WORK IN PROGRESS:
This post is a work in progress and is subject to changes, revisions, edits and deletions.
Nothing bad has ever happened to us, others or all of Nature. We're surrounded by love, we just have to realize it. (That doesn't mean we can do whatever we want, not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves. There's no coercion in spirituality - a person must come to bestowal voluntarily.)
Bestowal is bestowal is bestowal; however, there's a difference between bestowal that exists in selfishness, and bestowal that exists in bestowal.
How is it possible that we're in bestowal, given the state of affairs in the world today? Here's an explanation:
- Being In Bestowal While Immersed In Selfishness:
- Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves with no regard for others. How then, can we be in bestowal?
- A) A Harmer and A Person Who's Been Harmed: Let's say I harm you (God forbid). There's me, the harmer, and there's you, the person who's been harmed. How can we both be in bestowal?
- The Harmer In Bestowal: As the harmer, I'm in bestowal because I make life so miserable for you that I push you to question the meaning of your life and to cry out to The Creator for help. This brings you to bestowal, which is the purpose of creation. I act as a birth pain, a contraction, in order for you to give birth to your own internal quality of true bestowal.
- Also, I'm in bestowal because I TAKE pleasure from you, automatically putting you in a position of being the bestower of pleasure. I make you a bestower of pleasure.
- (This doesn't mean that we should intentionally harm others/Nature, not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.)
- The Person Who's Been Harmed In Bestowal: As the person who's been harmed, you're in bestowal because you've given me pleasure. I get pleasure from harming you, which is the nature of the quality of selfishness, inappropriate, but it's pleasure all the same. You don't give me pleasure voluntarily, I take it from you, but nevertheless, that puts you in a position of being the bestower of pleasure.
- (This doesn't mean that we should intentionally allow ourselves/others/Nature to be harmed, not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.)
- There's no such thing as a 'victim', only a person who gives pleasure.
- It's important to note in this scenario that pleasure is TAKEN.
- B) We're Teachers Of The Quality of Selfishness: While we're immersed in selfishness (acting selfishly towards each other and influencing each other in a negative and destructive way through our social environments), we benevolently teach each other about selfishness. Learning about selfishness is necessary because we learn from opposites (i.e. hot/cold, hate/love etc.) First we have to learn about the quality of selfishness in order to fully appreciate its opposite, the quality of bestowal.
- (This doesn't mean that we should intentionally be selfish, not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.)
- C) We Tell Each Others' Stories: This is connected to perception of reality. What we see on the outside is a reflection of who we are on the inside. The 'good' and 'bad' both tell a benevolent story of our internal qualities.
- D) Arc-Story In Creation: There's an arc-story in all creation (that includes the 'good' and the 'bad') that tells the benevolent story of our relationship with The Creator.
- Being In Bestowal While Immersed In Bestowal:
- We have to change from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others/Nature). Once we're in bestowal, we'll act benevolently:
- A) A Bestower And A Receiver: Let's say I do good to you. There's me, the bestower, and there's you, the receiver of my bestowal.
- The Bestower in Bestowal: As the bestower, I'm in bestowal because I seek only to do good to you, to benefit you in a positive and constructive way, and I do so to bring contentment to The Creator. The pleasure I feel comes from the happiness I give you and The Creator. Your happiness and The Creator's happiness makes me happy (gives me pleasure).
- I stop harming you, others and all of Nature.
- The Receiver In Bestowal: As the receiver of my bestowal, you're in bestowal because you receive my bestowal not for your own sake (not to benefit yourself), but to make me happy, and by so doing, to make The Creator happy. The pleasure you feel comes from the happiness you give me and The Creator. My happiness and The Creator's happiness makes you happy (gives you pleasure).
- It's important to note in this scenario that pleasure is GIVEN.
- B) We'll Teach Each Other About The Quality Of Bestowal: Once we're in bestowal (seeking to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves), we'll begin to benevolently teach each other about the quality of bestowal. We'll set examples for each other, we'll inspire each other, and we'll influence each other in a positive and constructive way (through our social environments) to be benevolent.
- C) We'll Tell Each Others' Stories: This is connected to perception of reality. What we see on the outside will be a reflection of our internal benevolent qualities.
- D) Arc-Story In Creation: We'll continue to tell the benevolent arc-story that exists in all creation, the story about our relationship with The Creator.
Nothing bad has ever happened to us, others, or all or Nature. We're surrounded by love, we just have to realize it. This doesn't mean that we can do whatever we want, not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.
Copyright © 2016. Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
