Jared Akers

Racism and Spiritual Growth

by Jared Akers

This week’s post is going to be a little different. Different in that, I had no idea what I was going to talk about when I started writing this. I have tons of topics and lots of things I’m passionate about, but decided to just sit down and see what comes out. (I’m trying to put less pressure on myself to conqueror world peace with every post!)

My stepson is training as a kick boxer and occasionally he participates in matches. They charge admission, have lights, music, a fancy ring etc… A few months ago, my wife and I were attending one of these matches. Besides kickboxing, they also have grappling and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) matches. In one of the MMA fights, there was this huge guy fighting this smaller guy. I noticed the smaller guy actually seemed to be doing pretty good. About halfway through the fight, this younger kid sitting next to me leans over and says, “man, that black guy is really good, I think he’s winning.” It was then I realized he was talking about the smaller guy, and now I realized the smaller guy was black. I hope that’s the “pc” word these days. I don’t know, his skin was darker than mine, and the white guy’s skin was also a lot whiter than mine. Of course I tan sometimes, I’m a bit of a metro sexual though so… [Read more…]

The Key to World Peace: Children and The Media

by Jared Akers

If I were running for WPO (World Peace Officer), this would be my campaign speech:

Make no bones about it… world. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. And I mean a lot worse. At times, we will wonder if it is worth the fight, as we lay down our weapons to shield the dust from our eyes that settles from the apocalyptic sky.

True peace only comes from within, within each one of us as individuals. Moreover, for that to happen, each society and thus its citizens must discover truth on their own. It must evolve and not be forced through punishments and rewards.

In the words of Steve Pavlina regarding reward and punishment structures of traditional religions, ‘When you see enforcement based on the promise of rewards and punishments, you’re not witnessing real truth. You’re witnessing marketing masquerading as truth.’

A peace that evolves on its own, through evolution is the only long-lasting path to world peace. Forcing peace is a paradox. A paradox perpetuated since man began demanding more than his fair share of resources. A cycle that will continue until something great comes to pass, something with unfathomable depth and weight.

Most likely, it will be destructive in nature, the likes of which we have never seen or could have imagined. In the end, if anyone is left, love is all that will unite us. Love which first we found for ourselves through the greatest gift of all—desperation. From which will spawn true unconditional love and acceptance between all people regardless of race or religion.

In the meantime, we are all in this together, so we had better learn how to get along. Live long and prosper. Peace out.

So here it is, the key to world peace…. drum roll please:

Children. Teach our children to love and accept themselves for who they are as individuals. Self-acceptance leads to self-enlightenment, intrinsic love for oneself and thus empathy and compassion for others.
Media. Stop scaring everyone! Stop telling us how horrific we are, and start reminding us of how loving we can be.

The other night my wife and I watched the movie Watchmen. There was one line in there that really spoke to me. The character Rorschach was responding to a question about why he brutally killed a man who murdered a little girl: [Read more…]

Do Something: Finding Spiritual Growth in Daily Actions

by Jared Akers

Doing something does not always equate to accomplishing something. For years I scurried about getting all sorts of things done, but was no closer to inner-peace and happiness as a result. Today my actions take me towards something, towards spiritual growth which is where I find the truth about myself and lasting happiness.

When I was working as a server in a restaurant, I learned how to look busy. I discovered that if you carry a ketchup bottle around and look like you’re going somewhere, people will assume you’re busy and leave you alone. I was self-centered, or as I referred to myself, shy. Which is just a form of self-centeredness and making everything about me. When all I’m thinking about is how uncomfortable I am in a situation, I’m missing the opportunity to be of service to someone else. I’m making it about me.

“Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness-lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.”
-Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek

Many of you may have heard me talk about my $10 life where for years I would only put $10 worth of gas in my car at a time. I was too impatient to wait any longer. As I stood their watching the numbers clicking by, I would think about all the things I had to get done. Most often, none of them were for someone else—if that was the case, $5 was the limit—back when $5 would get you somewhere. While waiting I would think about what a great friend I was and that when I was finished with the laborious task ahead, I could get back to changing the world. It was always about me—always in a rush to manage my time, always looking for something I thought I was missing. Being alone with me was too uncomfortable. [Read more…]

100 Secrets on Finding Happiness

by Jared Akers

Every personal development/self-help blog has one, the “100 ways to find/achieve (fill in the blank)” list post. Here’s mine on finding happiness:

Action x 100

I bet you thought you were getting a quick and easy list to read huh? Sorry.

No matter how many things I could come up with for my list, people would read it and then move on to something else. Reading doesn’t accomplish crappola unless you put it into action. A list is easy and usually generates more blog visitors than anything else, because people are lazy and like lists. I admit I like them too, but they rarely, if ever, have any real effect on my life. There’s nothing wrong with coming up with an extensive list of things which we think will make us happy, the problem is… it is still just a list. A list can even be a set of decisions, but unless actions are taken… well, nothing happens. A list and decisions are hypothetical, on paper or in our minds. Actions move through space and time and affect the universe around us. [Read more…]

The Secret Power of Gratitude and How to Get It

by Jared Akers

Two nights ago it happened.

My wife and I had just finished dinner and I was watching TV when I was consumed with this overall feeling of dread.

Doom and gloom from out of nowhere.

I could not put my finger on the reason why, but I was overcome with this feeling of hopelessness and that something in the universe was not right. There was a disturbance in the force or as Obi-Wan put it “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”

OK, that’s a little dramatic, but sometimes it can certainly feel that way when you’re normally brimming with gratitude.

So I laid back on the couch and just felt it. I considered grabbing a pen and paper and writing a gratitude list, knowing the action would help and then I could share how I “walk the walk.” But I didn’t, instead I used the power of now and then went through a mental list of all that I was grateful for such as my wife, granddaughter, parents, job, legs, food, home, etc. and that all my basic needs were met. [Read more…]