Starting Course - Section 4
Our Power

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The Transition

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As way of transitioning from the idea of ‘assembling’ the world,

to full creation of the world, 

I will start with examining me.  

 

A very simple notion is often used

to capture the ideas related to my interpretations of the world,

can be found in a simple question about your world view:

Is the glass half full or half empty?  

 

External events happen around me.  

How do I receive and interpret them?  

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Another more appropriate level in understanding

where my creative power comes from, or can be found in,

are the notions of good and bad luck. 

 

I am driving and every traffic signal I approach turns red just as I reach it.  

 

If am running late for a very important meeting, 

I interpret this series of events as bad luck.  

I may not make it to my meeting on time.

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However, if I need to read a very important message in my notes or on my phone, 

I interpret the events as good luck because  

I can read while stopped at the red light.  

 

The timing of the changing of the signals is based on a set of switches 

within an electrical system.  

 

The signals change based on a clock

which was set by someone who works for the road department,

and has nothing to do with my situation,

or my good or bad fortune.  

 

Where does the good or bad luck come from?

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How could the same event, 

the light turning red,

be good luck in one situation,

and bad luck in another?

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That is because luck, 

whether it is good or bad, 

is something we humans create entirely.  

 

I impose luck on the events that unfold in the world.  

 

It comes from my interpretation of the events in the world around me, 

in relation to my life,

at a given point in time.

 

I fully and completely create the luck.

 

Similarly, but more seriously,

and at the heart of this discussion of our power as humans,

is that good and bad are human creations.

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A hurricane, tornado or naturally caused wildfire,

is an event which happens in nature.  

 

When homes and people are in the way, it is a bad event.

The disaster can cause human pain, suffering and hardship.

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However, millions of years before humans existed, 

or when a storm hits a place without humans, 

it is just an event occurring in space and time.  

 

It is in this area of good and bad, 

where we make the transition

to the very important power of creation which we possess.

 

Imposing good or bad on an event,

is similar to how I assemble, 

and interpret light waves in order for me to see.

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I give the light waves bouncing off a table meaning.

I assemble the sensory input my eyes receive,

and give the object reflecting the light the meaning

associated with the word table.

 

I create the notion of a table based on my assembly and interpretation

of specific waves of energy

bouncing off an object, a table, and hitting my eyes.

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As discussed, in perceiving a physical object,

I believe there is an object,

which existed before me and separate from me,

and there are energy waves traveling about the world around me,

external to me.  

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Good and Bad

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But, and this is a big distinction and very important point in our discussion,

good or bad, 

do not require an external object or sensory input

in order to be created.

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Good and bad are not external to me.

They are internal FROM me. 

Good and bad come from within me,

and then I put them out into the world.

I externalize them.

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I do not simply impose good and bad on events in the world,

like I put a label, "table", on specific sensory input I receive.

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I create good and bad in the world, wholly and completely.

Without me good and bad would not exist.

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That is to say, 

good and bad 

come from within a person completely and entirely, 

whereas the understanding of a table

requires the external light waves hitting an object,

then hitting my eyes,

sending signals to my brain,

which I then interpret or impose meaning on. 

 

The notion of good or bad, which is imposed on an event, 

such as the luck involved in a traffic signal

or the bad of a tornado,

are only connected to me (you), and my (your) specific circumstances. 

 

Through sensory input, 

I see and experience the tornado, or the changing of the traffic signal

and I construct one form of meaning,

that of the physical object, element, force or event

of the external world.

 

However, based on my circumstances,

my situation,

my life experiences, 

my point of view,

I fully create the notions of good or bad, 

and then apply them to the specific objects and events,

based on the specific circumstances,

at precise moments in my life.

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                                                 Good and bad come 100% from me.

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In these notions of good or bad,

imposed on events,

we find the pure creation of the universe by humans.

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Saying some event is good or bad luck 

is simply an example.

I can call the same event, the changing of a traffic signal,

good or bad luck or neither.

The meaning I impose on the event,

depends on my circumstances.

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The good and bad we are concerned with is that of morality.

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Morality is where my power becomes our power,

where the good and bad I create in the world

meet you.

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Morality is the form of social creation

which is most important to my happiness, your happiness

and our flourishing in the world together. 

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Our greatest power of creation is in the realm of morality.

The creation of good and bad is our superpower,

our godlike power.

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The creation of good and bad is continuous, ongoing and 100% human.

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In these notions of good or bad,

imposed on events,

we find the pure creation of the universe by humans.

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The Pure Creation of Good and Bad by Humans: Morality

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A tornado hits my town.

If I go out and help my neighbor,

I have created good.

If I go out and steal from my neighbor,

I have created bad.

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I create the good and bad in the world.

You create the good and bad in the world.

Together we create a good or bad world.

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Good and bad morality comes 100% from me.

 

Good and bad morality comes 100% from you.

 

Good and bad morality comes 100% from all of us together.

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This form of social creation is 100% purely human.

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Human beings create the good and bad in the world.

It comes from within a human being.

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This is the creation of the social world,

and is akin to the creation of the material world.

It is just as real as the physical world.

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We have doubts about the material things in the world:

When and how was the world created?

Was it God, the big bang or some other way?

What is the nature of force, matter and energy,

and what can we know about them,

outside of our human perception and interpretation of them?

 

But there is absolutely no doubt about good and bad:

humans create it and own it entirely.

 

Good and bad are an integral part of the social world,

the world of interactions between us,

between you and me, and every human being.

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If you are religious,

then you most likely believe that God created the world.

If you are not religious, then the world is some form of natural creation.

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Whatever you believe about the creation of physical world,

the creation of the social world is 100% mine and yours.

The social world is 100% a human creation.

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We have power:

I have the full power of social creation.

You have the full power of social creation.

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There is some creation I can affect on my own.

Some creation I do with you and others.

 

Human beings create the social part of the world,

and the social world

is the most important component in the quest for happiness.

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Human beings create the good or bad in the social world,

and it is in this creative ability

that you and I have our greatest superpower.

 

Our ability to create good and bad is a godlike power.

Each and every human being has this power.

How we use this power determines our happiness, our flourishing.

 

Teaching Example

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I was a teacher for many years

and use the experience of my classroom as an example of this creative power.

 

Within certain bounds,

I could create the rules of my classroom.

 

But, more importantly,

I created the atmosphere or experience of my classroom.

 

If I enter the room and I am open, receptive, respectful, kind, and caring,

I create a class experience like that for my students.

It is good.

 

If I enter the room and I am mean, authoritative, sarcastic or otherwise nasty,

so too is the world of my classroom for my students.

It is bad.

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                                         Exercise

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    Pause for a few moments and think about your own experiences. 

 

In your youth, were there teachers and classes you loved, or dreaded?

What was the teacher like,

or was it other classmates who created the environment?

 

Have you been part of a great team or an awful team?

Was it the coach, other players or other teams

that made it a joy or sorrow?

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Consider places which you have worked

or businesses you frequent. 

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What makes it a great place to work, shop, dine or visit?

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Together, we humans do this same thing, create the social environment

on an individual, local, national, and global scale.

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Just as I create a good or bad classroom experience,

people individually create good or bad for themselves,

and those around them.

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People collectively do the same thing,

creating the good and bad for the world.

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Throughout history humans have created many very different societies and cultures,

some good and some bad.

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The experiences of those in each society

are created by themselves,

and the other individuals around them.

 

Humans fully and completely create the social universe,

the world of the human interactive experience.

 

The Whole World

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What is of equal importance is the receiving side of social creation.

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The world only happens to one person, one moment at a time.

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The interaction one person has with another person

creates the world, the universe,

in that moment,

for that person.

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That is powerful!

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All social interactions,

the encounters each person has with another,

in whatever format,

make up the social world.

 

These interactions can be direct encounters, face to face,

written encounters, phone calls, texts,

or through any form of media

in which 2 or more people encounter each other.

 

The good and bad we create in these interactions,

our power of creation,

is the realm of morality.

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Join me in Section 5 - Creating Together, as we explore the creation of the world!

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