Karen Restivo
In Other Words....
Universal truths transcend cultures, societies and time as valid, fundamental principles.
Some examples of universal truths would include: the Earth revolves around the sun; the sun rises in the East and sets in the West; change happens; and we are all going to die one day.
If we’re willing to agree on these simple truths, why is it that when we’re faced with convoluted situations, nothing appears so cut and dry?
On the Psychology Today website, it’s noted that universal truths can guide us in a personal search for the answer to the question, “Why is this happening to me?”
“Universal truths can be used to help us deal with emotional and psychological challenges.
“They can also be used in storytelling to create a metaphor for something larger than the individual.”
With this in mind, let’s get down to the bare bones of a few universal truths and use them as tools in self-discovery.
Turning to one of my favorite philosophers, Eckhart Tolle came up with 12 Greatest Life Lessons (Universal Truths) that I’ll share with you now:
“The past has no power over the present moment.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.
Make the now the primary focus of your life.
“Some changes look negative on the surface, but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but your thoughts about it.
“Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking.
“Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral.
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.
“How do you know this is the experience you need?
“Because this is the experience you are having now.
“Give up defining yourself- to yourself or to others.
“You won’t die. You will come to life.
“And don’t be concerned with how others define you.
“When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it’s their problem.
“Whenever you interact with people, don’t be there primarily as a function or a role, but as a field of conscious presence.
“You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.
“Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.
“To love is to recognize yourself in another.
“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion.
What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the now.
“That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time - past and future - the more you miss the now.
“Don’t look for peace.
“Don’t look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace.
“The moment you completely accept your non-peace, it transmutes into peace. This is the miracle of surrender.
“You must have failed deeply on some level or experienced some deep loss or pain to be drawn to the spiritual dimension.
“Death is a stripping away of all that is not you. The secret to life is to ‘die before you die’ - and find that there is no death.
“The acceptance of suffering is a journey into death…of the ego.”
In other words, all we have control over is the present moment, the now. The past and the future exist only in your head.
Life is a gift may sound like a cliché, but when you think about it, the gift is the present moment.
Karenrestivo57@gmail.com