Shards of Consciousness

Over at the Balanced Life Center, Nneka does a link post on Fridays. This week's post, Fab 5 on Fiday 02/09/07, includes a link to David Hayward's site, the nakedpastor . Last week he posted the "10 Confessions of a Self-Help Guru" Contest, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek list based on Steve Salerno's book SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless (not an affiliate link).

I read it, and said "Hmm. I should write a short seeker's guide to self-help." So, here it is, my seeker's guide to salvation - mundane (as in self-help) and spiritual, in no particular order.

• If you have to rely on authority, books, or outside revelation, run away.
• If it increases your dependence, run away.
• If the proponent has a TV show, run away.
• If it needs a priest, run away.
• If it makes you a victim, run away.
• If it takes control of your own life away from you, run away.
• If you have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars, run away.
• If a salesmen is involved, run away.
• If the first defence is violence and vitriol, run away.
• If it calls for you to burn books and music, run away.
• If it says only its way is right, run away.
• If the emphasis is on the messenger, run away.
• If brand new knowledge is claimed, run away.
• If you have to check your mind at the door, run away.
• If you have to check your soul at the door, run away.
• If it leads you to think only of yourself, run away.

Of course, there aren't just things to avoid. Some of the positive things to look for include

• If it helps you have the courage to stand up straight, go for it.
• If it helps you love and give more freely, go for it.
• It it helps you take responsibility for the consequences of your actions, go for it.
• If it helps you be more effective, go for it.
• If it explains the world in a way that makes sense to you, go for it.
• If it encourages independent thinking and experimentation, go for it.
• If it widens your horizons, go for it.

It's Friday. Enjoy your weekend!