Ancient Wisdom Or Modern Joke
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In modern society it's safe to say that we use the things we do because of one simple truth - because they work! They many not always be the best, the brightest, or even the most efficient - but they work. Yet, we also seem to like to hold to the idea that if something has been around for hundreds of years or more makes it better than anything else. This raises the important question, "If it's been around for hundreds of years and actually works - why then are we all not already doing / using it?"
Looking at other things for a moment - why do we weave the material we use to make all of our clothing? Surely after a few thousand years of doing this we could have found better ways to make fabric right? The answer is - because it works! Even if there are other options available, they don't compare to the ease and simplicity that we get from weaving fabric. If it didn't work then we would more then readily find some alternative to weaving - but since it does work, why would we want to change it?
When it comes to "Ancient Wisdom" we seem to skip the fact that history actually tells us that it must not really work. After all, if it did work in the first place why would the people who came up with the idea abandon it? Why would someone take something that works just fine and decide never to use it again for any reason? It just doesn't make any sense - but we in the western world seem to think that it will work for us even though it obviously doesn't work to begin with.
This could possibly make sense if it had almost worked in the past. Then there would be a reason to re-visit it, re-work it, and re-define it to try and make it work in modern time. However, that isn't what's happening. People are simply taking the "Ancient Wisdom" in full and using it without alteration. This raises the question… "did it not work for them because they were foolish, useless, un-informed, or just plain using it wrong?" If that was the case, then perhaps we can say it didn't work for them because they were using it wrong. That would then make sense of why we are using it currently.
The problem is that it all supposedly did work for them… or more accurately it all supposedly worked flawlessly for them. It's just as if they stopped using it for absolutely no reason at all or because of some un-spoken, un-defined, or un-addresses factor that we make sure to never look at. In other words - we simply skip the fact they stopped using it and only focus on the fact it was used. This doesn't make a lot of sense does it? If there was some "un" factor involved shouldn't we first figure out what it is before we begin to use the same things?
What if the "un" factor is that there was 100 times better ways to do the same thing… meaning that the particular ancient way of doing things became obsolete. Wouldn't that make us foolish for using the outdated ideas when there are eminently better ones available? What is the "un" factor was that somewhere in the mix it was found to be more harmful then helpful. That something about it worked to hurt / ruin life instead of make it better. It would be like designing a flame-thrower to light a cigarette - in the end the idea would have been abandoned because it simply wasn't worth the pain and suffering involved.
Perhaps there is something else going on that we as a whole don't really want to look at. Maybe there is some hidden reason that we use this "wisdom" that we don't want to face - at least beyond those things we have already discussed. What happens if we discover that we actually want to use these ancient teachings because they don't work? This would mean that we full well know they don't work, but since we don't actually want to change anything anyway… we use them so that things don't actually change.
Doesn't that just seem like it would be something totally useless in modern society - to use something simply because we know it doesn't work? Yet, even in that uselessness there are simply too many examples of us doing it to ignore that idea. There are simply too many products, teachings, ideas, and wisdom that we flock to in groves - even though we know full well that they don't work. Given that situation, this does indeed become very reasonable to believe. Unless of course there is something bigger going on that we haven't looked at yet.
This is exactly what's happening - there is a much bigger reason we avoid looking at the reality behind all this so-called "Ancient Wisdom". Everything we discussed above is totally true and correct, but something else is preventing us from wanting to admit to or face any of it. So, the question then becomes, "What's bigger than all of this that makes us want to hold on to these ancient ideas even when reality says they don't work?"
The answer comes down to something very much akin to "wishful thinking" - or more accurately "desperate thinking". We in fact are so desperate for these things to be real because of what we "think" they represent that we choose not to look deeper. It becomes more important to hold on to the dream or delusion attached to these ideas than it is to deal with reality. Of course, this means that there must be something massive and huge we are trying to avoid looking at right. There is no way we would so willingly delve into the world of delusion unless something huge was at stake right?
The sad truth is that there is no reason for it beyond what we "think" we get out of it. There is no huge issue, massive social problem, or anything else that makes us do this. Just the simple desire to be something we aren't - without ever actually trying to be that thing in the first place. It actually comes down to the perfect example of doing something for nothing. There is a certain amount of logic in doing it because we can't ever actually live the dream. This then would sort of make sense - this would be a way to hold on to is. However, never even once trying to see if the dream is real or that it can actually be had - that doesn't make any sense does it? Yet, this is what's happening.
In fact, there are entire groups of people who are living in that same "delusional state"… and doing it for the same reason. They are the people who actually believe the bible predicts the future. They truly are of the opinion that because the bible shows people doing the exact same things that we do now means that it is predicting the future. There is no possibility in their world that what the bible is actually showing is the fact that for the last 2000 years we have remained the same. Aside from new technology, we actually have the save views, same desires, same outlooks on life, etc that we did almost 2,000 years ago. Something that is openly being show by the bible… yet people are still trying desperately to cling to some delusion so they don't have to accept reality.
The simple truth is that we live in a modern society and have to deal modern problems… even if we have chosen to ignore many other such problems for thousands of years. If something out of the past could help us deal with those problems we would have never gotten to the point of having them in the first place. We would have used those teachings to ensure we didn't get to this place we find ourselves in currently. It is the perfect example of "if we knew then what we know now we would have never done it in the first place". We've had all of this so-called "Ancient Wisdom" for how many hundreds or even thousands of years? Why would it work all of sudden when it didn't work at any point before now?
In truth we only have "Ancient Wisdom" in modern society for two different reasons: 1) as explained - because it allows us to hold on to a delusion that we are unwilling to allow reality to interfere with - regardless of how big or small the delusion itself is. 2) To sell a product. We get all of this so-called Ancient Wisdom from other people who are selling books, courses, seminars, etc. Who in turn are making huge amounts of money while their "customers" remain lost in their own delusions. Most of whom also have no clue how to actually live the same life they are selling in their books etc… but at least now have the money to at least live a more comfortable life.
Sadly, all of this also ensures that we can't get out of the hole we have dug for ourselves. On top of everything else, we also end up being afraid to admit we got taken for a ride… that we were not smart enough to avoid being "sold" in this way. All of which means that because we are so afraid of being labeled a "sucker" that we will actually work and fight to make the delusions real - even though we know full well that they are just delusions.
Of course, we don't have to live in this hole we have dug for ourselves unless we chose to. There are many other options available… the biggest of which is that we can actually work to bring "reality" into our lives. Almost everything that we dream about having in our lives can actually be had. It may not be that they are the exact same as dreamed about and it usually doesn't happen without effort - but they can usually be had. Plus, the reality of something is always 100,000 times better than the delusion of something - even if we don't want to accept that fact (delusion takes 0 effort, reality requires effort).
Your life is in your hands to do with as you choose. If you want to live in denial, delusion, and the fantasy dream world… that is your 100% absolute right for living in a free society. No one, not even us, can take that away from you! If on the other hand you want to improve your life, explore what your life really has to offer, and discover what it really means to live in reality… then we will be more than happy to help you get there.
Because we believe you life is worth the effort… won't you let us help you learn to believe it too?
Copyright February 2009 - All Rights Reserved
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