Balance. Purpose. Enlightenment.
The Mental Virtue Discrimination
Lemurians develop the mental virtue Discrimination to judge between what’s good and what’s better.
My daughter wanted to check out some colleges in California over spring break. She doesn’t like to fly, so driving was her preference. My husband couldn’t join us and I was nervous about the two of us traveling alone on a 30-hour drive. It also meant I would miss extra days of work, making the decision even more difficult. But this was a chance to work on the mental virtue discrimination. In the end, I decided to make it happen.
But a few days before we were to leave, my daughter broke out in the strangest-looking rash – unusual spots on her back and her arm. The doctor sent us home with some cream to rub on the rash, but even he was baffled. Now I was starting to feel anxious and worry thoughts took over:
What if the rash gets worse while we’re on the road? Wouldn’t it be better to be near our own doctor in case the rash intensified? What if we have car trouble? What if something comes up at work and I can’t take the call because we’re driving through an area with no cell phone coverage?
These must be signs that we aren’t supposed to go!
My daughter wasn’t worried at all. In fact she was one hundred percent confident we needed to take this trip. So opposite to what I was experiencing! So, whose gut feeling should we trust? It would have been much easier to call it off, chalking it up to my bad vibes. But I felt I owed it to my daughter to at least ponder the matter a little longer since she was feeling nothing but good vibes.
Trying to think this through, I had to admit that whenever new or uncharted experiences present themselves, I tend to react uneasily. Constructive concern serves an important purpose by sounding a silent alarm that can remind us to make the best choice we can. But my kind of worry was not constructive and not dependable to put my trust in. Realizing this helped me decide that my daughter’s feeling about the trip was probably more reliable. After all, even if the things I was worrying about happened, we could still deal with them.
So off we went!
That trip was one of the most joyful and memorable I’ve been on! And the quality time with my daughter feels all the more precious now that she’s away at college. There was no worsening of the rash, no car trouble, and no calls from work to detract from the wonderful time we spent together. Times like these make me all the more grateful for my Lemurian teachings.
Before becoming a Lemurian, I’m sure I wouldn’t have taken the necessary time and thought to decide which way to turn, but would have acted on my first cautious impulse. And not only would I have missed out on a beautiful experience, I would have passed up a valuable chance to learn more about myself and my tendencies so I can continue to grow and improve.
Copyright © 2016 Lemurian Fellowship
9 thoughts on “The Mental Virtue Discrimination”
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Sometimes it is so hard to distinguish between a good, a better, or the best choice…or leaving fear or worry out of the process, seems impossible. Those times are less stressful for me now, since becoming a Lemurian student. We are taught to take moment, to pray a bit, to those who giide us, before deciding such things. This always brings me to a more positive, constructive approach while weighing my options. I may still choose poorly, at times, but I accept the growing that I need to do, to get more effective and make better choices. That by itself is a prayer answered.
A nice example of letting reason rule over fear. I remember many times in my life when fear ruled over reason. A few regrets! Have learned a thing or two about the benefits of reason over the years and it’s a much happier way to manage my life.
Learning to act based on what we know, rather than reacting to what we feel. Fortunately we can practice with the small things, like getting up and going to work rather than going back to bed.
Steve’s comments led me to think about how easy it was for me to join the air force, sign up for Chinese language school, take a tour in Korea and reenlist for two more years in Japan. All without a backward glance. Now my choices tend to be well and slowly thought out, perhaps a little less fun sometimes, but hopefully more helpful to myself and others in the long run.
I like this story because it reminds me of times when I purposely decided not to worry, and instead let things happen. They seemed to smooth out and I realized I could handle them. If I insisted on worrying then I seemed to create more of what I didn’t want, or at least made what wasn’t good that much worse and then thought “see I knew I’d have a problem!” Hard to be a mom and not worry about your child, but really nice to learn from them in this very reassuring and positive way.
Echoes my own over-cautiousness that seemed to develop as I got older, with the added responsibilities of children, job/career, etc. When I was young, such as your daughter, I didn’t worry that much about going off on little, and not-so-little adventures, and I’m glad I didn’t worry.
So many of them led me in directions that provided opportunities for a fulfilling life. One decision that I made well into adulthood that continues to be an adventure is that of becoming a student of the Lemurian Philosophy. With its dual emphasis on personal development and plan for building a better society, I’ve found I couldn’t ask for a more meaningful Philosophy to strive to live by.
One of the most profound Lemurian principles is that everything is working out for our greatest good. This is a hard notion to get your mind around, but as I look back on my life with its many ups and downs it is absolutely true. I would not change anything if that change would alter my life today! Well . . . that’s not altogether true. I should have gotten my act together a little faster.
Reading this story and how well it turned out helps me to remember that in choosing to do or not do something, there is always that element of regretting some action not taken. In my case, it was not visiting India while I was stationed in Pakistan; not stopping off in Hawaii on our way to Taiwan; not attending my sister’s funeral; not helping a fellow whose car had broken down; and many, many more instances too numerous to mention.
I have done things I perhaps should not have done or had done poorly, but honestly can’t remember one important thing that I did that I now regret. I would rather go through life somewhat chagrined at what I did then go through life regretting what I didn’t do. Discrimination and a trust in your good intentions go a long way to eliminate a nagging regret.
RLM makes a good point about going forward to meet life’s opportunities. But sometimes it’s a tough choice. On a flight to California, my plane touched down on Pohnpei, and an old friend got on who I didn’t know was working on that island. He invited me to stay with him for a week, see the island, and take the next week’s flight to CA. This seemed the chance of a lifetime. Pohnpei is famous for its ancient ruins that Dr. Stelle saw in the early 1900s. He believed they were an artifact of the Lemurian civilization and I very much wanted to see them for myself.
BUT I was going to CA to become a member of the Lemurian Order and qualify to attend my first Lemurian Service. It was a hard choice but in the end, no contest. I chose the present and the future over the ancient past, and have never regretted that decision.