Sunday, May 30, 2010

Personality And Reputation


"You will always gravitate to that 
which you secretly most love.
Men do not attain that which they want

but that which they are."
-James Allen

Each one of us has a specific, particular personality. There has
never been, nor will there ever be, an individual personality such
as each one of us possesses ever again. Our personality is our
Divine Nature. It is the basis of, and ultimately creates, our
Reputation.

Our Personality and Reputation is an aura which permeates from
us, surrounds us, and precedes us, wherever we may go.

We have all heard the saying, "his reputation precedes him", or,
"her reputation precedes her" when referring to someone we are
about to meet or hear speak. These references are a preconceived
measurement of a persons honesty, character, talents and abilities.

In addition, many of us have had the experience of meeting someone
with whom we were either immediately comfortable, or
uncomfortable, of having in our presence. These "gut feelings" are
an intuitive assessment of the other persons aura and instantly
determine the Compatibility, or incompatibility, we feel toward that
other individual.

In the same way in which someone else projects their personality
and trust towards us, we too project similar intuitive signals to
others.

Our Personality: Our actions, our spoken and unspoken words,
our manners, our eye contact and our body language are a
Reflection of who we are. They are the first "signals" we radiate to
others which determine if a new acquaintance will Choose to be an
integral part of our life, a casual colleague, or someone who, for any
number of reasons, may not want any future contact with us.

It is interesting to also consider how often so many of us try to be
what others expect us to be, or do what others expect us to do, in
order to "gain favor" with a particular individual or group. However,
in the end we find that it is not possible for us to maintain this type
of false facade for very long and eventually we find ourselves
reverting, often frustratingly, to the personality we truly are. For
regardless of how hard we try to be someone, or something, who we
are not, in the end we can only be that which we are. Consequently,
it is always in our best interest for us to understand our true
personality and forever strive to be the best "us" that we can
possibly be.

Our Reputation: Our Reputation is the ultimate display of our
Personality. Our Reputation is measured by the consistency of our
behavior and the responsibility we assume for our Words and Actions.

Can we keep a secret? Can we be trusted with the belongings of
another...regardless of how great or small these belongings may be?
Are we ego driven or are we sensitive? Are we more interested in
talking than we are in listening? Do we gossip instead of compliment?
Are we more concerned with complaining about what we don't have
than we are in being thankful for all we do have?

Our Personality and Reputation determine who we truly are and
how we appear to the outside world. They determine the persons
and situations that we will gravitate towards. They also influence
the individuals and experiences which we will attract to us. In
addition, our Personality and Reputation govern any Karmic debts
or rewards we may incur.

And as most of us sincerely want peace and Harmony in our lives it
is always in our best interest to keep our Personality and Reputation
as pure as possible. In doing so we will no longer simply Hope that
we can stumble across positive people and experiences for the
purity of our nature will act as a magnet which attracts these
individuals and circumstances into our daily life.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Pathways


There are an infinite number of Pathways we can choose to Travel
during our Current Incarnation. It is not unusual for us to travel
many different Pathways before we finally settle on the one Path
that is Harmonious with our Divine Nature.

Our Pathway of life consists of many forks and byways which lead
us from the main Path of our Divine Nature and invite us, or tempt
us, to try something new. These forks and byways provide us with
the opportunities to experiment with different ideas and
experiences.

Some of these ideas and experiences are Harmonious with our
Divine Nature and expand and elevate our character and
personality. Others, however, are not in Harmony with our Divine
Nature and can create all kind of problems, and even be disastrous,
to us.

Whenever we find ourselves on a Pathway which is not Harmonious
with who we are we should exit this Pathway immediately and treat
it as a learning experience; a learning experience which teaches us
to avoid these types of forks and byways in the future.

Whenever we choose a new Pathway we automatically subject
ourselves to all of the people, choices, experiences and consequences
which are a natural part of that particular Pathway.

For example: the people, choices, experiences and consequences
which are inherent to the Pathway of a comedian are entirely
different from the people, choices, experiences and consequences
inherent to the Pathway of an author, an engineer, a clergyman,
or a thief. Therefore, if we are not content with the people, choices,
experiences and consequences we are currently experiencing, we
merely need to Change Pathways and return to the one which is
most Harmonious with our Divine Nature.

It is important for us to realize that we are solely responsible for
the Pathways we choose to follow. We may be tempted to "try
something new", we may be acting on the Advice of a friend, or we
may be following the suggestion of an "education counselor" when
we choose a new Pathway in our life.

However, in the end, we are the ones who ultimately make the final
choice of which Pathway we are going to follow and experience.
And because this final choice is ultimately ours, we are therefore
solely responsible for the rewards, misfortunes, or Consequences
which are part of the Pathways we choose to follow.

When we look upon Pathways and Decisions in this manner we
begin to realize that neither the universe, nor any other Divine
Entity, either rewards or punishes us for the life we live. The
universe simply provides each one of us with a vast multitude of
Pathways on which to travel. It is our Choice of Pathways which
is the determining factor of what kinds of personalities, Destiny,
Karma, rewards, punishments, successes, failures and Lessons we
will encounter upon that particular Pathway.

Therefore, if we are currently unhappy with the Pathway we are
currently traveling, it is simply up to us to choose to leave our
current Pathway and select another Pathway which is in Harmony
with our Divine Nature and travel upon a Road which provides us
with the peace, Harmony, contentment and rewards which all of us
inwardly Seek.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Memories And Remembrances


"Antiquity is full of eulogies of another more remote antiquity."
- Voltaire

The Realm of Remembrance And Memory is that hypnotic, wispy
and ever-beckoning domain in which the memories of our youth,
childhood and mystical past reside.

Within each one of us is contained two different types of Memory:
remembrances of our personal Past and remembrances of our
primeval Past.

Our personal past contains all of the remembrances and
memories of our Current Incarnation. These consist of the fond
reminiscences which we allow ourselves to indulge in and savor;
they are our irretrievable experiences and friendships of a bygone
time .

And why is it that our most distant memories and remembrances are
the ones we seem to cherish the most?

Why is it that our oldest memories and friendships, those of our
youth and childhood, are the ones that are most vivid and dear to
us? Why are we able to recall events and friendships of our earliest
youth with greater clarity, emotion and melancholy than we can of
things which we have experienced only yesterday?

What is it that is so important to us about the place where we were
born? Furthermore, why were we born where we were born?

The place of our birth has a definite impact on every one of us: we
relate to it; we boast of it; we cherish it. And regardless of where
we may travel to, or where we may eventually "settle down", the
emotional pull of our birthplace is always tugging at our emotions
and our heart.

And it is not only we humans who feel the magnetic lure of our place
of birth for we see this same attraction in the animal kingdom.

Salmon battle every element and fight every obstacle, to even
exhaustion and death, in the attempt to return to the exact place of
their birth in order to spawn and re-create.

Butterflies will travel hundreds of miles to not only return to the
same tree where they were born but to the same branch for the
very same reason.

Again, the question remains, what is so powerful about the place
where we were born that a lifelong longing makes us "want to go
home"?

Now what about old friendships? How many of us would drop what
we are doing if we got an unexpected phone call from a high school
friend who we haven't talked to in years? How about a grade school
friend? How about a very dear childhood friend from the
neighborhood in which we grew up? What is it that is so important
to us about these very distant and initial friendships?

Perhaps the answer to all of these questions is that these are the
earliest threads which were used to weave the tapestry of who we
are today. These are also the earliest, purest and most naive
ingredients sprinkled into our youth which have had the most time
to marinate within us; a youth which we have abandoned for the
maturity and sophistication of adulthood; that magical and mystical
realm of innocent childhood that "once you pass its borders you can
never return again".
***

Just as we have a personal past, we also have a primeval past.

Our primeval past is the Subconscious and intuitive bond we
share with our most distant ancestors who lived in the most Veiled
and remote Mists of antiquity.

Our primeval past consists of our inherent and inbred traits which
originated, and were passed down to us, from our most ancient
elders who lived in the Time which the ancient Egyptians refer to as
Zep Tepi. Translated, ZepTepi means "The First Time". It is the
time when gods walked upon the earth and lived among mankind.

Our remote, primeval bonds are contained within our physical,
mental and spiritual fabric; our DNA. They are the ancient building
blocks from which we have all been constructed. These ancient
bonds, these remote links, form the foundation of who we, as both
individuals and a specie, are today.

And from our most distant links it is but one small step which takes
us into the Great Beyond; the mysterious and mystical domain of
Divine Consciousness from which all life originates and to which all
life must ultimately return.

When we attempt to ponder our most remote past, the past which
links us to the virtual beginnings of infinity, our minds become filled
with awe and wonder. This incomprehensible beginning-of-all-
beginnings is also a part of our physical, mental and spiritual fabric.
It is the original Seed which, long ago, sent us out on our personal
Journey of discovery so that we may someday return with our
treasure chest filled with all of the jewels and Wisdom which our
timeless voyage to many distant Horizons has bestowed upon us.

*** "Toyland" lyrics

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, May 9, 2010

Self-Instruction (Self-Initiation)


"Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master."
- Leonardo da Vinci

"Self-Instruction is the first step toward Wisdom."
- Joseph Panek

Self-Instruction is the Self-Initiation of oneself. Therefore, by its
very nature, Self-Instruction is the first step toward Wisdom.

When we voluntarily take on the responsibility of Instructing
ourselves we willingly journey into the realm of individuality and
imagination; we embark upon an Adventure which transports us
into the Sovereign domain of Wizards and Wanderers.

Self-Instruction is taking the very basic education we receive during
our years of formal education and using it as a building block, a
stepping stone, to ascend to the higher realms of knowledge, and
ultimately, Wisdom.

Self-Instruction is researching, experimenting, and discovering for
ourselves the Truths, knowledge, and Wisdom which are Veiled
from our view by the constructs, restrictions, and limitations of
society, organized education, and self-serving factions.

While the majority of people obtain degrees and certificates for the
sole purpose of settling into the everyday "grind" of mundane life,
the Self-Instructed individual Chooses to proceed further, most
often alone, in the pursuit of higher knowledge, shrouded Wisdom
and the mysterious secrets of nature.

Self-Instructed individuals understand that neither a teacher nor
an institution can teach beyond their level of knowledge. These
Lone Wolfs realize that although we do gain a level of education,
insight, and knowledge from our teachers and institutions, they are
not the final word on any subject they teach.

For if they were the final word, no new ideas would ever come into
fruition: new ideas which eventually manifest themselves as
inventions, improvements and philosophical concepts which permit
society to evolve.

The Self-Instructed individual also realizes that he or she is
solely responsible for, and are the only ones who have control of,
the Journey they experience during their current Incarnation.
Self-Instructed Initiates, Seekers, and Wizards and Wanderers
live by a simple Creed:

The fact that we may have been either mis-educated, incompletely
educated, or mis-guided does not release us from any Karmic
Debts or Consequences that may result from any of these factors.

In the end, it is always our sole responsibility to properly educate
and instruct ourselves;
It is also vitally important for us to understand who we truly are

and to learn those things which are Harmonious with our Divine
Nature;
It is our birthright to discover the magical and mystical workings

of the universe: to delve into the realm of Truth and Wisdom and
not simply rely upon what others expect us to believe and accept
as true;
The universe, and everything within it, is one big and simple set

of Truths which continually reveal and re-Cycle themselves
throughout eternity. It is by our failure to understand and
recognize these simple Truths...to live in denial, Ignorance, and
complacency...that we invite oft-repeated and self-imposed
calamities into our lives.

In the end, we must realize that we would never have the timeless
gifts of such immortals as Einstein, Newton, da Vinci, Pythagoras,
and many others, had they not chosen the magical and visionary
Path of Self-Instruction. To put Self-Instruction into modern terms:
it is truly the only way to "think outside the box".

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Unicorn - As A Symbol


"Dreams are the playground of Unicorns."
- Unknown

Perhaps the most wondrous of all mystical creatures, the Unicorn
is a Symbol of magic, miracles, purity, innocence and enchantment.
This magical and enchanting animal appears to only a rare few and
has the ability to bestow magic, miracles and Wisdom to those who
are pure of heart and virtuous in their deeds.

The presence of a Unicorn is announced by the soft and faint
tinkling sound of tiny bells being shaken; or of tiny chimes being
rustled by a breeze. And as Bells and Chimes Symbolize the
presence of Divinity, the tinkling sound which accompanies the
nearness of a Unicorn reminds us that we are in the presence of
a highly spiritual essence whose boundless domain encompasses
all realms matter and spirit.

To kill a Unicorn is to destroy a Divine Incarnation of purity,
perfection, and wonder. It is a deed which burdens the individual who
commits the Act with an enormous Karmic debt.

The Unicorn is depicted as a white horse which has a long, straight,
spiral-shaped Horn protruding from the top of its head.

There are three basic Symbols contained in the Unicorn: the color
white, the horse, and the Horn:

The Horse is a Symbol of Travel and movement. And as the Unicorn
is a spiritual horse it has the ability to Travel and appear wherever,
and whenever, it wishes; it has the ability to appear throughout all
realms and dimensions.

White is the color of innocence, purity and perfection. White, which
is Symbolically similar to silver, represents the lunar, feminine
aspects of receptivity, instinct, intuition and virginity. Virginity in
its truest metaphysical and alchemical aspect represents the
unadulterated (untainted) mind and spirit; it is the prima materia
(pure matter) and the prisca sapientia (pristine knowledge, or
Wisdom). It is for this reason that to have a Unicorn appear to us
is both a great honor and Divine Gift. For, as stated before, only the
pure of heart and virtuous of deed are deserving to have a Unicorn
appear to them.

The Unicorn, unlike all other horned animals save perhaps the
rhinoceros, is a single-horned creature. While the two-horned
animals are linked, Symbolically, to the realm of duality and matter,
the Unicorn's single horn reminds us that its domain is the realm
of Unity; a realm that Transcends and exists beyond the bounds
of matter and duality.

The single, spiralled Horn is a Symbol of the endless, repeating
Cycles of Time. It is also Symbolic of the Sword. And as the Sword
Symbolizes the mind, the Unicorn's Horn also signifies Unity of
Thought and purity of reason. We also notice that this single Horn
protrudes from the top of the Unicorn's head which is the location
of the crown chakra. The crown chakra is a Border Between Realms;
it represents the highest level which our mind can attain and is the
Spiritual Gateway to the higher realms of Spirituality and Divine
Consciousness.

When depicted within a forest, the Unicorn represents purity and
enchantment amidst growth, birth, rebirth, renewal and fertility;
which are all feminine essences.

When a Unicorn is portrayed along with a lion it Symbolizes the
Union of the feminine (white, lunar) and masculine (Gold, solar)
aspects of our dual nature. This Symbolism also represents the
Alchemical Marriage.

In Chinese tradition the Unicorn is an "auspicious and perfect
spiritual beast which appears when sages are born". ***

As we can see, the Symbolism of the Unicorn is deep, pure, and
magical. And as very few individuals are pure and virtuous enough
to have a Unicorn appear to them we should feel very Blessed
should a Unicorn someday appear along our Path.

(See also: "The Phoenix", and
                   "The Alchemical Marriage and the Total Solar Eclipse")

*** "The Lost Language Of Symbolism", Harold Bayley

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2010
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