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Claiming Your Privilege
[with Video]

 

This John-Roger article was originally published in the Movement Newspaper, October 1984.

“Work to become effective right now with what you have and allow others the same privilege with what they have in their own space and time. Become effective in cooperation with the group’s effectiveness.” – John-Roger


Of the many keys you have in life, one will prove particularly challenging — how to live your life in this world. It presents the question, are you being personally effective where you are in the space that you’re occupying? If you are not being effective, which means having the joy of being there, don’t reach out after more space. You will only corrupt it as badly as the space you presently have. Some people say, “I’m taking my space.” I reply, “That’s right and the space you’re living in is a mess.” It’s obvious that you’re taking your space and that you’re planning to occupy more, because you’re not using what you have. Soon that pattern will backfire and many things will be left unfinished — trailing behind you. The moment you stop, it will come crashing on top of you.

Become comfortable with the space you have and work to balance any disturbances within it. Once you clearly understand it, then other people will provide you with your next space. You don’t have to take it. When people state, “I’m taking my space,” it can feel like they’re spitting in your face. People have come to me and said, “I’m taking my space with you” and I’ve told them to get out. They say, “What?” There is no space for them here so I ask, “Why don’t you be effective where you are?” I can’t take your effectiveness, however, I can assist you in becoming more effective where you are. If you try and take more space, I’ll get it faster, because I’ve been trained at it longer. Then they tell me that they were only trying to stand up. It’s fine to stand up, but don’t do it by knocking someone else down. You stand up by assisting one another.

Work to become effective right now with what you have and allow others the same privilege with what they have in their own space and time. Become effective in cooperation with the group’s effectiveness. Your own personal effectiveness does not give you the authority to go out and tell people how to do anything. You don’t tell others how right or wrong they are, or how right or wrong you are. It would be to your advantage to have no opinion and just live your life. If someone asks, “Is it good or bad,” you can answer, “I guess it’s that for everyone.” I’ve sat through a movie that I didn’t like and the person next to me enjoyed it. I kept wondering, “How could they like this terrible show?” Terrible is in the eye of the beholder. So when the person said to me, “How was the movie?” I tell them, “It was another one of those movies, pictures on celluloid that flick across the screen at a critical flicker frequency. It’s all right for what it is, however, I choose to be elsewhere.” Instead of making that wrong, I’m making my life effective where I’m going. Each person can decide their level of participation, 50%, 80%, or 100%, it’s still your life.

I’m not too sure that God cares whether you go through life in a Cadillac or a Ford, laughing or crying, but go through it you will. The choice of consciousness you want to have with you as you go through it is yours. You can choose Cadillac consciousness with joy and personal effectiveness without infringing upon anyone around you. At the same time you can choose without allowing others to infringe upon you. Too often, we live our lives in terms of “what will others think?” You let other opinions run you, however; it’s not really what they think, it’s what you think they’ll think. If you would ask them what they think, they’ll often say; I wasn’t thinking about you at all. That could be bad news, unless of course it’s good news.

Life is for living. Living is breathing in and breathing out. The more of “you” that you can put into your body in place of hurts, regrets, or opinions; that much more of “you” becomes available for you to use. If you claim that you’ve used all your space, but aren’t getting any more, I guess you lied. As soon as you become effective in the utilization of this space, the next one will come forward. It doesn’t come in when you want it, it comes in when it comes. It arrives based upon your preparation. We cannot demand against something that is not going to fulfill itself. It’s like the person who says, “Doctor, after surgery on my hands will I be able to play the violin?” He says, “Sure,” and the person replies, “Good because I wasn’t able to play before.” Don’t we run these kinds of things: I prayed for the car, why isn’t it in my garage this morning? Your check bounced and you were not sufficiently prepared to go down and get the car, nor sufficiently accurate about the insurance, nor sufficiently active. That activation produced the results you wished for. The activation means your body, your emotions and your mind all traveling down the road together such that anyone could look and see exactly where you’re headed. Going after it in your mind first won’t get results. When you’re after physical results, go after them physically. When you’re after mental results, go after them mentally. When you’re after loving results, go after them lovingly. You will get what you put out, the way you put it out. Because I say so? If it were, I’d change all the rules to: you’ll get back loving every time, no matter what you put out. So far it hasn’t worked that way.

We are creators. That is the good news and the bad news. We are not the Creator God Almighty and that’s good news. If we became what we have been creating, we’d be in trouble. However, each day, every minute, and even by the second we can become co-creators, or co-livers with God, the Spirit, the energy of Living Love, which we call the Beloved. The idea isn’t to get hung up on a term. I’ve had people come and ask me, ” Is it like .. . ?” I ask what that means and they tell me it is an Indian term from a Hindu religion. Yes, it’s like that. God is big enough to be called by any name and still respond. We have it narrowed down to happen in three or four ways. That’s nice, until it happens outside of that framework. Then it must be the devil, unless it isn’t. So people say, if it doesn’t happen my way it must be wrong. They are the “right and wrong makers” of the world creating more confusion.

It is my experience that, out of God comes all things and all things go back to the Creator. So I forget the hell-fire and brimstone because that is not my destination. I may be passing through sometimes, but believe me I’m not staying. It is easy to allow people to live their life to whatever height of joy and awareness they choose to live it. After you decide to let people live their lives, take the same privilege for yourself.

Live thoroughly here in complete personal effectiveness, utilizing all your space and the universe will provide you with the next space because you are a good caretaker. It has more and more for you to take care of, to the point where you can’t do it any more. By that time you will probably be dead to this world. Sometimes we declare, “I can’t do more, I’m burned out.” Yet, you say you’d like to go skiing. How can you go skiing if you’re burned out? Why couldn’t you just say you were tired of doing this? Far too often we think a statement of “I want this” is insufficient. Instead of saying, “I’m thirsty,” it has to be, “I’m really thirsty.” You could have just picked up the water and drank, the end result would have been the same. You don’t have to build a case, or rehearse to live. You only need to learn to become more effective.

We are creators. For right or for wrong, it’s important to understand that we are the creators of our experience and our upliftment. You can choose this day who you serve and that choice is going to be with you for all of your life.


WATCH JOHN-ROGER ON “HOW TO EXPERIENCE WHOLENESS”

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