When I was seven I had the experience that my senses didn’t belong to any central “I”. I didn’t know to whom the senses were relaying information to but I did notice that there was some kind of memory and accumulation of experience that affected how this body-mind developed.
But it didn’t seem to fit in with how my parents and teachers interacted with me as if I was a Martin person at the centre of it all. This was deeply unpleasant because it was the first time that I realized that our general language did not always reflect what reality was actually like and actually couldn’t accurately reflect anything quite that well.
I pretended to be Martin as best as I could for everybody else and even sometimes even believed that the name actually referred to some kind of Martin self that existed inside and experienced things that the senses delivered to it. Really the experience was more like there was no “me”, only God and it was God that was “seeing”, “hearing” etc. There was no me in the shadow of God.
I had my next even more powerful experience of this when I was 15 and then knew that I was not going to have a very conventional life and that I had to find out who I truly was if that was at all possible.
I like it and think it is true. It is also reasonably original.
There is only one way to change because the ego makes change impossible. Keep your heart open for a miracle. Why a miracle? Because miracles are impossible. So allow for the impossible to become possible.From the sayings of Martin Goldstein.
It is well known that people who are more grateful experience higher levels of well-being. Grateful people are happier, less stressed, and more content with their lives and social relationships. People who maintain a sense of gratitude also have higher levels of control in their lives, as well as sustained personal growth, and acceptance of their self. They have positive methods of coping with the challenges that arise, being more likely to accept support from others, able to re-frame situations and grow from the difficulty, and give more time to planning how to deal with it. Grateful people are also less prone to using negative coping strategies, including avoidance and denial, self blame, or using substances. Grateful people sleep well, and this is because they are less inclined to think in negative terms. They will experience more positivity in their thoughts in the moments before going to sleep.
Healthy emotions and character traits are important to wellness, although it is probable that gratitude may be of unique importance. Studies show that people who have more gratitude cope better with life transitions. People who are more grateful are less stressed, less depressed, and more satisfied with their relationships. Gratitude may have a unique relationship with well-being, and can explain aspects of well-being that other personality traits cannot.
It is probable that had Stalin, Hitler or other historical goons had a sense of gratitude there would be less suffering in this sorry world.
Watch for the addition of an exciting Design Argument outreach Rabbinical staff member coming very soon. This Rabbi will lead us into the great future that we are embarking upon. Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.
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