Month: August 2017

Now I Know

Teacher

055                                                                                                               08-29-2017

MY KNOWING

We are all here to live every situation you can imagine, good or bad; right or wrong; positive or negative. Why? So we can learn from the experience as part of the adventure of life.  Murray Kibblewhite

CASE STUDY – HOW TO MAKE A DECISION?

Yesterday I had coffee with a female friend. She was in a state of unsureness as she had three major decisions to make. In anticipation of the discussion I brought my copy of the “I Ching”, the Chinese book for telling the future.

You frame an open ended question like, “What effect will moving to Auckland, New Zealand, have on my career?” Then you take three coins and shake them in your cupped hands while saying the question in your mind. Then you let the coins fall on the table and from the four possible displays, you place a line or two dashes on the page. You do this procedure six times placing the lines and dashes above each other to build up a hexagram.

Then you turn to the page in the I Ching book showing the hexagram and read the extensive description that relates to you. Sometimes you can make two hexagrams from the same question – the first is your present situation and the second hexagram is your possible future situation.

In the case of my friend the first reading was “Discontentment” while the second reading was “Resolution”.This seemed to favour her making the decision to change. She took the book home to seek answers to other questions. The next morning she advised by e-mail: –

“By the way I did the test last night and the book told me all the answers as towards a perfect life ahead!

With the practise I got to realise something about myself yesterday at the cafe!

Many thanks. I shall be doing it again soon:’

Finally, the second part of the decision making process is realising that something greater than you comes into play to help make it happen. Rollo May, in his book, “Man’s Search for Himself” page 220, says that once the decision is made: –

“He finally makes the decision to leave, and his dreams suddenlybecome strongly on the positive side, as if the conscious decision releases some “unconscious” power likewise.”

Learnings–

Decision making can be very difficult

Learn to check the facts, ask others for their advice, use devices or systems like Runes use a Pendulum or I Ching to guide you. Go with your feelings.

Learn also, to expect the Universe to release some power to support your decision.

All life’s experiences are opportunities to learn. The challenge is to decide, what are the real lessons to be learnt?

Now I Know

Maori

054                                                                                                                      08-27-2017

MY KNOWING

We are all here to live every situation you can imagine, good or bad; right or wrong; positive or negative. Why? So we can learn from the experience as part of the adventure of life.  Murray Kibblewhite

CASE STUDY – HOW TO FOLLOW TRADITION AND STILL BE YOURSELF?

Rollo May in his book “Man’s Search for Himself” page 207 says: –

“How can one relate to the inherited traditions so that one’s own freedom and personal responsibility are not sacrificed in the process?

He offers a solution on the following page:-

“One Principle, to start with, is clear: the greater a person’s awareness of himself, the more he can acquire the wisdom of his fathers to make it his. It is the persons who are weak in the sense of their own personal identity who are overcome by the power of tradition, who cannot stand in its presence, and who therefore either capitulate to it, cut themselves off from it, or rebel against it.”

Here in New Zealand the Maori hold to their traditions and culture very strongly as they have their special customs, action songs and setcelebrations. Some of their customs have been adopted into Kiwi everyday life. For example, the powerful war dance called the “Haka” is used by Kiwi sporting teams before the contest to intimidate the opposition. Or the formal greeting of a “Hongi” where people touch their fore heads.

However, there are less known situations where “traditional ways” are not so productive. For example, many years ago one of my Maori students on a business course was keen to trap the noxious animal, the possum,from the native forest on her family’s bush land and sell the skins and fur to gain additional income.

She approached her father who was not employed and lived in a “run down” house on the family’s farm that was situated a long distance from the city. After listening to her request to cull the noxious possums fromthe family bush, he said “We have never employed anyone and we are not going to start now!”

Learnings–

Tradition and culture can be positive and also negative.

A person has to grow up to be themselves and learn what is important to them personally. Then they need to gain awareness so as to be able to accept the wisdom of their forefathers

All life’s experiences are opportunities to learn. The challenge is to decide, what are the real lessons to be learnt?