"Life isn’t about where you are going or how fast, it’s about how you get there. It doesn’t really matter what you had in your mind, or your heart, or how much you wanted it, or how good your intentions were, all that really matters is what you do, because what we do is who we are."
- Space Warriors (2013)
Good Intentions? Hell Next Exit
A central, core, important part of answering "who am I"/"who are you", who you really are at this time, to know yourself (know-thyself), is based on what you do. Actiosn matter.
Intention is important to get to the result of right-action. Intention is not a justification for excusing a wrong-action, as if an action can be magically validated based on the intent you had at the time.
Intention is not just thought, it's desire, wish, want, and motivation, which is emotion as well. It's thought and emotion in a feedback to process reality and find motivation to direct you towards an action. Cause and effect are central. Thought and emotion alone get nothing done in the manifested reality, but are the foundations for right-action.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Poorly constructed thoughts, emotions, motivations or intents, can be very dangerous.
Thought Power
Thinking we will do good works in the world by functioning from a simplified lower consciousness focus, will lead us to being misguided and lost. If we don't elevate ourselves to a higher consciousness modality of thought, emotion and action, we are essentially condemning, insulting and offending ourselves through our ignorance. We need to return to the great potential that rests in our minds and our hearts to properly process our surroundings and act rightly.
Those who put intention of doing good above the actual action of doing good or not (like so-called "New Agers" and "spiritualists"), are deluding themselves about how to manifest reality. They conclude that "the intention is what matters", "their 'heart' was in the 'right' place", and other justifications for wrong actions being done.
They also blindly believe in some oversimplified notion that "thoughts create reality" or "consciousness creates all of existence", and "the 'observer effect' proves reality would not exist without consciousness", when that is not the case at all. That is an imaginary belief construct that twists and corrupts they way someone perceives reality.
Police, military and politicians might have good intentions, but they further the power structure in society that keep some as rulers or dominators over others, and oppress free people, such as those who engage in peaceful protests. Do "good intentions" liekthis produce good? Does being mislead, fooled, duped, conned, tricked and bamboozled into thinking this is the "good" thing to do, make "good" happen?
Even if that's what they think they are doing, an alleged "good", is no reason to accept intention as the "most important" thing, when it's the actual action that matters in the end.
The intention/thought is where it starts. You need to be well equipped in understanding reality to maximize accurately choosing what to do, no matter your good intentions. That is why life is learning, and we are supposed to learn from our mistakes, not continually justify or excuse them.
Creating Demons
Some people are stuck in false reality boxes. They lack imagination and creativity to imagine a different life because their identity has become attached to grossly illusory false unrealities, and letting go of who they currently are to become something better is hard to do. Change must be embraced, not stubborn dogma about maintaining illusions of the "great way" current models work and for their necessity to continue to exist in our world. We need to change from the inside, how we think and feel, to stop being deceived and deceiving ourselves.
We judge, offend, insult and condemn ourselves by our very own actions.
We are our own worst enemies.
"You start with something pure, something exciting, then come the mistakes, the compromises. We create our own demons."
- Iron Man 3
You have a thought, an intent, and you run with it without understanding what you are doing. Paving the road to hell. The compromises are the sacrifice of truth for that intent. Then we create our own demons, shadow, darkness, negative and suffering, which is often to create immorality and evil into the world.
Self-Delusion
"Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it. Because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."
- T. S. Eliot
This is a major problem of consciousness, where we think that no matter what we do, we are automatically "good". We think of ourselves as "good" and can't possibly be doing anything that is not good. We also invent and fabricate beliefs that motivate us to act, and to justify them because of the pleasure-trap that they "feel-good".
Thoughts matter, emotions matter, intentions matter, for they are the foundation to action. But in the end they pale in comparison to the resulting action that produces manifested results in the world, good or evil.
People like to use "intention" as a cop-out for the manifested results they produced. But the action was already done, their intent fooled them, misled them, because proper understanding of how to act rightly without creating negative consequences for others was not attained. Sure, there is room to make mistakes and learn from them. But we shouldn't be trying to excuse or justify what we do based on the "good intentions" we have, as if that absolves us of what we did. We aren't perfect, but we can try to perfect ourselves, and that requires being honest about the actions we engage in. We need to face the mirror honestly, no keep looking at an illusory false appearance of how "good" we think we are when we aren't.
The real good intention is one that aligns with what is right, accurate and correct thought based in truth and not falsity or erroneous beliefs. The thought that is actually right and not wrong, that will produce, create and manifest into right-action and not wrong-action. Then you have wisdom, because your thoughts are in alignment with what is right, good and true, with moral truth/law, with a higher, truer, realer potential of your will-power and yourself, where your actions and behaviors will be that of right-action.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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these are pretty wise words and I never realized until now that actions cannot be considered part of intention. I mean I always thought intention led to the action but you're right. Good intention means nothing. Action means everything in this regard. It's really something to consider when patting yourself on the back for being that "good" person we all assume ourselves to be.
Yeah. It matters what we want to do, but it matters more what we actually end up doing. i.e. wanting to do good and not evil vs. actually doing good and not evil ;) We gotta examine ourselves more closely and admit wrong when we are ;)
Sometimes we judge ourselves with good intentions and thoughts. We align with what we offering without critically looking at the producing result. Hitler had an intention and it was good him but not to the world. We only make the best of our intention when we face that mirror to show us our reflection and act upon correction.
Good example. Hitler wanted to do what he thought was good, not only for himself, but for Germany. How those intentions affected others didn't matter as much. His personal world of himself and Germany mattered more than the impersonal effect it had on others.
Couldn't agree more, especially with the whole 'new age' just think positive and everything around you will be positive! The word ACTION is even in the word attraction, but its symbolic of a convenience society that just wants everything handed to them on a plate!
Haha, well put. False law of attraction as convenient "give me what I want" handed to them belief bs.
Life is not like a novel, which we can repeat the first page whenever we want. In real life, when a story is no longer engrossed, begins to hurt, we can not repeat it from the first page again. But we can only create new chapters and new pages. Do it all with steadiness and good will, then things will be easier. @krnel
Faith without works is dead...
Some say, "You show me your faith."
Other's say, "Show me your works because of your faith."
They go hand in hand.
Yes, they do go together. Your inner expressions lead to the outer manifestations ;)
"People want to feel important"....Yes, they want.....the more important they are, the more power they have, the more responsability they have too.....The Bible tells you "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”This is because this world follows the ethics of appearances, of narcissism, it tells the person is very important and that is enough....and most believe it. However, the Bible is not to be read literally....you have to read it with your heart....the better your heart the better you understand it I guess.....One can be important and rich and make it to the Heaven, but he has to keep himself humble, remember that he has more responsabilities due to the fact he has more power and always question himself....Maybe he is wrong.....About new age things, there are some things in it that can add value to you, some things that may be great tools for you....but always use it carefully because, as a whole, those new age movements are not the truth....the Bible is the truth.(although not to be read only literally but with your heart)....And remember than our God is the fairest and the best individual alive....So if you remain in the path of the righteousness, he will be judge you very, very fairly......All the best man
Good intentions are a one way ticket to hell. I believe it take a personal relationship with the one who created you...an willingness to ask for and offer forgiveness and an ability to change or repent. Thanks @krnel
Well, not a one way ticket, just a problem when used as the basis for living and justifying what we do...
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