Why Do Things Get So Bad Before We Wake Up

I received a question via email that I thought was very good.  It challenged me to answer it, but that is fine.  I like to be challenged with questions because it helps me go in and focus on things that I need to refine in my own mind.  It helps me grow and I welcome questions.

The question was:

Why is it with human beings that things have to get so bad, so horrible, almost to the depths of hell, before we wake up?  And then, we forget again.  It is like history is repeating itself over and over.

My first thought goes to peeling the layers of an onion.  When we hold an onion in our hand, it is made up of many layers.  If we could gently remove the outer layer, we would see another layer.  As we keep pulling layers back one after another, we see more what lies beneath it.  However, until we pull that top layer off, and then the next top layer off, we will never see what lies beneath it.

It takes courage to go in and remove the layers.  It takes strength and confidence and a willingness to leave all that we know, while venturing into the unknown.  This is not easy for humans to do because the ego is strong.  The ego holds us back from truly seeing all things or allowing ourselves to see all things.  Our experiences in life hold us back from seeing what we need to see, but that is part of the journey of life as we discover ourselves more each day.

Our baggage and experiences...

Sometimes it is just not easy to go in and deal with life and all our baggage and our experiences.  Sometimes these things are so difficult and intense and horrific that to muster up the courage and strength to go in and see them, requires an almost Hercules type of strength.  Our ego and our mind tell us instead that it is easier to just survive and numb out or hide and disconnect from all of this.  We convince ourselves that to neglect and avoid this stuff is by far our best option, when in fact that just robs us of the strength we need in order to heal.

We don't know there is an alternative...

Often we don't know there is an alternative.  How our life played out seems more normal than going in and uncovering that which appears odd, strange, and anything but what it should be.  We are often conditioned in our early years of life to accept what we are shown and taught and to disregard anything that falls outside of these parameters.  Even the most horrific moments that we endure can become so commonplace that we have absolutely no idea that there is anything beyond it.  We cannot see that others don't experience the same thing.

Don't rock the boat...

We live in a society where people urge us to not rock the boat and upset the apple cart.  Often, if we do challenge the status quo of our own life, we are connected to others that would rather remain asleep for the same reasons listed above in what I just wrote.  It is easier for them if we don't travel into our journey, because it leaves them feeling like they are out on a limb all by themselves or that they are damaged.  They desire not to see it and by our journey of discovery and healing, it creates a moment where our life becomes a mirror reflected back to them that they are trying desperately to avoid.

Moment of growing and learning...

Sometimes, it is just a moment where we are growing and learning, even if it seems like we are revisiting history and have not made much progress.  These horrific moments of pain and suffering we have lived through are not easy.  They have often lasted a lifetime and are connected to so many neural pathways with fingers stretching to other moments in life.  Even when it seems like we are revisiting them, it is then that I believe we are going in and reworking the networks of all the tiny little neural pathway fingers.

Far too overwhelming for the mind...

It is not easy to do this all at once because it would be far too overwhelming for the mind.  The mind wants to protect us and keep us alive, but if we throw the entire war at it in one moment, it will be too much.  It takes time to go in and dissect the neural pathways of the brain and consciousness.  It requires us to use the microscope to look at the layers in a much deeper way.  All of this takes time.

Healing is not a linear sequence...

Healing does not unfold in a linear sequence.  There are parts of one pain that are worked on while other parts of a different pain may be unfolding.  Those little parts of different pains may be connected in some way that we are not aware of or conscious of and yet they need to happen before the next step takes place.  Without these various parts, we cannot build the foundation we need for longer lasting healing that goes deep into our own consciousness.

If you have ever watched a computer hard drive defragment itself, you can see that some of the bits of information need to moved out of the way so you can rewrite that part of the memory.  It isn't that all of the parts are bad, but they are standing in the way of seeing the complete picture and allowing you to view life in a new way.  Once you organize the parts and clear the empty space, the memory begins to function together better.  The computer is able to use its resources more effectively.

How we learn and grow...

I think one final thought that comes to my mind is how we learn and grow.  If you went to a class to learn some new technique, I'm sure you could repeat the class and learn so much you didn't get the first time.  Our minds can only comprehend and understand so much at one time, based upon our circumstances and experiences of life.  Even though we think we've learned the lesson, there are most likely parts that have not yet been learned.  If we learned everything in one single moment, we would diminish the future parts that life has in store for us.

It may be that history is repeating itself, but often this means there are parts that have not yet healed and are finally able to surface so we can begin to look at them.  The history part is the unconscious connections to parts that we were not able to see how they fit together.  As they come up and then come back for us to look at again, we are often stronger and more focused and more able to have those ah ha moments.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

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The World Only Wants

The world only wants to see us in the way they want to see us.  No matter what is going on, the world just wants us to hide it, disguise it, and keep it out of plain view.

The world doesn't want to know were hurting.  The world wants us to put the big boy pants on and make it look like is all okay and that were pain free.

The world doesn't want to know were angry or upset.  Society wants us to keep those things to our self.  For they are our own to deal with and concerns no one else.

The world doesn't want us to shine the light of truth to the ugly side of life.  The world wants us to turn the flashlight off and act as if the ugly side doesn't exist.

The world wants all of us to share happy thoughts and present to the world that all is one big smiley face.  The world doesn't want us to show the rough edges of life or the difficult moments.

People Only See What They Want To See

All too often we hide our heads in the sand acting as if that's all we know when in reality, we've know that isn't true.  People only see what they want to see and if they don't want to see it, it remains hidden from view.  To think that all other people do this is like thinking you can jump up and touch a cloud high in the sky.

I'm reading about how the wife of the suspected bombing terrorist was so shocked to learn that her husband was involved in this.  While I'm sure she was shocked and had no clue, it wasn't because they didn't know.  It was more likely that she just didn't want to see this.  After all, her friends are saying that the guy was not the nicest guy to be around or live with.  Again, we only see what we want to see.

In my house growing up, all kinds of abuse was taking place while most of the family didn't know it was happening to each other.  It was far easier to just go around and live like everything was so great and everyone was happy and there was nothing wrong.  It was easier to just not talk about it, mainly because of the fear of repercussion, but it didn't mean it was not going on.

Years after I was gone from this situation, I learned of another family member who went through stuff I was not aware of until they told me.  They were angry at me for not protecting them and stopping it, but I was just a kid for one and at the time, I was in college not realizing what was happening at home.  In my mind, I had hoped and convinced myself that it had stopped.  Boy, had I fooled myself into only seeing what I wanted to see.

Just Get Over It

I'm sure we have heard the following phrase at some point in our life whether it was at home in our family growing up, or in society through our job or social contacts.  If you haven't heard the phrase, "Just get over it", then you're one of the lucky few.

All too often when people go through extraordinary circumstances that are challenging, it isn't easy to move past those moments.  It takes time and it takes a lot of courage to get your life back.  Unfortunately people who are triggered by the stories of others or are just oblivious to what another person is going through, comes out in the way of this very insensitive remark, just get over it!

When confronted with threats and traumatic experiences, animals have the ability to fight back or escape whereas humans usually cannot do this.  In our civilized society, we are taught that we just move on in life after some experience has taken place and stuff our feelings and emotions deep inside of us.  If you're a male in our society, I think it is more difficult because men are supposed to be in control, show little emotion and just be strong.  To be seen in any other way is to be considered weak.  I'm sure females have similar experiences, but since I'm not female I cannot speak to that consideration.

The Simplicity Of Life

Another favorite book of mine is "You Are The Answer" by Michael Tamura.

In this particular quote that I'm sharing, he talks about how we sometimes make life too difficult and mostly because we have learned to ignore the simple things and the simplistic part of life.  It is a survival mechanism, but as we wake up, so do we begin to see the simple things.

I often use the example for people that most will walk outside and never hear the birds, or see the simplest things around them.  When this happens, we miss out on so much in life.  As you begin to wake up and become more conscious, these things become a symphony for your life that you will rarely miss.

Anyway, here's the quote that I wanted to share today.

Most of us have learned to disregard the pure simplicity of life in our struggles to survive in an increasingly complex world.  It's funny that we so readily sacrifice the simple for the complicated, with the excuse that we don't have the time for it.  Yet its the simple that doesn't take much time. (Page 215, You Are The Answer by Michael Tamura).

Crisis, Trauma and Loss Move Us Forward

Amazing how we as humans operate our mind and body in this life.  For all of our advancements and human ingenuity, it seems like we fall short when it comes to the evolution and awareness of our consciousness.  All too often we participate in life, without really being actively involved in our life.  We go through our days as if there is no purpose or reason to be here while thinking we have plenty of time to worry about these things at a later time.

In addition, we often know what we need to be doing in life, but we sit on the sidelines thinking about it, rather than doing it.  We wait for some miraculous sign or some loud voice to boom down from the heavens and share with us the insight that is already within us.  We constantly look for signs, beg for assistance, and look to others to give us that fulfilling prophecy of our existence.  

When we don't get the answers we need for our life, we keep running down the highway hoping to find something that will give us meaning, purpose, and desire.  Sometimes we crawl into our own corners and hide from life, because we have just had enough of the searching for the answers we need.  Sometimes, we just say you know what, I am going to chase the pretty lights of this world only to find they are an illusion.

Wake Up Documentary And My Experiences

Wake Up - The Film
Jonas Elrod

A new documentary hitting the TV was on the OWN network recently.  Oprah interviewed the creator of the film, Jonas Elrod, about his experiences before allowing everyone to view the film on the Super Soul Sunday program.  This is a real life documentary of Jonas Elrod regarding an experience that happened to him and still continues to this day.  While I'm sure there are many that would look at this film with complete skepticism, I would urge everyone to keep an open mind and see what you can learn.

There are things out there that exist and take place which we may not be able to see at this point in our life or in our day.  We often live in our own little world, oblivious to what is around us.  Sometimes our awareness and consciousness is so limited that it could be contained in a small storage jar.  Just because we cannot see something or we don't think it exists, gives no credible evidence that we are correct.

In this movie, Wake Up, Jonas Elrod recounts and shows his experience of going from an every day person to one seeing auras, shapes, demonic type things, angels, spirits, etc.  Jonas was not a spiritual and religious person, but just a regular guy working in a regular job trying to make his way in life.  To view more information about the movie, click this link.

The movie really resonates with me because I've had similar experiences.  It is important to note, that I do not get the full detail like Jonas does, but I have seen and sensed some of these things in dramatic ways.  I'm sure if I saw all of these things at once, I'd probably freak out and hide, much like Jonas most likely wanted to do.

Time To Wake Up World

Time To Wake Up World

In a recent CNN article, the population should now be over 7 billion on this earth.  That is a staggering number when you think about it. 

Often, I wonder where are all the new people are going to live because it seems as if we keep cutting down the trees and paving the land with a parking lot like in the lyrics of the song, "They Paved Paradise".

Of course, the more human inhabitants that arrive on earth, the greater the needs and unfortunately the more destruction of our earth that takes place.  The economic realities can appear harsh as our population increases while trying to find enough food to feed everyone becomes a burden on all man kind.  It is clearly a challenge that we are facing as a world civilization which not only affects us today, but in the years ahead.

While many do not want to think about these things, if we don't begin to do this, at some point it will catch up with us as a civilization.  It will no longer matter what boundaries we have between each population subset of our world.  It will no longer matter how we interject politics into the basic issues of the earth.   At some point, we will be past the point of no return and then as a civilization, we will be forced to deal with the issues we are leaving behind.

Wake Up Moments In Life

You Are The Answer
Wake Up Moments
In Life

One of my favorite books that I am reading right now is "You Are The Answer" by Michael Tamura.  I just love his insight, but more importantly, I like how he states things.  It tickles me that he claims he is not a writer and writing does not come easy, but his words state some difficult concepts in easy to understand terms.  This blog post is based upon an adaptation of a passage from this book on page 52.

Those moments in our life that wake us up, also known as a wake up call usually stop us dead in our tracks!  They get our attention and these moments are almost like a baseball bat between the eyes.  You cannot miss them no matter what you do and even if you try to avoid them, they are unavoidable.  If you are able to go through the wake up call and still remain enslaved to your fears and unconscious life, you can almost bet that another wake up call will attempt to get our attention until we open up and listen.  A wake-up call helps