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29 Nov 2010

Pain

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A very difficult Work teaching is that this earth is called a pain factory. Something inside us balks and objects most strenuously to this teaching. We insist, in the face of evidence to the contrary, that life doesn’t kill us, can be consistently good, easy and happy, or at least should be. If we’re not born rich, beautiful and intelligent it’s up to us find the secret of how to make life the way we think it should be. Many read self-help books that promise to show us the secret.

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24 Nov 2010

Storms

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Today I was thinking about some life challenges a friend is facing and has been facing for some months now. When people we love have big problems to meet, issues to face and decisions to make we want to help. It’s nearly always a bad idea because it very often robs them of the opportunity to develop. Then, in a flash, I remembered the esoteric story of Peter and the other disciples caught in a storm while out on the sea in a small boat. Remember that story?

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15 Nov 2010

Tastes

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The Work uses some interesting words to help convey what cannot be conveyed in words. Recently, in our Course in Miracles classes, we talked about how many opportunities we have to gladden ourselves and how few of those opportunities we seize. Of course, not every opportunity is the kind that can be seized, that is, taken hold of suddenly and forcibly.

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09 Nov 2010

Fearing

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When people fear for the safety of a loved one they often tend to think that a little hurt from them will save much hurt for the object of their love. So they hurt others for their own good. When I was a child I remember this attitude from parents. It never felt good or right. Then I didn’t understand what the motivation for this behavior was. It was personified in the phrase,

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16 Dec 2008

Peas

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The purpose of my life is to grow, develop and unfold into a higher order of being than that which I was born. Holding that idea above all others enables me to see life as my teacher rather than a vacation resort.

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26 Oct 2007

Memories

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Memories are a two edged sword. They can be useful in this Work. It’s a good thing too, because we have so many of them. Some good, some not so good. Sometimes we are able to remember an event because we were more awake when it …

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About Esoteric Talks

"No good deed goes unpunished."

The person most frequently credited as the originator of the phrase is playwright Clare Boothe Luce. Also credited have been playwright Noel Coward, writer Oscar Wilde, journalist Walter Winchell and the late Washington Post writer Bill Gold. The original idea is probably an ancient proverb.

Appearing cynical on the surface, a closer examination of human nature reveals the False Personality to be incredibly vengeful and petty due to its hubris.

Plato has Socrates say, "An unexamined life is not worth living." The reason no good deed goes unpunished is because most people are living lives not worth living. If you feel a sting, that probably means you are spending more time and energy examining the lives of others than you are examining your own.