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Browse published articles attributed to Ralph P. Brown, with full-archive search.
Life is full of events that test us. These events try our abilities to cope and deal effectively with such occurrences as death in the family, financial problems, health issues, job losses and such. What is difficult for some to see is that each of these events present to us an opportunity for growth and evolvement. This is especially difficult to see when we are in the middle of one of these events.
If you believe that the purpose of our earthly experience is for us to learn so we can grow as an individual and evolve as a species, you also probably believe that there are lessons all around us. I am one of these people. I was taught to "still hunt" and this knowledge has proved invaluable to me as a student of life. Still hunting is simple and can be done by anyone. It is finding a place, any place, and observing the people, nature and things around you in an effort to learn from them. The "place" is more of a mental state of being since any location can serve to teach you.
There are many thoughts and ideas about power - what it takes to get power, to hold power and to stay in power. There are also thoughts and ideas about empowerment but these seem to run a close second to the beliefs about power. Some might argue they are the same thing, or that they are so closely related as to negate discussion. But there is a difference.
It has long been believed that early alchemists were obsessed with turning base metals into precious metals such as gold, and indeed there were extraneous alchemists who experimented with metals in an effort to do just that. However, alchemy was and is more than turning lead into gold. In fact, it is more than transformation in the physical and scientific sense. It also includes personal change and transformation. Most people are familiar with carbon to some degree. We are carbon-based life forms as we are all organic organisms.
I was contemplating the truth in something that I once told my wife... that the true value of a gift is determined by the one who receives it. Since that time I have come to believe that not only does the receiver determine the value of a gift, he or she decides if what was given - is even a gift. Remembering a time when I was watching one of those popular funniest video shows... There was an expectant mother who was breaking the news of her impending pregnancy to both her mother and her young daughter. The grandmother went wild with excitement..
When I was young I discovered a chrysalis hanging from a branch in some scrub oak near our house. Each day after this discovery I would go out and check on this chrysalis in the hopes of seeing the butterfly that I knew was inside. You can imagine how excited I was when one day I came out to find the head of this butterfly sticking out from a hole in the bottom of the cocoon! I stood fascinated by the whole process, but wait… something was wrong. The butterfly seemed to struggle and not be getting anywhere. I decided to help.
There is a fine line when it comes to knowing when to use the gift of our own reasoning and knowing when to rely on guidance from a higher source. Every day we learn more about the world, our self and about others – adding to our ability to make better choices and decisions, but we should also be learning to listen to the “higher” voice of Spirit. Since many people are comfortable relying on their own understanding and may not even be familiar with this gentle force that is wanting to take you to where you want to be, I will speak to this. Dr.
This is one of the most profound single sentences ever uttered. It is from Konosuke Matsushita: "The untrapped mind is open enough to see many possibilities, humble enough to learn from anyone and anything, forbearing enough to forgive all, perceptive enough to see things as they really are, and reasonable enough to judge their true value." There are five values in this forty word sentence that work towards an untrapped mind. You could spend a lifetime learning each of these values and incorporating these into your life and it would be well worth the effort.
There is a lot of mystery and fascination that surrounds the dream catcher - and unfortunately, a lot of misunderstanding as well. Read on to find out what a dream catcher is and isn't and to increase your understanding - because with understanding comes respect and real appreciation. This is not meant to teach you how to make a dream catcher. This should be done by a knowledgeable person. Because we are all connected in the web of life, everyone is affected, to one degree or another, by the energies that surround us and the thought forms of others.
The Trickster is a well known character to Indian people. The Trickster is both figurative and literal, symbolic and allegorical. Awareness of him can be life-changing. At one point or another, the Trickster touches each of our lives whether we are aware of it or not. Here is a story to expose him, his role and to familiarize you with... "The Trickster". In the drier parts of Africa water is difficult to find. The bushmen have learned that the monkeys in the area know where the water is and how to get to it. When water is needed, the bushmen must capture a monkey.
There is a German folk tale about Baron von Munchausen... he was out hunting one day and as he stalked his prey, he fell into a bog. He was so desperate to get out that he tried to pull himself out by his own beard! To his situation he managed only to add more pain. This might be a laughable predicament if it didn't parallel so closely the way many people respond after they have been hurt, slighted, humiliated or wronged in some way by another. Whenever we choose to hold a grudge, we nurture the pain and cause negativity to grow inside of us.
Suppose for a moment that you have been chosen to make a one-way journey into deep space. Because this journey will take the whole of your life, everything that you need for survival must be planned for in advance. You have been charged with the responsibility of stocking the ship with all of the essentials of life. So you set about the task of designing a system which will perpetually provide you with food, clean air and fresh water. A lot of time, thought and energy goes into this design and you are rightfully proud of the system and what it an do.
Nature has shown us an inherent duality, an appearance of opposites and unrelated things such as hot and cold, man and woman, black and white, good and bad. With a mind that naturally works to separate, dissect and compartmentalize, it is easy to see one without the other and miss the relationship and commonality that links them. From the galaxy with all of its many universes, to matter on a molecular level, nature teaches us that <u>life is about relationships</u>. Discovering these relationships contributes to harmony by making our understanding more complete.
Life is full of events that test us. These events try our abilities to cope and deal effectively with such occurrences as death in the family, financial problems, health issues, job loss and such. What is difficult for some to see is that each of these events present to us an opportunity for growth and evolvement. This is especially difficult to see when we are in the middle of one of these events.