Spiritual Telescopes, Love as Choice, Signs of a Spiritual Awakening..

If you are alone, do not have family, friends, a partner, a pet, a forest retreat, and nowhere safe to rest your head, know this truth: all is not lost.

There is no reason to walk through life unloved. Those who choose to love and love others, regardless if they are alone in a room or cell for years, will always have love in their lives…because they love. Nothing but choice can separate you from your own love. If you feel unloved, quit looking through the opposite end of the spiritual telescope.

Karma in a non-classical sense can perhaps explain a loveless life:

“You get what you pay for.”

“Be not deceived; you reap what you sow.”

If we sow love, we will reap love. NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT LOVE UNTIL THEY GIVE IT AWAY WITHOUT ANY EXPECTATIONS WHATSOEVER.

If you wait for someone to “earn your love” or “to earn my trust”, you’re setting yourself up for failure. I suggest you don’t hold your breath while waiting.

Look, if we trust God (Source or Universe, if you prefer), then why do people need to earn OUR trust? When we ask God to direct our thoughts before prayer, then when we pray, we should trust our thoughts are directed and even protected. Surrendered thoughts, even the ones riddled with defective comprehension, are usable by God.

We may not understand or see the direction at the moment, but the surrendered thought, emotion, or situation is in God’s hands to do with as God wills. In God’s Economy, nothing is wasted.

We are all moving toward the light, even when our physical eyes cannot see it. 24/7, our souls can see the light and moves us toward it. “Thy will be done” sounds familiar, yes?

In the human mind, truth without paradox is dead. Taking your power back is to quit giving God’s power away to yourself and others. No human loves perfectly. Love them anyway. Sometimes, the people that need love the most “deserve it” the least.

If we ALL follow the rule, “You have to earn my trust or love”, then we condemn ourselves. We’ll ALL live in a loveless/controlling world because we are ALL waiting for someone else to act first.

“If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me”. WH Auden

The following is a take on “12 Symptoms of a Spiritual Awakening”, author unknown.

SIGNS OF A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING, by Timothy G Cameron, The Incomplete Skeptic & Corcoran Neighbor.

1.  A tendency to let things happen rather than force solutions or impose harmony.  ASSIGNMENT:  Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean. Why?  Because truth without compassion is cruelty. 

2.  Frequent spells of smiling.  ASSIGNMENT: Decide to do something childlike (not to be confused with childish).  Skip down the sidewalk. Giggle gleefully!  Remember, it’s not illegal to be crazy.  It’s only illegal to act crazy.  Walking the balancing beam between crazy & illegal can be fun!

3.  Feelings of being connected with others and nature.  ASSIGNMENT:  Maybe grab a friend and head down to Minnehaha for a walk in the park.

4.  Frequent overwhelming episodes of gratitude.  If you don’t tell at least three people a day that you love them, you’ve probably wasted a day of your life.    ASSIGNMENT: Tell at least three people (pets and plants count, too) that you love them!

5.  A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experiences.  ASSIGNMENT:  Imagine standing between two mirrors.  The mirror on your left represents the past, the one on your right, the future.  If you want to change your perception of the past, shift your angle of perception NOW.  Everything changes!

6.  An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.  ASSIGNMENT:  Look for the good and you’ll find it. 

7.  A loss of ability to worry. ASSIGNMENT: Don’t worry.  Be happy.  Why?  As the proverb goes, ‘ If you’re going to worry, why pray?  If you’re going to pray, why worry?’  “The door to hell is opened only from the inside.”  CS Lewis

8.  A loss of interest in conflict.  ASSIGNMENT: Forgive not because someone deserves forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.  “Do not think of knocking out another person's brains because he differs in opinion from you. It would be as rational to knock yourself on the head because you from yourself ten years ago.” Horace Mann

9.  A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.  ASSIGNMENT:  Make your own assignment.

10.  A loss of interest in judging others (related to the preceding).  ASSIGNMENT:  Although the world seems to be addicted to judgment, don’t get into a pissing contest with a skunk over it!  Remember that when you point your finger at someone, you have three fingers pointing back at you.  “Judging others is easy because it distracts us from the responsibility of judging ourselves.” Charles F. Glassman

11.  A loss of interest in judging self.  ASSIGNMENT:  Give yourself a break.  Why?  “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”  ee cummings

12.  Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything in return.  ASSIGNMENT:  Read the poem “The More Loving One”, a poem by WH Auden.  Consider it a gift to your Higher Self.

Police Privilege?

I was dropping off several bags of food/practical everyday use stuff for people in Tent City. I pulled over briefly to hop out and drop the bags off to people about 30 feet away. I was tight against the curb and saw traffic was easily passing me. As I was maybe five feet up a sidewalk, an MPD pulled up adjacent/behind my car, turned on his lights. I dropped the bags somewhat near people saying it was for them, then nervously jogged back to my car and apologized to the officer (it was a no-parking spot, but common sense told me I'm safe for a minute parked there).

I apologetically said I was donating stuff to help the homeless. He said, 'I know what you are doing. You're blocking traffic. You think it's all about you.' I just said, 'Sorry' and though his tone was harsh, condescending, and entitled. Not all cops do Police Privilege. I refuse to view myself as a victim. But hey, he was blocking TWO lanes and backing up traffic. Since when did being disrespectful to citizens become a thing?

Anyway, no ticket. Could have been worse.

'It's Your Move!' Academy

I’m starting a side business as a chess trainer.

I teach chess as a life discipline. Chess embodies intuitive disciplines for understanding life, whether in relationships, conversation, employment, planning, assessing problems and solutions, or impulse control.

This is my side gig. The only effective teacher is the one who teaches the student how to beat the teacher. I can raise players to a B Class skill level. In life, one day we're the teacher and the next, we're the student. After interacting with It's Your Move Academy, the day will come when you can kick your Trainers' butt, then join the USCF or FIDE, and quickly earn higher ratings.

If you want to analyze your tournament game with me after graduating from IYMA, that's is an option.

The Green Pill of Science & Religion; on Freeing Unity of Conscience and Heart

I made a short video about religion and science: https://youtu.be/pnF5bsUuvB0

What kills you also makes you stronger.

Let’s celebrate our crisis of faith and science, so as to evolve a new paradigm of peace.

The True North of Freedom resides in the willingness to question our convictions.

I mentioned this book. Old, but a great read. Myths, Model, & Paradigms, a great book by Ian Barbour: www.amazon.com/Myths-Models-Paradigms-Ian-Barbour/dp/0060603887

EMPLOYMENT SEARCHING TIPS for EXCONS

A few years ago, I spoke with a Police Officer who performed background checks on applicants seeking employment as a cop. He pointed out that persons with "squeaky clean" background results are uniformly selected over those with, for example, speeding tickets. Realistically and similarly, most employers will choose those with no legal infractions/records over those with records, probably most of the time. This same officer called me a few days ago, crying about wanting to get sober, and saying a friend of his told him my speech saved her life and that she’s sober for six years now. But this cop is still not willing to surrender, and all I can do is keep being a loving influence in his life. But back to the employment stuff.

So, what to do? First & foremost, NEVER BELIEVE A PREDICTION THAT DOESN’T EMPOWER YOU. The Chief Psychiatrist at Oak Park Heights Prison told me so many years ago that, “It is a foregone conclusion that Timothy Cameron will spend the rest of his life in prison.” NONSENSE!

Maybe 6 years ago, I had a STELLAR Supervisor at 180 Degrees where I was a Caseworker who taught me to never bring a problem into focus without having a proposed solution conjoined to my concern. GREAT ADVICE! To make this viable, I was forced to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX that I had created for myself! My Vision of EXCONENTIAL POTENTIAL has not wavered through the years, but I took a spiritually evolutionary turn and ran with Phoenix 490.

As an EX-convict, my personal experiential approach to overcoming obstacles to employment was as follows. I broke it down to 11 Steps:

1 Willingness and Courage to Change my ways (in my case, it started with sobriety).

2 Act respectfully around everyone and behave as if I am already employed by them, so when I ask for a job, they already know I am dependable. This requires Researching their Vision and responding to their needs.

3 Volunteer for a reputable organization (I started volunteering for MADD on many levels through the years, now only as a speaker, thus showing my commitment to making our society safer) and know that over time, society will see your faith expressed by works and be willing to step up and help you.

4 Dress appropriately for each respective job interview. Dress according to their dress code, if they have one, and if they don’t have a code, dress like they do, except slightly more formal.

5 Readily admit my past and show how I have changed, ending every adverse admission with a solution. I have a printout of my criminal history and provide it to them. Be transparent and 100% honest without shooting yourself in the foot. Even though I have a legal right granted me by a court of law to say I have never been convicted of a crime, I tell them anyway. I point out I’m a Speaker and use these speeches to reduce recidivism, so people don’t make the same mistakes I made.

6 ALWAYS think like an employer. Study what the job requires and be able to relate to the Interviewer what skills you have that align with the organization's needs.

7 Research the Interviewer. If you know who will interview you, see if your personality type is a match and "sing their song." If the interviewer has won awards for punctuality/attendance, then focus on your record of attendance and certainly don't be late for the interview (and don't be too early, either).

8 It is CRITICAL to have the means to prove your dependability. References help! Again, Volunteerism is proof of reliability, of going "above and beyond the call of duty." An astute Interviewer will see a volunteer as someone who is self-motivated, who does not require an inordinate amount of supervision. I've never liked it when a supervisor "hovers" over me as I work unless of course, they are training me to do a better job. The Chief of Police in Maplewood said he doesn’t hire recruits who are not volunteering somewhere, and he expects them to stay a Volunteer after hire.

9 Be MOTIVATED. They might ask you what motivates you. Again, what is the company's Vision or Motto? What motivates them? You should find a way to express excitement about their Vision. SPARKLE at the very thought of their Vision. It will come out in your voice, eyes & mannerisms. Your answer here should motivate them!

10 Have a good ATTITUDE. Having a good attitude does not necessarily mean someone who is 'happy go lucky' and cheerful all the time. A positive attitude is most valuable when you don't feel like it. Much like forgiveness, it is the most valuable when there is something NEEDING forgiveness to rise about the problem. Have a story, preferable an arsenal of stories in your memory, of overcoming difficulty and how it paid off.

11 NETWORK! Volunteering has already been addressed, but take it to the next level. If your goal is to be a professional singer, break down that goal into the smallest part possible, then create a stairway to the goal. Apply for employment at a Guitar Center and have a broad vision of why you are there. Learn who the Distributers are, how they conduct business, meet as many people as possible in the industry. I've seen people start at the bottom and end up owning a business. Jump in and never spend a moment thinking about what you don't like!

Here is a video I asked EXCONS on my Caseload to watch.

Now if you’ve gotten this far, I need your help. I ask my Newsletter List and Blog Readers for donations twice per calendar year. I just paid for another year of ZOOM and I need to pay for this website. Any and all donations will be gratefully appreciated. Please make your check to Cameron Communications Consulting LLC. Please mail it to 3446 25th Avenue South. I am working to grow my business and Covid has put a hardship on everyone, but I think we’ll bounce back.

Think THINK Think Slogan

Think THINK Think has been a very important Slogan to me through the years. It has meant a great many things; for me, It meant/means to consider every side of an idea or argument.

It translated into or meant that I attended very 1) liberal churches and 2) conservative churches, as well as 3) moderate churches.

It helped me to learn a deeper sense of Acceptance. too. I attended an Atheist meeting for a year or 18 months, so as to hear every point of view that I am opposed to and to find great peace with said ideas, no matter what I hear (I still fail at this sometimes, but have improved greatly...lol!). It's related to the love and tolerance of others, and working these principles in all of our affairs.

Saying I LOVE YOU when it is hard, even when standing in front of a mirror of someone else's discontentedness.

But here is some more of what Think THINK Think means to me in some JPEGS I created:

Freedom and Acceptance of Differences

I know I've been saying this like forever, but I am going to say it again. People gotta wake up and realize that if they don't know both sides of an argument or the position that they hold, then they don't know their own side of an argument. Listening to other points of view is a form of love and service to humanity. Everyone’s VOICE being honored does not mean being subjugated and swallowed whole by their fervently defended beliefs. As Nietzsche is often quoted, what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger, right?

Similarly, if you will suppress or censor one point of view, forcefully take away their freedom of speech or expression, then you kick open the door to YOUR freedom of speech and expression being censored as well.

Personally, I don't have any interest in legal redress if Facebook Twitter, or any other business chooses to wash down or censor my or anyone else's freedom to express opinions of any variety. The government already has way too much power, and if we try to use the government to protect us from Facebook, who is going to protect us from the government? If you take Facebook's freedom of expression away, you take away everyone's freedom of expression. Freedom of speech is only necessary when trying to restrict someone's speech that we really don't want to hear. Who passes laws against something that we like or are in support of? Laws are passed against things we don't like, object to, or pertaining to things that we are afraid of.

But freedom of speech is more than just a legal matter, it's an actual constitutional issue. No law should be made to restrict freedom of speech or freedom of expression, especially opinions that dissent from the majority opinion. My opinion almost everywhere I have ever gone has been what could be characterized as The Minority Opinion.

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

It seems to me that there is been times where I've been demonized for my point of view. It annoys me when I see somebody's point of view treated hostilely and without even giving it a chance of being argued about logically and with patience and compassion, which is not to be confused with agreeing with that point of view personally, I tend to subscribe to the idea of holding principles above personalities.

In chess, I played the board, not the man. But unfortunately, there are a lot of petty psychodrama queens out there who played a man and not the board and replace their lack of skill with moving the pieces and replacing it with psychological game playing. They tried to distract their opponent, rather than just play the game. Unfortunately, people do this in political arenas as well.

While on the one hand I respect every aspect of tribalism that one may be interested in, but to impose 'harmonic' tribalism on others is to engage in a cultlike behavior. Someone may try to paint the behavior as a friendly face as if they are imposing harmony for the greater good, or forcing solutions because they know better than anyone else what needs to be done in any given situation. But shutting down a conversation about belief systems where our common resources are coming into play, as in the case of political arenas, everyone has a right to say where their tax monies will be represented.

But instead, people are engaging in mindless gang warfare, and behaving like rabid animals. It seems like the seething resentments are boiling over the pot, but the people tending the fire are brainwashed, narcissistic megalomaniacs. But even they have a right to freedom of speech and expression, as long as it doesn't harm someone against their will on righteously. If someone wants to harm themselves, there should be no need to force them into self-care. But obviously, free and compassionate people will find a way to help that person. We don't have to govern-mentally administer an anti-suicide program geared only for saving the lives of those whom we deem politically correct.

Listening to Know Thyself (a video I created on YouTube).

Nietzsche

I have not trimmed my beard, tried to look good, or any other such nonsense. It’s one of those days. I just returned from a trip up north and heard someone say in our group of friends meeting by the Big Lake, that they were glad to be around like-minded people. It occurred to me that being around others that think like me would become quickly tedious, and would be of little more value than being around people who look like me. Geez, the world is addicted to judgment. Have the courage to question your convictions, and watch how you grow. The link to my video is below. Thank you for being willing to listen.

https://youtu.be/ec6Q7c4tEt4

Mishle 28:21 Orthodox Jewish Bible (Proverbs)

What I've been trippin' on today:

Ask a lawyer what "thou shalt not lie" means. Good luck getting a straight answer out of anyone ensconced in the system regarding legal matters and personal consequences. This pertains to cops, judges, jurors, those arrested or those who might be arrested, etc. Almost everybody lies these days, it seems, like ‘CYA’ is a sacred duty or something.

Ironically, everybody believes everybody lies, so everybody who loves politics spins their wheels in a pig trough and sprays the fecal (lie) matter at people they deem as an enemy of some variety or other (Marxist/racist or whatever). Smudge, Don’t Grudge’ is a useful Slogan.

OK, back to the issue. Also, ask a lawyer what "Love your enemy" means or what the Sermon on the Mount means. From the looks of things these days, the media that protects the system swine, put money above everything. FOLLOW THE MONEY is hoe (how) people supposedly get to the bottom of corruption but rarely follow the truth when there's no profit ratio in it (Prophet Ratio...lol).

““To show partiality is not tov; for a piece of lechem that gever will transgress.””

— Quote Source: Mishle 28:21 Orthodox Jewish Bible

Money follows power and vice-versa. Jimi Hendrix talked about the power of love versus the love of power. So have a great many people through the millennia taught love and forgiveness. Respecters of Persons will sell out their principles in a heartbeat. Examples: Lying to convict a liar, hating to destroy a hater, and many other types of hypocrites abound.

There are many great people out there and probably many of the hypocrites actually mean well. But what about the people who are afraid to speak up or ‘gave up trying’ a long time ago because it's just not worth it to fight fighters. Some are accused of being weak when they say, “Goodbye, cruel world.” Some people are too gentle to live among The Bad Wolves.

Kid Rock said to ‘get in the pit and try to love someone’. Most people won't even lift a finger or put down the remote long enough to read a POV that differs from their own. The USA is pathetic in this way. Lazy moralizers and rabid adrenalin junkie/haters are guarding the henhouse. But there is hope. We can get out of the mess we got ourselves into, but Einstein said it can’t be done with the same mind that got USD there. Spiritual Experiences happen through humility, but pride precedes the fall.

Painting the Future (one of my favorite movies)

https://youtu.be/Y8QwXZh93_M