Hard on Religious Faith

It's probably hard to find facts if your mind is already made up. If you're trying to find information on anything, more than likely you will find exactly what you're looking for, if you look hard enough. With all the information out there, available in books, media, and of course the Internet, would we really know the honest to God truth if we ran into one.

Not something that man made up and forced our ancestors to believe in.

If you're studying on faith alone and trying to prove or disprove something, you will succeed. If you're reading the Bible and looking for answers to problems in your life, eventually you will find the answers. All you need is to believe in your God and he will show you the way. Has he truly shown you the way or are you basing your religious beliefs on faith alone.

I have studied the Bible for many years and came to the conclusion that, I was often blinded by the way I view the information and couldn't get the facts most of the time. I always enjoyed reading Proverbs and the story of Job, both of these books in the Bible inspired me to become a better person.

By studying the Bible without faith and looking for information based on facts, it wasn't long before I realized this book could be and I say could be a group of stories that man over the centuries combined into one book during the Council of Nicaea in 325A.D and became religious doctrine for Christians.

In order to study anything effectively, you need to keep an open mind, this might require you to reprogram your thinking. You have been taught for years that only your religion is correct and all other religions are wrong. You can't think like this and gather information effectively.

Studying on faith alone could close your mind and keep you on the path of spiritual resistance. You know you're on this path if only the things you believe in make sense. Nothing nobody else says can make much sense if you're studying on faith alone.

What would it hurt to read a life changing spiritual book on another religion or form of spirituality? If you can't read another religious book, because you're religious organization tells you to only read their spiritual books to gather information, you're following a path of spiritual resistance.

If you're really going to study on faith alone then I suggest studying with intention to learn instead of follow.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Check out one of his recommended reading, Stories from the Old Testament

Greg is currently working on a religious and spiritual answers library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

Problems With School Bullies

Self Help Books - Do They Help?

I recall seeing a study somewhere that suggested self help books don't really help. I believe it looked at financial self help books. If I remember correctly, three or ten years after reading various "get rich quick" and other money-related books, the readers were generally making more money, but so was everyone else (on average) that didn't read the books. The conclusion was that the books didn't help.

Now that is jumping to conclusions! Consider the assumption implicit in it. Researchers assumed those who didn't read books did nothing special. This seems unlikely, to say the least. From what we see of people, we might wonder if most really want to work on general self development, but we also can see that almost everyone regularly tries to better their financial situation.

In other words, people in the control group were doing things other than reading self help books, and those efforts got them further ahead also. Think about this for a moment. How does this show that the books didn't help? It's like "proving" that a car can't get you across the city because walking and biking and taking a bus can also get you there. They are just different ways to the same goal!

In other words, the books may have helped (on average), just like the other things people tried. Perhaps people choose the things that work best for them. Based on this hypothesis, a better test might be to have one group choose their self help methods while another is forced to use methods chosen by the researchers. If the first group shows more improvement, it suggests that many methods work, and that each person intuitively knows which will be more helpful.

It might show the opposite too. It is difficult to design such research. It is also difficult to have a proper "control," and to start with the best hypothesis. One lesson from this is to be skeptical of research where things are hard to define and measure.

Self Help Books Clearly Can Help

There are those of us who don't need research to prove that a good book can help. We clearly recall a book that changed the course of our lives, or that obviously helped us in our relationships, or even boosted our income. Yes, of course self help books can help us.

Now, there is the question of why they don't always help. You may have a friend who has told you all about a great new self help book or theory, yet doesn't seem to be much affected by it in the end. You may have read some books yourself that got you excited, but didn't seem to "stick" in our mind or change your subsequent behavior or life.

One reason for this apparent ineffectiveness may be that you need to read each book more than once, and that self help books in general help most if they are read regularly. (It is also possible that the effects of such books can be powerful, yet too subtle to notice right away.)

This reminds me of some research on eating I read about once. Researchers had people eat a meal. They then concluded that eating didn't increase the odds of survival, since everyone died of starvation two months later. Okay, I made that up, but do you see the point? Just like you have to eat regularly to get the maximum survival benefit, perhaps you need to get those self help books out again and feed your mind from time to time to get the most out of them.

Copyright Steve Gillman. For more on Self Improvement, and to get the Brainpower Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com

Missing Years Of Jesus

Learning to Create the Life of Your Dreams With - BEing the Titus Concept, by Al Diaz

The world is full of self-help books that tell us we need help, and where we've messed-up our lives, and what we should do to fix them; but "BEing The Titus Concept," by Al Diaz, isn't another one of those. Having read hundreds of self-help and personal development books, I came to the conclusion that life is supposed to be simple; and so are the fixes to common, everyday problems. In fact, I didn't really realize exactly how right I was, or exactly how simple life could be, until I finished reading, "BEing The Titus Concept!"

In this book, Al Diaz adeptly guides all of us, regardless of our various levels of "spiritual maturity," or "spiritual development," into a place of deep understanding and abiding love for our Source - The Source of All Creation. With gentle reminders of the wisdom you already possess, and simple exercises to help unlock powerful, but hidden and untapped, resources within each of us, "BEing The Titus Principle" is tantamount to a "spiritual GPS" device - accelerating your progress down the path of self-discovery and self-realization.

I read this book in my spare time over the course of two-days - hardly a major investment in time - and found it easy, and even fun, to read. After reading the first fifteen-pages, I was already incorporating some of Al's principles and awareness into my own practice with The Belief Formula - amplifying what I feel is the most important variable in the process of creation: the Power of Love, Acceptance, and Gratitude. This book could have easily been named, "The Techniques of the Masters of Life," or, "The Gracefully Simple Way To Make Your Life Graceful and Simple;" because this book provides just that - simple, easy-to-understand, step-by-step guidance to understanding our power and role as co-creators of our own experience.

With the techniques, methods, and concepts contained within this book, we can all become masters of our own experience and creators of our own destinies. "BEing The Titus Concept," for that reason alone, is a definite must-read, and a powerful and valuable addition to the library of any spiritual student or aspirant!

Pete Koerner is the author of The Belief Formula: The Secret to Unlocking the Power of Prayer. The Belief Formula is a look at how you can use ancient wisdom and modern scientific awareness to learn how to use your mind to reclaim your health and create the life of your dreams. Visit Pete's blog and download your Free Illustrated Guide To Self-Empowerment With EFT, at: http://www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com/free_download/

Visit http://TheTitusConcept.com/BEingEbookSalesPage.html/ for more information about this wonderful book and find out about the FREE GIFT you will receive for purchasing BEing The Titus Concept on Amazon during its Official Launch on December 5th, 2008.

I Am Just Exploding With Excitement

I feel fired up for life. I just can't keep it to myself. I never felt energy in myself like this before. I love giving off this high energy. I think it is contagious. Just give off the energy that you can't help but bring a smile to somebody.

The week before the Summit , I dropped off 4 cards in 4 of my neighbors doors. They have no idea that each other had it done to them. I could believe the responce my cards. They were blank cards that I had filled in something that I appreciate about them.

First Cosmo, I told him he was my hero. He has a brain tumor to big to do anything about.He lives each day to the fullest and never takes a day for granted. I saw him 2 days later and He was so happy to have recieved my card.

Then there is Carmen, She lives on my floor. She used to take my kids for 2 hours once a week to let me have a break. That is years ago when my husband worked nights. We are just good neighbors. We look out for each other. So Her card said thanks for always being there. 2 days later she dropped flowers at my door. I had made her day. Ha! She made mine, i love fresh flowers .

Lynn, She lives on the 6 floor like Cosmo. She is very sick. She won't tell me what is wrong. She looks really sick. We have gotten to know each other in passing throughout the years. We have done nice gestures for each other as well. Her card said , I miss you. I haven't see her in months and I just wanted to tell her HI, I miss seeing you. She called last night. She said she couldn't bring herself to call me and tell me how she felt about me. She in my mind reasures me that I am a amazing human being. That I know how to touch hearts and change lives.

The last card I didn't hear from. I hope it brought a smile to her face, like the thought of her brings to mine.

My name is Dana Malave. I am 35 years old. I am a wife and a mother of 2 incredible children. My life is dedicated to personal development . Whether it be helping people through my writing http://www.mylifeinabundance.com

Time Management For Your Best Success

For me Time Management is absolutely essential. Since I am so too often getting distracted, I had to implement my own system to keep me on track of the important things I want or need to do. Finally, a day has only 24 hours. Therefore tasks and goals should be selected wisely.

Yes, family first, then some relaxing time for mind and body and thereafter - immediately - take the note pad with your Priority Tasks for growing your Internet Marketing Business! What is last? TV, reading newspaper, sleeping in the afternoon or early evening..., you get the picture. About reading: I read my eBooks or physical books every night in bed for 20 minutes (exactly) before sleeping. That is totally relaxing for me. Just find out your best time and do it every day.

Most important on Time Management is to stay focussed on your tasks . Make a schedule for everything you must do or definitively want to do today and tomorrow. Set reasonable goals to each task and also add a time frame. Prioritise them and it is a MUST to get the 3 top ones done today. Keep your list updated during the day. Every evening put the next tasks on it for tomorrow. What not has been done moves to the top (no cheating!). Inly in this way you get also things you do not like so much moved from the list. This frees your mind, try it.

Do not let you go and change the order of your schedule - never! Take action, take decisions, be critical and, most important, remain in a positive mood. Do not mourn, just do it. If you maintain a good balance in your every day planning, you will feel much better within a short time. You will be astonished how much more you can positively do in a so much shorter time as before. Stick to your daily list and schedules, it gets to routine and lets you feel better, for sure.

Doing this, you will eliminate stress, fatigue. You will soon feel more fit and healthy. The time you won back can be used for a wonderful walk along the river, a nice dinner with the family of some other things you always wanted to do but did not find the time for. And finally, you will be noticed by others as a much nicer and more positive person, your relationship at home and in business will change positively too.

Conclusion: Time Management helps you to prioritize, getting things done, avoid wasting time on unimportant things (!), take care of the most important projects, appointments, deadlines and it will reduce your workload in general. And finally, look for your top creative time and mental phases. Do the most demanding jobs within these creative phases, safe less demanding work for you lower bio rhythm.

That's how it works, enjoy planning your Time Management!

Martin Bigler offers Resources, Tools and Educational Content to help interested. People building their Internet Business successfully. His Educational Newsletter gives profound Step by Step Guidance on various Marketing and Sales Tasks. A big Selection of Free Reports, Downloads and useful Links are available at MartinBigler.com. Copyright by Martin Bigler

Is the Bible Accurate

I'm going to start with the first book of the holy Bible, Genesis chapter 1 verse one through five. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said," let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

If the Bible is historically accurate, did God actually create earth. I have been battling over this, my whole life. It's very easy for someone to accept and believe in any religion, government, other people or whatever they truly desire to make real. I see it every day of my life, open your eyes and you will see it to.

It's hard to imagine that a superior entity like God created everything that we touch and see. The moon itself is pretty big and the creation of the sun would prove to be a little more difficult, but if you're God and your all knowing and all powerful, he or she or it, must be one incredible being.

This is only the first couple of paragraphs in the Bible and there is no, I repeat no, historical accuracy to this event. It seems like God or man, whoever wrote the Bible, should have started the Bible with something a little more believable for people that live in the 21st century. It's not hard to imagine someone 2000 years ago, believing in something like this.

2000 years ago the Romans were worshiping their own gods, we might find this ridiculous today but back then the Romans would punish you if you didn't worship their gods. We are not too far from that today. If we don't stop organized religion and their influence on humanity, we're going to have serious problems in the future.

The biggest problem I foresee is common sense. If the Bible has 500 historical accurate facts that can be proven without a doubt by historians, scholars and other intelligent people, but has one thing that can't be explained, how do we handle this. How do we handle the fact that the Bible states God created light? If this is false, what else is false in the Bible.

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development. Have you ever really ask yourself Who is, Jesus of Nazareth?

Greg is currently working on a Personal Power Ideas. If you're ever wondering why some people can achieve success, while others seem to struggle aimlessly, what would it hurt, to take a couple of minutes of your time, if you could actually find the truth.

Life is a Journey Not a Destination

Life is a journey, not a destination is a phrase that has become popular. Have you pondered the true meaning of this statement? If you have, you no doubt, recognize that, life is a journey with many steps on your unique personal journey that takes you down a winding and sometimes bumpy road of constant evolution. Each day, you are provided a myriad of opportunities that allow you to transform into your next best self--more of who you truly are.

Each moment on your journey, you are presented with an opportunity to react differently when yet another someone or something in your life rubs you the wrong way, or you may find yourself wanting to walk away from a circumstance, but are not sure if that is the right thing to do. However, you may find yourself stuck in a rut that seems impossible from which to extricate yourself. You may even make the same choices over and over again because you do not know how to choose otherwise.

Rather than moving you forward, your present path may take you in a seemingly never-ending circle where your actions and choices lead you, not only, nowhere, but to where you've been before. It is during these repetitious moments that awareness becomes the first step to change.

Awareness is the moment when you are able to recognize what you are doing at the deepest level. You observe yourself, noticing your actions, reactions and choices in real time. Awareness is the first step to change because you can not make a change unless you are aware of what needs to be changed.

You can then understand why you are doing what you are doing. Afterward, it becomes difficult not to change because you are no longer in a fog about what you are doing. You will, also, realize that as much as you are the root source behind the causes for your behaviors, you are also the originator for any changes that you need to make.

There is infinite freedom in your awareness. Rather than thinking that you are stuck in a repetitive cycle with no escape, you will begin to see how you play a role in creating your life. Whether you are aware of them or not, your behaviors and choices are yours to make. Your past and present no longer have to dictate your future when you choose to be aware in real time. You are then free to move beyond your old limits, make new choices, and take new actions. With awareness, you take a new path that moves you forward while paving the way for new experiences and new ways of being. It is through awareness that you can continue to consciously evolve.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life." Dr. Dorothy has the unique gift of connecting people with a broad range of profound principles that resonate in the deepest part of their being. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one's daily thoughts and feelings. http://www.drdorothy.net

Imagine a World without Possessions

Imagine There's No Heaven, It's Easy If You Try, No Hell below Us, above Us Only Sky, Imagine All the People Living for Today. Imagine There's No Countries, It Isn't Hard to Do, Nothing to Kill or Die for, and No Religion Too. Imagine All the People Living Life in Peace. Think about It.

It's hard to imagine, with the information today and even 50 years ago that most people still believe in religions all over the world, just because they were raised to believe in them. Religions of the future will have to adapt to change, a little faster as more people read articles like mine to promote education within your religion.

Find out a little bit more about Your Religious Freedom

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a religous help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Daniel Pinchbeck
Marshall Mcluhan

Get Started With a Feng Shui Guide

If you start anything new, you do need some assistance and this also goes for feng shui. Guide material is available. You can get ebooks on the subject like 'Feng Shui Secrets Revealed'. There are many good reasons to convert your home using feng shui principles. Feng shui is also known as a method to attract good luck. But it's not about superstition. It is a holistic approach to life. Your home will be arranged in such a way that there is a flow positive flow throughout. Your guide will also explain and teach you about the importance of color. Color affects your mood. So you must learn to choose colors wisely. This means you have to decide how you want your colors to impact on you and your family.

If you want all these principles introduced into your home then you do need a feng shui guide. This is a method of house dcor that does require guidance. This is because there are very definite principles involved. You can't arrange your possessions as you like. You have got to stick to the principles that will be in the guide. Having a set of instructions will help you to set up your home more quickly than you expect. The sooner you get your home sorted out the sooner you can start enjoying it. A huge bonus of feng shui is getting rid of clutter. Most people are surprised at just how may possessions they can do without.

A feng shui guide will teach you how to enjoy what you have. Every object in your home will have a purpose. There will be no unused objects stuffed under beds, behind doors and thrown into corners. Your home must be kept clean, tidy and fresh. This in itself makes a huge difference to how you feel and react.

Levi Parker is the director of popular blog FengShuiGuideOnline.Com. He is an expert on Feng Shui and his blog provides stacks of information on things like Feng Shui love and much more. Get free tips when you visit his site today!

Spiritual Awareness With The Good and the Bad

Spirituality is a subject that is so vast that it can lead to endless discussions. Although most people do admit there is a Spiritual side to every human been not everybody wants to embrace that part. What do you mean by that I hear you ask? And if so then why is it like that?

First let me try to answer another question. How do we know we are spiritually aware? The answer is if you are alive and if you have emotions you also have a spiritual awareness to things. Don't tell you never say: 'I knew that." There is a connection we have to the unknown that we can't describe, but it is as if we have insight to certain things before it happens. I do think everybody has a spiritual awareness even though they do not call it that. So if we all have are and if it is so valuable to have, why don't we all try to embrace it?

A possible answer is because it is a subject that attracts so much hocus pocus. This is something the reasonable man can't embrace. Just recently I saw a television program about a spiritual healer. Now though I can never say he or she isn't, I noticed things that bothered me. This woman surrounded her with things such as the Egyptian Ank, Tibetan bells, candles, crystals etc. She also made certain statements that I frowned upon. She mentioned that she used crystals because its vibration is very close to the vibration of the human body? I wonder what Asimov would have said about that? Can anybody show proof of such statements/

To come back to the discussion, I find that traditional Western people only come to a spiritual awareness level later in life. Some only after they got addicted to all the other things. Once they gave up drugs, alcohol and the rest that failed to supply them with answers, they suddenly discover spirituality. But boy do they discover it then. Within months they buy anything and everything that is available and they throw that together in a concoction that can cure anything physical and emotional. They suddenly have all the answers and throw around jargon that is very impressive. For some this actually works but for the rest, the Lotus flower and crystals disappear.

To the contrary, in Tibet, India, Taiwan and other places known for their temples and people who study religious texts, you don't find this. Here you find a more serious and focused concentration on the subject. In Tibet the monk uses his bells, in Egypt he used the Ank and in Japan he used a Zen garden. Each to its own.

In Zen Buddhism it is believed that if you want to grow you need to take away something everyday, not add more. They also believe in Simplicity. Less is better. I have a feeling this way will lead to a deeper understanding of the subject that will last longer. I could be wrong.

If subjects such as these interest you, then you must have a look at my site http://ozymandeus.com or find out what the word Ozymandeus means

Home Heating Systems

How to Eliminate Intrusive Thoughts

In almost all cases of general anxiety, the driving factor fuelling the sensations is anxious thinking. Without addressing these intrusive thoughts, there can be little success in eliminating the root of the anxiety.

People who experience anxiety and panic attacks frequently have to deal with the negative side-effects of unwanted thoughts that creep into their minds. These thoughts can range from worries about health, concern over loved ones, or even fears that do not make any rational sense at all but continue to linger in the mind.

Sometimes, the unwanted intrusive thoughts come from previous experiences; other times they are simply bizarre, leaving the person worried as to why such strange thoughts are occurring. In all these cases, the person is upset by the anxious thoughts because they are causing distress and worry. I will guide you through a simple two-step process that is in part related to the One Move which I teach but tailored specifically to dealing with anxious thinking.

Anxious Intrusive ThoughtsTackling anxious intrusive thinking effectively requires a two-pronged approach. To eliminate the negative thinking patterns, there needs to be a shift in attitude along with specific visualization tools.

The Attitude Shift It is not the intrusive thoughts in themselves that cause you distress. It is how you are responding to those thoughts. It is the reaction you are having to the thoughts that enables them to have influence and power over you. In order to better understand how unwanted thoughts come about, it helps to paint a playful visual picture of how this happens. This is a fictional example and will help you better understand how to deal with the issue.

Imagine yourself standing on a street and all around you thoughts are floating lazily by. Some of the thoughts are your own, other thoughts are from outside sources you access such as newspapers, TV, magazines, etc. You notice that when you pay attention to a thought it gravitates nearer. The thoughts you ignore float on by.

When you focus and examine a thought up closely, you notice how it connects to another similar thought, and you find yourself jumping from one thought to the next. Sometimes these are practical, day-to-day thoughts such as bills, chores, etc., or the thoughts can themed by the past or a fantasy/daydream.

In our imagined scenario, you unexpectedly notice a thought hovering in front of you that scares you. This thought is called Fear X. X could be panic attacks, ill health, or something bizarre. You find it impossible not to look at the thought, and as you give it your full attention, this causes it to come closer and closer. When you examine the thought, you begin to react with fear as you do not like what you see. You further notice how that initial scary thought is connected to more worrying what if thoughts that you also examine in detail. The more you try to escape from the thought by pushing it away, the more it seems to follow you around as if it were stuck to you. You try to focus on more pleasant thoughts, but you find yourself continuously coming back to the fearful thought.

Intrusive Thoughts...

There is an expression of thoughts sticking like glue. The very act of reacting emotionally to the thought glues the thought all the more to you, and the more time you spend worrying and obsessing about the thought, the more that glue becomes hardened over time. The thought and all its associated connected thoughts are there in the morning when you wake and there at night when you are trying to get some sleep. The thought becomes stuck to your psyche because your emotional reaction to it is its sticking power. Thoughts are a form of energy, neither good nor bad. It is how we judge those thoughts that determines how much impact they have on our lives. Thoughts need firstly to be fed by attention, but what they really love is a good strong emotional reaction to make them stick!

Thoughts that stay with us are first attracted to us by the attention we pay them and then stuck firmly in place by the level of emotional reaction we have to them.

This is an important point. A thought-even negative intrusive thoughts-can only have an influence over you if you allow it to. The emotional reaction from us is a thoughts energy source. Whats interesting is that either a positive or a negative emotional reaction is fine for the thought. Energy and attention is what it is attracted to. Once you are having an emotional reaction to a thought, you will be regularly drawn to that thought until the emotional reaction has lost its energy and faded away.

For example, if someone you know pays you a very positive compliment, you may find yourself unintentionally drawn to that thought anytime you have a spare moment. You probably find it improves your overall level of confidence and mood throughout the day. Sadly however, we tend to focus less on the positive and more on the negative. We seem to forget those positive compliments all too easily and are drawn more frequently to what might upset us. Taking the opposite example, if someone you know insults you, I am sure that you find the emotional reaction to that thought much more intense and probably very long-lasting.

So the basic pattern of thinking is as follows:

If you are not engaged with an activity or task, your mind will tend to wander to any thoughts that you are having a strong emotional reaction to. In general, as they are the ones that you are probably reacting most strongly to, angry or fearful thoughts seem to surface quickly.

What I am suggesting is that the most ineffective way to eliminate intrusive thoughts is not to try and suppress them. Thought suppression studies, (Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987) have proven that the very act of trying to suppress a thought, only results in a higher frequency of unwanted intrusive thoughts occurring. This reoccurrence of the thought has been termed the rebound effect. Simply put: the more you try suppressing a thought, the more the unwanted thought keeps popping up (rebounding).

So how do we begin to tackle this problem of intrusive thoughts?

There needs to be a change of attitude. By a change in attitude, I mean a change in the way you have been reacting to the intrusive thoughts. A change in attitude will quickly disarm the emotional reaction you are having to the fearful thoughts. Once the emotional reaction has been significantly reduced, the anxious intrusive thoughts will dissipate. In the past you have probably tried to rid yourself of the thoughts by attempting to struggle free of them.

The trick, however, is not to attempt to be free of them but to have a new reaction to them when they run through your mind. We can never fully control what goes through our minds, but we can control how we react to what goes on there. That is the key difference between someone who gets caught up in fearful thinking and someone who does not.

The thoughts that terrify us are not fuelled by some unknown force; they are our own. We empower them and equally we dismiss them. When you have an uncomfortable thought you would rather not be thinking, your first reaction is usually to tense up internally and say to yourself, "Oh no, I don't like that idea. I don't want that thought right now. The very act of trying to push these intrusive thoughts away and then understandably getting upset when that does not work causes the thoughts to become more stuck to your psyche.

It's like saying to your mind over and over again "whatever you do, do not think of pink elephants," and guess what? You cant get a single thought in that is not related to pink elephants.

As long as you struggle with the thought, your mind, like a bold child, will keep returning to it. This is not to say your mind is maliciously working against you. It is better to compare the mind to a radar scanner that picks up on thoughts within us that have high levels of emotional reaction connected to them.

To not react emotionally to intrusive thoughts you need to learn to disempower the fear factor of the thought; then you must accept and be comfortable with whatever comes to mind. Don't hide from or push the anxious thoughts away.

So to take an example:

Say you have fear "X" going on in your mind. That fear can be virtually anything your mind can conceive. You know the thoughts are not a realistic fear, and you want them to stop interrupting your life.

Next time the fearful thought comes to mind, do not push it away. This is important.

Tell yourself that that is fine and that the thought can continue to play in your mind if it wishes, but you are not going to give it much notice and you are certainly not going to qualify it by reacting with fear. You know in your heart that the thought is very unlikely to happen. You have a deeper sense of trust and will not be tossed around emotionally all day by a thought. Say to yourself:

"Well that thought/fear is a possibility, but it is very remote and I am not going to worry about that right now. Today I am trusting that all is well."

What is of key important is not to get upset by the thoughts and feelings as they arise. To avoid any fearful emotional reaction to the fear/thought give the fear some cartoon characteristics.

Imagine, for example, it is Donald Duck telling you that "Something awful is going to happen. Aren't you scared?" Give the character a squeaky voice and make it a totally ridiculous scene. How can you take seriously an anxious duck with his big feet? This use of cartoon imagery reprograms the initial emotional reaction you might have had to the thought and eliminates any authority the thought may have over you. You are reducing the thoughts threat. When that is done, move your attention back to whatever you were doing. Remember, you are not trying to push the thought away or drown it out with some outside stimulus.

This takes practice in the beginning, but what will happen is that you will find yourself checking how you think/feel less and less during the day, and as it does not have a strong fearful emotion connected to it, your mind will not be drawn to troublesome intrusive thoughts. To put in another way, the thought becomes unstuck and fades away because the emotional reaction has been neutralized. In fact, that is the first step to moving away from anxious thoughtsneutrality. It is as if your mental energy was spinning in a negative cycle while you were caught in the anxious intrusive thoughts. Now, you are learning to stop the negative cycle, and move into neutral (see illustration below).

From this new position of neutrality, you will experience a much greater sense of clarity away from the confusion of an overanxious mind. Moving into this mindset of neutrality is your first step. Thoughts generally lead us in one direction or another -a positive cycle (peace/sense of control and order) or a negative cycle (anxiety/ fear/ disorder). The next step is to adopt a relaxed peaceful state of mind and move your energy into a positive cycle of thinking.

You might have wondered why it is that some people seem more susceptible to worries and unwanted intrusive thoughts than others. You now know the answer to that. The difference is that the people who seem carefree are the ones who are not reacting with a strong fearful emotion to an anxious thought. These people see the same array of thoughts as an anxious person, but they do not make a fearful thought a part of their lives. They dismiss the thought or laugh it off and have a sense of trust that things will work out fine. They see no point in reacting with fear to these thoughts, and that ensures the thought has no power or authority over them. You may feel that you are by nature an anxious person and that you will always react with fear to these thoughts because you have done so for years. That is not the case. Continuous or obsessive anxious thinking is a behavioral habit, and just like any habit it can be unlearned. I have outlined the quickest and most effective way to do this by using a unique shift in attitude. You can undo years of anxious thinking and reduce your level of general anxiety very quickly. All it takes is practice.

http://www.panic-and-anxiety-attacks.com/intrusive-thoughts.html

This article is copywritten material. Any requests for reprinting this article must be made to Joe Barry McDonagh

Joe Barry is an international panic disorder coach. His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here:

http://www.panic-and-anxiety-attacks.com/

Grandparents Don't Get to Choose

One of the greatest pleasures of life is having the opportunity to be grandparents. Since my son and his wife told us they were going to have a baby, we have been on cloud nine. When they came over to our house one evening to tell us, we really didn't expect any news like we were told. In fact, all we thought was that they just came for a visit.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, my wife was presented with what looked like a gift bag. She was surprised knowing that it wasn't her birthday, nor was it mother's day, nor was it an anniversary of any kind. But, what she found at the bottom of the gift bag made her sit back with her mouth open and only a few words came out. I wondered what had shocked her.

Those words she spoke were loosely translated to mean, "Oh my goodness", repeated over and over again. I didn't have a clue what she was referring to until I saw that she was holding a pregnancy test in her hand. It took me a few seconds to clue in but once I did I then knew why my wife sputtered those words. My daughter-in-law was pregnant.

The first thing I thought of was the delight of having a new grandson to play with, to have a grandchild that would allow me to buy all those great little toys, build a swing set, and finally have an excuse to purchase some model train gear that I wanted. But, that wasn't necessarily what my daughter-in-law had in mind.

Not only did I jump the gun in wishing for a grandson (a granddaughter is OK too), I apparently jumped the gun in even thinking that I could choose my own nickname as a grandparent. It seems that my nickname had already been chosen. And, while I objected, I never had a chance to even suggest a few grandfather nicknames. That was not the case with my wife though. She knew what she wanted as a nickname and she wouldn't hear anything different. I guess I know who has the power around here and who doesn't.

I was unceremoniously given the nickname "Grampy"; no opportunity to choose let alone object. Somehow, I must look like, or act like a "Grampy". My wife, on the other hand, had her nickname chosen in her own mind and announced to all that she would be referred to as "Nanna". Oh well, I guess I can't have everything.

The long and short of it is this; being a grandparent no matter what nickname you are given, or what nickname you prefer, the little guy or girl will certainly have their own special name for "Grampy" and "Nanna", and it really doesn't matter.

But, I did really want to choose my own nickname!!

Looking for special nicknames for grandparents, or articles, and poems visit Nicknames for Grandmothers.

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Is Our Treasure in Heaven Or on Earth?

Do you know anyone, who seems to have it pretty bad on earth and really can't wait for the suffering and pain to go away from their life? I have met plenty of them. These people often create their own problems and these problems eventually lead to suffering. This suffering eventually leads them to hope, hope is what some religions offer to relieve the suffering on earth and the promise of heaven is starting to sound pretty good.

It's not hard to imagine someone living today in difficult circumstances. When the economy isn't going very good, often people suffer with thoughts of despair and dwell on negative upcoming future events. These constant negative thoughts can add to our suffering and perpetuate the glorious ideas of the treasures waiting for us in heaven.

Is our treasure in heaven, a life beyond everything that you can possibly dream about. If you're a good religious follower, you get a really nice house, where ever you would like to live and will never have to worry about anything again. This often sounds more like a fantasy world than a reality.

I can see where anybody could easily get caught up in these beliefs. Hope offers us relief, this relief can take away the burden and pain of our daily lives, sometimes. Now I would imagine that poor people, are easier to convince about their treasures waiting for them in heaven. People that don't have very much and live in a life of daily suffering, poor sanitation conditions, starvation, water and housing problems can easily grasp onto these beliefs.

Wealthy people who seem to have treasures stacked up in large quantities, and who are living a pretty good life, might think a little different. Are they going to have even more in heaven? It's hard for them to imagine having more stuff than they have right now.

I don't believe there is a heaven, there very well could be but there isn't any real proof. Try to make the best out of your life on Earth and don't get too caught up with the glorious hope of heaven. Life is meant for living and try to be and become the best you can, learn to be more loving and compassionate and enjoy your life on Earth, it might be the only one you have.

In Judaism, only they get to go to heaven, Christianity relies on a belief in Jesus as God and the path to heaven through Islamic beliefs is going to be long and hard. If the Christians are right, the Muslims and Jews don't get to go to heaven, if the Muslims are right, well you get the point.

Life Changing Books

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

If you're really seeking the kingdom of heaven, the glory of God and the true vision that Jesus had, check out some great Christian articles . These articles are designed to teach and educate Christians.

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Can You Imagine Living a Life in Peace

Imagine There's No Heaven, It's Easy If You Try, No Hell below Us, above Us Only Sky, Imagine All the People Living for Today. Imagine There's No Countries, It Isn't Hard to Do, Nothing to Kill or Die for, and No Religion Too. Imagine All the People Living Life in Peace. Think about It.

It's hard to imagine, with the information today and even 50 years ago that most people still believe in religions all over the world, just because they were raised to believe in them. Religions of the future will have to adapt to change, a little faster as more people read articles like mine to promote education within your religion.

Find out a little bit more about Your Religious Freedom

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a religous help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

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Mary Magdalene and Spirituality - Movie Video

This video has more information on Mary Magdalene, great video on advanced spiritual thinking.

If you're really seeking the kingdom of heaven, the glory of God and the true vision that Jesus had, check out some great Christian articles . These articles are designed to teach and educate Christians.

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Salvation in the Age of Grace

We are saved by grace. The following is the great hymn, Amazing Grace. Look at the words carefully.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.

And Grace, my fears relieved.

How precious did that Grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares

I have already come;

'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.

His word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease,

I shall possess within the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun.

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

John Newton (1725-1807)

John Newton was the captain of a slave ship before he was saved and before he became a preacher. On one trip to America transporting slaves, Newton went down into the belly of that slave ship and was moved to tears when he saw those people, who were in bondage, singing in spite of their obvious misery. In 1772 Newton wrote the words above and delivered them in a sermon. The music was added later, but not by Newton himself.

Wherever Amazing Grace is played, it is instantly recognized. It is often played on a bag pipe in funeral possessions for police and firemen.

Look at these words carefully.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

What is the meaning of the words lost and found?

If you are a Bible reader or if you have ever attended church on a regular basis, you will probably remember the story of the young man who asked his father to give him his share of his inheritance and he left home. After all his money had been spent and he realized the error of his way, he went back home, willing to work as a servant if he must.

When he arrived at home he told his father "I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son" (Luke 15:21).

The father was overjoyed at his son's return and he said to his servants:

Luke 15:22-24: ...Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

In Christendom, this is known as a parable; and a parable is comparing one thing against another or an example of biblical truth explained in a simplistic format. In this case it mirrors Christ's feelings toward the lost. We see evidence of this in Luke 19:10: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. So in a biblical sense, the lost are any who do not acknowledge God as Lord and Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The words "found" then, would mean the lost have come to their senses, realized their sin and recognized God and Christ for whom and what they are.

When Newton penned the words, I once was lost but now am found, he was admitting he had recognized he was a sinner (lost) and that he had trusted the faith of Christ for salvation (being found).

The Gospel that Saves Today

In our Bible there are verses which tell someone how they can be found, i.e. saved. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he tells them how they can be saved. Look at 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Paul reminded these Corinthians of the gospel (good news) he preached unto them. He also reminded them they had believed what he preached and they were standing steadfast in that gospel. He then proceeds to tell them in the 3rd and 4th verses what they had believed: Christ died for theirs sins, was buried and rose again the third day.

That is the gospel or good news of salvation. It is the only way anyone who is lost, a non-believer, can be found - saved.

In another letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians he said, 2 Corinthians 4:3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

Simply stated, Paul says if you cannot see the truth of the gospel he preached then you must be lost.

The Gospel According to Paul

I want you to look very closely at 1 Corinthians 15: 2 again: By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain (Underlining added). Notice the words I have underlined. Paul says you are saved if you believe what he preached unto you, and if you do not believe his teaching concerning salvation, you could believe in vain.

What does that mean, you have believed in vain? Simplistically, it states if you do not believe the gospel Paul preached, you would have failed in your attempt to be saved; or you effort was unsuccessful. Why? We are living in a period of time that the Bible refers to as the dispensation of the grace of God (Ephesians 3:2). In this dispensation, salvation is by grace and not by works.

Ephesians 2: 8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

What this says is a person who simply trusts in what Christ did at Calvary, died for our sins, was buried and resurrected the third day, he will be saved. In a prior dispensation, know as the dispensation of the Law, salvation was by works. A person was not saved by grace but by the works of the law, i.e. repent and be baptized. In this case baptism was considered a work, and if you were not baptized you could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Gospel according to Peter

Unlike Paul's gospel, the gospel of Peter and the twelve is a gospel with works for the remission of sins.

Acts 2:38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

However, we are no longer under the law. We are not being led by the conditions the law imposed on believers at one time; we are led by the Spirit. And Scripture tells us if we are led by the Spirit, we are not bound to the Law.

The Gospel of Grace

Galatians 5:18: But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

I want you to look closely at Ephesians 2:8-9 again: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The words "ye are saved through faith" are very important. The question I pose to you is; by whose faith are you saved? It is your faith that saves you or was it Christ's faith that saved you?

Look at Galatians 2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (Underlining Added).

The verse says we are not justified (saved) by the works of the law. In other words, baptism for the remission of sins will not save you today. Then what will? Simple: the faith of Christ is what saves you.

What was the faith of Christ? Christ was willing to go to the cross and shed his blood for our sins. The very act of Christ shedding his blood for remission of sins was the work which replaces baptism for remission of sins. Now, in this dispensation of the grace of God, we who believe in Jesus Christ will be justified (saved) by the work of Christ (he died for our sins).

There are far too many people who want you to believe that if you are not water baptized you will not be saved. Those people cannot give you a good answer to Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Baptism is a work that you do, and to believe that by being baptized you have remission of sins, nullifies the work that Christ did at Calvary. You have prostituted grace.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (Underlining Added).

If you do not believe this gospel, you are lost. If you want to be found, believe the Gospel of Christ as seen in the Scripture above. It is God's grace that saves you, not a work in which you can do.

Salvation is simple, but that does not mean it is easy.

Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The gospel of Christ is Christ died for our sins was buried and rose again for our justification. That is the simple part. Everything has been done by Christ for your salvation, but you have to trust that what he did, he died for you.

Romans 10:17: So faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The word of God for salvation is seen in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. You have read it; do you trust that what it says is true? If you do, then you are saved; again, that is the simple part.

The part that is not quite so easy to do is to admit that you need a savior. Too many people rationalize they must be saved because:

1) they were brought up in a church,
2) they attend church services regularly,
3) Momma and Daddy were Christians, so I must be too attitude,
4) they think they are a good person.

None of those things will save a lost person. Believing the gospel is what saves. Have you done that? You say: "I walked down an isle and gave my heart to Jesus when I was a teenager, so I am saved."

So, you took a walk down a church isle, what for? Was it because your sweetheart said "I'm going down and give my heart to Jesus, why don't you come with me?"

Was it because your mother said you ought to go down?

Salvation comes to the person who recognizes they are lost and realizes they need a Savior and then trusts in the work of Christ to save them. Have you done that?

If you walked down an isle but did not believe the gospel, you took a walk for nothing. You do not need to go to church to be saved. You do not need to walk an isle and have a preacher shake your hand and commend you for having done so. You can trust Christ as Savior at home, in the woods or in your car.

Salvation comes to those who believe Christ paid a debt for their sins. Have you done that?

Remove the blinders and see the truth of what Christ did for you and you will be saved. Recognize you are a sinner and you need a Savior and God will save you, right where you are.

Will you do that right now?

If you do that, you are a child of God and will spend eternity with God in heaven. If you don't trust Christ, you are a child of the devil and will spend eternity in Hell.

The choice is yours. What will you do? Which path will you take?

There are many people who have postponed trusting Christ as their savior, saying I have plenty of time to. Do you?

The following lyrics were written by Connie Smith.

Got up on Sunday morning, went to the church at ten, I listened to the words I'd heard time and time again.

The preacher spoke of sinful lives, Lord it seems he spoke of mine, But I was young I had plenty of time.

Plenty of time to decide where I'm bound,

to eternal darkness or to a Heavenly crown oh, oh

I'm just a young girl not yet in my prime, so I'll

just wait I've got plenty of time.

I walked on down life's pathway living as I chose to live. Out to beat the other fellow how to get what life could give Making money isn't sinful Lord having fun is not a crime. So I'll just wait I've got plenty of time

Plenty of time to decide where I'm bound to

eternal darkness or to a Heavenly crown, Oh! Oh!

I'm just a young girl not yet in my prime so I'll

just wait I had plenty of time

Before I knew what happened life scenes had passed away;
and millions stood before God's throne for it was judgment day.
Now eternity beckons and the name it calls is mine
But I thought that I had plenty of time.
Eternity waits I've got plenty of time,

To think of all the days that Christ could have been mine,
Now my chance is over, earth's days are left behind,
And here am I, I've got plenty of time.
Now I've got nothing but plenty of time.

Time is a precious commodity. None of us knows what tomorrow has in store for us. You could go to the doctor tomorrow and be diagnosed with a terminal illness.

You could wake in the morning, get in your car or truck and be killed in an accident. You could be eating in a restaurant and get choked and die before someone could give you the Hymlick maneuver.

Fact is: no one knows when they will breathe their last breath. Why don't you simply trust what Christ has done for you - right now?

If you'll do that, you can make the words of Amazing Grace your own words.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

Obed Kirkpatrich was a Pastor/Teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana from 1975 to 2000; at that time he moved to Franklin, Tennessee to be near three of his six grandchildren. He and his wife Linda have been married for 48 years. Obed is an author and still teaches Bible classes in the Middle Tennessee area.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

The Times They Are Changing

We live in a very interesting time in world history. The evolution of getting to this point has never been so dynamic. Even though all the events that have taken place prior to this point in time have great significance, and the fact that it is what brought us here, our current world environment has been propelled into the 21st century with lightening speed. The advancement of technology in communications, information, and the internet has created the instant information age. And with that our conscious minds have become more inter connected with the world than ever before.

What is interesting is that this phenomenon is the staging ground for all of us to become more enlightened. We are, and always have been connected to the entire universe. We all have roots in the universe because consciousness affects our physical world, which includes all living things right down to the individual cells. Our minds have a great influence on our health and well being and on how we view the world. Our existence in the universe is born of a sense of participation and kinship with all others and all matter. The basic oneness of the universe is the central characteristic of the mystical experience, but is also one of the most important revelations of modern physics, (i.e. quantum physics). But I don't want to talk about quantum theory; I want to talk about the human connectedness, and what I detect as a shift in the thinking of more and more people.

Because of the information age, a fast paced lifestyle, what's in it for me attitude, and a win at all cost mentality, too many people began losing sight of the connection we all have with each other and the universe. The ideal of we are all in this together was fading, and taking responsibility for the common good of all, had begun to disappear. Over the last decade, an exponential amount of negative actions and the pursuits of an ideology of egotism have brought us to this juncture. But there is hope because I see the beginning of a change in the minds of many people.

Now, more than ever people are placing an increased importance on relationships. Taking stock of what really matters, like family, friends, and community. There is a new awareness that we are all connected to the universe, and that human consciousness and the physical world are intertwined. The realization is that there is a profound interaction that exists between conscious mental activity and the physical world itself.

We cannot separate our own existence from that of the outside world. We are not only associated with the earth that we inhabit, but with the furthest reaches of the cosmos. We affect all of those about us, so events such as caring, loving, and confiding exert profound consequences on the universe.

Following the Laws of Attraction, the universe gives us what we want if follow our dreams and our passions, but it also takes away if we lose sight of that connection that exists between us all. I believe that there is a change in the winds of time because there is the beginning of an understanding of this relationship. Maybe, just maybe it could be the start of the new Age of Enlightenment.

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Owner : EnerChi Living Spaces & Gallery. We are a unique Home & Garden decor store. Specializing in Feng Shui design and consultation. We offer one-of-a-kind gifts and personalized ideas for decorating your home, garden and office. We offer workshops in Feng Shui decorating, meditation, journal writing, and manifesting your dreams. We support our local artists and musicians with shows and vignettes. Our merchandise is selected from all over the world with an emphasis on Asian Western design. The store exhibits a unique blend of products in a tranquil peaceful setting. We have just launched a home staging service for our local market. We have just completed an expansion to over 2,000 square ft. and our new website has launched. http://www.enerchilivingspaces.com

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How Do We Know If it is Spiritual Love Or Just Physical Pleasure?

Love is spirituality along with the actual realistic knowledge of knowing there is someone other than oneself in the picture. Spiritually as if your heart is not in your own body, it inhabits the space in the heart of the person you love, with that person's heart inhabiting the space in your own, as if indistinguishable who is who, and it does not matter. Physically there are two, though spiritually there is only one, and that one is love, body, mind, and spirit. It can not be broken, ever, period, at least if it is absolute love from the infinite timelessness of our spiritual being, in the present body.

Simple, yes if it is realized that our nature is love and our spirits are free of complications or delusional illusions of what someone else may tell us. In other words when we listen to anyone other than ourselves in the realm of our own spirituality in consideration of love we give up our truth and become as deluded as the ones telling us what to do or who to love. Delusion is rampant in to-days so called intelligent society because of the ego of the experts (supposedly experts) who give out guidance as if there were no tomorrow, even though they may say they are not orders it is implied that if you do not follow their guidance you will be left out. Our media circus is great at that one, and unfortunately many seem to be unable to reject or ignore the zoo keepers. It is akin to actors in Hollywood, or anywhere for that matter, being the character in real life as well as the part they play, so they really are confused as to who they are for the most part. Hence all the idiocy we see coming from so called celebrity status.

What is the circus selling? Pure and simply sex in all the glory it has. Glorification though of sex is like being blissfully ignorant, even though most buy it, or so it seems when we look at statistics of who watches what and what movies sell the most tickets. No there is nothing wrong with sex, or even liking it, and obviously it is a beautiful aspect of life, though it is perhaps the least understood in all that we aspire to understand. Difficulty is the fact that spirituality and sex go together, while sex can be apart from spirituality nothing comes from just sex by itself. Our deficit in spirituality leads to a loss of value to the human condition as well as some of what we see going on in the economy right now, greed for only pleasure/money/sex with no actual work being done.

Pleasure is not a bad thing, though sexual pleasure just for the sake of pleasure is what tears at the very foundations of our human existence, especially in the way of our spiritual realm. Spiritually we have occupied many bodies, we do not know how many, though the fact of our spirit remembering minute, less than perhaps molecular pieces of our past memories is why we behave the way we do, along with of course the cause and effect of our present surrounding. If from childhood we live without any trauma whatsoever we may grow up with full faculty of our own spiritual being, truly knowing who we are all the while not needing any type of mind altering substance or wanting to be altered. Rare indeed, and yet that in itself does not mean the spirit is ready for enlightenment, or love, though perhaps it may help, for example in the area of sex, it is known instinctively, no matter male or female, what is means to be attracted to the opposite sex and why as spiritual purity enables such innocent attraction to manifest with an intimacy which has nothing to do with the physical nature of the body. Of course one will know something is there, though with again the innocence of love. If there is a beginning to true or absolute love it is here in the innocence.

Just for the sake of looking at things from perhaps what some may call a rather different perspective, think of making love as something that everyone sees, not only those involved, hopefully a male and female who actually love one and other, in what we will say is in the spiritual realm. We will leave religious dogma out of the equation for now. When we leave the body at death of the body our consciousness or spirit searches for a womb, unless it has become as god consciousness or enlightened, in order to have a new body to house the spirit. How many spirits are watching when those in love are making love? Choose the womb carefully from Tibetan Buddhism is the relevancy of how and why spirituality is the most important factor in life, as in we are responsible for our own choices. In other words if we are not making love, we are not in love and sex is the only factor, the spirits who are ignorant may end up in a womb they are not meant to actually be in at that time (hence birth control, as in take away responsibility) and may need to start the search all over shortly thereafter, how ever unfortunate it is. Choose the womb carefully.

Sex for sale, narcissus, egotistical, sociopathic exhibitionism and or voyeurism are some of the factors of the spiritual deficit in the world, there is no love or spirituality in this scene. Like it our not religion is meant to be a structural support of love and spirituality, as human beings have always needed some kind of structure to help in behavior, which is why we are not still beating each other with sticks, hopefully. Our spirit is the foundation with love being the transporter which allows life in the physical body to exist, and why spirituality is the actual basis for the foundation. Point is this, the unrestricted sexual behavior of a non-spiritual nature confuses our own consciousness along with all the other spirits involved with our personal behavior.

Depression, irritability, anger, frustration, anti-social behavior all are part of the consequence of our behavior of any type in the realm of sex, be it physical or mental. Drugs, which by the way alcohol is one, are the emotional strength to delude the body and mind that all is just great. Our spirit knows, yet our mind and body pay no attention to the signs and leaves the spirit in the dirt. Of course this is why when it comes to the sex trade, no matter what is happening, drugs are a necessity to keep girls, boys, women, men in the game to profit from, another words exploit without spiritual consequences.

No consequences, is just a lie or delusion that goes with the behavior, even for those who may not actually partake to the extent of some and seem to keep their senses for the most part. It is like standing at the edge of a cliff thinking you are able to fly when you jump. Deviant behavior of a sexual nature must stop before any type of spiritual awakening is enabled. Love making is not deviant behavior, even though it may not be spiritual, though when it is done for an audience other than the female and male involved it turns into deviance, known or not. Usually this type of sexual behavior is not done without the help of some type of uninhibited mind altering substance, which bears repeating, or just plain delusion that there is nothing wrong with it.

In a free society such as ours here in America we must not try to control any-ones' behavior other than those who break the law. Our constitution was and is written in order to allow freedom of all people here in the United States. Behavior is something which is ones' own responsibility, owning up to it is another story perhaps, and spirituality does not necessarily need to be a part of any-ones behavior at least consciously, although it is always there waiting in the background to let us know when we have screwed up, ignored or not.

If love is based on spirituality it will be known to anyone involved as intimacy and innocence will allow the female and the male to actually get to know each other before any physical contact of a sexual nature takes place. When the time comes the female will let the male know what is going to happen or not, or how much, which is completely normal when all is right with the relationship. Meaning it is the female who controls the situation, yet this does not mean or imply she is somehow to blame when things may not go right. Problem is man, usually is the one who pushes or forces something which is not totally wanted, though interestingly younger boys, or young adults will respect the wishes of the girl before an older man will, which again is normal as the spirit is not yet pushed aside in the young man who realizes there is something more at play here than just sex. Point here is man will at times use force to control the woman, and this is and has been and most likely will remain the problem as long as man deludes himself into thinking that he is the one in control of woman. It is kind of a paradox as most men know this already though do not want to admit it because they want to think they are the boss though they know they are not, which ignorantly is why they continue with the stupidity. Of course not all men are stupid, which is why so many people are happily married and do have spirituality in there lives, mainly though because of and through the spiritual nature of woman, as she instinctively knows what is love and what is not because she has the womb the spirits keep wanting to enter.

What can be perhaps the most significant in importance is when there is a true spiritual connection between the female and male there will never be any force what so ever in any part of the relationship. Force is not needed at any time in the union of the female and male, it is the force of nature which is absolutely the way the universe intended in the realm of physical intimacy between the female and the male, as nature is what does and or has brought anyone together in a spiritual union. Fact is we may at times think this will not happen, though with a spiritual nature kept solid through discipline and will we do find we are brought together with someone to love in a spiritual way, which is one reason why they say, and it is true, patience is a virtue. Physical pleasure, or just sex will not happen under those conditions, the spiritual universe will not allow narcissus, egotistical, or a sociopaths behavior to exist in those conditions. Love, absolute spiritual love, is what the universe allows, period.

George Merritt is a Certified General Contractor, Welder, Writer, Machinist always learning something new, and never gives up hope on the love of life and the human condition in the quest for truth, love, peace, and joy among other things.

http://www.georgetmerritt.com

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