CONTENTS
Subculture prejudice
What actually works
Part of the three parts to living a good life
Tapping into greater knowledge
Examples of types of groups
Life philosophies and beliefs
Alliances and idea generation
Partnering
___________________________________________________________
You can't be powerful if you're with other people who disempower you or your values and/or don't do what it is that you want to have in your life. You adopt the standards of the 5 closest people around you - it is irresistible - do not count on being "super strong" and overcoming that real and actual negative force - you're highly unlikely to beat it. For instance, hanging around with overweight people causes being overweight to be "acceptable" and "normal" - and you will suffer for it!
SUBCULTURE PREJUDICE
Some subcultures believe using a support group connotes weakness, with the implicit message "we should be strong", etc. and etc., on into the myth of superbeing. This doesn't work because it is contrary to the truth. The truth is that we are human, with all the power, yes, but also all the vulnerabilities and actual limititions.
WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS
However, if one "looks" one can see "what works". And it works to tap into
1. Reinforcement of what works, of one's discovered principles.
A. For the 'content' (the actual principles)
B. For the 'rightness' of oneself
2. Resources for progressive thinking, ideas, inputs, expanding into more of 'what
works'
PART OF THE THREE PARTS TO LIVING A GOOD LIFE
In Buddhism, there are three parts to living a good life: (Buddha, dharma, sanha)
1. Seeing that one has all that is needed at the core (one's basic Buddha Nature)
2. Learning the "what works" ("dharma") principles, truths, laws...
3. Sangha (community of similar supporting beliefs, supporting each other's noble goals, etc.)
TAPPING INTO GREATER KNOWLEDGE
One of the sources of power is to use a degree of often-called "universal knowledge". It is mystical and only anecdotal that we can tap mysteriously into the "universal knowledge" floating around in the air. But it is totally practical that we can tap into the accumulated written knowledge and the knowledge of others in some way. And, I think, if one is to live life at a higher level, one needs knowledge and wisdom from others, so that one is not stuck in one's own limited thinking.
To tap into this source we need to:
1. Discover what values, concepts, principles seem to be of greater workability (i.e.
survey what is available, learn enough to distinguish)
2. Discover people and groups who align with that and are supportive and progressive
3. Keep in regular communication on a fairly deep level
I urge you to do this process thoroughly enough and to continue to be in contact once it is established.
EXAMPLES OF TYPES OF GROUPS
Life Philosophies And Beliefs
Church is an example of a sangha. Each church is based on a set of principles, rules, guidelines, values, etc. However, most people just blindly follow what they were first exposed to or randomly encounter. I would suggest stepping back and looking at what really is more workable rather than steeped in tradition and stuck ideas. There are some of the traditional religions which have updated themselves from primitive superstitions and then there are some that have been created out of New Thought (Unity churches, Science Of Mind, etc.). To match your beliefs to a church, you might wish to use BeliefNet's Belief-O-Matic, which uses 20 questions to establish where you might consider going.
Buddhism, Yoga and the like are non-theistic but do provide good healthy working principles. Google the centers in your area.
Other well-grounded groups are "philosophies of ways of living life" together with practical means of living life. Though I have not found one group that bridges it all, the best I have found are:
Landmark Education - 3,000,000 + people worldwide can attest to its value in having perspective in life and setting oneself up so one can "see" clearly 'what works' and to not get stuck in 'right-wrong' or 'rackets' where one fools oneself. Suitable for anyone, from the novice to the Buddhist (principles agree) to the politician to the chief executive officer. There is no "membership", but there is the opportunity to attend available 10-week-one-evening-a-week seminars that offer a continuing thread and are relatively inexpensive.
LifeSpring - With some similarities, since they started as eclectic disciplines at about the same time (the late '60's), this is a powerfully life changing series of workshops, though they do not have the continuing educational seminars that Landmark has. LifeSpring type trainings are available all over the world, often from different trainiing organizations as listed in the links on the above link.
Alliances And Idea Generation
The Master Mind Alliance, brought to prominence by Napoleon Hill, is one of the most powerful, where 4 or 5 people get together to accomplish a major purpose. Or you can have a version that is just to support the other participants in producing the results they want in life. See Jack Canfield's Master Mind Planning Guide.
Brainstorming groups, where one gets together to get more ideas toward achieving an objective, putting more minds to work toward greater thinking.
Partnering
Of course, partnering is a form of alliance.
Life Coaching is invaluable, as it allows you to leap frog off of someone else's more advanced knowledge and perspective, plus it has huge emotional support and support for doing what works in life. It will change anyone's life for the better.
