I wrote this initially as a comment to a criticism of The Secret on a website -
http://www.gay.com/news/roundups/package.html?sernum=3874&navpath=/channels/news/opinion/
But then I sort of decided to make it my next blog (smile), since many people are asking me about MY OWN beliefs related to the Secret and Law of Attraction.
I would begin my addition to this article by asking a question.
Everything we had and use as consumers and human, (televisions, clothing, IPODs, PCs, microwave ovens, cupcakes, toothpaste, planes, cars, skateboards, cartoons, etc. . . all began where?
Answer: as a thought in someone's mind.
What the people who criticize "The secret" have overlooked is that the secret does in fact endorse more than just thinking... there is ACTION also required.
For example from the book and DVD:
Jack Canefield, the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, said that he wanted to make more money but had no idea how. So he employed the secret's techniques and had a "million dollar" idea.
He had the idea to sell his book which had been sitting there unpublished. So he had an idea that if he could get "x" number of people to buy it, he would have his desired income increase. As a result of having that idea, he then had a second idea to get the Enquirer to advertise his book. Again he did not know how but he went about his regular activities. He gave a lecture at a college in New York and was approached by a reporter who worked freelance for the Enquirer. So it began as an idea (thought) and had he not sought for more ideas (the Enquirer) and had he not taken opportunities (the lecture) he would not have had secondary opportunities (the interview) which then connected him to the right avenues to manifest his initial goal.
Had he not ACTED upon the initial idea of sell the book, he would not have had a best selling
book on the shelves.
Everything we do begins as a thought first...
The clothing you put on and buy started as a thought, you decided to buy them.
The food you buy and eat, started as a thought in your mind that you then acted upon and bought and ate.
The thing is most of us are so unaware of what we are thinking that we do not realize the power of our thoughts.
Many people do not get promotions at work because in their mind they have already said some negative comment such as, "I know I won't get the promotion."
Our minds are filled with so much negative self talk it is amazing we ever get out of bed.
We talk about how we look and act and we are good at criticizing others looks and actions.
How can you honestly be moving in a direction of abundance when you are thinking lack?
How can you honestly get thin if you constantly think fat?
How can you honestly be free when you think victim?
Let me go on a tangent for a sec. based on the comment from the criticism about "simplistic" thought.
While there is a lot of stuff in the Secret that comes across simplistic, what each of us must understand is that there are things that work for one person that will not work for another in the exact same way.
And most importantly the ideas behind the Secret really are that simple to use.
Yes that one woman in the film talked about curing cancer by thinking healed and by filling her being with joy and laughter (similar to what the AATH - The Association for Applied and
Therapeutic Humor advise. Think Norman Cousins and Patch Adams and read "Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Patty Wooten, RN, BSN in the book HUMOR US) however the film does NOT say that is what all of us should do.
It is telling us about HER particular level of healing. The medical research is filled with a plethora of "miracles."
Let's look at a more "common" miracle that you may relate to better.
A young man falls in horse riding accident and is paralyzed. Initially, he goes through the gamut of why me, I don't want to live any more, and several other self pitying commentaries. However, at one point he "changed his mind" and decided to stop "thinking" like a victim.
Once he made that conscious choice to change how he thought about being paralyzed, he began to ACT.
From his actions, he became a national spokesperson, he returned to acting, wrote a book and became a role model for millions of paralyzed AND able-bodied humans worldwide!
Christopher Reeve, changed not only his world by changing his perceptions, changing his attitude, changing his mind, through his thoughts OUR world also changed. . .The is a MIRACLE!
Gandhi, through his choice, decision (that is a thought) to liberate a nation decided to have a non-violent protest. Through his attitude which then became action as he went on a hunger strike, eventually brought about what he sought to bring about. As did Martin Luther King Jr.'s involvement in the civil rights movement, starting with a woman's decision not to sit in the back of the bus, a bus boycott, a march, etc. A world was changed. (note: the civil right movement was the predecessor to all other civil rights movements - women's rights, gay rights, animal rights, and more)
But all of that began as a thought and idea in someone's mind, who then took action.
What is a victim mentality?
We have heard the phrase and even used the phrase. But how many of us have really thought about what it means - It is carrying yourself as a victim; to present yourself as a victim.
When thieves, rapists, muggers, and the like are looking for easy marks, they look for the ones that carry themselves as victims.
Self defense classes teach people several things but one is to end the victim mentality.
"Victims" think and thus act in ways that non-victims think and act.
Now I can hear you already commenting about people attracting attacks.
Like one person mentioned the slaves, the Jews, 9-11, even the war in Iraq.
You ask how could someone attract that to themselves?
Let's look at it on the most base level. . .(as I understand it)
We are at war because we "think" of them as the enemy.
We "think" the enemy needs to be eradicated.
We "think" we must help the people there establish democracy.
We "think" all sorts of things... including we at one time "thought" weapons of mass destruction were going to be found.
Based upon all of those thoughts.. we ACTED in a particular manner. Those actions then precipitated more thoughts and more actions that lead to war.
But it started as a thought.
Men and women join the military for various reasons, but all of those reasons are in their minds.
So in some respect they DID in fact attract the situation that placed them in a war.
Now this is very touchy grounds, I have lost friends in the war and have family and other friends there now but that does not change the fact that on some level they are there due to their thoughts, their choices and decisions.
Ok so what about the African slaves and Jews?
Mass or group consciousness exists. We in the present day cannot suppose / presuppose the exact mental states of those people however, based upon the group consciousness we as Americans have today in terms of our fear of terrorism we make ourselves more vulnerably by giving thoughts of attack so much power. We have a victim mentality when it comes to terrorism, the economy, and more.
The person who buys extra locks for the doors, security windows, and alarm systems, is setting themselves up for invasion. It is only a matter of time before the very thing they fear presents itself at the door.
I would venture to say that the Africans who became slaves as well as the Jews, gypsies, blacks, and homosexuals who were victims of the holocaust on some level were thinking victims. If nothing else due to fear, they were victims. Why would people "willingly" allow themselves to be uprooted and killed, except by their fears?
Viktor Emil Frankl, M.D., Ph.D, famous psychologist and survivor of the Holocaust created logotherapy and in his book "man's search for meaning" talks bout how he one day changed his mind and in changing his mind, changed his entire holocaust experience. He was no longer the victim he was when he went in.
He realized that even in the most horrific, painful, and dehumanizing of situations, life has potential meaning and that therefore even suffering is meaningful. But you have to change your mind about the situation.
So you see I am not making this up because I support or believe in the Secret. People who have themselves lived through these events have themselves said, the change of mind changed their lives, their experiences.
Rather than seeing the Secret as magic, witchcraft, hocus pocus, wishful thinking, or other simplistic points of view.. see it for what it is.
Your thoughts are the seeds you plant in the garden of your life.
If you plant apple seeds, do you grow oranges? No!
Therefore, if you want to grow oranges, you must plant orange seeds.
In life if you want to be healthy (or as healthy as you possibly can) you have to think of health and then act on those thoughts.
If you want to be wealthy, then think of abundance and act in ways that will acknowledge the abundance you already have and you will attract more.
Many of us have become so lazy and apathetic that we cannot see how blessed and fortunate we are.
If you look at people in several other countries who do not have clean water to drink, why do we feel poor and begin complaining because we can't buy a plasma TV?
We complain about the food we have when we throw away more in a day than some countries have to eat in a year.
Focus on what you HAVE, focus on what you WANT, focus on GRATITUDE and by default you will grow in the garden of your life the very things you have planted.
Last note:
Like any good farmer or gardener will also tell you, you do not simply toss the seeds to the ground.
You must till the soil, plant the seeds and then care for them.
That is part of the action many seem to miss.
Once you have thought the thought, you must tend to it, nurture it, and as a result of that it will grow.
You do not plant a seed for grapes and see a fully producing grape vine the next day, do you?
You plant, tend, wait, and keep tending UNTIL the vines begin to grow.
Once they begin to grow, you don't stop tending; you prune as needed and you begin to put up a structure upon which the vines will grow. Then in due time the grapes grow and ripen and are ready to be eaten.
HOWEVER, if your goal is a fine wine. . . the process is still just beginning!
"ASK" for/ Think about / Say what you WANT
"BELIEVE" that you can get it, have it, do it
"RECEIVE" the plant even before it grows
Farmers do not plant crops all the while thinking and saying, this will never grow otherwise whey would they even be planting them?
They plant "KNOWING" crops WILL come.
Be the change you want to see happen in the world.
**Gandhi
http://www.whatisthesecret.tv
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Evolution of mankind
Nothing in all of the universe is static... NOTHING! Everything is in motion. I am not writing today to talk about the molecules and atoms that are swirling around all things... The evolution I am refering to today is the evolution of mankind. Your evolution and my evolution as an individual.
There are many things that are going on in the world around us and many metaphysical teachers, gurus, pastors, leaders, scientists are all beginning to realize and agree that WE are creating and shaping our world. WE are responsible for the world in which we live. Hard pill to swallow for those of us not happy, not satisfied, not where we want to be BUT if you really think about it... your life (and my life) is where it is now because of the choices and decisions I made yesterday and the day before and the day before that on back to that first day of kindergarten.
We love to blame other people, other things, other events, and God for our lives being the way they are now. If my mother were nicer, if I knew my father, if my husband did not beat me, if my son was not gay, if my boss was not an asshole, if my pastor understood me, IF -he, she, they,.. IF someone, anyone OTHER THAN ME is to blame, then I can sit pretty doing nothing while constantly getting more and more of what I do not want.
Enough Bullshit... Stop blaming and start changing.
Your parents were drunks? Fine that was then this is NOW. What are YOU doing NOW to take control of your life?
Your boss fired you? Fine, what can YOU do NOW to move past that and get back on your feet and take control? Is blaming him/her actually making your life better?
Blaming feels good but it does not do good.
Take a minute and think about what you want that you currently do not have or do not do or are not being.
Do you want to have a better home?
Do you want to do more traveling?
Do you want to be happier?
Think about it. . . .
Having given it some serious thought NOW think about what you need to DO to obtain it.
Do you need to get a better job?
Do you need to meditate?
Do you need to let go and forgive?
Do you need to exercise more?
Do you need to eat better?
What do YOU need to do to get closer to the life you want?
STOP right now!
Stop saying yeah but
Stop saying you can't
Stop saying you never
Start saying I can
Start saying I will
Start saying I AM!!!
If you start saying it, then you are thinking it,... if you are thinking it and saying it.. soon you will be doing it!
Get off your butt and start doing what you need to do.
Make those phone calls
Take those classes
Pay off your debt
Read more books
Pray more
Study more
Love more
Laugh more
Do more of what you need to do to get you where you want
What do you want to HAVE
What do you want to DO
What do you want to BE
Start now and Have it, DO it, BE it.
Evolve beyond your daily habit of blame
Evolve beyond your daily habit of anger and hatred
Evolve beyond your daily habit of regret
Evolve beyond your daily habit of hoping
Evolve beyond your daily habit of wishing
Evolve into your new awareness of possibility
Evolve into your new awareness of can
Evolve into your new awareness of love
Evolve into your new awareness of peace
Evolve into your new awareness of joy
Evolve into your new awareness of laughter
Evolve into your new awareness of friendship and support
Evolve into your new awareness of accomplishing
Evolve into your new awareness of DOING
You are in control of much more than you realize.
The very thoughts you think affect those around you. . .
How many times have you gotten away from someone because you did not like the VIBES you got from that person?
What VIBES are you sending out?
Evolve into your new awareness of sending VIBES Harmony or as James Ray says Harmonic Wealth.
No matter what situation you are in, if you change your mind you change your life and you change the world around you.
If you think peace, be at peace, live in peace... that peace will vibrate out from you into your home, your street, your neighborhood, your city, state, country and world!!
As Gandhi said.. YOU must be the change! It starts with YOU
It does not start with George Bush
It does not start with your Mayor
It does not start with your school superintendent
It does not start with your mom, your brother, your son, your husband or wife or boss....
It starts with YOU!
What are YOU doing today to change the world?
How are you evolving? What are you evolving into?
Are you a proactive, making changes based upon your inner strength and spirit or are you reactive, allowing outside forces to move you?
Think carefully. . .
As you think so shall you be!
There are many things that are going on in the world around us and many metaphysical teachers, gurus, pastors, leaders, scientists are all beginning to realize and agree that WE are creating and shaping our world. WE are responsible for the world in which we live. Hard pill to swallow for those of us not happy, not satisfied, not where we want to be BUT if you really think about it... your life (and my life) is where it is now because of the choices and decisions I made yesterday and the day before and the day before that on back to that first day of kindergarten.
We love to blame other people, other things, other events, and God for our lives being the way they are now. If my mother were nicer, if I knew my father, if my husband did not beat me, if my son was not gay, if my boss was not an asshole, if my pastor understood me, IF -he, she, they,.. IF someone, anyone OTHER THAN ME is to blame, then I can sit pretty doing nothing while constantly getting more and more of what I do not want.
Enough Bullshit... Stop blaming and start changing.
Your parents were drunks? Fine that was then this is NOW. What are YOU doing NOW to take control of your life?
Your boss fired you? Fine, what can YOU do NOW to move past that and get back on your feet and take control? Is blaming him/her actually making your life better?
Blaming feels good but it does not do good.
Take a minute and think about what you want that you currently do not have or do not do or are not being.
Do you want to have a better home?
Do you want to do more traveling?
Do you want to be happier?
Think about it. . . .
Having given it some serious thought NOW think about what you need to DO to obtain it.
Do you need to get a better job?
Do you need to meditate?
Do you need to let go and forgive?
Do you need to exercise more?
Do you need to eat better?
What do YOU need to do to get closer to the life you want?
STOP right now!
Stop saying yeah but
Stop saying you can't
Stop saying you never
Start saying I can
Start saying I will
Start saying I AM!!!
If you start saying it, then you are thinking it,... if you are thinking it and saying it.. soon you will be doing it!
Get off your butt and start doing what you need to do.
Make those phone calls
Take those classes
Pay off your debt
Read more books
Pray more
Study more
Love more
Laugh more
Do more of what you need to do to get you where you want
What do you want to HAVE
What do you want to DO
What do you want to BE
Start now and Have it, DO it, BE it.
Evolve beyond your daily habit of blame
Evolve beyond your daily habit of anger and hatred
Evolve beyond your daily habit of regret
Evolve beyond your daily habit of hoping
Evolve beyond your daily habit of wishing
Evolve into your new awareness of possibility
Evolve into your new awareness of can
Evolve into your new awareness of love
Evolve into your new awareness of peace
Evolve into your new awareness of joy
Evolve into your new awareness of laughter
Evolve into your new awareness of friendship and support
Evolve into your new awareness of accomplishing
Evolve into your new awareness of DOING
You are in control of much more than you realize.
The very thoughts you think affect those around you. . .
How many times have you gotten away from someone because you did not like the VIBES you got from that person?
What VIBES are you sending out?
Evolve into your new awareness of sending VIBES Harmony or as James Ray says Harmonic Wealth.
No matter what situation you are in, if you change your mind you change your life and you change the world around you.
If you think peace, be at peace, live in peace... that peace will vibrate out from you into your home, your street, your neighborhood, your city, state, country and world!!
As Gandhi said.. YOU must be the change! It starts with YOU
It does not start with George Bush
It does not start with your Mayor
It does not start with your school superintendent
It does not start with your mom, your brother, your son, your husband or wife or boss....
It starts with YOU!
What are YOU doing today to change the world?
How are you evolving? What are you evolving into?
Are you a proactive, making changes based upon your inner strength and spirit or are you reactive, allowing outside forces to move you?
Think carefully. . .
As you think so shall you be!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Too Late??
You never know when your last breath will be taken or the last beat of your heart silenced. . .
The passage of time, the cycles of life come and go. The new life of Spring becomes the full life of Summer, Summer's life fades into the restful Autumn, Autumn yields to the slumber of Winter, and the metamorphosis from birth to rebirth begins again and again. Life comes and the passing of life comes as well.
As I sit here at 3 A.M. contemplating 39 previous "New Years," I remember friends being made and friendships fading into the silence of distant memories. I remember school grades, tests, and graduations. I remember various trials and tribulations in school, at home, . . . in life in general. Many successes, failures, loves, losses, and lessons - some learned the easy way and some not so easy.
Through all the experiences I have had, something has remained constant; some inner knowing that has reminded me that it is all worth it.
Thinking about all of this, I cannot help but also think about the aspirations, dreams, goals that I have that may never be realized as well as those that have and will be. I must also take special note of the people who have shared this journey with me.
Along the path, some have been constant companions and some have been short term visitors who walked a few miles and went their separate way. Some were not there physically but were there in heart and in spirit.
I have no idea if tonight, this chapter called "Physical Life" will end. . .I may not see the sunrise of morning with my physical eye. That thought once flooded my being with fear and now where fear once reigned... peace has taken over!
Now, I am comforted in knowing that death does not exist.
When one chapter ends, the story goes on.
When the body stops traveling, the spirit journeys onward.
All of that being said, I felt the need NOW to say a few things that often go unsaid...
Thank you - for participating in this journey, this adventure called life.
Thank you for choosing to accept and to love me; for being there in some way and sharing your life with me.
Despite the ups and downs, goods and bads, smiles and frowns, tears and laughs, I am eternally grateful.
I would not change a thing! It has all been perfect and has served a purpose greater than I could ever envision or imagine...
Thank you for being a part of that Purpose with me.
For anything that I may have done or said that ever caused you pain, I am sorry! It was never my intention or desire to hurt you. For anything that I did not say but could have or should have - I am sorry. All to often we believe that we have time tomorrow to do what we could have done today. . . why put it off?
Tomorrow as we know is not promised and may not arrive.
So TODAY - I am telling you that your time, your patience, your compassion, your understanding, help, faith, and love are appreciated! THANK YOU!
For being who you are - I love you!
For letting me be who I am - I love you!
Remember, when the flesh and blood vehicle ceases to travel this journey, the spirit goes forward.
My spirit and my greatest hopes for you will always be with you because that's what "I love you" means!
Forever and always
your Friend
Ray
The passage of time, the cycles of life come and go. The new life of Spring becomes the full life of Summer, Summer's life fades into the restful Autumn, Autumn yields to the slumber of Winter, and the metamorphosis from birth to rebirth begins again and again. Life comes and the passing of life comes as well.
As I sit here at 3 A.M. contemplating 39 previous "New Years," I remember friends being made and friendships fading into the silence of distant memories. I remember school grades, tests, and graduations. I remember various trials and tribulations in school, at home, . . . in life in general. Many successes, failures, loves, losses, and lessons - some learned the easy way and some not so easy.
Through all the experiences I have had, something has remained constant; some inner knowing that has reminded me that it is all worth it.
Thinking about all of this, I cannot help but also think about the aspirations, dreams, goals that I have that may never be realized as well as those that have and will be. I must also take special note of the people who have shared this journey with me.
Along the path, some have been constant companions and some have been short term visitors who walked a few miles and went their separate way. Some were not there physically but were there in heart and in spirit.
I have no idea if tonight, this chapter called "Physical Life" will end. . .I may not see the sunrise of morning with my physical eye. That thought once flooded my being with fear and now where fear once reigned... peace has taken over!
Now, I am comforted in knowing that death does not exist.
When one chapter ends, the story goes on.
When the body stops traveling, the spirit journeys onward.
All of that being said, I felt the need NOW to say a few things that often go unsaid...
Thank you - for participating in this journey, this adventure called life.
Thank you for choosing to accept and to love me; for being there in some way and sharing your life with me.
Despite the ups and downs, goods and bads, smiles and frowns, tears and laughs, I am eternally grateful.
I would not change a thing! It has all been perfect and has served a purpose greater than I could ever envision or imagine...
Thank you for being a part of that Purpose with me.
For anything that I may have done or said that ever caused you pain, I am sorry! It was never my intention or desire to hurt you. For anything that I did not say but could have or should have - I am sorry. All to often we believe that we have time tomorrow to do what we could have done today. . . why put it off?
Tomorrow as we know is not promised and may not arrive.
So TODAY - I am telling you that your time, your patience, your compassion, your understanding, help, faith, and love are appreciated! THANK YOU!
For being who you are - I love you!
For letting me be who I am - I love you!
Remember, when the flesh and blood vehicle ceases to travel this journey, the spirit goes forward.
My spirit and my greatest hopes for you will always be with you because that's what "I love you" means!
Forever and always
your Friend
Ray
Cultivating a Mind of Love
Standing before a crowd of people that hate you. Receiving strike after strike to your head, neck, back and face as people whip you, throw stones, and clenched fists, swinging violently. They hate you and want you dead! In their opinion you are guilty. But guilty of what? You are laid upon a wooden beam as metal spikes are driven through your flesh to hold you in place. Three times your skin is pierced. Three times a new wound opens allowing your life blood to fall to the ground. Nearly dead you hang half naked, bloody, beaten, and weak, and as you are await your final breath; you speak, "Father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing."
You, a being with the power to call all of heaven's angels, with swords of flame capable of rescuing you. You, a being with the power to call fire to rain down upon your adversaries, the power to fly down from the cross without injury -- and yet you remain upon the very representation of shame. While you die, you ask your Father to forgive. You ask Him to do what you have already done, forgiven them. Then you breathe your last blood stained breath and you die!
Loving and forgiving an enemy -- wow! what a concept. But how? How do we forgive and love as Jesus did?
Jesus' ultimate sacrifice -- the giving of His life and the forgiveness of those who would have Him die; loving His enemies. This is the image we are to follow. We who are human, who are weak, prideful and fearful, we are to forgive as Jesus did, to love as Jesus did. We who cannot forgive the woman in the grocery store for hitting our heel with her cart. We who cannot forgive someone for calling us stupid or ugly. How can we forgive on such a huge magnitude, like Jesus, when we cannot even forgive the minor and trivial things in life?
To understand what we are to do, we need to see more clearly what Jesus did and why. Let's look at the pain He endured. The price He paid and why He was willing and able to do this.
I know that there are many people who read or hear the torment Jesus went through and yet you never really picture it to the point of feeling His pain. I urge you now to vividly picture the price Christ paid.
See His body hanging, as the warm life blood drips from his hands and feet. Imagine the pain he endured, the ridicule, the pain he took upon himself for you! But He did not do this for you alone. He did it for everyone, including those very people who spat upon Him, drew lots for His clothing, beat Him, placed a crown of thorns upon His head and mocked Him as he hung on the cross. They challenged His Godly power!
(Matthew 27:40: "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
Mark 15:31-32: "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!"
Luke 23:39 "And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are you the Christ? Save Yourself and us!")
By our standards, Jesus did the unthinkable. He willingly died! We who are taught to fight back, to kill or be killed, to take rather than give, to do for ourselves not for others, to be stronger because only the strong survive, to hit first before someone hits us and to gather and amass as much material wealth as we can. It is by that wealth that our worth will be measured.
How are we supposed to follow Jesus' example of love and forgiveness when we would rather make excuses? "It was easy for Christ, He was God! There is no way I could do that." But nothing could be farther from the truth. Not only can we forgive as Christ forgave but we can do greater things than Christ (John 14:12) and through Him we can do all things!! (Philippians 4:13). You must stop thinking of Christ solely as God. He was human as well. He was God who came in physical form in order to better understand us. He felt what we feel. Jesus himself felt the same emotions, thoughts, questions, etc. that we feel.
He cried when Lazarus died even though He knew the power He possessed to resurrect His friend. Why mourn the death of someone you know is not really dead or that you know will not be dead for long? Jesus was about to raise him from the dead and He wept (John 11:35). Jesus Himself, did not want to die. He asked the Father to allow the cup to pass from Him but God's will be done. So Jesus, knowing that in order to save the world, He must make that unimaginable sacrifice -- death.
I still don't think you fully grasp the magnitude of what Jesus did. He died for us. For all of us, He took on our sins and the penalty of those sins; separation from the Father, separation from love. That is death! At that one time in all of creation, God the trinity became a duo!! God became something less, yet more, through the death of Christ. God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) unable to experience sin, had to literally divide Himself so that Jesus could experience the weight of the world -- alone! Imagine you ripping off your own arm to save a stranger or better yet as a Father (of Mother) tearing your child's arm off to save someone who does not know you or hates you!! God split Himself into two rather than one. Jesus was alone! "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
You ask, How can I do that? How can I forgive the person who is car jacking me? How can I forgive the person who is raping me? The person who is mugging me? The person who is bashing in my skull and calling me faggot? The person dressed in a white sheet, placing a noose over my head as he ignites the cross in the backdrop in the name of Christ? The person who would no sooner shoot me than say hello? How do I forgive them? You do it just as Christ did!
Jesus did everything he did throughout His life, every miracle, every sermon, every deed, He did to display to and to demonstrate love. The Love of God the Father in human action! It is through that, that we too can do as He did. Through Love He sacrificed His life, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). Jesus loves us, His friends. I hear some of you saying, "Yeah, I'd die for my friends. I love my friends." But I ask you, who were Jesus' friends? Did Jesus just die for the disciples? Just die for His mother, father, brother, Lazarus, Mary? Who did He die for?
Did he die for the thief that mocked Him on the cross? For the soldiers who hammered the nails into His flesh? For the soldiers who spat and whipped and struck Him in the head? Yes, he died for all of them and all of us! For every single man, woman, and child ever born past, present, and future! Jesus died for His friends!
Are you starting to see what you need to do in order to have that kind of forgiveness, that kind of Godly power and influence in the world? The secret, the key is Love. You must learn to love. To love not just those you know but those you don't know as well. Those you like and those you don't like as well. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same?" (Matthew 5:46)
We are urged to do more, to go beyond our comfortable little sanctuaries. We must be self sacrificing. I'm not saying we should all seek to die but I am saying that we should not be afraid to die. After all what is there to fear when Heaven is your home? And the sting of death is no longer a threat to you? However that fear is a real and terrible beast we must face! It is fear that prevents us from doing all that we could do. Fear blocks us from the gifts, blessings, and fulfillment God has planned for us. Fear of poverty, of pain, of illness and disease, of shame, of guilt, and of death!
Did you know that fear is pride? Many people never realize that fear is related to Pride, which is one of those things that could lead to our separation from God.
Pride is exhalting yourself above the will of God. When God tells us to do something and we tell Him wait. Or we tell Him, "IF"- If you do this for me first then I can do that for You. When we tell Him, "Wait. Hold on a second, I have other things to do." We tell Him we can't because it's something we believe to be impossible or something that scares us. That is pride! How dare we presume to tell God what we can or cannot do; what we will or will not do!
That fear/pride is also a factor when we exhalt ourselves above others. How can we presume to be above any of our brothers and sisters? We are raised to pick on and ridicule; to put others down rather than pick them up. How often do we think positive thoughts or give praise and support of others? We give more criticisms than compliments, more complaints than praise, more negativity than positivity. It is easier to say how fat she is than how nice she is. Easier to say how ugly, how stingy, how stupid, rather than how gentle, kind, patient. We tear down rather than build up and it's all because of our pride. We feel threatened by anyone who looks different, thinks different, feels different and from those threatening feelings we get hostile and superiority complexes -- all from pride.
Yet deeper down is fear. We fear becoming fat, so we mock those who are. We fear becoming old, so we avoid those who are. We fear getting a disease so we condemn those who contract something. We are afraid of being poor so we judge those who are trapped in poverty. We fear death, so we become obsessed with anything that will prolong our lives. We seek material gain and wealth (which is temporary and fleeting), rather than spiritual and intellectual wealth (which is forever). We seek physical beauty, also temporary rather than spiritual and emotional beauty which is forever. All because we are afraid of being exposed as imperfect and flawed.
However, those willing to follow Christ and His example of Love (which is patient, kind, confident, humble, sacrificing, giving, forgiving, truthful, enduring of all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) We are free to unleash God's holy power in their lives and the lives of others. So in order to love and Jesus did and forgive as Jesus forgave we must not allow pride to dictate to us what we can or cannot do! We cannot allow pride to convince us of what God cannot or will not do!
Practice Non-violence
"If a man strike you on one cheek, offer him the other also." (Luke 6:29)
Through changing our feelings about violence and aggression, we can begin to create a life of love rather that vengeance and destruction. If you look at the racial tensions in the 60s and how the non-violent power of the civil rights protesters overcame. As Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi led the multitudes to protest through non-violence, they changed the world!! Not just their small local areas but the Global understanding of freedom! They became a light unto the world and we too can call this power of the light.
We must put it into practice daily however. When driving and someone cuts us off or does some other annoying or even dangerous automotive maneuver, rather than blasting a string of profanity or flicking that finger or other similar gesture what more positive, more Christ like, more loving thing could we do? Pray for them. Ask God to help calm us and continue to protect us and them as well. Thank God for not letting an accident occur.
We must plant seeds of thankfulness in everything! Even when physical death comes knocking, we need to thank God for the life we enjoyed with the departed one, thank Him for the time we had with them and the love we felt and were able to give. That is the love and power of Christ. We will mourn, but mourning does not mean we can not praise God!
So praise and thank rather than swear and curse. If something slips out occasionally or even more often (smile) then take time to refocus in more positive ways, say a prayer for forgiveness and still throw out a prayer for the other person, whom we should strive to love as ourselves.
Practice Patience
When we are stuck in traffic or in a long line at the grocery store, why stomp and pout. If it is beyond our control, give it to God. We tend to cling to things we should let go of. Again, that is pride. We would rather handle the emotions or problems ourselves rather than allow God to handle it for us. We need to plant seeds of patience. Calm and accepting patience. If we are stuck, listen to the radio, read a book, hum a cute song that makes us smile. What is the point in honking the horn? Will honking the horn make the traffic jam dissolve? No. Then why do it? Pride! Spoiled conceited pride. We are upset and we want to annoy others and let them know we are upset. Would it not be better to sing than to curse?
Practice Giving
Whatever we have that we can give (money, time, knowledge, prayer, etc.), we need to give. In giving we will transform the world. In giving we will help our neighbors. In giving we will help ourselves. It is in planting genuine seeds of giving, we will receive God's blessings. Many times we say we have nothing to give. I argue that there is always something we can give. If not money then time! Take the time to read to a child. Time to read to the blind. Time to help a senior go shopping. Time to say a prayer! Giving of ourselves is one of the truest forms of love. After all did not Jesus give of Himself. He took the time to speak, to teach, to heal, to comfort.
Practice Carrying the Cross
Long ago, I had no idea what carrying the cross meant and sometimes as I learn new things in my spiritual life I realize I have much yet to learn about that cross I must carry. Carrying the cross means that we must take upon our shoulders the pains and the sorrows of this life and yet triumphantly rise! Nothing can keep us down when we take up the cross and follow Him! No amount of pain, sorrow, or depression can co-exist in soil where we have planted seeds of faith, power, love, thankfulness, and praise to a God who loves us unconditionally, eternally! Just as Christ conquered death through the cross, we too will conquer or barriers through carrying our cross. Follow Him and receive a yoke of freedom and love.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light." (Matthew 11:29, 30)
Practice Walking in Love
Ephesians 5:2 "And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
Literally, focus your mind on love. Let words of love flow from your mouth. Let your actions be selfless and done in love. Regardless of who the person is, practice loving them as you love yourself. Imagine that you are looking at yourself in that person's shoes. How would you respond to you? That is you on the corner asking for spare coins. What will you do, give, or say to you? That is you holding up the line in the store counting your pennies or writing a check. What will you think, feel, say about you? That is you lost and separated from the love of God; that's why you are abusing your child, your wife, husband, etc. What will you think, feel, say about your lost life? Realize that the only enemy you truly have is Satan and yourself when you allow him to convince you of untruth and to lure you away from God. You are the one in control of your life. You decide who to follow- God or Satan? You decide what to say to others- kindness or hatred? You decide how to live your life- fearful or empowered? You decide who, how, and when-to love or not to love? How will you live? How will you treat that person as if He/she were you?
Once you begin to practice these small but powerful steps, begin planting in small ways the seeds of Holiness, you will see a power you would never have imagined. You will begin to manifest the very power Christ has given you! It will be through that power that you will be able to love your neighbor, your friend, and your enemy. After all love encompasses and surrounds all just as the Sunlight shines upon saint and sinner alike (Matthew 5:45). Love -- Unconditionally and Eternally, just as your Father in heaven loves you.
So I ask another question. What will you now do? Will you seek to love you neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19)? Will you love one another as Christ has loved you (John 13:34, 35) that the world will be able to look at you and know you are a disciple of Christ because or your love?
You have heard it said about nutrition, "You are what you eat." Well more important than actual food, is food for thought! "Be careful what you think; for your life is shaped by your thoughts." (Proverbs 23:7) If you think hate, then those seeds of hatred will grow. If you think guilt and pessimism and shame, then those seeds of misery too will grow. Yet, how wonderful it is to realize that if you think of love, of Christ, of forgiveness, and Godly power those seeds will grow and manifest into such a glorious beacon of light to the world that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). And you will love as Christ loves and you will live with Christ living within you!
Copyright © 2000 by Ray Anderson [author's permission given to post, since I am the author] All Rights Reserved
You, a being with the power to call all of heaven's angels, with swords of flame capable of rescuing you. You, a being with the power to call fire to rain down upon your adversaries, the power to fly down from the cross without injury -- and yet you remain upon the very representation of shame. While you die, you ask your Father to forgive. You ask Him to do what you have already done, forgiven them. Then you breathe your last blood stained breath and you die!
Loving and forgiving an enemy -- wow! what a concept. But how? How do we forgive and love as Jesus did?
Jesus' ultimate sacrifice -- the giving of His life and the forgiveness of those who would have Him die; loving His enemies. This is the image we are to follow. We who are human, who are weak, prideful and fearful, we are to forgive as Jesus did, to love as Jesus did. We who cannot forgive the woman in the grocery store for hitting our heel with her cart. We who cannot forgive someone for calling us stupid or ugly. How can we forgive on such a huge magnitude, like Jesus, when we cannot even forgive the minor and trivial things in life?
To understand what we are to do, we need to see more clearly what Jesus did and why. Let's look at the pain He endured. The price He paid and why He was willing and able to do this.
I know that there are many people who read or hear the torment Jesus went through and yet you never really picture it to the point of feeling His pain. I urge you now to vividly picture the price Christ paid.
See His body hanging, as the warm life blood drips from his hands and feet. Imagine the pain he endured, the ridicule, the pain he took upon himself for you! But He did not do this for you alone. He did it for everyone, including those very people who spat upon Him, drew lots for His clothing, beat Him, placed a crown of thorns upon His head and mocked Him as he hung on the cross. They challenged His Godly power!
(Matthew 27:40: "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
Mark 15:31-32: "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!"
Luke 23:39 "And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are you the Christ? Save Yourself and us!")
By our standards, Jesus did the unthinkable. He willingly died! We who are taught to fight back, to kill or be killed, to take rather than give, to do for ourselves not for others, to be stronger because only the strong survive, to hit first before someone hits us and to gather and amass as much material wealth as we can. It is by that wealth that our worth will be measured.
How are we supposed to follow Jesus' example of love and forgiveness when we would rather make excuses? "It was easy for Christ, He was God! There is no way I could do that." But nothing could be farther from the truth. Not only can we forgive as Christ forgave but we can do greater things than Christ (John 14:12) and through Him we can do all things!! (Philippians 4:13). You must stop thinking of Christ solely as God. He was human as well. He was God who came in physical form in order to better understand us. He felt what we feel. Jesus himself felt the same emotions, thoughts, questions, etc. that we feel.
He cried when Lazarus died even though He knew the power He possessed to resurrect His friend. Why mourn the death of someone you know is not really dead or that you know will not be dead for long? Jesus was about to raise him from the dead and He wept (John 11:35). Jesus Himself, did not want to die. He asked the Father to allow the cup to pass from Him but God's will be done. So Jesus, knowing that in order to save the world, He must make that unimaginable sacrifice -- death.
I still don't think you fully grasp the magnitude of what Jesus did. He died for us. For all of us, He took on our sins and the penalty of those sins; separation from the Father, separation from love. That is death! At that one time in all of creation, God the trinity became a duo!! God became something less, yet more, through the death of Christ. God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) unable to experience sin, had to literally divide Himself so that Jesus could experience the weight of the world -- alone! Imagine you ripping off your own arm to save a stranger or better yet as a Father (of Mother) tearing your child's arm off to save someone who does not know you or hates you!! God split Himself into two rather than one. Jesus was alone! "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)
You ask, How can I do that? How can I forgive the person who is car jacking me? How can I forgive the person who is raping me? The person who is mugging me? The person who is bashing in my skull and calling me faggot? The person dressed in a white sheet, placing a noose over my head as he ignites the cross in the backdrop in the name of Christ? The person who would no sooner shoot me than say hello? How do I forgive them? You do it just as Christ did!
Jesus did everything he did throughout His life, every miracle, every sermon, every deed, He did to display to and to demonstrate love. The Love of God the Father in human action! It is through that, that we too can do as He did. Through Love He sacrificed His life, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). Jesus loves us, His friends. I hear some of you saying, "Yeah, I'd die for my friends. I love my friends." But I ask you, who were Jesus' friends? Did Jesus just die for the disciples? Just die for His mother, father, brother, Lazarus, Mary? Who did He die for?
Did he die for the thief that mocked Him on the cross? For the soldiers who hammered the nails into His flesh? For the soldiers who spat and whipped and struck Him in the head? Yes, he died for all of them and all of us! For every single man, woman, and child ever born past, present, and future! Jesus died for His friends!
Are you starting to see what you need to do in order to have that kind of forgiveness, that kind of Godly power and influence in the world? The secret, the key is Love. You must learn to love. To love not just those you know but those you don't know as well. Those you like and those you don't like as well. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same?" (Matthew 5:46)
We are urged to do more, to go beyond our comfortable little sanctuaries. We must be self sacrificing. I'm not saying we should all seek to die but I am saying that we should not be afraid to die. After all what is there to fear when Heaven is your home? And the sting of death is no longer a threat to you? However that fear is a real and terrible beast we must face! It is fear that prevents us from doing all that we could do. Fear blocks us from the gifts, blessings, and fulfillment God has planned for us. Fear of poverty, of pain, of illness and disease, of shame, of guilt, and of death!
Did you know that fear is pride? Many people never realize that fear is related to Pride, which is one of those things that could lead to our separation from God.
Pride is exhalting yourself above the will of God. When God tells us to do something and we tell Him wait. Or we tell Him, "IF"- If you do this for me first then I can do that for You. When we tell Him, "Wait. Hold on a second, I have other things to do." We tell Him we can't because it's something we believe to be impossible or something that scares us. That is pride! How dare we presume to tell God what we can or cannot do; what we will or will not do!
That fear/pride is also a factor when we exhalt ourselves above others. How can we presume to be above any of our brothers and sisters? We are raised to pick on and ridicule; to put others down rather than pick them up. How often do we think positive thoughts or give praise and support of others? We give more criticisms than compliments, more complaints than praise, more negativity than positivity. It is easier to say how fat she is than how nice she is. Easier to say how ugly, how stingy, how stupid, rather than how gentle, kind, patient. We tear down rather than build up and it's all because of our pride. We feel threatened by anyone who looks different, thinks different, feels different and from those threatening feelings we get hostile and superiority complexes -- all from pride.
Yet deeper down is fear. We fear becoming fat, so we mock those who are. We fear becoming old, so we avoid those who are. We fear getting a disease so we condemn those who contract something. We are afraid of being poor so we judge those who are trapped in poverty. We fear death, so we become obsessed with anything that will prolong our lives. We seek material gain and wealth (which is temporary and fleeting), rather than spiritual and intellectual wealth (which is forever). We seek physical beauty, also temporary rather than spiritual and emotional beauty which is forever. All because we are afraid of being exposed as imperfect and flawed.
However, those willing to follow Christ and His example of Love (which is patient, kind, confident, humble, sacrificing, giving, forgiving, truthful, enduring of all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) We are free to unleash God's holy power in their lives and the lives of others. So in order to love and Jesus did and forgive as Jesus forgave we must not allow pride to dictate to us what we can or cannot do! We cannot allow pride to convince us of what God cannot or will not do!
Practice Non-violence
"If a man strike you on one cheek, offer him the other also." (Luke 6:29)
Through changing our feelings about violence and aggression, we can begin to create a life of love rather that vengeance and destruction. If you look at the racial tensions in the 60s and how the non-violent power of the civil rights protesters overcame. As Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi led the multitudes to protest through non-violence, they changed the world!! Not just their small local areas but the Global understanding of freedom! They became a light unto the world and we too can call this power of the light.
We must put it into practice daily however. When driving and someone cuts us off or does some other annoying or even dangerous automotive maneuver, rather than blasting a string of profanity or flicking that finger or other similar gesture what more positive, more Christ like, more loving thing could we do? Pray for them. Ask God to help calm us and continue to protect us and them as well. Thank God for not letting an accident occur.
We must plant seeds of thankfulness in everything! Even when physical death comes knocking, we need to thank God for the life we enjoyed with the departed one, thank Him for the time we had with them and the love we felt and were able to give. That is the love and power of Christ. We will mourn, but mourning does not mean we can not praise God!
So praise and thank rather than swear and curse. If something slips out occasionally or even more often (smile) then take time to refocus in more positive ways, say a prayer for forgiveness and still throw out a prayer for the other person, whom we should strive to love as ourselves.
Practice Patience
When we are stuck in traffic or in a long line at the grocery store, why stomp and pout. If it is beyond our control, give it to God. We tend to cling to things we should let go of. Again, that is pride. We would rather handle the emotions or problems ourselves rather than allow God to handle it for us. We need to plant seeds of patience. Calm and accepting patience. If we are stuck, listen to the radio, read a book, hum a cute song that makes us smile. What is the point in honking the horn? Will honking the horn make the traffic jam dissolve? No. Then why do it? Pride! Spoiled conceited pride. We are upset and we want to annoy others and let them know we are upset. Would it not be better to sing than to curse?
Practice Giving
Whatever we have that we can give (money, time, knowledge, prayer, etc.), we need to give. In giving we will transform the world. In giving we will help our neighbors. In giving we will help ourselves. It is in planting genuine seeds of giving, we will receive God's blessings. Many times we say we have nothing to give. I argue that there is always something we can give. If not money then time! Take the time to read to a child. Time to read to the blind. Time to help a senior go shopping. Time to say a prayer! Giving of ourselves is one of the truest forms of love. After all did not Jesus give of Himself. He took the time to speak, to teach, to heal, to comfort.
Practice Carrying the Cross
Long ago, I had no idea what carrying the cross meant and sometimes as I learn new things in my spiritual life I realize I have much yet to learn about that cross I must carry. Carrying the cross means that we must take upon our shoulders the pains and the sorrows of this life and yet triumphantly rise! Nothing can keep us down when we take up the cross and follow Him! No amount of pain, sorrow, or depression can co-exist in soil where we have planted seeds of faith, power, love, thankfulness, and praise to a God who loves us unconditionally, eternally! Just as Christ conquered death through the cross, we too will conquer or barriers through carrying our cross. Follow Him and receive a yoke of freedom and love.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light." (Matthew 11:29, 30)
Practice Walking in Love
Ephesians 5:2 "And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
Literally, focus your mind on love. Let words of love flow from your mouth. Let your actions be selfless and done in love. Regardless of who the person is, practice loving them as you love yourself. Imagine that you are looking at yourself in that person's shoes. How would you respond to you? That is you on the corner asking for spare coins. What will you do, give, or say to you? That is you holding up the line in the store counting your pennies or writing a check. What will you think, feel, say about you? That is you lost and separated from the love of God; that's why you are abusing your child, your wife, husband, etc. What will you think, feel, say about your lost life? Realize that the only enemy you truly have is Satan and yourself when you allow him to convince you of untruth and to lure you away from God. You are the one in control of your life. You decide who to follow- God or Satan? You decide what to say to others- kindness or hatred? You decide how to live your life- fearful or empowered? You decide who, how, and when-to love or not to love? How will you live? How will you treat that person as if He/she were you?
Once you begin to practice these small but powerful steps, begin planting in small ways the seeds of Holiness, you will see a power you would never have imagined. You will begin to manifest the very power Christ has given you! It will be through that power that you will be able to love your neighbor, your friend, and your enemy. After all love encompasses and surrounds all just as the Sunlight shines upon saint and sinner alike (Matthew 5:45). Love -- Unconditionally and Eternally, just as your Father in heaven loves you.
So I ask another question. What will you now do? Will you seek to love you neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19)? Will you love one another as Christ has loved you (John 13:34, 35) that the world will be able to look at you and know you are a disciple of Christ because or your love?
You have heard it said about nutrition, "You are what you eat." Well more important than actual food, is food for thought! "Be careful what you think; for your life is shaped by your thoughts." (Proverbs 23:7) If you think hate, then those seeds of hatred will grow. If you think guilt and pessimism and shame, then those seeds of misery too will grow. Yet, how wonderful it is to realize that if you think of love, of Christ, of forgiveness, and Godly power those seeds will grow and manifest into such a glorious beacon of light to the world that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). And you will love as Christ loves and you will live with Christ living within you!
Copyright © 2000 by Ray Anderson [author's permission given to post, since I am the author] All Rights Reserved
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