The Avatar Times

exploring consciousness
issue nine

In Part I of this lecture, (see Issue 8 of the Avatar Times) I made the following points:  EXCUSES are responsibility limiters (blame avoiders) that convey the message that one is not at fault. The most acceptable excuses are explanations that people will find plausible. MANAGEABLE CAUSES are beliefs, thoughts, and actions that you can do something about; you can control them.

Finding Manageable Causes

by Harry Palmer

A situation is usually a non-optimum condition. Unhappiness, loneliness, failure, exhaustion, and despair are situations. So also are being broke, being ill, or feeling overwhelmed. So also are not being the person you would like to be, and not doing the things that you would like to do.

Situations are the result of multiple causes. Think of a lake that is fed by multiple streams of water. It is true that some causes have the lightening quality of fate, but some of the causes are manageable. And managing just one cause can alter an entire situation. If you focus on the "fated" causes, there is little that you can do other than continue to suffer and make plausible excuses. However, if you focus on finding the manageable causes and controlling them, you can change the situation. Provide your own example.

What you believe is the most powerful contributing cause to any personal situation. Diet, health, influence of the environment, influence of associations, and habits may also be contributing causes to a situation, but each of them stands a good chance of being managed just by managing your beliefs. This is the value of Avatar; it is a belief management system.

If your life goes flat, you can blame fate or you can examine the situation (honestly) and look for manageable causes.

Now there is one very obvious thing you have to do in order to find a manageable cause. You have to look! You have to look at the situation you are in, realize it has multiple causes, and discover at least one cause that is manageable. You have to confront the situation as it is. That means developing an ability to set aside emotions, assumptions, expectations, and discouragement. These are skills honed early on Section II of the Avatar Course.

For some people, the first response to a situation is assignment of blame. Who did it? What they are missing is that situations have multiple causes. The same people usually consider that a question has only one answer. This is very narrow-minded thinking, and inevitably this type of thinking causes the situation to persist. "I'm unhappy because mommy was mean to me." Maybe that's true, but it is certainly not the only cause of your unhappiness.

There is an instinctive temptation to protect oneself with excuses. It may be the fatal flaw of our species. To survive, you have to take control of your mental process, otherwise the mind will automatically seek plausible excuses rather than manageable causes.

Here is how it works. Something has gone wrong in your life. Something didn't work out. You find yourself experiencing something other than an optimum state, something darker or even painful. Recognize, you have a situation. You can take the easy route, be a victim and blame it on someone else. Or you can concentrate on discovering (and presumably changing) causes that you can control. Failing to find a cause you can manage is the recipe for failure.

The only sound advice is don't give up: look hard enough and long enough and you will find that there is something that you can do that will positively affect any situation that you are in.

Okay, time for some painful honesty. Ask yourself, am I looking for a manageable cause that I can control to resolve the situation, or am I looking for a plausible excuse that will confirm that it's not my fault, and that I can't do anything about it? More often than not, you will find exactly what you are looking for.

The next question, and this is really a whack on the side of the head, is: "Do you really want to resolve the situation?" If a situation serves you, you might not want to resolve it. It could be holding off something worse. It could be getting you extra attention or some special privileges. It could be something that you subconsciously need. We've all known people who get bailed out of a problem and go right out and create it all over again. Using your mind to keep you in trouble rather than solving your problems is called self-sabotage. The condition afflicts more people than you might imagine, even entire nations.

Some prejudices are so fixed by repeated indoctrination or painful experiences that a person will just outright refuse to inspect them. The person's behavior will appear stupid or even bizarre. Take a close look at any hate group and you will find their thinking is severely flawed. Their common denominator is blame. They are unable or unwilling to find any manageable cause for why they feel like angry victims. That would require personal responsibility. But the thing they are most certain of is that the situation they are in is not their fault. They blame minorities, governments, or even extraterrestrials for their oppression. Their situation never resolves.

When you examine a situation, your ability to admit that you don't know cannot be overvalued. It allows you to look beyond fixed ideas and excuses and find a manageable cause that you can do something about. It takes a measure of courage to look without expectation, to trace something unpleasant back along its route of development, and to determine what step in that development you could be responsible for.

A big part of the Avatar training is teaching a spirit (you) how to operate a mind efficiently.

It's easy to become fixed on what you can't change, but that's not what you are looking for. You are looking for manageable causes. Finding them will determine whether you go through life making excuses for your problems or finding solutions. That lesson by itself is a great achievement in human development. 

The Story of The Avatar Course

Extraordinary Moments

While doing the Surrendering All Judgment Exercise, I realized that I had the power to give a memory its charge. I made it good or bad, devastating or exhilerating. When I released my judgment, they just became experiences, just part of my life journey, not charged with emotion. It was like my life's baggage was left on the platform. I was free and light as a feather. –J.L.F.

This was the MOST amazing experience of my life! My wife, Jill, attended the Avatar course and when she called to talk during the course, the entire room I sat in glowed with the radiant light she was emitting from her new found consciousness. I knew she was on to something.

Seeing the change in her made me hunger for a belief so profound it changed everything I knew about my then, so called Life, ie, pain, suffering, doubt, fear, anger. I was hesitant at first. I expected a slick sales approach and thousands of manuals, key chains, bumper stickers to buy to feel part of the movement.

Boy, was I in for a shock. I've never felt such love and acceptance from the room full of students, Masters, etc... It was OK to say anything, feel anything. No right. No wrong. Just love!

I didn't know what to do at first. Lots of painful stuff to deal with, so little time. But the tools were there, and loving, caring help to guide me along. The journey was rough at times because I chose it to be. The simplicity was what worked. The experience is so powerful, it can't be described. Truly wonderful. It's the best I can render. Thank you. We love you, Harry. –D.R.

I feel like I now understand why God put a soul in human beings after creating them. If He created us as simple creations He could create us just like other animals or lifeforms. But He created humans to be closest to Himself. So human beings are the beings most similar to the Creator. That is: human beings are creators. God gave us the freedom to create in his world. And embracing and handling that freedom is the essence of Avatar. –O.J.H.

I am really happy that I came to the Avatar Course. At the beginning, I was suspicious. I wasn't sure whether this course could help me. But now, everything is different. I understand that I am Source of myself. I use each individual tool that I have learned in Avatar. The tools are very helpful, at least on myself.

I faced a lot of problems that I was afraid of. I solved the identity of being easily upset (at least a bit better). I am grateful and thank my parents for giving me this chance to take the course. Before, I was very uncertain about this course, only because my two Wizard parents are not 'wise'. But now, I understand. It's their decision. I hope I can be better than them, because I am Source : ).

Next, I thank all the Masters, our Trainer, and of course, Harry. You let me understand the better part of life. Also, those who are willing to make the effort in life, I feel happy for them. Anyway, this is a really good course. I really want to share this with my friends. Let them know life can be so good. Hope from now on my little power can also contribute to the planet. –L.N.T.

For more "extraordinary moments" from Avatar students, please visit AvatarResults.com

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With Avatar everyone wins. Every person who becomes an Avatar shifts the collective consciousness toward greater tolerance and understanding. Helping yourself with Avatar helps everyone else at the same time. – Harry Palmer