like to be treated and yet an interpreter of that book casts away everyone that doesn’t believe as he or she does?  Trust yourself and know that the highest truth is within you and act within that truth.

Take some time for introspection.  Take some time to sit quietly and ask yourself are you acting at the highest and best that you know is possible?  Are you occupied so much with what is taking place in the world, that you can’t sit still for twenty minutes per day in quietude, without your mind reliving or planning discussions with friends and loved ones over why your politics are right and why your particular religion is the only outlet for God’s plan on earth?

Again, “Don’t bite my finger, but look where I am pointing.”  I love all of the modern conveniences and tools that we have at this time, but they are just that…tools.  Instead of having more time for the appreciation of the beauty, love and our kinship with all life, which is part of the Creation, we are more stressed, unhappy and locked into a life of having to pay for our tools.  How many people do you know, that you can say they are truly happy, content and in joy?

Don’t be hypnotized by other people’s political or religious beliefs; don’t succumb to the belief that only science can provide the truth; that modern conveniences mean you have attained your highest purpose on earth; and don’t give up your moral compass because someone you admire is off course and you need to justify that they are right.  Go within yourself and humbly wait in silence and you will feel a warmth and eventually a spiritual presence within a light, that will become your true guide, friend, teacher and Father/Mother.

At these times of great outer conflict, confusion and misunderstanding, there resides within yourself a place of peace, harmony, love, beauty and greater guidance.

With love, in love and through love.

The Gumball Gift
 
Although I have been very active in sports and have achieved national recognition while competing, I have never been very handy when it comes to anything mechanical or working with tools.
 
I have often tried to overcome my problem of being mechanically challenged but have not had great success over the years.  This seems rather strange since my father had so many abilities when it came to electrical and mechanical repairs.  My father was a master electrician (during the war he built aircraft engines), he could repair any type of automobile, small appliances and built tools that would help him repair mechanical machines.  It was not unusual that my father would buy a product and then immediately figure out a way that it could be improved.  Many times he would send suggestions into companies, and more often than not, the next company model included some of my father’s suggestions.
 
While I had hands like glue and never dropped passes in football, and I could shoot and make half-court baskets while sitting on my backside, when these same hands were holding some type of implement used for repairing, they became spastic. 
 
One of my more memorable experiences begin with my deciding to change the spark plugs on my 1969 VW bug.   It was nearing the first half of a football game on television and I thought I would go into the garage and change the spark plugs during half time.  No problem I imagined.  I started working and the first couple of plugs came out well and then the next one was a bit tight.  So, I figured I must need a bit more force.  It still was not coming out so then I just really forced it. Then everything moved easily because half of the spark plug was in the socket wrench while the other half was in the engine bloc.  I called over to my father to take a look, he just smiled!  Even he couldn’t help me.  So, it was off to the car agency and a nice whopping bill to bore the spark plug out of the engine block. Oh, yes, I didn’t see the rest of that football game.
 
I don’t know why I am constantly fooled by companies that advertise easy assembly on their products.   For me, there is no easy assembly.  I have tried a few products from Asia which stress they are easy assembly.  Never happens.  When I am finished, ends flop around, corners never meet and when I’m finished there is always some extra part lying around.
 
One Christmas I decided to buy and assembly a gumball machine for my brother.  I purchased it because it said easy assembly and no special tools were needed. Now how hard could it be to put together a gumball machine?  Here was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate to my brother that I could do something mechanical, if one would consider this as being mechanical?
 
My brother had followed in my father’s footsteps regarding his mechanical and repair ability so this meant a lot to me.  Although my brother Barry is a year and one half younger, he always was the leader when it came to experimentation.  I remember one day when my parents had gone on a little weekend trip, my brother mentioned to me that he wondered how the washing machine worked.  I told him that I didn’t have any idea.  I believe I was 16 and he was 14 and one half.  So, out he went to the garage with me following close behind.  The next thing I knew he had parts scattered all over the garage floor.  What I had, was my eyes bugging out of my head.  I didn’t have the slightest conception how to place it back together. 
 
In my early years I never seemed to be able to visualize or picture things clearly in my mind once they were taken apart.  I can see things are together when I am looking at them but when something is taken apart I don’t always seem to understand how the parts go together.  Later I would understand that I see subjectively and not objectively.  Barry did finally put everything back together before our parents returned, so and I was very relieved. 
 
Now after several decades of endless jokes from my brother and father, it was finally my time to show everyone that I could put something together.
 
After I thought I had finished piecing the gumball machine together, I did note that there were a couple of screws lying around.  I was hoping that these were extra parts!  I rapped up my brother’s Christmas gift using my go-to-form-fitting rapping material, the always reliable Reynolds Aluminum Foil.  Over the years I have utilized this rapping paper for all Christmas presents, birthday presents and I love you gifts, hey, it’s the best!
 
Christmas day arrived and I brought my completed project to my brother’s house.  The moment came when Barry was opening my special present and I was ready to hear him say, ‘I am proud of you Steve.’  Instead his first words were, ‘how do the gum balls get out of the machine?’  What a foolish question I thought.  Then I took a closer look at the gumball machine and I began to have that same question. 
 
Even though I couldn’t repair most things, I learned how to get things fixed.   After my parents moved to Sedona they would occasionally return and stay with me in Los Angeles.  I would leave any small appliance that needed repair, directly in the pathway where my father would be walking.  I left them in the hallway to the bathroom, on the kitchen table as well as my father’s favorite spot on the sofa in the television room.  My father just couldn’t stand something not moving smoothly or making noise.  He would fix appliances, doors, gates and anything that rotated but was not moving smoothly and quietly.
 
I remember him saying, ‘what is this toaster doing in the hallway’?  Or he would say, why is this device making noise?’ Off he would go to the garage.  You don’t need to be an expert in everything, you just need to know who to call, or where to place items, when you need something done. J
 
I have some terrific friends who do all types of construction, electric work and general repairs.  I will stand next to them and watch everything they do and just marvel at their ability.  When I tell them how lucky they are to be gifted to do these things, they always reply, ‘Steve, we all have different gifts, and when I listen to you talking and joking, I marvel at how uplifted and empowered I feel.’
 
I guess the moral of this is that you don’t always have to be an expert in all things in order to achieve your goals.  We can be lacking in one area but shine in so many others.
 
With love, in love and through love to you.

It’s About One’s Perspective and Objective

I received the following question on one of my posts…

“Steven my question is, once one gives of themselves as I always have, what about the people that so often have taken that for granted and were so inconsiderate, and took kindness for weakness. Please give me your opinion... I have been let down a good amount of times for giving?”

This is the only manner in which I can answer your question.  Everything depends on the reason why someone performs a task or provides help.  Are they expecting something back in return?  Do they need to have some acknowledgement for doing what was the correct and proper thing to do?

If a banana peel or some other slippery substance was lying on the ground, and someone would pass it, I believe one of three things might happen.  In my little scenario nobody else is around at the first moment the person has come across the object.

The first would be that a person might think, I don’t have time to stop and pick it up and since I made it safely, I don’t care.

The second scenario might be that someone thinks, I would like someone to recognize what I am doing by picking this dangerous object up and they will congratulate me in some manner.  So I will wait until I see someone coming and then they will see me pick it up.

The third scenario might be, that one picks it up immediately to make sure that nobody will get hurt, and just deposits it in a safe spot because they know it is the right thing to do.

This is my first response to your question. Your perspective and other people’s perspective is involved with what takes place in any situation.

Next we should factor in whether you have gone way out of your way to do something because you were asked to do it and the recipient just didn’t take the time to thank you properly because they are not the ‘thank you’ type of person.  In this case if this is a friend then you are well aware that you are not going to receive that ‘thank you’ from this person so why keep trying?

You asked for my opinion and I can only give you my experience.  I am a giver and everyone around me knows that.  I give because I enjoy supporting, enhancing, balancing and creating.  I give because I have lots to share and it is fun to assist, whether someone thanks me or not. I do tasks because I like to see them completed and I don’t stand on ceremony over who does what or how much. 

All who have worked with me or for me know that I don’t need to receive credit or recognition for what is done by any joint effort.  I saw something that I had some familiarity with and just did it.  This is how I have been for all of my teenage and adult life.  I just believe in providing service or help without any strings attached or needed.

This being said, I totally understand that every person has different needs and interacts with people in a variety of ways.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to be respected, acknowledged or properly compensated for actions that are taken in support for another person.  Responses and actions are based upon perspective, upbringing, awareness, and norms within certain groups.

I am familiar with several people who have told me that their boss or head of their family only acknowledges them when they do something wrong, according to their superior.  The giver could have accomplished the most unbelievable result and they don’t receive a thank you or any acknowledgement at all.  They are told, you should have accomplished that anyway!  If they perform the slightest thing in less than what was expected and they are chastised.

There are billions and billions of people and billions and billions of slightly different reactions that people will make in the same situation.

My suggestion would be to align yourself with people who appreciate beauty, love, and honesty and have a reverence for life.  People who smile, laugh and have fun.  I believe you will find a better reception for those things you’ve done to help someone else.

I hope this is helpful…it is only my opinion of course.

With love, in love and through love to all who read these lines.