Demons and Other Things

R. Dominicus Petrus said: “In aboriginal cultures, the recognition of evil spirits is prevalent. The fact that a coherent science is lacking is the more to their detriment. Many times the cures are far more deadly than the disease, and of course, all diseases are caused by demons”.

There are a number of people throughout the centuries who have written about devils and demons. Many of those stories were nothing more than a person’s imagination writing about a fictitious entity that really only exists in the mind of the writer. Stories of devils and demons were often expressed verbally and written about to scare people into submission and to control them. Artists have painted pictures of demons that are accepted as true representations of them, but are they?

Yes, there are devils and demons that even live in our modern world. Those individuals are really “earthbound spirits”. Earthbound in that they are individuals who have died and not gone to the spirit world that was especially made for them. A spirit world where those individual’s are “secured” and are unable to cause any problems with those who live in this physical world.

The majority of people in this physical world don’t understand that life continues beyond the physical. They believe that when they die, that’s it. They’re dead and there’s nothing beyond it. The church says, “If we don’t believe in God and accept his church, we will not go to heaven. We will sleep in the grave to be judged at a future time;” completely oblivious of the possibility that there maybe something more.

We wonder about this from time to time, wondering if the church is really right. We want to know, but are afraid to ask or speculate about what might be beyond physical death.

The earthbound spirits are the ones who are known as “ghost” and cause problems for some people called “hauntings or poltergeist activities” or often “demonizing” activities. These spirits don’t, for the most part, know that they have died and that there is a place for them other than the physical world. So, they stay in the home where they lived for a number of years, believing that they still own it or just take residence in a home they like. Some of these spirits don’t cause any real problems for the people who live in the house while others do.

When an earthbound cause’s problems for a homeowner, the owner becomes quite upset and wonders what can be done about their unwanted guest. They call their local priest or minister for help. However, there are other individuals (psychics) who specialize in sending earthbound spirits to the spirit world where they really belong. These individuals are able to see, and/or talk to the spirit(s) and therefore they are able send them on their way. Most earthbounds just want someone to recognize that they are there and tell them what happened to them and what they can do about it. So they start making noises and moving things around and causing all kinds of problems.

If the church and scientists would just take a different attitude towards life, maybe there would be fewer earthbound spirits in this world. If they would teach that life continues beyond physical death and that there is a spirit world where we will all go when we die, people would have an entirely different outlook on life. There would not be any demons or devils to cause trouble for us.

We all have hope that there is something more than this world. That there is a place where we go where we will not be judged by a god and will have the opportunity to live in a very beautiful place where we can advance spiritually, serving others with love and respect.

The Greatest Change

The greatest change came about when Mark began to express his independence. He wanted to make changes in the way people around him lived. He wanted the village people to live in harmony with one another as one people as though they all had the same parents. He talked to his parents and his brothers and sisters about what he had in mind. He talked to everyone in the village who would listen to him. But he learned that even though a family may have a dozen or a hundred members, it will never have more than a few who can actually get along with each other. Mark learned this but still wondered what he could do to make changes.

As I look at the story of Mark, I can’t help thinking about all of the people that I have known in my life. How many of them did I get along with as though they were family? Some of course, but far too many I didn’t. This reminded me of a play I read by Herb Gardner. The title comes from how the main character tries to help his young nephew understand the wonder of being alive. “He said to the boy, everyday is like going to the circus. You remember how a little car always drives into the middle of the ring, and it looks so tiny, and then all of a sudden, all the sides open up and out pops a thousand clowns? You never dreamed that all those people could fit into such a tiny vehicle, but somehow they did.”

“This is the shape of life, my boy. There is always so much more to any event than we humans can see on the surface. Do not ever assume you know everything about anything. Everyday is a little car filled with a thousand clowns – learn to be humble and a friend of mystery and who knows how you will be surprised?”

Life is a mystery and filled with surprises that change our outlook on life everyday. We think that we have figured out all of the various aspects of a situation and everything will be, as we believed. Then someone comes along and asks us “did you consider this or that?”

As we look at life in this physical world, we can’t help thinking about all of the things that have taken place. We were born, a miracle in itself, and started school where we learned so many things.

Some of us even went to college or university, learning all the time. Life in this world is for us to learn how to get along with others and make changes we believe will be good for all. Consider all the possibilities for changes that we can make and then go out and serve others in such a way that will advance humanity.

We all want the things that Mark wanted. We all want to live together as one big happy family. We want to understand that we all came from one God and that we are therefore all brothers and sisters. But how many of us really consider this to be true?

As we look at life we know that there are so many possibilities for us. We understand that there are people in this world who do not have as much as we do. We understand that the greatest changes in life come about when we take charge of our life and do something that will make changes in our society and for our highest good and the highest good of others. Life really is full of surprises and that when the clowns emerge from their little car, there will even be a greater mystery expressed and a greater number of life surprises for us all.

Where Did We Come From?

Two hundred eighty million years ago man emerged from his cave to look at the world around him. He saw that it was a beautiful world with plenty of life all around. There were birds flying in the air, animals of all kinds roaming around the land eating the grasses while the young played young animal games.

It was a time when the only thing that man had to worry about was where he would get his next meal. Man, however, new that he only had to walk a short distance to get what he needed. Life was simple then. Man had no worries except that he had to avoid the wild animals that would eat him believing that he, Man, was nothing more than food.

Today, Man still has the same needs. He still has to eat in order to survive in this world. He still has to be aware of wild animals that would eat him as food if he is not careful while roaming in the wild. But Man does not have to roam the wild any more. He only has to walk to a market to get the food he needs. He only has to walk a short distance to get almost anything he desires.

Man is an extremely resourceful being, able to use his brainpower to continuously create and come up with new products and ideas for the betterment of his fellowman. This is his way of contributing to life, and Man is constantly presented with requirements that require him to develop the methodology to produce. It doesn’t matter what it may be from a piece of paper to the tallest building in the world, man has to develop the methods that will end in a completed product.

Some would even say that man developed from protoplasm or an ameba, a small microscopic thing that has no real brain. No real purpose but to survive in its own special environment. But an ameba is just an ameba. It never develops into something greater. The same kinds of amebas have been in existence since this world was formed and is still an ameba. If it could develop into something else man would be able to observe it happening.

When scientists take a look at the ameba under an electron microscope, he sees something that is so delicate and so intricate that it is beyond belief. Yet, scientists say that he, man, has developed from an ameba, protoplasm, which has developed into the billions of fish, insects, and animals and finally humans. Oh boy!

In the book of Genius in the Bible, the writer spells out the creation of everything on earth from the fish, insects to the highest animals and finally man. It doesn’t matter whether we accept this description of creation or not, it agrees with the theory evolution. Even though scientists accept that there is a design to it all and they have developed theories as to how it all got started, they still cannot understand why it happened in the first place. They just don’t know how it all got started and developed to what it is.

The greatest question of all is “Why”? Is there a rhyme or a reason for everything? Why did man develop on a lone planet circling around a star in a remote galaxy somewhere in space? Are there other such planets with life of the same type as on earth or are they totally different? This is what space exploration is all about along with trying to discover the source, the point of the “Big Bang”. Even if man found that point, where would it be in the vastness of space?

So you can see by this article that we are just not sure whom or what caused this world to come into being and the real reason why. We do know that from the many spirits who have spoken through mediums that it was truly God who did it all. God is the source of all creation. We still don’t know why even though we can make some guesses from He didn’t want to be alone in his existence to He was just experimenting with His abilities to create. This will always be a mystery and we may never learn the whys of it all.

No Time To Live

The boy was walking to the store to get something for his mother. When he was about a hundred feet from the front door of the store he scratched his head and wondered what it was that his mother wanted.

How many times does this happen to us? It seems that we have so much on our minds each moment of each day that we would “forget our own name” if someone didn’t repeat it to us from time to time.

Why should we have so much to think about when life is really quite simple? We get up in the morning. We have our breakfast and then go off to school or work taking the same route each day. We know exactly how long it will take for us to get there. At work we have a routine that we are to perform each day. We know our jobs so well, in fact, we could do it blindfolded. At the end of the workday we get into our cars and drive home.

When we get home it is normally time for supper, so we wash up and sit to eat. The only thing that is different on the table is the choice of food that our spouse has prepared. We try to vary the choice of food we eat each day in order to have a little variety. We enjoy certain types of food and we enjoy the way in which it is prepared.

It really doesn’t matter what we do each day, we believe that we have to do it fast and perfect. This is often an impossible thing to accomplish because we’re just not given enough time to do the job right; or at least we think we don’t. I know several people who have so many things to do each day that they sometimes wish that they had forty-eight hour a day to do it in. They hope that they may have enough time left over to get a proper amount of sleep. The result is stress and eventually depression and burn out.

I think that the high pace of living is something that we have generated for ourselves. We do have the time each day to do our jobs. We do have the time to do it right and produce the perfect product that we are expected to produce. We only have to properly plan out the necessary steps and the way we want to do it. If we take a look at the amount of time that the boss has given us to do a job, we realize that it is enough. We are really the one who has the time problem. It seems that we just don’t know how to schedule our time and how to think logically one step at a time.

Thinking is a skill that we all have, but being able to think in a linear fashion in order to accomplish the goal is sometimes a problem. We know that it takes a certain number of steps to design a product and then manufacture it. We know that it will require certain types of materials and processes. We are then expected to put together a plan that will bring together all of the steps that will accomplish the goal. You do get the job done and in the time allowed. OK. That is fine, but how many people do you know who can’t produce as well as you do? How many people do you know who can do original thinking and produce a new product? Far too many people in this world are lazy. They would rather work at a job where they don’t have to think and where they do the same thing day after day without any great change in their routine at high pay.

Maybe the real problem started for us when we were very young. Perhaps it was when we were in grade school and our teachers didn’t challenge us enough to produce the required class work and in the amount of time given. They excused us for not turning in the work when it was required. They told us “it’s OK, turn it in tomorrow”. We get into a “rut” that lasts a lifetime. Even when we start to work in industry, we don’t do the job in the time allotted and we don’t really care because the boss will forgive us and we can turn in the work the next day or even the next week or next month. Because we are not able to produce we lose our jobs and wonder why. Why did the boss have the audacity to fire me? We invariably place our problems onto someone else.

We need to think about what it is we are doing in our life. Taking the time to think and then start producing within the time limits given us. It is our responsibility to do the job and one that is expected of us. We are expected to remember what it is we are to do and get the job done right. SO what are you waiting for? You do have the time to live.