Thursday, August 31, 2006
Subscription service fixed
A number of you who subscribe to this blog have not received notices for the last 2-3 weeks. I'm happy to report the problem should be fixed now, so you should be receiving notices when a new posting is listed. Thanks for your patience!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Cancer and depression healed
Leafing through my files I came across a short letter forwarded to me from a woman who attended a lecture I gave on the healing power of forgiveness three years ago.
She wrote that she had manic-depression and breast cancer. That she was very bitter from a divorce and battle for custody to her children which she lost. During my talk she was completely healed of the breast cancer, lost all possessiveness, hatred, and manic-depression, she said. She was deeply grateful for the freedom.
Isn’t God good! People often struggle with disease like it’s a real thing they have to get rid of. Doing so can build it up even bigger, when the need is to tear it down spiritually into nothing.
Some truth in my lecture reached this woman and melted her inner strife. Once the inner chamber was cleansed, the outward vessel was purified too.
Divine Love is a powerful healer. It can wipe out any disease, inward or outward, and replace it with health and harmony.
Hanging out on a limb?
A man tripped and fell off a cliff. Tumbling over the edge and plunging to certain death he grabbed hold of a shrubby bush sticking out of the rock. Dangling in space and filled with terror, he called out to above, “Is there anyone up there?”
A calm, powerful voice boomed out of the sky, “Yes, there is.”
The tourist pleaded, “Can you help me? Can you help me?”
The steady voice replied, “Yes, I can.”
“What do you want me to do?” The tourist pleaded.
“Let go of the bush, and you’ll be fine.” The deep voice instructed.
There was a long tense pause. The tourist then yelled, “Is there anyone else up there?”
A calm, powerful voice boomed out of the sky, “Yes, there is.”
The tourist pleaded, “Can you help me? Can you help me?”
The steady voice replied, “Yes, I can.”
“What do you want me to do?” The tourist pleaded.
“Let go of the bush, and you’ll be fine.” The deep voice instructed.
There was a long tense pause. The tourist then yelled, “Is there anyone else up there?”
Feeling pressured?
Do you have too many jobs to do? Uncompleted projects piling up? Not enough hours in the day? People demanding your attention?
How does one cope with too much to do?
One way is to love more. There's always time to love.
Love calms thought. Love eases the tension. Love reveals answers. Love points the way. Love lightens the load. Love helps out. Love uplifts, inspires and comforts. Love is a healing presence that resolves conflict, solves problems and makes life more enjoyable.
It’s not time-consuming to love. In fact, love doesn’t require time at all. Love makes its own time by revealing more efficient possibilities and healing troubles that are major time-consumers, like worry, anxiety, and despair.
Love is about being patient, kind, caring, thoughtful and forgiving. Love doesn’t fritter time away fretting and fuming. Love doesn’t worry, agonize or torture. Love is easy, ready, abundant and generous. Love is not a hard thing to do.
Love never gets mad (a huge time waster). Love doesn’t get angry, upset or jealous. Love is positive, upbeat, hopeful, pleasant and expectant. Love is not a heavy weight, but a morale booster. Love is quick to favor, happy to help and a joy to have around. Love calms and comforts.
Don’t waste time complaining you don’t have enough time. Use your time better. Love more!
There’s no pressure in expressing love to others, but there’s a huge amount of peace, harmony and goodwill to be gained.
Love more. It's the path to no pressure living.
How does one cope with too much to do?
One way is to love more. There's always time to love.
Love calms thought. Love eases the tension. Love reveals answers. Love points the way. Love lightens the load. Love helps out. Love uplifts, inspires and comforts. Love is a healing presence that resolves conflict, solves problems and makes life more enjoyable.
It’s not time-consuming to love. In fact, love doesn’t require time at all. Love makes its own time by revealing more efficient possibilities and healing troubles that are major time-consumers, like worry, anxiety, and despair.
Love is about being patient, kind, caring, thoughtful and forgiving. Love doesn’t fritter time away fretting and fuming. Love doesn’t worry, agonize or torture. Love is easy, ready, abundant and generous. Love is not a hard thing to do.
Love never gets mad (a huge time waster). Love doesn’t get angry, upset or jealous. Love is positive, upbeat, hopeful, pleasant and expectant. Love is not a heavy weight, but a morale booster. Love is quick to favor, happy to help and a joy to have around. Love calms and comforts.
Don’t waste time complaining you don’t have enough time. Use your time better. Love more!
There’s no pressure in expressing love to others, but there’s a huge amount of peace, harmony and goodwill to be gained.
Love more. It's the path to no pressure living.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Funeral notices
Have you ever questioned the phrasing “called to the arms of the Lord” when it is written in obituaries? It troubles me when I read the words for they imply it is God’s will for a person to die, which I don't believe is possible.
God promotes life, not death. Death happens in the human experience, but not at God’s bidding. God is our Life, and the divine design is to save us from death and disease, not capitulate us to them.
When I read in my local newspaper that Reba Denton, a woman I don’t know, had been “called to the arms of the Lord” after she died of cancer, I stopped reading and issued a mental revision. “She had been in the arms of the Lord all along,” I affirmed, “as a dear child of God. She had never left God's care to be returned."
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” the Bible tells us. In the big picture scheme of eternal salvation, death is not a friend but an enemy, to be overcome by eternal life. God calls us to understand this truth better now so we can more successfully overcome disease here on earth and prevent unfortunate passings.
Life is God’s will, not death.
God promotes life, not death. Death happens in the human experience, but not at God’s bidding. God is our Life, and the divine design is to save us from death and disease, not capitulate us to them.
When I read in my local newspaper that Reba Denton, a woman I don’t know, had been “called to the arms of the Lord” after she died of cancer, I stopped reading and issued a mental revision. “She had been in the arms of the Lord all along,” I affirmed, “as a dear child of God. She had never left God's care to be returned."
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” the Bible tells us. In the big picture scheme of eternal salvation, death is not a friend but an enemy, to be overcome by eternal life. God calls us to understand this truth better now so we can more successfully overcome disease here on earth and prevent unfortunate passings.
Life is God’s will, not death.
Drug ads sell disease
Check out an insightful csmonitor.com article on how drug ads sell sickness to promote their products.
The article reports that in the effort of pharmaceutical companies to create new disease markets, they’re frightening people into taking more prescriptions than they may need. "We're increasingly turning normal people into patients," said Dr. Lisa M. Schwartz of the Dartmouth Medical School. "The ordinary experiences of life become a diagnosis, which makes healthy people feel like they're sick."
Here’s another interesting development I didn’t realize:
The article reports that in the effort of pharmaceutical companies to create new disease markets, they’re frightening people into taking more prescriptions than they may need. "We're increasingly turning normal people into patients," said Dr. Lisa M. Schwartz of the Dartmouth Medical School. "The ordinary experiences of life become a diagnosis, which makes healthy people feel like they're sick."
Here’s another interesting development I didn’t realize:
“…more than 200 medical school professors recently called for an end to prescription drug ads….” This is cool!We may have healthier airwaves yet!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Our cat Heidi
We’re home from our brief trip to the mountains and back into the swing of tennis, swimming, and work for the kids and daily routine and fun adventure for the parents.
We took our cat Heidi to the cabin this weekend, and I couldn’t help but admire how healthy she looks and acts.
You have to realize that about 8 years ago she got crushed in our garage door. The adventurous type, one afternoon she was lounging on the top of the open door where no one could see her. Mom and Tyler took off to run errands, closing the electric door behind them. Two hours later they return and Tyler yells out to Mom, “What’s that sticking out of the top of our garage door?” It was Heidi’s two hind legs. She was half in and half out, her mid-section squashed to the depth of a pancake.
Alive, but unable to walk, Tyler put her in a box, carried her into the house and started to pray with Mom for her recovery. I was phoned to help out, and over the next few days we witnessed a remarkable restoration of her full capacities. It wasn’t long before she was running and jumping like nothing ever happened. And she’s been fully able ever since.
Prayer is a powerful tool to keep animals healthy and well. The carcass we call our pet is an outward symbol of a spiritual individuality created by God living safe and sound in Spirit. When Heidi was found in a squeeze, we focused on understanding her spiritual selfhood at-one with God that never got caught in the door, and I believe this higher view led to healing.
While watching Heidi bless our family with her love and contented purr this weekend, I was grateful to be reminded of this healing.
(That's Heidi in the picture.)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Don't give up
I’m vacationing with my family at our cabin in the Blue Mountains in Oregon State for a few days. My son and I have been splitting wood for burning in the woodstove this winter.
Operating an axe is not one of my better talents, but I’ve learned a spiritual lesson wrangling with logs that don’t split easily.
Don’t give up!
If you’ve never chopped wood and you revel in the thrill of decisive accomplishment, get yourself an axe and some firewood to split. It’s quite a high to deftly swing the sharpened steel into the end of a chunk of tree trunk penetrating the airspace with a loud “crack” and successfully slicing to the bottom of the timber watching wood topple in either direction.
Cracking the wood in one or two blows is ideal. But all chunks of wood are not so easy to split. At times, I could swing and swing and swing and the wood still wouldn’t split. So I learned to use the wedge—a triangular iron with a sharp edge designed to be inserted into a crack made in the log by the axe. Once inserted, I would hammer on the wedge to force it into the log and push the wood apart until the piece capitulated and split in two. The process seemed slow, but victory was always assured. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” the old Proverb reminds us.
I thought about the parallels of using a wedge in splitting wood to relying upon prayer for spiritual healing. Sometimes problems don’t yield as quickly as we’d like. It seems that we pray and pray but still no progress. But like the strategically placed wedge, we have spiritual tools we can use to split the case wide open and prevail with success.
Persistence, perseverance, wisdom, and insightfulness are the “wedges” of faith that complete the work. They don't give in to tough appearances, lack of response or intimidation. They prevail with the omnipotence of Mind that always triumphs.
It took several whacks on the wedge to split some pieces of wood, but they always gave way. The wedge prevailed. Truth prevails too.
Don’t give up when you pray. Every affirmation of Truth and every new understanding of Spirit you gain drives you closer to your final destination. Truth wedges error out of your experience, completes the task at hand, and brings the needed healing.
Operating an axe is not one of my better talents, but I’ve learned a spiritual lesson wrangling with logs that don’t split easily.
Don’t give up!
If you’ve never chopped wood and you revel in the thrill of decisive accomplishment, get yourself an axe and some firewood to split. It’s quite a high to deftly swing the sharpened steel into the end of a chunk of tree trunk penetrating the airspace with a loud “crack” and successfully slicing to the bottom of the timber watching wood topple in either direction.
Cracking the wood in one or two blows is ideal. But all chunks of wood are not so easy to split. At times, I could swing and swing and swing and the wood still wouldn’t split. So I learned to use the wedge—a triangular iron with a sharp edge designed to be inserted into a crack made in the log by the axe. Once inserted, I would hammer on the wedge to force it into the log and push the wood apart until the piece capitulated and split in two. The process seemed slow, but victory was always assured. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” the old Proverb reminds us.
I thought about the parallels of using a wedge in splitting wood to relying upon prayer for spiritual healing. Sometimes problems don’t yield as quickly as we’d like. It seems that we pray and pray but still no progress. But like the strategically placed wedge, we have spiritual tools we can use to split the case wide open and prevail with success.
Persistence, perseverance, wisdom, and insightfulness are the “wedges” of faith that complete the work. They don't give in to tough appearances, lack of response or intimidation. They prevail with the omnipotence of Mind that always triumphs.
It took several whacks on the wedge to split some pieces of wood, but they always gave way. The wedge prevailed. Truth prevails too.
Don’t give up when you pray. Every affirmation of Truth and every new understanding of Spirit you gain drives you closer to your final destination. Truth wedges error out of your experience, completes the task at hand, and brings the needed healing.
Friday, August 18, 2006
God is watching out for you
A friend went for a walk through the woods on a very windy evening recently. Part way down the trail a mental nudge stopped him in his tracks. He looked down and saw his shoelace untied. As he bent to string his shoes a big oak tree fell crashing across the path in front of him. He stood in awe thanking God for keeping him out of harm’s way.
God is watching out for you.
Have you ever been barely spared from disaster or loss by what you called a convenient twist of fate or favorable happenchance? There is no twist of fate, and there is no happenchance. God is an ever-present guide protecting you from danger and keeping you safe wherever you go and in whatever you do.
Heed the divine nudges when they come. Humbly listen to the angel voices when they seek attention. They are God’s means of steering you aright.
God is watching out for you.
Have you ever been barely spared from disaster or loss by what you called a convenient twist of fate or favorable happenchance? There is no twist of fate, and there is no happenchance. God is an ever-present guide protecting you from danger and keeping you safe wherever you go and in whatever you do.
Heed the divine nudges when they come. Humbly listen to the angel voices when they seek attention. They are God’s means of steering you aright.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Relax
While working on improving my tennis serve, my coach told me to relax. I was too tense, he said, causing me to make many errors.
He was right. I quickly saw that I needed to loosen up. When tense, my strokes would become truncated, stiff, or flat out wrong. The ball would hit the net or go too far. Tension in the muscles resulted in poor execution and failed attempts. As I let my fear go and relaxed, my serve improved immensely and the ball went where I intended.
The same rule applies to daily living. Tension in thought short-circuits joy, peace, and health. It obstructs inspired views, depresses thought, and halts progress. It not only causes rigidity and strain in consciousness it tightens up the body and can manifest itself as pain and discomfort.
Relax! It’s good for your health.
“Relax” doesn’t mean let down your spiritual guard, become complacent and neglectful. “Relax” means let go of your fear and love more. God is in control. God makes good things happen. Trust the beneficent care of God to meet your every need.
Relax! You have nothing to fear. God is here, and that is sufficient.
Relax! Loosen up, drop the worries, the anxieties, and the inordinate cares. God can do a better job than you can figure out. Let God do His work His way.
Relax! Calm down, trust the divine plan, and know all things are working together for good.
Relax! It’s in your best interest. What you cannot do, God can do.
Relax! Cease trying to human will outcomes and let God’s will be done.
Relax! You can do it. It’s normal for a child of God to feel at peace, and that’s what you are—a peaceful child of God.
Relax! Keep consciousness in Mind, not in matter, where Love reigns, good is all, and peace prevails.
Relax. It's the enjoyable way to experience Life.
He was right. I quickly saw that I needed to loosen up. When tense, my strokes would become truncated, stiff, or flat out wrong. The ball would hit the net or go too far. Tension in the muscles resulted in poor execution and failed attempts. As I let my fear go and relaxed, my serve improved immensely and the ball went where I intended.
The same rule applies to daily living. Tension in thought short-circuits joy, peace, and health. It obstructs inspired views, depresses thought, and halts progress. It not only causes rigidity and strain in consciousness it tightens up the body and can manifest itself as pain and discomfort.
Relax! It’s good for your health.
“Relax” doesn’t mean let down your spiritual guard, become complacent and neglectful. “Relax” means let go of your fear and love more. God is in control. God makes good things happen. Trust the beneficent care of God to meet your every need.
Relax! You have nothing to fear. God is here, and that is sufficient.
Relax! Loosen up, drop the worries, the anxieties, and the inordinate cares. God can do a better job than you can figure out. Let God do His work His way.
Relax! Calm down, trust the divine plan, and know all things are working together for good.
Relax! It’s in your best interest. What you cannot do, God can do.
Relax! Cease trying to human will outcomes and let God’s will be done.
Relax! You can do it. It’s normal for a child of God to feel at peace, and that’s what you are—a peaceful child of God.
Relax! Keep consciousness in Mind, not in matter, where Love reigns, good is all, and peace prevails.
Relax. It's the enjoyable way to experience Life.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Why not sex while dating?
“I can’t find a date who doesn’t want sex,” single women frequently complain. “Do I compromise my better instinct and give them what they want?” many ladies wonder in fear of losing a hopeful prospect.
“Having sex or not depends on what you want out of the relationship,” I frequently tell those who ask.
If you want to know whether the guy really loves you, hold off on the intercourse until you’re sure of his affections. If he truly loves you, he can wait on the sex.
If you give him sex freely, he may show you all kinds of affection because he loves the sex and you are the provider. However he may not truly love you. Love and sex is not the same thing and many daters are confused about the difference. To determine if his affections are in his pants or on you, stop the sex and find out. You’ll quickly know.
If he truly loves you, he’ll wait until ready to make a commitment.
I know a lot of people don’t like the word abstinence, because it sounds old-fashioned and is out-of-date according to Hollywood. But abstaining from sex during the dating phase can be a huge protection for those who want a relationship based on enduring love and not fleeting affection.
If a person is serious about long term happiness, they need to know if the other person is attracted to them for the right reasons. If the attraction is based on spiritual love, the relationship will endure. If the attraction is based on whether the guy gets sex or not, the relationship is going to eventually crumble, and it’s better to find out before signing the bottomline of a binding legal document. Cooling it on the sex and focusing on matters of the heart while dating is a wise way to find out if there’s a future between interested parties.
The joy ride of a sensuality-based partnership may endure for a while, but when other factors enter like how to manage the money, who does what chores, who cooks dinner, and who gets the new car, the highs from sex mean little or nothing. A successful marriage needs genuine bona fide spiritual love and commitment at its foundation to survive the trials of everyday life.
The consequences of having sex, none the least of which include pregnancy, health issues, and the trust you put in another when giving them your body, need protection. To prevent feeling violated and used, make sure the guy truly loves you before giving him your all.
True love is spiritual. Lasting affection is not a physical sensation, a sexual feeling, or a sensual indulgence. It’s patience, unselfishness, gentleness, generosity, willingness to give, share, and care. Love and sex are not the same. You can have sex without love, but you can’t have love without genuine care, patience and understanding. A man who understands and respects your desire to save sex for marriage, is showing favorable signs that he loves you for who you are and not for what he can get from you.
“Having sex or not depends on what you want out of the relationship,” I frequently tell those who ask.
If you want to know whether the guy really loves you, hold off on the intercourse until you’re sure of his affections. If he truly loves you, he can wait on the sex.
If you give him sex freely, he may show you all kinds of affection because he loves the sex and you are the provider. However he may not truly love you. Love and sex is not the same thing and many daters are confused about the difference. To determine if his affections are in his pants or on you, stop the sex and find out. You’ll quickly know.
If he truly loves you, he’ll wait until ready to make a commitment.
I know a lot of people don’t like the word abstinence, because it sounds old-fashioned and is out-of-date according to Hollywood. But abstaining from sex during the dating phase can be a huge protection for those who want a relationship based on enduring love and not fleeting affection.
If a person is serious about long term happiness, they need to know if the other person is attracted to them for the right reasons. If the attraction is based on spiritual love, the relationship will endure. If the attraction is based on whether the guy gets sex or not, the relationship is going to eventually crumble, and it’s better to find out before signing the bottomline of a binding legal document. Cooling it on the sex and focusing on matters of the heart while dating is a wise way to find out if there’s a future between interested parties.
The joy ride of a sensuality-based partnership may endure for a while, but when other factors enter like how to manage the money, who does what chores, who cooks dinner, and who gets the new car, the highs from sex mean little or nothing. A successful marriage needs genuine bona fide spiritual love and commitment at its foundation to survive the trials of everyday life.
The consequences of having sex, none the least of which include pregnancy, health issues, and the trust you put in another when giving them your body, need protection. To prevent feeling violated and used, make sure the guy truly loves you before giving him your all.
True love is spiritual. Lasting affection is not a physical sensation, a sexual feeling, or a sensual indulgence. It’s patience, unselfishness, gentleness, generosity, willingness to give, share, and care. Love and sex are not the same. You can have sex without love, but you can’t have love without genuine care, patience and understanding. A man who understands and respects your desire to save sex for marriage, is showing favorable signs that he loves you for who you are and not for what he can get from you.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The world is not fair
“It’s not fair!” The words have been uttered millions of times by people not getting an honest shake. No salary increase, a promotion gone to another, being treated disrespectfully, and feeling overlooked and ignored often top the list of personal grievances. And there are greater wrongs. Civilian and children casualties in war, terminal disease, carnage from natural disasters, faithful employees losing their job without warning, are a few examples that can leave people dazed and wondering “Where’s the justice?”
The world is not a fair place.
Look what happened to Jesus Christ? He loved and loved and loved, and what did the public do to him? He was crucified. Not an enjoyable outcome. But we can learn from his response to the ordeal. Instead of getting mad at his persecutors, he forgave them, let anger go, and went to God, in Love. And he was rewarded for his faithfulness to Love with a permanent refuge in eternal Life from his enemies.
When I farmed with my dad, one summer a neighboring corporate farm sprayed a dangerous pesticide illegally. The honey bees pollinating our crops got into the spray and brought it back to the hives, resulting in massive bee kills. Large piles of dead bees mounted in front of every hive. It was a monumental disaster leading to tens of thousands of dollars in losses, all in the matter of a couple of hours.
We felt so helpless. The kill was not just. The thoughtlessness and carelessness of our neighbors impacted us and our beekeeper terribly, and it wasn’t fair.
The offending party admitted they had sprayed improperly, but made excuses as to why. Dad could have sued, but he chose not to. He knew a lawsuit would turn into years of fighting in courts and drain his time and energy away from running a successful farming operation. He chose to let the incident go, regroup his resources, and concentrate effort on making the best of what we had left.
Looking back, he made the right decision. The farm flourished anyway, despite the bee loss. Our supply came from God, not from the bees, and no carelessness of a neighbor could deprive our farming operation from demonstrating success when we were drawing upon the unlimited resources of God.
What man takes away, God can replace.
The world may be unfair, but God is fair.
Evil may be flaring and boasting strength around the globe tromping over innocent by-standers and way-farers, but it will not have the final say. God has the final say. Our life and substance are spiritual. They cannot be touched by hatred and malice or even disease.
As we identify more with spiritual substance and not fear material loss, we will conquer evil more successfully through spiritual ways and means. Less injustice will occur, and life on earth will more nearly approximate life in heaven.
What do you think?
The world is not a fair place.
Look what happened to Jesus Christ? He loved and loved and loved, and what did the public do to him? He was crucified. Not an enjoyable outcome. But we can learn from his response to the ordeal. Instead of getting mad at his persecutors, he forgave them, let anger go, and went to God, in Love. And he was rewarded for his faithfulness to Love with a permanent refuge in eternal Life from his enemies.
When I farmed with my dad, one summer a neighboring corporate farm sprayed a dangerous pesticide illegally. The honey bees pollinating our crops got into the spray and brought it back to the hives, resulting in massive bee kills. Large piles of dead bees mounted in front of every hive. It was a monumental disaster leading to tens of thousands of dollars in losses, all in the matter of a couple of hours.
We felt so helpless. The kill was not just. The thoughtlessness and carelessness of our neighbors impacted us and our beekeeper terribly, and it wasn’t fair.
The offending party admitted they had sprayed improperly, but made excuses as to why. Dad could have sued, but he chose not to. He knew a lawsuit would turn into years of fighting in courts and drain his time and energy away from running a successful farming operation. He chose to let the incident go, regroup his resources, and concentrate effort on making the best of what we had left.
Looking back, he made the right decision. The farm flourished anyway, despite the bee loss. Our supply came from God, not from the bees, and no carelessness of a neighbor could deprive our farming operation from demonstrating success when we were drawing upon the unlimited resources of God.
What man takes away, God can replace.
The world may be unfair, but God is fair.
Evil may be flaring and boasting strength around the globe tromping over innocent by-standers and way-farers, but it will not have the final say. God has the final say. Our life and substance are spiritual. They cannot be touched by hatred and malice or even disease.
As we identify more with spiritual substance and not fear material loss, we will conquer evil more successfully through spiritual ways and means. Less injustice will occur, and life on earth will more nearly approximate life in heaven.
What do you think?
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Don't be overwhelmed by evil
Rockets are falling in Israel. Armored divisions are patrolling in Lebanon. Chaos reigns in Baghdad. Headlines boast death, killing, threats and conflict running rife these days. To keep our spiritual equanimity intact, we must not be impressed!
If you’ve ever watched a movie that was depressing, filled with despair, despondency, and heaviness, you might have left the movie theater feeling heavy and despondent yourself. The same effect can happen if we soak in negative world news everyday without keeping our thought spiritually enlightened.
Each of us has to take responsibility for our state of thought and not let it fall to a low level. And we can keep it inspired when we stay convinced of spiritual reality.
The material world is a temporal place that passes away in time. The events of planet earth are not the definitive statement for all time to come. There is a greater spiritual reality that supersedes and endures beyond any worldly experience. It’s called life in Spirit, and this life is eternal, wholly good, and forever intact.
In the face of evil, we can proclaim the omnipresence of good. We can know God’s allness and goodness, and the powerlessness of evil to destroy anything truly good.
As we consciously know the spiritual truth more than we entertain error, we will not be overwhelmed by evil. We will keep our spiritual perspective intact, and not let our thinking fall into the metaphysical doldrums.
God is all. God is good. God is power, and evil is not power. With this truth overwhelming our sense of things, we will see hope and promise of healing rather than darkness and bleakness.
If you’ve ever watched a movie that was depressing, filled with despair, despondency, and heaviness, you might have left the movie theater feeling heavy and despondent yourself. The same effect can happen if we soak in negative world news everyday without keeping our thought spiritually enlightened.
Each of us has to take responsibility for our state of thought and not let it fall to a low level. And we can keep it inspired when we stay convinced of spiritual reality.
The material world is a temporal place that passes away in time. The events of planet earth are not the definitive statement for all time to come. There is a greater spiritual reality that supersedes and endures beyond any worldly experience. It’s called life in Spirit, and this life is eternal, wholly good, and forever intact.
In the face of evil, we can proclaim the omnipresence of good. We can know God’s allness and goodness, and the powerlessness of evil to destroy anything truly good.
As we consciously know the spiritual truth more than we entertain error, we will not be overwhelmed by evil. We will keep our spiritual perspective intact, and not let our thinking fall into the metaphysical doldrums.
God is all. God is good. God is power, and evil is not power. With this truth overwhelming our sense of things, we will see hope and promise of healing rather than darkness and bleakness.
Friday, August 4, 2006
More on car collision
Remember my car collision story last week? Elaine Lang, from Thousand Oaks, CA, sent me an email I think you'll find revelatory. With her permission, I've posted it below.
As it turned out, on the car trip I was on, we witnessed 4 accidents, plus our own that day during a 100 mile excursion. The onslaught of accident-belief came in a highly concentrated form in a short period of time. It was highly unusual, and I have prayed for peace of mind about it ever since. Elaine's comments below help sort it all out.
Evan, I’ve been thinking about your experience with the automobile collision and thought you might appreciate another indication of the victory you have demonstrated.
Our family experienced and witnessed 5 auto accidents last month! From each we took away a huge sense of gratitude for the safety of all involved, and a clear, renewed impression of the divine order illustrated in the midst of suggestions of chaos. I won’t detail the incidents, because that’s not really the point. The victory is that in each case, all was restored with grace and complete restoration, along with examples of exceptional kindness, timeliness and quality workmanship from the various individuals involved.
In thinking through this unusual and aggressive picture in our family, reviewing the protection and healing in each case, I was struck with a remarkable thought, which I’ll share. Please accept it in the spirit of humility because I don’t think of it as any sort of revelation. Just a clear answer to my mental query.
It struck me with force that the apparently omnipresent representation (in the media, print and electronic, talk radio, etc.) of chaos and warring factions (political, cultural, economic, environmental, religious, and military) has permeated public thought with the impression that our world and universe are spirally out of control. Is it any surprise that the suggestion would manifest itself at grassroots level by an unusually high incidence of accidents?
We who practice spiritual healing and carefully consider the counterfacts of God’s flawless, consistent, orderly, systematic government are applying this great antidote even in confronting the outrageous presentation of accident in our own experience. In other words, treating this affront right in our own families is blessing and correcting and protecting our fellows in exactly the way Love intends us to at this moment in humanity’s progress, don’t you think?
Rather than dealing with anything out of control, we have proven God’s divine control right where chaos seemed to assert itself—where the rubber meets the road, literally!
I agree Elaine! We all need to be actively and vigorously countering the world belief of events spiraling out of control by demonstrating God in control. The world needs our prayers more than ever.
As it turned out, on the car trip I was on, we witnessed 4 accidents, plus our own that day during a 100 mile excursion. The onslaught of accident-belief came in a highly concentrated form in a short period of time. It was highly unusual, and I have prayed for peace of mind about it ever since. Elaine's comments below help sort it all out.
Evan, I’ve been thinking about your experience with the automobile collision and thought you might appreciate another indication of the victory you have demonstrated.
Our family experienced and witnessed 5 auto accidents last month! From each we took away a huge sense of gratitude for the safety of all involved, and a clear, renewed impression of the divine order illustrated in the midst of suggestions of chaos. I won’t detail the incidents, because that’s not really the point. The victory is that in each case, all was restored with grace and complete restoration, along with examples of exceptional kindness, timeliness and quality workmanship from the various individuals involved.
In thinking through this unusual and aggressive picture in our family, reviewing the protection and healing in each case, I was struck with a remarkable thought, which I’ll share. Please accept it in the spirit of humility because I don’t think of it as any sort of revelation. Just a clear answer to my mental query.
It struck me with force that the apparently omnipresent representation (in the media, print and electronic, talk radio, etc.) of chaos and warring factions (political, cultural, economic, environmental, religious, and military) has permeated public thought with the impression that our world and universe are spirally out of control. Is it any surprise that the suggestion would manifest itself at grassroots level by an unusually high incidence of accidents?
We who practice spiritual healing and carefully consider the counterfacts of God’s flawless, consistent, orderly, systematic government are applying this great antidote even in confronting the outrageous presentation of accident in our own experience. In other words, treating this affront right in our own families is blessing and correcting and protecting our fellows in exactly the way Love intends us to at this moment in humanity’s progress, don’t you think?
Rather than dealing with anything out of control, we have proven God’s divine control right where chaos seemed to assert itself—where the rubber meets the road, literally!
I agree Elaine! We all need to be actively and vigorously countering the world belief of events spiraling out of control by demonstrating God in control. The world needs our prayers more than ever.
Worry less love more
An adage I find helpful to remember at times...
"Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives us plenty to do, but gets us nowhere."
"Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives us plenty to do, but gets us nowhere."
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Don't let up until you win
I’ve learned a lot about not letting up your effort until you win from playing tennis.
Last winter, in a local tennis tournament, I was ahead 5-1. One more game and I’d be the winner. Suddenly, my game fell apart. I lost game after game until my opponent pulled ahead and won 7-5.
I asked myself “Why?” How could I go from doing so well to losing so quickly?
I’ve watched my performance in other games since then and have come to a simple conclusion. I lose when I should win, because I let up on my game. Thinking victory is right around the corner, I relax a bit, and that tidbit of letting my guard down is the difference between winning and losing.
I’ve noticed the difference in thought that leads to winning versus losing can be miniscule. It can be barely noticeable. But a little itsy-bitsy less alertness, a smidgen less awareness, a tad less readiness can result in a miss-hit that otherwise might have won the match.
The same rule works in metaphysics. We must never let our guard down in prayer until the victory is cinched.
Mortal mind would act like an opponent on the other side of the net who keeps playing, and vigorously so, until the game is done. If we relax mid-game and assume a victory when we have not earned it yet, the opponent may pull ahead and take advantage of our dullness and laxness. Don’t let it happen. Stay alert. Stay at your best. Stay at your peak performance until the deciding point has been played out and the final game is finished.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” (I Cor 9:24).
Last winter, in a local tennis tournament, I was ahead 5-1. One more game and I’d be the winner. Suddenly, my game fell apart. I lost game after game until my opponent pulled ahead and won 7-5.
I asked myself “Why?” How could I go from doing so well to losing so quickly?
I’ve watched my performance in other games since then and have come to a simple conclusion. I lose when I should win, because I let up on my game. Thinking victory is right around the corner, I relax a bit, and that tidbit of letting my guard down is the difference between winning and losing.
I’ve noticed the difference in thought that leads to winning versus losing can be miniscule. It can be barely noticeable. But a little itsy-bitsy less alertness, a smidgen less awareness, a tad less readiness can result in a miss-hit that otherwise might have won the match.
The same rule works in metaphysics. We must never let our guard down in prayer until the victory is cinched.
Mortal mind would act like an opponent on the other side of the net who keeps playing, and vigorously so, until the game is done. If we relax mid-game and assume a victory when we have not earned it yet, the opponent may pull ahead and take advantage of our dullness and laxness. Don’t let it happen. Stay alert. Stay at your best. Stay at your peak performance until the deciding point has been played out and the final game is finished.
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” (I Cor 9:24).
We are okay
Friends,
Thank you for your outpouring of support after our car collision last week! The emails and calls have been heart-warming and encouraging. And yes, Tyler and I are in perfect shape, with not a hint of harm lingering from the accident.
I'm happy to report the man who ran into us takes full responsibility for the accident, and his insurance company will pay all expenses. I have yet to learn if my car will be totaled or fixed, but I trust all things work together for good.
Thank you for your outpouring of support after our car collision last week! The emails and calls have been heart-warming and encouraging. And yes, Tyler and I are in perfect shape, with not a hint of harm lingering from the accident.
I'm happy to report the man who ran into us takes full responsibility for the accident, and his insurance company will pay all expenses. I have yet to learn if my car will be totaled or fixed, but I trust all things work together for good.
