Just My Opinion

 When the world is having trouble, try not to allow it to have a deep impact on your peace. The first step is to avoid opinions. Even avoid having your own opinions as much as possible. This will bring about more peace in your life. You see, in order to judge, you must first form an opinion. Once an opinion is formed, it obviously has a shape. If the shape of your opinion will not fit into the spaces other people have prepared, you’ll be the most uneasy person in that room.

Let us look at an extreme case: Racism. Racism only exists for two reasons: 1. Fear, and 2. The Unknown.

I recall setting up a meeting with a man named Lawrence, who lived in a north Georgia town. We were meeting near Town Center in Kennesaw. Now, while the distance is not really that great, the differences were. We were sitting at a table in an upscale restaurant, and nearly every race was represented among the clientele. Lawrence had never been exposed to races other than his own. He was a 30-something white male at the time. Lawrence was visibly concerned. When anyone of any other race would approach, he would twist around to watch them come near and then to watch them leave. The look on his face…

Anyway, as we sat there, I began to observe Lawrence. He was not a bad person. He did not feel superior to these other people; it was just incredibly unfamiliar to him, and he was uneasy as a result. Where he lived, the news from Atlanta would show constant streams of bad players who were often also representatives of other races. I had never really thought about the way this kind of data could contaminate a belief system. Lawrence was not really guilty of judging as much as he was guilty of forming his opinions with limited data. Lawrence came to that meeting with his opinions, and those opinions were not in the right shape to fit the reality he found himself in.

This sort of pre-forming of opinions will make you feel uneasy in a political situation or a religious function; and the list goes on.

Some people take pride in being an avid birdwatcher, but if you could talk to any bird, he or she would be much more of a human-watcher. Humans only have trichromatic vision, while birds have tetrachromatic vision. This means that a bird can literally see things you cannot see.
This imbalance is the same across the entire spectrum of all senses. In fact, no one can see what you see. No one can remember things the way you remember them. And, perhaps more importantly, no one can dream what you are dreaming of. This is exactly why it is critical that you do something with your dreams. If you do not pursue your dreams of the future, then the future will be drastically different for everyone — including yourself.

You have desire based on your own appetite for a better future.
Take competition out of that same desire and then begin to pursue it. This is actually a selfless act. The only time we should reconsider a dream is when that dream, if fulfilled, would interfere with the dream of another.

The easiest way to see this is to consider someone standing close to you with a one-hundred-dollar bill in her hand. You see the cash and you want it. If you take it from her hand, your dream of having it is fulfilled — but also very wrong.
Of course, I promised to be obvious with this, but suppose it is less obvious:
What if you want a promotion at work, and suppose several people are all trying to get the same position? If you get that promotion, it instantly interferes with someone else’s dream.
What is the difference between these examples?
There is no difference.
Does this mean that you cannot dream of having $100 or getting a new job? No, but it means that you should yield to universal consciousness rather than trust your own judgment of the situation.

Can I possibly tie all of this together?
I am only talking about Opinionated Perception.
There is a much better flow waiting for everyone who will accept the terms set out by Love.
Am I guilty of having an opinion? Yes.
The shape of my opinion will not always fit in the spaces other people have prepared.
This is very hard for me. It’s subtly like having a favorite band and a favorite song by that band. You hear it and you enjoy it so much. You want others to get this, so you play the song for them and, one by one, they respond the way you’d respond to Yoko Ono. After a few attempts, you begin to wonder why people cannot get it. Perception requires tailored reception. If I tell my friend in Canada to dial her radio to 101.7 FM, to hear this new song, she won’t hear it. She may even hear a totally different song on the same frequency. Even when others dial in to the identical frequencies, perception can easily vary based on the details regarding the reception.

The Barfield Rainbow

I may be able to see it, and it is possible that you cannot — even if we are standing very close in proximity.
It is the same for every experience.

Think about the repetitious line in Hudsucker Proxy, “You know, for kids.”
In the movie, Norville Barnes, played by Tim Robbins, shows others a perfect circle drawn on a piece of paper and, with no real explanation, he says, “You know, for kids.”
I think Norville = Neville, and Barnes = Barfield.
The entire script is about Saving the Appearances.
When Norville was showing everyone his idea, they simply could not see what he saw.
Is this familiar?

Can I tell you what some of Neville’s critics say?

1. Vague and prone to misinterpretation

2. Incomplete

3. Contrary to fundamental views

This is exactly what happened to Norville.

What do critics sometimes say about Owen Barfield?

1. Too much potential for misrepresentation

2. Oversimplified

This is why I believe the Norville Barnes character was either based on Neville and Barfield — or at least should have been.

When someone says that an opinion has been “formed,” why would they use that term?

Because opinions develop as forms.
This is not simply unhealthy; it can be dangerous. If you were to allow yourself to form your opinions based on what a depraved cult leader is teaching, you could easily find that your story no longer fits anywhere you find societal molds. It is not as difficult as it would seem to become misled enough to form the wrong kinds of opinions. And when these opinions form, you may find yourself feeling out of place in places where you are not really as out of place as you imagine.
Wherever there are norms, there are forms.

If I were to attend a typical church service on Sunday, I would not fit in. In most cases, the doctrines of any religion, or its manifold splits, will include specific teachings. These are the norms within that appearance. Of course, I come in with my Neville and Barfield influences, and I just cannot fit in.
If a skate fish were to attend a church for birds, its innocent colorblindness would probably limit the information it could gather there. The birds would not only see the three colors of their curriculum; they’d also use and see the UV lights coming from the big screens up front. The skate fish would lean over to its nearest bird-friend and say, “I am so sorry, but this is just not for me; I cannot see what you obviously see here.”
The sweet bird agrees and says, “Next week, I will go to your church.”
At the skate-fish church, the bird begins to wonder why the audience would be satisfied with the black and white diagrams. The bird leans over to the skate fish and says, “I am sorry, but I have gotten used to colors and UV lights; this just doesn’t do a thing for me.”

I am only trying to sing a new church into being.
And I am not at all alone.
What makes us different is what makes us strong.
Do not form your opinion based on mine. In fact, the formation of opinions is our greatest obstacle.

Black/White
Chevy/Ford
Dodgers/Braves
America/Europe

And it goes on forever.
It is one thing to lean into your likes and dislikes, and quite another thing to make an agenda out of them.
This will certainly be very hard to get away from. However, it is necessary in order for humans to evolve. Think of the bombardment of advertisements; what are they all trying to do?
They are trying to persuade you to form an opinion. If you will simply believe that a brand is superior because it costs more, then the cost will be justified by this common faith in the brand.
No?
Just look at a one-hundred-dollar bill and consider the temptation to choose it over a one-dollar bill.
The most obvious difference in the two bills is the two zeros that follow the ones.
While a zero usually stands for nothing, we have collectively agreed that zeros to the right of any number will increase the value of the number. This requires faith.
This is branding at its finest. No matter how well you design your one-dollar bill, or how plainly you design the one-hundred-dollar bill, the perceived value is a collective one and requires belief in the system that dictates this difference in the two bills.

If I were to take a one-dollar bill into a jewelry shop and ask a salesperson what I could buy, they’d tell me that I could not buy a thing. I could argue with them and tell them that this one-dollar bill was a very good one, and it would not matter. I could take out a hundred, and their opinion would be different — and there is really very little difference in the two bills. The faith in them, however, is significantly unique.
Money is a belief system, based on society’s collective acceptance of its value. It requires individual faith for the whole system to work properly.
The value is justified by faith in the brand.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ Romans 5:1 KJV
Exactly.

Think of a very expensive purse. Is it justified by its quality? Is it justified by its size or ability?
No.
It is justified by faith.

“Not of works, lest any man should boast.” ~ Ephesians 2:9 KJV

It is my hope that you will see this as I am trying to present it: Collective belief is collective faith. Faith yields value.
And this is what I am trying to undo. I would like to see our collective faith going back into the value of souls and away from conformity.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” ~ Romans 12:2 KJV

It is crucial that we do not form opinions. This has nothing to do with likes or dislikes. Opinions are judgments based on evidence that does not yield certainty.
This is when your likes and dislikes begin to take shape. This is when you have “FORMED AN OPINION.”
And this is what divides us.
This will not harm a soul. In fact, everyone will be better off as fewer people form opinions.
Forming an opinion is equal to being conformed.
I think the Western spelling of that word is brilliant: Con + Form.
What are advertisers doing? Conning.
What are we doing if we are formed by the cons? Conforming.
What does Webster say it means to con? “To cause to believe what is untrue.”
So what does it mean to conform? It is the very act of believing the con.
To conform to something is to give it the same shape as the outline.

Should advertisers stop advertising? No. That’s not the place to begin. The better place to look would be within. And even then, it is up to each individual to be transformed by the renewing of their own mind.
It is better, by far, not to allow any system to tell you who you are.
Whenever you see the norm, remember it is a form.
For one to be conned is for one to have donned the clothes one is told to put on.
If someone shows you a pair of shoes they paid $2,000 for, smile and congratulate them and be happy for them, but never assume you should conform to that standard. This is the absolute perfect metaphor because you know that your feet will fit into shoes you could buy for under $100 in 2025 currency.
Believing that your feet would only fit into the most expensive pair of shoes is proof that you’ve been conned.

Everything about your life story is the same as this. You are not limited to THE SYSTEM. You can be transformed. This literally means that you could go to any place and hang out with any crowd and fit in — especially if you do not have hardening of opinion.

“When in Rome.”

That is not really in the Bible, but it was inspired by Paul’s ability to fit in and adapt. As we are all being encouraged to do right now.

Acceptance is the greatest action Love will ever perform.