The Gray Wolf Moral Compass
The second step of becoming a Gray Wolf is to learn how to choose the correct each day.
By knowing your true self, you will know your true feelings; what is true for you in a given situation. True feelings are not binary facts, they are preference based and unique to you in the moment. The Gray Wolf pathways of honor and integrity will show you what is right for the individual and others. Balancing the Right and the True will lead to the Correct choice for daily action. This brings great power and harmony to the Gray Wolf.
The True, Right, and Correct are your companions for life. How you deal with them moment to moment, day to day will determine how much peace and prosperity you enjoy.
Balancing the True and the Right help you arrive at the Correct action.
Balance between the emotional feeling and the logical mind is necessary. Too dominated by one force means you cannot be peaceful or pleasant.
The Entitled will see only one side. The Earned path sees all sides. Entitled is good for one, Earned is good for many. Entitled will follow their own voice and impulse, Earned follows the voice of the correct. Entitled leads to pain and isolation, Earned leads to balance, peace, and prosperity.
Commentary:
The idea of the True, Right, and Correct being “companions” is appropriate. Think of them like the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other. It’s an example of the duality of life and a reminder that you are not your thoughts. The imagery can aid in creating space between you and your companions; your thoughts.
We arrive at the correct action when we can sit in the middle as an observer. We get into trouble when we lean too far into one of the other. There are facts and there are feelings, the correct action is a balance of those two.
This is similar to the concept of the yin and the yang; we must stand with one foot in chas an the other in order. Too far in either direction gets us in trouble.
The moral compass leads you to great strength of mind and body.
Those who practice Gray Wolf morals use a powerful system for making decisions. The system is based on a triangle of relationships.
The True refers to your inner state at any given moment, how you feel about something at this exact moment in time. The inner state might be fear, joy, anger, sadness, or love. How you feel about something determines what you choose to do about it. This “True” leads to a choice that leads to one or more possible actions in response to the circumstances.
The True → Choice → Action
But which, if any of these choices, is the Correct thing to do under the circumstances?
The choice of action that will be the best for everyone involved is the Correct choice. The goal is to do that which is Correct in all aspects of life.
As an example:
Suppose a child complains to his or her parents about how difficult a homework problem is. The parents feel a strong desire to jump in and do the problem for the child. In this case the “Truth” is compassion. What should the parent do? There are many choices:
1. Scold the child for lack of self-efficacy
2. Do the problem for the child
3. Instruct the child to ask the teacher for help the next day
4. Teach the child the principle behind the problem and let the child follow through on their own
The parents wish to cultivate self-respect and independent thinking for the child. Thus, the parents choose action four, which turns out to be the Correct choice in this case. There may be examples where the other options are the Correct path, but not in this case.
A compassionate parent will be tempted to choose action two and do the problem for the child. This is a decision made from "True" without the balance of the "Right". Not allowing the child an opportunity to earn is hurtful to the child in the future.
When the True is balanced with the Right, the choice leads to the Correct action. In this sense, the triangle system serves as a compass to guide you in correct behavior in daily life. It's based on Gray Wolf principles and weighted by your long-term personal priorities.
Commentary:
We are experiencing a generation trapped in perpetual childhood. Young adults robbed of the opportunity to earn as children are now struggling out in the world. Many people believe that allowing others, especially children, to struggle is “mean”.
The earned path traveler knows better. Not allowing them to earn through the appropriate amount of struggle is the meanest thing to do. Choosing to carry someone that is capable of learning how to walk on their own is crippling them for life. Crippling someone for life to feel good at the moment doesn't sound nice. It sounds selfish.
Here’s an anecdote from Grand Master Mike:
Parents should understand how much their children can endure and push them to that limit. This will help them develop self-efficacy, and the ability to earn. At a certain age, they should have responsibilities like chores. Then, as they become adults they should be responsible for paying for rent and food if they are still at home.
When they go off to college or to live on their own, the parent can give them all the money they have collected back. This might help the yound adult get started. Money is not the important thing to the parent. Giving their child the opportunity to learn how to earn is the important thing. It provides the child the skills to have a much better future.
To not allow your child to struggle is not nice. It's the meanest, cruelest thing to do your kid. If you want them to be happy, capable adults you have to teach them to earn.
Compassion often leads to being “nice” which is considered “good”.
I’m not so sure that’s the case.
The Gray Wolf Moral Compass
How To Use The Gray Wolf Moral Compass
The moral compass has been handed down over the centuries. This version of the compass is The Gray Wolf Compass. It will help practitioners of Gray Wolf morals make the correct decisions.
It is not a hand-held compass. Instead, it's located inside every human being. Based on correct thinking and correct judgment, it is often likened to “conscience”.
To know yourself is to become aware of this special compass and how to use it. It will allow you to increase the well-being of the individual, the family, and others. It will also lead you to great internal and external strength, peace, and freedom.
Based on their experience, most travelers can only make decisions from the Right or the True. Without knowledge of the compass, they don't think about the Correct. They do not know themselves or their priorities. Thus they are not able to tap into the compass that helps us identify the Correct daily action.
The Moral Compass Leads To Power and Freedom
By applying the Gray Wolf compass you will balance the True and the Right to reach the Correct. This gives you enormous power. This true power is the byproduct of five positive abilities:
1. Understanding self, others and reality better
2. Acquiring more knowledge
3. Gaining a better position
4. Making the correct choices
5. Exercising good judgment through wisdom
Through this power, you will have true freedom. Failure to use this compass leads to ignorance and arrogance. Believing they have power that they do not, arrogant humans are fooling themselves. Arrogance deceives humans into thinking they have freedom where they do not. What kind of freedom is there in being alone? Being alone and isolated helps no one. Where are your “earnings”? Where is the value if you are alone? It does not exist.
The arrogant man is the king of his own island. He owns everything on the island. What does this mean? What value does it have? Because he is alone it means nothing and has no value at all.
The arrogant human hears only what he wants to hear out of all that is being said. He then tries to use this “selective hearing” and confirmation bias to his advantage. He releases his pain in ways that inflict pain and suffering on others. He only pretends to help others to gain their favor. His compass is not the Gray Wolf compass, but the compass of ego and self-promotion. He aspires to the top but uses a strategy that will consign him to the bottom.
Arrogance is driven by the Entitled.
Beware “Doe Chi”
The pitfalls of arrogance and selfishness are clear, so why do some humans follow them? How do they fail to follow their own, internal moral compass? The answer is “Doe Chi” - being drunk on your own ideas, thoughts, and words. Doe Chi is a form of tunnel vision. Only self-interest is visible, the viewer fails to see the bigger picture. How can you expect to make the Correct choice when you see only yourself, confined within your own space?
Consider getting married. How do you judge whether to propose? If you find this person outwardly attractive and have a ten-minute long first date, would you decide to propose? No, you would probably want to know more about the person, make sure that you get along, and have similar life goals. You’ll probably want to know about their family history and how they react to the world.
If you do not see the whole picture, you cannot arrive at the Correct decision.
The Inner Workings of The Gray Wolf Moral Compass
The Gray Wolf compass allows you to transcend decisions based on the True or the Right. Connected to your sensations, the True gathers information through the senses. This first wave of perception registers in your mind and informs you about how you feel. The five senses create your feeling at the moment. That feeling is True. But we cannot trust it to make decisions.
From the Master Key of Wisdom:
“For example, suppose you are walking down the street and see a man running out from a store who knocks another man down to the ground. Your first impression may be that this behavior is violent and cruel. Your “momentary truth” is that the man from the store is an aggressor and should be stopped. You are strongly motivated to rescue the man on the ground by using force. Based on your current level of understanding this action would be the Right action.
Wait. A woman comes running out of the store and points to the man on the ground who is trying to get free of his captor. “That guy stole my purse!” she yells. At that point, you notice the “victim” from your previous understanding is clutching a purse hidden in his jacket. This throws a new light on the situation and you immediately jump in to hold down the very man you just felt like rescuing. “
By gaining perspective on the situation, you can use your compass. The compass allows you to observe a wider context and in greater detail. You can see clearly what was distant to you a moment ago by using the compass to expand your mind. You are now seeing from far away (principle) and up close (momentary truth). Thus, you are now more likely to make the Correct decision or take the Correct course of action.
The Gray Wolf Moral Compass gives you the ability to see distant things up close and to see close things at a distance. You begin to live to the level of wisdom. At this level, your actions will begin to produce the earned seeds of balance, harmony, and peace.
Commentary:
Sobriety is important.
Being drunk on our own ideas shows up as extreme fear, greed, or euphoria, leading to poor decisions.
Fear and greed are the obvious ones. Euphoria is tricker. It's like warning your sister that she just married a sketch ball. In the moment, she is so euphoric about the marriage she will be blind to reality.
"Can't you just let me be happy!?"
Words of a traveler drunk on their own euphoria.
"The honeymoon phase" is used as a warning for a reason.
In our programs we have developed frameworks using filters of logic, reasoning, and evidence. These are to prevent us from being drunk on our own ideas. or making decisions when we are not in a state of mental sobriety.
Action organizes.
Action and impulsivity are not synonymous. It's important ti distinguish between the two. It’s wise to reserve judgment and allow more light to come into the situation before taking action.
Guard Your Compass.
Choose the Correct.
THREE LEVELS OF LIGHT
How clearly do you actually see things? A Gray Wolf should be aware of how much light is present in a situation, and when we are being deceived.
There are three levels of light:
Level One: Dim Light
(Perception of the senses)
The five senses show us a very shallow, surface-level view of a situation. They are often referred to as the five thieves because they can steal our perception and lead to false judgment. When we “judge a book by its cover” we are operating with dim light. The sense of sight is robbing us of the ability to gauge reality.
We have the perception that this level of light is bright and clear. We believe we see things in all their colors, and hear sounds clearly. But, this is a delusion. This light is very dim. It illuminates only enough to give us a glimpse of the ever-changing momentary truth. Throughout the centuries, decisions based on momentary truth have led to disagreements. What seemed right at the moment created misunderstanding and strained relationships. Decisions made in a dim lim do not produce harmony, but instead discourse.
Mistaking a dim light for a bright light makes it impossible to understand cause and effect. This flashed feedback loop turns us into victims. Our senses have blinded us to both the role we play and the role of others.
Level Two: Moderate Light
(Understanding of the mind)
Understanding of the mind is what we consider “knowledge”. Decisions made from a moderate level of light tend to be “right”.
We bring more light into the situation by integrating what we perceive with what we know to be true.
Moderate light can be achieved through experience and reflection. Our actions, in this light, are more likely to be Correct.
Still, this is not efficient. We are still limited by our perception and current level of experience. What is missing is the enduring connection to unchanging principles.
Level Three: Bright Light
(Wisdom To See The invisible)
Viewing the situation from the perspective of unchanging principle opens the “invisible eye”. This invisible eye is like seeing inside the Matrix. It's where we make our decisions based on wisdom. Such decisions are always Correct. Wisdom guides us to act in the interest of producing more harmony, peace, joy, and lasting strength. Not for ourselves, but for everyone involved.
Thus, in using the Gray Wolf Compass of True/Right/Correct, you are guided to higher levels of wisdom. As you make decisions using your Gray Wolf Compass your decision-making improves.
When you walk by your favorite food your mouth starts to water. This is a Pavlovian response to your previous experience with that food. You don't have to think about making your mouth water, it just happens. If you practice using your Gray Wolf Compass it will have a similar effect. You will begin to make more decisions from a place of wisdom without trying.
It becomes who you are.
Commentary:
The senses are important because they help us with the mundane. They allow us to occupy the same space, in daily life, without complete chaos.
These same senses are responsible for blinding humans with beauty. Or rendering us defenseless against the eloquent.
Knowledge is also important. It allows us to measure and calculate. But, getting stuck at the level of knowledge is akin to having a business degree and mistaking it for having a business. I know many people with a business degree that can’t run a lemonade stand. At the extreme, it's like having three degrees and a Ph.D. and still not being able to get your lemonade to work.
Humans stuck in this level are too busy being “right” or seeking validation to be effective or useful.
The level of bright light is the level of wisdom. Bright light does not come easy, it comes through repeated effort and awareness.
The key word is restraint. We must overcome the urge to act out of impulse. Restraint allows for more light to come into the situation.
Another anecdote from Grand Master Mike:
Three men decide to climb a mountain.
The first was walking a trail when he saw the mountain. From his vantage point, it was jaw-droppingly beautiful. He turned to his friend and said "Wow, that's beautiful. I'm going to hike to the top" His friend warned him that the desert was unforgiving and the trails were tough. He also warned him that he wouldn't want to make that climb in the shoes he was wearing.
The man, intoxicated by the beauty, ignored his friend and started to ascend the mountain. This man was operating in a dim light. He was moved by his sense that he acted completely irrationally…
How does the story end?
if it's any of the mountains I know in Arizona, he is lucky if he survived. They are beautiful, but they are unforgiving.
…The second man had studied the mountain. Purchased all the right equipment and studied the map of the trail for weeks. When he started his climb his nose was buried in the map.
All the right equipment and well prepared, he still struggled up the mountain. HE was focused on the details of the map, he had a hard time putting one foot in front of the other in reality. This is like the man that knows all the facts about the thing but cannot actually do the thing. Imagine a professor that knows all the theorems of aerodynamics but cant ride a bike.
This is level two, moderate light.
The third man has the equipment he needs and understands the map. But when he climbs is eyes are open and he looking at the trails. He is looking to see where the animals are and how they scale the mountain. He has enough technical knowledge to survive the mountain and enough experience to thrive on the mountain. Unlike the second man, his wisdom allows him to adapt to the reality of the situation.
This is level three, bright light.
Our senses will fool us if we let them. We must understand that being “right” about a thing does not make us useful. If we can take the input from our senses and balance them with knowledge about a thing, we can begin to see the correct.
Guard Your Compass.
Choose the Correct
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