Tag: Mindfulness

Ego-Bean Salad

I first heard of the following account this morning, through Source. I have no way of verifying if it’s true. I’ll leave that up to you to decide:

***

Once upon a time, there was a quaint little village named Eedon; which was named after A. & E. Eedon, who were the first couple to settle there in 1802. Nestled in a picturesque valley, the village consisted of seven-hundred kind souls. There was peace in the valley because everyone showed compassion to their neighbours and were generous of spirit. No one knew anything about bragging, boasting, and pride; in fact, they’d never heard of such behaviour. When a family was experiencing a challenging time, all of the neighbours got together and humbly pitched in to offer help. They built homes and barns together; helped educate one another’s children; tilled the soil and harvested crops together. All of the residents knew that they could count on one another. Until…

One day, at a town hall meeting, the Mayor, Mr. I-Come-Up-With-Bad-Ideas, suggested that they should hold a celebration in the center of town. They would have a feast. Everyone would contribute an ingredient from his or her pantry.

“What will we have for the meal?” asked Gwendolyn, one of the oldest residents in town. “Pork? Ribs? Potato salad?

Another man, Jed (who incidentally, barely kept his family fed) said, “No, let’s have fish. We have plenty of fish in the Eedone River, especially at this time of year.”

The polite discussion continued until the mayor proposed that they should have a special dish: Ego-Bean Salad. “Why, everyone’s got some degree of ego,” he said. “That way everyone can contribute to the meal. We’ll set up the cauldron in the town square, people will throw in their stash of ego-beans, give the mix a stir, and then step aside and make way for the next person. After the salad marinates for several hours, we’ll dine like royalty.

Although a few of the seniors doubted the wisdom of the planned menu, the mayor’s proposal was seconded by the deputy mayor, and the vote carried. A date was set.

On the day of the celebration all went well initially. People brought their families and musical instruments, and there was great merriment. The menu went over gangbusters, too. Bowl after bowl of Ego-Bean Salad was consumed. “More, please, more,” was the common remark as people lined up for seconds, even thirds. It’s rumoured that Jed consumed eight servings.

As dusk fell, a man known as Sparky casually sauntered into town. He almost always had a half-finished cigarette dangling from his lips. As he approached the town center, a flash explosion was suddenly set off. From miles away, people assumed it was a dazzling display of the northern lights. The first explosion was followed by several others and aftershocks that shattered windows in neighbouring towns. The cauldron still hasn’t been found.

***

And the moral of this tale? Why, this is just a little story about the hazards related to eating too much salad, right? It has nothing to do with letting our ego be in charge of our life. (If you’re earnestly eager to recognize your true Self, my YouTube video entitled “I Am: The Infinite” will be helpful.)

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – R. Arthur Russell

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡

Bobby’s Pockets

From the moment he was born until the age of approximately seven, the subconscious pockets of Bobby’s mind were being filled with a multitude of thoughts and beliefs about himself and the nature of his world. He had no choice but to accept the type of information that was placed within them. By the time he reached adulthood, his pockets were bursting at the seams. Although Bobby wasn’t aware of it, the energy of his negative assumptions about reality far outweighed the positive. Here are a few that were lurking inside his pockets:

  • You’re just like your father–a loser!
  • I’m a failure.
  • You take after me; you’re terrible at math.
  • I’m not smart.
  • Our family can’t afford vacations like other families can.
  • I’m poor.
  • You’re not smart enough to create your own business.
  • I’ll always have to work for someone else.
  • Persons like me don’t go to university.
  • I’ll never amount to much.
  • Life is hard–very hard!

Estimates about the number of thoughts that an average adult has on a daily basis vary (depending on whether they’re conscious high level or underlying mental events); but it’s safe to state that our thoughts are highly repetitive and that negative thoughts are more salient. If you doubt that the nature of the thoughts make a difference in the quality of your experience, I offer the following quotes from In Tune With The Infinite, by Ralph Waldo Trine:

“Carry any kind of thought you please about with you, and so long as you retain it, no matter how you roam over the land or sea, you will increasingly attract to yourself, knowingly or inadvertently, exactly and only what corresponds to your own dominant quality of thought.”

“To be sure minded is to be sure footed.”

It’s important to realize that we’re not experiencing the world as it is; we’re experiencing the world as we “are.” Our “self” image is intimately related to the nature and quality of our reality. In support of this, I offer the following quotes from Thought Power, by Sri Swami Sivananda:

“As you think, so you become. As are your thoughts: so must be your life.”

“Thought creates the world. Thoughts brings things into existence.”

“This world is a play of the mind.”

And from The Master Key System, by Charles F. Haanel, I offer you the following:

“The law is that thought will manifest itself in form.”

A similar message is related in spiritual terms in Proverbs 23:7:

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

What we think in our heart is what we know in our essence, without having to think about it. In this regard, it’s much easier to realize that a greater degree of success is possible when we recognize our true Self, beyond the limitations associated with our egoic identity.

Dear Readers: Are you letting other persons’ definitions of your avatar (the “person”) in the game of life determine your level of success? What is the nature of the thoughts that you’re carrying in your pockets? How do you feel about you? Are you unwittingly carrying a negative story and, thus, creating less than ideal results? If so, perhaps it’s time to begin anew and choose to fill your pockets with some high quality ideas. You might find my YouTube video entitled “Law of Attraction: Key Points” helpful.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – R. Arthur Russell

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡