{"id":1294,"date":"2012-02-08T03:00:13","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lettinggo\/?p=1294"},"modified":"2012-02-04T21:03:06","modified_gmt":"2012-02-05T02:03:06","slug":"change-the-world-around-you-by-awakening-to-the-world-within-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lettinggo\/2012\/02\/change-the-world-around-you-by-awakening-to-the-world-within-you.html","title":{"rendered":"Change the World Around You by Awakening to the World Within You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question: <\/strong>You seem to make few comments regarding political action or defense from immediate physical threats. The message seems to be that resistance or effort to promote a change in a perceived problem is counter-productive and only prolongs the issue. Where does one draw the line (if at all) when perceived attacks are repeated or increased? Are any political involvements valid?<\/p>\n

Answer: <\/strong>All of us are moved to do whatever it is that we do in this life because of what we believe in, which is very much the same as what we are attracted to in one way or another. One of the tenants of my work is that we are drawn to whatever it may be, because within that relationship — whatever its nature — exists something for us to discover about ourselves through that relationship. Another major tenant is that “the inner determines the outer,” which is to say that the world we meet — individually and collectively — is pretty much a reflection of the level of our present nature.<\/p>\n

If we can marry these two important principles, then what we will see is that trying to change the world around us without first awakening to the world within us that has created what we want to change is an act of futility. That said, and as you have well pointed out, we can’t ignore the world we\u2019re making, and that certain actions are mandatory to keep it from completely going down the drain.<\/p>\n

So, one must be a good citizen. To quote a bit of Eastern wisdom, one must put their faith in Allah but tie up their camel. People who arbitrarily destroy or deliberately corrupt must be dealt with; it is wise to live as “green” as possible. To not vote for what one believes in is to vote for what others believe in that runs counter to one’s own common sense, etc.<\/p>\n

To summarize, the most difficult thing in the world is also the most important thing in the world\u2026 and that is: “to thine own self be true.” What others do or don’t do often requires our attention, but without first attending to our own interior unrest and conflict, we are a physician hiding from his own sickness by feigning interest in the health of others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: You seem to make few comments regarding political action or defense from immediate physical threats. The message seems to be that resistance or effort to promote a change in a perceived problem is counter-productive and only prolongs the issue. Where does one draw the line (if at all) when perceived attacks are repeated or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[167,1],"tags":[43,383,1024,1028,1027,85,1025,319,1026],"class_list":["post-1294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-enlightenment-self-realization","tag-awakening","tag-changing-the-world","tag-common-sense","tag-corruption","tag-good-citizen","tag-greed","tag-political-action","tag-politics","tag-taking-responsibility"],"yoast_head":"\nChange the World Around You by Awakening to the World Within You - Letting Go with Guy Finley<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lettinggo\/2012\/02\/change-the-world-around-you-by-awakening-to-the-world-within-you.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Change the World Around You by Awakening to the World Within You - Letting Go with Guy Finley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: You seem to make few comments regarding political action or defense from immediate physical threats. The message seems to be that resistance or effort to promote a change in a perceived problem is counter-productive and only prolongs the issue. 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His ideas cut straight to the heart of our most important personal and social issues - relationships, success, addiction, stress, peace, happiness, freedom - and lead the way to a higher life. Finley is the Founder and Director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit Center for Spiritual Discovery. He is the acclaimed author of \"The Secret of Letting Go\" and more than 45 other books and audio programs that have sold over two million copies in 26 languages worldwide. His work is widely endorsed by doctors, business professionals, celebrities, and religious leaders of all denominations. Through Life of Learning Foundation, Guy has presented over 5,000 unique self-realization seminars to thousands of grateful students throughout North America and Europe over the past 20 years and has been a guest on over 700 television and radio shows, including national appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, and NPR. The Foundation's popular Key Lesson e-mails featuring inspirational quotes by Guy are read each week by a hundred thousand subscribers in 142 countries. Guy speaks four times each week on inner-life principles at Life of Learning Foundation's home in Merlin, Oregon. These meetings are ongoing and open to the public. 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