NEW THOUGHTS part 2

I received my copy of Volume 1 of 'Thoughts for 100 Sabbath Days in the mail yesterday and I am very pleased with the way the book has turned out. I wish to thank those who have ordered the book from Amazon.com and I hope that those who said they wanted a copy of the book will be ordering their copies soon!!



…as I was saying

Others might reject the acquiring of new thoughts because they have an ‘I am…’ complex. We can easily fill in the missing words.

I am too old to learn!

I am too experienced!

I have intuitive intelligence!

I am more educated than most!

‘Street smarts’ is the only learning that matters in life!

I am not capable!

These phrases ring forth as if those reciting them were old dogs, jacks of all trades, clairvoyant prodigies, charter members of Mensa International and Continental God Father’s, and are thereby exempt from the necessity of adding any new thoughts.

Since the drive home was lengthy I pondered upon others who seem to be so inundated with inferiority that they have convinced themselves of being in an unworthy state when it comes to adding new thoughts or experiences to their lives.

I have to confess that when I was young I really enjoyed singing in large groups of people commonly referred to as choirs. One night I was in such a group singing in the Hollywood Bowl. The occasion was a youth celebration for our church and I was really enjoying the experience, when during the rehearsal a young man who I evidently had been putting through a punishing experience in front of me, turned around and said ‘I wish you would sing more softly, you are so off key that I can't hit the right notes.’ I remember lip syncing through the concert and later, when I had a fairly prominent role in a musical called ‘Promised Valley’, I lip synced my way through all the group songs. One of the true signs of Kathleen's love for me is that she enjoys having me sit next to her while we sing the congregational hymns.

I know I have denied myself many wonderful experiences because of the feeling of inferiority I have when singing and I suspect there are many who have lost countless opportunities to expand their thoughts and experiences because of some interior or exterior lid which they allowed to be placed on their lives.

I wondered about those who have permanently put on a mask of pretentiousness which identifies their place in society, which would be damaged severely if they were to be seen lacking. They become petrified and stagnant because of their fear of being thought less of or having to learn from someone whom they consider to be less than they.

It seems to me that whatever the reason or justification we might use to stifle the acquisition of new thoughts, the result will always be the same.

The stifling of Growth!

The loss of the joy which comes with discovery!

Never moving closer to becoming all that they could become!

There is another personal reason which might be unique or which others might have likewise found to be a hampering weight which keeps us form gaining new thoughts.

I grew up in a rather cloistered environment as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in towns of Utah and Idaho. Until I was 10 years old I don't know if I could have identified anyone I associated with who wasn't a member of that church.

Even when we moved to California, although I was in a very religiously mixed neighborhood and attended public schools, my thoughts, ideas, principles, patterns of life and influences mainly came from the associations I had with family and church members.

After high school I had a brief stint in Active Army Reserve Training at Fort Ord where I was introduced to some of the outside world by fellow trainees, instructors and John Steinbeck whose books I read extensively during the last three months of my active duty.

Upon returning home from my brief influences from outside sources I received a call to serve in the Northern Mexican Mission for our church. The next 2 ½ years were spent not only reemerging myself in the thoughts, ideas, principles, patterns of life and influences of my family and church, but dedicating most of every day to trying to convince others of the correctness of those ideas and ways.

After my mission I returned to college, married Kathleen, we started our family and got into our own cloistered home experiences, based on the teachings of the restored gospel in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. During the first four years after returning from my mission to Mexico I taught early morning Seminary for the Church Education System. After a few short years at Santa Ana and Fullerton College’s, and working as a Wood, Wire and Metal Lather, I was hired as a full time teacher in the Educational System of the Church.

While I was getting started on my teaching career, since I hadn't graduated from college yet, I enrolled in night and summer courses to finish my degree from Brigham Young University to be qualified as an employee of the Church’s Educational program. I was in such a rut with my education/employment schedule and since the Church was paying for my educational expenses, after graduating I immediately got started working on a Master’s degree.

To be continued