My Spotless Mind

The things that are going on in the world and in our country are important but they do not compare to the importance of the things that are going on in every one of our personal lives. We all have to content with issues ranging from family, mates, and friends to career, jobs, and money. On a good day dealing with our everyday lives takes some effort. There are also those times when our personal issues are in a state of chaos for one reason or another. Sometimes there are individual issues but often times it's a combination of things that we have to deal with.

Navigating our way through all of our personal experiences can be a real challenge sometimes. This navigation is more often than not done with out a road map. We really have to figure it out as we go through what we have to go through. The wonderful thing about all of the things that happens to us is that there is always a reason and purpose to our experiences. This process is based on a flow and all of us have our own flow. When we mature in our spirituality we discover that our own individual flow is not going to be enough. There is another flow that we must learn, understand, and be conscious of as we navigate on our journey to total peace

I can honestly say that I have been able to enjoy my life .I am fulfilled and I am at total peace most of the time. However it has not always been that way. It has been a long process. And as I mentioned earlier this process is one that is different for everyone. It all depends on what things are happening in each of our individual lives. When I say things I am specifically talking about the lessons that the creator brings into all of our lives every day. When we are able to understand the lessons that we are being taught on a daily basis then these lessons are able to move us towards a peaceful existence during our stay here on earth. In time these total combined lessons in all of our lives take us to a place in our life that is unparalleled to anything else we will experience.

In my book Divine Essays from the Spirit Within. I refer to this forward moving process as the Divine Flow. I call it that because it is a flow that not one of us has any control over. It is a flow that comes from the creator. This flow is something that I know that we are all born with but it takes a while before we can understand what it is all about. The only thing that we can do is live each and every day so that we are able to learn from the lessons that the creator has for each and every one of us.

It took me more than a moment before I was able to understand what the Divine flow was all about and to get on my own Divine flow. It took even a little more time before I was able to allow this Divine flow in to all aspects of my life. The primary reason why my road to discovering the Divine flow was such a difficult one was because of my personality traits. I am not afraid to admit that I am the classic type A personality and for those of you who do not know what that means. Here is an example of how my type A personality use to manifested itself in my life. On any given typical morning I would be making breakfast, doing laundry, washing dishes, cleaning the house, and paying bills. I would be doing all of these things all while getting ready for work! I know It sounds crazy; but it's true. I know that all of my fellow type A personalities know exactly what I am talking about. It was during this time in my life that I was living by my own flow instead of the Divine flow. The thing that I was able to see early was living by my own flow was putting my body, mind and spirit under enormous amounts of stress. Sadly the culmination of the stress caused by me living my life by my own flow cause me to end up in the hospital.

My personality traits were one of the major reasons that I was in crisis during that time. Unfortunately, we can not choose our personality traits the good ones or the harmful ones. I was able to manage my harmful personality traits with the help of a mental health professional. My time in therapy was one of the best things I ever did for myself. I learned how to develop new strategies for dealing with all of my personality traits especially the ones that were causing me harm. During the passage of time I was able to understand and able to piece together all of my lessons from the past and present. This allowed me to get the final pieces that I needed to complete the puzzle that led me to my own Divine flow.

I am very thankful for all of the experiences that I had to endure that led me to my Divine flow. One of the most important things that I ever learned in my life was that once I reached a certain level in my spiritual development my own flow and the Divine flow becomes the same thing.

Living your life in the Divine flow will have an enormous impact on your life. It will mean the difference between having a joy filled, event filled, happy and peaceful life or having a life that is punctuated by difficulties and struggles. I hope that I was able to get you to at the very least think about the lessons that you are learning right now. It is also at this point that I would like to ask you all a question. Are you living your life in your own flow or are you living live on the Divine flow? Think about it and Let me know. Enjoy life and I look forward to sharing with you again.

Peace and Soul

Marriage and parenting can be really difficult at times. I don't know about you, but I want to get this thing right. As a believer, there is a power that works in us to help us and aid us in every role we find ourselves in as we live out this life. That includes our roles as spouses and as parents. Hopefully, this series of articles will help shed some light on how you can tap into this power in your everyday life.

In scripture, we are instructed to live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, be filled with the Spirit, etc. All of that, of course, can sound pretty mystical and even a little freaky if we have no understanding of it. If we aren't careful, we can make this into a spiritual "twilight zone" experience that becomes very impractical and unfruitful. I don't know about you, but I'm a pretty practical person. When I am instructed in scripture to do something, I need to know how to apply that to my life in a very practical way. I believe that although the Spirit of God dwelling in us is something very supernatural, His ministry in and through us is a very practical thing. I think it is safe to say, if we are instructed to live life "in the Spirit" then we can learn how to live life "in the Spirit."

First off, we must understand that the key to living in the Spirit is learning to yield to the Holy Spirit in our lives. It's not a legalistic lifestyle of trying not to sin, it is simply becoming sensitive to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to live through us. Let me give you an example. I struggle in the area of patience sometimes. Now, part of the character of the Holy Spirit is patience. Let's say I'm stuck in traffic and cars are just inching along. I have a choice to allow myself to yield to the Holy Spirit in me and exercise patience or blast right through that Holy Spirit yield sign. Most of the time I blast right by that yield sign. We call that living in the flesh not living in the spirit. As a result, the world sees my character and not that of the Holy Spirit in me.

So often we find ourselves praying for things like patience and what God wants us to realize is that learning to be patient is directly tied to a choice on our part to yield to the Holy Spirit in us. If you are a born again believer, filled with the Holy Spirit, then the character and personality of the Spirit of God dwells in you. Believe me, its in there somewhere. You may have trouble locating it sometimes, but trust me its there. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are all attributes that you and I can tap into if we will learn to yield to the Holy Spirit in us.

Some may be reading this and thinking, there is no way this can be so simple. There is something in us that wants to make the Christian life a difficult thing to understand. I don't think it is. Sure, to the unbeliever spiritual truths are a mystery. However, for the believer, God has sent the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in our discovery of the truth. God doesn't want us in the dark when it comes to understanding how to live life in the Spirit. Now, don't get me wrong. Understanding the Christian life and how to walk it out is different than actually walking it out. Therein, is our struggle. It's a process. A lifelong process. And, it's a lot easier said than done. The Word of God tells us that the flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit wars against the flesh. It's a war and wars are tough. And, sometimes they can get really ugly. But again, the Holy Spirit is in us helping us through the battle. Trust me, this living in the Spirit thing is not nearly as hard as we try to make it out to be.

Ok, so you're still not convinced? Let me give you a couple of examples that I think will help push this point home. When Mary was approached by the angel and told that she was going to give birth to Jesus, her response was "Be it done unto me according to your word." Her responsibility in the whole process was to allow God to do what He wanted to do through her. God was going to do all the work, all he wanted her to do, was yield to Him. Ok, now I know what some of you moms are thinking. I'm not saying that carrying a baby for nine months and then delivering that child is not work. What I am saying is that Mary had no part in this immaculate conception except to yield to it. Now, lets look at your salvation experience. God sent His Son to die a brutal death and then God miraculously raised Him from the dead. Your responsibility in the salvation experience was to believe that truth and then simply yield your life to Him. All through scripture, God worked through men and women who would simply yield themselves to Him. The Holy Spirit longs to work through you and I but, in order for that to happen we have to yield to Him.

So where do you begin? What is an area you struggle with? Perhaps you find that you consistently respond harshly to your children or spouse. Or, maybe you find it difficult to walk in love toward someone who has wronged you. Whatever it may be, take one area and focus on that. I mentioned earlier that I struggle in the area of patience, so that's an area I've committed to work on. Take some 3 X 5 cards and write down scriptures that apply to that one area and keep those in front of you. Put them on your computer, tape them to your sun visor, put them on your refrigerator, put them on your bathroom mirror, and carry them in your pocket. You'll find that as you practice yielding to the Holy Spirit in that area, that the process will become easier and easier until your normal reaction will be a reflection of the Holy Spirit in you. That's called transformation. That's where we all want to be.

Nature holds bountiful undiscovered-as-yet secrets for humanity. Normally, we seek to unveil them through scientific means--through our laboratory equipment, processes and methodologies; however, the conventional, material methods of probing into Nature's treasure storehouse may only take us to a certain point beyond which it is difficult for three-dimensional apparatuses to record, and the physical senses and mind to follow and apprehend. And yet, humanity unconsciously feel that it is possible to wrest from Nature her many hidden arcana or esoteric secrets, laws and principles. Could it be that we are investigating the more subtle aspects of Nature through the wrong approach, through the wrong channels and processes? Could it be that we are being misled by our senses in regards to our perception and conception of time, space, and matter and that paradigm shifts from the old Corpernican, Newtonian and Einsteinian models are required in order to break through scientific humps? There are many brave scientists who are working out this problem to the ridicule of their more orthodox colleagues.

In order for Man and the Universe to be understood as well as all the phenomena that occurs therein, it is necessary to consider the so-called "abstract" and "occult" principles that was once in the domain of Magick, Religion and Philosophy--and this should be conducted in a scientific, systematic, rational and metaphysical manner. If Science is to discover the Ultimate Truth, it must not neglect its investigations into the subtle realms. By claiming that these realms or soul-phenomena do not exist for they cannot be perceived by the objective senses or monitored by instruments is prejudicial and scientifically irrational, as there are many things that we are unable to directly perceive and was once undetectable by instruments--things such as electromagnetic energies, certain gases, cosmic rays, etc. By restricting its probing and search for the Ultimate First Cause solely in the physical plane Science does itself an injustice, for life here and physical phenomena are simply a fragment of a whole. Our senses only perceive a limited range of phenomena in the energy-spectrum. Scientific devices may only extend our range of perception a little further and aid us to record a little bit more. What is beyond our perception vibrates in astronomical frequencies. What we are unable to detect physically may well exist beyond the range of our senses; some spiritual realities may even exist way beyond the perception of psychic senses. The investigation of Nature's more subtle aspects is not beyond the line of reason or scientific analyses if several principles are taken into consideration:

1) The higher realities must be investigated through the higher faculties of the soul, through a higher consciousness or through an altered state of awareness;

2) That which is not perceived does not imply its non-existence, even to the non-perception of "psychics."

3) That the diversities and inconsistencies of recorded paranormal phenomena do not indicate their non-reality as it may well be that the nature of the higher worlds reflects the influential instability or fluctuations of the investigators mind, thoughts, and feelings.

4) That the mind moulds reality, whether physical or non-physical out of the energies of its environment and of itself.

5) That cosmic or natural laws with possible mathematical formulation apply in the subtle realms as they apply here in the physical.

6) That the linear time-space continuum may not apply in the higher dimensions as they do here.

7) That the mind is not the sole faculty of knowing.

8) That some metaphysical phenomena go way beyond our earthly concepts and the apprehension of the mind and are difficult to explain through conventional language.

9) That metaphysical phenomenon is repeatable even in controlled laboratory conditions should all the natural laws involved in the phenomenon's manifestation be taken into account.

Science is aware that the physical world as we perceive it is an illusion and yet our senses delude us by informing us that it is real with the "power to affect us in some way." If this is considered to be a criterion for "reality" then the "imaginary" worlds too are real for they likewise affect us in some manner, as psychologists would undoubtedly concur. Metaphysically and esoterically speaking, one vital question emerges for the student of initiatory teachings: are the existences of these other so-called imaginary worlds, these other "realities," part of the "Gupta Vidya," the secret doctrine that spiritual preceptors sought to reveal to humanity?

Gautama Buddha once referred to the amount of teachings that he revealed to the world by comparing them with the few leaves of a tree that he had clasped in his hand. The bountiful leaves, that he pointed out, still clinging to the boughs of the tree constituted that which was yet undisclosed to humanity. Several centuries later, almost at the end of his exoteric ministry, the Master Jesus said to his disciples that he had further teachings to convey to them but that they were unprepared as yet for their reception. Why? What were these advanced precepts? These secret doctrines, if ever existed, are unrecorded in the New Testament. They would have been an oral-tradition--teachings for the selected few. Are these oral teachings still in existence or are they "lost"? Are they perhaps preserved in the consciousness of the Magi, the wise men of every ancient culture? Are they carefully guarded in certain temples and underground vaults hidden from prying eyes? Are they now being shouted from rooftops? Are they so spiritually scientific in nature that men unprepared with the proper spiritual and scientific training not able to fully grasp their principles and significance? It takes a great mind to know another; it also takes a great mind to understand the great principles and laws of nature. In the early days of recorded history only a few had attained to the desired level of mental and spiritual development and were prepared to further unfold the greatness necessary to grasp Nature's hidden laws and principles.

How does one attain greatness, how does one become great enough to apprehend the "higher" teachings that the spiritually enlightened have to offer? We have always been advised by spiritual teachers to walk with God; to tread the strait and narrow way or the ancient path; challenged to go where angels dread; or to go where no man (mortal) has gone before--in fact, esoterically being that "lost" sheep in one of the parables of the Master Jesus; and yet, most of us feel not up to the task. The one thing that prevents us from progressing is fear--fear that has been instilled in us by superstition, religious dogma, propaganda, and other false teachings.

What is the nature of these occult principles and doctrines that the spiritual teachers throughout the ages wished to convey to humanity but had to withhold for the lack of "preparation" on the part of man? Were these secret teachings eventually given out to select persons who subsequently became the spiritual pioneers and leaders, reformers, and prophets of future generations?

Life is a mystery, however, the more we partake of the higher spiritual consciousness the more we come to understand this "mystery of mysteries." This is the unveiling of the secrets of the Egyptian goddess Isis who declared truthfully that no mortal shall ever unveil her. Isis, as the personification of Nature, was right: no man has ever or will ever unveil her to behold her naked beauty. Only when the mortal mind--which is representative of man--is displaced in favor of the immortal God-mind will we ever come to be aware and understand All That Is, all that Isis, the Divine Mother represents. Is this concept strange? The Bible states that no man shall see God and live. Indeed, the spiritual Masters tell us that no man shall see God and live--as men. The experience of God's Essence entails embodying all that God is, all of His virtues, attributes, and consciousness. To truly understand a thing we must become that thing. This is the law of Empathy or Identification. This is what separates saints and prophets from the Cosmic gods and masters, or men made perfect. Saints may lead a pure and holy life, but by separating themselves from their fellow men by secluding themselves and maintaining a consciousness of duality, they do not advance to a higher spiritual awareness. In order for their consciousness to be raised to a higher evolutionary level, it is necessary for them to transcend all dualistic opposites, illusions and errors in mortal thinking. This we call "Divine Thinking." How shall this transition from humanhood to godhood be accomplished? Spiritual teachers have always been present on Earth to direct and help uplift humanity to a higher level of consciousness and awareness. Teachers but point the way. It is up to the aspirant or disciple to tread the Path that leads to enlightenment and illumination.

In every religion there is an oral tradition--secret doctrines given out to a few. These were called "esoteric teachings." The few were privileged to receive these wisdom teachings because their mental/spiritual capacity, and their morality far exceeded those of the average person and were spiritualized enough to comprehend and be receptive to abstract verities. The privileged few, having duly prepared themselves spiritually, had eliminated much of the egoistic tendencies that would cause them to misuse and abuse sacred knowledge. These secret teachings empower one. They give tremendous powers over the forces of Nature; this was the reason for the careful guardianship by the forces of Light over them. This is sometimes portrayed in classical myths as dragons protecting gemstones or other treasures in its lair. In esoteric teachings dragons often represent the wise, enlightened man. In Hindu tradition, these men were the Nagas who lived in their meditational caves and rock temples. They were called dragons or serpents for their innate energy coiled at the base of their spine, otherwise known as kundalini, were permanently raised and wed to its higher counterpart in the crown chakra. This counterpart is the dove, the Holy Ghost. The serpent is Shakti while the dove is Shiva. About two thousand years ago the Master Jesus admonished us to be as wise as the serpent and harmless as the dove. Esoterically, he was telling us to stimulate kundalini to ascend and to invite the dove of love, purity and the Christ-Consciousness to descend. When kundalini meets her mate she must crown him with the jewel that she ought to carry with her. Those who are familiar with esoteric and occult concepts will understand all that the above signifies. In ancient Egypt the Pharoahs wore headresses or crowns with the serpent, the sacred "Uraeus" protruding from the Ajna chakra, the etheric energy-center between the eyebrows. In those days it was a prerequisite for candidates to rulership to be spiritually enlightened before ascending the throne; the candidates had to undergo spiritual training that would prepare them for their exalted task; however, this practice was later neglected and it subsequently caused the degeneration and corruption not only of the Egyptian rulers but the priesthood as well.

In bygone days, sacred knowledge concerning Man, Nature, the Universe and God were taught in those institutions called the Mystery Schools. In these temples of knowledge and wisdom the candidates were initiated into the Ancient Wisdom that existed long before the foundation of this world. Before such occult teachings were taught the candidates had to undergo certain tests and trials to prove their worthiness. When these tests were successfully completed and certain trials overcome the candidates were initiated into the sacred Mysteries of Life. They were taught how to acquire the gnosis, or sacred knowledge through personal soul-experience. The control of the forces within man was taught to the novices by the Kheri-Hebs, the Hierophants, or Masters. These accomplished beings also instructed the novices how the subtle body of man may be exteriorized to experience the higher dimensions. Many methods were used to accomplish this by the Wise Ones such as the careful use of certain hallucinogens, hypnosis, acoustics, concentration, etc. The King's chamber of the Great Pyramid was particularly used as an initiation portal into higher worlds. The immortality of man and reincarnation were basic principles in the sacred teachings of the Mystery Schools.

In the early days of our unrecorded history, the creator gods, the Elohim, the Lords of Flame, walked with men in everyday life and nurtured the divine spark within them. The Spiritual Elders gave teachings to their disciples who eventually became the rulers of civilizations. These enlightened rulers were the God-kings and Priest-kings still talked about by students of occultism. They inaugurated our fabled Golden Ages. What we would like to mention here in passing is that these spiritual beings are back in physical incarnation in our present era spreading metaphysical teachings and a higher spiritual pragmatic Code of Life.

The higher laws and operations of Nature may be investigated through the utilization of one's soul-faculties. These inner senses of the soul must first be awakened and unfolded to a certain degree of efficiency before they may be safely applied. Metaphysics teaches man the way to personal development, to spiritual advancement, and occult unfoldment. Metaphysics broadly understood, is the modern repository of the ancient and ageless secret teachings. Its more sacred doctrines belong in the field of esotericism. There is much to be studied in this field and it offers something that Science, Philosophy and Religion when pursued independently fail to provide--soul satisfaction.

Copyright © 2007 Luxamore

There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." ~ Numbers 13:33 (NKJV).

The Israelites were like grasshoppers in their own sight.

When problems come against us, most of the time, we cower underneath them. They look as if they are giants towering over us, too big for us to handle.

How did David defeat Goliath who was much taller, bigger and stronger than David, a mere shepherd boy?

David told Goliath, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (I Samuel 17:45 NKJV).

Just like David, we have a secret weapon. We are not to do things in our lives in our own strength. Instead we are to do them in God's.

We are soldiers in the army of Almighty God. We are to fight our battles on His authority, not on ours.

When we fight in our authority, we become overwhelmed, frustrated and ready to give up. On His authority, though, just like in David's case, it takes only one smooth stone to knock out the giants in our lives.

Our sword is not a physical sword, such as the one Goliath used. No, our sword is the Word of God.

The Word of God, the Bible, is inspired by God Himself. Ephesians 6 calls it our Sword of the Spirit. It is alive and powerful and stronger than any two-edged sword.

We have to speak the Word of God to our mountains--the problems in our lives. We can't complain about them. We can't worry about them. Neither of those cause the mountian to fall or the problems to cease. We have to wield the Word of God at our problems.

We need to find Scriptures concerning our problems, then pick out up to five of them. Then we have to speak those Scriptures to our problems.

The more we speak the Word to them, the more we chip away at the problems. As we chip away at them with the Word, the smaller they becomes until it is non-existent because the Word of God and our faith are growing bigger in our lives than the problems.

We don't need a sword made of metal. All we need is the Sword of the Spirit--the Word of God.

All too often it seems that people go to God in order to get what He can provide for them rather than simply having a loving relationship. But this is not new as we can see in the Gospel of John.

John 6:24-27: When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Christ knew that they were not there to learn more about God; they just wanted more miracles. They were not seeking him with their heart; they just wanted to be fed. In light of this there is a very interesting verse recorded earlier in the Gospel of John.

John 4:23: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Very few were seeking God, but He was seeking those who would want to worship Him. It seems that people want God's peace, the blessings of health, prosperity and protection. But all too often they look to get these things of God and forget about God Himself. He is more than willing to give us all that we need if we simply come to Him.

Matthew 6:31-33: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God says to seek Him and all that He has is ours. The Gentiles had to worry about food, clothing and shelter because they did not have a heavenly Father that would take care of them; but for us, there are no worries when we have a heavenly Father Who cares.

Why look for just the "things of God" when you can have God Himself? Those who only wanted part of God were warned.

Jeremiah 2:13: For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Why settle for just a cistern of water (a vessel to put water in and walk away) when you can live at the fountain of living waters? He has already told us that He seeks those who will worship Him. The word "seek" means to strive to find, to ask after, to inquire and it shows intensity and effort. We should be as eager to seek Him as He is to seek us.

Even when the Children of Israel turned away, God was willing to take them back if they would just reach out and seek Him. How could anyone not want to seek such a loving God?

There is a wonderful record in the Gospel of Luke that once again describes the depth of seeking that we should have.

Luke 2:43-49: And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? If you were a parent, would you be seeking your lost child with your whole heart? This is the same word "seek" that refers to us seeking God and God seeking those to worship Him. As truly wonderful as our God is, we should seek Him daily with all our hearts so that we can know Him, love Him and worship Him.

Copyright (c) 2007 Good News Publications

Is the Bible the Word of God? Or is it just a collection of human writings? How can we know for sure? Any google search on the inspiration of the Scriptures will bring up a surprising amount of results from people who do not believe so. These people can be convincing. However, these arguments are merely the opinions of their authors, with no evidence to back them up. In fact, the evidence stands against these convincing arguments--and evidence always speaks louder than persuasive words.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence for the inspiration of the Scriptures is the unity of the Bible, especially when one considers all the writers involved. The Bible does not have a single contradiction. Not even one. Yet several people, over the course of thousands of years wrote it! Most of these people did not know each other, and they came from a variety of backgrounds. If I asked ten people today to write down their thoughts about God, chances are, there would be some contradictions. Yet forty people wrote the Bible! The odds of forty people over thousands of years writing a book as vast as the Bible are astronomical. The only logical explanation is that all were inspired by one God to pen the words of what we now know as the Bible.

Another compelling reason to believe the Bible is the Word of God is because of its scientific and historical accuracy. The Bible mentions many scientific principles that were not known until long after it was written. For example, the earth was generally believed to be flat until the time of Columbus. Yet Isaiah 40:22 mentions "the circle of the earth." This is but one of many examples. Keep in mind, the Bible writers were not scientists! In addition, archaeological finds continue to verify many of the historical facts mentioned in the Bible. Archeology has yet to find anything in history that contradicts Scripture.

One of the more fascinating proofs of Biblical accuracy is the fulfillment of prophecies in the Bible. Archeology has verified that the book of Isaiah was written hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, yet Isaiah accurately described the crucifixion, the promise of salvation, and many detailed aspects of Jesus' life. Many other prophecies in the Bible have come true also. For example, the Bible predicted the rise and fall of the Persian and Roman empires in Daniel. The book of Daniel also talks about the increase of knowledge in the last days, and vast amounts of travel. And this is the tip of the iceberg. Literally, hundreds of prophecies have been fulfilled.

Some argue that the Bible isn't inspired because man decided which books would be considered "inspired" and which wouldn't. They also argue that some of the books that have been left out were recognized by the original disciples as Scripture. While it is true that these other books were well-known to the disciples, it is important to remember that these writings were considered Jewish literature, and the original twelve were all Jews. They were historical documents.

The men involved in the canonization of the Scriptures did not "decide" which Scriptures were inspired. They simply recognized the Scriptures that were inspired. To be considered inspired, they had to pass certain criteria. For example, any prophecies that should have come true by that time had to be fulfilled. The work had to be accepted by the church at large as inspired. The work had to be a first-hand account, or very close to it. While this sounds like man "deciding" what qualifies as Scripture, one has to remember that these men were chosen by God before they were born, to canonize Scripture, just as the Bible writers were chosen to write what would later become Scripture. Time has shown that these men correctly identified those books that were inspired, and those that were not.

In fact, the book of Isaiah foreshadowed the final Holy Bible as we know it today. Amazingly, the Bible has 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament, and 27 in the New Testament. The Old Testament takes place before the coming of Christ, when men were still in bondage to the law, while the New Testament begins with the birth of Christ and focuses on the freedom we now have in Christ. In Isaiah, the first 39 chapters are parallel to the Old Testament, in that they talk of judgment and captivity (bondage), while the last 27 chapters contain the messianic promises, which were fulfilled in the New Testament. One could perhaps write this off as coincidence or accuse the men who canonized the Bible of setting it up that way on purpose. However, the Bible is so full of these types of "coincidences" that the odds are against it

No one can prove the Bible is the inspired word of God. However, the evidence is compelling. In the end, we must make a decision to accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God by faith. This is necessary to live a victorious Christian life. Either the Bible is completely true or completely unreliable. If one little line is untrue, the whole Bible becomes unreliable. Throughout history, the Bible has consistently been the best-selling (and most controversial) book of all time. It has been the most enduring book, passing every test of time. Yet no one has ever been able to prove a single line or even word of the Bible to be false. For a book as vast and complex as the Bible, this seems to be far outside the powers of man to accomplish, especially the powers of forty very different men who didn't know each other and who didn't realize they were writing the Bible.

The entire nation was rocked by the news that came out of Blacksburg, VA on Monday, April 16, 2007. The Virginia Tech campus was besieged by a lone gunman who murdered 32 people before taking his own life.

As our emotions waver between grief and anger, many questions are asked, not the least of which is, "Where was God?"

The truth is that God was there. The psalmist wrote in Psalms 139:8, "If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there." This tells us that God is with us even in the darkest, most unlikely places.

The question stems not so much from wanting to know where He was, as to why He allowed it to happen. This is a much more difficult question. And while theologians and philosophers debate over it, there are a few things we can know for sure:

• This was not God's divine wrath

There are those who would have us believe that this is yet another example of God meting out His wrath on an unbelieving world. While scripture tells us that God will one day judge the world, right now we are in the age of God's grace. This means that God is not willing that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

• God was intimately connected with each person killed

In Matthew 10:29, Jesus tells us that God is aware of every sparrow that falls to the ground. If God is that intimately aware of each sparrow, how much more is He aware of every person?

Jesus then mentions that God has the very hairs on our head numbered! The implication is that God is concerned with even the smallest details in our lives. This leads to the last, and maybe most difficult to accept, observation:

• God has a plan behind every tragedy

The first two verses of John 9 are very telling. The disciples ask Jesus why a certain man was born blind; they thought it was a result of God's judgment on his sin or his parents' sin.

Jesus tells them that it was neither; he was born blind so that the power of God might be seen in him. Jesus then healed the man and he became a living testimony of the goodness of God.

This is admittedly hard to accept in the wake of a tragedy on the scale of the Va Tech rampage, but I believe that God's power will be displayed through it. How? I'm not sure. But one thing that immediately comes to mind is the story of self-sacrifice that one professor made to protect the few students he could.

What better illustration could there be of the love of God in sacrificing His own Son for our salvation?

We are living in an exciting age in human history. A time when the mystic secrets of the ages are becoming de-mystified. Ancient practices like meditation and yoga are being proved to be effective tools for self-development, by scientists and doctors alike. We can switch on the television today and learn about things which were earlier considered taboo. Even the Kabbalah has gained media coverage through Madonna!

Our creativity is breaking our preconceived limits too. Have you ever noticed how much our technology has progressed in the last 50 years or so? We have finally invented an automobile which gives out pure water instead of smoke! A personal computer has more power than what IBM invented 30 years ago! Also consider the invention of the information super-highway. Never before have two humans from opposite sides of the globe, been able to communicate with each other through electricity, for so 'cheap'.

We see books on creating our desired realities on the bestseller lists. Movies like 'What the Bleep do we Know' and 'The Secret' are successful. It is said that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". This cannot be truer for humanity as a whole. For centuries, this kind of knowledge has been in the custody of only a small percentage of individuals. But now, especially with the advent of the internet, this information is spreading faster and faster throughout the globe.

Look around you, something special is happening. This article is a part of this shift. It has prompted me to write this, and you to find it!

On a clear November day my wife and I set out to explore real estate in the mountains east of Jackson, Wyoming. We dropped our youngest daughter, then fourteen, with our oldest daughter who was in college a few hours away. It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and we planned on returning Wednesday night to spend the holiday with our daughters.

In our rented SUV and a suitcase of clothes that reflected our Texas lifestyle, we headed out of Jackson and down to Pinedale. I had recently left my corporate job to strike out on my own. Since I traveled with my consulting, we thought we'd find a place to live that we liked, it would be the first home location we had chosen since getting married thirty years before.

At the time our spiritual lives were in some upheaval and we yearned for a new start. Our daughter had been raped, then attempted suicide and we were just finishing some lengthy counseling over the ordeal and were trying to get the train of our lives back on track.

Our first stop in Pinedale revealed a cute little town of a couple thousand nice, friendly people, with moose grazing on the outskirts of town. We looked at one house and when the folks told my wife they went shopping once a month in Salt Lake, some four hours away, that was the end of that. We had a quick lunch in Pinedale and didn't bother to tell our kids we had changed plans. Instead of heading further east and around the mountain back to Jackson we were heading south and west to Star Valley and the town of Afton.

As we headed south towards Rock Springs I could see from the map this was going to be a five hour drive down and around. I happened to see a road on the map about an hour south that headed west and over the mountain and dropped right down into Afton. It went right through the Bridger-Teton National Forest. It was a gorgeous fall day, so I ignored the two dotted map lines that was the outline of the road I'd picked, and we headed up the mountain. My wife immediately said, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Ignoring her feeling I plowed ahead. Three more times she would say, "Ed, I have a bad feeling about this." Four hours later, high in the mountains and deep in the forest we stopped at a 'T' in the road. Before us was two wooden Forest Service signs, with arrows pointing in opposite directions that read – Afton 50 miles – Pinedale 50 miles. While I didn't admit it at the time I knew we were in deep trouble, it was 4 p.m. and about to get dark.

Instead of doing what my wife strongly suggested I plowed ahead towards Afton and one hour later, on a steep incline, we were stuck in three feet of snow. We knew we weren't getting out anytime soon, much less that night. We had no cell phone, a few extra T-shirts, a Hershey bar, two diet sodas and a half tank of gas in our now buried SUV.

Dark surrounded us as my wife quietly wept next to me. We debated our next course of action as she humbled me in prayer. A former atheist turned Christian, I was still struggling with the spiritual side of my life since my daughters problems. I resorted to the macho, Marine Corp side. I was a Marine sniper for two-years in Vietnam and just looked on this as an adventure at first, an adrenaline rush, surely we'd get out of this.

The car was aimed up a small path heading to the top of the mountain. As I sat there in the black of night looking at the star filled sky, a plane went over. It was then it hit me, with my wife finally sleeping in the seat next to me, that we were in deep water and that I alone was not getting us out of this one. I had certainly been stupid enough to ignore my wife's admonitions and get us stuck though.

We would later learn that we were fifty-seven miles from Pinedale and nearly ten-thousand feet up in the forest. We endured the night, cold and lonely and decided to walk to safety at first light. We were in our early fifties and not in great shape. Our clothes were light leather jackets and sneakers for shows. We were not equipped for the walk we were about to endure.

During the night my wife led us in prayer often. It was sometime in the early morning hours when I humbled myself and cried out to my Lord and Savior. I cried out to Him as never before and after some time could feel the warmth of His Spirit wash over me. I knew that somehow we would be rescued.

At first light we were off, heading down the mountain, committing to each other we would somehow walk for twenty-four hours if necessary to see our children. We left the SUV at seven a.m. and it began to snow. We walked patiently, feeling amazingly good, and reached the wooden signs we'd seen the day before. The signs were seven miles from our vehicle. We'd made the trek in about two and a half hours – we knew we had help because we could not walk that fast on flat ground, let alone the snow that was increasing steadily.

We walked and prayed and walked and prayed and my wife grew weaker. I walked and prayed as I walked and the snow was getting deeper and coming down heavy. We stopped on one occasion to pray and it was two p.m. We'd been walking for seven long hours in the snow, the wind was picking up. As we started out again I noticed the light in my wife's eyes wasn't as bright and committed as it had been … I knew we could not make the night.

As I walked trudging in the heavy snow across a high plateau at around seven thousand feet, I prayed as I had never prayed before. I prayed Lord, we have done all that we can. My wife is struggling – we don't want to die. Lord please provide us a miracle and provide it now. By three p.m. the snow was blinding. As I walked, looking ahead I thought I saw a small speck in the snow. What could it be? I was sure it was a mirage. I didn't say anything.

We kept walking and soon a truck appeared. We waved excitedly as if they wouldn't se us, the only two people in miles. The two men inside looked like they were right off a Marlboro commercial. They were plumbers heading to close down a new log house they'd been working on all summer. The man on the passenger side rolled down his window and said, "I hope you two know you have someone walking with you out here today!" Indeed we did. He went on to explain they were supposed to be in and out by ten in the morning but were held up in town by an architect working on the house and the were running late.

We found out that the snow we were enduring was as they said up there the snow that shuts the mountain down. The elk had come down that night and now one would get up there until spring. We had walked seventeen miles when our Plumber Angels rescued us. The Lord had provided us with the miracle we asked for and saved us to see our children. He had rescued me from my own stubbornness and stupidity. He had taught me humility and that indeed He answers our prayers.

Dear Loved Ones,

Great day to you all beautiful beings of the light. Today and everyday is your day. I love you for you Inspire me. I love you for we are all one. I simply Love you.

Tools for life.

The Power Of Communication
The Power of Communication with Ease, Grace and Authenticity. Don't you think? Don't you believe? Don't you feel? Can you see? Do you get a sense of what I'm saying here?

The Power to communicate with Confidence is to be true to oneself. Is to be happy with oneself. Is to accept oneself.

The Power to communicate is to be free of the false self. Is to live with the freedom within our souls. Is to stand for what we believe to be beneficial for oneself and all.

The Power to communicate in so many ways as to the gestures of the hands. As to rhythm of the body. As to our facial expressions moment by moment. As to the position of our whole being.

The Power to communicate is to stand for one's space. To claim the truth in consciousness. To rely on the Power within to shift gears from the unwanted to the wanted. To move with the reality of our true conscious self. Our God self. Our Higher self. Our beautiful self.

The Power to communicate in silence is to listen to the inner world and the outer world. Is to align both worlds together to create Oneness. Is to realize that there is much more to life than we think there is. Is to give unselfishly. Is to be joyful within our Souls.

The Power of communication is a place for serenity and harmony to form in creating a space of everlasting clearing within to higher vibrations in and out. To know truly of the expected and the unexpected is to be free of all conditioning.

The Power of communication in listening clearly, closely and patiently to oneself and others reliably in peace. Is to be very present with the words spoken and the words Not spoken. Is to be present with one and another in the most intimate level of energy of pure Oneness in consciousness to experience Divine Love. Is to experience the Universe inside and out with Support and undeniable Love for all humanity.

The Power of communication within our willingness to go beyond our excuses, reasons and limitations to make every attempt and effort in resolving the unfinished and in creating the New. Like all things we have the Power to renew with Authenticity and Determination in using our will to communicate with Love, Care and Respect.

In gratitude for all that we are and all that we are able of doing, I am grateful. In communication with you all, it is so magnificent to know that the Universe has given all of us such resources to connect to each other on such levels.

Communicating with Delight is possible.


Communicating with Acceptance is possible.


Communicating with Patience is possible.


Communicating with Understanding and Compassion is possible.


Communicating with our Souls is possible.


Communicating with the Universe is Possible.


Pure communication is possible.

With our willingness to be our True Selves everything is possible in the Now.

So let us all let go and let God. Let us be present every moment with Communication with ourselves and others and let go of any assumptions that may create friction and misunderstandings Right where I am and Right where You are.

Clear communication is Key. Lets the doors open.

With much blessings and so it is.

I love you. I love You. I love you.

Please feel free to forward these Insights to your friends, family, associates and enemies to create an open forum of communication to create Oneness.

May the love, light and love of God and the whole Universe surround, protect and heal you, your loved ones and the planet earth.

With Love, Gratitude and Respect,
Michelle Morovaty
Truly, With God All Things Are Possible

© Copyright 2007 Spirituality Inside and Out, LLC

As soon as Valentine's Day is over, most pharmacies, grocery stores and departments stores change their merchandise to focus upon the next holiday sales event – Easter. It's hard to miss the pastel-colored displays full of stuffed Easter Bunnies, candy and pretty spring outfits. However, Easter has little or nothing to do with these items. In fact, the problem with the celebration of Easter, just like of Christmas, lies in the fact that for many people it has become a commercial holiday rather than a meaningful or spiritual one.

It is possible to make the celebration of Easter a meaningful and spiritual again, however. In fact, it's easy to transform empty Easter celebrations focused on Easter Bunnies, jelly eggs, pretty dresses and hats, and Eater egg hunts into meaning-full and spirit-full ones that focus instead on the original reasons the holiday is celebrated at all.

First, remember why Easter originally was observed. Easter is a holiday that commemorates Jesus'resurrection, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33. It actually has nothing to do with Easter bunnies, chicks and eggs. Focus on this fact.

Second, spend your time studying Jesus' life on your own or with your family rather than shopping for Easter gifts, which in no way really help remember the awe-inspiring history of this day. Jew and Christian alike will benefit from studying the teachings of this enlightened master.

Third, rather than engaging in Easter egg hunts and sitting around painting Easter eggs, do something spiritual and meaningful to remember this holiday. Go to church, join a study group, have a family meal where you discuss Jesus' teachings and the meaning of his resurrection, create a sacred space or altar in your home and put items on it that make you think about Jesus or the principles he taught or the characteristics he possessed. Rather than engaging in Easter egg hunts and shopping, do anything that offers you or your family a chance to create a meaningful and spiritual holiday observance.

Sometimes it takes only a change of focus and intent to make a holiday that has become too commercial spiritual and meaningful again. In other words, pay attention to the spiritual and religious aspects of the holiday and discover those symbols, rituals, prayers, or observances that have personal meaning for you. Also, use the power of intention to help you stay conscious of these things. Simply intend to transform this Easter from an empty observance into a meaning-full and spirit-full one, and your intentionality will fuel the creation of what you want.

Being aware that you are dreaming while asleep is often triggered by noticing something unlikely such as flying or perhaps visiting with a deceased loved one. The awareness of the dream occurrence while asleep is termed lucid dreaming. The quality of lucidity is determined by the depth of mental control you have of the dream while asleep. The more you experience lucid dreaming, the more you can deliberately direct the course of the dream experience.

A strong attraction to perfecting control during lucid dreaming is being able to fulfill fantasies or surreal adventures. Many people prefer to participate in their own created movie than to watch a movie on a television set. Regrettably, these self fulfilled fantasies and adventures often become a theme for night terrors causing the dreamer to awaken.

The metaphysical attraction to lucid dreaming is the ease of lucid imagery effects for healing the body, problem solving, spiritual growth, and manifesting outcomes of our fully conscious desires.

The world in which we live our individual lives has been constructed through our thoughts and how we view it. Lucid dreaming demonstrates the dynamics of our creations in the physical world as well as the ability to continually change the environment or outcome we seek.

Most of us have had a spontaneous lucid dream at some point in our lives, the experience is unforgettably exhilarating. Without good dream recall, it is a probability that you have simply don't remember your lucid dream.

One of the best known procedures for improving dream recall is by writing down everything that you do remember immediately after waking from the dream, and keeping the information in a dream journal. Waiting until morning increases the chances of forgetting.

Studying dreams help familiarize the conscious mind to symbolic and precognitive associations to future events from our sub-conscious. It also serves as an aid to study underlying issues that may be blocking our progress in various areas of life.

Many of the new age texts and articles on the market today, provide a tangible picture of the lucid dreaming process though various 'manifesting' techniques. These techniques often suggest meditation and visualization as a means of projecting 'intention'. A lucid dream nap in the middle of the afternoon is a strong method of inducing rapid desire manifestation. Directing mental intention prior to the lucid dream period has astounding influence upon the dream.

The speed with which controlled lucid dreaming develops depends upon personal factors such as how well do you recall your dreams and how often is controlled lucid dreaming is practiced.

"I will sleep on it" and decide tomorrow" is a descriptive statement that we have often stated to ourselves when faced with a major decision or life situation that requires contemplation. Thus, the inner workings of our mind allow dreamers to thoughtfully and accurately interpret their life situations through their dream imagery.

Learning anything new and becoming proficient at it, takes motivation and practice. Lucid dreaming is a skill that you can develop. Experimenting and creating your own personal induction techniques in reaching the lucid dream states is vital to becoming proficient.

Raising our vibrational frequency is also associated with lucid dream experiences. Exalted and ecstatic states of union with the Divine have been recorded and reported through dream records. They are usually followed by profound life changes. Seeking your personal life purpose or reviewing past life circumstances can be an exhilarated experience, leaving us full of energy, vigor, and a deeper interest in the life we are living.

The application of spiritual exploration through lucid dreaming can be illuminating illustrations of expanded awareness of our total being and connectedness to one and other and to all there is.

The benefits and healing potential through lucid dream imagery are unlimited in soothing pain, rapid recovery from injury, working through grief, gaining greater self confidence. The list goes on and on and is only limited through your own self induced limitations.

Developing Lucid dreaming skills is a vivid endeavor to picture your life the way you want it to be and your affairs the way you want them to go. An earnest attempt to change your life is recognizing that your own mind is a projection of your true spirit, and will prove to you that the best there is in life, is yours, to create.

Dear Loved Ones,

Great day to you all on this imaginative day as you move forward in imagining the perfect life for you to live by. I love you. I love you. I love you.

Please take a few moments to pray for and to bless the planet earth. Your contribution counts. Thank you.

Tools for life

Problem to Action

What is a Problem anyways?


Is it a weakness within us?


Is it the impossible task in life?


Is it the darkness within the darkness?


Is it the inhibitions of our life?

Is it that we create problems unconsciously and then we spend plenty of time trying to fix what we call "Problems"?

Is it that Right when it's time to grow we call our present situation a "Problem" so that we can talk about it to twenty other people and get everybody's feedback on our "Problems"?

Is a Problem a blockage?


Is a Problem our unfinished businesses in our lives?


Is a Problem our own perception of what a problem is?


Is a Problem a maze or a math Problem to solve?


Is a Problem what is here and not over there?


Is a Problem something I have and you don't?


Is a Problem contagious?


Is it a virus which attacks our consciousness with the wrong messages?


What in the world is a Problem then?

Let's see what the Universe has in store for us today…

Well as far as the Universe is considered a "Problem" is an imaginary scenario conducted in our limited minds. Please don't take this in a bad way. The Universe is in total support of us at all times.

Now let us all use the Power of our Minds, Right Now and see what other meanings we can give to this word "Problem" that can be energizing and empowering.

Can we do this? Of course we can. We are the Masters of our own consciousness to build, invite and create whatever thoughts, perceptions and realities that are of the most beneficial for us.

So let's go ahead. What is coming to me is a very simple analogy of what is possible.

A problem can be a Possibility of a new creation in time.


A problem can be a Realization of a new possibility in time.


A problem can be an Opportunity for a grand gesture in time.


A problem can be a Beneficial opportunity to grow in time.


A problem can be a Learning of the highest good in time.


A problem can be an Exciting time to venture out and expand in time.


A problem can be a Magnificent time to meditate in time.

We can for sure remind ourselves of this process in time so that we do not trap ourselves in the illusions within our ego minds. If you choose to do a practice sometime just repeat the word "Problem" to yourself once, then check your energy level and then repeat each of the above replacement words and feel how your energy responds to each word as spoken by you to you.

You shall definitely feel your vibration shift and lift which reveals to you that words have power and that we can choose which words to use to compliment our life.

Remember these Insights have powerful messages within them. It is up to you how you would like to experience them. It is all up to you. For you always have choice. Choose what is rightfully your calling to benefit you, for you are worthy and deserving of living a free life in every way.

Bless you and so it is.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Please feel free to share these Insights with your friends, family, associates and enemies to create a world of a new beginning of Oneness.

May the love, light and blessings of God and the whole Universe surround, protect and heal you, your loved ones and the planet earth.

With Love, Gratitude and Respect,
Michelle Morovaty
Truly, With God All Things Are Possible

© Copyright 2007 Spirituality Inside and Out, LLC

There is a general belief that every moment is predefined simultaneously it is also believed that you should do good karma to have good life. I think there is a contradiction in this. Can actions change destiny. If my present actions are defined by my past karma then how can I change my future karma.

Sometimes I think that once I get caught in the wrong loop I am bound to remain in that loop.You cannot have a different script of a movie for evening and matinée shows, but that may not be the truth. I think the situation and circumstances which we land into is a function of our karmas, whereas our response is in our control and will decide our future karmas.Therefore an event is a function of two things E=f(K,A). where "K" is karma the situation you are in and is dependent on past actions and records and "A" is determined by present response which can be controlled.

The teachings of all religion, gurus, saints, modern psychology etc all endorse implicitly or explicitly the above principle. They tell us focus on "A" ie present moment which is the universal mantra . The result of "A" that is your present action will again depend on the impressions which you have gathered ie samsakaras some part of which is again genetic ie function of" K " and other part may be acquired or function of "A". So we see the events of life is an interwoven matrix between past karmas and present action. A day will come when spirituality and science will definitely converge and a mathematical model of spiritual teachings can be presented. I do not know whether the spirituality needs science more to become more strong or is it other way round.

A scientist looks and craves for knowledge which leads to wisdom and finally his enlightenment, on the other hand in spiritualism you look for wisdom and enlightenment first which ultimately leads you to knowledge.The basis of science is proof whereas the basis of spiritualism is faith. In fact in science also you start with faith only without which you cannot build a theory. Every great scientific theory /model starts with a hypothesis, but what is hypothesis? In fact it is faith/ intuition.

The gradual building up of various atomic models, from Rutherfords to electron clouds, the ring structure of benzene ring etc were intutions with faith. The scientist should be the first person to believe in God. By the way why do we have this wrong notion that scientists dont believe in God, this is a wrong myth which is being propagated. A scientist is synonymus with logic, after studying the structure of human brain, universe, atomic structure, genetic engineering etc how can a logical person ignore that there is no creator who owns these creations.

A scientist if he believes that there is no creator of these scientific things then is the most unscientific person and illogical. Coming to spiritualistic side of it a person can never call himself a perfect and staunch atheist because an atheist is a person who dose not believe in the existence of God, but by doing so at least he believes in the non existence of God and therefore he cannot be an atheist because by definition atheist is a non believer. The minimum what we can do is believe in our existence and in creations outside us, the moment we do that we are not an atheist and we have accepted our creator.

The Cosmic Mind personalized is an infinitesimal part of God in man. Just as a drop of water from the ocean has all the ingredients in the ocean, this mind has all the powers of God. However, just as a drop of water from the ocean does not make up the ocean, the mind of one person does not make up God's mind. All the drops joined together become the ocean, all the minds in the universe together make up God's mind.

Mind is the source of all happiness, all misery, health, and disease, abundance and lack, riches and poverty, joy and sorrow. As the greatest English poet John Milton suggested, it can make a hell out of heaven or a heaven out of hell. Our mind is a microcosm and creates our universe.

Like a laser beam, mind can focus its attention on the smallest atom or see the whole universe as if it is a speck. Mind can become part of the environment and the cosmos.

The speed of thought is more than the speed of light. In a millisecond, mind can reach the farthest galaxy, billions of light years away. It is instantaneous and unlimited by space or time. For example, the precocious genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart said that he could hear a musical work as a single event and not successively and Professor Aitken remarked that he could run through half an hour's music in half a minute.

What mind is and where it is situated has been debated for centuries. Rarely two philosophers agree on one definition or location for mind.

Rene Descartes, French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician said that there is a total and absolute distinction between mental and material substance and that mind is situated in the pineal gland.

Endocrinologist Ernest Gelhorn thinks that mind is an activity of the entire nervous system. Hughlings Jackson, a neurologist, thinks that consciousness and mind are the same, whereas Percival Bailey, director of the Psychiatric Research Institute, disagrees.

Mind is nonmaterial and cannot become part of a material brain, pineal gland or amygdala. We can go through every nerve cell, analyze electrochemically, spectroscopically, mass-photographically, electronically, and, using all known tests, we will not find any indication of mind. There is no single location for the mind. The human mind is distributed throughout the human body and its environment. Every cell has its own mind and has the ability to function independently or jointly with all the cells of the body.

For example, a neuron is capable of deciding whether it will transmit information to another nerve cell and, if it will, to which one among the thousands of cells with which it is in contact. Similarly, endocrine cells decide whether they will respond to a demand for a particular enzyme by cells in another far corner of the body.

Even sponge cells exhibit a similar capacity of awareness. When a piece of sponge is ground up and individual cells are suspended in solution, they will come together and become a complete sponge within a few hours. This indicates that each cell has a mind of its own to decide to combine with another sponge cell and with which of the thousands of cells floating in solution.

Just as each of the thousand pieces of a splintered mirror will show the same reflection of an object as the whole mirror, each cell reflects our mind and each cell in the universe reflects the universal mind.

The phrase "Me to We" brings out thoughts of altruism and giving. It makes us think that there are others out there we need to be thinking about too. It also speaks to the materialistic world around us and helps us imagine a life with larger horizons. There is actually an organization out there called "Me to We" in Canada, they help the children of the World.

Helping the Children of the World is by far one of the greatest philanthropic things you can do, there can be no doubt about that. But, let me explain the flip side of this concept. There is a horrific hideous side to the slogan "Me to We" let me explain.

When I first came to their website, wow, I was impressed at all the wonderful things they are doing out there. I like it all and the "Me to We" is a catchy slogan. But then I began thinking of all the human rights abuses that have resulted from communism and how runaway socialism moves a society towards communism, I was horrified.

Indeed, I then considered how they might make a revision of the "Me to We" motif. You see, instead of "Me to We" it should be "Add We to Me" especially if they want donations and volunteers from a capitalist nation. If on the other hand the non-profit group was trying help out in a communist country all the children who were born into such a human rights disaster then they might use the slogan "Add Me to We" to help cross the gap.

Why you ask should an organization that helps kids change its slogan? Well perhaps if you read "Built to Last" By Collins, which discusses Mission Statements for organizations and businesses you will see that Me and We is not an either/or situation. It should be both and all inclusive. If someone is all about Me, Me, Me then they fail to see the WE or all of us out here. If everyone is WE, WE, WE they will too easily take away the ME inside of the individual. In that case all the ME is sacrificed for the betterment of the whole. This causes severe civil rights violation, as the WE society takes away from the whole.

"Sometimes what is good for the one is good for the many" Spock [Star Track]

Although this coincides with Ayn Rand too and many other studies of human societies, governments and civilizations. What strengthens the individual strengths the whole. When all the whole is filled with individuals then the efficiency is squared. I certainly believe in helping the children of the World, but cannot support any organization which believes that taking away individual rights to help the individual is the way to do it, that is hypocrisy.

I therefore ask you to not support "The Me to We Organization" as there are better ways to help children than surrendering the individual to the Borg. I hope you have enjoyed this intellectual comment and will think it through, before surrendering self.

It took me many years before I figured out that Christ doesn't want anything from me in exchange for hanging upon the Cross. It's what He wants us to receive from Him. I didn't have a personal relationship with my Lord before I accepted Him into my life. I am almost ashamed to admit that Jesus to me was an amazing story from the Bible that gave us a reason to celebrate Christmas and Easter. I'm not sure even to this day why I didn't fully understand. I was raised in the Methodist church all my life. My parents were both active in their church community. They were both God fearing people and loved the Lord, but never stressed just what it meant for me on a personal level. I assumed that I could ride on their coat tails of being a Christian. But when I received His love and grace and mercy into my own life, I then understood that it was a personal choice, not one I was born into. I no longer think of Easter as bunnies and eggs and candy. It is the time to remember Christ for what He did for me because He loved me that much. He doesn't expect anything from me, there's nothing I can give Him. He wants everyone to receive His grace and salvation. He has already done it all, there's nothing left for me or you to do. It's in the power of His resrrection.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote this quote about God's love and I believe it explains the true meaning of His crucifixion.
"Men do hear the calls of Christ, but they are willfully deaf, because they think He wants them to do something. But He does not want anything of you; He wants you to receive what He has already done. He comes laden with mercy, with His hands full of blessing, and He knocks at your door. You have only to open it and He will enter in, and salvation will enter with Him."

Christ was God revealed on earth. He came not to be served as all earthly kings expect, but He came to serve. He was given all power and authority from the foundation of the world and His kingdom is not of this world. He was God incarnate to set examples of what true, unconditional love is. This love doesn't expect anything, only that we will receive it into our hearts. God wants to give to us~not take anything from us.

His death was the most anticipated event that God would fulfill. Everything from the Garden of Eden to the wilderness journey of the Israelites, to David's psalms and the prophetic messages of the prophets all pointed to God's plan of redemption which would require the spilling of blood of One Who was sinless but would take the sins of the world upon His own shoulders. This Sacrificial Lamb was Jesus the Christ, God's Son. He willingly hung on the Cross as a criminal, His body ripped open from scourging, His face beaten beyond human recognition, His beard hairs yanked from His chin. He endured the shame of being spit upon, called a blasphemer, a liar and made a mockery of in front of Roman citizens and fellow Jews alike. Thorns were dug into His skull and the people who just a few days earlier were offering Him praises and acolades. They turned Him over to die the most inhuman and humiliating death ever invented because of fear and ignorance. Could He have saved Himself from this? Of course He could've. But He went through with it because it was God's will to save a wicked world from sin and death and eternal destruction. Christ knew He would have to endure the pain for a little while, but the end results would be well worth it. He thought we were with it! It was love that kept Him from dying a premature death. For what He endured is only proof that He is fully God. It is medically proven to be impossible to live through such brutality. Even though He knew He would be denied by one of His own and betrayed by one who posed to be one of His own, His last act as a free man was to serve His disciples and to teach them what they were to pass on.

"When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, 'I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.' " Luke 22:14-16

As Jesus sat with the 12, it was the beginning of Passover. Before the night ended, He would be handed over to the Sanhedrin and the Romans for trials. They began by beating Jesus while the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. This was no accident, it was God's timely message to the world. He already knew of the suffering He would have to endure, but still he reclined and served the apostles. This Last Supper would be the first Communion. We do this to this very day to remember Him and what He gave us. He was not just a man to be able to calmly sit there. This was God in the flesh!

Paul writes of this account as well as all four gospels, in 1st Corinthians. He is instructing the Corinthians on their conduct as they take the Lord's Supper. We don't take it becase of how good we are but rather how good He is. No one is good, no not one of us.

"But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, but because you come together not for the better but for the worse." 1 Corinthians 11:17

These people turned this sacred ritual into one of gluttony and drunkeness. They brought more than enough food but would not share it with the poor and hungry. They did all but what Christ had asked of them and still asks of us.

"And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' " 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

When Christ told the disciples to remember Him, He started the ordinance for worship. His sacrifice means that we should look back upon His atoning death, to give thanks and praise. Had He not been willing to obey His Father by drinking His cup of wrath, then we would all have to drink it and die. When Christ asks us to simply believe and trust Him through repentance of sins, why would we not be willing to receive the life that He died for us to have? Christ turned the cup of the Passover into the cup of remembrance for His sacrificial offering.

At this most holy of times, I pray that if you have never remembered our Lord Jesus because you never knew Him, you would invite Him into your heart today. The prayer is simple and life changing. Made a decision for Christ and live!

"Dear Heavenly Father, I am a sinner not worthy of giving You anything, please forgive me. I believe I am forgiven for all my past, present and future sins because I also believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died on the cross 2,000 years ago to free me from sin and death and hell. He finished the work of the devil through the power of His resurrection and now sits in heaven at Your right hand. All power and authority have been given to Him and I am now Your child, not for what I have done, but what You have done. Thank You for loving me. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen."

If you prayed this and truly meant it, you are now born into the kingdom of heaven! Continue to grow in knowledge of Him.

Christ was prepared die in order that we would live.

Scripture taken from the MacArthur Study Bible~New American Standard version.

A Christian Marriage book tends to focus only on matters of relationship mannerisms, proper Christian handling of marital arguments, how to juggle church and kids and jobs, and so forth and so on. What they neglect to mention is the real nuts and bolts (no pun intended, please say a small prayer if you assumed different) of marital Christian sex and how to enhance that sex in order to enhance one's relationship with God.

The Christian marriage book I propose will thrust forward in these very important areas. Diving deep and hard right into the specifics and pitfalls that Christian couples can, and often do, face.

A particular unsung area is that of sexual performance in a Christian marriage. One has to remember that there are many males who have chosen not to sin and remain sex free until marriage. The problem that many a Christian marriage book neglect to talk about is premature ejaculation issues that exist with the male. It is completely natural and normal that a male with little to no sexual experience will enter a Christian marriage and be unable to sustain themselves in order to provide pleasure to their wife. And remember providing for your wife is also providing for God. It is in the celebration of Christian sex that the union of both partners, and God, are in fact celebrated. But many Christian wives remain unsatisfied and don't receive the pleasure they should, due to male issues of premature ejaculation. My Christian marriage book would cover this issue as it is so incredibly common within Christian marriage.

Furthermore, my Christian marriage book would show the male specific ways to cure the problem of premature ejaculation. First I would give the Christian male hope that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. Second I would outline the various ways in which to last stronger, harder, and longer.

My Christian marriage book would inform the male that there are indeed natural exercises that can be performed and practiced in order to achieve long, strong, and hard erectile ability. This along with compassion from your wife, and prayer, can make sex in Christian marriage an incredible Christian life affirming experience.

Settle for no less than a Christian marriage book which covers these sometimes awkward yet very important issues in Christian marriage.

I'm reading a book about St. Francis of Assisi. Because of my love for Creation, my neighbors call me Saint Francine. I'm sure I'm far from what the Catholic church would require for that title, but the Bible does call believers saints, so I guess it's okay.

The book mentions this about Francis: "In his sincere desire to wholeheartedly apply the Gospel to his life, Francis embraced persecution as the emblem of God's love. From the beginning of his religious life (when townspeople jeered him, threw things at him, and called him a madman), to his later years (when he took risky journeys to visit Muslim rulers to talk to them about the Christian faith), Francis saw persecution as the smoke that accompanies the fire of a burning love for God.

In his own life, he accepted persecution with joy. And in his instructions to members of his movement, he portrayed pain as part of the package that goes with a thoroughly spiritual lifestyle."

Embracing persecution as an emblem of God's love! That's a tough one, but the Bible talks about sharing in Christ's sufferings in I Peter 4:12-13,"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation."

Do not be surprised! With much of the world and media trying to tell us the 100 things we need to do to be ultimately and blissfully happy, we tend to think that's what life is supposed to be about. But it's not. It's about preparation for our true Home and our Eternal Life. It's not about ME! It's about glorifying our Father until Jesus returns and being a disciple that we might lead others to eternal life also.

Happiness is based on happenings. Joy is available from within through the Spirit. We can be sad about something and still have joy!

People will notice if you are different! Anybody can go through trials downcast and sad and depressed. When we walk through with the peace and joy that we have available to us in our "new man" we can shine His Light for a lost world to see that He truly does make a difference. It gives people a reason to be drawn to Jesus.

We must know that our trials are our tests in this classroom of life and that we should desire to pass the test the first time around. In many areas, I've seen that I've taken some classrooms of life many times. Like a child left behind in the same grade, I have not given my best and applied myself with the tools that I have.

Now that I see life as a classroom with many subjects to master, I feel more disciplined and capable of being a better student by knowing that God is in control and all will go well if I just rest in His love for me and His power to take care of me.

Adam and Eve sinned because they thought they were missing something. We today think we can control our own lives and destinies by having more knowledge and power, but it only leads to sadness, anger and frustration that things don't go the way we planned. Francis, in the book I mentioned above, taught that joy comes from abandoning ourselves into the hands of God.

It sounds like we don't get to have a life when we do that, but this submission actually connects us to life more deeply and more passionately. When we "give in" to seeing every event and circumstance as a gift from God, whether it be a lesson book, or a sweet treat, we can rejoice in every event. Considering it all joy as Scripture instructs us to do.

Live in the moment. I believe that 95% of our stress, anxiety and fear will be gone when we can live in today. You do not know what will happen tomorrow. "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14)

We cannot control our lives or the lives of our family. Stop ruining your physical and mental health trying to do it. Let go! We do not see things clearly and what we understand is not always Truth. Believe in Him and allow Him to lead you through each day focusing on that day - not the future, not the past. Live in today! Live in Him.

What does it take to become a hero? There are heroes in all fields of endeavour, people who go beyond themselves, challenge the impossible and immortalize their achievements, showing humanity the boundless realm of possibilities that life has to offer, if we can dare to dream and follow our dreams.

Great heroes exist everywhere. Throughout history, thousands of famous heroes can be named. Great war heroes like Napoleon; political figures like Nelson Mandela; human rights campaigners like Martin Luther King; spiritual figures like Mother Teresa; the great musical composers, artists and sportsmen in every sport imaginable, who reach a level of perfection or expertise beyond the general masses.

Amongst us also exist unsung heroes. You read about them in the newspaper, you meet them out in the world, you live with them or perhaps you even are one of them!
The most precious gift that a hero gives us is inspiration. In their actions or in their words, a hero is someone who inspires us to go forward. We see their strength and feel stronger, we observe their capacities and find more capacity within ourselves, and we see their struggles and find our own problems to be not so insurmountable.

To become a hero one has to face challenges. Challenges in life are actually opportunities for us to develop heroic qualities ourselves. If we never give up we will eventually succeed. Spiritual teacher and inspirational writer Sri Chinmoy speaks of the divine hero, saying:

"One has to face the world and not retire into the Himalayan caves. We have to act like divine heroes here amidst humanity."

The qualities that it takes to become a hero are actually divine or inner qualities. Courage, determination, oneness with humanity, humility, faith in oneself or God and a vision for a higher ideal than we are presently living in.

We can, therefore, all become true heroes. Brave the buffets of life. Follow your dreams in whatever field inspires you. Never give up! As Sri Chinmoy writes:

"Be brave!


Embrace new challenges.


Your victory will be manifested


In your self-discovery."

You wake up in the morning and look on your left wrist, now what do you notice? You notice that you had kept on the "Rachel's red string of protection" on your wrist. So you say to yourself "this must have been why I had such a good dream last night".

You get up from bed and go about your day and wondrously, you have such a great day. A couple of employees became a little angry with you and may have cursed at you, but for some reason, you feel totally at peace in your soul. It is the red string you are wearing?

In a number of Jewish traditions, a red string which has been woven around the tomb of the ancient Hebrew matriarch Rachel has mystical powers which can protect the wearer from all evil looks and forces.

Who is Rachel? Rachel is a historical matriarchal figure who was the wife of Jacob( as written in the Bible and Torah scriptures). For many years , she was barren and without child until she is blessed with two children by God.

The figure of Rachel is a symbol of protection and shelter, this is one of the most popular reasons why she is linked to such wondrous protective power.

In Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) , Rachel represents this world in which we live and she is seen as a figure who seeks to protect and secure all of the world's people against evil.

Many stores and websites sell these red strings that they claim to have actually been wound around the tomb of Rachel while special chants and psalms are being read. These incantations are meant to bestow special mystical powers upon the red string.