Rules for life on earth

Rules of life as a human on planet earth

What to watch out for.

Not everything is about you-- our world is so full of interactions and so full of people that we are all collateral effects in other peoples events.

Gravity only pulls you down- - on earth this is inescapable, no matter how far your thoughts can fly, the physical reality is always to anchor you to the ground. Some Victorians believed they could live on air, yoga and thoughts alone, they died. Reality may be uncomfortable, it may be unpleasant but it is necessary. Take careful thoughts to anyone and anything which offers escape from unpleasantness. Be careful what you wish for as it is possible there are unexpected consequences. Often it turns out that the difficulties we face now, have a purpose that affects the future.

There is a difference between love and possession-- Loving means a mix of care and wishing those you love every happiness; while possession is wanting to keep control of those others, for yourself.

Most events that we blame on luck or “God” --- are in fact the consequences of previous decisions and actions by ourselves and others (family, ancestors, law makers etc.)

Each human appears to have 3 main components, a physical body, a mind and a life force-- the well-being of all 3 is important to the well-being of the whole. If one part is sick or injured, it reduces the condition of the whole. The life force seems to be an intangible entity that makes the difference between being an organic machine and being a human being.

Everyone is subjected to conditioning and training-- The first few years of each human life shapes the rest of that life. Later deliberate efforts can overcome and change the basic conditioning that was given in those first years of life, but this new conditioning is over-layered on the initial stuff, it does not replace it. Behaviour can be changed, the mind can develop to exercise control over instincts that formed in the first 2 or 3 years of life, these instincts will remain but the mind can control them; if trained and supported. Most humans focus on the training of the body and the mind and seem to just hope the life force follows along.

Humans are subject to the same basic rules of existence as everything else-- that is; they are formed (born) they grow, they mature, they stagnate, they die; that is the body and mind stop working. No one has definite proof as to what happens to the life force. There are many theories but no firm repeatable evidence as to what happens to it. This sequence is the same for planets and for ants, humans and trees.

There is a need to treat all information with a little bit of scepticism.-- Interactions between humans are growing in complexity-- modern communication is more open to misinterpretation than was the case 500 years ago. At a period of history when most could not read or write, then face to face verbal communication in person was the normal. Humans evolved minds that used all their physical senses to make a judgement about what they were being told. Now in the early 21st century we have vast inputs of communication but very little is in person. Historically most people had relatively limited contact with any person or events outside of those they were directly involved in. The direct involvement made judgements easy, relative to today's disconnected but saturating bombardment of information. It is much easier to mass manipulate reactions today, than it was 500 years ago.

Leave no pollution-- this was best summed up by Ancient Chinese Lao Tzu A good traveller leaves no foot print. People protest about damage to the environment, they blame governments, manufacturers of packaging and any other group they can name but in reality it is a personal responsibility for each person to take care of their own environment. If everyone did that no need to protest about the manufacturers.

Beware of what you wish for-- Making demands without carefully and fully thinking through all the consequences, can lead to future problems. It is no good later blaming bad luck, if the consequences of your demands turn out to be different from that which you intended.

Advertising in all and any, of its forms, needs treating with suspicion.-- Even those “influencers” on the internet get paid for saying what you hear and read, not for telling absolute truth. Just because you find the sales person attractive; it does not mean it is actually as good for you personally as it is claimed.

Think before you join a protest—Joining a march because your mates are going, joining a protest because the only newspaper you ever read says it is good idea, throwing stones at police because you have had a few drinks and want to impress the girl behind you, these things are not good ideas. Listen, read, study all the differing views about any thing. Think through the consequences of the change that the protest is trying to bring about. Free food for everyone- who is going to pay the farmers and the cooks? Ban all combustion engined vehicles, how are trucks to move supplies to your pub? Who will profit if your protest works? And do not fall for the “tax the rich to help the people” chants. That old cliché has been shown as faulty so very many times all round the world.

Not every popular cause is actually based on fact—Consider the protests about Darwin's claim of evolution, think of the history when people were imprisoned for saying the earth moved round the sun. Increasingly it is possible to use mass communication media to spread distortion. It is increasingly easy to get large numbers of people to follow a path without actually questioning who directs this path and why. Political extremists, and some religious ones, know that if they use a genuine popular situation they can hide their ulterior motives and gain mass support for an agenda that most of the people involved, are unaware of.

Manipulation of popular opinion is very profitable for some, take care not to help them.-- If any wealthy person or company has control of the supply of any substance, they will attempt to suppress alternatives to that substance and they will use any and every means to increase demand for their substance. Increasingly if they can coerce governments into making laws that achieve their objectives, they will do so, since it is cheaper than actually competing with those alternatives.

Beware of celebrities giving advice-- they make money out of selling their advice. Being a celebrity or being very good to look at, does not ensure they tell the truth nor does it ensure they are speaking to you as an individual. Each of us is an individual, we each have needs, personalities, metabolic rates and physiology that makes us different from billions of other humans.

Never base your opinions on one view,-- Just because your sociology teacher is fervent in their opinion it does not mean they are also accurate. Just because all the speeches you hear say the same thing, it does not mean you are listening to all of the possibilities. If some one, or a group, reach out to you and give information; remember they are doing this because they have something to gain, your vote, your voice in support of themselves, your money, your energy. They want some part of you. Give freely only when you have looked at alternative views and decided for yourself what you wish to support.

Never worship appearance, it is an illusion at best – a great deal of life is a mixture of form and function, appearance and efficiency. What it looks like and how well it works. So many great actors, singers, musicians and even politicians; in the past, have been better suited to radio than TV but in modern times the appearance is often more important than the ability to actually do the Job; having TV appeal, being photogenic, is thought, (mostly by a media which itself is all about presentation rather than factual content) to be of prime importance. People say some one is so good looking they are so nice. Appearance can be deceiving.

If getting drunk or use chemicals, to escape from reality -- find a safe place and be alone, not vulnerable to others. While most of us feel we still have control even when drunk, the truth is we do not have the self control we think we have.