“How could God take the life of my three year old boy,” a mother cried after losing her child in a fire that burnt her family home.
Human thought is filled with misconceptions of God, and the belief that God takes the lives of His children to punish or inflict harm on trespassers is one of those lies.
God is the presence of Love, not a source of wrath. When disaster happens, like the loss of a young one, it’s not God’s fault. God does not hurt or harm anyone. God’s place and role in our lives is to help and to heal.
The world is filled with evil and bad events happen around the globe everyday. God does not cause the evil to happen, but is here to save us from its dire effect.
Evil things happened to Jesus. He was crucified. That’s pretty bad. But Jesus didn’t get mad at God. He turned to God even more and his faith was rewarded. He walked out of the tomb alive, triumphant over the ultimate enemy of death.
When evil would bury us in a tomb of despair, loss, lack or despondency, we must not forsake the very help we need more than any other. God is here to help us out of our darkness and fill our hope with light once again. We each can have our resurrection morn.
The mother above who lost her child can find solace in knowing her child is alive and well with God, in Spirit. This is a fact. Any present sense of separation is temporary and can be bridged over with knowledge that life is eternal. No fire or disaster can touch her loved one as a child of God. He is safe in his Mother’s arms, far away from the evil one, happy and well at this very moment, and wanting everyone her on earth to know that he is okay!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
The high price of gas
How upset should we get over the skyrocketing price of gas?
Ouch! says our pocketbook when we buy a tank of fuel these days. I remember when gas was under one dollar a gallon not too many years ago. It’s tempting to feel tense when paying near $3 a gallon for the same substance today.
Whether it’s the cost of gas, housing, or food that squeezes our budget, it’s important that we keep our spiritual mindedness intact when paying the bill. Yes, we need to manage our funds with discretion, but it’s even more important to manage our thoughts wisely and keep them healthy and sound.
Anger or fuming resentment are impoverished ways of thinking and induce impoverished conditions and ways of living. Gratitude, joy, and discipline are enriched ways of thinking and lead to enriched living conditions.
The extra dollars the price of gas may take out of our wallet today will be more than compensated for by the dollars added to our wallet from keeping our thought filled with the wealth of Spirit—the love, peace and intelligence of God that causes us to make wise financial decisions in the first place.
Do we have to get upset over the high price of gas? No. We may not like it, but we don’t have to suffer from it either.
Pour in the riches of gratitude for what you can afford. Exercise restraint with your purchases, and God will bless you in ways you know not of that keep your financial position strong and prospering over the long run.
Ouch! says our pocketbook when we buy a tank of fuel these days. I remember when gas was under one dollar a gallon not too many years ago. It’s tempting to feel tense when paying near $3 a gallon for the same substance today.
Whether it’s the cost of gas, housing, or food that squeezes our budget, it’s important that we keep our spiritual mindedness intact when paying the bill. Yes, we need to manage our funds with discretion, but it’s even more important to manage our thoughts wisely and keep them healthy and sound.
Anger or fuming resentment are impoverished ways of thinking and induce impoverished conditions and ways of living. Gratitude, joy, and discipline are enriched ways of thinking and lead to enriched living conditions.
The extra dollars the price of gas may take out of our wallet today will be more than compensated for by the dollars added to our wallet from keeping our thought filled with the wealth of Spirit—the love, peace and intelligence of God that causes us to make wise financial decisions in the first place.
Do we have to get upset over the high price of gas? No. We may not like it, but we don’t have to suffer from it either.
Pour in the riches of gratitude for what you can afford. Exercise restraint with your purchases, and God will bless you in ways you know not of that keep your financial position strong and prospering over the long run.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Always a winner
Are there any losers in heaven?
I played in a USTA team tennis tournament this weekend with nine other guys on my team. We did well in our first team match, but lost the second. It was a tough loss for me because the match my partner and I played ended up being the swing match that determined whether my team would win. And we lost—just barely—after a long hard contest.
I had a sleepless night wondering what went wrong and what I should have done better.
After struggling for hours, I gave up rethinking the game through and prayed for a higher perspective. In bright mental lights I saw the message, “On God’s courts, every team is a winning team!”
Of course, I reasoned. In heaven there are no losers. Everyone is a winner. Win/loss scenarios are human and the outcome of a limited sense of good. There are only win-win competitions on God’s field. I needed to look at that days’ outcome from a different perspective. From a spiritual point of view, everyone had to be a winner regardless of the final score.
How was I a winner? I asked.
I realized winning can be measured in different ways. A score is one way. Lessons learned are another way.
One lesson I learned was the need for effective poaching at the net, which I had not mastered. I was hobbled by fear and needed to conquer my hesitation and timidity in order to do a better job.
In a sea-change moment of awakening I declared, “I am never going to fear poaching again!”
What a victory! A huge tension released within. I found the lesson I needed from that day’s event.
For the next match, I told my partner I was going to poach all of the time. He was thrilled.
I followed through with my promise, and we won handily. For the first time ever, my fear was gone. My team took second place in the tournament and advanced to the next level.
We all can be winners!
Winning is not the highest score. It’s not who gets written up in the newspaper. Winning is conquering fear, improving oneself, growth gained, and lessons learned. Winning is not one-up-man-ship over another. It’s within ourselves, looking for the good to be garnered whether it’s reflected in a top score or not.
When we come out of a competition a better person, we’re always a winner.
I played in a USTA team tennis tournament this weekend with nine other guys on my team. We did well in our first team match, but lost the second. It was a tough loss for me because the match my partner and I played ended up being the swing match that determined whether my team would win. And we lost—just barely—after a long hard contest.
I had a sleepless night wondering what went wrong and what I should have done better.
After struggling for hours, I gave up rethinking the game through and prayed for a higher perspective. In bright mental lights I saw the message, “On God’s courts, every team is a winning team!”
Of course, I reasoned. In heaven there are no losers. Everyone is a winner. Win/loss scenarios are human and the outcome of a limited sense of good. There are only win-win competitions on God’s field. I needed to look at that days’ outcome from a different perspective. From a spiritual point of view, everyone had to be a winner regardless of the final score.
How was I a winner? I asked.
I realized winning can be measured in different ways. A score is one way. Lessons learned are another way.
One lesson I learned was the need for effective poaching at the net, which I had not mastered. I was hobbled by fear and needed to conquer my hesitation and timidity in order to do a better job.
In a sea-change moment of awakening I declared, “I am never going to fear poaching again!”
What a victory! A huge tension released within. I found the lesson I needed from that day’s event.
For the next match, I told my partner I was going to poach all of the time. He was thrilled.
I followed through with my promise, and we won handily. For the first time ever, my fear was gone. My team took second place in the tournament and advanced to the next level.
We all can be winners!
Winning is not the highest score. It’s not who gets written up in the newspaper. Winning is conquering fear, improving oneself, growth gained, and lessons learned. Winning is not one-up-man-ship over another. It’s within ourselves, looking for the good to be garnered whether it’s reflected in a top score or not.
When we come out of a competition a better person, we’re always a winner.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Raising children
Isn’t it a joy raising children? My wife and I love our son and daughter, 12 and 15, now. They are growing up too fast for me. I enjoy having them around the house, watching them learn in school, see them develop new skills, and having the opportunity to guide them morally and spiritually around the temptations of the world. As they grow, I grow, and as I grow, they grow.
There have been challenging times in knowing the right thing to do with the children. But each time I remind myself that God created each young one in His/Her own image and likeness. Each child is whole and perfect just the way they were divinely conceived. My role as a parent is to bear witness to God’s unique creation unfolding within our family and to remember that all the ingredients for a happy healthy child are built into a child’s individuality. We are to see what God put there originally and let it activate in the context of a loving and supportive home environment.
Raising children is raising consciousness--raising consciousness to the spiritual truth about each child.
I learned early on I didn’t have to form and shape our children. They were already formed and shaped spiritually. Like a tightly closed rosebud, all the ingredients for a beautiful rose are contained within the bud. We cannot force the bud open and human will a rose. We have to let that bud open according to the laws of nature and let it unfold in its own unique special way.
Children are like rosebuds. The good and intelligence is all there!
When some needed quality appears to be lacking in a child, we pray to see what God put there to begin with, and it becomes more evident to us.
Raising children is raising consciousness—raising thought to the truth about God’s child. In Truth, we find the perfect one of God’s creating. And what a joy it is to welcome into the family.
There have been challenging times in knowing the right thing to do with the children. But each time I remind myself that God created each young one in His/Her own image and likeness. Each child is whole and perfect just the way they were divinely conceived. My role as a parent is to bear witness to God’s unique creation unfolding within our family and to remember that all the ingredients for a happy healthy child are built into a child’s individuality. We are to see what God put there originally and let it activate in the context of a loving and supportive home environment.
Raising children is raising consciousness--raising consciousness to the spiritual truth about each child.
I learned early on I didn’t have to form and shape our children. They were already formed and shaped spiritually. Like a tightly closed rosebud, all the ingredients for a beautiful rose are contained within the bud. We cannot force the bud open and human will a rose. We have to let that bud open according to the laws of nature and let it unfold in its own unique special way.
Children are like rosebuds. The good and intelligence is all there!
When some needed quality appears to be lacking in a child, we pray to see what God put there to begin with, and it becomes more evident to us.
Raising children is raising consciousness—raising thought to the truth about God’s child. In Truth, we find the perfect one of God’s creating. And what a joy it is to welcome into the family.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Making a profit
If you run a business, do you expect to make a profit?
I’ve heard a number of people complain over the years that they stay very busy in their business but have no profit to show for their effort. They live hand to mouth with nothing left over for saving. I challenge them to question the model they are holding about their activity. Do they expect to generate a profit from their hard work? Or are they satisfied with revenue only? There is a huge difference.
It’s possible to generate large amounts of revenue and have no profit. To prosper, a legitimate business needs to generate income above expenses to better serve customers and to expand its product line. It’s a spiritually right idea to stay solvent and build a solid financial foundation for a worthwhile venture.
When I was a college student, I took a summer job selling organs and pianos on commission at a local mall. I was a whiz-bang on the keyboard and could draw large crowds with my music. I became the most successful salesman in the store, selling as many instruments as all other salesmen combined. But my gross commissions were low. With my inexperience, I believed I had to cut the sales price of the keyboards to entice customers to buy.
The owner of the franchise visited town one day, took me out to lunch, praised my accomplishments, and then instructed me on the importance of valuing my work. He told me I didn’t have to drop prices to sell product. It was not price that sold the instruments, but the joy and good experience customers expected to receive from owning an organ or piano. He told me to quit selling myself short by cutting price and reducing my commissions.
I obeyed.
I stopped offering reduced prices, and to my astonishment, my sales continued to grow. My commissions soared exponentially. What a valuable and rewarding lesson I had learned. I transformed from being a revenue-generator to being a profit-generator, and my customers were just as happy.
“The laborer is worthy of his hire,” Jesus taught. If we are generating revenue with no profit to show, it might be time to revisit our expectations. There is infinite good to go around for everyone, and the honest, needed and worthwhile effort is worthy of an abundant portion.
I’ve heard a number of people complain over the years that they stay very busy in their business but have no profit to show for their effort. They live hand to mouth with nothing left over for saving. I challenge them to question the model they are holding about their activity. Do they expect to generate a profit from their hard work? Or are they satisfied with revenue only? There is a huge difference.
It’s possible to generate large amounts of revenue and have no profit. To prosper, a legitimate business needs to generate income above expenses to better serve customers and to expand its product line. It’s a spiritually right idea to stay solvent and build a solid financial foundation for a worthwhile venture.
When I was a college student, I took a summer job selling organs and pianos on commission at a local mall. I was a whiz-bang on the keyboard and could draw large crowds with my music. I became the most successful salesman in the store, selling as many instruments as all other salesmen combined. But my gross commissions were low. With my inexperience, I believed I had to cut the sales price of the keyboards to entice customers to buy.
The owner of the franchise visited town one day, took me out to lunch, praised my accomplishments, and then instructed me on the importance of valuing my work. He told me I didn’t have to drop prices to sell product. It was not price that sold the instruments, but the joy and good experience customers expected to receive from owning an organ or piano. He told me to quit selling myself short by cutting price and reducing my commissions.
I obeyed.
I stopped offering reduced prices, and to my astonishment, my sales continued to grow. My commissions soared exponentially. What a valuable and rewarding lesson I had learned. I transformed from being a revenue-generator to being a profit-generator, and my customers were just as happy.
“The laborer is worthy of his hire,” Jesus taught. If we are generating revenue with no profit to show, it might be time to revisit our expectations. There is infinite good to go around for everyone, and the honest, needed and worthwhile effort is worthy of an abundant portion.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Not feeling down
“I was feeling very down and wondering why,” a friend told me this morning. “Then I realized millions of people were lamenting the death of Jesus Christ in preparation for Easter. So I prayed to know their focus on death could not take my joyous life away. And the depression lifted,” she exuded with delight.
It’s important to not let other people’s negative perspective affect our thinking unconsciously if we wish to stay happy and healthy.
Easter is about celebrating life, not death. Jesus’ death on the cross was a tragedy of human ignorance and hate of the spirituality Jesus embodied, but the primary focus of Jesus’ preaching was not on death. It was on Life eternal at-one with God.
Come out and be separate, Paul exclaimed. In this Easter season, come out and be separate from any public fixation on death and celebrate the eternal life Jesus Christ demonstrated.
There is no reason to get depressed. Eternal Life--and health and joy--has been expressed by Christ for our benefit, and is ours to claim today!
It’s important to not let other people’s negative perspective affect our thinking unconsciously if we wish to stay happy and healthy.
Easter is about celebrating life, not death. Jesus’ death on the cross was a tragedy of human ignorance and hate of the spirituality Jesus embodied, but the primary focus of Jesus’ preaching was not on death. It was on Life eternal at-one with God.
Come out and be separate, Paul exclaimed. In this Easter season, come out and be separate from any public fixation on death and celebrate the eternal life Jesus Christ demonstrated.
There is no reason to get depressed. Eternal Life--and health and joy--has been expressed by Christ for our benefit, and is ours to claim today!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
It's not hard
It’s not hard to be what God created you to be.
Is it hard for a number 8 to remain a number 8? Is it difficult for a circle to stay round? Is it hard for water to be wet? No. These objects and their conditions are at-one with each other. The object is never separated from its condition. The number 8 will never slip into a number 7 or bloat into a number 9. It is an idea in Mind that remains forever fixed.
All of us are ideas in Mind. We are as immortal as numbers and musical melodies. Just as divine Mind holds a number at its native value, divine Mind maintains our individuality in its original perfection.
Jesus said, “Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” He didn’t mean work to become materially perfect. Mortal perfection is impossible. He meant to see yourself as perfect the way God made you in the first place—in the divine image.
Prayer does not change who we are spiritually. Prayer wakes the human mind to the spiritual reality that never changes. The awakening IS the healing.
Can a perfect child of God become an imperfect child of God? No. It’s impossible.
You are a perfect child of God—right now.
Claim it.
Is it hard for a number 8 to remain a number 8? Is it difficult for a circle to stay round? Is it hard for water to be wet? No. These objects and their conditions are at-one with each other. The object is never separated from its condition. The number 8 will never slip into a number 7 or bloat into a number 9. It is an idea in Mind that remains forever fixed.
All of us are ideas in Mind. We are as immortal as numbers and musical melodies. Just as divine Mind holds a number at its native value, divine Mind maintains our individuality in its original perfection.
Jesus said, “Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” He didn’t mean work to become materially perfect. Mortal perfection is impossible. He meant to see yourself as perfect the way God made you in the first place—in the divine image.
Prayer does not change who we are spiritually. Prayer wakes the human mind to the spiritual reality that never changes. The awakening IS the healing.
Can a perfect child of God become an imperfect child of God? No. It’s impossible.
You are a perfect child of God—right now.
Claim it.
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Wake to reality
I was a fugitive running for my life. Wherever I hid, a would-be killer was hot on my trail, two steps away from capturing me. Running and hiding, running and hiding, I was exhausted, I could go no further. I was ready to give up and accept the consequences. Unrelentless and heartless, the murderer pounces, raises his knife over my body preparing to stake his claim. Refusing to give in, I bolt upright, wake up, and find myself sitting in bed. The clock reads 2 a.m.
There was no murderer. There was no chase. There was no danger. It was all a dream.
But it seemed so real!
Safe in my bed, I pondered the spiritual lesson.
When a person feels pursued by some danger, for example, by fear of failure, of what others think, of the future, of disease, of debt, or of death, their worries may appear very real and justified. But from a spiritual point of view, they are not. They are but a mortal dream.
God is all. God is good. There is no room or opportunity in God’s infinite universe for evil of any kind.
Christian Science explains that every sense of evil is a mortal mind dream that eventually passes as a fleeing shadow in the night. No trail is left behind.
Christ comes to wake humans out of the dream of living in matter.
Christ is knocking on the mental door of mankind today proclaiming through the voice of Christian Science, “Wake-up! Wake-up! God is your Life. God is good. You have nothing to fear. You do not need to suffer!”
Let’s heed this voice of Truth and wake to its healing message.
Mortality is a dream. It’s not real. It’s not a threat to our Life in God, the only life we live.
Awake! Awake! Let’s not be a fugitive in a foreign land. It’s more comfortable in the realm of Spirit.
There was no murderer. There was no chase. There was no danger. It was all a dream.
But it seemed so real!
Safe in my bed, I pondered the spiritual lesson.
When a person feels pursued by some danger, for example, by fear of failure, of what others think, of the future, of disease, of debt, or of death, their worries may appear very real and justified. But from a spiritual point of view, they are not. They are but a mortal dream.
God is all. God is good. There is no room or opportunity in God’s infinite universe for evil of any kind.
Christian Science explains that every sense of evil is a mortal mind dream that eventually passes as a fleeing shadow in the night. No trail is left behind.
Christ comes to wake humans out of the dream of living in matter.
Christ is knocking on the mental door of mankind today proclaiming through the voice of Christian Science, “Wake-up! Wake-up! God is your Life. God is good. You have nothing to fear. You do not need to suffer!”
Let’s heed this voice of Truth and wake to its healing message.
Mortality is a dream. It’s not real. It’s not a threat to our Life in God, the only life we live.
Awake! Awake! Let’s not be a fugitive in a foreign land. It’s more comfortable in the realm of Spirit.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Bird flu pandemic
Do we have to fear the bird flu? New concerns have surfaced this week as authorities claim the bird flu virus is spreading at lightning speed.
From a spiritual point of view, our first concern should be not letting fear spread at lightning speed. We are not helpless. We are not potential victims. We can protect ourselves and humanity from the spread of disease through spiritual understanding and divine power.
We have a built-in immunity to disease. It’s called our spirituality. Our spirituality is our individuality made in the image and likeness of God. This spiritual self is forever healthy, safe and protected from harm at all times.
Because thought governs the body, as we keep our thought focused on our protected spiritual self, we experience more bodily protection. If a fear does enter thought, its accompanying conditions cannot enter the body.
We cannot be naïve about world concerns over the bird flu. The alarms need to be addressed with the truth that prevents the spread of danger. But we do not have to bow down in fear to them either. We can take wise prayerfully inspired steps to protect ourselves and others from contagion. We can work toward an outbreak of Love that takes people’s fears away and stops the bird flu virus from expanding any further.
Fear not! It helps.
From a spiritual point of view, our first concern should be not letting fear spread at lightning speed. We are not helpless. We are not potential victims. We can protect ourselves and humanity from the spread of disease through spiritual understanding and divine power.
We have a built-in immunity to disease. It’s called our spirituality. Our spirituality is our individuality made in the image and likeness of God. This spiritual self is forever healthy, safe and protected from harm at all times.
Because thought governs the body, as we keep our thought focused on our protected spiritual self, we experience more bodily protection. If a fear does enter thought, its accompanying conditions cannot enter the body.
We cannot be naïve about world concerns over the bird flu. The alarms need to be addressed with the truth that prevents the spread of danger. But we do not have to bow down in fear to them either. We can take wise prayerfully inspired steps to protect ourselves and others from contagion. We can work toward an outbreak of Love that takes people’s fears away and stops the bird flu virus from expanding any further.
Fear not! It helps.
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Prayer and heart patients
Can prayer help people overcome heart problems?
A recent study headed by Dr. Herbert Benson concluded that prayer did not help heart patients recovering from bypass surgery.
From my own experience, I know prayer helps people recover from heart complications.
Over 15 years ago, I was asked to pray for a woman fallen to her kitchen floor because of heart trouble. I spoke over the phone into her ear telling her that God was with her, that God was her Life, and to not be afraid. She calmed down quickly. Her heart resumed normal functions and she recovered totally. In her ninth decade today, she is active and lives independently.
There are many questions the Benson study raises. For instance, what kind of prayer was offered for the patients? Was it a prayer of genuine spiritual understanding, or a formulaic prayer? Was it a prayer of deep and inspired love or an assigned repetition of words? The answers are important.
There will be countless more studies on the effect of prayer, but for millions who see the healing power of God at work everyday, no study is needed to confirm their faith. They know from experience, that prayer heals.
A recent study headed by Dr. Herbert Benson concluded that prayer did not help heart patients recovering from bypass surgery.
From my own experience, I know prayer helps people recover from heart complications.
Over 15 years ago, I was asked to pray for a woman fallen to her kitchen floor because of heart trouble. I spoke over the phone into her ear telling her that God was with her, that God was her Life, and to not be afraid. She calmed down quickly. Her heart resumed normal functions and she recovered totally. In her ninth decade today, she is active and lives independently.
There are many questions the Benson study raises. For instance, what kind of prayer was offered for the patients? Was it a prayer of genuine spiritual understanding, or a formulaic prayer? Was it a prayer of deep and inspired love or an assigned repetition of words? The answers are important.
There will be countless more studies on the effect of prayer, but for millions who see the healing power of God at work everyday, no study is needed to confirm their faith. They know from experience, that prayer heals.
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Quicker way to healing
“Don’t focus on outcomes. Focus on what you’re doing,” a tennis coach instructed her students.
Many of her budding tennis players were concerned about getting the point rather than implementing their shots well. In a hurry to score, they’d miss the ball, hit it into the net, or fumble altogether.
“If you don’t hit the ball well, you won’t make the point,” the coach reminded the kids.
We can learn from this lesson.
In spiritual healing, the human mind often focuses on material outcomes rather than the spiritual steps needed to arrive at a desirable result.
Successful prayer requires spiritualization of thought to remove the fear, error, or ignorance that causes external suffering. If thought is centered on physical conditions, it’s not focused on inward transformation. Then, in frustration over delay in recovery, the patient complains, “Why am I not healed?”
In tennis, a player has to earn his points. Shots need to be executed well to score.
In spiritual healing, we earn our recovery by letting God take over our thinking. Once sufficient spiritual renewal has occurred, we make the point—we score. We reach the desired goal.
Don’t focus on physical outcomes in prayer. Focus on spiritualizing thought. It’s the quickest way to victory!
Many of her budding tennis players were concerned about getting the point rather than implementing their shots well. In a hurry to score, they’d miss the ball, hit it into the net, or fumble altogether.
“If you don’t hit the ball well, you won’t make the point,” the coach reminded the kids.
We can learn from this lesson.
In spiritual healing, the human mind often focuses on material outcomes rather than the spiritual steps needed to arrive at a desirable result.
Successful prayer requires spiritualization of thought to remove the fear, error, or ignorance that causes external suffering. If thought is centered on physical conditions, it’s not focused on inward transformation. Then, in frustration over delay in recovery, the patient complains, “Why am I not healed?”
In tennis, a player has to earn his points. Shots need to be executed well to score.
In spiritual healing, we earn our recovery by letting God take over our thinking. Once sufficient spiritual renewal has occurred, we make the point—we score. We reach the desired goal.
Don’t focus on physical outcomes in prayer. Focus on spiritualizing thought. It’s the quickest way to victory!
