AN ALTER NATIVE REALITY
by
Swami Beyondananda
Do we really create our own reality?
Or is it all scripted out over at Universal Studios? The debate
has raged as long as debates have been the rage, and I can provide
no definitive answer either. Certainly some really big blockbusters
have come out of Universal -- and more disasteroid scenarios are
predicted for the near future. And yet, small independents continue
to write and star in their own successful movies.
As more and more of these alternative
scripts get produced, this is helping to bring about an alter
native reality. And that is a good thing. For indeed, the native
reality could use some altering. In a recent reality check, 71%
of those responding said they "disapproved" of the current
reality -- the lowest approval rating reality has had since the
Great Flood. This is understandable. Consider the political scene,
for goodness sakes. All those endless buttals and rebuttals. The
media baits us into arguing, and we keep falling for debate. It
is so silly -- we could be making a beautiful brainchild together,
and instead we are mass-debating.
And even those natives who ignore
the political goings on, they too are in need of altering. Perhaps
you are one of those going through "psychic midlife spread"
and are complaining, "I seem to have outgrown my old life
and nothing fits anymore." Well, as my beloved guru Harry
Cohen Baba, the Garment Center Saint, used to say, "When
something doesn't fit, you need to make alterations."
Now in the old days when Harry Cohen
Baba was still on the material plane, people would come in for
alterations all the time. Perhaps they'd just been in a serious
karma wreck or suffered a near-debt experience, and their old
habits were in tatters. He'd snip a little material here, mend
a little tear there, and the natives would leave in a truly altered
state, often remarking about how well their life fit.
"Wow. No crimping in the crotch!
No more constriction around the neck! And look -- my arms are
swinging freely!" I tell you it was quite a blessing to have
a guru who could custom-tailor your reality like that. I remember
shortly before his passing, the great healer's disciples gathered
at his bedside and cried, "What will we do without you?"
The Garment Centered One shrugged
and said, "Suit yourself." And this is only fitting.
We can alter our own reality (not to mention the reality of the
natives around us) by following these simple suggestions:
1. Tell A Vision. If you don't like
the current programming, be your own channel and tell a vision.
Instead of being just another divisionary taking sides on the
latest televised drama, become a visionary who uses the spectacle
to help us all see more clearly. If enough of us do this, even
mainstream media will have to replace its commentators with uncommontaters
who have an alter native vision. For indeed there is a Divine
Order. When you tell your vision, you are filling out your Divine
Order Form. As Harry Cohen Baba told us after one of his New Deli
pilgrim ages, "Life is like a good deli. If enough people
order something, they'll have to make it."
2. Be An Esteem-Generator. Each
of us at some time in our lives has been flattened by an esteem-roller,
and it's taken months or years to get back up to a full head of
esteem. You can speed up this process -- and alter native reality
-- by becoming an empowerhouse who helps others generate their
own esteem. As you know, esteem rises and rising esteem might
even be the cause of this global warming we've heard so much about.
People are definitely becoming warmer. Just a few years ago, it
wasn't cool to be warm. Now being warm is becoming cool again.
This is bound to have an effect on the overall climate.
3. Life Is A Bun Dance, So Get Out
On The Flow. Sometimes when reality becomes too unpleasant, there
is a temptation to dance off into the void. Clearly, this is a
void dance. The opposite of a void dance is a bun dance. If you
want to enjoy a bun dance, you gotta get up off your assets and
shake those buns. Sadly, too many of us don't know our assets
from a hole in the ground. To create an alter native reality --
and promote a bun dance -- we gotta move our assets and dance,
dance, dance, till the sacred cows come home.
4. Don't Get Even -- Get Odd. Being
odd is natural. Each of us is one-of-a-kind, and number-wise it
doesn't get any odder than one. (As a matter of fact, that is
why Ulysses's journey was called an "oddyssey" -- because
he was alone.) And any mathematician will tell you that one is
the oddest number that you'll ever do. So rejoice that you are
unique -- just like everyone else -- and encourage others to get
odd as well. That way the odds will be with us as we promote alter
native lifestyles. The more we realize God made us odd for a reason,
the less energy we will waste trying to get even.
5. Laugh At Your Own Expense. According
to a recent report issued by the Eternal Revenue Service, each
time someone laughs at our expense, it is credited to our cosmic
expense account, which makes it an excellent way to buy down karmic
debt. So next time you are feeling foolish, smile, shrug, and
say, "This one's on me!" Who knows? You may be able
to skip a few karma payments. For indeed, laughter provides karmic
relief. As the old saying goes, "Laugh at yourself, and the
whole world will laugh at you too." Imagine a world of fooly-realized
beings wholeheartedly laughing at themselves. This would certainly
alter our native reality for the better.
About the Author
Hear the Swami's wisdom with your own ears --
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