Having A Vision of Creation = Planting a Seed! (BeFirst Course 121)

Right off the bat here. I I'm dr. David King husband flower All right Everybody thanks for tuning back in As you can see behind me We've we've finished up purposeful creation that unit in chapter 1 and we're gonna move now on to intentional Shaping and sculpting and I have here in front of me the text that I'm going to go through with you for this lecture Hopefully this will be a helpful way to present it to you and discuss But please let me know what questions and thoughts you have as we go through it again as I mentioned before one of the keys here is we're learning is for each of us to own our own learning and Own our personal progress. So as we're moving through this Process of learning and discussing and lecturing and whatever you want to call it Identify one or two maybe three key bullet points that you want to capture that you want to inculcate That you want to foster and develop and then we can move forward together in this adventure of learning and knowledge so We have talked about already Purposeful creation. So next up we're going to move on to the intentional shaping and sculpting of Developing our own individual identity and as we've talked about before Really the development of our identity Involves discovery of our identity. So it's it's helpful as we're learning about who we are To create an additional version of who we are a better version of ourself as we go Part of that involves, of course, we've talked about reliance on values a moral compass and then drawing on these unchanging unyielding principles and then rather than reacting to things we create our Action to things that happen to us. So let's talk about having a vision and Really it amounts to planting a seed As we come to understand and begin to realize how much control We actually hold in our hands to direct the formation and molding or shaping of our lives We can start to see what some of our personal possibilities may be Initial enlightenment to our individual potential can be very exciting we begin to see to envision our immutable identity including who we can become and What we can accomplish and let me just talk a little bit about that This is an interesting juxtaposition immutable meaning unchangeable But then I imply here that we are becoming something more than what we currently are So it's a discovery. It's an uncovering if you will it's peeling a layer off the onion to get to the center This is a very interesting concept. I hope you'll again take some time to think about that Really? We're in a process of discovering who we are Let's look at a seed for instance each seed carries within it the genetic programming to create a fully mature plant a full functioning plant with a stem Leaves flowers and a root system, but the genetic programming of the seed is not the only thing that affects and directs its development everything that happens externally to a seed and young plant as it is developing has the potential to alter or Sculpt the way the seed develops into a fully formed plant. So here we're talking about external influences External versus genetic Genetic makeup sets the foundation and determines the potential outcome the size the color the width the leaves the fruit But environment may influence or adjust or alter the expression of the seed This is not to say that the environment can make a watermelon Seed grow to become an apple tree environment modulates genetic programming, but can't change Identity, so this is really really key. I think many of us And again, I want to be cautious here I don't want to wax philosophical too much or become political in any way shape or form. I Think some of us have lost grip on this particular comment We can't change our identity. We can only uncover our identity And and our identity is comprised of so much more than what we think or feel It's so much more than that And sometimes when we just fall down on those things alone how we feel and how we think It can get us in trouble if we're not cautious very cautious So again environment modulates genetic programming But cannot change our identity identity is immutable as we've talked about before if that's this right here So part of our process is really just to discover what our identity is Plant seeds are just that plant seeds. They don't have the willpower They don't have any willpower or the sense that they are making a wrong choice They are things to be acted upon not agents in and of themselves they do what they're designed to do they seek light Nutrients and grow to fulfill their destiny Everything a plant does is reflexive and based on genetic coding Basically a seed developing into a plant is a super complex algorithm that is reacting to different inputs and yielding different Outputs, it's reflex only There's no willpower there's no choice no agency to act merely actions to respond to prompts to answer Humans are strikingly similar in several critical, but quite different ways We have genetic coding that dictates the number of fingers and toes that we have our hair color the depth of our voice Whether our earlobes are attached or free mine are free as you can see Our sex our eye color and our body's response to particular pathogens like those that cause gum disease These things are all hardwired Into our physical body. There's really no way to change any of these things we can cover them We can hide them to some degree But ultimately these genetic things are coded into us into every cell of us so we can cover and hide But we can't change these things. They're part of us So if we go back just a little bit This comment that I make right here. We can't change our identity Really all we can do is cover it so we can't Change it we can only Hide it or cover it so it's important that we remember that as we go through this process, we're learning and growing together and mostly discovering Discovering things that we already knew But may have forgotten and we need to uncover and unhide who we are But there are things that we have a great deal of control over not the least of which is our ability to improve via Metacognition, that's a great word Metacognition is just a fancy way to say that I am able to comprehend and evaluate my own thoughts and my own understanding It's basically my ability Metacognition means it's my ability to think about my ability So we're thinking about our thinking if you will It's really quite remarkable how we have this ability to comprehend our own comprehension With this ability though comes an opportunity to adjust and remove and change and improve ourselves, so I love those for those four words to adjust and remove and change and improve Adjust remove change and improve if I could just mark these things whoops, that's a Supposed to be a three my I'll just put a three here. My eraser isn't erasing And improve adjust remove change and improve ourselves We have to be cautious though not to forget that we all have this actual physical genetic pre-programming within our DNA Within our DNA molecules that are present in every single cell of our bodies I don't say this to say that our DNA and genetic identity is a limitation, but rather a foundation, so let's compare these two words Limitation not a limitation, but a foundation to be built upon Just imagine having a malleable foundation one that wasn't set in stone or firm and reliable How difficult would it be to begin building upon this foundation if you could never trust it to be solid and stable? Would you find it frustrating to be in a constant state of flux when trying to establish your personal and unique identity and character? yep, we have a genetic foundation that prides it provides us with a launch platform and Yes, we also have a number of environmental or external factors and prompts and inputs that will try to influence us But yes, we also have our own agency our own free will to adjust There they are again remove Change and improve ourselves each day What great power and peace comes from this realization? so understanding coming to learn and recall that we each of us has the ability to evaluate our evaluation of ourselves and in the process we can adjust and improve and change and remove Adjust and remove change and improve ourselves throughout the process and I would encourage you as as we're going through this process Identify those key points and consider what minor adjustments you might make we're not I mean Yes, each of us probably could do some major adjustments in our lives But if we consider making a 1% incremental change each day or maybe each week Over time that 1% incremental change will add up to a tremendous amount of change, you know So if we consider ourselves here And our goal is to get here, but our trajectory is there Oftentimes we think well, maybe I need to just make this big course correction, right? Perfect love to do that. However for most of us We need to make small incremental course corrections, so rather than this angular change like you see here It's an arc as we're slowly altering and changing and adjusting and improving and once in a while we make a change and go the wrong way and then we've got a You know counter change and come back. So the goal is to constantly be dialing in to constantly be reviewing and to be intentional Always be intentional be purposeful in your process here. So let me review really quick We have this genetic code that we inherited from a genetic lottery from our parents You know all the DNA mixes and goes through this process during the process of conception which defines us as a human being gives us us our a Individual genetic identity and that genetic identity is coded into every single DNA Every single cell of our of our body via the DNA that's there and that Designs us if you will to be our personal individual identity Then there are these outside factors that come in and influence and affect us You know, for instance the little ring light that I have here that you might be able to see that reflection back there The ring light if I leave it on too much could cause some issues for my skin depending on my personal reaction My physiological reaction just like going out in the Sun outside can cause sunburns and freckles and all these other issues That is an external stimulus that is modulated by my genetic code that determines an outcome I sunburn and then my skin peels off my wife on the other hand will tan. She very rarely sunburns It's interesting how our genetic coding is modulating what happens to us from the outside world So it's a balance of those two and part of that process is understanding and identifying who we are uncovering and Unhiding who we are and what genetic coding we have within us so we can understand and at that point once we begin to understand Then we can adjust We can remove the things that we don't like Change those things that are heading in the wrong direction and then Improve so that we're heading onward and upward in the right direction toward that goal that we're looking for so intentionality focus Intentionally on improvement incremental improvement. Don't try to do it all at once. You'll get overwhelmed. Thanks again. I'll see you in the next lecture