Staying Ignorant

Written By Don Shetterly

Growing up, our house was not one where we were allowed to challenge the status quo.  What my father said was meant to be the law, and you did not object, argue, or ask for an explanation.  Staying ignorant was the law of our house.

We were abused under these rules, and we were molested and beaten and psychologically abused.  Any attempt to circumvent or change that was met with punishment that was more harsh and severe and quick then one could contemplate.  If you spare the rod, then it means you would spoil the child was the judgment of the court in our house.  Yet, staying ignorant was the norm.

Our minds were brainwashed under these rules.  Even though we were urged to think for ourselves, it was not allowed.  It was not given fertile ground to develop, and if you attempted to do it, you would be met with the "silent treatment."  You were ostracized and put in the dog house for daring to stand up and challenge anything spoken.

Sure, the king in charge of my family would act as if this did not happen. The family king would make a spectacle out of you, telling everyone that knew you, just how wrong you were.  They took facts out of context and prove to others, that you had no idea what you were saying.  No matter what was needed, they would ensure that you were the crazy one who dared stand up and speak out against the king of the house.

Watching pets be killed or being told that if you dared to stand up, the cops would not be able to do anything for you proved that you had no choice.  Learning that God would punish you if you challenged the king or he specially wanted you to just follow the will of the family is just how things were in our house.

Staying ignorant was all we knew.  While we heard others may brainwash us in their ways and beliefs, we were the ones being brainwashed and yet we did not know it.  What seemed abusive and wrong to others, seemed normal to us.  We knew no different.  It is what we had been taught.

When I finally got up the courage to stand on my own and walk away, I was labeled as crazy.  It was the medication, the doctors, and my friends who led me astray.  People that had known me most of my life were told just how far off the deep end I had gone.  Staying ignorant was what they demanded of us.

To this day, I'm on my own.  I don't have contact with the ones that wished to silence me.  I said enough is enough.  Staying ignorant was no longer a choice, but it was so difficult to do.  It took courage and strength to stand through the pain of the separation.  It was not for the faint of heart.

I'm glad I escaped and found my own life, but it took me many years to begin undoing the harm and brainwashing that was done to me.  Staying ignorant is how the family wishes to remain, but no longer will I let anyone brainwash me.

I work each day to become more than I am.  I strive to go in and clean out the dark places of my life and let go of things that no longer serve me.  It is a process to unlearn all that you were taught even if it was toxic and ignorant.  It is not an easy process, and while many give up trying to do it, I'm glad that I am no longer staying ignorant.

My life is much better as I grow in my own awareness and consciousness.  Keeping someone down because of beliefs and control is no way for any human to live.

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Blog Post And Images (c) Nov 21, 2017, by Don Shetterly

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Pushing The Limits With Compassion

Most of the time, I tend to ruffle the feathers so to speak.  Yep, I push the envelope with what I write and tweet and share on social media.  I try to do it with compassion, but I really want people to think and think deeply.

Far too many times we're in this mind-numbed state in our world.  Reality is often not reality.  News is often not news.  What we see and hear in a day is not necessarily authentic or real or legitimate.

We tend to swallow up stuff that matches what we believe and feel and think about rather than allowing ourselves to be challenged beyond our comfort zone.  We often get to a point where we are comfortable with where we are and we make the choice to not push further.

I often think of the pioneers from the wild west days.  If they would not have been adventurous and challenged their own safety, think of where we would be today.  It took them leaving behind everything they knew and everything that was familiar to discover some pretty awesome potential.  Yes, it came with many pitfalls, including death.

Since we were given no owner manual when we were born, the only way we learned to walk was by trying to take a step.  It is said that walking is nothing more than controlled falling.  If we would have sat there in the safety of the floor and not learned how to walk, we would have limited our life in so many ways.

Challenging beliefs in history...

If you look back down through history and see some of the horrendous beliefs that were held centuries ago, we can probably be very happy that we challenged thoughts and ideas and belief systems.  If not, we'd still be trying to drain the "humors" (blood) out of people thinking it was bad stuff inside of them.

In this day and age, we buy into the flashy snake-oil salesman and while they may be giving us nothing more than an elixir, we think it is the most healing thing we have ever seen.  Okay, maybe that moment is need to discover the next, but if we continue to drink the elixir, we'll probably not discover all that there is to discover.

Easy to become complacent...

It is easy to become complacent in life and subscribe to that which backs up our belief systems and thoughts and paradigms.  However, when we do that, we put so many limits on ourselves in what we can become and where we can go.  Unfortunately, it is all part of the human experience.  What you do with it though is a choice you make every minute of your life, even if it is unconscious.

So many of our modern day healing paradigms don't serve us fully.  We repackage them and regurgitate them, but we really don't take a hard look at the truth within them.  We come up with a verbage that convinces others, but in all reality, many things don't pass the challenge test.

I write from my experience...

When I write, I write to challenge these beliefs, thoughts, and paradigms.  Many times I am challenging them within myself or I have come through those challenging moments.  I write from my experience and through experience I share what I've learned and what I see.  Sure, I'm not perfect either - the thing is, I don't stop where I'm at.  I keep pushing forward.

If what I write or share pushes your buttons, it isn't meant to be specific to anyone.  What I write comes out of my own struggles and frustrations as I try to make sense of deeper things in life.  I'm not content with portraying the world around me as positive.  I'm more interested in helping to open up someone's awareness so that the world becomes more than just positivity.

If you have read my blog for any period of time, you'll know that I don't stick to the safe, feel good subjects.  I'm usually on the outer edges pushing people (coaxing people) to think beyond what they know.  I dislike belief systems and paradigms because while they may give you the box you need, if you're not careful, they will prevent you from seeing what it is you don't already see.

Pushing the limits with compassion - that's where I try to navigate.  It is where the most growth and potential energy sits.  It is where we learn to come alive as a human being discovering more of our fullest potential.  When we arrive at that moment, if we gaze into the horizon, we'll see that there are more worlds and lands to discover.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

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How We Treat One Another

Some days I feel like I'm writing for the heck of it.  It is almost like my words mean nothing and fall on deaf ears.

I see the hatred shared online from people who despise the hatred.  I see people getting angry acting as if I should only post stuff that they like and God forbid we don't see things the same way.

How we treat one another these days is mind boggling.  How we censor others is mind boggling.  How we get up on our pedestals and somehow demand others treat us as if we have all the answers is mind boggling.

We have replaced love with hate.  We have replaced our religious beliefs with intolerance.  We have denigrated those that wish to speak up by making them out to be horrible people we make fun of and call names.

What gives here? 

Where is our humanness?

Where is the love we proclaim we have?

We can't walk down both sides of the fence at one time.  We can't proclaim we love others and we want tolerance if we throw mud at those who disagree with us.

Aren't we better than that?  Don't we realize that the more we do this online that we're just being anything but human?

Seems like I have more rhetorical questions than there are answers.  Maybe the answers are there, but no one wishes to see it or hear it.

Heck, I don't have all the answers either, but I at least try to not make fun of others.  I try to not degrade and mock other people.

Our social media accounts show our true nature I think.  If someone wrote a book about us based upon what we share and like online, I've got a feeling that many people would be doing damage control.

It is sad.  It angers me to see the way we treat each other, especially online.  It angers me to see people talk about love and respect and tolerance, but then they go and do the same thing they despise.

It almost, no it does, remind me of the house I grew up in with the church-going-family who hated everyone that didn't think like them.  Maybe that's why this bothers me so much.  I have already lived this once in my life.

Little did I know, I would have to relive it again.  Where's the spaceship - I want to find a new planet that has tolerance and love, not hatred disguised as love.

May we all try a little harder to share a little less online and love a little more.  That's my hope!

Maybe we could work to be a little bit more conscious and aware.  After all, those things are not evident because of words, but because of the actions we portray.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Sometimes I Weep For People

Nope, this isn't a happy post, but it is what is on my heart.  Sometimes to make sense of things or attempt to grab on to the last rung of the ladder, I write what is on my mind.

Maybe this is not always what everyone wants to read or hear, but it is how I've written this blog for the past several years.  I share deeply from my heart and my own vulnerability.

Sometimes I weep for people.  Lately, that's been much of the time.  I see so much and I cannot for the life of me understand why humans do what they do to one another.  Here's some of the examples I've witnessed that grind my heart up to not end.

Examples:

1. Example 1:  We care and we're here for you, but please enjoy our silence as that is about as far as it goes.  I know people mean well, but their actions don't match their words.  I stand in confusion wondering if it is something I did or they are just too busy or they just don't realize what their words mean.  Maybe it is something else, but it is far too complicated for me to understand.
2. Example 2:  I only will communicate with you if you believe the way I do or talk the way I think you should or follow what I think you should do in your own life.  Of course, they don't come right out and say this but they practice it diligently.  I am at a loss with words and understanding how I have to believe or say things or act according to how others view life.  It just doesn't make sense and unfortunately it happens far too often.
3. Example 3:  I am one-sided in my viewpoints.  I can't accept your point of view because it is wrong.  I will label you and call you names to prove my point and just constantly say that I know what is best and your stupid.  I'll do this in horrific ways so that you really feel as low as you can feel.  After all, I'm right and you're wrong.  I just tend to walk away from these people because I have no desire to fight with someone that is intent on not listening to anything I say.
4. Example 4:  Let me show you how wrong you are and I will do it constantly every moment of the day.  Whether it is social media or a blog or talking to people, boy - just let me show you how wrong you are.  It is my responsibility to show ignorance to those who practice is how this type of behavior goes for people in this example.  There's no one else in their minds that holds any truth, but them.  I'm so saddened when I see this happening at a frequency my mind cannot even begin to comprehend.
5. Example 5:  They've got a one track mind - yes I do, states the ones that do this.  Nothing else matters but their single focused issue or belief or viewpoint.  It is all or nothing.  It is frequent and in your face.  If you don't fully accept their premise and think and talk about whatever the subject is 100% of the time, there's something wrong with you in their eyes.  It is their way or the highway!

All of these things and more are practiced every day by those who don't think they do any of this.  Some are pretty convincing that they are normal and everyone else is wrong.

These things hurt the fabric of our society. It hurts us being human to one another.  It makes us into enemies, rather than fellow travelers on this earth.

No, none of us is perfect and we all make mistakes.  Let's just not go embrace them as the norm while we degrade, tear down and rip apart other people.  It makes me weep for people.  It really does. My heart hurts when I see this behavior.

Respect for one another starts when you stop labeling others and calling them names.  Respect for one another starts when you stop to listen and love another without trying to convince them your way is correct or you know what is best for them.

There is so much noise in our day and if we fail to listen, but keep screaming our point of view - we're only adding to the noise.  We're not doing anyone any good.

If you've not done any of these things ever in your life, then my hat is off to you.  Please write a book and share with the rest of the world how this is done because it is badly needed.  Unfortunately, I think we've all crossed the line a few times and right now in our world, the majority of people are truly crossing the line.

Let's not take our deficiencies we see in ourselves out on everyone else.  It isn't their fault that we haven't healed a part of our life or progressed past the thought processes and beliefs we were taught.  Yes, we don't like to admit we do any of this, but it only takes a few minutes to observe it in action just about anywhere you go.

Let's celebrate others and share with one another what we've learned and what we've experienced.  It helps us find our own footing on this treacherous path that is called life.  We need each other to make it in a hostile world.  We definitely don't need to inflict pain upon others that ends up making them weep with sadness.

How can you begin this moment to let your words match your actions and let your love shine through greater than your own ego?

#Authentic

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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The More We Hide

Often, we as human are pretty good at this.

We hide from reality.  We hide from truth.

We hide from truly knowing ourselves.

We will claim we don't.  We will claim we are enlightened.

We will claim all kinds of opinions and beliefs as if they are the truth.

Being human is about knowing ourselves more and more each day.  It is not about hiding from what is deep within.  It is about traveling into those depths of that which we don't know and learning how to transform it into something we wish to know.

So often these days, we see people hide behind beliefs and opinions.

We see people hide behind reality that isn't real.

We see people claim to know, but yet they don't know.

If you really want to give yourself something awesome in life, give yourself the discovery of getting to know the innermost YOU!  For the more you know about yourself, the more you can truly function in life with all that is thrown your way.

The more we hide, the less we know. 

The less we hide, the more we know.

It is up to each one of us individually in what we do, but why hold yourself back?

Finding Peace In Your Body

I'm sure the title of this blog post could mean different things to different people.  Depending upon your own paradigms and experiences, it could easily be construed to be a belief system that may or may not prove repeatable.  Finding peace in your body is essential to the human experience, but far too often we miss the mark.

Even though we think we've found peace in the body, many times it is a temporary illusion.  In many ways, we have multiple influences and pressures and stresses hitting us constantly.  When we combine that with past experiences that we may or may not remember, it becomes a recipe for anything but finding peace in your body.

Meditation, Yoga, prayer, dancing, singing, and mind-body centered work can all help us achieve greater peace in our life.  Unfortunately, sometimes we only hit the surface and because the relaxation feels better than what we're used to in life, we think this is deep peace.  Don't get me wrong, any type of relaxation is better than nothing, but it may not be as a deep peace as you want to believe it is.

Awareness leads you to deep peace...

I've gone through some wonderful and deep work called Unified Therapy with Dr. Paul Canali.  In a session, it is body centered, connecting the felt sense of the body with the mind.  As you go into these moments, the pains and anxiety and struggles surface and show up.  As you're guided through the process and as you keep fear in perspective, you reach a very deep inner place.  This place of knowing gives way to a greater awareness.  As you step into the awareness and out of the fear that arises in your body, you find deep peace.

This peace is not superficial.  It is very difficult to describe, but once you experience it, everything makes sense.  It is a moment where  you don't want to be disturbed and you wish you could stay in this state of deep peace forever.  To think about coming out of it is not always welcomed because it is such a pure state where nothing else matters in life.

We follow our limiting paradigms...

These days, I find that most people are going through their lives not finding peace in their bodies.  Some will use religious beliefs to give the illusion they are.  Others will use new age practices and claim they know deep peace.  More often than not, we're following our own limiting paradigm of all that there can be.

No, I'm not saying you haven't found a way to access peace in your body.  I'm just making the point that finding deep peace in your body is beyond the realm where most people go.  We're too busy.  We're too stressed.  We're too tied up in our own belief systems or paradigms to go where we need to travel.

Let us strip away all that we think is right and learn to go deep within the body to experience all that may be uncomfortable at first, but yield results that you never thought was possible.  If you think you've found the edge of all that there is and you've defined it in your own set of beliefs, opinions and thoughts, you're missing the possibility of what lies beyond that.

Your beliefs and paradigms and thoughts are fine as long as they don't limit you and hold you back.  Building our life on what we think we know, rather than what is possible is like building a mansion at the edge of the ocean in the sand.  It may look pretty when its built, but most likely it will not stand the test of time.

Finding peace in your body is about going further, not just stopping at the water's edge.

#Peace

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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News Focus

I don't get it.  I really don't!  We are supposedly an advanced species living on this planet and yet, we act as if we only have one brain cell to engage.  Yes, this blog post is a rant.  I'm sorry.  I apologize, but I just don't understand humans.

Everything now and for the past year seems to be all oriented to politics.  I don't care what issue about politics it is or who is up and who is down, I'm just sick and tired of seeing politics plastered all over the internet as being the only thing that matters.

Again, this isn't about one political viewpoint over another, so if you think it is - sorry, but that is not what this post is.

I even had the audacity of someone take such a benign statement I made last night that was about pets and turn it into something that was political.  I'm still scratching my head about how that could be related to the subject of politics in any way, shape or form.

I look at the news feed reader on google that I use and it is all politics.  There are no other stories.  I can't help but think that we are so puffed up and egotistical in this country that nothing else matters in the world.  I'd love to read "the news", but I guess it does not exist.

People will sit there and complain about one group or the other right now, one disaster or another or whatever it is that is being shown around the clock on the media.  Yet, they don't know how to turn it off.  In fact, I don't think anyone can turn it off.  They just keep watching it and complaining and getting mad at those who don't agree with them.

Your favorite news channel doesn't enlighten you...

Years ago we dropped cable and it was one of the best things we did.  Now, I don't see all the garbage trash being disguised as news and have no desire to see it.  Watching your favorite news channel doesn't enlighten you or make you informed.  In fact, all you're getting is the beliefs and opinions of that show disguised as news.  It doesn't matter the issue or the cause.  100% of all news sources do it!

On the Newsroom, the premise of the show was that to be informed with facts, not beliefs and opinions was the foundation of a strong country.  Yet, everyone today thinks that as they read the "so-called-news" that they have the facts.  Some even think if you listen to multiple sources, you're more informed.  I sit here completely amused by these things.

I can guarantee you that if people start disconnecting their cable and turning off the news, things will change quickly.  Do you honestly think the media will run programming that no one watches?  They make their money by advertisement dollars and the more people that sit in front of the TV there is, the more they make.  If people don't watch, the advertisers leave.  Yet, for some reason people are glued to their news source.

One good thing is if you turn off the news and quit reading all the slanted news stuff out there, you'll fine your life gets less stressful and your quality of life improves.  I'm so glad we turned the cable off.  Not only did it save us an enormous amount of money, but we got our life back.  We learned what being human was.

So instead of turning everything into one singular focus of politics or the latest news story of the day, try to unplug.  Try to find a way in life to discover what is truly important, not just what others feed you and get you to believe is important.  The entire planet will be much better.


#NewsStoryOfTheDay

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Are People Confusing Beliefs with Truth

Time and time again, this topic gets on my nerves.  We as a society (maybe as a world) confuse facts with opinion.  We think that just because it is our opinion or belief, that it is fact.  This could not be further from the truth and that is the truth in how I see it (just so we are clear).

On this blog, I try my hardest to write from my experiences.   The  things that I have seen or witnessed or experienced firsthand.  However, I try not to stop there.  It isn't just the one time feeling of an experience, but the repeated moments when I see something transform and change before my eyes.

We had to believe without question...

I grew up in a home where we had to believe what my dad and mom told us to believe.  We had to believe without question what the church and minister told us to believe.  We had to believe and accept as fact, whatever it was that the teachers taught us to believe.

There was no questioning it.  There was no moment of not believing it.  You either accepted what was told to you as THE TRUTH or you were considered to be a bad person.  You were a lost person that needed to find your way.  You were a deviant that would be severely punished.

Unfortunately, what I've now found through some very difficult experiences in my life is that most of what I was taught, really doesn't hold one ounce of water.  As bad as my programmed and brainwashed mind wants to believe that what I was taught was true, I know deep in my heart that it is not.

You see, we often get taught opinions and beliefs as if they are THE TRUTH.  Unfortunately, when we are not allowed to question those things, that is not truth.  It is called control or brainwashing or being very narrow minded.  I'm sorry if I am ruffling feathers here, but again, I am sharing with you what I have learned from my experiences in life.

My truth may not be your truth...

My truth may not be your truth.  My beliefs may not be your beliefs.  My opinions may not be your opinions.  After all, we are all unique and different and we have brains that process different input in different ways.  How could we all hold on to the same beliefs, opinions and truth as if there was only ONE way of looking at things.

I do realize that in our society, it is easier to form societal group units if we all adhere to one way of looking at things or one set of beliefs disguised as truth.  However, this is not the sign of a healthy civilization that is growing in awareness and consciousness.  In my view, this is the mark of a controlled people to get in step behind whoever they look to as their leaders.

There is a much different world out there then what we were taught as children or that we adhere to as adults.  I believe more and more people are beginning to see this and to me, it gives me hope.

I try to write from my experience...

I may fail from time to time on this blog, but I try hard to write from my experience, not what I believe to be TRUTH.  Experience always conquers opinion and beliefs because it is something you can see and touch and usually repeat.  Belief and opinion changes from person to person and throughout the ages.

The most important part of this blog post that I hope you take away is to be careful of confusing facts or the truth with beliefs or opinions.  Realize that maybe your way of viewing things is not the way everyone else sees that and be okay with this.  Realize that what you know today may not add up tomorrow in what you see and understand.

If we all are aware of how we confuse facts with opinions, we'll advance this world in ways that are hard to imagine.

Do you want to read more on the subject, check out truth that we believe in.

Question Of The Day

What ways do you spot whether something is fact or beliefs? 

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Actions Speak Louder

Growing up, I was in a home where there was no shortage of my father lecturing to you for hours.  He acted as if had all the right words and he didn't shy away from telling you what he thought or what you should do or how you should think.

I see the same with my brothers.  Maybe I do the same thing, I don't know but I would like to think that I don't.  If I fail, it isn't because I have not tried to do things differently.  Especially when it comes to religion and issues of the day, my older brother will flat out tell you how wrong you are and how religious he is and how he knows best.

Actions speak louder than words.  Our actions, say much more than we will ever say in words.  Our actions precede us in our communications with others.  So even though you think that your words are correct and right and for all to hear, often your actions speak louder.

We can see this in the politics of our day.  We can see it in the comments that get posted on social media and on websites.  We can see this in almost every aspect of our day.  If we don't see it, then most likely we are living under a rock because it is there.

I am amused and saddened at how much the masses and the leaders of the masses speak as if they know all.  Their actions don't back up their words and in fact, their actions often say the complete opposite of what they are trying to get you to believe.

Too many times, the actions and words do match up to an individual that is not as enlightened as they think they are.  Just because they speak loudly or they seem to have a following, it does not mean they know what they are talking about.  It does not mean everyone has to follow them blindly as they all march to the cliff.

Words are great but they need to be backed up by your action.  If you say you love everyone, but talk down about certain groups, then you may want to re-evaluate what it means to love everyone.  If you say you have the answers, but it is nothing more than your beliefs and opinions, you may want to re-evaluate what truth and answers are.

All too often, those that spout and spew words in a manner that they expect everyone to follow is nothing short of following a clanging symbol.  It might get your attention, but it is not a complete orchestration of music.

Its time that we learn to listen more with one another and to learn how to respect one another more.  There is far too much yelling and screaming and pontificating going on in this world and in this country.

We don't help each other by screaming at one another and telling each other how wrong we are.  We help each other by listening and respecting and loving one another.  Of course, its not merely words that we say which shows this, but our words backed up with action that aligns for everyone's greater good in this world.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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031216

Stop Telling Others What To Do

I guess I'm doing in this post exactly what I'm asking others not to do.  Is that hypocritical?  Maybe it is but it isn't intended this way.  There are far too many of people in this world that are telling others what to do and it needs to stop.

People really don't like others preaching at them and telling them everything wrong that others see in them.  Its human nature and even though some may say they like this, deep down they hold in the anger and resentment.  If you look closely, you will see it.

Its kind of like leading a horse to water and forcing them to drink.  More than likely you can try to force that horse to drink water all day long and it isn't going to get very far.  If you let the horse find the water, more than likely they will drink.

In this country especially (and the entire planet), we think that everyone cannot exist until we tell them exactly what it is that we think they should be doing.  We feel that it is our duty and obligation to make known to everyone we know, just how they should think, feel, respond or act.

We tell others that they should honor and believe like we do, or they are lost and going to hell.  We don't allow them to not believe like we do and we expect and demand that they do this.  Otherwise, how will we ever live our life if others are allowed to live their life in the way them deem appropriate?

I especially roll my eyes at the people who let you know that you should think this way or that way.  Really?  What if that doesn't line up with your own beliefs or your own insights?  Unfortunately it doesn't matter to most.  They still keep pushing their agenda and wait in the tall grass to pounce upon you with their agenda.

We need to stop telling others what to do.  We need to truly close our yaps and open our ears to listen.  We will offer so much more to other people if we are there for them with open ears, not with an agenda that we exclaim with our mouth.

If you're doing all the talking, then you're not listening.  If  you're constantly telling others you know what they should do or how they should think, you're not listening.

Stop telling others what to do and let them find the truth out for themselves if the truth you offer is so great.  Guide them to what you see, but don't interfere with what they see.  You will be much more helpful to them if you stop telling others what to do.

If you are constantly telling others what they should believe or think, you're not helping them find the truth and answers for their life.  

Now, I'm climbing down off my soapbox.  Next person, please!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 1/24/16 by Don Shetterly

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Fact And Fiction

Some days life perplexes me.  I see people following things that just don't make sense to me.  Whether it is new age practices or politics or some belief system, I find it difficult to understand.  In my eyes, too much of it doesn't add up, but maybe I'm missing something.

I see people following a sales page for some product and exclaiming the item works miracles.  Unfortunately, I don't see any hard based evidence to back this up, other than what they think it is doing.  Then, the claims that it is the best miracle since life began are regurgitated and spread around as fact.

I see people following belief systems that don't add up.  They may have some nice things in them and some very believable things, but they aren't all there in my view.  It is like, sprinkling some sugar on a doughnut.  It might make it taste better, but is it really needed for the doughnut.   Maybe 50% of it is based upon things that are true and the other 50% of it is based upon what the person or group thinks is true.

I see people following politics and news items of the day that make me really roll my eyes.  It is like their political view or their political candidate is the true one - the right one - the one with all the answers.  They degrade and shred all the others using name calling to prove their points.  In fact, most don't even realize they are calling names.  It has become such a common every day practice.  No one tries to listen to another and in all reality, the politicians have hoodwinked everyone.

We have to be careful in what we believe and follow.  Some of it is just pure horse pucky.  Some of it gets so lost in the stuff that isn't true that it makes it hard to sort out what is true.  Facts and fiction become one and the same.

Most of what is said in a day is not necessarily fact, but we all treat it as fact.  Too much of it is opinion coated with a sprinkling of facts.

It is time that we all start watching what we say and question our own words and intentions.  If we're not careful, we'll have people following what we say as if it were the foundation of all life, when in fact it might be nothing more than quick sand.

There are probably times on this blog that I make the same mistake, but I try hard to let you know when it is my opinion or belief.  I try to separate that from fact.

It is all part of being human and there are the people that try to separate fact from fiction, all the way down to the snake oil salesman.  Unfortunately these days the snake oil salesman are getting quite crafty and sneaky.  Its sometimes very hard to tell them apart from those who truly do understand fact and fiction.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 1/4/16 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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The Crutches Don't Heal You

Writing this blog post, I realize that most likely we all know what it is I am saying.  However, it is worth repeating because too often we don't see healing in the best possible way.  We tend to look at the crutches as if this is what heals our broken leg.  The crutches are there to help, but they don't heal you.

Now, I'm really not talking about broken legs and crutches.  These are just the metaphors that I'm using to illustrate the point that the crutches don't heal you.  What you do and allow and surrender to is what heals you.

Crutches can be a label for your condition, a medication you are taking or a procedure that you are going through.  Crutches can be a belief system that does not advance your healing.  Crutches can be a new age alternative approach that is more feeling and belief than results.  Crutches are anything that keeps you thinking that whatever it is will make you better when in fact, it is taking you away from feeling in your body.

We go to doctors and healers and we take medications and supplements.  We participate in various activities and practices that are designed to take us out of our suffering and pain.  While many of these things are good and grounded in reality, there are plenty that are not.  Today is not a discussion about that part of the healing process.

The thing we do as humans is we tend to think the doctor, the healer, the medication or the supplement have the answers to end our suffering.  We think if we take part in this practice or activity, it heals us.  Unfortunately, it is not any one of these things that heal us.

Now, you may be saying, but when I went and did this thing or went to that person, I got better.  Yes, you did!  I'm not disputing that.  However, it was not the person, thing, or practice that did the healing.   They just helped you find that healing in yourself.  Again, some do a much better job of this than others.

Healing comes from source energy and it comes from within us.  There may be people along the way that help lift us from despair and find a different world.  If we use these people and see them as a crutch that does the healing, then we have not learned that crutches don't heal you.  Crutches help you find the healing.

I know in the early days, it may be our complete capacity to just surrender into the person, thing, or procedure, not even beginning to see that we can heal, let alone heal ourselves.  As we progress, we should begin to see that we have much more within us.  We should be able to see that our crutches are there to support the healing, not be the healing.

There are some groups and individuals out there that are truly supportive and do help people to heal, but there are many that offer you services and products that take you away from the power you have inside.  They take you out of your body and place that power upon someone or something.  In those cases, the crutches have taken over your life.

I do realize that if you have faced insurmountable odds throughout your life, that seeing yourself as holding any power to change anything is often too great.  It takes the crutches to help you support your life enough to being seeing this.

Just don't continue to believe that the crutches are what heals you.  Learn to find that place within yourself that brings you to the point of power and sensing your innermost self.  It is in that place, where you will find true healing.  The healing power comes from within your ability to feel your internal body.  Feeling is healing and healing is feeling.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 12/18/15 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Be In Charge Of Your Health

All too often we give up our power to those that claim to know, but in many ways may not be doing all they can for us.  I'm being vague because I don't want to just rip apart the entire medical community.  However, there is far too much individualism and not enough cooperation in treating people's health.

It is easy to go into our respective corners because that is what we are licensed to do.  It is understandable.  The part I don't understand though is how we don't seek out all the treatments and knowledge that is known, rather than coming from our own paradigms.  We shun far too much and listen to regurgitated rhetoric more often than not.

I believe it is important for patients to do their homework and learn as much about their health conditions as they can.  Yet, I don't think that only involves going to some website on the internet and acting as if you are an authority because you are regurgitating information.  I believe it is much more than that.

How We Treat Other People

When did we get to the point that we became snobs with one another.  You know, the point where we damn everyone else with their point of view and push our view only.  You know, the point where if you don't believe the way we do, then you are wrong?

Exactly how does that make us human?  How does that promote a higher level of consciousness if we're against everyone and everything they believe.  It's really sad in many ways for our society to practice this with gusto.

I grew up in a home and a church where you believed everything and anything that was told to you regardless if it was right or wrong or it fit or it made sense.  It didn't matter what you thought.  The only thing that mattered is what those in authority said was true.

These days we force everyone to follow our political beliefs and our religious beliefs.  If you don't, you are considered to be less than or wrong or some label placed upon you.  It doesn't matter if you are conservative or liberal.  It doesn't matter if you are religious or not.  It doesn't matter if you are of the new age philosophy or not.

Exhaustive Protest List

Does anyone know of such a list?  One that would be an exhaustive list of every business and place to protest and the reason why?  I mean, after all if you read Social Media, you'll see this pretty quickly.

I get so tired of reading this or being forced to read it.  Yes, I know I could just stop using Social Media, but I do like keeping up with friends.  I just get so tired of every post I see  being over-the-top screaming about everything and anything in life.

No, I don't like the regular news media because I don't buy into the hype and fear they push.  There is a reason for that.  It is not news.  It is fear entertainment designed to get you hooked into watching their garbage.  If you feel that is good for you, by all means do it.  I try to avoid it.  I can't stand it!

I really don't want to read all the one-sided postings and when people share 5 and 10 of them at a time, it exhausts my Social Media feed with nonsense.  Yes, I keep hiding things and people, but to be honest, that is ineffective.

The Skeptic In Me

Ah, you laugh right?  The skeptic in me or in all of us?  Yep, it exists and some days I have a big dose of it.  I can be quite skeptical with the best and probably rank in the top 10 or so it seems.

Being skeptical isn't all bad.  I mean, there are so many things out there that aren't really in our best interests, although we're made to believe they are through clever marketing.  Whether its politics or news headlines or some new fancy product, things aren't always as they seem.  It could even be the latest and greatest fad of healing that lures us in, but offers us very little in return.

I think it is healthy to be skeptical.  Let your mind evaluate what is being said and told to you.  Question what others say is true fact, because so much of it is made up in the minds of those that never were skeptical enough.  Feel free to say you don't agree and then search for the answers one way or the other.

Love Is Not Condemnation

My heart goes out for so many lately and this is something that frequently shows up in life.  All too often, we see people equate love with condemnation.  We see people think they are showing love by condemning people.

Love is not condemnation.  Love is about acceptance of others as they are.  It is not about pointing out what is wrong in someone else or how they go against your beliefs.

Love does not boast.  It is not proud.  Love is kind and forgiving.  Love is patient.  Love is not rude and it keeps no record of wrongs.

If you truly love others, you don't condemn them and point out to the world just how bad a person they are.  If you truly have love in your heart, you do not grandstand for the entire world to see how you feel that you are right and all others are wrong.

My Beliefs Are Right

I find it disturbing to say the least, what I see taking place in this country.  I grew up in a home where the beliefs of my father and of the church were right, but anything contrary to these beliefs was wrong.  It did not matter what anyone believed.  It did not matter if I had any beliefs contrary to my father. 

We are in a time where a select few individuals are so dogmatic that if you don't follow their belief system, you are wrong and going to hell and etc, and so forth.  It is sad because I don't think that makes people strong or a nation great.  All it does is pit one group against the other.

In fact, these days the discussion in this country and world is how to stake your ground and then argue against the side that believes differently about you.  It is not about listening to one another and advancing this world forward in a positive way.  It is not about hearing each other out so we can learn from one another.

When I grew up, the sect of churches I went to was the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC).  Now these people could ostracize you quickly if you didn't adhere to their beliefs. All of their beliefs were backed up by scripture upon scripture verse found in the bible.  They could argue with you for hours based upon the verses in the bible they knew.

Being Free

Being free is not about subscribing to beliefs imposed by others, but by seeing life with all its potential and then discovering that there is much more beyond the point you are at.

The Story Of Your LIfe

Maybe not everyone is like me.  I love to see how connections are made and how people travel to the years we call life.  The story of your life or my life or someone's life is very interesting to me.  I find it fascinating to see how things unfold as I get older.

All the people we run across and meet are so varied.  It is like they are from every corner of the world these days with all kinds of experiences. They come in all kinds of flavors and views and hold many beliefs and opinions.  They've encountered all kinds of joys and difficulties in their days.

I find it amazing just how I came to know some of the people that I do.  It might have been through a mutual friend or maybe a place I worked.  Some days now it is through moments I've had being on Oprah or Dr. Drew.