Baptist and Methodist

A little boy was walking down a dirt road after church one Sunday afternoon when he came to a crossroads where he met a little girl coming from the other direction. 'Hello,' said the little boy 'Hi,' replied the little girl. 'Where are you going?' asked the little boy. 'I've been to church this morning and I'm on my way home,'Answered the little girl. 'I'm also on my way home from church. Which church do you go to?' asked the little boy. 'I go to the Baptist church back down the road,' replied the little girl. 'What about you? ' 'I go to the Methodist church back at the top of the hill,' Replied the little boy. They discover that they are both going the same way So they decided that they'd walk together. They came to a low spot in the road where spring rains had partially flooded the road, so there was no way that they could get across to the other side without getting wet. 'If I get my new Sunday dress wet, my Mom's going to skin me alive,' said the little girl. 'My Mom'll tan my hide, too, if I get my new Sunday suit wet,' Replied the little boy. 'I tell you what I think I'll do,' said the little girl. 'I'm gonna pull Off all my clothes and hold them over my head and wade across.' 'That's a good idea,'replied the little boy. 'I'm going to do the same thing with my suit.' So they both undressed and waded across to the other side without getting their clothes wet.. They were standing there in the sun waiting to drip dry before putting their clothes back on, when the little boy finally remarked: 'You know, I never realized before just how much difference there really is between a BAPTIST and a METHODIST!!!

Condemnation

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death......Those who live according to the sinful nature(carnally minded)have their minds set on what that nature desires(death); but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires....For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. --Romans 8

I believe the writer of these verses is not referring to a personality. As it is impossible for us to be in another man, and as it is necessary that each live his own life, within the One Life of God, it follows that the writer is describing Universal Principle.

We are in Christ when we are in the Truth; we are in the Truth when we live in harmony with it; there is no mystery about this. The law of the Spirit makes us free from sin and death: the law of the Spirit is freedom and knows no bondage. When we enter the Spirit of God we come under Its law of freedom.

Sin means mistake, or missing the mark. We miss the mark when we do not live under the law of harmony, which is Truth. Death is no part of eternal life, which can know no death, so it follows that God knows nothing about death. We die from one Reality to another but always remaining in the One Life of God.

"To be spiritually minded is life and peace." Who does not long for life and peace? These things are made perfect in the Life and Mind of God or as Jesus referred to it as the "Kingdom of Heaven."

The carnal mind leads to death, which in Truth is an illusion seen through the human eye and our experience. The carnal mind leads us to believe that death is real, we live a life of duality, believing that we exist separate from God, the One and only Life. This is the Truth Jesus spoke when he said, "I am in the Father and the Father is in me." The carnal mind becomes so identified with the human experience that it leads us to an erroneous belief in self(ego/human pride), fear and doubt, limitation and lack(poverty), condemnation and a sense of isolation and separation from God. As we identify more with self and human suffering we become more isolated from our true Reality which is we exist in the Life of God and no where else. Everything else is an illusion.

If it is true that God is creator of everything, the essence of God's Spirit being in each of us, why would God condemn Itself?

Today's Affirmation

It is a good and perfect day.

Any illusion of self(duality), fear, lack, doubt or uncertainty is removed from my thoughts this moment.

There is One Mind, One Spirit and the Life of God is all there is.

I deny duality and embrace the fullness of God's Presence in me, through me and all around me.

I feel the goodness and warmth, peace, joy, love and happiness for I am in the Life of God.

Today I see the beauty of God's Spirit in everyone and everything that happens.

In this moment of eternity, this day I ask that only good and perfect things be made manifest in my life as it is in the Life and Mind of God....love, joy, peace, happiness, good health, wealth and prosperity, confidence, success, money, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, friendship, creativity, laughter, music, generosity, harmony, kindness and passion and I receive all these good and perfect things in abundance with a grateful heart.

I am thankful to be awakened consciously into the Mind of God and energized by the Creative Spirit that flows in and through me.

This is the best day of my Life! I am set free!

The God Reflection

After long meditation and much deep reflection, having passed through the confusion of human experience, Job finally arrived at the conclusion that the Spirit of God was within him and that the breath of God was his life. We all have traveled this same pathway of experience, the journey of the soul to "the heights above," and always there has been a deep inquiry in our minds--What is it all about? Does life make sense? What is my purpose in life? What is the meaning of birth, human experience, and the final transition, which we call death, from this present Reality? Somewhere along the line we too must exclaim with Job, "The spirit of God hath made me and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Nothing can be nearer to us than that which is the very essence of our own being, and that is God. Our external search for meaning and purpose culminates in the greatest of all possible discoveries--Our Reality is at the center of our own being; life is from within out.

I feel that my search is over when I embrace this Truth. Jesus said "...you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) I feel that I am not evolving into it, I am merely awakening to the realization of what it means. There is but one Life. This Life I am living. Today I speak this Reality into every experience I have. Today I see God reflected in every form, back of every countenance, moving in every act. I am God's Spirit made manifest this day.

Visions of God

I live my life in growing orbits which move out over this wondrous world. I am circling around God, around the ancient towers and I have been circling for a thousand years. And I still don't know if I am an eagle or a storm or a great song. --Rainer Maria Rilke

We have seen the highest circle of spiraling powers. We have named this circle God. We might have given it any name we wished: Abyss, Absolute Darkness, Absolute Light, Matter, Spirit, Ultimate Hope, Ultimate Despair, Silence. But never forget, it is we who give it a name. --Nikos Kazantzakis

The Kingdom of God is within you. --Jesus (Luke 17:21)

The eye with which I see God
Is the very eye with which God sees me. --Meister Eckhart

For God to me, it seems is a verb
not a noun,
proper or improper;
is the articulation
not the art...
is loving,
not the abstraction of love...
Yes, God is a verb,
the most active, connoting the vast harmonic
reordering of the universe
from the unleashed chaos of energy. --Buckminster Fuller

The Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire,but the bush was not consumed.--(Exodus 3:2)

And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne,in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of a throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of his waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it;and from the appearance of his waist and downward I saw,as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day,so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God.--(Ezekial 1:26-28)

Immediately, I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven,and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne,in appearance like an emerald.--(Revelation 4:2-3)

Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven....The measure thereof is larger than the earth, and broader than the sea.--Job 11:7-9

The Tao cannot be heard; what can be heard is not It. The Tao cannot be seen; what can be seen is not It. The Tao cannot be expressed in words; what can be expressed in words is not It. Do we know the Formless which gives form to form? In the sam way the Tao does not admit of being.--Kwang-Tze

Realize that thou are "that"--Brahma, which is the cessation of all differentiation, which never changes its nature and is as unmoved as a waveless ocean, eternally unconditioned and undivided.--Raja Yoga

Whoever know the God who is without commencement, without end, who within this impervious[world] is the creator of the universe, who is of an infinite form, the one penetrator of the universe, becomes liberated from all bonds.--The Upanishads

Thus it is that the Tao(Spirit) produces [all things], nourishes them, brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them.--Tao Te Ching

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.--Amos 4:13

Thoreau

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and , if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.

I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one.....I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

--Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Quality of Life

For many people quality of life is measured by how much prosperity is available to them, however, I contend that the best quality of life often depends on what you can get along without. I believe that the best things in life are not things.

There is a Buddhist teaching story in which a monk encounters a man who has spent his life looking for beauty and truth. "Have you found what you are looking for?" he asks. "No," replies the man. "Wonderful," the monk responds. "What do you mean by saying my unfulfilled search is wonderful?" demands the truth seeker. The monk replies, "I mean you still have something to look forward to."

Robert Fulghum writes, "Only an open mind still has room for new knowledge. What is outgrown and used up must be discarded to make room for what is yet to be learned. And much of the best thinking is done alone--in deserts, on beaches, in bed, on walks, and behind closed doors. It is why we say we need to get away--to escape from clutter and busyness--to hear ourselves think." Thoreau said, "A man who has to go to the village to get the news hasn't heard from himself in a long time."

The simplest thing, carefully considered, can become a window on the universe.

Eternal Life Now

Eternal Life is now and is my freedom in God. This very brief moment is part of eternity. I am bound neither by false tradition nor human heritage. I come from the One Source, God. I accept this gift, by my own free will. I refuse to be resigned to any limitation of this life. I know that any perception I may have of limitation is an illusion. I refuse to be tied to man-made ideas of God. I open my mind to Its own goodness and my heart to Its own steadfastness.

I am only of God, I exist only in the Life and Mind of God, no where else. This Life is Perfect Substance, Perfect Form, and Perfect Life. I am guided divinely and always correctly. I am lovingly inspired by pure Love Itself. If my will to be well or happy has been limited by ignorance or laziness, I now resolve to get out of all emotional and psychological ruts. Today I achieve God's idea of me, God's full expression through me. Joy, peace, happiness and well-being can be the only outcome, for God's work cannot be burdensome.

Nothing stands in the way of my liberty. I now realize that I am spiritually blessed and entitled to success, affluence, and a happy disposition. I am free in my life, my work, my world, and my body. I am free to experience God's Love and Immortality. I am free to grow in God's Consciousness. I reach Nirvana. God within me as me is All-Powerful, All-Good, All there is.

Parallels

Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.”

Buddha said, “Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy like radiant devas.”

Jesus said, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all of your possessions and give all of your money to the poor so that you may have treasure in heaven.”

Buddha said, “The avaricious do not go to heaven, and the foolish do not extol charity.”

Jesus said, “Both heaven and earth shall pass away; however, the truth will last forever.”

Buddha said, “All of these heavens are temporary.”
Buddha said, “The truth abides forever” (Gospel of the Buddha).
Buddha said, “My doctrine is like unto fire which consumes all things that exist between heaven and earth, great and small.”

Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes.” -Gnostic Thomas
Jesus said, “Blessed is he who came into being before he came into being” (Gnostic Thomas).
Jesus said, “Before Adam, I am.”

Buddha said, “You should not say the Tathagata is born; neither should you say that he is unborn” (Lankavatara).
Buddha said, “For limitless kalpas I have resided on the divine vulture peak as well as every other place in space” (Lotus).

Jesus said, “Turn over a stone and I am there” (Gospel Thomas).
Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the kingdom” (Gnostic Thomas).

Buddha said, “He develops the base of power endowed with concentration founded on discrimination & the fabrications of exertion, thinking, ‘This discrimination of mine will be neither overly sluggish nor overly active, neither inwardly restricted nor outwardly scattered.’ He keeps perceiving what is in front and behind so that what is in front is the same as what is behind, what is behind is the same as what is in front. What is below is the same as what is above, what is above is the same as what is below. By night as by day, and by day as by night. By means of an awareness thus open & unhampered, he develops a brightened mind.”

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth; you have seen and believed but blessed are those who do not see me and believe.”

The Buddha said, “Perverted are those who see the Buddha in form” (Gospel of Buddha).

Jesus said, “Woe to those who have seen the Son of Man; blessed will they be who have not seen the man, and they who have not consorted with him, and they who have not spoken with him, and they who have not listened to anything from him; yours is life!” (Apocrypha of James).

Thomas said, “Teacher, teacher,” and Jesus replied,” I am not your teacher; rather, you are intoxicated from the well that I am tending” (Gnostic Gospel of Thomas).

Buddha said, “My teaching is like a raft to get you to the other side, when you get to the other side you must abandon your raft.”

Jesus said, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

Buddha said, “If I showed myself as constantly abiding, arrogance and selfishness overtake the wretched, abandoning restraint, they give themselves up to the five desires; however, when they see me as extinct they lay down good roots in their search for me” (Lotus sutra)

Jesus said, “The path is narrow, and few are chosen.”

Buddha said, “Wide is Indra’s net, and only a few birds escape.”

Jesus said, “This world is a bridge; do you build your house on a bridge?” (Gnostic Gospel of Thomas).

Buddha said, “All things are impermanent; therefore find the imperishable and make that your refuge.”

Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘here it is’ or ‘there it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

“The Bodhisattva dwells deep in the sign less, and the non-dual” (Vimalakirti sutra).

Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Then the Buddha admonished the monks of the monastery for their neglect and encouraged them to nurse the sick and care for the suffering. He concluded by saying, “Whosoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me” (Gospel of Buddha).

Jesus said, “Foxes have wholes and squirrels have nests, but the sun of man has no where to rest.”

Buddha said, “The mindful exert themselves, never delighting in a home they leave the household life like a king who leaves his country.”

Vimalakirti said, “The Bodhisattva’s never resting, tirelessly serving all equally.”

Jesus said, “Some who are the farthest from God, shall be the closest to God.”

Buddha said, “The Buddha neither favors the saint nor the sinner.” Buddha said, “Although a monk might be close to me, if he is not well restrained, he is far from me.”

Jesus said,” Not everyone who says to me, “teacher, teacher” shall enter the kingdom; rather those who do the will of the Father.”

Jesus said, “It is a sign of a wicked generation, if they ask for a sign.”

Buddha said, “In a place where there is something that can be distinguished by signs, in that place there is deception. If you can see the signless nature of signs, then you can see the Buddha.”

Vimalakirti said,” the Bodhisattva dwelling deep in the realm of the sign-less.”

The Buddha said, “He who extensively covets pleasures, fields, goods, or gold, cows, women, relations—sins will overpower him, dangers will crush him, and pain will follow him, just as water pours into a broken ship.”

Jesus said, “Beware! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Jesus said, “Whoever has come to understand the world has found (only) a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world” (Gnostic Thomas).

Buddha said, “Yes Ananda, everything you see is a disease and a canker; however, your seeing essence that perceives this disease is utterly free from disease” (Surangama sutra).
The Buddha thought: “I have taught the truth, which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end; it is glorious in its spirit and glorious in its letter. But simple as it is, the people cannot understand it. I must speak to them in their own language. I must adapt my thoughts to their thoughts. They are like unto children, and love to hear tales. Therefore, I will tell them stories to explain the glory of the Dharma. If they cannot grasp the truth in the abstract arguments by which I have reached it, they may nevertheless come to understand it, if it is illustrated in parables.”

Jesus said, “This is why I speak to them in parables: Through seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

Buddha said, “These Buddha sons will be seated close to me, beneath my seat” (Surangama).

Jesus said, “You will see me to the right of my Fathers throne.”
“Then the Earth shook and the rocks split” (Mathew 27:51 [so called death of Jesus]).

“The Earth shook in many ways” (Gospel of Buddha [on the Buddha’s Para nirvana])

“Pick up a stone, and I am there!” (Gnostic Gospel Thomas).

“Pervading all lands in space” (Avatamsaka sutra [repeated use of all-pervasive and uncreated]).

“For limitless kalpas I have resided on the divine vulture peak as well as every other place in space” (Lotus sutra).

The Buddha said, “All formations decay into their own roots.”

“All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another; they will be resolved again into their own roots” (Gospel of Thomas).

Jesus said, “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away”

Buddha said,” Better than absolute sovereignty over the earth, better than lordship over all the worlds is the Fruit of a Stream-Winner.”

One Life, One Mind, One Spirit

Ernest Holmes in 1920 wrote the following:

• I believe in God, the Living Spirit Almighty; one, indestructible, absolute and self-existent Cause.
  

• This One manifests itself in and through all creation, but is not absorbed by its creation.
  

• The manifest universe is the body of God; it is the logical and necessary outcome of the infinite self-knowingness of God.
  


• I believe in the incarnation of the Spirit in all, and that we are all incarnations of the One Spirit.
  


• I believe in the eternality, the immortality, and the continuity of the individual soul, forever and ever expanding.
  


• I believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is within me and that I experience this Kingdom to the degree that I become conscious of it.
  


• I believe the ultimate goal of life to be a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all.
  


• I believe in the unity of all life, and that the highest God and the innermost God is one God.
  


• I believe that God is personal to all who feel this indwelling Presence.
  


• I believe in the direct revelation of Truth through my intuitive and spiritual nature, and that anyone may become a revealer of Truth who lives in close contact with the Indwelling God.
  


• I believe that the Universal Spirit which is God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God; and that I am surrounded by this Creative Mind which receives the direct impress of my thought and acts upon it.
  


• I believe in the healing of the sick through the power of the Mind.
  


• I believe in the control of conditions through the power of the Mind.
  


• I believe in the eternal Goodness, the eternal Loving-kindness and the eternal Givingness of Life to all.
  


• I believe in my own soul, my own spirit, and my own destiny; for I understand that the life I live is God.

Georgia To Georgia

Georgians help Georgians: Hospital equipment bound for former Soviet republic
Dr. James Jennings, left, directs Charlie Drake as he pushes a piece of medical equipment being loaded on a container for delivery to the Republic of Georgia. The organization Conscience International has organized the humanitarian effort to send much-needed equipment to the war-torn republic.TOM REED (The Times)
Georgia’s been on James Jennings’ mind a lot lately.
The Gainesville resident and founder of the nonprofit humanitarian aid group Conscience International visited the beleaguered Republic of Georgia to assess the needs of refugees since Georgia’s armed conflict with Russia in August. He came back with some lasting impressions of a desperate people.
"Just the experience of being there in Georgia was eye-opening for us," said Jennings, whose work has taken him to some of the globe’s worst war-torn regions. Jennings said there are some 160,000 displaced people in refugee camps who fear they may never be able to return home.
A visit to Gori Pediatric hospital revealed rooms devoid of basic medical equipment.
"The existing hospital is one of the worst I have ever seen," Jennings said. "It’s a brand-new hospital, but there’s nothing in it."
On Saturday morning, volunteers inside a warehouse near Chicopee Woods loaded up a 40-foot shipping container with patient beds, incubators, monitors and other basic equipment donated from area hospitals.
The surplus equipment, worth up to a quarter-million dollars, is bound for the port of Savannah and then on to the port city of Poti in the Republic of Georgia.
It’s the first of what Conscience International officials hope will be as many as four deliveries to the region.
Helping with logistics is Cornerstone International Ministries, which worked with Conscience International on previous aid shipments to Iraq, Rwanda and elsewhere.
"It’s a group effort, so we can get to the areas that Cornerstone works in and the areas they work in as a partnership," said Floyd Higdon of Cornerstone.
Doug Hanson, who turned out to help with the loading Saturday, said he was impressed with the fearless work done by people like Jennings and Conscience International’s director of logistics, Al Nixon.
"None of this would be possible if they had not been courageous enough to go to a war-torn zone and do an assessment," Hanson said. "You never find these things out until you actually go there."
Jennings noted that his group was trying to make a difference in Gori, birthplace of one of the 20th century’s most notorious dictators, Josef Stalin, where a shrine at his childhood home still stands.
"Here was a communist leader with Chicago-style politics," he said. "We’re trying to reverse some of that in an attempt to do charitable works."
And, Jennings said, "We’re just starting this project

Georgia To Georgia

FROM GEORGIA TO GEORGIA, AGENCY SENDS
MEDICAL AID TO BELEAGURED REPUBLIC

Gainesville, GA -- A 40-foot shipping container of medical equipment and supplies left a Gainesville warehouse on Saturday, Dec. 13, destined for the Port of Savannah to be loaded on a ship heading to the Port of Poti in the Republic of Georgia.

The humanitarian aid shipment from the people of Georgia, USA to the people of the Republic of Georgia is a project of Conscience International, headed by its founder and president, Dr. James E. Jennings, a Gainesville resident. (See feature article in the Gainesville Times, October 21, 2008). The container of supplies and equipment was donated by Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with logistics facilitation by Cornerstone Ministries.

The project follows a September undertaking by Conscience International team members Dr. Jennings and C I Director of Logistics Al Nixon, who traveled to the Republic of Georgia to deliver $25,000 worth of medicine to the Gori Pediatric hospital and to assess current and future needs of the displaced population affected by the invasion of Russian troops this past summer.

"The existing hospital is one of the worst I have ever seen," reported Dr. Jennings, who travels regularly on humanitarian medical missions and is witness to some of the most dangerous and devastating conditions in war zones and disaster areas. While in the Republic of Georgia, Conscience International also purchased additional medicines for allocation in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, distributed medicines and supplies to the refugee camp in Gori, and hired trucks to carry Mercy flight relief supplies to several villages.

This time, the goodwill shipment is destined for the new Gori Pediatric and Obstetrics Hospital, which currently sits empty and unoccupied due to lack of much-needed equipment. Ironically, Gori is the birthplace of former Russian Dictator Josef Stalin, who presided over the murder of millions of his own people. Georgia is now an independent democratic nation formed in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Russia invaded the Republic this past summer intent on pulling the country back into Russian control. Now some 160,000 displaced people are trying to survive under austere winter conditions in a refugee camp.

"The people in the Gori camp are in a sad condition," said Dr. Jennings. "Many spent weeks hiding in the fields with nothing but the clothes on their backs. There were a lot of human rights violations, as well as looting, destruction of houses, and burning of fields and forests by partisans. Now winter is coming and there's little likelihood that most of the refugees will ever be able to return to their homes. Some of the refugees, especially the old women, told us, weeping, "When you have peace you take it for granted and think nothing of it, but when it is absent, you realize that nothing is more important!"

Conscience International hopes to send additional containers to finish the job of furnishing Gori’s much-needed obstetric-pediatric hospital. "That’s what we intend to do if funding becomes available," Dr. Jennings said. "We have the wind at our back on this project, a contrast to the usual struggle with a hostile government that we often encounter. The Republic of Georgia is a democratic country and an ally of the United States. They desperately need our help."

Things I've Learned

by Andy Rooney.

1. I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
2. I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.
3. I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
4. I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
5. I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.
6. I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
7. I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
8. I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
9. I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
10. I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
11. I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
12. I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
13. I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.
14. I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
15. I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
16. I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
17. I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
18. I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.
19. I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
20. I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
21. I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
22. I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
23. I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
24. I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
25. I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
26. I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
27. I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
28. I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
29. I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
30. I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

The God Particle

Have you heard about this. Physicists launch search for the God Particle. The most incredible thing about the Large Hadron Collider(LHC), the ring-shaped accelerator that revved up for the first time on September 10, 2008, in a tunnel near Geneva, is that it ever got built. Twenty-six nations pitched in more than $8 billion to fund the project. The European Organization for Nuclear Research--enlisted the help of 5,000 scientists and engineers to construct a machine of unprecendented size, complexity, and ambition.

Measuring almost 17 miles in circumference, the LHC uses 9,300 superconducting magnets, cooled by liquid helium to 1.9 degrees Kelvin above absolute zero(271.3 C), to accelerate two streams of protons in opposite directions. In fact, the goal of the LHC is at once simple and grandiose: It was created to discover new atomic particles. One of the most sought of these is the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle because, according to current theory, it endowed all other particles with mass. Such a discovery would be a big step toward developing a unified description of the four fundamental forces--the "theory of everything" that would explain all the basic interactions in the universe.

According to Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek of MIT, to the uninitiated(which is a little condescending lol), all this talk of new particles can be baffling, he admits. A better way to appreciate the importance of the LHC, Wilczek suggests, is to remember that , according to quantum mechanics, those particles are also waves on a sea that pervades the universe--and we are like fish in that sea, slowly cottoning to what's around us. "The equations tell us that what we perceive as empty space is in fact not empty," Wilczek explains. "It's a material that changes the way things behave. We're embedded in this medium, we know it's there, but we don't know what it's made of. The LHC is the instrument that's going to tell us."

Where have we heard this before?

Thus it is that the Tao produces [all things], nourishes them, brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them.--Tao Te Ching

This Chinese text tells us that the Tao, which means Spirit, produces everything, nourishes everything, and maintains everything. It spreads Itself over everything, It flows through everything and is in all things. Indeed, being all that is, there can be nothing outside It. "I am God and there is no other." [Isaiah]

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.--Amos 4:13

The flow of pure Spirit always pervades my consciousness and my physical body. Realizing that God is the animating essence of all life, that God withholds nothing from me, I prepare myself for a life of joy, love, accomplishment, health, and well-being. I permit myself to believe in the divine freedom that is made manifest in my life.

Affirmation: Today I hold my thought steadfast in the realization that Divine Life is flowing through this very moment. I believe in the fullness of the bounty of God. There can be no lack in Spirit. Spirit now inspires me in everything I do, say, and think.

Perfect and Complete

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and no lie is of the truth.--1 John 2:21

This is God your Lord: All power is His: But the gods ye call on beside Him have no power over the husk of a date stone!--The Koran

However anxious you may be, you will not save [yourself].--Text of Taoism

There is no power, presence, or person outside the Divine. God not only is, It is also One. The Koran says that a belief in any opposite to the One has no power, even as darkness has no power over light. God is Light, and in God there is no darkness. To believe in the Light is to dispel the darkness. A knowledge of good overcomes evil. The consciousness of abundance dispels want and pours the contents of the Horn of Plenty into our uplifted bowl of acceptance. John tells us that there is no lie in the truth. The truth never contradicts itself; it never denies us our good; it evermore proclaims the Divine Presence in everything, through everything, and around everything.

Kwang Tze tells us that anxiety will not save us, because anxiety is unbelief. Jesus also tells us to take no anxious thought for tomorrow. The Chinese sage said that perfected people find that they already have everything within themselves, after which they discover the same in others. This corresponds to the teaching of Jesus that the blind cannot lead the blind. We must know the truth about ourselves before we can know it about others.

I know that the truth is in me, perfect and complete. I didn't put it there, God did. I know that I manifest the truth in all my actions. I know that the truth makes me free. Today it frees me from the burden of care and anxiety. Every form of fear, every sense of burden is dropped from my consciousness and I walk the way of truth with great joy in my life.

My Spirit Is Free

I know that my spirit is free from all limitation.--Ernest Holmes

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.--Genesis 17:1

Whoever know the God who is without commencement, without end, who within this impervious[world] is the creator of the universe, who is of an infinite form, the one penetrator of the universe, becomes liberated from all bonds.--The Upanishads

Thus it is that the Tao produces [all things], nourishes them, brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them.--Tao Te Ching

This Chinese text tells us that the Tao, which means Spirit, produces everything, nourishes everything, and maintains everything. It spreads Itself over everything, It flows through everything and is in all things. Indeed, being all that is, there can be nothing outside It. "I am God and there is no other." [Isaiah]

The Hindu text tells us that in such degree we become liberated. And the Hebrew text says, "Walk before me and be thou perfect." We are to recognize the Divine in everything, to speak to the Divine in everything, to see It everywhere. "Lift the stone and you will find me, cleave the wood for there am I." There is a mystical Presence that pervades the universe. The fragrance of the rose, the beauty of the dewdrop glistening in the sun, the sound of water flowing to the sea, and seeing the beauty in a sunset are all manifestations of Its Presence and activity. This mystical Presence welling up in our consciousness evermore proclaims Itself as the source and root of all. This Source, Hermes tells us, forevermore proclaims Itself as "the Oneness, being source and root of all, is in all things as the root and source." And the Christian scriptures tell us, "I am over all, in all, and through all." The enlightened of the ages have told us that it is this God within us that recognizes Itself in everything we are.

I know that my spirit is free from all limitation. There is no thought of lack, limitation, fear or doubt in my Reality. I know that my mind understands the truth about myself and my Reality. I know that my physical body and my objective affairs reflect and manifest the perfection that I feel, the wholeness that I am certain of, and the prosperity that rightfully belongs to me.

The Infinite

Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven....The measure thereof is larger than the earth, and broader than the sea.--Job 11:7-9

The Tao cannot be heard; what can be heard is not It. The Tao cannot be seen; what can be seen is not It. The Tao cannot be expressed in words; what can be expressed in words is not It. Do we know the Formless which gives form to form? In the sam way the Tao does not admit of being.--Kwang-Tze

Realize that thou are "that"--Brahma, which is the cessation of all differentiation, which never changes its nature and is as unmoved as a waveless ocean, eternally unconditioned and undivided.--Raja Yoga

Job asks us if we can find God by searching. He means that since God is everywhere, and since the subtle essence of the Infinite is invisible, we not have to search out the Divine Spirit, but, rather, we should recognize It as the center of all life. The Spirit Itself cannot be seen, but It is felt, just as we do not see God but we do feel the Divine in everything. The Creator is revealed in Its creation. The Formless gives rise to the formed. We should consciously unite ourselves with this invisible Essence that pervades everything. To do this is to find wholeness.

Thomas Jefferson

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.-- Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. --Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. --Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. --Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. --Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. --Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. --Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. --Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. --Thomas Jefferson

In light of the present financial crisis in the United States, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: 'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. '

Wet Pants

Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.
As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap..
The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good..
Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

A Baby's Hug

We were the only family with a child in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wiggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his glee. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled..His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.

My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'

Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.'

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.' Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.' I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God , we must become as little children.'

Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellowman that identifies who you are.

Importance Of Fellowship

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, 'Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.' We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

Divine Intelligence

Divine Intelligence directs my faith and makes perfect and plain the way before me. --Ernest Holmes

But we speak the wisdom of god in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.--1 Corinthians 2:7-8

The person who is happy within, who rejoiceth within, who is illumined within, that Yogi, becoming the Eternal, goeth to the Peace of the Eternal.--The Bhagavad-Gita

The hidden wisdom of God is the knowledge that we are one with the Divine Being. This wisdom, which is hidden from us until we perceive our fundamental unity with Reality, is clearly revealed when we seek the Eternal in everything. The masters who have penetrated the mystery of life that so often eludes the intellect are those who with utmost simplicity have found direct approach to the Supreme Reality of God at the center of their own being. The Bhagavad-Gita tells us that we must become the Eternal if we wish to enter into the peace of Eternal. This has an identical meaning with the saying of Jesus that we must be perfect even as God in us is perfect. This calls for the recognition of the Spirit as an indwelling Presence, as well as overshadowing Power.

The road to self-discovery often calls for the clearing away of the underbrush of ignorance, fear, superstition, and a sense of isolation that has made us feel that we were unworthy, unholy, and lost. In the providence of God, salvation through a human sacrifice is unnecessary but self-discovery is essential. We can not save that which is lost; we merely discover that which needs to be found.

I know that God is within me and within you and I know that this Divine Spirit is perfect. I enter into Its peace and I am secure in a sense of Its protection. Love will guide and God's Intelligence will direct me. The power of the Infinite will sustain and uphold, as well as direct. The unerring judgement of Divine Intelligence directs my faith and makes perfect and plain the way before me.

Live Without Guilt

Pray not that sinners may perish, but that the sin itself may disappear.--The Talmud

The wisest man who ever lived, in my opinion, told us that the knowledge of Truth shall make us free. All books of spiritual wisdom have taught us that it is not the one who makes the mistake whom we should seek to destroy; it is the mistake itself which must be erased. Now, this means that evil has no existence in itself and has no history. No matter what the negations of yesturday may have been, the affirmations of today rise triumphant and transcendent over them. Thus all the evils of our yesterdays disappear into their native nothingness.

If we behold beauty instead of ugliness, then beauty will appear. If we persist in seeing the true rather than the false, then that which is true will appear. Where is the false, the lie, the untrue, and the evil when the knowledge of Truth has made us free? Its days are as though they had never been; its cause is neutralized; hence it leaves no effect. Let us, then, cease weeping over the shortcomings and mistakes and evils of our yesterdays and, steadfastly beholding the face of the great and the divine Reality of now, and let us resolve to walk in that light wherein there is no darkness.

Today, I definitely know that every negative condition of the past is cleared away from my consciousness. I no longer think about it, see it, or believe in it. Nor do I believe that it has any effect whatsoever in my experience. Today I express perfect life here and now. Today I live because the Truth has set me free!

Share The Gifts

I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.--Revelation 21:6

What a wonderful thought this is, that the very fountain of Life flows openly and free, that the gifts of heaven and earth are so bountifully bestowed upon all who receive them. But there is another thought I want to consider. If God has already made the gift, then even God, the Supreme Intelligence and Perfect One, must wait for our acceptance of this gift. Perhaps we err in that we do not expect to share the gifts of God. Perhaps we are bound by the thought that we are not yet good enough or deserving to accept the gifts of this Kingdom of Heaven. Too often we listen to religious dogma that tells us that we are undeserving and these gifts are withheld because we are unworthy, and so we do not live in an enthusiastic and confident expectation of sharing with the Infinite. What a wonderful truth to know that we actually share with the Infinite in the boundless gifts of Life!

Today I consciously share in the gifts of Life. I open my whole thought and my whole being to this Divine source that is in me. I empty myself of everything that denies this good I so fervently desire. I establish my mind in expectancy, a feeling that all the good there is must belong to everyone who will take it.

As I receive in abundance, freely I give everything I have, blessing the gift as it passes through me to others, that it may be multiplied in their experience also.

My Individuality

It is right and necessary that we should be individuals. If two persons were exactly alike, one would be unnecessary in the scheme of things. Emerson said that imitation is suicide. The Divine Spirit never made any two things alike--no two rosebushes, two snowflakes, two grains of sand, nor two persons. We are all just a little unique, for each wears a different face but behind each is the One Presence--God. Unity does not mean uniformity. Unity means that everything draws its strength, its power, and its ability to live from One Source. One Life does flow through everything, but this Life is never monotonous; It is forever doing new things in you and in me.

I affirm that I, too, am of this original Spirit and that It is doing something new through me today. Therefore, everything I do is original; it is a new creation. There is a new enthusiasm, a new zest for life. Even the old songs I sing are different because of a renewed influx coming from "the Maker of all music."

What Is Good?

Not God but you yourselves, are the creators and supporters of moral evils.--The Talmud

Today I am resolved to see only the good in everyone and in every event. Light can have no union with darkness; evil has no affinity with good. If good is the great Reality, while evil is the great negation or denial of Reality, then it follows that we should see the good in everything and recognize the apparent evil merely as a theoretical opposite of good. However, there is not God and something else. God has no equal or opposite. The Divine Spirit of God inhabits eternity; overshadows everything, including human events through history and today; dwells within our own soul; and is released through our own act of consciousness.

I am resolved today to see the good in everyone and in every event. I will call upon the good and will refuse to accept that anything other than good can come into my experience.

Deep Within Me

God is the giver of all things--by means of love. Deep within me dwells infinite love. The Spirit is always at peace. There is no argument or disagreement in the Divine Mind of God. This Spirit never doubts itself, opposes Itself, or disagrees with Itself. This is the Oneness that is God. Deep within me is that which never gets angry, troubled, or afraid. When I seem to be in conflict, I become still so that I may listen.

All the Love in all the world is right here, right now with me. I now cease all self-oppposition or self-degradation. I hear only the voice of Love, speaking to me. I hear nothing but the words of Wisdom, guiding and inspiring me. And when I listen there is a response from something greater than myself. It is the mysterious energy of Love, the active principle of unity with creation. Everything loves, and everything responds to love. It is a universal quality, shared alike by all, the central flame of the Universe called God.

Desiring to be loved, I allow myself to love greatly, to feel warmly inclined toward all people, and to be helpful on their behalf. I give as I wish to receive. As I love and cooperate with other people, so do they love me and give me their cooperation. My loving thoughts attract caring friends to me.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.--Matthew 12:15

Look Unto Me

Isaiah (Hebrew: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ, Standard Yəšaʿyáhu Tiberian Yəšaʿăyāhû ; Greek: Ἠσαΐας, Ēsaiās ; Arabic: اشعیاء‎, Ash-ee-yaa ; "Salvation of/is YHWH") is the main figure in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, and is traditionally considered to be its author.

Isaiah was an 8th-century BC Judean prophet who declared that all the world belonged to God and that God will destroy it. "The land will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word." (Isaiah 24:3). Isaiah therefore warns the people of the world to turn to God.

The verse from Isaiah that has been on my mind this week is in Isaiah 45, verse 22. "Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other."

"Look unto me"..... means to to turn to, to face or to recognize who God is.

"and be saved" ......means to be set free.

"all the ends of the earth".... refers to the earth at large, all common things to creation, not just the Hebrew people.

"for I am God".....Isaiah is saying that God is our strength, and we must realize that God is the source of all things.

"and there is no other." Isaiah is stating that there is nothing else but God. There is nothing outside the Life of God.

As we live in the Life of God as created we either begin to reflect the true perfect nature of our creator or we begin to construct an unnatural view of self and a life that is nothing more than an elusion much like a shadow that appears to be real but in truth has no substance. As our existence becomes more identified with the elusion of self, our lives like the land mentioned by Isaiah will be "completely laid waste and totally plundered."

As the Jewish mind was evolving toward understanding the true nature of God, Isaiah in his time opened a small window that led to greater understanding. There is One Life that exist and that is the Life of God and out this Life there is One Mind that creates and sustains everything.

It seems so simple, "Look unto me" and nowhere else and you will be set free. You are set free to realize that your life exist only in the Life of God, no where else. In the Mind and Life of God, the concept of fear, of death, lack or limitation has no reality, therefore we should not recognize any legitimacy in these things in our own thought and experiences.

Shadows

The Talmud says that unhappy conditions arise when we mistake shadow for substance. The Psalmist proclaims "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.." My knowledge that the great I Am is ever available gives me an increasing capacity to draw upon It and to become inwardly aware of the Presence of God's Spirit in me and all around me. As my faith is increased, as I embrace this Divine Presence this day and every day, I am able to recognize and discern the differences between the shadows and what is Real.

Because my life exist in the Life of God I know that every apparent death is a resurrection. I know that fear, doubt, thoughts of lack or limitation are shadows of my past and do not exist in Reality.

Knowing this I now claim health instead of sickness, wealth instead of poverty, happiness instead of misery. Every thought of fear or limitation is removed from my consciousness. I know that my word transmutes every energy into constructive action, producing health, harmony, happiness, joy, peace and great success. I know that there is something at the center of my being that is absolutely certain of itself. It has complete assurance and it gives me complete assurance that all is well. Silently I pass from less to more, from isolation to inclusion, from separation into oneness. This perfect Law of God is operating through me. Joyfully and thankfully I accept it.

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.--Maori Proverb

Why We Love Children

Healthy Level of Insanity

To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity Try These Exercises:

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice!

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana.

6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.

9. Sing Along At The Opera.

10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

14. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

Everlasting Arms

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. --Deuteronomy 33:27

But God will increase the guidance of the already guided. --The Koran

If God is my refuge, why is it that I refuse to avail myself fo this divine security? The Psalmist tells us that "the Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him.....in truth." This can have but one meaning. We cannot call upon God in truth unless we enter into the Divine Nature in truth, that is, we cannont expect love to become hate, nor peace to enter into confusion. If we would call upon God in truth, we must become like the truth. This is the seemingly unfathomable mystery of the infinite, invisible Essence of Spirit that surrounds us. Jesus tells us that if we abide in Him, then His words will abide in us, and we shall ask for anything that we will and it shall be done unto us. The everlasting arms are beneath, but they bear us up only when we enter into the truth. The Koran tells us that God increases our guidance once we have guidance. This is a mystical way of saying that if we believe in Divine Guidance, then we will be divinely guided. "Act as though I am, and I will be." Believe and it shall be done unto you."

Today I believe in Divine Guidance. Today, I believe that underneath are the everlasting arms. Today I rest in this divine assurance and this divine security. I know that not only all is well with my soul, my spirit, and my mind, all is well with my affairs.

The American Veteran

It is the VETERAN, not the legislator, who sacrificed the most so that a nation of free people could be born.

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.


It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag, It is the Veteran who serves under the Flag.

It is the VETERAN who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for this country and the freedoms we enjoy.

Be very proud of our young men and women in the service today, no matter where they serve. God Bless them all!!

I Am Alive.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. --1 Corinthians 13:12

O ye people, earth-born folk, ye who have given yourselves to drunkenness and sleep and ignorance of God, be sober now, cease from your surfeit, cease to be glamoured by irrational sleep! --Hermes

If ye knew God as God ought to be known, ye would walk on the seas, and the mountains would move at your call. --The Kashf Al-Mahjub

"For now we see through a glass, darkly." How familiar this passage might be to many of us, but what does it mean other than that our vision is clouded by a material sense of things? Hermes tells us that we are both drunk and asleep, that we are ignorant of God. Emerson tells us that once in a while we awake from our slumber and look about us to perceive the world of reality, but too soon sink back again into sleep. And from another ancient text, quoted above, we are told that if we knew God as we ought to, we would be able to walk on the seas, that the mountains would come at our call. All progress is an awakening. Every new scientific fact is a discovery. This also is an awakening. It is really true that we are largely asleep, dreaming away the hours. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you life." It is indeed high time that we awake from this sleep. No one can awaken us but our self. Let us, then, make every endeavor to arouse the mind to reality and to penetrate the gloom of fear and superstition, to cast aside doubt and uncertainty, to behold the Light, which is eternal.

I am alive, awake, and aware. My spiritual eyes are open. As from a long night's sleep, I awake!

Essence of Spirit

There is a subtle power within me--the essence of Spirit.

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.--Amos 4:13

The great prophet Amos tells us that "The God of hosts" is the name of the Power that forms the mountains, creates the winds, and declares Its presence in the sanctuary of our own thought. This poetical description of the Spirit of God brings a sense of lightness, of peace, and of transcendent joy. Amos seems to have lifted the load of life in his declaration that the Spirit treads upon the high places of the earth. This transcendent thought of God should ever be with us, and , like Jesus, we should walk over the waves of human disturbance rather than being submerged by them.

Life does not depend upon something outside itself, but immediately precipitates itself in our experience when we recognize it. It is this divine recognition that gives us transcendent power over everything, and we may rely upon this law for it is absolute. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."

There is this subtle power within me which is the essence of Spirit. I am sustained. I am guided. I am guarded. I am kept in the way of peace, prosperity, and joy. Every atom of my being is vibrant with life, alive with deathless self existence. There is a song within me today that finds its echo in everything I do, causing the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and awakens the paralysis of fear into life and action.

Giving

We all wish to receive, but how many of us desire to give? If, as Jesus intimated, receiving is the other end of giving, then the more we give, the more we shall receive. "Who loses his life shall find it." We should give the best that we have to one another and to the world. This gift of Life is made without effort. It is a complete abandonment fo the self to Life--a conscious letting go of all the tight strings of our being, a loosening of the Divine gifts within us. Only when we have learned to give all will we be in a position to receive all.

Today I give myself unstintingly to the Life that God gives me. This I do spontaneously and with joy, withholding nothing. I will not do this with any hope of reward, but in the glad joy for the opportunity to increase the fullness of the Life God gives me. Everything that I have belongs to the world. Giving, I will receive the world back into my own consciousness. I acknowledge that One Life flows through all.

Today is good, tomorrow will be even better!

Success

Success does not mean the accumulation of wealth, the maintenance of position, or a supremacy of power. Success means a life free from the burden of anxiety, liberated from fear. There is no successful life without peace or without that inner spiritual certainty that knows that the soul is on the pathway of good, forever expanding into the conscious union of God with humanity.

Today I expect every good thing to come to me. Everything that is worthy of the soul, I anticipate. Everything that belongs to the Spirit of God, I accept this gift. Everything that partakes of the nature of the Divine Reality, I claim as my own. Today I identify myself with abundance and success. I know that my destiny is divine and eternal, that my destination is certain, that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. I know that this Kingdom contains everything necessary to my well-being. I rise above the fray! In gratitude and with joy, I receive this Kingdom into myself.

The English Language

You think English is easy??? Read to the end . . . a new twist
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce .
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick' ? You lovers of the English language might enjoy this . There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.' It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP... When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so........it is time to shut UP! Oh . . . one more thing:

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P

Like Attracts Like

Jesus knew that like attracts like. Much like the law of gravity, the law of attraction has always existed throughout our universe, designed by God, understood by few. The law of attraction is a law of nature. The law of attraction is a law of creation. Jesus understood this truth as it pertained to God’s true nature and God’s design on our individual lives. Our lives co-exist with everything either in harmony or in disharmony depending on our choices that are derived from our own personal understanding of the true nature of God and this metaphysical law. Jesus understood the Law of Attraction and how it determines our relationship and personal interaction with our creator. Very few people understood what Jesus was trying to reveal, even those closest to him. Throughout the history of the Judeo/Christian movement very few have come close to realizing the true blessing of what Jesus spoke. The truth that Jesus revealed during his short life has been lost or misinterpreted through many years of organized religion and man attempting to make the simple, complex. Jesus revealed a radical truth that few men could even grasp and they feared what they could not understand. Jesus was killed because he told the truth about God’s true nature.

What Jesus said:
“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) Law of Attraction: When you are light, then you attract more light(good). Like attracts Like.

“Do you think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17) Man was trying in vain to understand God through the Law and the Prophets, Jesus simply wanted us to know the truth about God’s own laws that exist throughout our universe which would make our lives more fulfilling, more joyful, more abundant in every way. Jesus was also trying to reveal truth that gives insight into our eternal existence.

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…..Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:44-45, 48) Law of Attraction: Love will attract more love, joy and abundance. The more love you attract into your life, the more your life will reflect perfection and the closer you become connected to God’s true nature and laws. Hate will attract more hate. Anger attracts more anger, jealousy attracts more jealousy, deceit more deceit, lies more lies, and so on. Remember God’s Law of Attraction: like attracts like.

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) Law of Attraction: As I see myself as the perfection of life, made in the image of God, I am at peace and one with everything.

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets…to be honored by men. (Matthew 6:1-2) Law of Attraction: Generosity/Love attracts Generosity/Love. Acts of generosity should be given in a spirit of love and selflessness, thereby attracting the same into your own life.

"Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."(Matthew 13:1) The mind is the builder and sustainer, the creator, and distributor, and unless the mind conceives of itself as possessing good things it will not appear to possess them. This is but another way of stating the law of cause and effect, that immutable principle which governs all things.

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
I forgive those who try to harm me and as I do, my heart is made pure. Law of Attraction: Forgiveness attracts Forgiveness. Unforgiveness attracts unforgiveness plus bitterness & resentment.

The Truth

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.--John 8:32

Jesus implies that there is a truth, which known, automatically will demonstrate itself in our experience. What could this truth be other than a consciousness of our union with the Life of God? It is wonderful to contemplate this spiritual and exalted idea of truth--that truth which frees us from the tyranny of fear of the unknown.

It is neither in our stars nor in our environment nor in the religious dogma of today that we should look to discover this truth. The truth that Jesus proclaimed that makes us free lies only in the conscious communion of the soul with it's Source, the conscious union of each individual with God, the conscious union of the heart's desire with the Source of its Being.

Today is the best day of my life because I am free! Today I know that the truth makes me free from fear, doubt, or uncertainty. Today and everyday there is One Infinite Mind that is consciously directing my destiny.

Meet Molly

Meet Molly. She's a grey speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee, and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there. 'This was the right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood that she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse. Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana.

The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. And she asks for it. She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too. And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse,' she laughs. Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people, and she had a good time doing it. 'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in! life,' Moore said. 'She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.' Barca concluded, 'She's not back to normal, but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'


This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.