EXPERIENCE

I Have Seen The Walls Of China

I Have Seen The Rains In Spain

But I Have Never Seen Good Loving

In A Life That Is Rack With Pain

 

I Have Seen The Sun On The Horizon

As It Exchanged Kisses With The Sea

But I Have Never Seen Happiness

In A Heart That Was Not Set Free

 

I Have Lived Inside Of My Insecurities

I Have Been Trapped By A Weaken Mind

But I Kept Thinking To Myself

That Everything Changes With Time

 

I Have Known Mistreatment

By Humans Full Of Hate

I Have Been A Victim Of Calumnies

But I Never Gave Up My Faith

 

I Have Faced The Bullets Of Criticism

I Have Been Called By Another Name

I Have Seen My Fire Distinguished

But I Had No One But Me To Blame

 

I Have Spoken To The High And Mighty

I Have Lived With The Common Man

If Receive An Opportunity

I Will Do The Best I Can

 

On The Landscape Of My Living

Lives The Hyenas Against My Hope

To Avoid The Predators Along My Path

I Must Travel On The Slippery Slope

 

To Achieve The Goals I Am Seeking

I Must Travel Through Swampy Land

When My Self-Confidence Is Challenged

I Must Take My Strongest Stand 

                                                      PHILLIP RHODES

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FRUITS OF FRESH THINKING

If Our Thinking Remains Standing Still

And We Refuse To Objectively Examine

The Established Thoughts

We Inherited From Other Humans

Then Our Knowledge Base With Shrink

And We Will Be Unable To Enjoy

The Fruits Of Fresh Thinking

 

Both The Scholar And The Student

Have A Tendency To Focus On Information

That Confirms The Theories Or Opinions

That They Already Hold

 

We Are Inclined To Embrace Ideas

That Are Consistent With The Views

Espoused By Our Parents

And Routinely Taught To Us

By Our Pastors, Professors

And Other Influence Peddlers 

 

Most Of Us Are Afraid Or Suspicious

Of Intellectual Adventures

That Expose Us To New Ways Of Knowing

And We Have No Strong Desires To Question

The Assertions Of Our Superiors

 

We Are Reluctant To Change Our Mental Positions

Unless A Novel Thoughts Is Endorsed

By Individuals We Greatly Admire

Or By People We Respect

Because Of Their Talents And Credentials

 

To Preserve Our Mental Comfort Zones

Within Which Our Narrow Thoughts Thrives

And To Convince Our Audience

That Our Subjective Assertions Are Factual

 

As Long As Our Minds Remain Closed

To The Intrusion Of New Truths

And We Refuse To Objectively Examine

Conventional Wisdom And Traditional Truths

We Are Unlikely To Discover New Knowledge 

                            PHILLIP RHODES

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PERCEIVABLE REALITY

Perceivable Reality Is A Constantly Changing Concept

How And What We See Today

Maybe Unlike Our Views Of Yesterday

And Our Outlook Tomorrow

Could Represent A New Way Of Knowing

 

Perceivable Reality Is Invariably Influenced

By Our Cultural Conditioning

Our Political Preference

The Kind Of Sociology We Accept

The Religious Concepts We Choose

Our Ability To Manipulate Language

And An Assortment Of Unconscious Influences

 

To Assure Ourselves

That Our Arguments Are Unassailable

That Our Assertions Are Accurate

That Our Principles Are Perfect

That Our Truths Are Eternal

We Employ Our Tentative Truths

And Imaginary Realities

To Tell Us What To Think

 

Whenever We Are Unable To Prove

The Validity Of Our Views

The Factual Basis Of Our Beliefs

The Reliability Of Our Spiritual Laws

We Use Verbal Fictions

To Describe Our Desirable World With Words

To Preserve Our Preferred Perspectives

And To Paint A Perfect Picture

That Is Compatible With Our Wishes

 

Perceivable Realities Are Personal

They Are Never Exactly The Same

For No Two Individuals

When They Are Looking At Life

Through The Fictitious Creations

From Our Imaginative Minds

That Allows Us To Shield Our Sanity

From All Of The Illusions We Encounter 

– Phillip Rhodes

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OUR VISION OF NIRVANA

The Road To High Achievement

In Never Clearly Marked

And At The Beginning Of Our Journey

We Have No Sure Way Of Knowing

If The Course We Have Chosen

Will Lead Us To The Place

Where We Can Find And Enjoy

The Pearls Of Peace

Or The Treasures Of Prosperity

 

Those Who Have Achieved

The Objects Of Their Long Term Interests

Are Inclined To Say In Hindsight

That The Paths They Had Taken

While Striving For Success

Were Crooked, Dimly Lit, Bumpy,

Slippery, And Seldom Smooth

 

There Are No Perfects Path

Known To Philosophers And Sages

That An Ordinary Individual

Can Follow Into The Future

 

There Are No True Trails

On Which We Can Travel

That Can Give Us A Guarantee

That If We Keep Following A Certain Course

We Will Inevitably Reach

Our Vision Or Version Of Nirvana

 

No Matter How Rigidly

We Practice Our Principles

Or How Consistently

We Practice What We Preach

There Will Always Be

Unknown Forces And Unforeseeable Events

That Will Influence Our Plans And Prospects

When We Are Going For Our Goals

 

Personal Successes Are Achievable Objectives

If We Are Willing To Adjust Our Schedules,

Moderate Our Strategies, And Select Procedures

That Are Flexible And Compatible With Change

As We Move Toward Our Missions

 

To Discover The Secret Reality

Concealed Deep Inside Of Ourselves

We Must Mine Our Mental And Spiritual Depths

To Gain An Understanding Of Our Essence

- Phillip Rhodes

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MY UMBILICAL CONNECTION

After Seriously Studying
The Wise Works Of Sages
I Have Come To Understand
That My Obligation To Live
A Full And Complete Life
Is Impossible To Achieve Unless I Accept
My Union With The Universe

When I Became Wisely Aware
Of My Unobstructed Access
To The Producer Of All Prosperity
I Knew That It Was Time
For Me To Have A Talk
To My Prosperous Partner

I Am Cosmically Connected
To The Universal Umbilical Cord
From Which I Am Receiving
All The Nourishment I Need
For Wisdom And Wealth

I Am Permanently Linked
To The Supreme Source Of Power
Which Has Given Me The Ability
To Maximize My Success
With Every Task I Undertake

My Mind And Spirit Are Naturally United
With The Reservoir Of Reason
And With The Fountain Of Faith
From Which The Blood Of Life Flows
Into The Aorta Of My Existence

My Life Is Hermetically Merged
With The Channel Of Creativity
Containing The Currents Of My Capacities
Provided To Me By My Creator

With My New Found Self
I Can Intuitively See
The Portrait Of My Potentials
I Know The Secret For Making Miracles
And I Can Move Mighty Mountains
With The Muscles Of My Mentality

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MYSTERIES

I Have Never Known The Size Of Truth
Or Seen The Blowing Winds
But I Know When Things Are Right
From My Reading Of Signs And Trends

Pleasures Can Be Big Or Small
Joy Can Make Me High
A Peace Of Mind Is Important
We Really Don’t Know Why

Some People Cry When They Are Happy
One Person Screams And Another Yells
Happiness Is Shown In Many Forms
Like Children Hearing Christmas Bells

Under The Influence Of Religious Spirits
People Lose Their Self-Control
Over Taken By An Unknown Power
We Do What We Are Told

Love Arrives Unexpected
Hate Comes According To A Plan
There Are Things That Puzzle Me
Too Many To Understand

Stars Seem To Twinkle At Night
Mirages Look Like Water
Confusion Appears Everywhere
Yet The Universe Has Order

Often After I Think Of Someone
My Telephone Immediately Rings
Thoughts Have Hidden Power
Stronger That The Strengths Of Kings

Faith Without Work Is Useless
Fear Can Make Us Weak
Voices Are Heard In Our Heads
Even Though No One Does Speak

One Twin Becomes A Teacher
The Other One Prefers To Preach
Predicting Human Behavior
Is Outside Of Mankind’s Reach
Birds Fly The Same Route South
Salmon Swim Upstream To Mate
Bears Hibernate In Wintertime
But Man Follows No Certain Fate

A Complete Stranger States Clearly
What Another Person Has Already Thought
Some People Will Sell Themselves
But Others Cannot Be Bought

There Are Mysteries All About Us
At Every Turn And Search
Unknowns Lurking Everywhere
Too Many And Too Much

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MY INNERMOST SELF

My Personal Quest
For Individual Achievement
Begins With A Search
Of My Innermost Self

While I Am Struggling For Self-Knowledge
I Am Making Every Effort To Escape
From The Self-Imposed Ideological Limits
I Previously Imposed On My Listless Life

From My Self-Study Of My Status
I Have Extracted A Simple Fact
That I Must Completely Break Free
From My Conceptual Chains
In Order To Improve My Perspective

I Am Exchanging My Mental Customs
For A New Set Of Insights
And I Am Seeking New Thinking
On Every Trip That I Am Taking
To Dig For My Real Identify

I Am Employing My Mighty Mind
As A Mining Machine
To Drill Into The Core Of My Character
And Excavate The Treasures
Hidden In My Deepest Thoughts

I Am Beginning To Follow Fully
My Own Inner Feelings
Within Which I Am Seeking
A Deeper Understanding
Of My Spiritual Sense Of Self

The More I Explore
The Base Of My Being
I Am Becoming Better Acquainted
With The Method Of The Master Teacher
Who Is Providing Me With The Tools
I Need To Help Me Know More
About The Amazing Assets That I Own

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MUSING-ABSORED IN THOUGHT

Only I Can Give Up On A Goal
No One Can Become My Agent
And Express On My Behalf
The Doubts That I May Harbor
About The Future Before It Unfolds

Only I Can Understand Deeply
The Aspirations That I Have Embraced
The Life That I Have Been Living
Or Fully Appreciate
The Truths That I Trust

My Subjective Assessments Of Self
Can Offer No Guarantees
That My Goals Will Be Granted
And My Correct Conclusions
May Not Contain The Wisdom
That I May Need To Overcome
The Potholes Across My Path

If I Move Forward On Faith
Even Though The Objective Facts
Are Inconsistent With My Intentions
I Can Still Have Healthy Hopes
And Continue On My Course
To Achieve The Objects Of My Interest

My Criticism Of Others
Should Encourage Me To Examine
The Defects In My Own Deportment
And It Should Be A Reminder To Me
That I May Have In Abundance
The Same Character Flaws
That I See In My Friends

It Is Impossible To Predict With Any Certainty
Where All Of My Fortunes Will Be Found
But I Have Reasons To Believe
That If I Plant Good Seeds
I Will Continue To Enjoy
The Fruits And Vegetables
That Naturally Grow In The Fields
Where I Have Labored During My Life

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MULTIPLE MINDS

It Will Take A Mind
With Multiple Sides
To Develop And Perfect
My Personal Prosperity Plans

I Need A Skillful Mind
For Managing My Mouth
To Speak Only
On Subjects Of Substance

A Sharp Mind
Is A Useful Tool
For Probing Into My Psyche
Where My Sense Of Self Is Stored

An Open Mind Is Required
To Receive And Accept
The Ripe Fruits Of Reason

An Imaginative Mind
Is A Fertile Field
Where I Can Sow The Seeds
From Which My Creativity Comes

A Mature Mind Is Mandatory
For Living A Rational Life

With A Made-Up Mind
I Can Survive And Thrive
The Confusing Challenges
Caused By Constant Changes

With A Thoughtful Mind
I Can Creatively Transform
Roadblocks Into Bridges
On Which I Can Cross
Over My Mental Barriers

A Hard Working Mind
Is A Human Machine
For Efficiently Making Miracles

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MOVING ON

As I Prepare To Upgrade My Plans
For My Uncharted Future Course
I Am Dismantling My Desires
To Remain Popular With My Peers

I Am Breaking Loose From My Chains
And I Am Cutting Myself Off Completely
From The Traditions And Customs
That Have Helped Keep Me Confined
To My Ignorant Inner Circle

I Am Tearing Up My Invitation
To The Convention Of Complainers
Where Conventioneers Come To Cry
About Their Self-Imposed Conditions

I Am Giving Up My Special Gift
For Following The Advice Of Fools
Who Travel The Same Path
As The Apathetic Individuals With No Credentials
Who Are Contented With Their Careers

I Am Canceling My Membership
In The Club For Lazy Losers
Originally Organized By Idiots
To Encourage The Growth Of Gossip
Among The Stupid And Uninspired

I Am Surgically Cutting Out Of My Conscious
And From The Essence Of My Existence
All Of My Memories Of Mediocrity

I Am Removing All Of My Incompetent Associates
From My Schedule, Calendar And Agenda
Including My Personal Companions And Allies
Who Have Enormous Talents
For Saying Silly Things

I Will Never Again Accept
The Dullness Of An Ordinary Existence
Filled With Irrational And Unproductive Rituals
And Daily Doses Of Broken Dreams

When I Finish Removing
The Dirt Of Self-Doubt
From My Mental And Spiritual Self
I Shall Clothe My Entire Existence
With A Strong New Confidence
More Suitable To My Change In Status

Then I Shall Renew My Subscription
To The Published Works On Wisdom
Written In My Own Words
By The Sages Within My Soul

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