We all know the right thing to do. We often forget, though, as we try to justify some of our less than exemplary words and actions. Helping people is the right thing to do; hurting people is not. War is immoral, violence is unacceptable. While there are extremes and arguments for each of these, we know they are wrong. While we may pontificate about our impact on the larger scale, assuming there is nothing we can do about a war thousands of miles away, we may neglect our beliefs in our daily lives. Sometimes we miss the spiritual part, where we live what we know is right. If we begin to honor our beliefs, we can begin to show our younger generation how to do the same.

The spiritual way is living each moment with our best intentions and treating others as we would wish to be treated. Starting at our own level, we can change the world, even if not immediately, but we can certainly impact our daily lives.

There are so many ways for our world to be influenced by doing the right thing. In one of my books, Don’t Fall off the Bicycle: Balancing Chaos and Order in Our Lives, I mention three large concerns in the world today: Peace, Population and Pollution and some possible solutions.

Peace involves the obvious issue of war, but it also includes any violence, verbal or physical. Violence is any physical or emotional injury, or discomfort, of another person. How often do we argue with relatives or friends and make statements that we wish we could retract the minute they are uttered? What if we eliminated harsh words from our conversations, attempting to listen to and understand another’s view before condemning the opinion or that person?

Population involves the issue of too many people in the world, but it also includes poverty. Education is an avenue to a better future for children. Is it acceptable to allow our poorest children to be malnourished and uneducated? Money is not the only way to assist, either on a government or individual level. While aid is crucial, so is volunteering or helping in any small way possible. What if we used the abundance in our lives to help others?

Pollution is ruining the air and water around us. We are spoiling the environment with our careless throw-away society. Excessive consumerism is  always wanting and needing more. What if our challenge is to find creative ways to use less, of everything?

There are no easy solutions to any of these concerns.  We know that sometimes we simply ignore our own instincts and allow the flow of society to dictate personal, perhaps incorrect, choices. What if we change that? What if we teach our youth to honor their instincts and do the right thing?

There is another tool that we can provide to our troubled youth, one that might help them view their external and internal concepts in a new light. A previous blog, Seven Cosmic Principles, described the 7th Principle, “We Create,” as:

“Sex attraction governs our lives and the universe. Life is creation. But this is not just the “sex” of a limited male/female physical encounter. Sex attraction unites the masculine and feminine characteristics within us. As an extension of the previous principle of opposites, we strive for a balance of the masculine and feminine within. This allows us to create new ideas, as well as new life.”

The conscious mind is the masculine and the unconscious mind is the feminine. The unconscious mind becomes fertile and creates ideas, similar to the womb creating life. Creation of thoughts occurs with the conscious mind stimulating our unconscious. The male stimulates the female. A simple concept, but one that we tend to ignore as we focus solely on sexual relationships.

The masculine “Will,” or conscious mind, controls thoughts. If we are lazy and listen to those around us, we are ruled by others. Women too often allow strong men to dominate their lives. Many men acquiesce to dominant women. We cannot allow someone else to manage our thoughts. We can create our own ideas, rather than allow others to command us.

We can’t relegate or delegate any part of ourselves to a member of the opposite sex, to a member of the same sex, or to society. We see this in various forms of the media, which tell us what to think by supplying news that is geared to a particular view. For many, the media creates an opinion, so individuals don’t have to think for themselves. Our strength is to think for ourselves and use our “Will” to create our own world.

Some use their mind to dominate others. This violates the balance in our lives, as in the 6th and 7th Cosmic Principles discussed in the previous blog, by concentrating on the masculine and ignoring the feminine. Anyone dominated by another also violates the balance by focusing on the feminine and ignoring the masculine. Neither provides a point of power, leaving that person in the control of others, or at the mercy of those around him or her. If we don’t stimulate our our thoughts, or use our own masculine conscious will to fertilize our feminine unconscious, we are controlled by others.

Today, too many are led by the thoughts of a few. This is not a contemporary problem, but was discussed as far back as the 15th century, a human condition that has existed far too long. Perhaps we now have the knowledge and ability to stop allowing others to dictate to us. Our masculine and feminine must work together to create a better world. That will only happen when we internalize this balance and honor the need and power of our internal feminine and masculine.

The power is within us, not external to us. In the center, we find ourselves. The control we think we strive for is not rule over others, but command over ourselves. When we can achieve balance in our lives, we have sway over activities, decisions, and emotions. That is power. That is what we want to teach our kids to provide further guidance on how they can better manage their lives.