Knowledge = Power & A Key

First, let’s run through the definitions, as according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. I pulled the subsections that best fit with this particular blog.

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knowledge (noun)

2a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique; 4a : the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by humankind.

power (noun - often attributive)

1a (1): ability to act or produce an effect (3): capacity for being acted upon or undergoing an effect; 2a: possession of control, authority, or influence over others.

key (noun)

2a: a means of gaining or preventing entrance, possession, or control; 2b: an instrumental or deciding factor; 3a : something that gives an explanation or identification or provides a solution.

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Knowledge is a true power and a master key of life. The sum of what you know can be used to act and produce effects. You can mold the power you extract from knowledge to provide solutions, maintain control of your life, and prevent the ignorant and ill-intended from gaining entry and/or possession in your life. You can also use that power to influence others, so always be sure that you are on the right side of moral responsibility. Power that is obtained by deceitful practices and knowledge is tainted and hollow, and produces “defected” keys which in the end could cripple any and all of your efforts. 

Let your quest of knowledge be infinite. The more knowledge you obtain, the more power you will supply yourself with, and the more keys to life you will be able to forge. Educate yourself so thoroughly that you have keys to doors you may not even encounter; it’s always better to be prepared than sorry you didn’t. Not all educating can be done through academia either; some things are meant to be taught through life lessons and the mistakes you will sometimes make. A mistake is not a truly damaging thing in life unless you do not learn or take anything from it. If a mistake becomes a learning tool for you, then the blunder is sometimes not as bad as it may seem. In the scheme of time, grave mistakes can end up being tremendous breakthroughs…    

Use your knowledge to repel attacks, adversaries to your mission, and those who seek to undermine you. While a foe is trying to destabilize your “foundation”, if you’re knowledgeable, you will know just what to do to repel their actions all the while maintaining your reputation, dignity, and integrity. To have extensive knowledge is an intimidating factor to those who are purposefully ignorant, so they can sometimes seek to bring you down to their level with personal attacks, lies, and snake-like behaviors. Use your knowledge to maintain your power over moronic actions; participating in debauchery can strip you of influence and your keys to open doors as a result. In anything you do, you always want to be the “smart” one and take the safest routes possible. You don’t ever want to be controlled and taken possession of by others due to a lack of brain power.

Having a strong intellectual capacity can put you at the forefront of removing yourself from bad circumstances or situations, in addition to avoiding them altogether. You will make more sound decisions the more aware you are, and will find yourself in less risky positions. You will have more power the smarter you are, and be able to erect more keys – never a bad thing. Whenever a door or opportunity arises, you want to be able to open it. If you don’t have the “key”, you could be left in the dark. This is especially true if you’re going through trials & tribulations. It would be a shame to come upon a door and a way out, but not have a key to open it. Let your knowledge serve to lift you out of darkness, into the light, and into living life unconquered.

JJR II

6-27-11

Let A Healing...

Last week I spoke about ushering in a new era in your life, and that to do that, you have to let your past go. What happens sometimes is that we let the past go, forgive others and ourselves, and move forward. Yet, we still feel hollow. More than likely, it’s because you’ve forgotten to let a healing in; not uncovering your wounds so they can get air and heal. Remember that you can only keep band-aids and bandages over a deep wound so long; it needs to be exposed to sunlight and air to properly heal over. Deep wounds do tend to leave a scar regardless, but you’re in a better place if you have a blemish than a wound that is continually reopened in your life. 

Letting a healing occur isn’t always easy, and everyone has different methods of completing this process. Sometimes conversing with someone you trust (and who is trustworthy) helps, whereas some individuals have to seek out counseling. Some of us can heal ourselves as we take a step back and soul search, whereas some need to introvert themselves to recover. Do whatever you need to do, but open your mind and let yourself recover. You can only be the victim of your circumstance for so long, and in this era there isn’t much empathy from others to go around. Always ask yourself – what problem or circumstance has the empathy from others ever conquered?

If you don’t allow a healing – whether it’s physical, mental, or emotional – your “scars” can slowly create permanent and lasting damage in your life. Your circumstance and situation can continue to stagnant and then deteriorate, until you find yourself in a place that you don’t know how to escape. Letting “scars” fester and not heal can pull you into depression, create addictions, and perpetuate bad habits. “Scars” in life are almost as “potholes” in your foundation. Leave them unattended and they can spread, start spreading cracks through your whole foundation, and ultimately lead to your destruction. You cannot not allow that to happen; let a healing happen…

The theme remains the same, be sure that you’re in a positive environment. You will heal much faster when you are in conditions conducive for growth. Don’t get in the mindset of thinking you’re broken beyond repair, because you aren’t. This mindset can lead you to settling for less than you deserve; it’s not selfish to desire the best for yourself no matter your circumstance or situation. Keep the faith, keep pressing forward, open yourself up to be healed, and then be sure to let a healing begin for you immediately…

6/20/11

JJR II

The Dawn of a New Era

There are times in life where things can get so bad, that the best option can be to start over. While you should never find yourself creating new “starting points” all the time – every so often is necessary to maintain sanity and sanctity. Before you create a starting point – you should ask yourself these questions…

Where am I now? (and be honest with yourself)

Where do I want to be? (set realistic goals)

How do I get there? (don’t take the easy routes)

Am I willing and ready to put in hard work? (you will need to)

Who will be affected by my changes? (know your environment)

Before starting anew, you will need to envelope yourself with positive environments and individuals – otherwise your plan to “renovate” yourself won’t succeed. You will need daily encouragement and motivation for your new beginning to take root. This applies whether you’re escaping a bad relationship, abuse, an addiction, a bad job environment, or financial plight. You need to set a standard, and you need to stick to it. Be aware that things may get worse before they get better once you’ve decided to begin anew, and you cannot toss in the towel. Be sure that you have the courage and tenacity to tough things out. Don’t let fear of starting over hold you back – sometimes you only make your circumstances worse by not just moving on. Avoid letting empathy be a barrier to future opportunity and the chance for a fresh change of pace.

- A New Beginning -

- A Fresh Start -

Track your progress, don’t isolate yourself, and don’t smother others in the meanwhile. Maintain your focus and discipline, and know there is no situation or circumstance that you cannot escape. You might feel like you haven’t made it back to where you may have once been, but you need to understand that your life is what you make of it. You can always attain maximum satisfaction with what you have in the present day if you have true appreciation and focus on the positives in your life. Always avoid using your past to determine where you should be in your future, because unfortunately life does not work in that manner.  For you, make this the dawn of a new era. The past print in your chapters can't be changed, but after today they should have no bearing on what you "write" for your future. Closing the doors on the old will assist you in ushering in the new, and get you a step closer to living unconquered.

6/13/11

JJR

Your Enemies Have Eyes

This week, I’m going to tackle the notion of defending yourself from negative attitudes, people, and perceptions – because in this day and age, they are all around you. Moreover, you must always maintain a course of integrity, because your enemies have eyes that are always watching. In mere seconds, one small mistake can cripple the mightiest dynasty build over decades. Your enemies have eyes, lots of them, that are always watching, waiting for you to slip just that once...

On the quest to do better and living unconquered, you will come across many pitfalls. Obstacles in your life are continuous and without end, so the best advice you could be given are to learn how to manage impediments, and progress in spite of. One of these obstacles will be those who seek to pull you down into the muck, speak ill of your labors, and actively attempt to disrupt your advancement. Your enemies, or antagonists if you will.

Always remember that misery loves company, so a miserable person has no better agenda than to cause desolation in your life. That is why it may seem some people are put on Earth just to hinder you; because in a way, they are – it becomes their scheme in life. While truly unfortunate – you would think someone who is truly despondent would instead seek out assistance from others verses seeking to snatch down those within reach, it is the way things operate and something you’ve got to learn to handle. Ignore malevolence, because the biggest fuel you can provide it is to let the source know you’re being affected by their insolent actions.

Try to avoid those who operate with reckless regard, because they’ll be the first to bring down your efforts. You cannot surround yourself with those who live life in contempt of others, because they have no true loyalties but to themselves, and sometimes they can’t even have loyalty for their own soul.

This all leads me to the title – your enemies having eyes. Someone who is an active antagonist to you will always be watching and waiting for the one crack they need to insert themselves (and their "agenda"). It avoid putting yourself into compromising situations. Even if your adversaries aren’t the ones actively watching, they have eyes in the form of minions, vultures, and associates that survey in their absence. Malevolence does not take a day off, so you cannot afford yourself any downtime, or the enemy will sneak in and strike you down.

Do not feel for one second that being on a “righteous” course will repel devious behaviors. In fact, it is opposite. The better you try to do for yourself and those around you, the harder the opposition will seek to bring you down. If you’re running a dynasty, you better run it with humility, because if it falls you don’t want to have scorched all the bridges around you. In this day and age, it would seem that no matter how good one is doing, a cloud of disarray will be lurking close by. All you can do is to ever-increase your “protective force-field” by always operating in truth, integrity, and be accountable. Don’t deviate to a road lesser traveled because it seems easier. Keep your eyes fixated on your goals, but not to the point you lose your sense of reason and ration (because an irrational action is just the “crack” in your foundation your adversaries need). 

Use sound judgment, and always educate yourself. The pool of knowledge is never-ending, so you should always continue to increase your intellect. The smarter you are, the better decisions you will make, and the more awareness you will have. Make sound and steady decisions on a constant basis, and no matter how many eyes your enemy has, you will be protected from their debauchery. Don’t let them bend you out of shape, but let them shape you. Better be than the disorder they promote. When all of your foe’s eyes are fixated on you, blind them with your brilliance; send them running into the cowardly shadows they belong, and continue on your quest to live unconquered.

Make it a great week.

J. Junior II

6/6/2011

The Seeds of Life

To be in the land of the living, is to continuously be a farmer of sorts. You are always planting seeds, and you are always harvesting those seeded in the past. The planting of your seeds is involuntary; everyday you exist, you lay down kernels that for future harvesting – another process that’s involuntary. Your goal should be to lay down as many positive grains as you can, because when they come to fruition, you don’t want to have an entire crop of spoil goods to reap. Misery loves company, and some people go through life with seemingly no other purpose than to lay down as many germs of malevolence as they can. Don’t be that person. Dedicate yourself to a greater cause than bestowing your misery upon others – because in due time that same desolation will be reaped upon you if you do (and usually to a greater degree).

Examples of negative seeds include stealing, lying, cheating, killing, co-mingling in drugs, prostituting yourself, excessive drinking, arrogance, self-absorption, greed, envy, and drama just to name a few. Lay down these and they will come to past, even once you have decided to clean yourself up. Negative seeds act as a ghost, because they always seem to show up when things are going better for you or you’ve decided to change and clean things up. Because of their “longer lifespan”, you have to be even more diligent to avoid bringing them into existence. A negative seed can lie dormant for eternity, waiting for opportune moments to besiege your reputation. A negative lifestyle can often be the one of glitz and glamour in the short term, but be unsteady in the long term. Stay away from the vacuum of a so-called “high life”, and opt for the longevity and security of a “good life” instead.  

Seek to be an optimistic and industrious seed planter. Be honest, hard working, morally just, benevolent, judicious, a leader, encouraging, loving, and caring. Stay away from bad habits such as drugs, gambling, and alcohol. Avoid bad environments such as strip clubs, bars, and pool halls – because bad environments usually are a precursor (and harboring place) for detrimental situations. Just being seen in an off-putting location can tarnish your reputation. Stay clear of debauchery, and surround yourself with people who maintain a constructive lifestyle. Humans are naturally sponge like, and will slowly absorb the things they surround themselves with.

If you’ve laid mostly nonconstructive seeds in your life, take the time to vow for a change, and change your sowing patterns today. All of your past crops may come to roost and still put you down, but remember it takes time to clean your act up. It is not an overnight process, and you have to be willing to work. Sometimes, it will be a struggle in itself to better your life, but don’t let that challenge scare you into maintaining ignorant ways. Start today on the quest to live unconquered…

Until next week, avoid the heat.

J. Junior II

06/01/2011