A quiet place for reflection in Fish Creek Park - by Judith Hirst-Joyeux
When one thinks of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, one thinks of valour, and of a creed of goodness or honour. It will not surprise you to find that "Creed" means a "set of beliefs or guiding principles" (from the merriam-webster.com online dictionary).
History admires knights or anyone who seems to hold fast to principles of integrity and truth. Why? Because today, we no longer work with truth and integrity as part of our every day lives in business. A popular sales tool is called "bait and switch". The goal is to get the buyer interested in a mythological set of goods, and then actually sell the buyer something quite different. Where is the integrity in that? Corporations sell based on making money and producing revenue for shareholders. Shoddy workmanship, falsified lists of ingredients or list of parts, and mislabelled packages are all part of the "game" to improve the bottom line.
With such examples in our every day lives, it almost seems impossible for an individual to avoid replicating the examples from the workplace. Buddhists have the five precepts that they live by:
- Abstain from destroying life
- Abstain from stealing
- Abstain from sexual misconduct
- Abstain from lies
- Abstain from intoxicating drinks
These five precepts are actually their creed for their way of life - a way of life that has been around since the first day of Buddha. Many people find these precepts difficult to understand.
Shaman suggest that each of us create our own creed or way of life. Therefore, when we violate our creed, we immediately "feel" the breach of trust with our self, and we react to repair the damage.
Here are some ideas for a personal creed.
Being good to your body means the right foods should be consumed! Picture from Microsoft Clip Art....
When each of these ideas is examined, one says, "Why wouldn't I follow these beliefs?" The interesting answer is that often, in order to work at a job each day, one cannot have many of these beliefs because the beliefs at work conflict with the beliefs of the person.
When one sits in Meditation and asks how to resolve the incongruity of the work place and the person, Angels may answer and simply tell the person to leave their job. To work at something that does not treat humans with respect is not healing or loving. When we have a creed of honour, we crave the feeling of Oneness with all things -much like the Shaman of old were seen to be filled with peace and a spirit that directly linked to the Heavens.
The creed that our ancestors lived with was about being in balance, recognizing Nature/Mother Earth as the provider of all food and water and air - simply, the provider of everything. Corporations with all of their material goods, do not provide everything that we need. Perhaps it is time for all of us to develop a creed.
What would your creed be?
Judy@angelsandancestors.com Share your personal creed with me for publication in our newsletter. Identities will be protected. See our January newsletter online at http://www.angelsandancestors.com/newsletter/news0901.pdf
I noticed today that you follow my blog (thank you very much -- I am honored) so I decided to pop over to yours. Very interesting and thought-provoking posts you have here! I will have to think some more about the creed thing, but I think that mine more or less boils down to remembering to be mindful in all things.
ReplyDeleteI notice that you're a shaman. I find shamanism very interesting and would like to learn more. Have you ever checked out The Gold Puppy blog by Reya Mellicker? She also is a shaman, and she really helped me to resolve a personal issue that was eating away at my insides.
Cheers and nice to meet you. I'll be back to visit soon.