Memory

Memory rewrites our actual experience of the present moment so that what we recollect is not what really happened.

When recalling our past, it is as if we were reading the Cliff Note version of a complex novel. Nor does the editor consult us on what to include in this brief synopsis.

Thoreau wryly asks "why is it that men give so poor an account of their day if they have not been slumbering?"

To be fully awake is to have the direct experience of reality in each moment of our lives, to see things as they actually are without viewing our experiences through the distorting prism of memory.

Despair 3

True understanding is a bulwark against despair.

Despair 2

To give into despair is a desperate attempt to escape responsibility and to shift the blame for our shortcomings:

Man would fain be great and sees that he is little; would fain be happy and sees that he is miserable; would fain be perfect and sees that he is full of imperfections; would fain be the object of the love and esteem of men, and sees that his faults merit only their aversion and contempt.

The embarrassment wherein he finds himself produces in him the most unjust and criminal passions imaginable, for he conceives a mortal hatred against the truth which blames him and convinces him of his faults.

--Pascal, Pensees

Despair 1

Without true hope, despair transforms man from a noble, rational, and wise being into a degraded, irrational, and stupefied animal.

Aphorism 5

We often underestimate the power of our fear and overestimate the strength of our faith.

Aphorism 4

Ingratitude is the greatest of sins.

Aphorism 3

In order to achieve the ideal, there must be a solid foundation, a vigorous reality, which forcefully manifests itself moment after moment.

Aphorism 2

Beware of the arrogance and contempt that doesn’t respect nature and reality.

Aphorism 1

The fanged memory that fills us with remorse marks the awakening of our true moral conscience.

The Enemy

The truth is difficult to realize because the fraud that is perpetrated on us is so close to home. It is our own ego that is the enemy.

Revolution

We are born innocent, but we are not born free.

To overthrow the tyrant Fear, one needs a battle plan. No great military leader would ever come up with a single plan for use in every circumstance. He would start with a plan of attack and then adjust the strategy as conditions change.

The essential experience of Christianity is a revolution of the heart. It has nothing to do with conformity to a doctrine or religious program. It may make sense to start with such a plan, but it is suicidal to stick with it when the battle turns and fear gets the upper-hand.

The war can only be won by studying the enemy and adjusting our battle plans accordingly. We must be very careful, observant, and alert. We must learn to keep our fear at sword point until the tyrant finally surrenders.