Are You a Blind Man Touching an Elephant?

 

The Blind Men and the Elephant is quite a famous Indian fable. It tells the story of six blind travelers who come across different parts of an elephant as they journey through life. You may have heard it and, if so, it bears repeating. If not, like my wife, you will find it to be a very interesting parable.

As each blind man touches the large mammal, he creates his own version of reality based on his limited experience and perspective. It reminds me of organized religions, with their individual interpretation of God/Supreme Source, as well as their assumption that theirs is the only “right” “best” or “true Path”.

Do you judge a book by its cover? Do you make assumptions based on first impressions? Do you, like me, sometimes decide that you are right and everyone else wrong? Are you a blind man touching an elephant? Read the fable and see for yourself! Here is a popular version by John Godfrey Saxes:

It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined, who went to see the elephant (Though all of them were blind), that each by observation, might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant, and, happening to fall, against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:’God bless me! but the elephant is nothing but a wall!’

The second feeling of the tusk cried: ‘Ho! what have we here, so very round and smooth and sharp? To me, tis mighty clear, this wonder of an elephant, is very like a spear!’

The third approached the animal, and, happening to take, the squirming trunk within his hands, ‘I see,’ quoth he, the elephant is very like a snake!’

The fourth reached out his eager hand, and felt about the knee:’What most this wondrous beast is like, is mighty plain,’ quoth he; ‘Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree.’

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said; ‘E’en the blindest man can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can, This marvel of an elephant, is very like a fan!’

The sixth no sooner had begun, about the beast to grope, than, seizing on the swinging tail, that fell within his scope, ‘I see,’ quothe he, ‘the elephant is very like a rope!’

And so these men of Indostan, disputed loud and long, each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

MORAL: So, oft in theologic wars, the disputants, I ween, tread on in utter ignorance, of what each other mean and prate about the elephant, not one of them has seen.

Keep manifesting  😆
Tony

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Your Very Best Quote Of The Week – Vol. 1

 

Each Saturday I share with you a really good quote. Now, the weekly quote may be one that I enjoy the most or perhaps one that is quite controversial, or unusual, or thought-provoking.

You may agree with it, or not. Either way, please let me know what you think.

May 12, 2018
“You are the creator of your experience,
which means you have more power than you have yet imagined.
You are not the victim of circumstance or of other people’s problems,
and this is not a test from God…
The awareness that our thoughts have creative power,
that whatever we focus on will show up in our lives,
is an ancient spiritual teaching.”
-Ellen Debenport

May 5, 2018
“We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds
and in the process heal our own –
indeed, to embrace the whole creation
in all its diversity, beauty, and wonder.”
– Wangari Maathai, Winner of Nobel Peace Prize.

April 28, 2018
“Re-examine all you have been told
in school or church or in any book,
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
And your very flesh shall be a great poem…”
-Walt Whitman

April 21, 2018
“Every time you meditate,
every time you do a visualization for healing,
every time you say something for healing the whole planet,
you are connecting with people who are doing the same thing.”
– Louise Hay

April 14, 2018
“No community or nation can stand alone; all are dependent and interdependent.
Only through a recognition of the principle of brotherhood can we hope for a solution of the social problems that face the world.
The mass consciousness must become aware of the oneness of all humanity, and each individual must recognize that his own interests and welfare depend upon the welfare of all other members of society.”
Thurman Fleet

April 7, 2018
“In my darkest hour, I discovered Tapping
and, miraculously,
this unorthodox approach to making sense in my life
moved me out of the fog
and into the sunshine.”
-Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hotels and Global Head of Hospitality and Strategy for Airbnb.

March 31, 2018
“…your brain is filtering out part of reality for you,
because it’s decided you don’t need to see this.
There’s censorship going on.
You put your hand over one eye,
and you see your nose intruding
into your field of vision in your other eye,
and you realize your nose is always there.
Yet unless you really look for it,
your brain edits out what you see.”
-David Byrne

March 24, 2018
“Practice switching roles with some of your loved ones.
Imagine what it is like to be your partner or spouse,
your parent, your child.
Get inside your loved one’s shoes and imagine
what it would be like to see the world through their eyes,
with their hopes and fears and dreams.
Think how you would respond.”
-Lynne McTaggart – in the Intention Experiment.

March 17, 2018
“See the things that you want as already yours.
Know that they will come to you at need.
Then let them come.
Don’t fret and worry about them.
Don’t think about your lack of them.
Think of them as yours, as belonging to you,
as already in your possession.”
– Robert Collier

March 10, 2018
“The vast majority of people are born,
grow up, struggle, and go through life in misery and failure,
not realizing that it would be just as easy to switch over
and get exactly what they want out of life,
not recognizing that the mind attracts the thing it dwells upon.”
-Napoleon Hill.

March 3, 2018
“… living the life of your dreams is a lot like sailing.
You pick your destination, hoist up your sail, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and let the wind do all the hard work.
In other words, imagine the end result, do what little you can, make minor adjustments while the journey is underway, and let me blow your mind.
W-e-e-e-e-e-e!”
The Universe [Mike Dooley]

Feb. 24, 2018
“If, in my low moments, in word, deed, or attitude,
through some error of temper, taste, or tone,
I have caused anyone discomfort, created pain, or revived someone’s fears,
that was not my truest self.
If there were occasions when my grape turned into a raisin,
and my joy bell lost its resonance,
please forgive me.
Charge it to my head and not to my heart.”
-Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Feb. 17, 2018
“It is often easier to open our hearts
to nature, animals, children or other people
than it is to ourselves.
From the time of birth, most of us have been bombarded
with messages from parents, teachers, peers, clergy, ads and the media
about how we have to look, act and feel
in order to measure up.
Our hearts gradually harden against ourselves,
and we enter a vicious cycle of self-judgment
and the projections of those judgments onto others.”
-Joan Borysenko Ph.D., from Pocketful of Miracles.

Feb. 3, 2018
“When you do something you’re not so proud of, you can react in one of three ways.
You can beat yourself up and wallow in the depths of despair, riddled with shame and paralyzed by guilt.
You can shield or numb yourself from what you’ve done and just keep right on doing the same ol’ thing.
Or you can take everything as an opportunity for growth and awakening, recognizing how you want to be different
And taking positive action to avoid behaving that way in the future,
All while holding yourself close with loving compassion and infinite forgiveness.
Bet you can guess which one I’d choose . . .
Always here with you, loving you, even when you screw up,”
-Your Inner Pilot Light

Jan. 27, 2018
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
-Roald Dahl.

Jan. 20, 2018
“We do not attract that which we want but that which we are. Not in love with your life? Create something new. Change yourself, then notice everything change.”
-Oprah Winfrey

Keep manifesting 🙂
Tony

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