Educational Excellence

Good morning, “Soul Starz”!

I must admit that the first time I heard this term, “Soul Starz”, has been in circles of friends who embrace meditation, or at least, thinking about things in a manner that we each are the center of our worlds. Yet, NOT in a narcissistic way, my friends! A good friend with the same birthday as me, she calls herself “Sacka Grifo” on a social network, who also grew up in my hometown around the time I taught Social Studies at White Plains High School, greets everyone in the morning with that title – “Soul Starz”! Yes, she is different … what about you!?

Are you “uniquely yourself”? Or are you a carbon copy of something you’ve seen in the movies or an image of some “sex symbol” or “money-making mogul”? We each have a choice of who we want to be and how we want to be it. We each have a choice to be on a collision course with everything and everybody or we can seek to live in harmony, not claiming anyone or anything as our “own”! According to the presentation of Mike George Sunday evening at Unity on the Bay, Miami, we each seek … or perhaps … should be seeking happiness, “self” knowledge and freedom along our individual journeys. Now let me make it clear, I have not read any of his books but the talk I experienced last night was worth a million words! His theme in the talk focused on how to live from the inside out and be your authentic self. Now that might be a lot of work for those of us who want to be a carbon copy of someone else, heh?!

Now, I always thought I was “deep” as we had generated that term during my adolescent “hippy-dom” as a group of us at the boarding school sought to navigate our ways through an environment and lifestyle that we hadn’t been exposed to before. And it was good, might I remind you! For me, anything that makes me grow – not to fight, suffer, struggle and conflict with others – is a primary experience I seek in my life. Mr. George alluded to life being something that we “live and create,” quite simply … or NOT? WE have been conditioned or socialized into a reality that is distinctly outside of ourselves and different from the reality that we experience from the “inside”. The process that he identified where we associate our “selves” with things outside of ourselves, and, when those “things” are affected, we too allow ourselves to become affected as if the “thing” is our SELF!! An example that Mike used was how one feels almost immediately upon seeing a coin or key mark along the side of one’s new “BMW”! This mark is actually on the vehicle; yet, some of us … maybe most of us … have internalized that possession as being our “self”, and, consequently suffer from the mark placed on it with an emotional reaction. We work so hard each day to get our “things” be it a nose job or a sprawling home located in a beautiful neighborhood in Hollywood, California! But when the aging process continues to affect our “new nose” or a natural disaster causes our luxurious home to fall prey to a massive sink hole, our realities become affected once again … and we’ve got to get another surgery or a new “home” …

The presentation was interactive as Mike asked us to turn to a neighbor, preferably someone we didn’t know, and tell that person what happiness “is” for them. The person I met was named “Debra” and we both agreed that happiness was “peace” for us. She elaborated a bit more as did I, and I mentioned how happiness is “harmony” for me! After allowing us some time to interact and chat, Mike then asked for us to say out loud what we found. After many many responses were heard, “contentment” seemed to be the primary expression of happiness … believe it … or not! He encouraged us to look up “eudonic” happiness as opposed to hedonic happiness, which is derived from external stimulation. He asked us if we feel better “giving” to others or “receiving” from others? Eudonic happiness is that joy which is long lasting, does NOT depend on any external stimulation, and comes from within each of us … when we “give” to others. This “giving” does not have to be money or things, but indeed can be love and support, unconditionally. That last bit is what I added … unconditionally … because we do it just “because” … because it makes us feel good to share positivity and see the happiness in another person’s life. Definitely something to think about … long and hard … or at least frequently, in particular when we experience some emotional discomfort and MUST detach from those “things” we believe we possess when they are threatened. We often respond as if someone is threatening our “self” when they say some “nasty little nasties”! When in reality, we are mistakenly accepting that person’s observation of who we are rather than detaching … even from their very hurtful words!

I could go on and on as Meredith Porte of WLRN and the Brahma Kumaris Miami said when introducing and closing the presentation for Mr. George. But, I want to close simply by mentioning that the “program” closed with a meditation by Sister Veronica, leader of the Brahma Kumaris in Florida, a well known non-profit organization in spiritual circles, and, an exceptionally perfect rendition of India Arie’s “I Am Light!” by singer Jessica Fein. Are you “light”?

A special thanks again to Roz Reich and the Brahma Kumaris from Hollywood as she organized an incredible outing … one to be remembered … for ever … and ever!

Have a wonder filled week … be well … and “Know Thyself”!

Om shanti!

John I. Cook, Director