What's going to happen to you?

"When the student is ready, the teacher appears." Your being on this site is an indication that you've been searching, that you are open minded, and that you're looking for fulfillment and purpose for your life.
The perspective you're going to find on these pages has changed my life completely. So there's a good chance it will change yours, too. In the following are the five phases of change you most likely will go through, which will put you on the path to live the life you were meant to live:


Imagine yourself walking a path similar to the graphic above. The first circle of the spiral will take you the longest to complete. The closer you get to the center, the shorter the distance to complete the round. Once you reach the center, you're on the path towards being the YOU you were meant to be.
The five circles that make up the spiral symbolize the five phases you'll go through before you're able to head straight towards your life's real goal.

1st Round: Learning and understanding
Theoretically, this first phase would require only 1/2 hour. Unfortunately, however, most won't be able to take that shortcut, because what we have been told all our lives is preventing us from understanding the idea. We fight it intellectually, think there should be more to it. It can't be so simple, there has to be a catch.
But, it is that simple. There is no catch. It is logical and obvious.
The first phase is about you understanding what's explained about the system. You don't believe it yet, you just "get" what is meant.
2nd Round: Accepting the possibility
Due to our life long conditioning it is difficult to accept that what is suggested is possible. You're still not believing it, you're getting to the point where you're not discarding the idea as impossible. Depending on how strongly vested you are in the traditional believe, this phase can take quite a while. Some might be able to take the shortcut and get through this phase in also just 1/2 an hour.
3rd Round: Investigation and verification
You know you're in the third phase, when you catch yourself looking for proofs for this idea in your every day life's experiences and observations. During this phase, you look at what's going on with and around you, and when contemplate what it means, how it all fits together, what its purpose is, you try the Universe's perspective .
4th Round: Active trial
After a while, you'll start trying it out yourself. Every now and then, you'll apply the new perspective while contemplating what to do. You'll act differently than you would have before. You'll actively apply what you learned and check whether the results are supporting what is explained here about how the system works.
5th Round: Subscribing
The more you try, the more positive re-affirmations you'll experience. Soon, you'll be convinced that this idea is really how it works. Even though you're not yet able, willing and in the position to always implement it, you do "know" it makes sense, and you subscribe to it.

This is when your life is really going to change! Your changed believe has helped you to completely adjust your values in a very positive way. Your values sort your priorities, which are now totally rearranged from how they were when you started the process. And, of course, your actions and goals are very different, too - as they are motivated and determined by the new set of priorities.

Whoa! That sounds like brainwashing by a cult!
Well, in a way it is a cleansing process. You wash away old, un-helpful believes, values and priorities. And you make room for something that works better.
However, it is not a brainwashing, as it is not performed by anybody else, but by yourself. You are in control! You choose whether you want to start, and how long you want to remain in each phase. Plus, you can choose to stop at any point. I am sure you won't stop, though - as it just makes a lot of sense, and you'll see proofs everywhere you look... But, you could, if you wanted to...

Enjoy being a pioneer, exploring uncharted spiritual territory, leading towards a new humanity!

Jehovah's Witnesses - or - The Truth

I found a letter in my mailbox, addressed to a person I don't know, but at my address - "or current resident" it said. It was an invitation to a bible study at the local Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall...


I often get asked why I started searching myself, why I don't belong to any of the christian churches, nor follow any other religion. The short answer is, that none of the teachings I learned about offer satisfactory answers.


The flyer enclosed with the letter is entitled "Would you like to know the truth?"

Among the questions listed are: Does God really care about us? Will war and suffering ever end? How can I find happiness in life?

Hm. All very important questions.


When trying to understand, to find out what to believe, I came to conclude, that nobody can "know" anything about what is beyond this physical world that we live in, that we can observe, measure and experience. No theory can be proven correct or incorrect. Some may appear a little more likely, others a little less. With all the searching and reasoning and pondering, all we can do is to choose to believe one idea or another.


The flyer goes on to declare that the bible is god's word and true. Unfortunately, all the citations intended to provide the "true" answer to each of the questions, are interpreted and explained from a particular world-view's perspective. The only "proof" for the statements are more bible verses, interpreted in the same way.


I was searching for a spirituality that helps me make better decisions on all the topics that come up in my daily life. But I never liked the notion of blind faith. Of course, what I don't know, I have to augment with a believe. And faith is nothing but a believe. So, I tried to apply all I do know and used logic to rule out unlikely scenarios. The result is the realization that we humans are not here for our own sake, but that we are here to support the development of this creation. This purpose of the world and everybody else around you is not so that you can grow, but you are motivated, guided, and allowed to grow so you can better support the development of this world. And following this completely changed basis there's a belief-system, which is described on this site.

I can not prove that this is true, and that I do not claim it is. I do state, though, that it makes sense to me and that it provides answers for otherwise difficult to answer questions.

And, interestingly, I found that much of what is described in the bible, when seen from this "we are the tools of the Universe" perspective, actually does make sense. However, it is interpreted very differently.


The bible quotations in the flyer mean something totally different than explained there, once the underlying framework is different. And the conclusions and resulting actions are very different, then, too.


With that in mind, I encourage you again, not to simply believe anything I (or somebody else) says about these topics (or any other topic, for that matter), but instead to listen carefully and try to understand what is meant and what it would mean to you, then reflect and ponder with an open mind and curiosity, and find your own answer.

This site is intended to help you with this task.

Conversation with the maker

Christians believe that there is one God who created everything according to his plan. And he created the plan, too. And he designed everything for a reason and with a purpose. I think Jews and Moslems believe that, too, but I am not sure...

Some people further believe that when they die, they'll meet the creator. I sometimes hear somebody say: "When I meet my maker, I'm gonna ask him..." this, that, or the other question.

The other night I woke up with a thought.

What, if the maker would wanna ask us a couple of questions, too? What might he ask us about?

Here's a fictional conversation between God and a recently deceased person. Now, God did not appear to me in the middle of the night and speak to me, so that conversation is totally made up by me. But, if I was God, I would most likely ask these questions.

God: "You know, when I designed the humans I put a lot of thought into it. There's one aspect I am particularly happy about. I wanted to create a feature that would allow you humans to express your love to each other in a very special way. I thought I give you a special gift. So when you are nice to each other you get the most awesome sensation. I hoped, this would provide enough incentive for you to love each other, and to express your love. Now, tell me, how did you like this feature?"

As you know, some people would have to say something in the tune of: "Well, I struggled all my life to avoid making love to another person."

I could imagine God asking with disappointment in his love: "I gave you this ability to make another person feel really, really good, to forget all trouble and worries for a moment, to have the most amazing sensation possible, and you didn't want to use this gift?"

"I've been told that this was of the devil's. So, I thought you would be upset with me if I did it..."

I can't help but thinking that God would throw arms into the air and sigh in utter disbelieve: "So you believed them when they claimed this out of this world experience was a trap? What kind of sadistic prick did you think I am?"

What would Jesus do?

The site www.toolOfTheUniverse.org is not a religious site, and not affiliated with any religion.

The latest article What would Jesus do?, however, is specifically addressed to the Christian community. It is intended to encourage Christians to go beyond the words, and see how Jesus' teaching can be applied to everyday life in today's times.

Still, the questions are important to ponder for people of all cultural backgrounds and all faiths (and atheism, by the way, is a faith too).

Super Hero

Imagine your favorite Super Hero really exists. Then imagine further, that everybody in the world has the same special super-natural powers as your Super Hero. Now, suddenly, these special powers are not so special anymore, are they?

What happened? Your Super Hero still can fly, bend steel, stop trains, use x-ray vision. Still, it's now normal, usual, nothing special anymore! So your Super Hero is not so special anymore, even though he/she continues to fly, to bend steel, stop trains and use x-ray vision.



I think with us humans it is the same situation: we have super natural powers, but since everybody has them, we don't see them as such anymore. We take them for granted. We don't even see them as powers anymore. Some of us even see their special powers as nuisance!

Let's just take our mind: we can understand so much of our world, the laws of physics and chemistry, the weather patterns, or how our body works. We invented computers, built the space-shuttle, and found cures for many diseases.

Or, think about our body: if we scratch the skin, it heals all by itself. If we eat something spoiled, our body takes care of it - either we throw up, get diarrhea, or our liver and kidney filter the toxins out of our blood. We have the best time in our lives making love, and as a result a new human starts growing! I mean, how awesome is that! If that is not Super Powers, I don't know what would be!

We are just used to our powers, and since everybody has them, we don't recognize them as such anymore. And we invent Vampires, X-Men, Ghost Whisperers and more...



There is another interesting aspect: most of us are not using our powers for the same purpose as most of our Super Heros. Think about it: Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Kick-Ass, Hulk, and so on - they all use their powers for the good of their city, society, humanity, even the world. We? We use it solely to promote our own personal vanity and comfort! We don't give a flying fig about the person next to us, not to talk about the next generation, or the people in a different country, and we definitely are not looking out for creation.

You think we care about this world? Give me a break! Listen to the news: when talking about a war or unrest, all we hear about are human casualties. Not a single word about the impact "our" mess has on animals or plants. In a natural disaster, again hardly a word about the fish, the birds, the trees - no everything is about humans.

We don't care that nuclear power-plants are polluting the environment for the next 100 million years (plus minus a few billion more) - we want to be able to use our remote to turn on and off the TV! The energy needed to power solely the remotely turned off entertainment appliances and chargers in the USA is larger than the output of the largest nuclear power-plant, larger than the largest water power-plant (the infamous Hoover dam). There are millions of other examples, where we - each one of us - is contributing to the slow demise of this world.

It doesn't make sense to ask for the elimination of electricity, or cars, to stop using machines and so on. Of course not! However, it would make a lot of sense to think about what we are doing, and what the long-term impact of it is - not just on humanity, but on creation as a whole.



But, let me get back to my original point - Super-Heros...

So, we have special powers and we use them mostly with our own benefit in mind. That's pretty sad.

But, the really, really sad part is, that many of our super powers are being used way to little. How much do we use our brain? Spiritually we are still repeating the same stuff that was said 100s of years ago. Mostly, we're vegetating on auto-pilot. Go to work, come home and watch TV, go to sleep. In between, we get drunk or high to quiescent our feeling hopeless, useless and frustrated. We believe and repeat unreflected whatever we're being told in church, by TV Gossip (often dressed up as news), even by coworkers around the water-cooler, or by spam email. Man, it's depressing! Why did we get such a great brain, if we're not using it? Why did we get such a great body, if we're just abusing it? Why did we get such an inquisitive and capable mind, if we're shutting it down, closing it up, and loosing it?



Final thought: back to imagining things: Imagine there is something like "your maker", and you'll meet her/him/it. What would you answer if you were asked "How did you use your special powers? What did you get done with them?"

The Next Step To Non-Violence

I just finished watching the movie "Budrus", which was screened at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. It is a documentary about a Palestinian village's success applying non-violent resistance.

Israel decided to build a wall and fence between Israel and the West Bank, in an attempt to get a handle on the number of suicide bombings by Palestinian extremists. So far the fence seems to have worked quite well, as some suggest the number of bombings has dropped by more than 90%.

Budrus is the story of the village with that name, where - for reasons nobody knows - it was decided to build the wall in a way, that it would totally encircle this plus several other villages. Also, significant damage to the villagers' olive trees was necessary, following the planned route. Now, these trees are not just some ornamental decorations, but the source of most of the income of the villagers. For them, it was a matter of survival.

What ensued - and is beautifully documented in the movie - is the struggle of the villagers to safe their olive trees.



Lessons Learned



First of all, this is a text-book example for how much more effective and less costly non-violent measures are. Although there have been some injuries, there have not been any casualties. And, given the number of demonstrations and the duration of several months, not a single serious injury is quite an amazing accomplishment!

The movie pointed out another aspect, that is worsening problems around the globe: While the demonstrations were non-violent, the Israeli TV news report painted a war-scene: deserted street, a car-wreck. Soldiers shooting their guns. Teargas drifting. Anybody watching the report must think that there is some serious fighting going on! Clearly an attempt to misinform the public.

Tell me, how in the world should anybody really understand a situation - not to talk about finding a solution to it - when the media reports gossip instead of news?

That, BTW, is the core issue here in the USA, too. Most AM talk-shows and tv-channels like Fox and others do not report facts, but try to paint any picture in the colors that they think their viewers want to see. And we, the viewers, then base our opinions and view-points on these slanted, distorted caricatures of "reality" (or better irreality, sometimes even surreality)! No wonder, we are the only country in the developed world, where the general population is still in denial about climate change, and the fact that is is caused by us humans... But, let me get off this soapbox, as this is not my topic today... :)



Next Step After Non-Violence



Most interesting to me is, that there is an important insight that this documentary helps the viewer to realize. And I believe, it is the second step to the idea of non-violence!

Everybody that was interviewed, explained the situation from their perspective. Nobody made any attempt to see it from the other's viewpoint.

The Israeli captain said the lives of Israeli civilians is more important than an olive tree. Of course! But, is it more important to run the fence right here and not over there? Is the source of income (and with that survival) of a family more important than the exact route planned by some bureaucrat 100 km away?

The Palestinians lamented, that they hadn't done anything, and are just trying to live peacefully, bringing up their children. How can the Israelis just go and uproot the family's source of income, which the grandfather has planted with his own hands, carrying the water on his head to water them? True, too! But, how could Israel not try to put an end to the suicide bombings executed by the villager's fellow-Palestinians?.

They both have valid points. And they both fought thinking God was on their side.

And, like to be expected, it looks like they will fight each other happily forever after...



The Only Path To Peace



The first step to stop the bleeding is the decision to not use violence anymore. This is usually a consequence of the realization, that violence always - A-L-W-A-y-S! - leads to more violence. In the short term it might look like something was achieved, but really it just hardens the problem, and delays the explosion. Violence never solves a problem, but increases it and creates another one!

After deciding to not want violence anymore, the next step is to find a consensus. Not a compromise - consensus! A compromise is a middle ground, but could be felt unjust by either or even both parties. And another clash is just a matter of time. (Look at WW2 as textbook example of such a clash after the WWI peace treaty). A consensus is a situation, that both parties can live with.

The only way for two parties to find a consensus is when they start looking at the situation through the other's eyes.

Any person, who feels their family and friends are endangered to be blown to pieces, would try to find some way to prevent that from happening - no matter how. Once Palestinians allow themselves to see this easy to understandable fact, they'll know what to do and what not.

Any person, who depends on an olive tree as source of income would never, ever think about uprooting a good tree - no matter what. Once Israelis allow themselves to understand that fact, they, too, will know what to do and what not.

Once I see and understand a problem of the other person, I automatically start thinking about how could I help solving this problem.

And it is quite plain to see, that the Israelis can not stop Hamas - no matter how much money and technology and humans they put into it. Only the Palestinians themselves can do that. But they can do that only, once they realize that Hamas is not the solution, but the cause of the problem.

In the same vein, it is also plain to see, that Palestinian extremists can not make Israel go away - no matter how many of their young men they brainwash into becoming suicide bombers.

If these two peoples want to live in peace, they can do so only if all of them have peace. Both need to accept that the other has a right to exist, and both have to allow each other to live and pursue their peaceful happiness.



No matter what happened in the past - an a minute ago is past - only what we do now matters, as it defines the future. Every minute we can decide anew whether we want to continue to fight, or whether we want to move towards peace.



The Real Message of This Post



Ok, now take this lesson and apply it to your own life! Look at your relationships - with your partner, your parents, siblings and children, your boss and coworkers, clients and suppliers. Ha! That's much harder, isn't it, than talking about something that's going on half a world away! Well, there's only little animosities that is separating you from the people in your life - not violent deaths of loved ones, threats to your existence, traumatic experiences with incarceration and torture. So, how much easier should it be for you and me to fix our wars, than for the Israeli and Palestinians to figure out theirs!



I find, that the same principles apply on the personal as on the national and global scale: violence, threats, manipulation, and force always - A-L-W-A-Y-S - backfire and never move you towards a solution. Love and compassion are the only way. And trying to see the world through the other person's eyes is the first step towards being able to understand the other, which is the basis for real compassion...

Love is the answer! To any question!

The "Free Tibet" Question - A New Approach

In the previous article, I suggested that the Chinese atrocity inflicted upon the Tibetans over the last more than 50 years, is helping the development of the rest of the world. Due to the Tibetan diaspora the Dalai Lama is known everywhere, and invited to speak across the globe. Tibetan Buddhism, today, is no longer found only in the remote areas around the Himalayas, but in every country. And although Buddhism is not the final answer, some aspects of it appears to be one step further than the Abrahamic religions - especially, when looking at the behaviors that result from their core-messages. So it now being available to much of the world is clearly a better state than before.

While the Christians still ask how God can allow these bad things happening to these good people, and while Buddhists just accept that it is happening, the Tool of the Universe idea provides a simple, plausible explanation, an important purpose: it was an effective way of spreading the light!



In this article, I would like to look at the response to the Tibet crisis from these three core perspectives:

The Christians don't find an answer to their question, and assume it was a mistake of God, which they now try to fix. Interestingly, they try to fix it by applying pressure to and fighting with China. That doesn't sound to be an expression of love - which Jesus always recommended. And - as quite common with forceful approaches - it hasn't work at all.

The Buddhists just accept the situation and do nothing but continue their life. (Well, some of them follow the Christian approach, too - abandoning their own core recommendation). That seems a better approach than to fight, as it doesn't create additional pain and suffering. However, it doesn't alleviate the ongoing pain and suffering of the Tibetans still stuck in the situation either.

When it rains it doesn't make sense to fight the fact that it is raining, nor is it necessary to just stand there. Walking to a shelter until it stops might work better.

In alignment with that analogy, the Tool of the Universe idea, does not encourage to fight, nor just to leave it as is. Instead, it asks to look for the purpose of the situation and for a shelter for those impacted. When there is a purpose for a situation, we can determine a direction for our course of action: Enlightenment is needed in the world, and was brought closer to everybody through the Tibetan diaspora.

The Tool of the Universe approach suggests to make the next step in this apparent direction: Let's make sure we maximize the positive benefits of the situation!



One action in alignment with this idea would be to work towards establishing Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in every country of the world. These monasteries could also function as cultural centers for both the population of the host country and the displaced Tibetans, who could resettle in the vicinities of these monasteries. That way, Tibetans are not left cutoff from their roots, and at the same time, it would be possible for them to live a fulfilled and dignified life. Also, it would take a lot of pressure off the Nepalese community, who is currently carrying the heaviest load, by hosting a disproportionately large number of refugees.

So instead of trying to fight the Chinese to retreat from Tibet, it might make more sense to try to work with them to allow those Tibetans who want to leave, to leave in peace. At the same time, supporters of the Tibetan cause in every country around the world could work with their government and fellow citizens to find a way to enable a Tibetan community in their midst.

The lessons that we all could learn from this are very, very important and relevant for today's political landscape:
* Cooperation works better than fighting.
* Foreign culture is not a threat to our own existence.
* While mono-culture causes stagnation, mixing cultures stirs up discussion, and facilitates new insights, development and growth.
* People from the other side of the world are the same as us: kind, loving, and with the same needs and wants: to survive, to be loved and appreciated, to live a fulfilled life.



Going by what every documentary about Tibet states, that area is quite inhospitable to human existence. So, hey, let the Chinese deal with it, trying to live there. Let the lucky Tibetans go to other places in the world, were surviving is much easier and where they are welcome and appreciated.

And who knows, without all the pressure, maybe China will open up their firm grip a little over time, and Tibetan monasteries will be allowed again in Tibet sometime...



Disclaimer and clarification: What the Chinese have done to the Tibetans - and continue to do - is disgusting and deplorable! However, we are not innocent either: If we were not so stuck in our spiritual development, such major crisis would not be necessary. Secondly, Buddhism is not the end of the spiritual journey, but just a first step.

The "Free Tibet" Question - A New Perspective

Yesterday, I watched a documentary about the Tibetan people and their history of the last 50 years.

What really struck me was one monk's statement. He referred to the ancient Hindu/Jain/Buddhist concept of Karma. Every action has a consequence, and ones present situation is a consequence of past actions of this and previous lives. The monk mused that he must have done some pretty bad stuff in his previous lives, and that today, I this current live, he's working it off. There is no point in lamenting about it, one just has to accept what is and try to make the best of it.

The documentary also mentioned, that Buddhists believe, that the spirit of an animal will eventually incarnate as a human. As a consequence, Tibetans have a deep love and respect for animals.

I would like to invite you compare this attitude to the one prevalent in the culture influenced by the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). There, the teachings suggest that the humans are "the crown of creation", and that "God gave humans dominion over the rest of creation". As a result, Jews, Christians and Muslims display an utter disrespect and thoughtlessness towards not just animals, but the whole creation - even most other human cultures and humans. Jews feel they are God's chosen people. Muslims kill those that don't believe their flavor of Islam. And Christians conveniently forget, misinterpret, or just simply ignore Jesus' commandment to "love your neighbor".



Let's look at the situation of the Tibetans from the "Tool of the Universe" perspective, which suggests that the Universe is utilizing humans to continue the development of the creation:

There is this group of people living in this remote, isolated area between the Himalayas and China. Among them developed a spiritual community and understanding that values the rest of the world. They accept what is, and try to make the best of it. Much of the rest of the world's population still lives in the spiritual Dark Ages, and behaves accordingly - destroying the planet and everything that's on and in it. If you were the Universe, what would you try to do to help the rest of the world? I would try to find a way to spread the understanding of the Tibetans across the globe.

The Chinese invasion has accomplished exactly that! The Dalai Lama, of whom hardly anybody knew 50+ years ago in the western world (the part, that needs enlightenment the most!), today is a household name. Buddhism since has spread across the globe.



Disclaimer and clarification: What the Chinese have done to the Tibetans - and continue to do - is disgusting and deplorable! However, we are not innocent either: If we were not so stuck in our spiritual development, such major crisis would not be necessary. Secondly, Buddhism is not the end of the spiritual journey, but just a first step.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

At the Decatur Book Fair there was a booth of the "Muslims for Peace". Of course, I had to check them out! Well, a quite interesting conversation ensued. I learned some more about Islam. And, I hope, the man who talked with me, took away some seeds for thought as well.

The most interesting bit of new information to me was that "Islam" means "Peace". He explained, that at the core the prophet's message is about Love.

It seems to me, though, that there's a contradiction: How can a teaching of love demand a death sentence? How can a group that is treating women as second class humans expect to find peace?

Now, throwing out everything, just because there is some nonsense among it, holds the risk of missing real wisdom and insights contained as well.

Why do we tend to swing from one extreme to the other?

Either we follow something to the letter - without reflection, consideration, logical and rational thinking - or we discard everything - without seeing what we can learn from it.



I find, we havee been created with a brain, that can think logically and rationally. I take it as our responsibility to use it. It is our choice, though. If we choose not to use it we find ourselves (even in the 21st century) in the dark-ages, where a lot of people are suffering and where, instead of peace and happiness, there is war and mayhem.



Here's another example:

In the movie "Rabbithole" a couple, who had lost a child, was trying to cope with the loss by saying: "Maybe God needed another little angel. That's why he took our baby." "Why didn't he just make one?" the other woman blurted out. "He's God! Why couldn't he just make one?"

Exactly! It just doesn't make sense!

"My life's purpose is to praise the Lord!" Is another one of these illogical ideas.

Would you create a device, whose sole purpose is to utter "You are the greatest!", and if it doesn't, destroy it in anger? Of course not! And you are just a fallible little human, and not the almighty, all-knowing God!

It just doesn't make sense!

To me these are typical examples of people just reciting what they've heard, without using their brain.

Does that mean all of the teachings about God are to be discarded. I don't think so. That, again, would be to go from one extreme to the other.



I am suggesting to use our brain to think through our spiritual believes. To retain and build upon content that is congruent and fits reality as we can observe. To identify and discard content that makes no sense, and to try to replace it with something that - at least - is not impossible. And each one of us can and should do this her/himself.

Again, you can choose. Do you want to get ahead, to grow, to find peace and happiness in your life? If you stay as and where you are, you stay as and where you are. It's that simple!

I do not suggest you quit being a Muslim, a Christian, Jew, Atheist, or whatever spiritual direction you like to follow. I do recommend, though, to think things through, to question and double-check; and to dare to discard parts that do not jive.

If we want to get ahead we have to continuously work on separating the wheat from the chaff!



This blog and the website www.toolOfTheUniverse.org are all about helping you in this process, and about providing seeds for different, new strains of thought. I hope it fulfills this purpose. Please, do drop me a line and let me know what you think... Thank you! And much success in your spiritual growth...

Letter to a Dog Lover

My neighbors keep their dog on a chain in the back yard. They hardly ever play with it, or walk with it. All they do is bring it food. The dog is crying of loneliness and in anquish, not understanding why it was ostracized from the group. Below is a letter that I wrote in the hope it might help the neighbors realize what they are doing...

Dear Neighbor,

I would like to provide some information that should help you enjoy your dog much more, and help your dog, too, to enjoy their life as member of your family.

Member of your family!?!? Well, a dog's societal norms - i.e. the norms which a dog follows and according to which a dog acts - are different from our - i.e. human - norms.

A dog follows instincts. It can not act against them, like we act against ours. It can not "think" like us, "ponder" like us. We can understand how their society works, if we take the time to study it for a long, long time. Or, if we read a book - like John Fisher's "Think Dog", which explains in a funny and easy to understand language how dogs work, with tons of examples and anecdotes from his life as "dog whisperer".

A dog, of course, can not read a book about how humans work.

Is it fair, and reasonable, to expect a dog to be able to understand our behaviors, interpret correctly what we mean, when we do certain things?

I think it would be up to the "smarter" ones to learn about and treat the other according to what they understand, how they are programmed through their instincts.

A dog is a pack animal. As such it is part of a group and it instinctively tries to do anything it can to get the approval of the group, to be accepted by the group. (In that we are actually not so different, are we? Many humans do really crazy things just to be accepted by their peers...) A pack animal can not survive for long outside of the group - so being accepted by the group is a matter of life and death to the dog!

One way - the most severe way available within a pack - to punish a member of the pack for wrong doing is to expel them from the group. (Again, very similar to our own behavior, isn't it? Think about school, prison, UN sanctions...) Such an outcast dog will do anything - ANYTHING - that they can think of that would allow them to get back into the pack.

A dog accepts and adopts the owner's family as its pack. Whether we like it or not, whether we understand it, know or are aware of it or not. It tries to get our acceptance and approval.

I know that dogs have been treated the way you are treating yours. However, just because somebody else made a mistake doesn't mean you can not do better. After all, we can choose to grow and go beyond our instincts. Please try to keep an open mind, and continue reading...

If we tie the dog up, away from the rest of the group, it thinks it has done something severely wrong - similar to how you would feel if you were tied up in the center of town with a sign around your neck telling how mean you are. Well, you can read the sign, and understand what the people are saying. The Dog can't read. It has no clue what it did wrong or why it is being punished.

It tries to be good. Display its best behavior. Show you its love, its subordination, its willingness to abide by the rules of the pack. Ever noticed how it behaves when you go and bring it its food? It wags not just its tail, but the whole backside. It puts its head down, it puts its tail between the hind legs. It whelps... All signs of submission. Of "I am sorry!" Of "Please allow me back into the group, I promise to do better!".

Think about what you would do, if your family ostracizes you. First, you'd try to get back into their favor. If it doesn't work, you would cry and continue to try. After a while, however, if nothing you do works, you would get more and more frustrated and angry. If no matter what you do, they don't allow you back in, you most likely would start hating them. After some more time, you might just give up to try. And you would finish your life being angry and mean to anybody and anything that comes close.

Ever heard of the expression: "A mean yard dog". Well, now you know why the dog is mean.



A dog is the man's best friend. That is another expression, I am sure, you heard before.

I believe you got the dog for that reason. For your kids to enjoy the unconditional love of another being in this world. Maybe to have a friend around to warn you of intruders and to defend you. And your dog has the potential to be and do all of that! Its highest priority in life is to be your friend.

I hope that being its friend is high enough a priority for you, too, to open your mind to the above information. To try to learn to understand how dogs work. And to try to treat your dog so it can understand your treatment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Best wishes and much joy with your four-legged friend for life!



Your neighbor

(who is crying, whenever your dog cries for your love...)

Return Favor

Here's a thought: I looked around in my life and found that there are so many beautiful things happening with me and to me. I am allowed to meet great people (like yourself - even though this was only very briefly), I am allowed to see much of the world - all kinds of beautiful places; and I am allowed to experience love, happiness, beautiful music, inspiring movies and so much more... One day I realized: well, the Universe is doing sooooooo much for me. Maybe I could look a little bit at what I could do for the Universe?

The Kids Are All Right

We watched "The Kids Are All Right" yesterday. A wonderful movie! I added it to the toolOfTheUniverse site at: http://www.tooloftheuniverse.org/movieTkaAllRight.shtml

It's hard to fill a cup that's already full

In one of the many very thought-provoking scenes of the movie AVATAR, Jake Sully is presented to the native Omatikay tribe's spiritual leader, the Tsahik. He tells her he came to learn. She says: "It's hard to fill a cup that's already full."
Is your cup also full? Or do you have room for new ideas, new perspectives? Or are you clinging to your old approaches, trying hard to ignore all the hints and signals pointing you in a new direction?

I've seen it so many times - both in the lives of others as well as in my own: We try to make our observations fit our believes, rather than use them to help us grow and develop our belief-system. All too often we need a big crisis to make us spill some of the content of our cup. And some really rotten stuff we might never be able to remove; it takes a new generation, some rebelious youngsters to get rid of it.


What answers are in your cup to the question "What is your life all about?" Are you happy with what you find in your cup? Does it help you find fulfillment and peace? Do your life experiences and observations really support your believes? Or does your belief-system leave questions unanswered?
Are you ready to empty your cup and fill it with something more helpful? Then, maybe, you are ready to consciously accept your function in this world.
In the words of the Tsahik: "Learn well, and we'll see if your insanity can be cured." In this context: "Open your mind, and we'll see if your unhappiness can be cured."

This website provides ideas for different view-points on many topics. For serious searchers, the book "You Are The Change" contains an easy to follow, logical, non-esoteric explanation of the spiritual foundation underlying these articles.

I hope these texts and the book would help you turn you life around - from being like an autumn leaf tossed around in the wind, to becoming a joyful traveler on the river of your destiny.

Corporate Greed (part 1)

Emron, sub-prime mortgages, and so on: corporate greed is on everybody's mind these days . and stays there, as we get one instance after another as reminders of the problem.

However, what is a corporation really? Nothing, but a piece of paper filed with some registrar somewhere!

What provides life to such an artificial entity are the people who contribute to it. The character attributes of these people become the character attributes of the corporation. Every person who interacts with a corporation, impacts it, in any small or big way.

1. Employees

First, of course, there are the employees. Everybody who works for a corporation . from the CEO to the housekeeper, from the full-time employee to the contractor . all of them are expending time, effort, ideas, energy that helps that corporation get closer to its goal . whatever that goal is.

Do you know what your employers business purpose is? What is its attitude, its approach to achieve its goals? Is that purpose, and are these goals and approaches in congruence with your believes and values?

If not, why are you using the little time that makes up your life to support something you don't believe in? For the money? So money is more important than your other values? But, isn't that greed, too? Aren't you also part of the corporate greed?

When your grandchild or great-grandchild asks you with big adoring eyes, would you be happy and proud to tell her/him you came to this world to support xyz (whatever your employer works towards)?

Labor vs. Contribution . Management vs. Leadership

Today, more and more people come to understand that life is about more than just raising kids and working to make money. Everywhere I go I meet folks who are looking to find their life's purpose.

As described in other texts, I believe that my purpose can not be I myself. To my life is about making a contribution to this creation.

Money is not any longer the reason for my work, but just aside-effect - necessary, but by itself not sufficient. I want to spend the remaining few hundred weeks of my life working towards the fulfillment of my soul's mission. My job can and has to be supporting my in this quest.

It is now clear to me that I won't last long in a job that is preventing me from working on what I came to this world to do. Looked at it in the other way around, if a job required me to work on something that is in alignment with my mission I will be very productive and an amazing contributor.

I think, many people are in this mode, that I am; although not all of them may have realized what's going on, why they are so unhappy in their job.



Are you happy and fulfilled in your job? What is your mission here in this world? Does your job provide an opportunity for you to work on your mission?



If this my observation is accurate, it is advisable to employers to adjust their approach to make use of this fact. First, an employer - actually, every supervisor, manager, and team-leader - should clear about what their mission and goals are. This makes it easier for every team-member to easier see how the job is providing the opportunity to implement her/his life's purpose.

Secondly, a switch from workers-management to team-leadership is to be made. The task of any supervisor is no longer to watch to ensure everybody is pulling their weight, trying to ensure productivity by threatening, conjoling and manipulating. Instead, the new task is to define goals that inspire the co-workers, and to remove obstacles so the coworkers are not hindered in their productivity. In essence: when people want to go where the bus is heading, it is moving at full speed, and the leaders have to ensure it is heading in a good direction, and to avoid traffic-jams...



What is your leadership style (in your job, and among your friends and family), and that of your superior: Forcing obedience or inspiring greatness?

Be mindful: Inspiring greatness can not be used as a means to manipulate. Do you see the difference?

Because I Care...

Today, a dear friend forwarded an email joke. “Because I care” reads the subject. ”When I asked myself who might need an angel today I thought of you!!!” it says. Then, after a picture, the text continues: “They didn't want her, so they sent her to me... I don't want her, so I'm sending her to you! The rules are simple: You can send her anywhere, but you can't send her back!” The picture shows a quite overweight 50-something woman with big white feathery wings on her back, dressed only in black hiking boots, black and white striped stockings up to her knees, and a blue skimpy bikini bottom.
The initial reaction, of course, is a chuckle, induced by the ironic contrast, the stab at some of those typical religious angel-emails, that we all find so often in our in-boxes.
However, something about the picture touched me, and got me thinking.
I can imagine what this woman was trying to accomplish, standing on the street (almost un-)dressed like this. And I can just imagine what kind of abuse she must have encountered in her life, and still encounter! I can also imagine what kind of daemons a person must be struggling with, who would respond to that woman's offer.
This picture points at so much suffering and pain. It reminds us of how much a struggle life still can be for people in this world; people, not just in a poor countries far away, but also right here, close to our homes.

As mentioned in other texts, I believe that a soul comes to this world with a mission. It wants to contribute to making this world a better place. To do so, it chooses carefully the body it incarnates into. Hoping that the family and environment, in which it's human host grows up, will provide the experiences necessary and teach the lessons required for the person to accomplish the soul's mission. The goal is, that through this person change can be initiated, affected or brought about.
Pondering this picture, it makes me wonder, what is the mission or this woman's soul? Was that life part of that mission? What kind of change is affected by this kind of life? What is it, that we have to learn, have to realize, through her?
I do not know the answers to these questions.
I do know, though, that she inspired me to ponder these thoughts. I can honor her life, her suffering, her pain, by using it to re-evaluate my attitude towards other people – especially towards people, who are doing things that I was brought up to think is morally questionable. 
Her picture provided for me another example of how my new spirituality totally changes my perspective. My belief that we all are one, that our souls are connected, and that we all are here to help this world to grow, encourages me to look at this woman and not laugh at her, or judge her, or delight in her blight, but to look beyond the initial impressions and try to see the beautiful idea of her person and her life.
Also, I see this picture as a stark reminder, that our current approach to teach our children what life is all about – what their life may be all about – is not effective. We are still focusing solely on the “food-shelter-clothing” topics. Big house, status, power, career – these all are nothing but low-level instinctual strives, hiding behind glamor and pomp. Who cares how big your house was, 200 years from now? No matter how powerful you may think you are today, when you are about to die, you are no better off than anybody else. Yes, we “say” these kind of things – especially in the very few reflective moments around Christmas. But it is really all to often just lip-service. There seems to be no feasible, worthwhile alternative.
Well, for me there is, now.
Since I started seeing myself – and every other person in this world, too – as tool of the Universe, this void was filled. The questions “What am I supposed to do with my life? What should I strive for, if not money, power, fun and comfort?” were answered. 
There are so many aspects in this world that need improvement. Only people can impact them. The Universe does not change them for us, by strike of lightning, or supernatural magic. The only interference of the Universe that I can notice in this world is the inspiring of people to grow beyond their animal heritage, the planting of ideas into the minds of people who are asking questions, searching for answers.
The Universe sent the picture of this woman to me. Its arrival triggered thoughts, spun ideas, raised questions. I don't know if having this effect is her souls mission – but it may well be...

Next week we'll switch to 2010. Let me take this opportunity to wish for you, my dear reader and friend, that this next year may bring many great experiences and insights, that will help you grow and progress towards your life's purpose and towards finding happiness and fulfillment.
At the same time, let me invite you to send me an email with a question, a thought, a revelation, or anything you would like to share with me. My inspiration gets triggered by the interactions with the world around me. I depend on your emails and communications to be inspired to think about new topics, or re-view old topics from a new angle. Thank you for your contributions, and all my best
Thomas, December 2009

Letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

I find, that the Universe is sending us signs and hints all the time about all kinds of problems and issues that need to be fixed. In a way, I can imagine, that it is hoping somebody will pick up on it and so something about them. I see the little problems we encounter with our Nuclear power plants as such sings. 
In my experience, if I did not listen to subtle hints, the hints got stronger. Instead of a little nudge, I often needed a bloody nose, or a kick in my stomach, to finally change what I was doing, or my approach. The longer I was in denial, the stronger the messages. I now am praying to be able to understand the signs early on, as to not require crisis and pain to learn my lesson. 

Today, I received an email from Environmental Action: 

Last week there was a 'mishap' at the Indian Point nuclear power plant forty miles north of New York City. Turns out an underground pipe leaked 100,000 gallons of water that would be used to cool the reactor in case it overheated. 
Back in March, Indian Point was given the fifth consecutive top safety rating by federal regulators. If leaking out 100,000 gallons of cooling water is the safest nuke plant our country has, it's time to move on from this ridiculous energy source.  

Nuclear power plants have always been topic of great distress. So, I followed the request of EA and sent an email to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And here's what I wrote: 

Hello my dear friend, 

I'm writing today to remind you, that you have an amazing opportunity to make a big difference in this world, and turn it into a better place! The universe does not make things appear out of or disappear into thin air. It depends on us humans to accomplish what needs to be done. 
Nuclear Energy is the dirtiest energy we have. The waste that is produced there stays highly toxic and life-threatening for all living things on this planet for thousands of years. We get a few years of energy, and trade thousands of years of problem for it. Please, please, please, help make an end to this shortsighted, thoughtless and selfish way of generating power. 
Germany, over the last decade has turned their power generation profile around completely. Today they receive somewhere around 50% of their electricity from wind power. If Germany can do it, the US should be able to do it, too. Wouldn't you think? I think it is not a matter of "can we do it", but "do we want to do it". 
Today, you are being put in the difficult position to decide whether you want to do the right thing, or give in to various powers. Are you strong enough? Or will you too resort to the "I was just following orders" excuse? 
In the 60s and 70s in Germany and Austria, kids would ask their grand-parents "How could you have contributed to the Nazi regime?" When you're a grand- or great-grand-parent, you can tell your children proudly, that you stood up against the powerful, and did what was right to do. And they will look at you with eyes wide open of admiration and feel proud of being your grand-child! 
Thank you for your consideration and support, 

I see it as my responsibility to attempt to wake up the regulators, by providing information. The same information they must have received many, many times; and most likely pondered themselves many, many times. However, what they do with the information is their responsibility. 
I am realistic enough to not expect too much of a change. But I am also optimistic enough to hope that sooner or later even the nuclear power lobby and regulators will be able to go beyond their denial and understand the damage they are causing. And maybe my email is the last straw that causes the denial to crack, and with that, prepare for a change later... 
I see it is as my responsibility to attempt to make you aware of the situation, by providing that information to you. The same information that many forces are trying to keep away from you, to distort and deflect for many years. However, what you do with this information is your responsibility.

The Center of The Universe

Since I am alive, my brain receives signals about what is happening around me, and how it impacts me. The first natural attitude is, that I am the center of the Universe. There is me, and then there is everything around me. What ever happens around me affects me. I feel it. I enjoy it, or suffer it. It is impacting me. I experience everything from my standpoint outward; I am the center.
After a while, as I matured, I came to understand that although I am at the center of MY universe, I am not the center of THE Universe.
This is an important step in the personal development. Once I understand this, my attitude towards the rest of the world changes. What I wanted or needed used to be the highest priority to me. Nothing else really mattered. I wanted what I wanted, and I wanted it now! With the realization that I am just one of many actors in this whole play, that this play is not about me, but I am about this play, my priorities change. I can accept something that has a less positive effect on me, when I see that it has a much more positive effect on somebody else.
I think, one could call this attitude Love. The first time I realized intellectually what Love really is, was, when my daughter was just a baby. She had contracted the cold and was suffering a lot. She didn't now what was happening with her; the congested sinuses and the running nose made her just really miserable. When I saw her suffering like this, I noticed, that I was thinking to myself, I would trade having a cold myself for ten times the duration she would have it, if that would relief her misery. I would trade feeling bad myself to help somebody else feel bad. I was no longer the center of the Universe, but had stepped aside and allowed something outside of me become it – at least for a moment.
There was another observation, I experienced a few times: Whenever I did not put myself first, but stepped back, and sacrificed my comfort for somebody else, it made me happy. And that happiness seemed to come from deep inside of me. It was a warm, strong, fulfilling feeling. At other times in my life, I have tried to make myself feel happy through other means: shopping, relationships, travel, sex, anything. But, I had to realize, that although these things made me feel good for the moment, that feeling good didn't last for long after the actual experience had ended. Also, it was just a superficial feeling. It was only skin-deep; where as the happiness from having been able to do something nice for somebody else came from inside, and radiated its warmth through the whole me.
OK. So in short, in the beginning I saw myself as the center of the universe. Later, I realized that I wasn't but one of many participants.
I think, we as a species need to go through the same developmental steps. We believe that we humans are the reason for everything, we are crown of the creation, the rest is there just to support us. I think that is not so. I think we are part of this creation just like everything else. We are not the center, nor the most important thing. I don't even think we are any more important than any other element in this world.
While we still think of ourselves as being the sole purpose of this world, we treat everything else with no respect, no appreciation. We pollute our environment. We take material out of the natural cycle, and create stuff that nature can not recycle anymore. We raid the planet of all its natural resources, clear-cut forests, drain rivers, over-fish our oceans, and so much more!
We, as a species, are at the developmental stage of a toddler.
I think, it is important for us to grow up and mature. We need to realize, that the human species is not the center of the Universe, but just an element in it.
For me personal, that means, that I do not just try to look out for other people, but for the creation as a whole. F I have to choose between my comfort, another person's comfort, and the creations well-being, I need to keep all three parties in mind. Just as I might prefer to be sick myself, instead of my daughter, I might prefer to be a little warm and not burn the energy it would require to cool down the place. I might choose to hang the clothes on the line, instead of sticking it in the dryer. Or I might choose to live close to work, and drive a bicycle or scooter rather than a big car.
Still, it always is my choice. I do not let anybody else dictate what I should do; but I try to listen to what others have to say, and learn from them. Neither do I want to tell anybody else what they should do. But I am trying to explain my thought-processes and ideas, so others may inspired by them...

To summarize, I observed that we humans tend to first see ourselves as the center of the Universe. Later we widen the circle to allow our family and friends to be in the center too. Often, the one or other group we feel to be part of is next. Perceived class, religious affiliation, race, region or country are typical examples for such groups. Eventually, we might get to the point where we see all of humanity to be at the center of the Universe. But we should not stop there, but continue on, and accept, that if there is some such thing as a center of the Universe, it might only be the whole creation.
Real happiness comes from within, and fulfillment can only be achieved by not putting myself first. This is true for me as an individual, as well, as for us as a species...

Rethinking Spirituality

Traditionally, spirituality had much to do with mysticism, esoteric, and unexplainable things. I think, though, it is possible to use logic and rational thinking when defining one's spiritual system, too. Usually, if we do not understand something, we tend to find mystical explanations. Thunder and lightnings were considered to be a sign for God to be angry. Today we know it is just a natural phenomena, and we understand why it is happening. I think, the same is happening for most of our mystical explanations: once we learn more, we can start to understand what is happening and why.
In my quest to find my own spiritual frame-work, I observed that too. There are many instances, where we choose to believe a mystical explanation, but after thinking things through carefully, a logical, rational explanation can be found.
There are always aspects that can not explained, where we have to just decide to believe something. Anything about this physical world that we live in, has the potential of being explainable – some of it we already are able to understand, much of it we still have to figure out. Anything that goes beyond our physical existence will never be provable, but remain a matter of personal belief. I find, though, that for anything we can explain, we shouldn't continue to use a mystical concept. Just because we can understand what is happening, doesn't make it any less miraculous, any less wonder-full. It is actually even more amazing.
However, the idea of replacing mystical tales with the real explanations when possible, is a major break from the traditional spiritual teachings of our religions. Changes are always met with resistance. People always try to fight new ideas, new perspectives. Especially, when it comes to spiritual topics. Eventually, though, we adapt and embrace these new concepts.
This website (www.toolOfTheUniverse.org) is dedicated to rethink traditional spiritual approaches, replace out-dated mystical tales with logical, rational explanations. What struck me by surprise first, and excitement and happiness later, was the fact, that many of these new ideas actually meet exactly much of what is described in many of the old spiritual scriptures like the Bible, the Qu'ran, the Bhagavad Gītā, and others. They are just different ways of looking at the analogies, different interpretations of the models. Once we allow ourselves to put aside traditional interpretations, which are so colored by the culture and limited understanding of the world from the time when they were formulated, we can see the actual message. Once we remove the packaging, we can get a glimpse of the real content – and that content is amazing, beautiful, and hope-inspiring!
I am excited about these new perspectives for two reasons:
first, so many analogies and stories from the old scriptures make so much more sense now, and are so much more relevant and applicable to my life in the 21st century, than with the traditional interpretations.
And secondly, a world is now much more feasible, where all humans are living in peace with each other and the environment. The traditional spiritual guidelines try to force peace onto us from the outside. There are rules; must-do's and don't do's, judgment and punishment. The new perspective works from the inside. It is based on understanding. Peace results as a logical consequence of the inner attitude towards this world and all humans. It is no longer our fear for punishment, that prevents us from doing something we ought not to do. It is our understanding of our role, and our eagerness to fulfill this role, that makes us want to do what needs to be done.
There is no longer a disconnect between what is going on in my life and in my spirituality. No more contradictions, or unexplainable rules. Things start to make sense! My spirituality now is clear, easy to understand, very relevant and applicable to my life as “spirited animal” of this world. It turns into a life-style, it permeates everything that I do: my work, my personal life, my relationships, the way I deal with my kids, my siblings, parents and everybody else. It gives me direction and purpose.
I am eternally thankful for having been allowed to learn about this new approach. I am tremendously hopeful, that we humans will be able to turn around and stop destroying each other and the world we live in. And I am excited to be part of the generation where this new understanding is starting to crystallize and the long awaited Spiritual (R)evolution is happening!

The best tool

Imagine you were to cook a nice meal. You need to cut up some vegetables. Which, of all the utensils in your kitchen, would you use for that task? The refrigerator? The toaster? Maybe the ladle? Of course not. You'd use the knife. You'd use the tool that best supports the task you want to accomplish.
I believe the Universe uses the same strategy. Whenever anything needs to be done, it sends the best suited person into the situation, and hopes that that person will first of all understand what needs to be done, and secondly, choose to accomplish the task.
Imagine you want to cut a tomato, but the knife is “just not cutting it”. I guess, you'd try to sharpen your knife, right? Well, I think the Universe is doing the same thing. It sends us into situations to learn and to grow, to make us more effective. Even the best knife needs sharpening. Even the best tool of the Universe can grow and become better.
When I came to the realization, that I am the best tool available to the Universe for the situations I find myself in, I made a conscious decision:

I want to always try to be the best tool I can be!

To support this quest, I am particularly careful about resulted in my personal goals for me:

I am always trying to understand what the Universe might need me to do
I am always trying to choose what needs to be done over what I want to do