HOW TO ...

The “HOW TO” is an ever present prefix

to supposed solutions to many of our problems.

Especially in areas such as “Personal Development”

or “How to be SUCCESSFUL” etc...

Most people who follow this “HOW TO” self-help scene

are looking for quick solutions to something

that cannot be “fixed” by the superficial

approaches usually proposed by self-help gurus.

In the past 100 years, we in North America in particular,

have fallen under the grip of the “throw away & instant

solution dementia.”

At one end of consumerism we are known as the “throw away”

society and at the other extreme “Give me more, better -

and me-me-me”.

To a large extent true reasoning capacity has “fled the coop”.

“HOW TO” is very useful in PRACTICAL applications.

- how to drive

- how to cook

- how to treat a wound

- how to write a sentence

- how to change the oil in your car

- how to build a house

- how to keep a clean house

- how to dress for cold weather

- how to survive in the wilderness

Any “HOW TO” that is useful in making our life experience more

efficient, less painful and provides more practical, manageable

methods for dealing with everyday existential challenges is

of benefit to us. That is why we have educational systems that

basically “train” people to relate to their environment and

other people in the most reasonable manner.

Now for that which falls short of making it

in the “HOW TO” area ...

Let's look at one example from which you may be able

to catch on to what this is all about.

“HOW TO control your anger” or to get rid of anger or

"HOW TO" not be angry, or any variation of such a

”HOW TO.”

In most cases the “HOW TO” in this area has been very

amateurish and in some cases proven to do more harm

than good.

It is rather simple to provide instructions on “HOW TO”

behave in certain ways to curb expressions of anger, but

that is only the beginning, the hoped-for outward result.

There is really no “HOW TO” about anger itself. Anger has various

and different reasons and stimuli by which it manifests in

an individual. There may be a long and complex history involved.

One must do some deep introspection, a self-enquiry,

that questions the very validity of how one thinks about

anger or why one is feeling angry.

What is anger? I do not mean what is the description of

some of the effects or manifestations of anger in a body

and through the mind. The question asks, “WHAT IS ANGER”

in essence, besides what you might think of it.

How does anger relate to who you are?

Do you see anger as something outside you

or is it an actual expression of YOU in a particular instant?

Is anger different than you? Who is it that separates anger from

yourself? Is separation in some sense related to my

misunderstanding of who or what I truly am? And so on ...

To be meaningful and useful for one’s own growth

and creative evolution, you can quickly see that there

is no quick “HOW TO” about it.

You may begin some “HOW TO” behaviour modifications

to help condition your “PERSON” or “PERSONALITY”

which is on display to the world, but without the crucial

“inner work” that questions the very logic of thought,

you cannot be free of anger or any similar deep-seated

energetic disruption to your life manifestation.

So take note: Approach all “HOW TO”s with extreme

caution. Only your innermost intelligence is capable

of effectively dealing with your inner growth or creative evolution.

:)