The Problem of Original Sin

It's easy to believe and act on the power of good intention and co-creation; yet history and personal experience painfully demonstrate that life just isn't that easy. There is a restraining force that thwarts the co-creative powers of positive intentions and its been present as long as history has been recorded.

We  find this force labeled "original sin" in Biblical doctrine. It's a favorite concept for those who wish to argue against Biblical teachings to attack; however, it does seem to explain what happens; so a second look at the mechanics of original sin is in order.

Cognitive scientists study the brain in an effort to understand the mind. Humans have this distinctive ability to be self-aware. We can observe and therefore can also encourage, love, criticize, or despise ourselves. It doesn't appear that other life forms can (or want) to do this. While all life has some form of intelligence, it just usually doesn't have the capability of self-awareness.

In the cognitive studies of the human brain, self-awareness appears to be in a special area of the human brain known as the prefrontal cortex. Unlike a mechanisms subject only to Newton's Laws, humans are not limited to a fixed reaction to an action. We use the prefrontal cortex and its capability of  self-awareness to change our response.

Wonderful as self-awareness might be, the thousands of operational details required to maintain human life would simply over-whelm it. Never fear, a subconscious mind rises elegantly and efficiently to meet the need.While the prefrontal cortex is a small part of our total brain, the rest is busy operating all our life functions in an automatic fashion with any conscious direction.

A small portion of this subconscious intelligence is instinct. Most of our automated behaviors are learned. Researchers believe this larger area of our brain takes-in all it experiences as truth from birth until about the age of 6. While this system gives each succeeding generation the opportunity to receive updated lessons in living, the subconscious dutifully records with reason or judgment, often misinterpreting childhood experiences and forming false and/or destructive beliefs. These beliefs primarily come from our parents, who received them from their parents, who received them from generations of parents going back in time until the beliefs associated with original sin were started.

Defining sin is important. It was originally a term used in archery to mean "missing the mark." Original sin is the programming we receive from our ancestry that through our subconscious mental automation causes us to miss the potential we all were given. This definition is not meant to take away the use of the word sin to refer to missing out on God's grace; rather it includes that and more.

Neurologically, 95% of the brain is dedicated to the subconscious. While the remaining 5% can choose to be different, this doesn't happen easily. Corrective beliefs, in the form of new habits, are needed to re-program the subconscious. Forming those habits take the repetitive, powerful, and gentle actions  this blog has discussed for Active Investors. Biblically, it is what the work of the Holy Spirit is all about for all of us.

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Entrainment - Power in Prayer and Meditation

An emerging theme in this blog is identifying key drivers of value by recognizing 3 necessary characteristics. Value Drivers of lasting consequence can be recognized because they are always Repetitive, Powerful, and Gentle (RPG). Certainly prayer and meditation are candidates. They are Repetitive and Gentle; but what about Powerful? A part of their Power may lie within an effect scientists have called entrainment.

Entrainment is the stuff of scientific legend. That legend goes back to 1666. The noted Dutch physicist, Christiaan Huygens, had to adjust the clock in his study each day because it ran about a minute slower than the one in his living room. Both were governed by swinging pendulums. One day he moved them side-by-side. With no other adjustments, the clocks began to keep synchronized time. Any discrepancies disappeared. This observation lead Huygens to the discovery or labeling of entrainment, which is the tendency for adjacent oscillating systems to synchronize.

Where ever there are cycles (Repetitions) there is the potential for the effects of entrainment. The clocks are an example of entrainment in a mechanical system. A striking example in natural systems is the synchronization of menstrual cycles among women who live or work together.

Entrainment is a Powerful effect. Can that power be accessed by prayer and mediation? For one oscillator to affect another, the entrainment has to operate through some medium. Call it the universe, God, or the Zero Point Field, we all must be connected for this scientific effect to occur.

Now consider the processes of prayer and mediation to be bringing yourself side-by-side with God. As you repeat these processes entrainment begins it's subtle work which ultimately results in the changes we call answered prayer. Was the change in the universe, or was it inside of us? Entrainment leads us to the possibility it could be either or both.

Jesus instructed the we should ask to receive (Matt 7:7). His half-brother James later wrote that we can ask but not receive because of our motives (James 4:2). Apparently asking works, but only when a level of entrainment with God has synchronized our motives.

Active Investors have very busy schedules. Repetitive prayer and mediation takes away available time; but if ignored, what will our lives synchronize toward?

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Sixty and the Pursuit of Happiness

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Since Freud, our parents and our upbringing have been popular targets of blame. We'll never really know our parent's inner struggles, only that parents are given a miraculous gift of unmerited love for their children. No matter how graciously or obscurely that gift was expressed, the bottom line is always that our parents did the best they knew how. As children we also can share in this family gift. Love, respect, and appreciate what we can and forgive them for anything else.

Who outside our family doesn't also deserve the same? Nothing ever turns out the way we imagined. Stopping our Imagination, depicted in the picture posted here, is to stop living. It's only from imagination we enable creativity, growth, and hope. We can't go far on sheer will power; but our imaginations can fuel anything. The inevitable frustration and disappointment that an active imagination will cause requires we also extend our forgiveness to all involved. Anything less permanently disables our future happiness.

This is a lot easier to understand than to practice. The root of unforgiveness seems of reside inside of us. The fundamental attribute error that plagues our relationships with others is also nurtured in our self-recriminations. Ridiculous as it sounds, we take the position that we're not worthy of ourselves. With that absurdity firmly in place, we're now perfectly aligned to ruin our lives and the lives of those around us. Self forgiveness requires a large degree of self respect.

In the history of humanity, nothing has lead people to acknowledge their self-worth more than a belief that God resides within them. We know ourselves too well to completely trust us; but we can trust God within us.

I've just turned 60 and that called for some reflection. Before 30, happiness was found in experiences. After 30, the experiences needed meaning, so goals and growth processes became more important. Today the meanings need to be significant, that is from God within. Being able to forgive what's not that, seems to free all that is.

Fruitful Decision Making

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If you're not already familiar with the Franklin or Balance Sheet close it's an old sales technique that should be out of favor with today's business decision makers. The story is when Benjamin Franklin had trouble making a decision he would make a written list of all the pros and cons. Doing this would help lead him to the best decision. The gimmick behind it us while there are usually many pros in a sales proposition, a prospect is generally only facing a couple of cons, typically risk and/or affordability. It's a manipulative scheme because it leads a prospect to consider the quantity of items on the pro and con lists as opposed to their importance. One significant risk can easily outweigh a hundred minor advantages.

Like all really great lies, it's appealing because there are truthful elements inside. Putting your thoughts on paper is a powerful method of clarifying thinking. It's use should be encouraged; but with an orientation toward what's important. I'm proposing a modification to the Franklin close we can call the Fruitful close for your personal decisions.

Create a list of what's important to you. This is the really hard part and since it may be time consuming needs to be done in advance. Personally, I started with the Roles I developed from the time management disciplines found in The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. Later I found a much more useful list. The logic behind its use was if I made my decisions in alignment with the characteristics of the Creator, the results would be in alignment with Creation - a very desirable result. These characteristics are listed in the Bible in Galatians 5:22 as the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. They are: love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I've come to see the list as operating from the last item (self-control) backwards to the first as one develops into greater alignment with Creation. With a list of importance established, it's now time to create the Balance Sheet.

In Column One, Titled "Important", write down the elements of your list. Now consider all the alternatives to your decision and make a subsequent column for each with an appropriate label. Assign a weight (I use the numbers 1 to 5) that represents how each alternative might contribute toward each result. There may be no effect in many cases. Large effects should be given higher weights. In the end, one column should outweigh the others.

Test this result. Does it make sense that this alternative really is the most fruitful choice? It may not turn-out that way because something was missed during the first analysis (this is normal). Keep repeating the process. Eventually an alternative emerges that that makes sense and we know why. Now its time to become fruitful.

Sellers Remorse - The Greatest Exit Ever Told

This diagram summarizes many Exit Planning strategies. We've all experienced the fact that nothing goes on forever. There are limits to growth. This is due to the effect of Balancing loops as explained in System Dynamics. The diagram shows business growth leveling off as some limit to a resource is ultimately reached.

The optimal time for a business owner to move to their next challenge is before that happens. It's the "X" on the chart marked "Time to Exit." From this earlier position a Potential Growth possibility exits. A new ownership will change parameters and frequently delay the Balancing forces that result in the Actual Growth curve. The big issue at this point in time is that it feels like selling now is too soon. This is strange; but that's the wrong feeling you may get at the right time.

We can never know the future and can never know the exact time selling our business will yield the optimal result. What we can know is when it's time to move on to the next thing in our life, in spite of financially-based feelings.

The timing of the Easter story is striking when seen as an Exit. The crucifixion Christians celebrate on Easter is preceded by Palm Sunday. This day celebrates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, by all political and social standards the peak of His ministry to date.

Imagine the feelings that might have been experienced by Jesus and His followers as He Exits at this point. Everything seems to be going so well! Yet His mission is completing and He knows this is the right time. Unlike every other Jewish Prophet or King before Him, death will not limit the growth of His ministry. Defeating death will enable the greatest growth cycle of all history.

In the Garden of Gethsemane it may have felt to everyone like leaving too soon. That's not always a bad thing; it can be what the right timing feels like.

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The Problem of Answered Prayer

It's not hard to believe in God. Given that, it's not difficult to believe in a personal God that responds to prayer. People pray all the time. What's really hard to truly believe is that the God of your faith actually answers those prayers.

It's safe to attribute answered prayer to preparation or hard work finally paying-off, or usually just to good fortune. We don't have to carry any responsibility when we are blessed by past efforts or good luck. But if a prayer relates to something happening in your business, and God is going to answer that prayer, then there are some significant fiduciary responsibilities involved. It puts you in the position of being responsible to an all-knowing, all-powerful business partner. 

This is such a serious subject an entire Old Testament book has been devoted to it. The Book of Jonah is often seen as a story about a reluctant prophet. On a broader scale it's about God wanting to communicate to a guy named Jonah; and Jonah doesn't want to hear it. If you don't already know the story, God wins.

When I pray about a business (or any other) matter, fear is involved. I believe if I now don't act as if God will answer, I may be swallowed by a metaphorical whale. It propels me to act on the potential of God's answer coming from my actions. I do things I may not have had the inclination or courage to ever try before. I think twice before putting myself in that position.

On the other hand, when God's answer becomes apparent, I go from humility, to feeling like a light bulb when someone has just turned-on the switch.