The Fall of man.
Jack E Stowe

In “The Footsteps of man” we have seen man progress and grow in strength and knowledge but not in happiness. It seems quite the opposite The more we learn the harder it is to find happiness. I think that this is because we have forgotten that happiness is the most important goal in life for when we die it is the only thing we will take with you.. Happiness is the only goal in life

We lost sight of the goal of happiness when we made other goals more important. The happiness of sharing was lost when we let others do our work for us. Our feelings of piece were lost when others could take what we have. Our self-esteem was lost when others could do or have what we could not.

Every negative thing in our lives comes from wanting that which we do not have. Every positive thing in our life comes from what we do have. We have been taught what is important, what we need, and what is right and wrong. What we have not been taught is how to be happy. No one can teach us that because it is our natural condition. They can only teach us how to be unhappy.

Just as our eyes interpret what we see our emotions interpret how well we are living. The better we are living the happier we are. All feelings of discomfort are indications that we are creating negative thoughts and need to change our focus. We have been taught that feelings are important and that what we feel and what others feel is important. We work so hard to feel good, to not hurt other people’s feelings, to make others happy and so on. Feelings are just our body’s reaction to our thoughts. We can change our feelings at any time because they are our thoughts. We can never change the feelings of any one else. We have no control over their thoughts. We can offer them our opinion and new information for their consideration but their thoughts are always theirs. We can never make anyone happy or sad for they are that way because of what they are thinking.

We do not affect the world by what we think and feel but only by what we do. Our thoughts and feelings are just indicators of how our actions will affect things. Happy thoughts will lead to happy actions. Loving thoughts will lead to loving actions. Painful thoughts will lead to disaster.

The very first thing that man learned was that he could do nothing alone. He learned that he needed to share with others. The more we shared the better life became. But the erroneous belief that there was not enough to share led to competition. Instead of working with others to create what was wanted we started to use others to take what we wanted. What we had became more important to us than what we created. The goal was more important than how we achieved it, and the destination more important than the trip. The joy, satisfaction, and excitement of living were lost in the hopes and fears of its outcome. Death became more important than life.

All laws, rules, sins, and beliefs are created to protect us and the things we value. No mater how well meaning they are they offer no protection. There can be no protection from life. Life can not be regulated only lived. There is nothing in this world that can help or hinder us from living. Every day and every thought is yours to use as we will. We have brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out so how important is what we do or acquire in your every day life. Every day is yours to live as we see fit and the only thing we can take from it is your memories.

Despite all the pain and unhappiness we have caused ourselves in the past we continue to learn and grow. Every pain we have ever suffered has brought us knowledge of how to avoid it in the future. Every choice we have made has brought us insight into how things work. We can look at any painful situation and see the mistaken beliefs that led to it in our own lives and in history. When we do this we will soon see what we must do to make our own lives better. The best way to teach is by example so by making our own lives more satisfying we will make it easer for those around us and for our children to also find happiness. Only we can make our life better.

Wealth, power, popularity, health, or love does not bring happiness. Happiness is not what we get but is a part of us. To try to find happiness is a meaningless task. Every pain every war every broken heart is a useless attempt to fine happiness. If we are truly to be happy we must look for it in the only place it will ever be, inside us. We must look at our feelings and let go of the thoughts that are making us unhappy. The world is a perfect place full of things to enjoy and appreciate. We can not find happiness only lose it.

Sharing
You’re the richest person on this earth
Even if your cupboard is bare
It is not what you have that counts
But what you have to share.

The richest feast is nothing
When loneliness the host
It’s the crust of bread that you share
That you will remember most.

The greatest people on this earth
Is those that’s shared the most
And those that do not learn to share
End up a lonely ghost.

So I promise that I will share with you
All that I can give
And we will have the best of days
As long as we shall live.

Jack E Stowe

Peaceful Heart

Let me tell you all my children a Secret I have learned
From the life that I have lived and the bridges I have burned
You can not learn it from a teacher or find it in a book
For happiness and success there is just one place to look
Money, fame, power, and health come and go like night and day
And if you try to find it there It will quickly slip away

Everything is in constant change all that comes will go
What you think, what you feel, and even what you know
The greatest treasure you can find is yours right from the start
The world will always be your toy if you have a peaceful heart
No mater what storms that you may face or where ever you may roam
If you have a peaceful heart you will always be safe at home.

Jack E Stowe
lets talk jackstowe@att.net

Strangers

We live in a world of strangers
I wish it were no so.
Each builds around himself a wall
Outside he dare not go.

For if outside he ventures
Without his armor tight
He’ll see the light of real day
and the dark of real night.

See us waste our lives in foolish search
And see the games we play.
Living in our lonely world
Day after endless day

In search of fame, in search of gold
And other foolish quest
When what we really want and need
Is love and warmth and rest

The tender touch of a loving friend
A family to belong
Someone to share with us
Our sadness and our song

But this I tell you all my friends
And what I say is true
With the armor that we wear
Loves arrows can not get through

The walls we build to stop the pain
Just lock the pain inside
We build not for protection
But just a place to hide

Step outside and see the light
Stand up strait and tall
A life locked in your lonely room
Is no life at all

We can not live our life alone
No matter how we feel
We need the world and it needs us
And only love is real


Let’s talk: Jack E Stowe jackstowe@att.net

Loneliness is a monster
It lives on tears and lies
It tells you you are all alone
And grows strong on your cries

But it’s a lie that no-one cares
For they are just like you
And if you did not care for them
Then you would not be blue

Every person on this earth
With you would like to pair
To learn from you what you can teach
And with you their troubles share

But we’ve been taught it is dangerous
To show people that we care
So we hide just how we feel
Instead of learning to share

Only the pain you cause your self
Is the pain you feel
The fear that you may be hurt
Is a fear that is not real.
Jack Stowe

THE TEN GUIDES TO LEARNING AND GROWTH
By Jack E Stowe

1. You are unique there is no one in this world that can do what you are going to do but you.

2. Everyone in the world needs you to succeed!

3. Love is free and infinite. Give and take it freely.

4. You can learn to do anything anyone else can do.

5. You have more information available to you than anyone in history.

6. Problems are just a chance to learn new things.

7. Everything can be improved with practice.

8. No one else’s opinion is based on your knowledge.

9. Helping others is the most effective way to learn and grow.

10. Sharing doubles what you have.

The things we have to do to learn and develop our potential are very selfish.

1. We must get to know ourselves and understand what our needs really are.
2. We must examine what we have been taught to see if it is still valid.
3. We must accept the person we are today.
4. We must forgive ourselves for the things that we did in the past that we now think of as wrong. and continue to strive to do what we need to do in order to live and grow.
5. we must learn to love the person we are now.
6. We must share.

The Art of Living
By Jack E Stowe

Just as the planets follow a pattern in their path around the sun, life itself follows a pattern. All life follows this pattern. The planets can not go off in a different direction and nether can you or I. Our lives can not escape the path that life has set for us. All we can do is to perceive this pattern and attune our selves to it. We all have a mechanism for sensing the pattern of life. The mechanism is our emotions or feelings. When we are at peace and content we are in tune with that pattern, and the more we feel uncomfortable the greater we are resisting what we are and what we need to do.

Life is lived in the moment. The past is dead and the future is only a dream. All that really exist does so in the now. Everything in the now affects you and you affect everything in the now. No one can change the past or know the future. The first rule in the art of Living is “LIVE IN THE NOW !!”

Every person who has ever lived struggles with the same five needs.
1. Safety
2. Comfort
3. Companionship
4. Health
5. Understanding

How he sees and tries to meet these needs is what makes each one unique. We learn from our environment and experience. Most of the patterns we see in life are set in our first five years and then enforced by our experience. The trouble is that much of what we learned is wrong and we do not take time to question our Beliefs. It is these false beliefs that are at the base of all our pain, anxiety, and fears.

Let us look at some of these false beliefs:

1. That others are smarter than we are,
Others may have more experience or education in some things but that does not mean that they are any smarter.
2. Others have our best interest at heart.
There is no way that they can know what is best for us. No one can know the future so no one can know what is best. What worked for them may not work for you and what did not work for them may be the best thing you can do,
3. That what has happened in the past will happen again.
Everything that happens for an extremely complex and unique set of reasons. The idea that that unique set of reasons will happen again is beyond even the possibility of happening.
4. That you are responsible for what other people think, feel, or do.
No one has the power to make you do what you do not want to do and You do not have the power to make them do anything.
At every moment, everyone has to make their own choice. Do not blame others for your choice or let them blame you for theirs.
5. That you will be judged by what you do.
Every moment your choices create you anew. What we call the past is just a memory of our previously creations. No one can judge what you have created but you, just as you can not judge the creation of another.
6. That you will make a choice that will affect you whole life.
Every choice you make not only creates a new you but a new world for you to live in. Your life is limited only by the choices you choose to make.




Distortions in Thinking

1. All or nothing thinking
2. Over generalization
3. Mental Filter
4. Disqualifying the positive
5. Jumping to conclusions
6. Magnification or Minimization.
7. Emotional Reasoning
8. Should and shouldn’t statements
9. Labeling
10. Personalization

These thoughts that we all have distort our thinking and prevent us from seeing the world as it is in reality. They are the main cause of our inability to cope effectively with our every day problems, and see the true value in ourselves and others. If we will learn to recognize these distortions of thought in ourselves and others our ability to cope and enjoy life will be greatly enhanced.

1. All or Nothing Thinking
a. We do not live in a black and white world.
b. Life contains all the colors of the rainbow
2. Over Generalization.
a. Although things may look the same each is unique.
b. You must look for the uniqueness in each.
3. Mental Filter.
a. This confuses what you are seeing now with what you have seen in the past.
b. You must not confuse one thing with the other.
4. Disqualifying the Positive.
a. To see the good in life you must look for the good in all things.
b. If you take the positive for normal you will overlook most of the good things in the world.
5. Jumping to Conclusions.
a. Conclusions are based on the facts you know so do not make any until you have had time to examine the facts.
b. All new situations have new elements to examine
6. Magnification and Minimization.
a. It is far to easy to overestimate or discount the importance of things in you life.
b. This leads only to mistakes and disappointment.
7. Emotional Reasoning.
a. Your feelings or your bodies reactions to you thoughts, and both or in a continuous state of change.
b. Do not depend on how you feel it will soon change.

8. Should and Shouldn’t statements.
a. These or based on what was done by others in other situations and have no bearing on your current situation.
b. Using Should statements puts an unrealistic urgency and feelings of gilt into your mind.
9. Labeling.
a. When you label anything you think of it as the label and do not see its uniqueness.
b. Once you label something you can not recognize the real object.
10. Personalization.
a. To own or see something as yours magnifies it beyond all realistic per portions.
b. The only thing that you can call yours is your awareness.




The Art of Living


Just as the planets follow a pattern in their path around the sun, life itself follows a pattern. All life follows this pattern. The planets can not go off in a different direction and nether can you or I. Our lives can not escape the path that life has set for us. All we can do is to perceive this pattern and attune our selves to it. We all have a mechanism for sensing the pattern of life. The mechanism is our emotions or feelings. When we are at peace and content we are in tune with that pattern, and the more we feel uncomfortable the greater we are resisting what we are and what we need to do.

Life is lived in the moment. The past is dead and the future is only a dream. All that really exist does so in the now. Everything in the now affects you and you affect everything in the now. No one can change the past or know the future. The first rule in the art of Living is “LIVE IN THE NOW !!”

Every person who has ever lived struggles with the same five needs.
1. Safety
2. Comfort
3. Companionship
4. Health
5. Understanding

How he sees and tries to meet these needs is what makes each one unique. We learn from our environment and experience. Most of the patterns we see in life are set in our first five years and then enforced by our experience. The trouble is that much of what we learned is wrong and we do not take time to question our Beliefs. It is these false beliefs that are at the base of all our pain, anxiety, and fears.

Let us look at some of these false beliefs:

1. That others are smarter than we are,
Others may have more experience or education in some things but that does not mean that they are any smarter.
2. Others have our best interest at heart.
There is no way that they can know what is best for us. No one can know the future so no one can know what is best. What worked for them may not work for you and what did not work for them may be the best thing you can do,
3. That what has happened in the past will happen again.
Everything that happens for an extremely complex and unique set of reasons. The idea that that unique set of reasons will happen again is beyond even the possibility of happening.
4. That you are responsible for what other people think, feel, or do.
No one has the power to make you do what you do not want to do and You do not have the power to make them do anything.
At every moment, everyone has to make their own choice. Do not blame others for your choice or let them blame you for theirs.
5. That you will be judged by what you do.
Every moment your choices create you anew. What we call the past is just a memory of our previously creations. No one can judge what you have created but you, just as you can not judge the creation of another.
6. That you will make a choice that will affect you whole life.
Every choice you make not only creates a new you but a new world for you to live in. Your life is limited only by the choices you choose to make.




Distortions in Thinking

1. All or nothing thinking
2. Over generalization
3. Mental Filter
4. Disqualifying the positive
5. Jumping to conclusions
6. Magnification or Minimization.
7. Emotional Reasoning
8. Should and shouldn’t statements
9. Labeling
10. Personalization

These thoughts that we all have distort our thinking and prevent us from seeing the world as it is in reality. They are the main cause of our inability to cope effectively with our every day problems, and see the true value in ourselves and others. If we will learn to recognize these distortions of thought in ourselves and others our ability to cope and enjoy life will be greatly enhanced.

1. All or Nothing Thinking
a. We do not live in a black and white world.
b. Life contains all the colors of the rainbow
2. Over Generalization.
a. Although things may look the same each is unique.
b. You must look for the uniqueness in each.
3. Mental Filter.
a. This confuses what you are seeing now with what you have seen in the past.
b. You must not confuse one thing with the other.
4. Disqualifying the Positive.
a. To see the good in life you must look for the good in all things.
b. If you take the positive for normal you will overlook most of the good things in the world.
5. Jumping to Conclusions.
a. Conclusions are based on the facts you know so do not make any until you have had time to examine the facts.
b. All new situations have new elements to examine
6. Magnification and Minimization.
a. It is far to easy to overestimate or discount the importance of things in you life.
b. This leads only to mistakes and disappointment.
7. Emotional Reasoning.
a. Your feelings or your bodies reactions to you thoughts, and both or in a continuous state of change.
b. Do not depend on how you feel it will soon change.

8. Should and Shouldn’t statements.
a. These or based on what was done by others in other situations and have no bearing on your current situation.
b. Using Should statements puts an unrealistic urgency and feelings of gilt into your mind.
9. Labeling.
a. When you label anything you think of it as the label and do not see its uniqueness.
b. Once you label something you can not recognize the real object.
10. Personalization.
a. To own or see something as yours magnifies it beyond all realistic per portions.
b. The only thing that you can call yours is your awareness.