(This was originally posted on the Universe of Power’s Discussion forum, in response to a member’s two part question: what about the overwhelming input we get from everything around us that getting what you want out of life is always hard, time-consuming and a struggle; and, why do any of us deserve to have happiness or prosperity when so many in the world are suffering from poverty, illness or war.)

It’s certainly true that we were raised and are now surrounded by messages about how hard everything is. I think this is based on the idea of an intact external reality moving along outside us like clockwork, a reality that doesn’t need us to exist, barely notices our existance and has no urge or tendency to provide us with what we need. That seems to be the “science” of the world view we’ve been living under. On the other hand there’s the traditional Christian view that most of us are exposed to in the western world (whether we are Christian or not our culture and social ideas are based on Christian beliefs) which says that there is a judgemental God, again external to us, who is intact, pre-existing and complete without us; a God we have to somehow please or cajole into providing something for us.

With this as our surroundings it’s no wonder everything seems so hard. How can our single psyche and our frail body make an impact on a huge pre-existant universe that has it’s reality so intact and complete that we are just a blip in the dark? Read the rest of this entry »