If the key to the Life Continuum lies at the beginning of the pattern, it seems logical that the question, "who or what controls my thoughts?" would be one of the most, if not the most important questions we will ever ponder. Meeting ourselves face to face somewhere along the feelings or actions level is not too difficult. Tracing these feelings back and uncovering the thoughts behind them, though quite a bit more subjective, isn't always a monumental task either. Taking the idea back one more step, seeking the source of our thoughts, can be quite a momentous leap. This leap does not have to be frightening, and in actuality is never blind; in fact, it will more than likely be full of the fruits of a life well lived.
We are constantly bombarded by data which is picked up by our senses and processed in our minds. Each bit of information we receive works to play some type of role in our growth. Many will be discarded as insignificant and others will be manifest as major events of learning. There are infinite possibilities beween these two extremes. The problem lies in our blind acceptance of the bits of information which make their way into our thoughts. In reality, even the most prolific truths do not have to be accepted until we have personally found them to be accurate in our own lives. When we accept reality as it is handed to us, we relinquish control of our thoughts, thereby handing over the Life Continuum to external factors.
After considering the scenario outlined above which centered on the feeling of jealousy, I asked myself "who sold me the idea that the value of my work is tied to the outer rewards I receive?" - who controlled my thoughts. It occurred to me that the society in which I was raised created this myth for me. Looking at the end result, our destiny, confirmed this notion. Our society is largely based on the idea that the level of our success is determined by the amount of power and/or wealth we are able to attain. Within this narrow view of fulfillment, my negative scenario proved to be an acceptable, even cherished chain of events. But history has proven time and time again that the attainment of power and wealth are by no means guarantees of happiness.
The very idea of taking conscious ownership of every tidbit of information would seem to most anyone to be an overwhelming task. It is an overwhelming task; in fact, an absolutely impossible one when each stimulus is considered individually. The key to mastering this objective is not in controlling the input, but in purifying the filter through which each stimulus passes. It is not the data received that is at issue here, but rather the way we choose to interperet and deal with this data. We may choose to look upon almost anything, regardless of its apparent magnitude, as either a tragedy or an opportunity. We may also choose apathy, or other forms of submission.
I have already mentioned the trappings of our cultural programming when I was examining the idea of who controlled my "jealous" thoughts in my hypothetical (I hope) display of the Life Continuum. Determining that my idea of reward and punishment was a result of my cultural upbringing led me to more realizations. It served as an example to me that our entire material existence is based on conditions. In fact, we often refer to the growth process as conditioning -- learning the conditions. If we don't eat, get oxygen, get water, etc. etc. etc. we die. If we don't get enough sleep, we function inefficiently. If we take dangerous risks, we run the chance of getting injured or killed. If we ... If we... If we... The list of conditions goes on and on. With so many "must do" situations bombarding us with our survival (or at the very least our comfort) hanging on their outcome, is it any wonder we become trained to accept, even create, conditions? Applying the very idea of accepting conditions to the Life Continuum demonstrates how we become conditional beings. We know many life or death conditions must be met [Thoughts]. If we perceive ourselves effectively negotiating these conditions we are comfortable, if not discomfort sets in [Feelings]. We do whatever is necessary to maintain the good feelings and try to escape the bad feelings, usually through applying more conditions (this would in part explain all the distructive behavior people regularly go through trying to find the condition that makes them comfortable). You have read enough about the Life Continuum now to carry this out on your own until you find that we reach the end of the continuum fully conditional beings. The problem comes when we accept our conditioning blindly, allowing ourselves to base our thoughts on conditions that simply do not have to be met.
Taking over control of our thoughts is simply a matter of sorting out the essential conditions from the implied. The concept is simple but, due to our conditioning, the practice is often difficult. But there is help available for all of us. This help comes from tapping into the endless well of Unconditional Love which is available to all mankind. The world religions have various names for this source. In the interest of striking a common ground on which to speak, I will use the concept of God as synonymous with this Unconditional Love. With Unconditional Love available to all mean, why would anyone choose to create unnecessary conditions? Answer: Conditioning.
To explain the paradox of living conditional while surrounded by Unconditional Love I have decided to use the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Biblical legend suggests that all mankind are directly decendent from Adam and Eve, the original human beings who committed the original sin. We therefore have been cast in the role of sinners. According to this story, Adam and Eve initially enjoyed a life of Godliness, one of Unconditional Love. They were warned not to eat from the fruit of the tree of the "Knowledge of Good and Evil." Doing so anyway, they committed the original sin. There are many allegorical implications to be explored through the story, including many related to facts I have chosen to delete in an effort to be concise. Looking at the bare essentials we might see what many seem to miss in the story. We often choose to focus on the disobedience of their action rather than the action its self which I believe has profound significance. Furthermore, the words "good" and "evil" catch our attention and we fail to recognize the essence of that fateful tree. It was the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve gained the ability to determine the difference between good and evil. They were given the power of judgement, the ability to discern conditions. Acts they once performed within the bliss of Unconditional Love, now were subject to judgement as they became conditional. Their nudity became nakedness and they tried to hide their imperfection. But considering the "chicken or egg" conundrum in this situation, we must realize that the condition preceded their ability to judge it. Was not the naming and forbidding of a particular tree a condition? We are obviously expected to be imperfect and are called to live in a world of conditions, we are simply not required to eat of all its fruit. As the story goes, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden into the desert, the path of their exit sealed against their re-entry. We, as decendants of Adam and Eve, are also cast into the desert of conditions, but the great promise of the religion which gave us this story is that of an everlasting life of Unconditional Love. By this very idea, Adam and Eve were promised that they could get back to their Eden state of being, but only by first travelling through the desert. So when we stop and ask spiritual directions, we must remember, whatever anyone or anything else tries to tell us, we can get their from here, we just have to endure a few conditions along the way.
It would appear then that judgement and the imposition of conditions is our greatest stumbling block to living life passionately. Knowing the enemy is a critical point of any battle. Now that we have met him, let us work to assure that he is not us. Let us gain the strength, courage and wisdom to rid ourselves of all unnecessary conditions, accepting only those necessary for our survival. Let us seek the power of Unconditional Love. But where will we find this power? Again using the Bible as a reference, "The Kingdom of God is Within."

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