Spiritual is a Philosophy because it studies the Laws of Nature both on the seen and unseen side of life and bases its conclusions upon present Observed facts. It accepts statements of observed facts of past ages and conclusions drawn there from, when sustained by reason and by results of observed facts of the present day.
This is the primary principle that guides the path work. At first glance, this principle is sometimes hard to accept. It seems so much easier to accept even defeat if only one can blame the circumstances or bad luck on other people's faults.
Accepting the law of personal responsibility wipes out self-pity, resignation, passive endurance, smoldering resentments against the injustices of life, and the masochistic game of harping on one's case against life.
Yet this apparently hard law is the most hopeful, encouraging, liberating, and strengthening truth of all truths. It enables you to resolve whatever problem you may have. It opens up life with all its rich possibilities. It forces you to see things in their true light and, uncomfortable as this may first seem, it leaves you with a lot more self-respect, integrity, and hope than the helpless resignation to circumstances life is supposed to bring about without your doing. It makes defeat unnecessary because it also removes, among other things, your childish illusion of omnipotence, which is just as unrealistic as the illusion of being life's passive victim. Accepting your own limitations and the limitations of others increases your power to direct your life meaningfully.
The law of personal responsibility is the guiding principle in the search for the root of your obstructions. Contemplating the fulfillment or the lack of it in your life gives you a blueprint of the areas where an inner corresponding attitude is responsible for either. This approach is diametrically opposed to the usual way, but it is indeed a reliable and truthful one that must always lead to results, provided you go deeply enough and are truly honest in the endeavor.
1henever you arrive at a juncture on the path from which there seems no way out, or where you cannot see how to change, how to resolve the problem, you can be quite sure that you have not yet found an important tool to unlock the door, no matter how profound previous insights and changes may have been. A total insight always shows the way out. Thus, recognitions can be differentiated. Are they of the kind mentioned here? Or are they merely leading to them? The former always give a sense of joy, liberation, hope, strength and light. They infuse new energy into your system. The latter may have a temporarily debilitating effect on the personality. The former enable you to recognize the most unflattering facts about yourself without in the least diminishing your sense of worth and integrity -- on the contrary, this sense increases. The latter type burdens the insight with guilt.
When you have experienced the difference between these two types of recognition, you can protect yourself from hopelessness, or at least realize that the hopelessness is in itself a sign that the way out has not yet been found. Rather than weakening you, the hopelessness can then be an incentive to surge on with all your vigor until the real way is open.
When you finally see that an unfulfilled longing or painful conflict of long standing is the result of an inner attitude with concomitant behavior patterns, you are no longer a helpless tool in the hand of fate. If such an attitude is completely seen, observed in action, and accepted for what it is, you may still be unwilling to give it up -- for whatever reasons and misconceptions -- but at least you see a vitally important connection between your inner life and the outer manifestations of it. It is then possible to embark on a special search for the reason why you so stubbornly hold on to a destructive attitude.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Truth
Truth is a subject in which every one has an opinion. Webster’s Dictionary says that truth is (1) the true or actual state of a matter. (2) Conformity with fact, or reality.
A person often expresses their truth in a conversation, but because something happens during the conversation, we can misread what was being said and a big problem can suddenly exist.
How do we express truth in our daily conversations? Do we express ourselves bluntly? Are we too subtle in the way we express our truths? Can this be the source of misunderstanding? Do we “read” into others truth what they really didn’t say or mean? Is it possible that we sometimes miss interrupted the truth? I believe that there is more truth expressed in, conversations, than “meets the eye”.
How often have you been in a conversation with another person and think that they said one thing, when they really said something else? Perhaps, we were distracted for a brief moment and missed something. This causes us to misread the truth that the other person was trying to express during the conversation; we missed the point. Could it be possible that a momentary distraction may put us into a problem situation? It is our responsibility to stop, ask questions, and ponder what it was that we thought was said. In this way, we can get a better understanding of what it was they were trying to convey.
All of us want to be understood and express ourselves so that others understand us, and that we are not misunderstood.
I believe that we are all in the same boat. We just don’t ask questions and we don’t try to understand other people. If a person says to you “you said that...” We MUST be ready to get to the truth by talking it over.
The other day, I emailed a friend that he was acting in a certain way and that “I just didn’t know what to think”. Did I really understand him? Did he really understand me? Was his truth something that we both missed? Possibly, but I really don’t know. He never returned my email, or called me to express his understanding of the situation, so that we could come to an understanding. It is indeed sad when we try to express ourselves to other people and they just don’t understand us. I hope that I am not being too blunt and that I am expressing myself clearly in a truthful way.
I hope that this short article will make you think a little and take the time to make calls, emails or even write a letters to others you may have misunderstood in order that the truth can come out. Maybe a friendship can be saved because they now understand you, and you them. The truth must always be expressed.
A person often expresses their truth in a conversation, but because something happens during the conversation, we can misread what was being said and a big problem can suddenly exist.
How do we express truth in our daily conversations? Do we express ourselves bluntly? Are we too subtle in the way we express our truths? Can this be the source of misunderstanding? Do we “read” into others truth what they really didn’t say or mean? Is it possible that we sometimes miss interrupted the truth? I believe that there is more truth expressed in, conversations, than “meets the eye”.
How often have you been in a conversation with another person and think that they said one thing, when they really said something else? Perhaps, we were distracted for a brief moment and missed something. This causes us to misread the truth that the other person was trying to express during the conversation; we missed the point. Could it be possible that a momentary distraction may put us into a problem situation? It is our responsibility to stop, ask questions, and ponder what it was that we thought was said. In this way, we can get a better understanding of what it was they were trying to convey.
All of us want to be understood and express ourselves so that others understand us, and that we are not misunderstood.
I believe that we are all in the same boat. We just don’t ask questions and we don’t try to understand other people. If a person says to you “you said that...” We MUST be ready to get to the truth by talking it over.
The other day, I emailed a friend that he was acting in a certain way and that “I just didn’t know what to think”. Did I really understand him? Did he really understand me? Was his truth something that we both missed? Possibly, but I really don’t know. He never returned my email, or called me to express his understanding of the situation, so that we could come to an understanding. It is indeed sad when we try to express ourselves to other people and they just don’t understand us. I hope that I am not being too blunt and that I am expressing myself clearly in a truthful way.
I hope that this short article will make you think a little and take the time to make calls, emails or even write a letters to others you may have misunderstood in order that the truth can come out. Maybe a friendship can be saved because they now understand you, and you them. The truth must always be expressed.
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Fourth Dimension
I have been reading a book by Dr. David Y. Cho titled “The Fourth Dimension”. This is an interesting book because it shows how we on this physical plane work with spirit. In the book, Dr. Cho says that the fourth dimension is where the Holy Spirit dwells. He said that the second dimension includes and controls the first dimension, and the third dimension includes and controls the second, so the fourth dimension includes and control the third dimension, producing a creation of order and beauty. The spirit is the forth dimension. Every human being is a spiritual being as well as a physical being. They have fourth dimension as well as the third dimension in their hearts. So men, by exploring their spiritual sphere of the fourth dimension through the development of concentrated visions and dreams in their imaginations, can brood over and incubate the third dimension, influencing and changing it. This is what the Holy Spirit taught me”.
Dr. Cho continued by saying “yoga and Buddhist believers could explore and develop their human fourth dimension, their spiritual sphere; with clear-cut vision and mental pictures of health they could incubate over their bodies. By natural order the fourth dimension has power over the third dimension, and the human spirit, within limitations, has the power to give order and creation. God gave power to human beings to control the material world and to have dominion over material things, a responsibility they can carry out through the fourth dimension. Now unbelievers, by exploring and developing their inner spiritual being in such a way, can carry out dominion upon their third dimension, which includes their physical sickness and diseases”. However, he goes on to say that “the fourth dimension of non-believer (believer is Christ) belongs to Satan; the human spirit joins up with the spirit of the evil fourth dimension, and with the evil fourth dimension they carry out domination over their bodies and circumstances.”
As I read of Dr. Cho’s description of the fourth dimension, I became more and more convinced that he is talking about the same dimension that we Spiritualists work with when we prepare ourselves to give messages. However, as I continued to read, I noticed that Dr. Cho divided up the fourth dimension into the dimension of the Holy Spirit and the dimension of Satan. How can good and evil occupy the same place at the same time? He never talks about that.
As I read the book I began to understand more and more how much Christianity confuses God’s creation by miss interrupting the Bible. Christians use the Bible to back up their, in so many cases, nonsense. They forget that God does spell out in the Bible his plan for humanity and that He is a God of Love. It was through strong persuasion that God worked with the Old Testament nations, even if it meant that those nations had to be captured and sold into slavery to other countries. It is a fact that God has given us total free well and it is our responsibility to use that right for our highest good and the highest good of our fellow man. However, we continuously “fall down on the job” and make mistakes that are beyond understanding. But when we take a careful look at those mistakes, we find that they were for our highest good and that through them we learn and grow spiritually.
Healing also comes from the fourth dimension when in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. By changing our visions and dreams, we carry out dominion over this third dimension material world. Yes it is through our imagination, our visions and dreams”.
Dr. Cho continued by saying “yoga and Buddhist believers could explore and develop their human fourth dimension, their spiritual sphere; with clear-cut vision and mental pictures of health they could incubate over their bodies. By natural order the fourth dimension has power over the third dimension, and the human spirit, within limitations, has the power to give order and creation. God gave power to human beings to control the material world and to have dominion over material things, a responsibility they can carry out through the fourth dimension. Now unbelievers, by exploring and developing their inner spiritual being in such a way, can carry out dominion upon their third dimension, which includes their physical sickness and diseases”. However, he goes on to say that “the fourth dimension of non-believer (believer is Christ) belongs to Satan; the human spirit joins up with the spirit of the evil fourth dimension, and with the evil fourth dimension they carry out domination over their bodies and circumstances.”
As I read of Dr. Cho’s description of the fourth dimension, I became more and more convinced that he is talking about the same dimension that we Spiritualists work with when we prepare ourselves to give messages. However, as I continued to read, I noticed that Dr. Cho divided up the fourth dimension into the dimension of the Holy Spirit and the dimension of Satan. How can good and evil occupy the same place at the same time? He never talks about that.
As I read the book I began to understand more and more how much Christianity confuses God’s creation by miss interrupting the Bible. Christians use the Bible to back up their, in so many cases, nonsense. They forget that God does spell out in the Bible his plan for humanity and that He is a God of Love. It was through strong persuasion that God worked with the Old Testament nations, even if it meant that those nations had to be captured and sold into slavery to other countries. It is a fact that God has given us total free well and it is our responsibility to use that right for our highest good and the highest good of our fellow man. However, we continuously “fall down on the job” and make mistakes that are beyond understanding. But when we take a careful look at those mistakes, we find that they were for our highest good and that through them we learn and grow spiritually.
Healing also comes from the fourth dimension when in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. By changing our visions and dreams, we carry out dominion over this third dimension material world. Yes it is through our imagination, our visions and dreams”.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Convince Who? by Richard Rowley
I have come to realize the hard way that we can’t change people’s beliefs by reasoning and argument. We can’t tell and evangelical or a born again Christian that the Bible is not the word of God, or that they are not going to be saved by Jesus in the way they think,, when they believe that Jesus has turned their life around or that they have a personal relationship with God. We can’t bring doubt to them, nor take away their comfort blanket without incurring a lot of anger and hate – their defensive reaction is powerful, and sometimes dangerous.
I have a close relative who is now a born-again Christian, and that person has cursed me many times and says I will rot in hell. Similarly, when I carelessly mentioned to a Jewish lady that Jahweh is only a local mountain volcano god, I incurred her wrath and venom, and it was impossible to continue the discussion. In the same way fundamentalist Muslims can’t take a joke – how many people have been killed in riots over the Danish cartoons, and earlier, Salman Rushdie produced a similar reaction from one glib remark in his Satanic Verses.
We can’t persuade true believers of the many Hindu gods that they are imaginary, or that the African and South American religions which believe in various spirit entities are merely invoking and materializing thought forms, or their own mental creations. The Spiritualist group in Toronto which create “Philip” demonstrated this. In the same way, Tibetan monks can produce a “tulpa.” These spirits or gods can be quite powerful and sometimes dangerous, since they do attract low level malevolent spirits which increase their power for mischief and even murder. The amount of havoc created depends on the motives of the priests and worshippers. We can see what happens in wartime just by taking a look at history – for example, Germany and the Nazis in WW II, or Cambodia and Rwanda, when negative beliefs were backed up by equally dangerous spiritual forces which got out of control.
This downside of religion and belief systems has for the most part been avoided by Spiritualists, Spiritists, Buddhists, Bahai's and some other sects, since they provide a tolerance and middle path between various philosophies. The South American Catholics, with their Day of the Dead, the Chinese and Japanese, with their ancestor worship, and a acceptance by a large percentage of the world population of some aspect of the theory of reincarnation, provide an opening toward a more tolerant view of humankind's belief systems.
Once we get past the various superstitious beliefs in many gods, entities and spirits, and look into the concept of one God and supreme intelligence above all others, we move into uncharted, unfathomable waters, and they are too deep for us to investigate with our present mental equipment. I for one prefer to keep out of the discussion with atheists and materialists, and just demonstrate what I know of the river of life, close by, with contact with our loved ones, friends and guides in spirit. We will learn more when we join them one day, sooner or later.
But with regard to other people's orthodox beliefs and deep convictions, we can't take away a dog's bone without getting a few savage bites, and a good guard dog will defend his territory to the bitter end. So, can we ever change what we consider to be erroneous or false beliefs in others? I leave the answer open, since I do not know. Perhaps we are here to test our own beliefs, rather than impose ours on others, and make a reality check, and learn for ourselves. We can only continue quietly to demonstrate the truth of life as we know it, and as we see and hear it. Whether we survive these present turbulent times or not, we know that we will survive and continue our work, beyond. I'm sure of that.
Richard Rowley
I have a close relative who is now a born-again Christian, and that person has cursed me many times and says I will rot in hell. Similarly, when I carelessly mentioned to a Jewish lady that Jahweh is only a local mountain volcano god, I incurred her wrath and venom, and it was impossible to continue the discussion. In the same way fundamentalist Muslims can’t take a joke – how many people have been killed in riots over the Danish cartoons, and earlier, Salman Rushdie produced a similar reaction from one glib remark in his Satanic Verses.
We can’t persuade true believers of the many Hindu gods that they are imaginary, or that the African and South American religions which believe in various spirit entities are merely invoking and materializing thought forms, or their own mental creations. The Spiritualist group in Toronto which create “Philip” demonstrated this. In the same way, Tibetan monks can produce a “tulpa.” These spirits or gods can be quite powerful and sometimes dangerous, since they do attract low level malevolent spirits which increase their power for mischief and even murder. The amount of havoc created depends on the motives of the priests and worshippers. We can see what happens in wartime just by taking a look at history – for example, Germany and the Nazis in WW II, or Cambodia and Rwanda, when negative beliefs were backed up by equally dangerous spiritual forces which got out of control.
This downside of religion and belief systems has for the most part been avoided by Spiritualists, Spiritists, Buddhists, Bahai's and some other sects, since they provide a tolerance and middle path between various philosophies. The South American Catholics, with their Day of the Dead, the Chinese and Japanese, with their ancestor worship, and a acceptance by a large percentage of the world population of some aspect of the theory of reincarnation, provide an opening toward a more tolerant view of humankind's belief systems.
Once we get past the various superstitious beliefs in many gods, entities and spirits, and look into the concept of one God and supreme intelligence above all others, we move into uncharted, unfathomable waters, and they are too deep for us to investigate with our present mental equipment. I for one prefer to keep out of the discussion with atheists and materialists, and just demonstrate what I know of the river of life, close by, with contact with our loved ones, friends and guides in spirit. We will learn more when we join them one day, sooner or later.
But with regard to other people's orthodox beliefs and deep convictions, we can't take away a dog's bone without getting a few savage bites, and a good guard dog will defend his territory to the bitter end. So, can we ever change what we consider to be erroneous or false beliefs in others? I leave the answer open, since I do not know. Perhaps we are here to test our own beliefs, rather than impose ours on others, and make a reality check, and learn for ourselves. We can only continue quietly to demonstrate the truth of life as we know it, and as we see and hear it. Whether we survive these present turbulent times or not, we know that we will survive and continue our work, beyond. I'm sure of that.
Richard Rowley
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Stepping Up To The Plate
He stepped up to the plate, cocked the bat over his left shoulder and waited, and waited, and waited…
As the batter stood there waiting for the first pitch, the crowd roared and yelled with expectation, he saw the ball traversing the space between him and the pitcher. He was ready. But as he waited for the ball to arrive for him to hit, it just disappeared. The ball just disappeared. The batter looked out to the mound expecting to see the pitcher there. He was shocked to find that there was no pitcher on the mound. As he lowered the bat, the crowed became quiet – everyone looked to the umpire – but he was gone too. The batter looked around the basemen and to his surprise, the plates were empty. All of the basemen were gone. There was no one in the out field; there was no longer a pitcher on the mound, no fielders and no umpires. Then the batter remembered that just a few moments before he had heard the crowd yelling. He looked around, because everything seemed to be so quiet. To his surprise, the bleachers were empty.
What happened? Where did everyone go? Why was he alone on a baseball field that just moments ago was filled with people? The bases had all of their basemen, the fielders were in place and all was at the ready for the first pitch that signaled the start of the game.
As you may have guessed it was only a dream and yet a dream that so many of us have had. A dream of being the star of the game.
Life can be like that, we expect that something is going to happen were we become a star player, and even believe that everything has been done to bring about the expected end. But nothing happens, or if it does, we are disappointed with the results. Something just got in the way.
I have written a number of articles in the past year that were meant to provide the reader with something to think about. Out all those articles, it seems that some people who read them are only capable of responding with negativity. Why? I don’t know. Maybe they think that I have an “axe to grind” and that I’m attempting to take out on them my problems, instead of them looking at themselves and thinking about their actions in light of the article’s subject. The pitch was sent to the plate, but how many of us are ready to receive the pitch? Did you make the ball disappear on the way? It was not the ball that was pitched that was the mistake, maybe it was just the subject. It hit too close to home.
My pitch is, for the spiritually-oriented person to know how to receive a pitched ball. It is by knowing the truth that the ball represents and its ultimate meaning, that a home run can be hit without being caught at the last second and the home run spoiled – hence misunderstanding.
Can it be that they “just don’t get it”? They just don’t get the message? Is it possible that the problem is someone else’s and really has nothing to do with them? Hummmm
As a minister, it is my duty to try and remind people that it is their time at bat and that its time for them to think beyond what seems to be, and think more about what is really happening in their lives. To think about their place on the batter mound and to think about their life in relationship to the teachings of the ball known as the Bible, the Koran, or another scriptural book they believe in. It is also my duty as a Spiritualist minister to remind people who say that they are on a spiritual path, that they are expected to act in a certain way. Not my way, but in the way that the Principles of Spiritualism express.
Each time a person attends a Spiritualist church’s devotional service, they repeat the seven, sometime more, Principles of Spiritualism that the church believes in. Principles, that if followed are as valuable as the teachings of the Bible’s “Ten Commandments” and the message that Jesus tried to get over to his disciples. But how many people really believe in the Ten Commandments or even accept the teachings of Jesus? How many people truly believe in the Principles of Spiritualism? As a Spiritualist minister, I can say that I believe in both the Ten Commandments, the teachings of Jesus and the Principles of Spiritualism. If I didn’t, I would not be an ordained minister.
It doesn’t really matter how good a person believes they are. It doesn’t matter if they even believe that they are always right and everyone else is wrong. It doesn’t matter if they believe that they are on a spiritual path or that they are a good Christian or Spiritualist. What matters is what they truly believe and how they show it in their actions.
The Law of Cause and Effect is always in operation and it holds within it the judgment of ones true self. The Law is aware of all of our secrets and the life that we display to others. The Law knows if we are truly good or only kidding ourselves. It makes sure that you and I will never get away with anything in this life – actions and thoughts whether verbalized or not. If we do not take the appropriate actions here and now to right our wrong thoughts and actions, the law will take the appropriate action for us. The Law will take the appropriate action here or here after – this is a fact. Why wait?
Let me tell you about my older brother. My bother believed that he was a good person and a good Christian and would automatically go to heaven when he died. Well, when he got to the place he believed was heaven, he found out that he was not able to claim his rightful place there because he had wronged so many people here in this physical world. He came to me through a medium friend who said that “my brother was asking me to forgive him for all the wrongs that he did to me while he lived in the physical so that he could advance in spirit world. He needed my forgiveness because it was holding him back”. As a Spiritualist and Christian I gladly gave him my forgiveness. I believed that he would then be able to advance spiritually. To me, this was proof; not only of the continuity of life, but that someone I grew up was able to learn what I had already learned as a Spiritualist. The Law is truly in effect and that a person must do what is right here before they will ever be able to advance in the spirit world of light, when they leave this world.
I know what is in my heart. I know what I have to do here in order to minimize the effects of the Law. I know how to practice what I preach and what I believe in and whom I believe in. I am an ordained minister and it is my duty to remind you of what the mediums of yesterday have told us about what they learned and about what happened to them when they died – what they had to do in order to advance to the spirit world of light and beyond. I don’t really expect you to step up to the plate and hit a home run, but I do expect you to stop being a person who has forgotten how to be spiritual and/or Christian and think about how the Law of Cause and Effect is effecting you. Are you going to hit the ball that has been pitched to you? Or is it that your ballpark is just an allusion – just a dream?
As the batter stood there waiting for the first pitch, the crowd roared and yelled with expectation, he saw the ball traversing the space between him and the pitcher. He was ready. But as he waited for the ball to arrive for him to hit, it just disappeared. The ball just disappeared. The batter looked out to the mound expecting to see the pitcher there. He was shocked to find that there was no pitcher on the mound. As he lowered the bat, the crowed became quiet – everyone looked to the umpire – but he was gone too. The batter looked around the basemen and to his surprise, the plates were empty. All of the basemen were gone. There was no one in the out field; there was no longer a pitcher on the mound, no fielders and no umpires. Then the batter remembered that just a few moments before he had heard the crowd yelling. He looked around, because everything seemed to be so quiet. To his surprise, the bleachers were empty.
What happened? Where did everyone go? Why was he alone on a baseball field that just moments ago was filled with people? The bases had all of their basemen, the fielders were in place and all was at the ready for the first pitch that signaled the start of the game.
As you may have guessed it was only a dream and yet a dream that so many of us have had. A dream of being the star of the game.
Life can be like that, we expect that something is going to happen were we become a star player, and even believe that everything has been done to bring about the expected end. But nothing happens, or if it does, we are disappointed with the results. Something just got in the way.
I have written a number of articles in the past year that were meant to provide the reader with something to think about. Out all those articles, it seems that some people who read them are only capable of responding with negativity. Why? I don’t know. Maybe they think that I have an “axe to grind” and that I’m attempting to take out on them my problems, instead of them looking at themselves and thinking about their actions in light of the article’s subject. The pitch was sent to the plate, but how many of us are ready to receive the pitch? Did you make the ball disappear on the way? It was not the ball that was pitched that was the mistake, maybe it was just the subject. It hit too close to home.
My pitch is, for the spiritually-oriented person to know how to receive a pitched ball. It is by knowing the truth that the ball represents and its ultimate meaning, that a home run can be hit without being caught at the last second and the home run spoiled – hence misunderstanding.
Can it be that they “just don’t get it”? They just don’t get the message? Is it possible that the problem is someone else’s and really has nothing to do with them? Hummmm
As a minister, it is my duty to try and remind people that it is their time at bat and that its time for them to think beyond what seems to be, and think more about what is really happening in their lives. To think about their place on the batter mound and to think about their life in relationship to the teachings of the ball known as the Bible, the Koran, or another scriptural book they believe in. It is also my duty as a Spiritualist minister to remind people who say that they are on a spiritual path, that they are expected to act in a certain way. Not my way, but in the way that the Principles of Spiritualism express.
Each time a person attends a Spiritualist church’s devotional service, they repeat the seven, sometime more, Principles of Spiritualism that the church believes in. Principles, that if followed are as valuable as the teachings of the Bible’s “Ten Commandments” and the message that Jesus tried to get over to his disciples. But how many people really believe in the Ten Commandments or even accept the teachings of Jesus? How many people truly believe in the Principles of Spiritualism? As a Spiritualist minister, I can say that I believe in both the Ten Commandments, the teachings of Jesus and the Principles of Spiritualism. If I didn’t, I would not be an ordained minister.
It doesn’t really matter how good a person believes they are. It doesn’t matter if they even believe that they are always right and everyone else is wrong. It doesn’t matter if they believe that they are on a spiritual path or that they are a good Christian or Spiritualist. What matters is what they truly believe and how they show it in their actions.
The Law of Cause and Effect is always in operation and it holds within it the judgment of ones true self. The Law is aware of all of our secrets and the life that we display to others. The Law knows if we are truly good or only kidding ourselves. It makes sure that you and I will never get away with anything in this life – actions and thoughts whether verbalized or not. If we do not take the appropriate actions here and now to right our wrong thoughts and actions, the law will take the appropriate action for us. The Law will take the appropriate action here or here after – this is a fact. Why wait?
Let me tell you about my older brother. My bother believed that he was a good person and a good Christian and would automatically go to heaven when he died. Well, when he got to the place he believed was heaven, he found out that he was not able to claim his rightful place there because he had wronged so many people here in this physical world. He came to me through a medium friend who said that “my brother was asking me to forgive him for all the wrongs that he did to me while he lived in the physical so that he could advance in spirit world. He needed my forgiveness because it was holding him back”. As a Spiritualist and Christian I gladly gave him my forgiveness. I believed that he would then be able to advance spiritually. To me, this was proof; not only of the continuity of life, but that someone I grew up was able to learn what I had already learned as a Spiritualist. The Law is truly in effect and that a person must do what is right here before they will ever be able to advance in the spirit world of light, when they leave this world.
I know what is in my heart. I know what I have to do here in order to minimize the effects of the Law. I know how to practice what I preach and what I believe in and whom I believe in. I am an ordained minister and it is my duty to remind you of what the mediums of yesterday have told us about what they learned and about what happened to them when they died – what they had to do in order to advance to the spirit world of light and beyond. I don’t really expect you to step up to the plate and hit a home run, but I do expect you to stop being a person who has forgotten how to be spiritual and/or Christian and think about how the Law of Cause and Effect is effecting you. Are you going to hit the ball that has been pitched to you? Or is it that your ballpark is just an allusion – just a dream?
Friday, March 20, 2009
New Ministers and Their Duties
The Church of Spiritual Illumination Ministry Course is an interesting course on the duties and expectations of a minister, not only at church services, but the life of a minister in general. However, it is difficult for a home study course to go into the depths that a number of courses offered by a university can give.
The course will wet your appetite to learn and study more of the true role of the church’s pastor, minister, administrator, or counselor for the spiritual well being of the church and its congregation.
I know that very few ministers, myself included, will become a counselor, or even administer a church as its pastor, but the course does give a few of the necessary tools that a minister will need in order to perform his/her job.
When a person becomes an ordained minister their whole outlook on life will change. The new minister must take on the mantle of being one of God's ministers, taking on the responsibility of helping those around them to find their spiritual path and to help them grow to their spiritual best in light of spiritual truth.
The Ministry course will show the new minister that the important things in life don’t stem from what they already know, but what they need to learn. Becoming a minister will force a person to step up to the challenge of helping others and take on the mantle of true leadership by accepting who they truly are. The new minister will often find that they have personal problems that can interfere with their new role as a minister. These things must be dealt with and put into their proper place (often not an easy thing to do).
Ministers cannot play favorites with people in the church or even with people they call their personal friends. They must learn that they have a responsibility to treat all people equally with love and respect. With that being said, a minister is only human and they do have their own way of looking at things and people and how they deal with them.
If a minister’s friend has a problem with another person, it might be advantageous for the minister to have a talk with their friend and try to help him/her work out their differences. It is not the job of the minister to take sides and interject his/her own prejudice into the situation, this can only make things worst.
The new ministers have to keep in mind that they are not only representing the Church, but God as well. This will challenge the new ministers to become their personal best, and then they can help others achieve their best by leading by example.
The Ministry Course talks about counseling a young couple who has asked the minister to conduct their marriage ceremony. As a minister it is often the duty of the minister to counsel the couple on what to expect of marriage, (marriage is a serious decision to make). The minister may even talk about the possibility of divorce and especially what can happen in the marriage after the children start to appear. And the minister may be able to give advice to the young couple on how to handle their inevitable disagreements, etc.
The minister may even be asked to conduct a funeral, how to counsel the surviving family member(s) and how to prepare to conduct the funeral.
As new ministers walks their path they must remember that they have a mission in life, and be prepared to administer that mission. The new ministers will never stop earning their title “Reverend” – for the day they stop acting as a minister is the day they should “turn in their collar”.
This is only a part of what the Ministry Course is all about.
The course will wet your appetite to learn and study more of the true role of the church’s pastor, minister, administrator, or counselor for the spiritual well being of the church and its congregation.
I know that very few ministers, myself included, will become a counselor, or even administer a church as its pastor, but the course does give a few of the necessary tools that a minister will need in order to perform his/her job.
When a person becomes an ordained minister their whole outlook on life will change. The new minister must take on the mantle of being one of God's ministers, taking on the responsibility of helping those around them to find their spiritual path and to help them grow to their spiritual best in light of spiritual truth.
The Ministry course will show the new minister that the important things in life don’t stem from what they already know, but what they need to learn. Becoming a minister will force a person to step up to the challenge of helping others and take on the mantle of true leadership by accepting who they truly are. The new minister will often find that they have personal problems that can interfere with their new role as a minister. These things must be dealt with and put into their proper place (often not an easy thing to do).
Ministers cannot play favorites with people in the church or even with people they call their personal friends. They must learn that they have a responsibility to treat all people equally with love and respect. With that being said, a minister is only human and they do have their own way of looking at things and people and how they deal with them.
If a minister’s friend has a problem with another person, it might be advantageous for the minister to have a talk with their friend and try to help him/her work out their differences. It is not the job of the minister to take sides and interject his/her own prejudice into the situation, this can only make things worst.
The new ministers have to keep in mind that they are not only representing the Church, but God as well. This will challenge the new ministers to become their personal best, and then they can help others achieve their best by leading by example.
The Ministry Course talks about counseling a young couple who has asked the minister to conduct their marriage ceremony. As a minister it is often the duty of the minister to counsel the couple on what to expect of marriage, (marriage is a serious decision to make). The minister may even talk about the possibility of divorce and especially what can happen in the marriage after the children start to appear. And the minister may be able to give advice to the young couple on how to handle their inevitable disagreements, etc.
The minister may even be asked to conduct a funeral, how to counsel the surviving family member(s) and how to prepare to conduct the funeral.
As new ministers walks their path they must remember that they have a mission in life, and be prepared to administer that mission. The new ministers will never stop earning their title “Reverend” – for the day they stop acting as a minister is the day they should “turn in their collar”.
This is only a part of what the Ministry Course is all about.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Friends
Friends are people who believe in the same things you do, go to places you go to and enjoy the same kinds of hobbies.
Friends will be with you through thick or thin, the good and the bad. They’re there when you need them and always seem to know when you are in need of their comforting presents.
You can tell a friends anything and discuss things with them that you would never talk to anybody else about, not even you wife or husband or a co-worker. You know they know how to keep a secret.
You may have met your best friend when you were in grade school, at the ballpark or at work. Maybe your mother was best friends with your friend’s mother, or your father was best friends with your friend’s father.
People even meet their best friend in the most bizarre way, like at an accident or during a jury trial, on a trip to another country.
Friends keep in touch with each other even if they live hundreds or thousands of miles away.
My Grandfather had a childhood friend who moved from Pennsylvania to California when they were both very young. Thirty-five years later, they met again when my parents moved to California and my Grandparents went out there for a visit.
Best friends are like precious jewels that never tarnish or get lost in the back of a dresser drawer or sold to be lost forever.
I wonder whether you have contacted your friend for a while? I wonder if you don’t believe that that friend is really a friend anymore? I wonder if you believed that the person you called friend was really a friend to begin with? I wonder.
I can wonder all I want and it will make no difference whether the person I called friend is still my friend even if I haven’t seen or talked to him/her in a long time. Maybe it’s time for a reuniting with that person to give us a chance to become better friends. I wonder.
Spiritualists take personal responsibility for their daily actions very seriously and make every effort to make friends and keep those friends without judging them or their beliefs. The Law of Association when understood and distributed appropriately can establish true brotherhood/sisterhood, which is in direct relationship to our second principle “we believe in the brotherhood of man.”
Spiritualists know and understand the Law of Cause and Effect, which is related to the Law of Karma both, are always in action. By also being aware of the Law of Attraction we know that what we sow, we reap and will never get away with anything we do that is anything but good. Spiritualists take care to always give the other person the benefit of the doubt and strive to learn the fact of the matter before they make any kind of judgment. They try never to make judgments that will destroy a friendship.
Spiritualists understand the Golden Rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We know that the Law of Truth is closely linked to the conscience of humans, and encompasses the knowledge and understanding of right thinking, acting, and living. This law encourages us to search for greater awareness; as a result, we strive to know the truth of all things. It is a law of guidance, for it helps us tell right from wrong.
All of the above laws are directly related to our relationship to other people and especially with friends. We know that we have a responsibility to others and to Infinite Intelligence, the Source of all Creation..
Friends will be with you through thick or thin, the good and the bad. They’re there when you need them and always seem to know when you are in need of their comforting presents.
You can tell a friends anything and discuss things with them that you would never talk to anybody else about, not even you wife or husband or a co-worker. You know they know how to keep a secret.
You may have met your best friend when you were in grade school, at the ballpark or at work. Maybe your mother was best friends with your friend’s mother, or your father was best friends with your friend’s father.
People even meet their best friend in the most bizarre way, like at an accident or during a jury trial, on a trip to another country.
Friends keep in touch with each other even if they live hundreds or thousands of miles away.
My Grandfather had a childhood friend who moved from Pennsylvania to California when they were both very young. Thirty-five years later, they met again when my parents moved to California and my Grandparents went out there for a visit.
Best friends are like precious jewels that never tarnish or get lost in the back of a dresser drawer or sold to be lost forever.
I wonder whether you have contacted your friend for a while? I wonder if you don’t believe that that friend is really a friend anymore? I wonder if you believed that the person you called friend was really a friend to begin with? I wonder.
I can wonder all I want and it will make no difference whether the person I called friend is still my friend even if I haven’t seen or talked to him/her in a long time. Maybe it’s time for a reuniting with that person to give us a chance to become better friends. I wonder.
Spiritualists take personal responsibility for their daily actions very seriously and make every effort to make friends and keep those friends without judging them or their beliefs. The Law of Association when understood and distributed appropriately can establish true brotherhood/sisterhood, which is in direct relationship to our second principle “we believe in the brotherhood of man.”
Spiritualists know and understand the Law of Cause and Effect, which is related to the Law of Karma both, are always in action. By also being aware of the Law of Attraction we know that what we sow, we reap and will never get away with anything we do that is anything but good. Spiritualists take care to always give the other person the benefit of the doubt and strive to learn the fact of the matter before they make any kind of judgment. They try never to make judgments that will destroy a friendship.
Spiritualists understand the Golden Rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We know that the Law of Truth is closely linked to the conscience of humans, and encompasses the knowledge and understanding of right thinking, acting, and living. This law encourages us to search for greater awareness; as a result, we strive to know the truth of all things. It is a law of guidance, for it helps us tell right from wrong.
All of the above laws are directly related to our relationship to other people and especially with friends. We know that we have a responsibility to others and to Infinite Intelligence, the Source of all Creation..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)