Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
Buddha
(563 - 483 BC)
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This is a great quote, Buddha.
It is so true that we all need to rely on our native intelligence. This is such a beautiful truth, and it inspires me to consider what the ego does with such a pure recommendation to trust your soul knowing.
First of all I have to confess that I have always been a rebel against dogma, the status quo, and anything I saw that was not working. But in my younger years, I had no intelligent guidance to help direct my decisions against what was wrong. As a result, in my aversion to wrong, I created more wrong. It’s really hard to keep rightness on the rails without the help of more conscious, and experienced individuals… and God. And when you try to rely solely on God, it’s hard to hear the clear instruction.
The most profound thing I learned from not believing in any of these things was that I couldn’t figure most things out rightly on my own. I’ve always needed someone else to help me. Thank GOD! Autonomy simply doesn’t work for human beings. I found that to be an incredible relief. My own native intelligence did, however, lead me to recognizing good help when I found it.
This is so important.
Through my life I have been pushed into corners where the usual rules that most people followed simply didn't work for me - and later on I got used to thinking outside the box - it has become “normal” to arrive at a crossroads and spend some time there - wondering - which way - sometimes I had no clue and just chose something that my heart chose (this is the case most of the time with me), other times I chose the path that my logic agreed with.
It's interesting to look back now and go back in time and reevaluate all my choices… this can help me make better decisions in the future…