Christmas Time

Christmas comes but once a year

To light our life and stir our soul

It brings great joy and peace within

To sing of Christmas all year long

This is a special time of year and one that is especially meaningful for me. I was born in December and enjoy the season a lot. Christmas has always been a special time with all the colored lights, the decorated houses with their Christmas trees all lit up, the snow and the trains my Dad put under the tree each year. Yes, special because it is the time when we celebrate, not only the birth of Christ, but the spirit of giving. To sing all the special song of the season and a time for celebrating life and the birth of all in creation. December 21st is the shortest day of the year (Winter solstice). Winter solstice was celebrated for thousands of year as a “pagan” holiday with music, dancing, and drinking. It was a time to celebrate the fact that each day will become longer as we look forward to spring. Spring, the time of reborn that brings forth its abundance and fills us with hope.
As we look at this time of year, we can’t help thinking about all of the people who have so much and all those who have so little. We all share in this time. We all think about family, friends and giving. We give to those who are in need, and we give to each other as an expression of love that says “you’re special to me”. As you think about this time, I hope you will think about all the people in your life now and all those who were part of your life in time past. Send each one a special blessing and a prayer of love for the New Year.

A Friendly Reminder

Sometimes it is difficult for me to understand why it is that we need to be reminded that we are Spiritualists or Christians.

Far too many of us forget the seven principles of Spiritualism the teaching of Christ, that we repeat and take part in each time we attend a church service. We seem to forget the one principle that governs our lives more than any other.  That principle is "We believe in Personal Responsibility". This doesn't mean that we only believe in this principle when it is convenient for us. It means that we believe in it 24/7.  We are to practice what we believe and preach and not like so many other people in this world who only practice what they preach when it is convenient.

In part, it is one of our responsibility to allow each individual to be who and what they are without judging them in any way.  However, I know that it is almost impossible for us to not judge others.  We learned how to judge other from the time we are born.  Judging others is within us and we as Spiritualists/Christians must start doing something about this in our lives.  I know that it is sometime impossible to for us, but it is a must done.

How many time have you had to prove to others that you are very much qualified for the position you applied for whether that position be on the job or at church?  Why is it that there are so many independent churches in this world?  Why aren't they affiliated with a national association or national union?  Is it because of there beliefs or money, or is there more to it than that?  Yes, there is more to it than that it boils down to the personalities of those who are running things.  You are not me and I am not you but some how you may believe that I should think and act exactly like you do.  That I should have the same personality as yours and do what you do. Could you accept me if I was?  What a boring world this would be.

In this world there are wars going on all the time and those wars are nothing more than the result of certain persons personalities and there outlook on life that gets in the way of common sense and logic.  When we use common sense and logic we look at all the possibilities of a situation and not what our narrow views dictate.  We consult with others and get there views on a subject so that we can make informed decisions.  Informed of the consequences of a wrong decision.

You and I have to think. Make informed decisions and give others the benefit of any doubt.  Way the pros and cons and think of how our decision(s) may affect others.  Thinking is something we all do but do we do it with others and the end results in mind?  You say yes.  OK but do you really?

Do you need to be reminded that of the principle of personal responsibility every time you are confronted with another person or a situation in your life that could potentially affect the lives of others?  Can you give others the benefit of the doubt and even help them to see your point of view if it differs from theirs?  Are you sure that your decision was the correct one?  \kind of makes you think...

Rights and Wrongs of Killing

Recently, two female police officers were killed in a gun and grenade attack in Greater Manchester. Various MPs and other leading figures have called for the return of the death penalty for such crimes.*

I wondered if you are willing to give your view on this matter and whether the spirit world has given guidance on the rights and wrongs of executing those found guilty of murder – Marcus Mackenzie, by e-mail.

All spirit teachings state that the taking of life, for whatever reason, is wrong. Thrusting a person convicted of murder into the next world creates more problems than it solves, as spirit people constantly tell us.

What is spiritually wrong cannot be physically or morally right. Murder by a citizen or the state can never be justified. Forming judgments when all the facts can never be known is an extremely dangerous step to take. As Lord Birkenhead, a former Lord Chancellor of Britain explained, his eyes were opened when he saw the effects in the spirit world.

It is worth studying his communication which came through the direct voice mediumship of Leslie Flint. In his excellent book, “Voices in the Dark,” he states that Lord Birkenhead, who passed on in 1930, manifested in his séance room and spoke eloquently and urgently for almost an hour on the necessity for total abolition of the death penalty.

He quotes him as saying: “This is an aspect of criminal law most in need of change; whether it is through the hangman’s noose or whether it is done by some other supposedly more humane method, nothing justifies the taking of life outside the law or inside it.”

Admitting the views he now expressed were quite opposed to those held on earth, Lord Birkenhead explained this by saying: “I have seen the effects on this side of life when the law sends here souls who are unprepared and unready, their minds in turmoil, filled with thoughts of hate, revenge and fear.

“These souls linger near the earth. Often what are known as carbon-copy murders are due to such earthbound revengeful entities who impinge their thoughts on individuals in your world who may already be mentally unstable and cause them to commit the same kind of crime for which the entity forfeited his life under the law.”

As an alternative to capital punishment, Lord Birkenhead suggested that “the unfortunate people who commit murder could be put to useful work.

“They should be made to serve society in some way and given the opportunity to work out their own salvation and repentance.”

Towards the end of his impressive speech, he declared: “There is no death. We live and try constantly to inspire you. I ask you, I beg of you, I plead with you to do all in your power to bring this truth to all humanity.”

This may be a “How long is a piece of string?” question, but how much free will do you think we have in our lives? I really cannot work out how much is preordained or due to fate and our own decisions – Susan Simpson, Manchester.

In answer to a question about this subject, Silver Birch once stated: “You have free will. You may make your choice. Life is not chance, accident or even coincidence. The whole of life is governed by immutable natural law.

“Whatever aspect of being you examine, it is due to natural law. Human beings are not outside the operation of natural law. They are integral parts of it.

“There is a limitation placed by natural law on what man can do to the planet on which he lives. He cannot destroy the whole of the planet and all that it contains. Now this is part of man’s free will, his choice as to whether he will rise to the divinity within him or whether he will fail.

“In that case, he will not fulfill himself. He will pass to our world unequipped and unready, and have to learn all over again.

“No man, and no combination of men, have the power to thwart divine will. They can delay, they can harass and they can impede.”

The guide continued: “Infinite wisdom and love rule the universe. These will prevail because that is the law. The whole of life is regulated by natural laws. Nothing is left to freakishness, to miracles or to chance.

“All is cause and effect, sowing and reaping, otherwise the universe would be chaotic. You have evidence of the  infinite plan of an infinite intelligence in the operation of natural laws wherever you look.

“It is to be seen in the sequence of the seasons, the movement of planets and galaxies, the ebb and flow of tides and the growth of a myriad forms of floral life, where natural law reigns supreme.

“So there is the limit which the divine power has placed because nothing can occur beyond the framework of natural law. But there are laws within laws. There are not only physical laws; there are mental and spiritual ones.

“You live, you breathe, you exist. You have your being because from the moment of conception spirit begins to associate with matter in individual form and gradually that individuality unfolds.

“It is part of the plan that you should have an element of free will, the power and the ability to make choices in certain circumstances.

“Used for its best and highest, you can play your part in the spiritual unfoldment and evolution of the race, the world, the universe and the cosmos because your spirit is part of the Great Spirit.

“You share in the divinity that is responsible for all that exists everywhere. You are the Great Spirit in microcosm. All that the Great Spirit has of that infinity you have. You will have eternity in which to unfold it.

“Your free will is limited because your choice is restricted. There is another limitation placed on your free will. It is the mental and spiritual stage which you have reached in your development.”

Silver Birch added: “You are free to kill, but your character will ensure that you refrain. So even when you have choices these are limited by who and what you are at the time. Like many things in the universe you have a paradox. You have free will within limitation all the time.

“Now I must go a stage further because you introduced the question of karma. This, too, is a very important consideration because many of those who have work to do in your world chose to do it beforehand. Though awareness may not come immediately, the choice imposes another restriction in free will.

“Nobody has perfect free will. It is free will within a restricted range. Your will is subject to circumstances which you cannot control. The soul knows before it reincarnates what it has to achieve.”

* From Two Worlds Magazine. Founded in 1887

How Much Free Will Do We Have?

In answer to a question about free will, Silver Birch once stated: “You have free will. You may make your choice. Life is not chance, accident or even coincidence. The whole of life is governed by immutable natural law.*

“Whatever aspect of being you examine, it is due to natural law. Human beings are not outside the operation of natural law. They are integral parts of it.

“There is a limitation placed by natural law on what man can do to the planet on which he lives. He cannot destroy the whole of the planet and all that it contains. Now this is part of man’s free will, his choice as to whether he will rise to the divinity within him or whether he will fail.

“In that case, he will not fulfill himself. He will pass to our world unequipped and unready, and have to learn all over again.

“No man, and no combination of men, have the power to thwart divine will. They can delay, they can harass and they can impede.”

The guide continued: “Infinite wisdom and love rule the universe. These will prevail because that is the law. The whole of life is regulated by natural laws. Nothing is left to freakishness, to miracles or to chance.

“All is cause and effect, sowing and reaping, otherwise the universe would be chaotic. You have evidence of the infinite plan of an infinite intelligence in the operation of natural laws wherever you look.

“It is to be seen in the sequence of the seasons, the movement of planets and galaxies, the ebb and flow of tides and the growth of a myriad forms of floral life, where natural law reigns supreme.

“So there is the limit which the divine power has placed because nothing can occur beyond the framework of natural law. But there are laws within laws. There are not only physical laws; there are mental and spiritual ones.

“You live, you breathe, you exist. You have your being because from the moment of conception spirit begins to associate with matter in individual form and gradually that individuality unfolds.

“It is part of the plan that you should have an element of free will, the power and the ability to make choices in certain circumstances.

“Used for its best and highest, you can play your part in the spiritual unfoldment and evolution of the race, the world, the universe and the cosmos because your spirit is part of the Great Spirit.

“You share in the divinity that is responsible for all that exists everywhere. You are the Great Spirit in microcosm. All that the Great Spirit has of that infinity you have. You will have eternity in which to unfold it.

“Your free will is limited because your choice is restricted. There is another limitation placed on your free will. It is the mental and spiritual stage which you have reached in your development.”

Silver Birch added: “You are free to kill, but your character will ensure that you refrain. So even when you have choices these are limited by who and what you are at the time. Like many things in the universe you have a paradox. You have free will within limitation all the time.

“Now I must go a stage further because you introduced the question of karma. This, too, is a very important consideration because many of those who have work to do in your world chose to do it beforehand. Though awareness may not come immediately, the choice imposes another restriction in free will.

“Nobody has perfect free will. It is free will within a restricted range. Your will is subject to circumstances which you cannot control. The soul knows before it reincarnates what it has to achieve.”

* From Two Worlds Magazine. Founded in 1887

Programmed from Birth

Can you sense that at times "you are a man/woman, son/daughter, worker, student, husband/wife, teacher, tax payer, healer, patient, citizen, rebel, member of a particular tribe, ethnic group or religion? All are roles. Each due to circumstances and conditions".

We see things not as they are, but as we are. We are a product of life's programming where we play a role that we believe we were meant to play. However, in spite of who we think we are it is not the real person we are. In many cases we put blinders on ourselves that we wear with little knowledge of and through fear we are far too often blinded as to who we can really be.

Through life's programming we are the product of our parents training, our schools and society.

Programming of our minds started while we were still in the womb. We adopted the programming of our mothers. We then adopted the programming of our fathers shortly after our birth. As time went on, we adopted the programming of others we came into contact with. We even adopted parts of the programming of our teachers, the radio and television programs we listened to or watched over the years.

There is no such thing as independent thinking. Thoughts are products of our minds in light of all the programming up to the present moment.

Yes we believe that we are inspired by something other than what we believe came from that programming, but how can we be sure? Is it possible for us to be anything other than what we have been programmed to be?

I question the influencing of the people I come in contact with as to how it affects my programming. Are those people trying to make me into another them? Is it possible that in spite of my own programming that I am incorporating some of their programming into me? Believe it or not, I am. Yes, I can't help it. I try very hard to discriminate between what I'll accept into my programming and just what I'll discard, do I have free will?

In the past I have written on the subject of how others try to influence us into adopting their ideas of how we should act, think and work. For example, when we were in grade school, we were taught to study the text books we were given and answer questions on what we read. At the end of the day, the teacher would give us a text that required a text book answer, if we gave a different answer than the book, are answer was marked as wrong. To me, this was a type of control where I was required to comply or I would fail the course - programming.

Other people can help us get out of a rut where we had been doing the same old things day after day that prevents us from progressing. We need to be jolted into progressing through taking a new look at the place we're at, where we're going, the things we play at, the way we perform our daily work, just about everything in our life. Sometimes what others were trying to do was to help us take a closer look at ourselves and for us to better understand our way of thinking and working. We need to develop new objectives for ourselves that will make our life more interesting, worth while, and being more independent of our programming while keeping us happy and enjoying life.

Other peoples ideas can help us in many ways to better ourselves, but they can hurt us as well. Those hurtful ideas of others are to be reject without question. We are free thinkers and need to develop and redevelop our personal programming to brings us true happiness, individuality that is independent of our programming.

"As we can see, nobody has a complete vision of (him/herself) everything and never will. That is why we are so different. Even so, every human being egotistically thinks that his is the utmost, maximum knowledge and information. Each believes he owns the absolute, naked, total truth, the best and only perception of the universe around him, when in reality he grasps just an insignificant fraction of a bigger whole. This situation prevents us from not only having a more intimate, deeper relationship with other human beings, but also from having a better comprehension of ourselves and of our role in this small planet and the Universe". (Sorrows of Life, Pg. 5)

Up Until Now

When I attended Pastoral Skills classes at Temple Heights Spiritualist Camp in Maine in 2005 my teacher, Rev. Pamla Aslay, had an answer for people in the class who would say, "I can't do that."  Her answer was "Up until now". It seems that none of us can perform certain tasks until we learn from others what is necessary.  We invariably say "I can't do that" and we're right, we can't up until now.

When I was in school learning math for the first time, I had to learn about certain mathematical principles and how to apply them to various math problems. By the same token, when I started Junior College to study electronics, I knew very little about all the various aspects of electronics that was already well known to other technicians and engineers.  As time went on, I learned and through the application of what I learned I was able to test and repair electronic equipment.

You may ask "Isn't it true for all people in this world"?  Yes, but how many of us have the courage to admit that we just don't have what it takes to perform a specific task - up until now?  If you're honest with yourself, you will admit that up until now you were unable to perform.  There is no pride lost in admitting you don't have certain skills or knowledge - you are normal.

When I was growing up, my mother used to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for the seven of us.  Today, from what I learned from her, I can cook various types of meals for myself.  Yes, I learned what was necessary from a skilled person who knew more than I did. I am still learning 70+ years later.  I will continue to learn.  This will continue up until the day I leave this world.

So up until now, you really couldn’t perform certain tasks. Maybe you didn’t have the knowledge you needed, but now you do and are able to apply it where necessary. Up until now you are the best at what you do and will continue to obtain greater knowledge you may require. Remember, what seemed to be unachievable up until now falls away as you obtain the knowledge and skills you do require, nothing is impossible to you.

We were all mistaken

Through automatic writing Charlotte Elizabeth Dresser in the late 1800s wrote the following: "We were all mistaken on earth, ministers and laymen alike. Lawyers are not just; merchants not honest; business men forgetting their honor while grasping greater gains; ministers allowing creeds to outweigh service. Why do clergymen emphasize creed instead of service? Why do they mourn over death, instead of telling of the wonderful opportunities beyond? Why do judges punish crime instead of educating the criminal? Why does the world spend its care and thought on the fleeting shadows of earth life, rather than study the conditions of the heavenly one which is to last forever?"

I’m sure that you and I find Charlotte’s description of various people still rings true even today and yet, it also describes the common person and his actions at one time or another in his life. How many of you have known the truth especially about ministers, lawyers, merchants and businessmen?  How have you been able to deal with them in your own life? Were you able to understand what was happening? However, It is true, not all of people involved in the various professions can be described as being dishonest or corrupt.

When we enter into this world as infants our minds are pure and without blemish.  Then as children we grow up learning from our parents and society what life is all about and what is expected of us and what we should accomplish in life.  We do our best to cope with life’s challenges, but sometimes along the way something happens that changes our outlook on life and we begin to do the things that are wrong in the sight of society.  We begin to take advantage of others, steal, rob banks, kill and destroy anything that we don’t like, directly or indirectly.  We are able to do these things because we are all given total freedom of choice, the ability to choose between right from wrong, as we perceived it.

A very long time ago a man said “there is nothing new under the sun.”  Yes that man was King Solomon who wrote about the same things that Charlotte wrote about.  We think that we are unique and different in that we live in a “modern” world with computers, rockets, space stations and satellites that have been sent to the moon and the planets beyond. We believe that in these modern times that we have the best that man can produce, and yet we continuously look for something new to occupy our minds and bodies.  The search for something new gives many a reason to try for some excitement by breaking the laws of the land.  Why?  Is it our nature to do so?  Not, but we do it anyhow.

Spiritual Law teaches through the law of cause and effect that a person cannot get away with anything.  If lawyers, merchants, minister, judges, you and I understood this law would we continue to do the things they do? Would we treat each other with so much disrespect if we new what was in store for us when we physically die? Would it really matter?  Would the minister continue to preach their churches creeds instead of a truer more meaningful theology based on the truths taught by the Master Jesus?

Far too many of us here in this physical world think that we know it all and that there is nothing beyond our physical life.  What is it that can hurt us or have any real meaning for us believing this physical life is all that is, the now.

So what does it truly matter if lawyers, merchants, minister and judges continue to do as they please?  Will there ever be a time when they come to their senses and learn that there is more to life than the physical experience?

In time past, many have written about and the Spirit World through automatic writing and through the descriptions given by disincarnate individuals to mediums. Few physical human beings have gone to the Spirit World directly and those who have; have done so via a “near death experience” or “out of body experience”.  We only have their word as to what it is really like in the Spirit World.  If we could all experience the Spirit World as it is perhaps we would have a much different attitude about life in the physical and how we fit into it.  Maybe we would be more honest, just and provide the right way of rehabilitate criminals and those who break our physical laws.  Perhaps we would learn how to love our neighbors as our selves and do unto others, as we would have them do unto us.  Maybe…

Duality

The universal law of duality expresses the fact that literally everything in this universe has two distinct ways of being expressed. Right verses wrong, good verse evil, up in relationship to down, forward to reverse. Duality shows us that no matter what mishap in life might occur, there is always another course of action available to us.

In the Bible we read in Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..." The writer goes on to describe the duality to virtually everything.

Duality has been with each one of us since birth. When we were born into this world we were totally innocent and without blame. We didn't know anything about duality and yet, we would learn all about it in the years to come.

It seemed that our parents were constantly correcting us by saying, "Don't do that," whatever that might have been. When we got older and beginning to understand a little logic, maybe our parents changed their way of corrected us. Maybe our parents would ask us if we understood what could happen by our actions towards the other person.

Wouldn't it be great to start all over again knowing what we know today? Starting over with a clear and uncluttered mind, being totally innocent by having our past mistake erased forever. How great it would be if our actions would have been the right ones from the beginning. In fact, is there anyone in this world who can say that they are totally free of doing any kind of wrongs? Can we say that we are not involved in the duality of life?

We have all made mistakes in our lives and we provably always will. That doesn't mean that we cannot change. Doing right all the time is the ideal, however, by just knowing that duality exist and we can't get away from it, may make the difference between doing right and avoiding the wrong; correcting the duality of the situation. We do wish we could be totally free of all negativity in our past and regaining our innocents. Wishing that we could place the positive and negative of duality in their rightful place.

Please Note

The purpose of all the articles posted on this, my blog, are to bring to your attention certain things that you may have experienced in you life. I hope that no one has been offended by any one article and you have learned something useful. I will be posting more articles in the near future. Thank you for reading them. Rev. Ronald L. Koch

Likes and Dislikes

Why is it that when a person asks another person a simple question that they seem to think that we're being nasty, or bitter?  We only want a simple answer to a simple question. No nastiness or bitterness or hatefulness involved.

Not long ago I gave a friend a proposal, and not knowing that he was not at home in order to give me an answer right away, I wrote him an email.  I asked them what happened, in my own way.  They wrote back saying "that they read my 'not so nice email' and was not happy with it".  It was never intended as a "not so nice email", and yet that is the way it was taken. Why?

When a person believe what other people say about us, they tend to believe what they were told, by the other person, rather than their own knowledge of us. People who no longer accept us as who we are, but interject into their beliefs something that they shouldn't, are in reality looking for excuses to no longer "like us" period.  They'd never admit it, I'm sure. I  believe this is so.  We can't out quests what goes on in another persons head or what their beliefs are or how they are influenced by others. We cannot even know what, if anything they really think about us, down deep inside them. We can only continue to do our "own thing", so to speak, and hope others "get it".  This is really not us being bitter or hateful, but us wanting to know what it is that was so bad. What did we do that was so wrong?

How many times in your life has this happened to you?  Many I'm sure.  Can anything be done about it? Provably not. If others take a disliking to us, it takes an act of God to change their minds.  This should never happen in the first place.

Some people say that we are friends. Then turn around and "put a knife in our back".  Why?  Here again is a question without an answer.  If we say we take personal responsibility for our own actions, then their is no reason for bitterness, hate or even nastiness in our dealings with others.  It is our responsibility to just let others be who and what they are without judging them. That is not to say that it can't happen, it does.  It is then up to us to try and do something about it, if we can.

I cannot make you my friend even if I have tried many times to. Sometimes our best intentions are just not enough or even understood and most likely never will. Especially when others don't understand us, or even want to, they judge us, often, wrongly.  And that's the end of it...

Are You Empathic?

This short article cannot begin to cover the vast extent of the subject on empathy. However, it will talk about what being an empath entails.

"Clairsentience is another way of saying "empathy".  This means to have the emotional feelings or inner knowing of events which are unknowable.  These empathic people are also called "sensitives".  Some clairsentients are extremely sensitive and may feel emotional highs and lows and even physical sensations that do not belong to them.  The trick then is discerning which moods are not your own and protecting yourself from unwanted receptivity, particularly in crowded areas or at emotionally laden events, such as funerals.  Many people are familiar with this skill from the Star Trek - The Next Generation show, where the ship's counselor, Deanna Troi, was known for her skills as an empath".

How many times have you been with another person and feel like you just want to cry, or run as fast as you can from their presents just to get away from their overwhelming  emotional state? How many times have you been talking to someone and had the feeling that they were being dishonest with you or just plain lying?  How often have you felt the underlying truth behind what a person was saying to you but didn't understand why they were not expressing it? Could it be that you are able to tune into the person in a way that you don't really understand?  Or, perhaps you get a sick feeling when you're around certain people, or feel their stress or physical pain.  Maybe you just think the other person just doesn't  understand you because you express your feeling openly.  You just can't hide what's going on inside you.  You're an empath.

A person who is empathic is highly sensitive to the feelings and intent of others.  They senses what is happening within a persons auric field long before that person feels any kind of distress or the on set of physical pain or illness.

An empath can't stand a person who constantly criticizes them.  It's not the criticism that is the problem, it's the underlying intent within the criticizer.  It's his/her supposed hidden internal grandiose that is the real problem, something that is wide open to the empath.

People who criticize others on a regular basis just can't understand why the person they are criticizing gets so upset with them.  It's because the criticizer is seen through the eyes of the empath and the empath just can't take what is constantly being constantly projected at them.

Most empaths don't even know they're empathic.  It seems that people and the whole world hates them, and they just don't understand why. They only know that when they are confronted with certain people or circumstances they get upset easily and can't wait to get away from it all.

Other people are open and honest and the empath feels very happy to be around them.

Knowing that you're empathic can go a long way in helping you to cope with other peoples emotions and ways of working.  It may not be easy to deal with, but just knowing that you're empathic helps. Knowing you're empathic also means that you can learn how to protect yourself from the extreme emotions and intent of others.

Empaths are special people.  They can spot when a person is in physical stress before that person shows any kind of symptoms. They feel within themselves the pain and suffering of others.  An empath can feel what another person is feeling often deeper than the person is actually feeling themselves. Why?

Empaths have a special gift from birth that is usually a mystery to them for many many years or even their entire life.  But once they understand the real source of their problem, they can learn how to use their gift for the great good of everyone they meet.  To help others understand themselves.  To develop their gift in a thousand ways, even as a psychic or medium or as a psychologist or counselor. An empath is able to use their gift to help a patient understand their problem(s) faster and easier and with greater clarity.

An empath is a clairsentient who feel the embedded emotions in people, objects and everything they touch and everything that is happening around them, even in the world.  A gift that can be used to change that which needs changing.  To know when things aren't going the way they should, or going all wrong long before other become aware that something is happening.

An empath needs to constantly protect themselves against the projected feelings and emotions of others in order to live a relatively good life in the presents of others.  A gift that is indeed special but at the same time difficult to control without training and understanding.

In days long past

In days long past when I was young, I took to the woods to find what no others could find. I searched here and there for weeks and found not what I search for.  “Why did you continue I was asked”, my reply was "it was expected of me." A walk in the woods always took me where I needed to go, the place where I had to be.  

Was it important for me to know where, maybe, but not always?  You see our soul always knows what is best for us. We only need to find out what that is because that is part of what life is all about – the searching.  The other part is to come to know the God within.

We often search for what others expect of us not knowing that we were really supposed to search for what was best for us.  Whether this is what we had in mind when we started, may or may not be what was intended.

Like so many searchers, we often go beyond are abilities. It doesn't matter what we're searching for, and we are never told what was really expected of us, what mattered was, we not knowing did what we should.

Going beyond all expectations is something that we can do. We only need to get started.  The question is what is it that we expect of our selves? Do we stand up to our own expectation? Or do we fall short?  Who is it that we really have to satisfy?  Is it really you, or you, or you?  Can’t I do what I want without criticism, or make something totally unexpected?  Like what you say?  Good question.  You see it doesn't matter what it is.  It is I who does it.  It is your place to simply watch and do nothing, even say nothing.

The big mistake people always make has to do with others.  We demand that others conform to our expectations or else.  Why?  They don't think or act like us.  They don't even look like us.  So why question another persons right to be who they are?  You and I are to live our lives in harmony with others by letting them be who and what they are. Make no mistakes here, they are who they are and cannot be anything else.

Can you agree with this? That is the real and only question.

Relationships

Friendship and a good relationship with special friends is very important to me as it is for many of you.  A friendly relationship with two or more other people is a great gift.  A gift that has many good things attached to it.

When we were young we played together as friends enjoying each other’s company.  We shared our toys and playthings with others, things that today we would not share with anyone.

When we were young we shared with others everything we had without question.  We trusted them explicitly knowing that they would treat our things with respect.  No broken toys... Life then was simple for us.  We didn't know the difference between trusting and not trusting others. It was all the same to us.  What happened?

Today we seem to have lost our trust in each other. We need to know others very well in order to know if we can trust then.  Today we sometimes look at each other as strangers.  Have we changed so much over the years that we no longer enjoy having fun together? Have we lost all trust in each other. I hope not.  It would not be good for any of us.  Life is filled with those things that we as individuals have to be concerned with, especially with others.

We need friends and we need the opportunity to engage in playful fun.  To party and have fun together.  Consult with each on things we may need a little advice on.

Togetherness with friends by having family softball games, go swimming or fishing together, or playing tennis.  Going to the park for a picnic or the fair.  We can even enjoy going to church, a civic gathering or even school.   Maybe we just want to sit together having a little quiet time playing checkers or some other board game.  Togetherness is a way of expressing our trust and love for our friends and others. We even make new friends when we are on vacation that can last for the rest of our life.

When we take personal responsibility for our actions, our thoughts, and ourselves we are able to express our trust and friendship in a very beautiful way.  We need to relearn how to trust each other as we did when we were children.  Trust that others will always be there for us and always be there to lend a helping hand. Friends never judge us, and never talk down to us in a real or imaginary way.  A friend understands us as being unique and special, someone you trust, love and know as special.

A husband and wife have a special relationship that start developing the day they meet.  It's an on going relationship that grows with time.  Friends an even trust each other with their very life.  A very special kind of love and friendship exist when a wife, who loves her husband so much that she desires to have his children,.  When a couple who has been married for 40 or 50 years is ask how they lived so long together, they often say "it wasn't easy but we made it work because we love each other".  Two people who are special loving friends who have stuck it out together for many years.  We need this between friends.  That love that is in a friendship that only time can make perfect.

Yes, friendships are indeed a special gift that two or more people can give each other. Something we all need.

Can a Christian be a Spiritualist?

Can a Christian be a Spiritualist? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Just because Spiritualism doesn’t preach that one must belong to a certain denominational church or believe in Christ as savior, confess their sins to God doesn’t mean that individual Christians can’t be Spiritualists. Oh you say, yes, Spiritualists do believe in God, and Christ but not as savior, per sa. When Modern Spiritualism was just getting started in the mid 1800s, all Spiritualism was known as Christian Spiritualism. This was because the people involved in Spiritualism were originally members of denominational Christian churches. Spiritualists in the early days believe in the teachings of the church and even used them in their churches. Until recent years, all Spiritualist churches had a Bible on their pulpits. They know that Jesus was one of the most gifted mediums of his time. “Medium” yes medium. There is the story in the Bible where Jesus was talking to a woman of Samaria at a well where he told her all about her life and what was happening at the time he met her. Gospel According to Saint John 4:19 “The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet”. Webster’s dictionary says that a “prophet an authoritative person who divines the future”. Is a Spiritualist also a prophet? In many ways the answer is yes. They often do give people information about future events in their lives. However, a “Spiritualist mediumship” in no way gets involves with fortune telling. The work of a medium is to prove the reality of survival after so called death and to pass on practical help and understanding when needed. The information a medium gives a person is meant to help them make their own decisions in their life, not make them for the person.

The question is, what happens to the Spiritualist when he/she dies? Christianity says that non-Christians sleep in the grave until the “great day of judgment”. When a Christian dies he/she is then “absent from the body and present with the Lord”. We answer this by saying that we go to be with the same Lord and heaven that Christians go to when we die. However, what Christians don’t know is that we also believe that the criminal, etc. will go to a lower spirit world where they will be given an opportunity to make restitution for their wrongs, and then be able to progress to higher spirit worlds. You can’t accept that, ah? That’s ok. You see it has been proven by thousands of mediums that life continues after the change called death and that is the only think that Spiritualists are really saying. Yes, we also believe that we can communicate with the so-called dead, as a proven fact. Did Jesus go into the grave and sleep when he died? No. He was very much alive and came back many times to teach and be with his disciples.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s scientists and highly educated men and women investigated Spiritualist phenomena and came to the conclusion that it was real, not a fakery or even fraudulent in any way. However, their were a large number of people who took advantage of the “darkened séance room” to defraud the sitters. That is one major reason the scientist went to extreme measures to assure that no fraud was possible with the people they were investigating. [See Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books “History of Spiritualism” Volume I and II.]

All Spiritualist churches and associations make sure that the people who attend their activities are not asked to set aside any of their own religious beliefs or even stop attending their denominational church. The director of the church I attend is a Jewish woman who is married to an Anglican Priest and her best friend is a Catholic nun.

One of the main things that I want the reader to know is that God has provided for each and everyone of His spiritual children no matter what wrong choices, sins, they had made or are making here on this earth plain. Something Christians just can’t accept are non-Christians because their Bible and denominations refuse to believe in them and their teachings. People who were not born and raised in their particular denomination are lost.

When one reads the Bible one finds dozens of examples of Spiritualist phenomena, especially in the Old Testament. Jesus was not only a special son of God, but one of the greatest men who ever lived. There is no doubt about it. Jesus was a gifted healer, teacher and prophet. One only needs to read to Bible to know this.

Is God a God of wrath and does he hate sin? No, God is not a God of wrath, God is a God of love but He does hate sin. Because he hates sin he has provided a way for all his children in this physical world to make restitution for their sins. Whether you believe that Jesus is the only way or not makes no difference. God is a God of love and loves every man, woman and child in this world. Even all non-Christians who have lived here from the beginning of time? The bible tells us that God is perfect and His creation is perfect and He created "He them in His own image." So why would a perfect God create a human being in His image, and then have to send a son to be killed by them? The answer is that God in His infinite wisdom gave man total free will; free will to choose between right or wrong. Can it be that only the church can determine what is right and what can be considered as wrong? Can perfection produce non-perfection? Can it be true that humanity could only become Christian after the death of Jesus? What about the billions, trillions who came into this world long before Jesus did? Were they lost to eternal hell fire and brimstone?

One of the biggest things that people in this world do is judge each other. It doesn’t matter whether or not a person has been told from birth “don’t judge others.” They judge others just the same because that is what their parents and grandparents did. If you were a non-Christian before you became a Christian, was their any hope that you could be saved? You say yes, but how do you really know this? You were no doubt told by a Christian that you were called by God to be saved and that is why you are. Choice. That is what you were given. A choice to choose between what Christians considered right over wrong.

I could go on for pages talking about all the things mentioned above and would not exhaust the subject. Whether a person believe in Jesus or not doesn’t mean that they are lost for all eternity. If it were so, God would not be a God of love.

Expectations

In days long past when I was young, I took to the woods to find what no others could find. I searched here and there for weeks and found not what I search for. Why did you continue I was asked, my reply was "it was expected of me."

We often search for what others expect of us not knowing that we were only to search for what was best for us. Like so many things not found, they are often beyond are abilities to locate. It doesn't matter that we're never told what was really expected of us, what we are really to look for, what mattered is, we did what we were told. This we did when we were young, but now we older.

Going beyond all expectations is something that we can do. We only need to get started. The question is what is it that we expect of ourselves? Do we stand up to our own expectation? Or do we fall short? Who is it that we really have to satisfy? Is it really you? Can't I do what I want without criticism, or make or do something totally unexpected? Like what you ask? Good question. You see it doesn't matter what it is. It is I who does it. It is your place to be a good observer and just watch and do nothing, even say nothing. No matter what...

The big mistake people always make has to do with others. You demand that others conform to your expectations or else. Why? They don't think or act like you. They weren't raised the same way you were or even by your parents. Would that have made a difference? Consider, they don't even look like you. So why question another persons right to be who they are? You and I are to live our lives in harmony with others by letting them be who and what they are. Make no mistakes here, they are who they are and cannot be anything else. The big questions is, can you agree with this and let others find their own way in life to search for what is theirs, not what you expected of them?

Our Thoughts

I was just reading an article where the author said that we should stop and take a look at our thoughts and know what they are really saying. As I thought about that I realized that it was next to impossible for me to do. How does one look at something that is a part of him/her? Can we see our thoughts passing by our minds eye as if they were scrolling by on a screen? If this was possible, then I can stop my thoughts and analyze them as often as needed and see them for what they are? Thoughts that were just something that the mind came up with in response to a stimulus of some kind. It is only by looking at our thoughts in a different way than we normally do that we are able to understand their true meaning and intent. Yes, we often think one thing and say or write something else. Our minds thoughts streaming by without being stopped to analyze what they are.

However we might try checking our thoughts by writing them down. Then we can see them as others might see them when they read what we have to say. We can even see if they are coherent or are scattered without direction.

Far too many of us don't take the time to really think through our thoughts, ideas. It seems that we have not written them down and sent on their way before making sure we have them right. Most often it is only when others people talk to us about what we said or wrote that we take the time to look at our thoughts and try to figure them out. Hopefully we are not too late to make things right.

It has been said that"thoughts are things" . Things that keep coming up in our lives to make us think and try to get things right. No body wants to be around a person who always seems to be saying the wrong things at the wrong time. The person who speaks before putting his mind in gear...

Now that you have an idea of how thoughts can affect your life; making life good for us or challenging, be careful what you say. Think first, our spoken thoughts could come back on us in a way the is definitely not good.

Can't Sleep

It was one in the morning and Joe was not asleep yet. He kept tossing and turning as though it was impossible for him to sleep. How many times has that happened to you? How often have you tried to sleep and couldn't quite make it? More often than you care to admit I'm sure.

Last night was one of those nights. I couldn't get to sleep. I even took the time to read, get a small glass of milk. Nothing seemed to work. This morning I had to get up early to run some errands. After lunch I laid down for a nap. Just as I was about to fall asleep, the phone rang. It was a friend and we talked for half an hour. You're beginning to get the picture! No rest for the wicked.

Life sometimes seems to be moving us so fast that we just don't have time to relax and enjoy what we have. There seems to be something happening all the time. We get up too early, we sleep in too long, maybe, we just end up with sleepless nights. Oh boy! Is their anyone or any thing that can help us? Yes you say. What then is it?

Why are you laughing? What's so funny? You. Me? Yes you. You think that you're the only one with a problem and, I have news for you. You're not the only one. You see, everyone has sleepless nights and errands to run and very little time to do it all.

Even if we had 48 hour in a day it wouldn't be enough. Even though we are organized to a great extent, we still have problems fitting everything into the 10 or 12 hours we spend at work. Organization of our work load is not the real problem. Fitting it all in is.

The Path

I have talked to a number of people in the last twenty years or so who have told me that they are on a spiritual path. I wondered what that path consisted of, but was unable to learn what it is. What does it mean to be on a spiritual path? As I look at the subject, I wonder if I’m on one. I wonder if those who have told me that they were on a spiritual path really understood what they were talking about? When I look at the subject realistically, I believe that only a few of them really understand what a spiritual path is all about. Not all people really know what it is they are saying. I know a woman in California who was bragging about being spiritual not religious. I asked her what she meant by that and she couldn’t answer me. I had the feeling that she was just repeating what she heard other people saying that sounded good to her.

For me, to be on a spiritual path means that I have a belief in the Creator, I read the Bible, I believe in Jesus and read spiritual books written by some very spiritual and saintly people. But I think that there is more to it than that. I think that we as humans must go the extra mile by living the teachings of Christ, not those of man. It has been said that we have a Christ like nature within us and we need to learn how to express it. Again, I’m not sure of what is meant by that, but I’m trying to.

When we live as man has dictated, we are living a materistic life and that life is a life of sorrow. We have forgotten what the Creator has given us. The Creator has given us this world to be a part of its nature. Living by the Laws of Nature that govern everything in existence. Without those laws there would be total chaos on earth. Everything would be “doing its own thing” in that there would be nothing to control it or make it work together as a unified whole. Is this what it means to be on a spiritual path? To live in harmony with all life, living by natural law and doing what is right, loving and charitable?

We each have our own idea of what it means to be on a spiritual path, but do we really know what that path is all about?

A flower blooms

A flower blooms

A rose of white

A song has been sung

Where is the sun?

The perfume so nice

And just like you

It brings out your beautify

So that you shine bright

So the flower blooms all night long

Where’s love so bright

And a song so light

We are not alone and just right

Blooming as a rose so bright

Salvation

I believe that it’s only fair that a Spiritualist describe what he may mean by the word “salvation – saved” and reflect on what Christianity means by it.

What is important is the fact that Spiritualists accept and believe in the Fatherhood of God – sometime called Infinite Intelligence, the Source of all creation, etc. We also believe in personal responsibility. We are personally responsible, as individuals, for all the good and evil deed done here in physical life. We believe in Eternal progress Open to every Human Soul.

That being said, we also don’t believe in vicarious atonement. We don’t believe that anyone can atone for our “sins” except us. This puts the responsibility “squarely on our shoulders”, not the man Jesus Christ. Jesus main purpose in his ministry was to teach man that God is a God of love. God is not a God of wrath whereby man is put to death for his sins because he doesn’t believe in a personal Saviour; and will spend eternity in a hell. Do we need to be saved from our sins? In that we need to change our way of thinking and acting towards our fellowman - yes. If we believe that we need a Saviour, then God has provided for us to work out our sins through Him.

It was Paul the apostle who taught that we must accept Christ as our personal Saviour, confess our sins to God and be baptized. Jesus taught that he died on the cross FOR ALL, no exception. “Jesus Christ the righteous…is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2) “…who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time (1 Tim. 2:6)

The early church fathers taught “Universal Salvation which is demonstrative of the true love of God and declares that all of His children shall eventually receive the unimaginable fuller life that God has prepared for them without exception; anything less and God certainly could not truly be considered as being "Love". For to willingly create life with the foreknowledge that the majority of it should be subjected to a hideous eternal torture, violates all notions of decency and common morality, let alone true love”.

We could argue the point all day and still not convince anyone that God is a God of love and as such has provided a way for ALL His children to come to Him.

The question may now come up “what about Spiritualisms belief in continuity of life”? Well, this is a true statement. Spiritualists do believe in continuous life. We, like Christians, believe “absent from the body, present with the Lord”. Or, absent from the body, present in the Spirit World. Where do Christians go when they die? They go to be with the Lord – heaven, which is the Spirit World. Why should we argue over words? Words only have the meaning we put on them. Spirit World – heaven…

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there is a place called purgatory. A place where church members, have an opportunity to work out their sins before going to be with the Lord. We say that this purgatory is one of the darker areas, dimension, of the Spirit World that provides the same purpose. So, what does “salvation” mean?

Salvation is described as:

· (n.) The redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to

o eternal death, and the conferring on him of everlasting happiness.

· (n.) Saving power; that which saves.

· (n.) The act of saving; preservation or deliverance from destruction,

danger, or great calamity.

All three of the definitions above say that salvation is a saving from. “The main meaning as used by Christianity is a saving from sin. In the Old Testament of the Bible, it was a concept, unlike the later Christian ideology, was not spiritual or individual: salvation was deliverance from any circumstance that prevented communal existence. This might be political circumstances (Persian defeat of Babylon was seen by Isaiah as Yahweh’s salvation of Israel), but can exist to such matters as poverty, disease and slander”. (Wikipedia)

Spiritualists say, “We believe that the nature of humankind is to be good, not evil. We do not believe in sin and repentance, only spiritual progression by natural law”. Spiritualists believe that sin is no more than wrong decisions, wrong actions and thoughts. Decisions that have gotten a person into some kind of trouble and they need to do something about them, here or hereafter”. Otherwise, Natural Law tells us that we will make restitution for our wrongs in this life or the next. If a person is practicing personal responsibility and “doing unto other as we would have them do unto us”, we are following the Principles of Spiritualism, Natural Law, and the teaching of Christ.

Sin [An act that is regarded by theologians as a transgression of God's will] a big word used for centuries to control and keep under control an ignorant un-educated people. The priesthood for countless centuries was in total control of society determining who would live and who would die, who would be saved and who would not. Not being saved meant that a person would spend all of eternity in hell, a place of eternal fire and punishment.

“Spiritualists believe that each and every person is responsible for his or her own happiness or unhappiness on Earth. We all create our own experiences. Therefore, if you live by the adage: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, you can expect either happiness or unhappiness, depending on how you live your life, how you take care of yourself; and how you treat others”.

“The belief that we are all Spirit and that Spirit is God is central to Spiritualism. Spiritualists don’t believe that members must be “saved” and Spiritualists don't go out trying to “save” anyone. The Spiritualist viewpoint is about saving oneself and the belief that we are all responsible for our own salvation, happiness and unhappiness”.

“After physical death the spirit lives on in the Spirit World which is divided into a number of "planes" varying in character from heaven as conventionally understood to hell as conventionally understood”.

“Spiritualism has a basis of salvation by works – the actions in this life determining the relative position or "plane" in the Spirit World attained by the spirit immediately after physical death. But it does not end there as the spirit can progress to "higher" planes within the Spirit World. This progression is based on actions – aided by other denizens of the Spirit World – and thus renders salvation available to all. Believers in reincarnation basically accept this also with the addenda that a combination of the actions of the physical life, and afterwards in the Spirit World, leads to the appropriate station in a new physical life.” [Writings of Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp.]

Salvation is a gift of God to His children through Jesus Christ – a gift for all, not just a few. I would like you to understand that God, Infinite Intelligence, is a God of love, not a God of wrath. God has always made a way for his children to come to Him. God loves us even in our sinful ways and will never depart from us. God is within, not external to us.

In the Appendix to “Our Life After Death” the appendix is written in support of Universal Salvation is which the writer talks about how some words the original Greek New Testament were miss-interpreted to agree with the theological beliefs of the church. Today, the new translations from the Greek have had a number of those words translated correctly so that the true meaning of the Greek is used. The original Greek New Testament never used eternal to say that man would spend an infinite length of time in hell and punishment. The word eternal was never used. The original Greek used words that had a time limit to them even if that time limit was a very, very long time. How long? The Greek writers never indicated, but that it is not an infinite period of time. The original Greek New Testament also talked about ALL God’s children would eventually be saved and return to His presents.

The Bible when the original text is properly translated always represents God as a loving God and He, through Jesus Christ sacrifice, provided a means for ALL to return to Him. This is something that Spiritualists do believe and teach. Even the mediums of the late 1800s when asked, while in trans, about Biblical things, always gave a true interpretation of the Bible text, not that which was given and taught by the church.

So we say, all of humanity whether an individual becomes a “born again Christian, or not, will be save.