To say that we as human beings have ethical values implies something quite profound. It literally means that we are, in a manner of speaking "hardwired" with such values. If we were not we would not have the ability to ever gauge when something was "right" or "wrong". You see, before you can make such an assessment you need to have an "internal measuring stick" by which to make such measurements. So where does this internal reference or "measuring stick" live inside of us? Well many would say that it is something we learn through our lives say from our families, religion, courses on ethics, involvement with or awareness of the legal system and so on. In other words that the "ethical measuring stick" is just a set of rules we have acquired and is represented by the many beliefs we have about what is considered "good behavior". If this were the case then that ethical measuring stick would be quite vulnerable to being altered the next time some new rule was espoused by some "authority". In other words the whole foundation of what is or is not ethical would be again on very shaky ground. This of course might also bring into question the reason we have ethical values at all as they would have no place from which to originally germinate. Now if you consider for a moment a situation that you would consider transcends your ethical values notice where within you you make such an assessment. If you notice it closely I think you will ultimately agree that apart from any beliefs you may have about the matter deeper down inside you also have some feelings about it. For a moment notice these feelings. Notice where you feel them most intensely as you consider the situation that I asked you to focus on. Now do you "think" that these feelings were generated by you or did they just happen to emerge spontaneously without you having to do anything other than hold the situation in mind? The next time you return to "thinking" about the situation at hand do you think that these feelings will "feel" any different? Likely not because the situation is what it is and you being human will "always" feel the way you do about it and nothing can change that. So here we've come to an awareness of something inside you that appears immutable i.e. your feelings about the situation at hand. Unlike one's beliefs these are unchanging and hence hardwired in each human being. Isn't this what we have been calling the "internal ethical measuring stick", that which we rely on to guide us to the ethical high ground. So if we all have this ethical hardwiring then why is it that we have any ethical problems to deal with at all on this planet? Shouldn't we all automatically be in alignment with them and living the good ethical life? Well if you look around it's clear that this is not the case so something must be seriously wrong. What do you know is this problem here? Well when you look at what we rely on to guide us in life it has very little to do with this internal wisdom. Feelings in fact have been maligned for too long and the "mind and what we have chosen to "store" there through learning has attained predominant mastery over our lives. How does that feel to you? The whole idea of ethics is supposed to be about what is right and what is wrong, but for whom? Well for you! In other words this inner wisdom is the repository of information and guidance about what is right for you. That is what will lead you to a happy, successful, fulfilling life. What are the consequences to you of discarding or even denying this inner wisdom? Well it means that you will feel lost, alone, confused, vulnerable to being manipulated and exploited, and therefore unhappy and unfulfilled. In other words your life and your success will be stolen from you. If all that education of yours has left you feeling this way and you would like to find your way back to some clarity then kindly visit the web link below where you can download a free audio from me with a special message that will permanently alter your life. |
