Gluttony in all its forms is blinding, even to the Self. Gluttony is an insidious form of evil, sabotaging both individuals and entire swarths of humanity in one greedy gulp.
First trappings of evil appear as invisible concepts, ideas of glory without end, and immature bliss at all costs regardless of who gets hurt. Evil and all forms of lack of maturity are mental, emotional, and spiritual sabotage. This is true for both individuals as well as for any country.
It is possible to heal, but as with all other ills, no one can cure that which they do not acknowledge, or purposefully ignore.
According to Enoch, “Evil walked the earth when angels fell. Evil stalks us now in disembodied spirits; immortal wraiths once clothed in flesh when angels and women bred; spirits released from their fleshly prisons when their bodies were destroyed for drinking the blood of men.
“Evil also lives inside of the common man; set free when pride kills reason and eats integrity whole.
“There is evil that entraps us and evil that tugs from within. But neither have control until we choose to relent. Evil is a choice of action, of thoughts entertained too long, of arrogance pushing aside the last vestiges of compassion. When angels or men think of themselves first, this is evil being born afresh. When outcome is not considered, empathy abandoned, or compassion dismissed, evil has come of age.”
The above quote is from THE OMEGA from The Books of Enoch: The Angels, The Watchers and The Nephilim, page 335 in THE BOOKS OF ENOCH, THE ANGELS, THE WATCHERS AND THE NEPHILIM (With Extensive Commentary on the Three Books of Enoch, the Fallen Angels, the Calendar of Enoch, and Daniel’s Prophecy).
Humanity is made of mind, body and Spirit/Soul. Human DNA has an extremely long genealogical line much longer than most realize.
Each person, and society as a whole, can manifest traits of unabashed greed in all its ugly forms. There is a tide that turns otherwise sensible minds dark when they are blinded by gluttony in all forms of selfishness and the bottomless pit of greed.
Each person, and society as a whole, can also manifest unabashed generosity in all its healing side effects. Generosity feeds on empathy, compassion, and kindness for all humanity, not only certain segments of humanity, as if one group or another is better than the rest.
God Bless Every Person Everywhere Without Exception.
Darkness is the lack of Light, naturally. It does no good to focus on the darkness of life. Fighting darkness is like fighting a ghost. The solution is to turn on your contagious and welcoming Light of Love without conditions, which is empathy and compassion instead of harsh judgment.
Focus on the Light, Love and Liberty for all, not just for a select few, or for people who only believe and/or look like you. Broaden your comprehension. Think deeper than simple sayings. Be the change you wish to see in the world through the light-filled lens of understanding illuminated by the Light of knowledge through non-violence.
It’s all about harmonizing with the Light, the Love, Peace, the Joy, which are all aspects of your I Am Presence, which is the Light and Love of your Spirit/Soul, your God-Force guiding and acting through your conscience. This is the same thing as recognizing your Great Presence animating your Life through your Higher Mental and Emotional Bodies. It is in harmonizing and balancing your Light and dark sides of your personality and awareness of who and what you are, a divine aspect of Eternal Universal Life Force Energy acting in the world right where you are at this moment in time.
Now is the time of New Age of Progress: building up, working together for the greater good of humanity at home and abroad.
Follow in the footsteps of justice for all human beings, eradicating lies, conspiracies and under-handed thoughts, words, and actions. Your thoughts matter. Raise them to a higher level of honesty rather than follow the leader of lesser minds. Your words matter. Stop touting conspiracies as if they were the same thing as truth fueled by friends who simply do not know better. Have compassion for them too, because they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. Lying leaders have fallen victim to false truths for self-aggrandizement purposes. Even then, have compassion for them. They are deceived. Follow the example of Ghandi, for example.
Your actions matter, because truth matters. We will all reap the seeds we have sown. Money is not the bottom line. Those who would vote for people who promise to earn them more money will gladly sell their soul to the highest bidder. That’s what a prostitute does. However, the cost for selling out your Spirit/Soul will rob you of your integrity and ultimately diminish you.
Follow the Limitless Living Light of inspiration, solution, and good government for all, not only for a select few at the top. Top-heavy spires topple far too easily, crushing those below them.
There is room for everyone in this beautiful world of ours. Stop listening to the fear mongers who stir the pot of dysfunction for their unholy gain as if only fear of lack and loss is what is to be counted. This is the hoarder’s mentality. There is enough available on this life-giving planet of ours if only we would share.
Earth is our Garden of Eden and you and I are its caretakers, both of it and every human being living upon its fertile land and those we welcome into our beautiful human mosaic tapestry. Not one of us is any better or worth more than any other of us. Only those with runaway egos believe in such nonsense.
This is what the United States really looks like, United Humanity, not only white Americans.
The only problem is if or when you find yourself in any kind of cult. How are you supposed to know if that has happened to you?
“YOU MIGHT BE IN A CULT” by Eric Swalwell ~ This is How You Can Tell
The following was delivered by Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on June 4, 2024 in a hearing to the Republicans in the House Judiciary Oversight Committee:
“My colleagues, none of this today that you are bringing makes sense. Your inconsistencies, your hypocrisy, your sycophancy, unless you are in a cult.
“And guys, I’m starting to think you are in a cult. That is your right, but it is not your responsibility.
“I promise you, that is not what your constituents would want.
“So if you believe in state’s rights, except when a jury in that state convicts your nominee for president, you might be in a cult.
“If you claim to back the blue but want to defund the police, when the police go to your nominee’s house to retrieve national security secrets, you might be in a cult.
“If you’re supporting a guy whose felony convictions prevent him from getting a security clearance, you might be in a cult.
“And if the guy you’re supporting for president has felony convictions that prevent him from going to
I have spoken with people who still believe in Republican lies and conspiracies as if they are truth. These people are still my friends “across the aisle” because I refuse to let a difference of political or religious opinion, even on such a weighty matter, stop our friendship. There is always hope for truth to prevail.
They believe the Republican indoctrination because these lies and conspiracies are still being proclaimed from pulpits of continued indoctrinations, both political and religious, and even in social groups in their secret meetings.
The inconsistencies, hypocrisy, and sycophancy are still found in the heartbeat of the Republican cult followers as if this would-be sinister and maligned Big Lie, duped by their fearful leaders, were true.
It is time to uncover all their covert deceptions because truth matters.
Have you ever wondered if you were wrong in your listening to false information and indoctrination?
It is time for human decency, truth, and honor.
It is time to shine a light on all lies and conspiracies. The people I have spoken with say that it is the Democrats who are lying to their followers.
If that is the case, say these lies and conspiracies out loud. Climb out from the heavy rock of your indoctrinations and peacefully prove your point. Most will not do this because their claims are so ridiculous.
Fear is a powerful motivator. But remember, fear is also an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. This is how cults work.
This election matters. Do not let fear of discovering that you are wrong stop you. There is more for you to know. Don’t let fear and/or embarrassment stop you from finding out the truth for yourself.
Do more research. It is possible to go to non-biased sources to check out your “facts,” such as mainstream news outlets: Reuters, AP, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Bloomberg News, The Atlantic, and Politico. These are not left-wing, nor right-wing opinion news sources.
Allow yourself to hear something different, but don’t stop there. Allow yourself to ask deeper questions, like how this new information could possibly be true, without the negative spin you are used to hearing accompanying it. Try to understand viewpoints other than what is familiar to you. There is more for you to know.
There is a path for you, if you are willing to let go of limitations. It involves letting go what no longer serves you. It is the path of wisdom, power, light and freedom. Yet it is a steep path fraught with peaks of pride, more jagged than the uncharted heights of the ascent.
If you have not found the answers in brick-and-mortar religions of the world, and have more questions than answers, you can benefit, when and if you are ready, by quickening your consciousness, and opening your mind to the freedom Eternal Universal Life Force Energy (some say God of any name) intends for you.
Mother/Father God experiences through your thoughts, words and actions. Your brain, hands and feet are the only human faculties this Dynamic Limitless Living Light Energy has to work in and through you. This Energy is not separate from you, since you are the Sparking of Enlightenment of expanded conscious awareness in your living, breathing, walking human earthly vessel. This means that you are none other than God particles upon this earth. It is not any belief system that activates this comprehension. It is a human reality.
How do you choose to manifest your reality?
Do you measure your attributes on the same scale that you measure your deficiencies?
You are made of this God particle, as I call it, is your I AM THAT I AM Presence which is shared with humanity in a way no other creation upon this earth is.
Remember the Big Bang?
Photo was taken by the Hubbel Space Telescope
It all started with one atom, one thought, one expression, one creation if you will. Technically, one carbon atom first started as subatomic components of 6 protons, 6 neutrons, and 6 electrons which are the vital components of every human being on earth, the 666 of humanity, including you. Protons and neutrons are comprised of smaller quarks, elementary particles not made up of anything else.
“Let there be Light,” one flash of lightning carrying amino acids birthing all life as we know it, is the midwife of humanity in our cauldron of life.
Eternal Universal Life Force Energy is at the center of that initial thought, and within those subatomic smaller quarks within the protons and neutrons of the pulsating atom and every other living pulsing atom that followed. This Living Energy is Self-Evident Knowledge (aka Almighty Father, God), full of Wisdom (aka Mother/Sophia/Holy Spirit) and abounding in Love (aka Christ/Son/Child) Energy. All is One because this Energy cannot be divided, restarted, or ended, as proven by science in the Laws of Thermodynamics.
This Dynamic Limitless Living Light Energy can only be transformed, changed into minute aspects of Itself, manifesting in each human Soul, aspects of Itself.
Eternal Universal Life Force Energy is Limitless Living Love and Limitless Living Life. Eternal Universal Life Force Energy is in the zero point of every atom. In other words more commonly understood today, “God” is in everything and everyone by reason that every human being has a Soul powered by this Limitless Living Light of Eternal Universal Life Force Energy.
Eternal Universal Life Force Energy is in every atom, cell, and fiber of your being. God, as humanity has been indoctrinated into naming this vital Energy, is in the center, that almost zero point of the atom. It may be infinitesimal, so small it is close to the zero point, yet it is living within each atom. You are filled with this Limitless Living Light Energy. We carry that precious divine presence in our hearts everywhere we go.
God is not separate from you and me. We do not need to find Him. God is not lost. You and I are not lost. Our human minds, until they are awakened at the moment in time when we are ready to handle it, that new thought, that open door of possibility, is waiting on our readiness to begin, or begin again.
How many times have I begun again? I seem to be the queen of spiritual scenic detours. But with the life lessons I learn from life’s detours, my starting point is a new and different starting point, with deeper understanding and realizations than I previously had. Perhaps your life experience might be similar.
So here I am, ready, willing and able to carry on teaching metaphysical realities, a journey into freedom, complete freedom, empowerment and the Light of Mother/Father God above as you might say, or as Eternal Universal Life Force Energy as I now know. I invite you to come along with me, to share and to grow, learn and discover.
The world needs us to quicken our consciousness, awaken our slumbering minds, and elevate the thinking processes to the power of positive solutions so in need of them.
But it all starts, or starts again, with the full realization of who you are and why you are here. Do you understand that God works in and through you and me because you and I are the very Temple of God on earth? There is much for you to know, understand and share with others.
There are times we get tired, make excuses and mistakes. We have all the freedom in the world to do that. You and I are free beings. No matter where you live on earth, no matter which country you live in, no matter if you are presently in jail, you have the full freedom of thought. You have the God-given freedom of your mind. How you choose to think is up to you.
The picture above is symbolic of your individual Divine Self. It is a great way to understand the pathway between God and yourself. Your I AM Presence is surrounded by many layers of your aura pulsating in Limitless Living Light vibrational frequencies, visible through the science and colors displayed via Kirlian photography.
Your aura represents your Limitless Living Light Soul, which is sheathed in four different bodies, known as 1) the etheric body, 2) the mental body, 3) the desire or emotional body, and 4) the physical body.
You are what you are, regardless of what you think you are. We are all One. God is One because Eternal Universal Life Force Energy is One.
I know we were all reminded of these things when the television series West Wing first aired, but June being PRIDE MONTH, I thought it would be good to have answers ready for those who do not love as Jesus says to love, since Jesus Christ NEVER said anything against homosexuality. Opponents to gender equality cite the Bible, specifically the Old Testament book of Leviticus, as their reason and justification for hate.
Jesus Christ did give us a simple rule to follow, the Golden Rule, “Do unto others what you would want them to do to you.”
The following is a compilation from many sources regarding the Old Testament book of Leviticus:
Leviticus and Paul say homosexuality is an abomination. It is, they say, a sin and should be punished. “It is in the Bible,” you say. But there is a catch. The following rules are also in the Bible, and don’t get me started on the rules on our side of the covenant with God found in the Temple Scroll.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations.
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord – Lev.1:9.
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death.
6. The Bible says eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10. Is it a lesser abomination than homosexuality?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.
8. Can we men get our hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. And is punishable by death.
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. If you own a farm, you violate Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field.
11. It is a stonable offense if a woman wears garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend).
12. Also if you blaspheme, Leviticus says. You should be stoned to death by the entire community. (Lev.24:10-16).
13 Leviticus also says if you sleep with your in-laws you must be stoned to death. (Lev. 20:14)
Are you sure you want to hang your hat on, “homosexuality is wrong because Leviticus says so?”
Do you really want to adhere to the laws of Leviticus, even though they say you are not to eat a rare hamburger or steak, or put tattoos on your body? And here’s one I have not seen in Christian circles, Leviticus says it is a law that you should stand in respect in the presence of the aged.
When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray for God’s kingdom, not a physical, man-made kingdom on earth. The kingdom of God we are to pray for is not brought on by ego, pride, guns, nor strife. Those are the dark tools of sinister forces whose insatiable appetites for power, money, and domination blind the brains of would-be good people, even Christians, who through misguided allegiance to God find themselves obeying man.
We are not to mix the kingdom of man with the kingdom of God. That is not how this works. We already had the battle of Jericho. Calls sent out today to reenact the battle of Jericho at the United States Capital, as well as all other state Capitol buildings is pure evil, not the will of God.
STAND DOWN.
Do you feel called to act in good faith? Then pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your heart. Jesus told us all how to think, speak and act. You will find none of his words incite any of us to violence.
If, when you pray, you feel intense anger, frustration, and hatred, then you are listening to and following the wrong god.
This is the time for repentance, humility, and trust of God, not the arrogant boast and folly of humans. This is a time of introspection, considering the roles we are living in our lives, based on the choices we make. Are we living in the love, hope, peace, and truth that the kingdom of God promises? If not, you are promoting the illusion that lies, conspiracies, evil, death and destruction are good.
Jesus said, “Because of the increasing lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold.”
That is what we are seeing today in the belligerent manipulation of man usurping the will of God in place of his own.
The kingdom of God is coming, in fact is already here. The profound peace and love of the kingdom of God is already within us, as Jesus told us in Luke 17:21.
How do you know if the kingdom of God is within you?
The fruits of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit will be abundant in your life. If these fruits are missing from your life, you will know you have chosen the wrong road to follow.
If gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, meekness, peace, joy, love, kindness, patience, goodness, temperance, and faith are missing in your life, stop whatever you are doing and pray. Pray for the love of God, Father of Jesus Christ, to enter your heart.
It seems the Republican political party in the USA has been hijacked by so many hate groups that they fear standing up for the right thing for losing their voters. But now, more than ever before, all citizens of the United States of America need to stand up for facts, not fiction; truth, not conspiracy; and honor and integrity over selling out the country. Truth matters.
There are so many other gods out there today, masking as the One, True God. You will know which god (God) you are following by the fruits of your labor.
“Re-Membering” begins with balancing Love in your Life. Love is the answer.
“Re-Membering” is the answer to dismemberment. To “Re-Member” is to REMEMBER who and what you are. To “Re-Member” is to become whole, as you once were, before the dis-memberment occured.
Sometimes we were too young to recall the specific memory held within our cellular structure. All we may know is the feeling of being disconnected to ourselves, to others or to the earth itself. At other times, we might consciously disconnect ourselves from groups of people, at school, at work, or in particular circles like our neighborhoods or other situations where we choose not to interact. This is often done as a means of self preservation.
But what happens to us when we find that we have “Dis-Membered” ourselves from every person, place or thing in our lives?
What about our hopes and dreams for a future void of mental, physical or spiritual pain?
This post speaks to the hearts and minds of many who feel disconnected to themselves, either mentally, physically, and/or spiritually, or more painfully, altogether. Not all lives unfold in the perfection of a well-balanced realization of the dreams and hopes they once had.
What is the answer for lives lived in the shell of what could be?
Life throws us curves, unexpected obstacles, contagious viruses, upheavals in family life, bullies and liars in government who promise us one thing but deliver something else, coupled with our sometimes failing at our own best efforts at improving our perspective, or our physical and/or mental health. At other times we succeed in our efforts to understand who we are and where we are going, but mental, physical or emotional pain shut us down.
This life is a school where we learn the lessons necessary to take us further into the awareness of ourselves, who we are, and why we are here on the planet at this very moment. You and I matter. There is a reason we are all here on earth at this important time. You and I are the pendulum of our own life. We try living a certain way, eating or not eating a certain way, going in and out of things we once believed, only to come out the other side to understand why some actions we did or did not take turned out the way it did.
Pain is a symptom. Pain is not the problem. Treating pain as if it were the problem will keep you in pain, since you are not addressing the root cause of the pain.
Drugs are not the answer. There are drugless therapies out there that work 100 percent of the time, unless given up on. Drugs mask the pain. If drugs block pain to the degree that you feel no more pain, they also block other parts of your humanity as well. It depends how much of yourself you wish to numb by the use of drugs. Some people choose this method of “Dis-Membering” their bodies. Just know there is another way that works without the horrific side effects of so many drugs, including addiction.
Whether you are, or are not taking drugs of any sort to dull the pain, you still get to the same crisis healing point, of deciding on if you want, or do not want to heal. Recognize the crutch of saying that this is how you are or have always been. This is a convenient lie people tell themselves. It is not a true statement to say that because of your past, you cannot heal.
If and when you finally decide to heal your past, heal your emotions, heal your body, and heal your spiritual self, know that is IS possible to “Re-Member” yourself. This begins by ACCEPTING yourself at this exact moment in time. Now is not forever. Your awakened, conscious, and fully formed decision, is the starting point to begin the healing process. You can heal any and all addictions, choosing life-affirming decisions over shutting down life decisions.
Whatever you focus on grows. It is my suggestion that you use your free will to decide life over death, healing over sickness, and “Re-Membering” over dismemberment.
Self Mastery is the path of “Re-Membering” your mind, body and spirit to your eternal soul. This is the means of becoming a whole person, not just one aspect of personhood that we have saved as if it were our entire entity.
We are all on this journey of life, which can take our entire lifetime to figure out. For some people, they know from birth who they are, where they are going and why they are here, with little fluctuation throughout their life. Others of us meander, taking scenic or not-so-scenic detours, trying on different diets, spiritualities, and self-expression.
If the diet pendulum of our mind swings too far one way or the other, we can become anorexic or bulimic; if the emotional pendulum of our mind swings too far one way or the other, we can become totally negative in outlook, or totally positive in outlook.
Out of balance is out of balance.
To “Re-Member” who we are calls for us to eat in a balanced way in order to bring the proper nutrients to every cell of our body for proper assimilation and balance in our physical well-being. To “Re-Member” who we are also calls us to have a balanced mental perspective, which diet has a direct affect. A balanced mental and emotional perspective is neither depressive and full of negativity; nor flighty and not grounded in reality. It is important to address the negative aspects in our lives so that we can decide to take charge of these situations in order to find the best positive solution.
We cannot fix that which we deny is present.
“Re-Membering” who we are awakens our soul response, and connects us to the divine within us. The divine within us is not dark or negative energy. What is perceived as dark or negative energy is merely the lack of Light, Love and Positive energy in the balance of life.
You are a divine being in the process of waking up to who and what you really are. You are not what other people have told you that you are. Realize that other people have other, often impure motives, for putting other down, using and abusing others, and injuring the self-esteem of others around them.
Bullies and people who lack self-esteem themselves sometimes attempt to put others down in order to lift themselves up. It really shows a lack of personal growth and development, a character flaw of the one bullying, insulting and demeaning others. Such behavior ought never to be taken at face value. Do not believe the lies others tell you.
Why?
Love is the answer. Love is always the answer. You are made of and for Love. Love does not come from outside of yourself. Decide to believe in yourself. Discover your likes and dislikes again. Your views on what you once thought was important may have changed over time and experience.
If you are not feeling Love for yourself, it is because, quite simply, you are choosing not to Love yourself. That is a decision you can change. You can change this in a heartbeat. Never wait to feel Love. Be the inititator of Love. Begin by greeting yourself each morning with Love. Love yourself right where you are at this moment, even if you are in pain, send Love to every cell and fiber of your being.
You are a beautiful creature full of wonder and awe. Who you are is much more important that any reflection you see of yourself in others. It feels good to have validation from others, if and when that happens. But seeing a reflection of yourself in others is only a fragment of who you really are in the bigger scheme of things.
You are your best healer. It is necessary to be ready, and willing in order to be able to heal yourself. That begins with your free will. It is a conscious decision you make. All other remedies from the outside of yourself are all secondary to the power within yourself to rule your own destiny.
Also, decide that you are victim of your own life no longer. From now on, you are the master of your own life. This is Self Mastery. You have learned a lot about yourself. You have learned what has worked, and what has not worked in your life. You have learned what has pushed your buttons thus far. Decide never again to react to anything anymore. From now on, decide how you are going to act in any given situation. If you are caught on the spot needing to make a decision before taking immediate action, “Re-Member” to take a few slow breaths, then act in the direction of your new life-affirming plan.
You’ve got this. Keep telling yourself this, because it is true. Whatever you tell yourself, you believe. If you recognize that you have been giving yourself less than life-affirming statements, or beliefs about yourself, correct these dysfunctional, sabotaging thoughts each time they occur to you.
Before long, by your personal will and decision, you can drop addictions to all sorts of chronically negative previous programming. There are support groups that can assist you if you choose. How you decide to heal is up to you. Just know that you do not need to stay in any situation you find yourself. There is always a loving and life-giving response to your situation.
Make a plan to “Re-Member” yourself to yourself, to others around you, and to your life’s dharma. “Re-Member” yourself to faith, hope, and love, which manifests is joy, peace, kindness, wonder, awe in every moment of every day.
Imagine you are here ~ no worries ~ nothing to do ~ RELAX
We need to take care of our mental health, in addition to our physical health. Our mental health is important. We need to take better care of it. With physical health issues, we tend to take care of the things we need to take care of. If we ignore the first symptoms of a problem, the pain associated with the physical problem usually sends us to the doctor, even if it is inconvienient.
But those of us with mental health issues often have another hurdle to jump. Our pride, which is fed by our insane ego, suggests to us that if we were mentally strong enough, then we could simply wish our problems away, or worse yet, our insane ego might suggest that you are feeling so good, you should get off your medications because you do not need them anymore.
NEVER GET OFF ANY MEDICATIONS WITHOUT THE ADVISE OF YOUR DOCTOR WHO PRESCRIBED THEM.
Whatever you focus on grows.
The following considerations work both for people currently on medications, and for those who are not on medications.
Let’s go back. Twice now I’ve referred to the ego as the insane ego. The ego very much wants to have a loud voice, no matter how shy you might be, in order to keep you alive. It does not like to have its voice squelshed. However, our ego can make its presence known so loudly that we trip over it time after time. So I will be refering to our unbridaled ego as the insane ego.
Our insane ego can rear up when we first become aware that we might be mentally unbalanced, overly frightened or overwhelmed, by suggesting that this problem “is all in your mind,” and that “It will go away.” Guess what? Problems, mental or otherwise do not go away when we do not deal with them.
It is important for good mental health, to acknowledge our feelings. Feelings are not right or wrong. They simply are. Unpleasant feelings like guilt, unworthiness, grief, and depression do not magically transform themselves by stuffing them deep, down inside you, or denying them. First we need to acknowledge them. Sometimes these feelings are so strong they create a physical pain, but that’s just the symptom of the emotional pain. Know this, once you identify the source of the problem and deal with it, the pain begins to lessen, while your personal power grows stronger.
Whatever you focus on grows. The more you focus on the anxiety, the more the anxiety grows. The good news is, the more you focus on relaxation, and doing the things that bring on the relaxation response, the more you will unwind and heal.
While it is not healthy to pretend we do not have anxiety, it is healthy to have a conscious plan including self-talk and mantras, simply phrases we keep repeating to ourselves to re-train our mind in how we think. Yes, there are times medications are needed, but quite often using these simple self-help tools work to reduce stress, restore mental balance and increase self esteem without them.
For panic attacks, remember to breathe. Nowadays we do not breathe right. When we do breathe, we do not get the same amount of oxygen as we did a century ago due to so much pollution in the air. Plus we are cutting down the rainforests in the world, which are the lungs of the planet. So, remember to take slow, deep breaths. After taking 15 slow, deep breaths, your blood pressure usually returns to normal.
You need to know, if this hasn’t occurred to you already, that you are not going to “feel” like doing any of this. Once the negative habit of anxiety has rooted in you, a little voice inside of you will start by telling you, “This is stupid,” or “It won’t work,” or “I don’t feel like it.” It’s like you have the negative you on one side, and the positive at-least-wants-to-try-to-be-positive you on the other side. Realize this before hand so you expect it, then consciously take the steps to get better anyway.
Yes, you can get better.
To reduce stress, make sure each day includes stretching, Yoga or walking. Remember to move your body in five different directions. For example, you could do a forward bend, arch your back backwards, lean from the waist to one side sliding your hand down your outer calf or whereever you can reach, then do the same thing on the other side. Lastly, do some sort of twist, gently. None of these moves need to be extreme. They just need to be done. This helps you by releasing those feel-good endorphines. Start by doing this for five minutes, then gradually over a few days increase to 15-20 minutes each day, rain or shine.
Listen to happy music you like. Relaxing music helps a lot.
Know too that the world is not going to come to an end if you do not get everything on your to-do list done. Your head already knows this, yet somehow we place enormous burdens on ourselves, out of a mis-guided goal of perfection. Accept yourself right where you are, right now, with all limitations you see. Ask the good God who made you for the assistance you need. It is not that you are perfect if or when you get 900 things done in a day. Give yourself permission to be you and enjoy the wonder.
Namaste The God in Me recognizes the God in You Have A Beautiful Day!
There is a path for those willing to let go of limitations. It involves letting go what no longer serves us. It is the path of wisdom, power, light and freedom. Yet it is a steep path fraught with peaks of pride, more jagggard than the uncharted heights of the ascent.
For those who have not found the answers in brick and mortar religions of the world, who have more questions than answers, we can benefit, when and if we are ready, by quickening our consciousness, and open our mind to the freedom God intends for each one of us. Mother/Father God experiences through our thoughts, words and actions. Our brains, hands and feet are the only human faculties God has to work in and through us, though not as separate from us, but rather sparking the enlightenment that we are living, breathing, walking God particles upon this earth.
This God particle, as I call it, is our I AM THAT I AM Presence. Remember the Big Bang? It all started with one atom, one thought, one expression, one creation if you will. God is at the center of that initial thought, that atom and every other living pulsing atom that followed. God is Love. God is Life. God is in the zero point of every atom. God is in everything and everyone. God is in every atom in every cell in every fiber of your and my being. God, in the center, that zero point of the atom, is a calm quiet within each atom. We are filled with God. We carry that precious divine presence in our hearts everywhere we go.
God is not separate from you and me. We do not need to find Him. God is not lost. You and I are not lost. Our human minds, until they are awakened at the moment in time when we are ready to handle it, that new thought, that open door of possibility, is waiting on our readiness to begin, or begin again.
How many times have I begun again? I seem to be the queen of scenic detours. But with the life lessons I learn from life’s detours, my starting point is a new and different starting point, with deeper understanding and realizations than I previously had. Perhaps your life experience might be similar.
So here I am again, ready, willing and able to carry on teaching metaphysical realities, a journey into freedom, complete freedom, empowerment and the Light of Mother/Father God above. I invite you to come along with me, to share and to grow, learn and discover.
The world needs us to quicken our consciousness, awaken our slumbering minds and elevate the thinking processes to the power of positive solutions so in need of them.
But it all starts, or starts again, with the full realization of who you are and why you are here. Do you understand that God works in and through you and me because you and I are the very temple of God on earth? There is much for us to know, understand and share with others.
There are times we get tired, make excuses and mistakes. We have all the freedom in the world to do that. You and I are free beings. No matter where you live on earth, no matter which country you live in, no matter if you are presently in jail, you have the full freedom of thought. You have the God-given freedom of your mind. How you choose to think is up to you.
The picture above is a chart of our individual Divine Self. It is a great way to understand the pathway between God and ourselves. The chart shows Three Persons of the Trinity and the Divine Mother. The upper figure corresponds to the Father (who is one with the Mother), and represents your I AM Presence, your personalized I AM THAT I AM, the name of God revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai.
Your I AM Presence is surrounded by seven concentric spheres of rainbow light that make up your causal body.
Your higher self is depicted in the middle figure, your Christ Self. The shaft of white light decending from the I AM Presence through the Christ Self to the lower figure is known is known as the crystal cord. In Ecclesiastes, it is referred to as the silver cord (Eccles. 12:6)
The lower figure represents your soul, which is sheathed in four different bodies, known as 1) the etheric body, 2) the mental body, 3) the desire or emotional body, and 4) the physical body.
You are what you are, regardless of what you think you are. We are all One. God is One.
I invite you to share in my joy, happiness, serene peace, forgiveness, and abiding love.
This beautiful prayer makes a meditative pause in the breath of this Palm Sunday. Find a few quiet moments to rejuvenate your mind, soul and spirit. Drink from the well that never will run dry.
This prayer was first published as “Ad Quem diu Suspiravi,” from the Latin of Alexander LeopoldFranz Emmerich, Prince of Hohenlohe, Bishop of Sardica. It was translated by the Rev. John F. Duston, S.J.
When sex education classes were introduced into public school systems across the United States of America back in the 1990s, parents asked me to write a book to help parents and their grade five through eight children, so they could have a more value-based teaching to present to their young ones. I also had a sixth grader coming through the school at that time, and other of my children to follow. I agreed and authored The Virtue of Virtues, which I taught at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hopedale, Massachusetts, in the Diocese of Worcester.
Some of the sex education textbooks I’d seen in public schools asked the sixth grade children in their sex education class when was that the last time they had sex; and promoted products on the best condoms and gels to use for their own protection. While using the best condoms and the best gels might be beneficial to preventing them from getting certain diseases, the premise that all the sixth graders were having sex was inaccurate. Not only was it inaccurate, it was undermining what many parents had been, and to this day, are teaching about morality. Schools were usurping parental authority on what morals ought to be taught to their children.
Schools across the country had D.A.R.E. ~ Just Say No Program to help students combat the drug and alcohol epidemic sweeping through schools of all kinds of socio-economic status. But when it came to underage kids being sexually active, there were no protections put in place for those children who did not want to, or choose not to have sex. Teaching about condoms, gels and abortions as the means to prevent unwanted pregnancies was apparently the way to go.
What about the sexually abused student? Would condoms, gels and abortions be the remedy for them if they got pregnant?
What about the 12-year-old girl or boy who did not want to have sex with another student, teacher, or other adult? Would condoms, gels and abortions be the remedy for these students as well?
Of course not.
I attended the next school council meeting in order to present parent concerns over these issues. However, peer pressure does not only stop with children in school. It became apparent that sex education classes were here to stay. What the school council did decide to do was to go along with the newly created Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993. The Town of Hopedale voted me in as one of the 2 parents in the town. On that civic board, I was voted in as co-chairperson along with the elementary school principal.
At the first board meeting, I suggested that part of the education reform ought to include a course on ethics to go along with the sex education program. In that way, children without a voice would be able to use the program (which was yet to be written) to better be able to stand up for themselves and not be pushed into going along with the crowd if they did not want to go along with them. The free will of the children was being usurped.
“We need to have a course on ethics to go along with the sex education program,” I said to the board.
“But whose ethics would we teach?” was the quick comeback from the school principal.
I realized at that moment that this public school would not allow certain ethics or particular kinds of morality to be taught in the public schools. They did teach not to steal other children’s lunch money, not to fight on the playground, and not to disrespect the teacher, but somehow teaching about the morality of protecting their own person as being private to each student was beyond the comprehension.
Morality as a subject in the public school curriculum was not addressed. I told the board that this material is the role of the parents to address with their children, not the public school system. The principal told me that since many homes were now single parent homes, and that many parents were not teaching this subject to their children, the role of sex education would now fall to the schools. I withdrew my children from this amoral sex education curriculum.
That’s when I knew had to write The Virtue of Virtues. It is a grade five – eight, virtue-based morality curriculum designed to be incorporated into existing CCD parish programs. I taught it to sixth-graders. The seven lessons may be taught once each month during the CCD year or in a seven-week block from October to December at the start of the CCD year. Both methods have proven to be successful.
Parents can also use this organized approach to teach virtues to their children, since The Virtue of Virtues may be taught one hour each night for one week, once a week for seven weeks, or once a month for seven months. Parents have the opportunity to teach their children individually or in a comfortable setting with other parents and children.
My job since 1977 to that point was writing for a newspaper, The Milford Daily News (under the name Linda Kearsley), as a correspondent and feature story writer for the neighboring Town of Mendon. I decided to answer the six questions every reporter needs to ask for a complete story: What?, Why?, How?, When?, Who? and Where?.
The What? section of each chapter refers to a current day fiction story, which deals with the lesson theme, and is followed by the Why? section that asks questions. How? is a written activity. When? opens the scriptures for the students, while Who? illustrates the message is meant for them. Each lesson concludes with Where? calling students to act out their faith here and now.
This book is written with much love for our youth. Each of the seven lessons leads children to seek out God, who loves them, and to live out the virtues, as a way of returning their love for God.
The seven chapters are:
1. Theological Virtues
A. Faith
B. Hope
C. Love
2. Cardinal Virtues
A. Prudence
B. Justice
C. Fortitude
D. Temperance
3. Fruits Of The Holy Spirit
A. Charity (Love)
B. Joy
C. Peace
D. Patience
E. Kindness
F. Goodness
G. Endurance
H. Mildness
I. Faith
J. Modesty
K. Restraint
L. Chastity
4. Seven Capital Sins
A. Pride
B. Covetousness (Greed)
C. Lust
D. Anger
E. Gluttony
F. Envy
G. Sloth
5. The Opposite Virtues
A. Humility
B. Generosity
C. Chastity
D. Meekness
E. Temperance
F. Brotherly Love
G. Diligence
6. Friendship
A. Mutual Respect
B. Sincerity
C. Loyalty
D. Faithfulness
E. Honesty
F. Purity
G. Self-esteem
7. Decision Making
A. Free Will
B. Coercion
C. Responsibility
D. Exploitation
E. Peer Pressure
F. Character
Teacher’s Objectives for each class are explained in the Appendix. Parents will also benefit from the Appendix at the conclusion of the book, which includes references to today’s Catechism of the Catholic Church dealing with virtues.
If there ever was a time when moral courage was on trial, it is today. We can do much to foster virtues in our youth, and in the process, strengthen these same virtues within ourselves. Virtues are the first stepping stones leading to mature character development.
Let us not shy away from teaching virtues to our children. Not one of us is perfect. We begin, or begin again, right where we are. Let us bloom where we are planted, in the garden of our homes, families, neighborhoods and parishes. This is a positive step we can take to instill wholesome goodness in a world in want and need of virtues.
How balanced is your life? Are you balanced between home, work, school, relationships and everything else? What are the signs to watch out for that you are out of balance?
Picture a seesaw with one side up, the other side down and the fulcrum, that balance point between the two in theLever with globe of Earth and small ball. simple machines by Archimedes. lever is a machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge or fulcrum. middle. Jesus Christ is the fulcrum of all of our lives. We choose whether to live with Him in our lives, or without Him; or with or without God His Father in our lives. The same goes for the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and Son. We choose each day whether or not to include this Love on our lives. But without Jesus as our center point, there is no point.
Jesus Christ, Son of God Almighty, is the balance point in all of our lives, our true fulcrum. Each of us decides when enough is enough in our day-to-day living. The determining factor of who we are, what we believe, and what we will allow into our lives is all up to us. But there is an unnecessary problem we create for ourselves when we exclude Jesus Christ, who came to earth to show us how to live in this world, presently ruled by Satan.
Think of this for a moment. Jesus was led out into the desert wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by Satan. For forty days and nights Jesus fasted. Then Satan tempted Him to get food by changing stones into loaves of bread.
Jesus answers, “No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed men’s souls; obedience to the word of God is what we need.”
Then Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem to the roof of the Temple, and said, “Jump off and prove you are the Son of God …”
Jesus responds, “It also says not to put God to a foolish test.”
Lastly, Satan took Jesus to the peak of a very high mountain, and showed Him all the nations of the world and all their glory, and said to Him, “I’ll give it all to you, if you will only kneel and worship me.”
How could this last test of Jesus been a real temptation is Satan were not the real ruler of this world?
Would the temptation of Jesus in the desert after His baptism really have been a temptation if Satan were not the present ruler of this world? (Remember Satan and one-third of the angels in heaven were cast out of heaven and sent to earth. These are the fallen angels of old.) Jesus goes into the desert where Satan tempts Him that if Jesus would bow down before him, Satan would give him all the kingdoms of the earth.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, remained faithful amid great temptations. How hungry are we after only missing a meal or a day or two of no food? Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was most certainly at the point of starving, and still chose to do God’s will, not his own.
We get that same choice to make each and every day. Who’s will do we follow?
Sometimes we act as though we are not in charge of ourselves, or our government or situations like global warming or world peace. But everything we think, do and say show us if we are in our out of balance, and what principles are important to us.
Policies and strategies can also be balanced on government fulcrums perfectly, or miss the mark entirely. When governments are out of balance, it is possible to not only fail as a nation, it is possible to harm the citizens who live there, cauterizing the hearts of rulers who treat people as less than human. Governments are the fulcrums within their own administrations as well as meeting their responsibilities globally. When governments are out of balance in their duties, it is possible to put an end to the one planet we all live on.
Each day we make the choices in our lives, to live by God’s will each day, or by our own will. Then there are times we freely give our own God-given will away to others or to situations. Those are the times we play the victim of our lives. Sometimes we act as if we are not in control of our lives, or that we are ignorant of what is really going on so that we do not have to deal with it. This is when we step out of our own power, as if someone else will make these decisions for us. This has a side benefit. When we play the victim in our lives, or abdicate the responsibility for our lives, we then begin to blame other people and other circumstances for everything we think is wrong. But this is not the truth. We are deceiving ourselves.
We need to peacefully take back the God-given power of our free-will that we gave away, individually, in our families, in our states and in our countries in the world, of which we are all a part. We can do this with calm integrity, no need for rash behavior. If we want things to be better, we have the power to make them better by making better life-giving decisions, and being better people. Let’s admit it. Sometimes we do not do our best because of a host of other reasons and/or justifications.
However, all of us in every country in the world, are at a tipping point of more people choosing bad over good, evil over good, or sin over virtue, not only in our own lives, but in the world at large. We can change this if we want to, but nothing will change unless we consciously decide to choose more good over bad, good over evil, or sin over virtue.
If money is the bottom line, as most people say these days as to what they determine to be the most important reason for decisions made, then humanity is doomed to fail, cities and states are doomed to fail, and the ecological health of the world will fail. In all cases, we can have all the money in the world and die of a disease; Flint, Michigan can have the biggest bank account to save money but unless money is spent to fix drinkable water there, the drinking water will remain toxic; and the world’s economy matters little when global warming is completed and the earth is no more.
There are many factors that affect our decisions, like greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride. We know these seven pitfalls as the seven deadly sins because they hurt us individually as well as collectively. Each of these negative or bad traits, sin, has a positive or good remedy, virtue.
Rather than be motivated by greed, we can think, speak and act generously. Perhaps money is not the bottom line after all.
Instead of envy we can practice genuine love.
To improve on sloth (laziness) we can take vitamins and invigorate our dreams, renew our goals, and begin yet again.
To combat the addiction to lust we can welcome purity and modesty in our thoughts, words and actions.
Addressing wrath and uncontrolled anger, a bad habit and often an addiction, requires taking a few deep breaths and allowing understanding, listening to others, improving communication and peaceful solutions to be possible. We may feel justified in our wrathful, renegade emotions, but unless we deal with them with integrity we may have regrets as time goes by.
The solution to gluttony is moderation in food and drink, or any other addiction we are over-indulging in.
Finally, the answer for pride is humility. Being proud of our accomplishments at a job well done is not a bad thing. The problem with pride arises when we go overboard, becoming vain, arrogant and haughty. We do not even like ourselves when we don this puffed up attitude, if we are being perfectly honest.
As strong as the negative traits, more accurately known as sins are, the positive virtues can become just as strong or stronger. It is simply a matter of focusing on good over bad, choosing good over evil. Practicing these seven virtues is one way we can make good shine in our lives.
What is wrong with the world starts with you and me, and the priorities we live by. You and I are each responsible for the conditions in our lives, our neighborhoods, cities and states, and in all countries in the world. Each day you and I get to decide for good, or for bad; for virtue or for sin. We each decide on this very day whether we will choose good over evil, evil over good or virtue over sin. We can build ourselves up or we can tear ourselves down. Likewise, we can tear our neighbors down or build them up; like tearing down or building up policies and actions that benefit the entire world.
Why does this matter?
It matters to you as an individual person to mature in integrity and honesty. It matters in order to create the neighborhoods we want to live in. It matters to stand up for the scientific facts that tell of how to fix broken systems in the world. Integrity and truth matter.
Thinking of our failings only as bad habits or negative traits keeps us is a downward cycle of “that is just how I am.” But acknowledging our failures as sins, something we can repent and be forgiven for, give us hope. We can make amends and build the broken bridges we have caused in our relationships. Try as we might, we will sin before the night is through in our thoughts, words and actions today. We are not perfect. But we keep trying. God the Father will always forgive us, through the Love of Jesus our Savior, and the Love of the Holy Spirit. These are the gifts promised to us by Jesus. Each day we have this hope. There is always hope.
Isn’t it our own business how we live our lives?
Yes, it matters. Yes it is our own business. The point is that we look at the world, then point fingers at what is wrong with it, when you and I are the snowball that started it all. There are things we can do to fix the problems of personal and global greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride, as mentioned above. We must start with ourselves if we want our countries to be better, for the sake of the world.
We have to start with the beginning of the problem, not just the middle or end of the problem.
Things never stay the same. Change is the only constant in life. Choosing good over bad, good over evil, or virtue over sin, however you look at it, will create a healthier, kinder, more humane world in which we all can live and thrive. This also creates a new beginning in our relationship with God, which might need our attention at this very moment.
Start right where you are. Are you in government? Then make the most honest, best decisions you can for the life of all the people under your jurisdiction, and for the life of the planet, not just self interest. Otherwise, you can be the fulcrum that tips towards destruction not only of you personally, but the entire earth. We are very near tipping towards the point of no return. Presently this is possible to fix. Try to be part of the solution, not exacerbating the problem. Things never stay the same. You can be the instrument to save the world as opposed to demolishing it. Ask for God’s help, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, with all the Love the Holy Spirit has to give.
The same goes for the financial crisis erupting in all countries across the globe, and all other matters of importance. Remember this when things get so complicated we cannot see the forest for the trees, think PEOPLE BEFORE THINGS. To have balance, prioritize people by helping where and when you can over taking care of things. Financial matters are things. Things matter, but people matter more. Money is not always the answer for problems people have. Yes, it all matters. You matter. Again, do not forget to include God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Love of the Holy Spirit in all your decisions for the best results possible.
All people matter, not only the rich, the top one percent of the wealthiest among us; not only the milky white people, but all people represented by the 203 countries including territories and protectorates of the United States of America, most of which are not milky white. God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, created Jesus His Son as His first Creation before any and everything else, in which Jesus took part in every other Creation known to us. We were all Created in Love, and with free-will.
We live in a global society. Our friends and families live all over the world. The planes we fly land in most all countries in this one world we share.
We are one race, the human race, here on this planet.
Education matters. Are you in education? Encourage your students/children with critical thinking skills in order that they include compassion and common sense as a problem solving process they can work with, including not mindlessly following the mistakes of some of the prejudiced generations before them. Show them by example how we all can be better people. Pray again. Pray through Jesus Christ, in the Love of the Holy Spirit, to the Father of All Creation, for the minds of all of humanity to continue to grow and learn as we were intended to grow and learn.
Educators, how do you handle bullying, hungry students, students at risk, students compromised in a wide variety of situations, and students standing up for themselves? Education is a priority in every person, family, neighborhood, state and country for the success of the world. Teachers are the shining light, the good that can help so many students in need of empathy, compassion, and understanding to be better citizens of the world. Never stop praying, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, who Himself endured numerous injustices in this world.
However we think of it, and whatever we think about, we bring about. Let’s make the world a beautiful place to live, within ourselves, with our families and friends, neighborhoods, states, countries and the entire world. Let us include God our heavenly Father, Jesus Christ His Son and our brother, and the Love of the Holy Spirit in our greater families since that is truly what we are, one global family.
Picture a seesaw with one side up, the other side down and the fulcrum, that balance point between
Lever with globe of Earth and small ball. simple machines by Archimedes. lever is a machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge or fulcrum.
the two in the middle. Individually, we are the fulcrum of our lives.
Jesus is the balance in our lives. We use our God-given free will to decide when enough is enough. The determining factor of who we are, what we believe, and what we will allow into our lives is all up to us. But if it is not based on the firm foundation paid before us by Jesus Christ, it will not stand the test of time.
Policies and strategies can also be balanced on government fulcrums perfectly, or miss the mark entirely. When governments are out of balance, it is possible to not only fail as a nation, it is possible to harm the citizens who live there, cauterizing the hearts of rulers who treat people as less than human. Governments are the fulcrums within their own administrations as well as meeting their responsibilities globally. When governments are out of balance in their duties, it is possible to put an end to the one planet we all live on.
Each day we make the choices in our lives. We know this, but sometimes we play the victim of our lives. Sometimes we act as if we are not in control of our lives, or that we are ignorant of what is really going on so that we do not have to deal with it. This is when we step out of our own power, as if someone else will make these decisions for us. This has a side benefit. When we play the victim in our lives, or abdicate the responsibility for our lives, we then begin to blame other people and other circumstances for everything we think is wrong. But this is not the truth. We are deceiving ourselves.
We need to peacefully take back our power that we gave away, individually, in our families, in our states and in our countries in the world, of which we are all a part. We can do this with calm integrity, no need for rash behavior. If we want things to be better, we have the power to make them better by making better life-giving decisions, and being better people. Let’s admit it. Sometimes we do not do our best because of a host of other reasons.
However, all of us in every country in the world, are at a tipping point of more people choosing bad over good, or evil over good not only in our own lives, but in the world at large. We can change this if we want to, but nothing will change unless we consciously decide to choose more good over bad, or good over evil.
If money is the bottom line, as most people say these days as to what they determine to be the most important reason for decisions made, then humanity is doomed to fail, cities and states are doomed to fail, and the ecological health of the world will fail. In all cases, we can have all the money in the world and die of a disease; Flint, Michigan can have the biggest bank account to save money but unless money is spent to fix drinkable water there, the drinking water will remain toxic; and the world’s economy matters little when global warming is completed and the earth is no more.
Any balance point that does not include Jesus Christ as its foundation is doomed to fail.
There are many factors that affect our decisions, like greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride. We know these seven pitfalls as the seven deadly sins because they hurt us individually as well as collectively. Each of these negative or bad traits has a positive or good remedy.
Rather than greed we can think, speak and act generously. Perhaps money is not the bottom line after all.
Instead of envy we can practice genuine love.
To improve on sloth (laziness) we can take vitamins and invigorate our dreams, renew our goals, and begin yet again.
To combat the addiction to lust we can welcome purity and modesty in our thoughts, words and actions.
Addressing wrath and uncontrolled anger, a bad habit and often an addiction, requires taking a few deep breaths and allowing understanding, listening to others, improving communication and peaceful solutions to be possible. We may feel justified in our wrathful, renegade emotions, but unless we deal with them with integrity we may have regrets as time goes by.
The solution to gluttony is moderation in food and drink.
Finally, the answer for pride is humility.
As strong as the negative traits are, the positive virtues can become just as strong or stronger. It is simply a matter of focusing on good over bad, choosing good over evil. Practicing these seven virtues is one way we can make good shine in our lives.
What is wrong with the world starts with you and me. You and I are each responsible for the conditions in our lives, our neighborhoods, cities and states, and in all countries in the world. Each day you and I get to decide for good, or for bad. We each decide on this very day whether we will choose good over evil, or evil over good. We can build ourselves up or we can tear ourselves down. Likewise, we can tear our neighbors down or build them up; like tearing down or building up policies and actions that benefit the entire world.
Why does this matter?
It matters to you as an individual person to mature in integrity and honesty. It matters in order to create the neighborhoods we want to live in. It matters to stand up for the scientific facts that tell of how to fix broken systems in the world. Integrity and truth matter.
Isn’t it our own business how we live our lives?
Yes, it matters. Yes it is our own business. The point is that we look at the world, then point fingers at what is wrong with it, when you and I are the snowball that started it all. There are things we can do to fix the problems of personal and global greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride, as mentioned above. We must start with ourselves if we want our countries to be better, for the sake of the world.
We have to start with the beginning of the problem, not just the middle or end of the problem.
Things never stay the same. Change is the only constant in life. We already know this. Choosing good over bad, or good over evil, however you look at it, will create a healthier, kinder, more humane world in which we all can live and thrive.
Start right where you are. Are you in government? Then make the most honest, best decisions you can for the life of all the people under your jurisdiction, and for the life of the planet, not just self interest. Otherwise, you can be the fulcrum that tips towards destruction not only of you personally, but the entire earth. We are very near tipping towards the point of no return. Presently this is possible to fix. Try to be part of the solution, not exacerbating the problem. Things never stay the same. You can be the instrument to save the world as opposed to demolishing it.
The same goes for the financial crisis erupting in all countries across the globe, and all other matters of importance. Remember this when things get so complicated we cannot see the forest for the trees, think PEOPLE BEFORE THINGS. To have balance, prioritize people by helping where and when you can over taking care of things. Financial matters are things. Things matter, but people matter more. Money is not always the answer for problems people have. Yes, it all matters. You matter.
All people matter, not only the rich, the top one percent of the wealthiest among us; not only the milky white people, but all people represented by the 203 countries including territories and protectorates of the United States of America, most of which are not milky white.
We live in a global society. Our friends and families live all over the world. The planes we fly land in most all countries in this one world we share. We are one race, the human race, here on this planet.
Education matters. Are you in education? Encourage your students/children with critical thinking skills in order that they include common sense as a problem solving process they can work with, including not mindlessly following the mistakes of some of the prejudiced generations before them. Show them by example how we all can be better people.
Educators, how do you handle bullying, hungry students, students at risk, students compromised in a wide variety of situations, and students standing up for themselves? Education is a priority in every person, family, neighborhood, state and country for the success of the world. Teachers are the shining light, the good that can help so many students in need of empathy, compassion, and understanding to be better citizens of the world.
However we think of it, and whatever we think about, we bring about. Let’s make the world a beautiful place to live, within ourselves, with our families and friends, neighborhoods, states, countries and the entire world.
Nationalism always produces war, hatred, bigotry; and class, wealth, and racist divisions. The Humans all the same. Picture courtesy of J. Krishnamurti.
illusion that has duped nationalists in all countries, is that whoever the chosen few are in their corner of Creation, whoever and wherever that is, they think they are better, more powerful and more worthy than the rest. They are not.
It is out of fear, lack and want that they spawn lies of scarcity, insane ego and hate. There is also a bottomless greed that sets in, mistakenly thinking all the riches of money, land, and anything else they deem to be of value belongs to them.
Nationalists do not deserve life, nor a better quality of life, more than any other classification of human being who is different from them.
The right to life is God given, not manmade.
Nationalism is not to be solved by bringing about further nationalism, which is only an avoidance of the fact that despite their pigeon hole view of life, they are not better than anyone else.
Nationalism is a poison to a country. It is the problem to be solved peacefully with intelligent diplomacy, not a goal to be attained through manipulation, lies and war. Nationalism is what divides people, not unifies them.
The separate spirit of nationalism is spreading like fire all over the world. Nationalism, under the guise of patriotism, is cultivated and cleverly exploited by those who are seeking further expansion, wider powers, greater enrichment. On one hand each one of us takes part in this process, for we desire these things on a much smaller scale, in our families, jobs and social circles. Conquering other lands and other people provides new markets for goods as well as for political and religious ideologies, as if that is a good idea.
Has it ever occurred to us that it is possible to improve new markets for goods, as well as promoting political and/or religious ideologies with peaceful intelligence? It is possible to have peaceful resolution here all over the world, even now.
Nationalism, the patriotic spirit, class and race consciousness, are all ways of the self, and therefore separate. After all, what is a nation but a group of individuals living together for economic and self-protective reasons? Out of fear and acquisitive self-defense arises the idea of “my country”, with its boundaries and tariff walls, and various walls of separation, rendering brotherhood and the unity of humankind impossible.
It is because of nationalism, ready to defend our sovereign States, our beliefs and acquisitions, that we must be perpetually be armed. Property and ideas have become more important to us than human life, so there is constant antagonism and violence between ourselves and others. By maintaining the sovereignty of our country, we are destroying our sons; by worshiping the State, which is but a projection of ourselves, we are sacrificing our children to our own gratification. Nationalism and sovereign governments are the causes and instruments of war
Nationalism always produces war, and the problem is not to be solved by bringing about further nationalism, which is only an avoidance of the fact
Humans all the same. Picture courtesy of J. Krishnamurti.
and an extension of the same poison, but by being free of nationalism, of the sense of belonging to a particular group, to a particular class of society.
The separate spirit of nationalism is spreading like fire all over the world. Patriotism is cultivated and cleverly exploited by those who are seeking further expansion, wider powers, greater enrichment; and each one of us takes part in this process, for we desire these things. Conquering other lands and other people provides new markets for goods as well as for political and religious ideologies.
Nationalism, the patriotic spirit, class and race consciousness, are all ways of the self, and therefore separate. After all, what is a nation but a group of individuals living together for economic and self-protective reasons? Out of fear and acquisitive self-defense arises the idea of “my country”, with its boundaries and tariff walls, rendering brotherhood and the unity of man impossible.
It is because we are nationalists, ready to defend our sovereign States, our beliefs and acquisitions, that we must be perpetually be armed. Property and ideas have become more important to us than human life, so there is constant antagonism and violence between ourselves and others. By maintaining the sovereignty of our country, we are destroying our sons; by worshiping the State, which is but a projection of ourselves, we are sacrificing our children to our own gratification. Nationalism and sovereign governments are the causes and instruments of war
To heal the problem outside of us, we need to heal the inside of us.
Why are we shooting each other? Have shootings become a communication skill? What is stopping us from listening, truly listening to the plight of others? Yes, it is a complex problem, but it is not impossible to solve. The question is, do we really want to solve this problem?
We have the tools to fix this. These tools come from within us. These tools do not cost us anything, except for maybe our pride and our ego. It is critical to let go of the crutch of our justifications, and the iron fist of failure.
It is possible to mend our country, and the world, if only we want to. This is the start of the solution to mend any division between individual people, or groups of people.
Follow the energy. Some people interpret this as, follow the money, or follow the power. But money and power are merely forms of energy. A snowball rolling down a snow laden hill will continue to get bigger until the momentum of energy changes. You and I are the beginning of this change, in understanding the problems we face in our cities.
It begins with you and me, no matter who you are, you matter. No matter how old or young you are, you matter. Black lives matter. Blue lives matter. And yes, all lives matter. But in understanding that all lives matter, we come to realize that white lives have always mattered. Black lives have not always mattered. No matter if you are police, your lives matter. No matter if you are innocent citizens, your lives matter.
We can be a positive and healing change. How? It begins with our thoughts. Before healing ideas can take hold outside of us, healing ideas must take root inside of us. Before our words can come up with creative and positive solutions, we must heal our thoughts of separation, from each other and from God. Before we can heal our actions, we must heal our words. Why is this important? It is important because you matter.
It is not the other guy’s fault. It is not just a problem for adults. It is not just a problem for our country’s youth. It is not just a problem for black people. It is not just a problem for white people, or any other group of human beings we can target and isolate as different from ourselves, no matter what our race, color, creed, gender, weight, height, hair color, eye color, or any other difference is.
In a world damaged by tunnel vision, warped attitudes, crippled thinking, outrageous actions, fears, hate-based actions, and the need to be right whether we are right or not; it is a time to examine ourselves closely to see if our thoughts, words and actions are manifesting the integrity necessary to listen, in order to heal the God-given right to life of all people, especially those most oppressed among us.
Kindness is sparked by doing only that which is right and letting go of the rest.
Heavenly Father, you animate my Spirit and Soul with your Eternal Universal Life Force Energy and remind me how much I am loved by you, personally, intimately. This world can be trying with its vexing distractions, political turmoil, human cruelty and ego-driven pride, fueled by my and others anxiety and drama addictions.
Remind me of a time when I was first created, when I was new and innocent, filled with inspirations of integrity, sparked by your very breath in me. What did you have in store for me when I first made my début in this world?
This fast-paced world screams so loud at times that it can be difficult to concentrate on the things that matter most, the loving whispers of your care for me, poured out in the depths of my heart. You do not capture me in the loudest moments of the day. It is in the quiet of the morning, the break in the day, or in the twilight of the evening that gets pulled up over me, blanketing me with your love. That I notice.
Struggles with finances, fame and glory are necessary to deal with in my existence, yet it is not all of my existence. It seems only when I have lost your peace in my life, feeling the void, that I remember it was not always this way. I know it is necessary to feed and clothe my family, but at times these thoughts are all that consume me. Not all of my human family can even relate to my situation. The divide between the rich and the poor is growing into such a chasm that I am not sure any bridge can span its sweep.
It is my thoughts I must bring back to you, Heavenly Father, animater of my Life, Your Spark of Eternal Universal Life Force Energy WITHIN my Spirit/Soul, so you can put them back in their proper order. My thoughts have been like run-away horses, galloping away with the chaos of life. It is only when I realize this, in those quiet moments, do I realize that it was me who dropped the reigns, not you. Eternal Universal Life Force Energy, what some people call Gid, is just that, eternal.
My first reclaiming thought is to remember your love for me is always there, waiting for me to look up, encouraging me, nurturing me, never abandoning me.
My heart, mind and soul know you know me and love me. When I stop the insane merry-go-round of life not meant to be lived at super-sonic speeds, not in how I think, nor talk, nor act, then I feel myself back in the palm of your hand and know that you are closer to me than my next breath.
As always, I pray in Jesus name, the Love of the Father, as he told us to do, for the wondrous gift of Holy Spirit, the Wisdom of the Father, to surround you and me with kindness, gentleness and peace.
Let us begin again to make a better world, be better neighbors, have better relationships, and better communication with you and those we love, and especially with those we don’t.
I ask for your Love and Wisdom to heal the divisions within humanity, heal the insane egos, cruel agendas, and lies that harm all people. Guide everyone to your gift of peaceful resolution in this world we all call home.
Imagine you are here ~ no worries ~ nothing to do ~ RELAX
We need to take care of our mental health, in addition to our physical health. Our mental health is important. We need to take better care of it. With physical health issues, we tend to take care of the things we need to take care of. If we ignore the first symptoms of a problem, the pain associated with the physical problem usually sends us to the doctor, even if it is inconvienient.
But those with mental health issues often have another hurdle to jump. Our pride, which is fed by our insane ego, suggests to us that if we were mentally strong enough, then we could simply wish our problems away, or worse yet, our insane ego might suggest that you are feeling so good, you should get off your medications because you do not need them anymore.
NEVER GET OFF ANY MEDICATIONS WITHOUT THE ADVICE OF YOUR DOCTOR WHO PRESCRIBED THEM.
The following considerations work both for people currently on medications, and for those who are not on medications.
Let’s go back. Twice now I’ve referred to the ego as the insane ego. The ego very much wants to have a loud voice, no matter how shy you might be, in order to keep you alive. It does not like to have its voice squelshed. However, our ego can make its presence known so loudly that we trip over it time after time. So I will be refering to our unbridaled ego as the insane ego.
Our insane ego can rear up when we first become aware that we might be mentally unbalanced, overly frightened or overwhelmed, by suggesting that this problem “is all in your mind,” and that “It will go away.” Guess what? Problems, mental or otherwise do not go away when we do not deal with them.
It is important for good mental health, to acknowledge our feelings. Feelings are not right or wrong. They simply are. Unpleasant feelings like guilt, unworthiness, grief, and depression do not magically transform themselves by stuffing them deep, down inside you, or denying them. First we need to acknowledge them. Sometimes these feelings are so strong they create a physical pain, but that’s just the symptom of the emotional pain. Know this, once you identify the source of the problem and deal with it, the pain begins to lessen, while your personal power grows stronger.
Whatever you focus on grows. The more you focus on the anxiety, the more the anxiety grows. The good news is, the more you focus on relaxation, and doing the things that bring on the relaxation response, the more you will unwind and heal.
While it is not healthy to pretend we do not have anxiety, it is healthy to have a conscious plan including self-talk and mantras, simply phrases we keep repeating to ourselves to re-train our mind in how we think. Yes, there are times medications are needed, but quite often using these simple self-help tools work to reduce stress, restore mental balance and increase self esteem without them.
For panic attacks, remember to breathe. Nowadays we do not breathe right. When we do breathe, we do not get the same amount of oxygen as we did a century ago due to so much pollution in the air. Plus we are cutting down the rainforests in the world, which are the lungs of the planet. So, remember to take slow, deep breaths. After taking 15 slow, deep breaths, your blood pressure usually returns to normal.
You need to know, if this hasn’t occurred to you already, that you are not going to “feel” like doing any of this. Once the negative habit of anxiety has rooted in you, a little voice inside of you will start by telling you, “This is stupid,” or “It won’t work,” or “I don’t feel like it.” It’s like you have the negative you on one side, and the positive at-least-wants-to-try-to-be-positive you on the other side. Realize this before hand so you expect it, then consciously take the steps to get better anyway.
Yes, you can get better.
To reduce stress, make sure each day includes stretching, Yoga or walking. Remember to move your body in five different directions. For example, you could do a forward bend, arch your back backwards, lean from the waist to one side sliding your hand down your outer calf or whereever you can reach, then do the same thing on the other side. Lastly, do some sort of twist, gently. None of these moves need to be extreme. They just need to be done. This helps you by releasing those feel-good endorphines. Start by doing this for five minutes, then gradually over a few days increase to 15-20 minutes each day, rain or shine.
Listen to happy music you like. Relaxing music helps a lot.
Know too that the world is not going to come to an end if you do not get everything on your to-do list done. Your head already knows this, yet somehow we place enormous burdens on ourselves, out of a mis-guided goal of perfection. Accept yourself right where you are, right now, with all limitations you see. Ask the good God who made you for the assistance you need. It is not that you are perfect if or when you get 900 things done in a day. Give yourself permission to be you and enjoy the wonder.
Nationalism always produces war, and the problem is not to be solved by bringing about further nationalism, which is only an avoidance of the factHumans all the same. Picture courtesy of J. Krishnamurti. and an extension of the same poison, but by being free of nationalism, of the sense of belonging to a particular group, to a particular class of society.
The separate spirit of nationalism is spreading like fire all over the world. Patriotism is cultivated and cleverly exploited by those who are seeking further expansion, wider powers, greater enrichment; and each one of us takes part in this process, for we desire these things. Conquering other lands and other people provides new markets for goods as well as for political and religious ideologies.
Nationalism, the patriotic spirit, class and race consciousness, are all ways of the self, and therefore separate. After all, what is a nation but a group of individuals living together for economic and self-protective reasons? Out of fear and acquisitive self-defense arises the idea of “my country”, with its boundaries and tariff walls, rendering brotherhood and the unity of man impossible.
It is because we are nationalists, ready to defend our sovereign States, our beliefs and acquisitions, that we must be perpetually be armed. Property and ideas have become more important to us than human life, so there is constant antagonism and violence between ourselves and others. By maintaining the sovereignty of our country, we are destroying our sons; by worshiping the State, which is but a projection of ourselves, we are sacrificing our children to our own gratification. Nationalism and sovereign governments are the causes and instruments of war
Have you ever pondered why you do the things you do? This question comes up when we find ourselves falling in the same trap time after time, some life lesson that we seem to have a
Don’t waste time trying to figure out WHY. You know if you want to feel better. So, take the positive steps to solve the take you there.
hard time getting past. Everyone has one area of life, or another, that tends to habitually trip us up. Maybe we have a hard time with relationships, finances, employment, self-esteem, or a host of other life situations. Depending on the severity of our “problem” we may find ourselves going to counseling, and some of us go to counseling for a long time, only to find that our tendency to keep falling in the same pitfalls continues. Some counselors might ask you about your childhood, upbringing and numerous life questions, as if gazing at your belly button magically holds the cure that seems to have evaded you. As far as the healing goes, who cares why? If you look back over your life, how much time have you spent looking backwards over the life you have already lived? How much time, thought and energy have you wasted in trying to pinpoint the exact reasons for why you do what you do, or think what you think, or feel the way that you feel?
“How does that make you feel?,” you may have answered 100 times, without being any closer to the solutions in your life.
Who cares why?
So you spend three months, six months, a year, or ten years, figuring out just what makes you tick. I am a retired holistic counselor. I believe that counseling can work to heal our emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical selves. But, and this is a big but, if we spent more time moving forward as some counselors spend going backwards, we would find our healing in about one tenth of the time.
Seek solution oriented, goal oriented methods, whether you choose to go to counseling, or you decide you can work by yourself in this character development process. My recommendation in any counseling setting, or self-help approach, to allow the first 15 minutes of an hour session, to state your problem. That is it. No more, unless you want to stay stuck in the problem. If you want to stay stuck in the problem, then by all means, keep stirring the pot. What you focus on grows. The longer you talk about the problem, the reasons for the problem, the justifications for the problem, and the problem, the problem, the problem, the longer you stay stuck there. Don’t we just love to focus on the problem? It’s such an ego trip.
The ego does not like this part, only taking 15 minutes to state the problem. The ego wants to steal the floor, add to the drama, focus all of the time on the problem, spin the web of chaos, hijacking your life. But all of these tactics immobilize the situation by refusing to look at the one and only remedy, which is the solution.
Again I ask, who cares why?
No matter if you take five, 10 or 15 years to discover why you are the way you are, you still get to the beginning point of positive changes you need to make to stop the repetitive pattern of dysfunction in your life. You will heal so much quicker if you take an assessment of where you are, then consciously decide where you want to go, and make plans to get there. This life is all a work in progress. Expect to make mistakes along the way. You will make a lot more mistakes before you are through. But that’s how you learn and grow. You are where you are, right now in this place and time, because of them. Where you are right now is the perfect starting place to begin, or begin again, for the hundredth time.
Healing begins by accepting exactly where you are right now, accepting all of your actions, accepting all of your thoughts, accepting all of your feelings, accepting all of your questions. The only way to heal is to accept everything about yourself here and now. If you decide you want to stop gambling, lose weight, quit lying, cheating or stealing, or anything you perceive as a dysfunctional habit, you must begin at the beginning of accepting the truth about yourself, as you see it. Then, if you wish to make any self improvements, get out of abusive relationships, or take courses to put you on the right path, then you can focus all your attention on where you want to go, rather than constantly looking backwards, reviewing over and over again the things that gave you low self-esteem and self-sabotaging habits, and the things that did not work for you.
Ask yourself what your goals are, how you want to feel, what values are important to you. Choose one virtuous trait to work on at a time. Maybe it’s punctuality, telling the truth, or maybe it is choosing to live a life of integrity and honor. Make a plan. Make several plans. Where do you see yourself in six months, one year, and five years from now? Try working with deadlines. I have written for newspapers, as well as articles for magazines. If I did not have deadlines, knowing myself, I would most likely never have completed any of them.
You can achieve anything your mind can conceive. Life is what you make it, so make your life beautiful.
When sex education classes were introduced into public school systems across the United States of America back in the 1990s, parents asked me to write a book to help parents and their grade five through eight children, so they could have a more value-based teaching to present to their young ones. I also had a sixth grader coming through the school at that time, and other of my children to follow. I agreed and authored The Virtue of Virtues, which I taught at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hopedale, Massachusetts, in the Diocese of Worcester.
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