What have the Romans ever done for us?
Well for a start they appropriated the Greek Gods and renamed them. The Gods that punished and tricked humanity and that needed to be appeased, sometimes requiring the blood sacrifice of beloved family member. Next they hijacked the teachings of Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose message was one of love, forgiveness and redemption. Then they mixed it all up, threw in some Old Testament for good measure and we ended up with a Christian God with anger management issues, hellfire and damnation. Yes it’s a very simplified account but you get my drift.
Whether we were raised in a Christian family or not, the belief that we are all inherently bad people and that we deserve to be punished appears to be ingrained in our collective consciousness.
Many of us, in an effort to feel better about ourselves, chose to turn away from this religion, from a God that we felt was looking to catch us out, that always found us flawed and lacking, it appeared that he especially despised women. However, some still searched for a deeper meaning to life but ironically swapped one version of retribution for another. I have often heard people say “I must have been bad in a past life…”
Despite our best efforts to free ourselves from this tyranny, the core assumption is still burned into the collective psyche and whether we are aware of it or not, many of us subconsciously believe that we are unworthy and deserve to suffer.
Accepting that struggle and unhappiness as simply our lot in life is madness, no matter what we believe our sins to be! We don’t deserve to be punished for simply being human and trying to live our lives the best we know how. That’s bonkers!
That is not to say, however, that there are not consequences to our actions. Let me give you an example.
If we go through your day, having kind thoughts about the people we meet we will have kindness in our hearts and that feels really good. However if we go through our day judging people (as we have been taught to do since childhood) and comparing ourselves to others and what they have that we don't, we are probably going to feel resentful and dissatisfied.
Simply put, if we focus on the good in people and the things we like in our lives rather than trying to find someone or something to criticise, we are going to feel good rather than short changed or unhappy. Yup! That’s the simplified version of heaven and hell. It’s all in our minds.
Sadly we have fallen prey to generations of stinking thinking, we accept without question many things that just aren’t true! So I urge you to join the resistance. Start questioning the thoughts that are holding you back and keeping you locked in fear, doubt, worry, lack and limitation. You know there are always at least two sides to every story so why not try an alternative view? The situation won’t change but if the way you perceive it is different, you may well start to recognise open doors that you never even knew existed.
All you need do to change your experience is change your perspective.
So what have you got to lose? Start today by taking the first steps on your journey of unlearning.