“Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.” Thomas Jefferson
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| Thomas Jefferson Memorial--"Tyranny Over the Mind of Man" |
Shortly after I penned 12 Golden Keys in 2004,1 I visited the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. At the time, I was pondering the significance of the Keys and how I should best utilize them to help myself and others. I found my answer that day in the rotunda of the grand Memorial through the following statement by Thomas Jefferson that is engraved inside and around the Monument’s dome: “I Swore Upon the Altar Of God Eternal Hostility Against Every Form of Tyranny Over The Mind Of Man.” In the moments after reading those thought-provoking words, I came to understand, with clarity, that 12 Golden Keys was an antidote for “Self-Tyranny”—a concept born to me in that instant. The sudden realization that 12 Golden Keys would help people stop hurting themselves through Self-Tyranny literally sent chills down my spine. With that realization, came a strong sense of responsibility that I should use them to make a difference in the world. 12 Golden Keys and Self-Tyranny have been inextricably linked to me since that day.
The premise of this message is that most people, or even all people to some extent, engage in self-destructive mental practices that are akin to acts of tyranny over their minds. When we do so, by analogy, it is as though we have a tyrant inside of us (by invitation, no less), who is fully engaged in helping us tear ourselves down. Sadly, human history is full of examples of powerful tyrants who destroyed lives, cultures, and entire societies for their own purposes or for no purpose at all. It is vexing to look inside ourselves and realize that we, likewise, live with a tyrant inside our minds. How so?
In order to understand the concept of Self-Tyranny, we must first understand some key components of tyranny itself that include: 1. Absolute rule by a controlling person or party; 2. Denial of essential and basic human rights; and 3. Use of force and brutality to win the will or absolute obedience of the people. The tragic result of tyrannical rule or force is literally dehumanized humans--people who seem to have lost all hope, who appear unable to fight back, and who sometimes resign themselves to their supposed fate. The tyrant slaughters his own people for his own glory and gain--without the slightest regard for fundamental human rights and dignity. History teaches that while the tyrant’s iron-fisted crimes against humanity cannot be erased, the tyrant often dies ignominiously at the hand of resilient and spirited humans who have had enough, who will take no more, and who will pay any price to restore life and living.
With that understanding of tyranny as it might look in the world and how it is sometimes stopped, now consider the same components of tyranny as they can be reflected in our minds and lives. How is it any different for an outside dictator to deny us of our right to enjoy the fruits of living than for us to routinely engage in thoughts and behavior that effectually takes us to the same end--loss of life, liberty, and happiness? Tragically, it could be argued, the most common form of tyranny on earth is the kind we inflict upon ourselves—Self-Tyranny. Tyrannical thought patterns--those that are full of self-loathing, self-hate, self-infliction of emotional scars, self-harm, and sometimes even self-brutality—stop and limit us because they lead to potentially destructive and degrading behaviors. Harmful thought patterns take a direct toll on our lives because they will be reflected in our actions to one degree or another.
Our thoughts become our actions, for instance, as we learn from our caregivers, loved ones, and role models that we are simply not good enough, that we are the cause of others’ pains and problems because of our imperfections, and that we simply don’t measure up. We take those destructive thought patterns, bottle them up, and pay a big price by the way those things impact our lives. We end up not really liking how we look, how we act, or who we are so we turn against ourselves.
That can mean a lot of things but, as limited examples only, we might self-medicate, self-abuse, engage in highly risky and destructive behaviors. We could suffer extreme depression, anxiety or other physical maladies that tend to invade a broken mind and body. We might have difficulty with relationships, difficulty controlling our moods or reactions, difficulty keeping a job, and just difficulty living day to day. At some point we have to look deep inside ourselves, recognize what we are doing and how it hurts us, and then take brave, directed steps to put an end to the tyrant’s reign of self-terror. How do we do that?
We can overcome our tendency for Self-Tyranny by better understanding who we are, what we are capable of, and how we can best work together with others. 12 Golden Keys gives you a series of truisms that flow from self; to family and friends and God; and ends with the Golden Rule.
You must start by grappling with your self-worth until you believe and then know that your life matters. You maintain that viewpoint by accepting your imperfections, by working on controlling and changing yourself rather sapping your energy by focusing on things you cannot control. You work on having balance in your life—engaging in physical, mental, social, and spiritual activities that bring you peace and joy. In the process you see that you are not alone and never have been. You stop dwelling on an unchangeable past and actively begin remolding your future around things that matter most, like family, friends, and God. When you do that you begin to seize the moment, choose happiness, share love, and live the Golden Rule by treating others the way they want to be treated and the way you would want to be treated in their shoes.
12 Golden Keys are Guideposts, handles, or triggers to help you in this process of defeating Self-Tyranny. You can find more extensive help in nature, meditation, art, scripture, literature, and poetry. In some cases, and we should not be afraid of this possibility, the help of professional counseling or medicine may be in order. Seek and you will find answers. Fortunately for all us, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood the human soul and how to overcome personal and societal obstacles by changing the world first from inside ourselves and then on the outside.
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| Dr. Martin Luther King, U.S. Capitol |
In 1957 at a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King delivered a sermon titled “Forgiving Your Enemies.” He had written the speech while sitting in jail for committing acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. Getting right to his message in the first two sentences of his speech, Dr. King eloquently admonished the congregation on the connection of forgiveness and love: “First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”
In this masterpiece about reconciliation through forgiveness and love, Dr. King opened the eyes of the audience and the world to the practical and theoretical reasons why man must forgive and love his enemies:
"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.”
Clearly, as proven by his life, Dr. King was focused on stopping people and society from their “descending spiral of destruction” so he urged the listeners to remember that there is good and bad in everyone. Then he made the following enlightened statement about our divided natures: “Each of us has something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves. A persistent civil war rages within all of our lives.” Dr. King exhorted all people to not only recognize the internal warfare in our minds but to move beyond it, conquer it, and put it behind us by looking beyond the surface and into the light of our own and others’ hearts. He explained the concept as follows:
"This simply means that there is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. When we look beneath the surface, beneath the impulsive evil deed, we see within our enemy-neighbor a measure of goodness and know that the viciousness and evilness of his acts are not quite representative of all that he is. We see him in a new light."
I agree with Dr. King. We are often literally at war with ourselves, let alone fighting with others. Sometimes we struggle to move forward in the face of our personal challenges, backgrounds, and feelings of inadequacy and doubt. We have the power within ourselves to stop the internal fighting, to change who we are and how we act. We need to accept that there is good in us and even some bad. By accepting that reality we gain the power to forgive ourselves, to love ourselves, and to be a light to others.
We can rewrite our scripts and change our lives. 12 Golden Keys can help you come to better value and accept yourself, more effectively work closely with others, and give you the strength to reach outside yourself in order to make a broader and more positive difference in your world. Literally, 12 Golden Keys, in combination with other tools you use or beliefs you maintain, can help you develop yourself from the inside and allow you then to positively affect the world outside of you. They can be a catalyst to help you advance from the inside out.
1 Please see my October 9, 2011 article “12 Golden Keys—An Introduction to the world for a full discussion on the origins of the Keys that were written on December 17, 2004. For your convenience, the keys are listed here:
12 Golden Keys
1. Your life matters
2. Learn from your mistakes
3. Nobody is perfect
4. You can only control and change yourself
5. You must have balance
6. You are never alone
7. You can’t change the past, you can only shape the future
8. Put the Divine at the center of your existence and family and friends at the center of your life
9. Live in the moment—there is no time like now
10. Choose to be happy even when life is not fair
11. Commit to make a difference through unconditional love
12. Live the Golden Rule
(Copyright © 2004 Steven Burge. All rights reserved.)
