The Most Important Work You Can Do.

Today we ask that you work on being sane.

In many ways, this is the most important work anyone can do.

The vast majority of humans are not sane.  That is because they have been taught and believe many crazy, untrue things about life and reality.

This may sound harsh, but it is true.  If you were transported back in time five hundred years, perhaps to medieval Europe, you would immediately look around and think: “These people are all crazy!”  You would be shocked by their superstitions, their violence, their beliefs about medicine and science.  If you voiced your objections, they would very likely burn you at the stake.

Human civilization has made enormous advances in the past five hundred years.  Humans are less crazy and ignorant than they used to be.  Yet madness and ignorance persists.

This is not a judgment.  It is just an observation.  You cannot judge someone for being ignorant, or for believing crazy things — especially when he has been taught and conditioned to do so.

But it is possible for people to gain wisdom, and become sane.

The sign of sanity is peace.  The more peaceful an individual or culture is, the saner they are.  The more disturbed and violent an individual or culture is, the more insane they are.

This makes sense, doesn’t it?  Peaceful people are sane.  Disturbed, violent people are insane.

To be disturbed and violent means that you are always attacking something.  The attack may be inwardly directed at the self, or outwardly directed at other people.  Either way, it is insane.

So becoming sane may be defined simply as to “stop attacking.”  Stop attacking yourself, stop attacking other people.  Stop attacking in your words, your actions, and ultimately your thoughts.

The opposite of attack is appreciation.  When you appreciate people and things, the attacking mind is turned off.  This makes you sane.

So sanity is created by the increase of appreciative energy, and the decrease of attack energy.

This is something you can consciously work on, the way someone does exercises to build muscles.  Observe when you are “attacking,” and work on curtailing this habit.  Cultivate the energy of appreciation as you would a muscle — by practicing, by flexing it.

The saner you are, the more intelligent you are.  You will make better decisions, and lead a calmer life.  Even when other people are crazy around you, you will not become crazed.

This is the most important work you can do.  A peaceful world starts with you — here, now.