Today I'd like to introduce to you a short cut - direct - to experiencing GOD FORCE.Sometimes we forget how lucky we are! The sun is shining, the clouds are racing across the sky, even if it's raining - we're STILL lucky.We're BREATHING! Sometimes luck comes down to a simply thing - LIFE.If we're breathing, we CAN - absolutely - start to ENJOY our life.Simply BECAUSE we're alive.And it starts with - OUR BREATH.THE BREATH.The breath HAS an important role to play, not just in keeping our blood vessels supplied with oxygen-rich haemoglobin, but ALSO as a GATEWAY to higher consciousness.Many people in western cultures have not heard of this crucial system of joy-generation.In the Eastern philosophies, the breath is a fundamental tool for reaching 'Nirvana' - or a state of heaven - while still here in physical bodies.So the concept of Heaven for people in the East is not necessarily a 'when we die' idea.Instead, through simple breathing exercises, people are taught they can instantly CONNECT WITH 'GOD FORCE' immediately - at any time.PROCESS TO EXPERIENCE GOD FORCE.Here is a powerful - and utterly simple technique you can do anywhere, any time to begin to FEEL your own personal connection with GOD FORCE..1.Stop all your activity.Take a moment out of your day to focus, and enjoy a deep experience of God Force.2.Close your eyes and imagine a being of light in front of you.Step into that being and hold that position for a moment - relax into the light bath.3.Now put your 100% attention onto your inflow and outflow of your breath.A.Relax your mind - while focusing completely on your breath.B.Keep observing your breath for at least five minutes.C.That is all the time needed - to start with.4.Make this simple FIVE MINUTE process part of your EVERY DAY routine.5.The reason? Each time you practice this technique - and stay for the full 5 minutes, your consciousness trains itself TO NOTICE MORE of what is truly happening here.6.Your NOTICING expanding past your breath is the point.As you continue to practice, you will gain a SUBTLE AWARENESS that a FORCE is 'pushing' your breath in and out.7.Begin gradually to observe THAT SUBTLE FORCE each time you do this technique.A.This is your GOD FORCE.The practice of observing the breath as an access way to direct awareness of God Force is a many thousand-year-old practice.
Greece is a land of timeless beauty.Wrapped in ancient history and culture, it is a world of discovery and enchantment from exciting Athens to the idyllic Greek Islands.Be amongst the shadows of Olympians, Spartans, and Mythical Gods of past civilizations.Immerse yourself in the modern-day culture and spirit of this legendary part of the world and treat your senses to an unforgettable journey.Discovering Greece on your own can be a very rewarding but tiresome process depending on your level of adventure.In a nutshell, it breaks down to those who just want to experience Athens to the more ambitious who want to include island hopping through the islands of Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, Mykonos, Paros and Corfu to name a few.THE MAINLAND AND ATHENS is the main region of ancient architecture and history.Whether you're into ancient history or not a trip to The Acropolis is a must for any visitor to Athens.A plateau rising almost 300 ft above the city of Athens, it is home to a slew of archaeological remains including The Parthenon, notably the most famous and recognizable Greek Structure.Dating back to 460 BC, these temples and landmarks are true Wonders of the World.A journey back into civilization will lead you to discover temples and statues honoring such gods Poseidon and Athena located on The Erecthion, the most sacred part of the Acropolis.The Acropolis Museum still houses many ancient artifacts and is Other must-see things in Athens and the mainland include. The Theater of Dionysus.Rebuilt in 342 BC, this stone theater was built to honor the God of Wine Dionysus with forms of entertainment and performances in the open air theater.Later expanded by the Romans to host Gladiator Games, it is still occasionally used today for concerts and entertainment.The Temple of Zeus and Olympia.This temple dedicated to the chief of all gods, Zeus, was built between 472 and 456 BC housed the Statue of Zeus and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.Although only a few columns still exist, the remains still portray the massive size of this incredible structure.Also located in Olympia are the remains of the first Olympic Stadium.Mount Lycabettus .A hike up Mt.Lycabettus may be a bit strenuous, especially in the summer; however, you will rewarded for your efforts by an absolutely stunning view of Athens.If hiking isn't your thing, no worries as there is a small train to carry you up as well.Mount Olympus .For the extremely adventurous, conquering Mount Olympus is more of a "to-do" thing rather than a challenge.Home to 12 Olympian Gods, although you don't have to be a god to climb it experienced climbers can do it in a day.Climbing Mount Olympus is one of those out-of-the-way experiences but well worth it.Meteora .The Monasteries of Meteora are in a word spectacular.Perched on peaks and carved out of mountain cliffs, the Monks were initially hoisted to the Monasteries in net baskets although modern-day roads and paths make it easier accessible.The views you'll experience are incredible however don't disappoint yourself by being refused entrance because you didn't dress appropriately.These are monasteries and proper attire is required.ISLAND HOPPING is an extremely popular way of getting a taste of the different regions and experiences in Greece.Each island is unique in its own history and attributes but with literally thousands of islands to explore, the best option is to take a cruise through these most popular of the Greek Islands..Santorini .If there is only one Island you visit, make it Santorini.The island was literally blown apart by a Volcano and left behind a stunning setting for charming cafes, photography, hiking, and beaches.Set atop volcanic cliffs falling into the deep blue Aegean Sea, Santorini is the postcard island with its narrow streets snaking their way amongst the white and blue houses.Very lively, Santorini will not disappoint as it continues to be the most popular destination for Island Hoppers.Consider at least one overnight as the Island comes alive at night with bars, nightclubs and amazing restaurants serving the best of Greek Cuisine.Crete .The largest of the islands, it is also the most varied.From beaches to mountains, Crete offers excellent hiking, excursions to archaeological sites, photography, or just days lazing on the beaches.Mykonos.Quickly becoming a favorite among younger travelers to Greece, Mykonos is just as popular for the shopping, dining and beaches during the day as it is for the electric atmosphere in the numerous nightclubs and bars at night.Mykonos is a prime island for scenery, and beach lovers as well as hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.Rhodes.Shopping, dining and medieval architecture highlight this Greek Island like no other.Narrow alleys with ancient landmarks wind past incredible shops and restaurants.Rhodes is also has an active nightlife to fill your nights after a day of gastronomical pleasure.Corfu.With numerous coves and inlets, Corfu has some of the best beaches in the Greek islands.This scenic island also has varied landscape that will appeal to hikers and photographers alike.And then.There's the Food! It doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing in Greece, culinary delights are plenty.Everything from favorites like souvlaki and gyros to grilled calamari and baklava are only as far away as the closest restaurant and that's always just a plate's throw away.Combined with excellent wines and ouzo, taste is just one more sense that will be satisfied on a trip to Greece.Greece is a land of many opportunities and discoveries.The best way to see everything is with through a tour operator that offers everything from a-la-cart for those who want to go at their own pace or just spend time in Athens, to full island hopping cruises and escorted tour packages to experience all of the beauty of Greece.
Ezekiel is one book of the Bible that has confused and bewildered many a Christian scholar.The messages of this book are very bold, dramatic and clearly defined, so it's not the message that catches one off guard.It is how God delivers the message to the prophet Ezekiel that one finds very bizarre.Nowhere in the Bible, except in the books of Daniel and Revelation, does any writer come close to the visions of God like Ezekiel.It is not unusual for people to call Ezekiel crazy, or for them to say that no one could ever understand what God was doing in this prophet's life.Unfortunately, these comments are typical of people who have limited understanding of how and why God speaks the way He does.We will prove that not only was the prophet Ezekiel sane, but for the times and seasons in which he lived, he was seeing portions of God in His Fullness.Let's call it experiencing God in HD; Heavenly Definition.This is the sharpest image available to men and women on earth who are not only obedient to God, but these are those who place no limits on how God chooses to communicate with his creations on earth.In our world of technology, the latest buzz term is HD TV, or High Definition Television, where the images are so sharp that it's like being there.This is supposed to be the most ultimate television viewing experience available.Now, if you really want the most ultimate vision experience that God has, then the Interactive Heavenly Definition is for you.But be warned, that Ezekiel described seeing God's body encased like fire, John in Revelation said God's eyes were like fire, and of course Moses saw God in a burning bush.Are you ready to meet the God who appears like fire to human's on earth.In HD? Well, if you're not, don't worry about it.In this writer's experience with HD visions, when God does appear as fire, it is because of a specific call and purpose; just like it was for Ezekiel, Moses and John.God had an urgent and vital message for these men to speak to his people (the church).Whether you are called to the office of the prophet or not, anyone can experience God in HD, by opening their hearts (the receiver) and minds (the transmitter) to the Spirit of God through prayer, fasting and meditation of scripture.Be warned.Do not seek visions or dreams from God.Seek to know more about God and his love and purpose for you.Then he will respond in the manner he feels you can handle.And, if you seek God with your whole heart, you are automatically tuned for HD, and it will come when God feels it is necessary.Remember God is holy; he does things according to his will, not ours.Now, that we have you prepared to receive, let's talk about the advantages of HD experiences.In the case of Ezekiel, the visions appeared during a time of extreme darkness for the people of God.They had been taken captive by the fiercest of their enemies.Ezekiel was also among the captives.They were all in the same predicament, so what would motivate Ezekiel to speak or incline the people of God to listen to him? In their hour of darkness, confusion and pain, the people needed an explanation of what was happening, and they needed direction on how to proceed from where they were.And this is where Ezekiel had an edge over all the other captives.God appeared to Ezekiel in His Glory to explain why the people were to be held captive and what they had to do to change the situation.When you have lost a job, a home or a loved one, what do you do? Who can make things right? Many people are suffering around the world, due to poor economic conditions, political upheavals, and threats of terror from their enemies.The realities of life are presenting some of the most impossible living conditions and the future looks bleak.So you need a solution for you and your family? Change your perspective and see things as God does.If is impossible for us, you better believe that God has a solution.So ask him to reveal what's going on and what you need to do, and he will.My first HD experience came when my 3-year-old son was kidnapped by his father during a week-end visitation, many years ago.I was weeping on the floor, and in my weakness I cried out to God.I wanted to know why he let this happen.And God responded boldly by telling me that he was in control of the situation.Then he told me that my disobedience caused this and other things to occur in my life.You, see, I married the man, God told me to stay away from.When I repented, two things happened.In a vision, it was if God's hand came out of heaven and it enclosed my heart.When it did, the love of God filled my entire being.At that moment, I knew I was forgiven.Then later that week, while attending a prayer meeting at a friend's church, I had another HD vision.As my body became very warm and a screen appeared and my spirit leaped into the screen where I find myself and my son swimming in soothing warm waters.The vision was so clear that I could feel the water on my skin.The vision continues as my son and I look up and exit the water, and a man's hand is there to help us.The minute we touched the man's hand, my son and I were clothed in white robes.The man, also wearing a white robe, placed us on his white horse and we all rode off together in joy.The man was Jesus, and his horse had a green laurel upon its head.This vision gave me peace and understanding enough to carry the 17 years it took before my son and I were reunited.And, no matter what the naysayers and the doomsayers were speaking about me and my son, I had heard from God and knew that things were in his control.God will speak to anyone who will completely empty themselves in humble submission before him, and seek his face.It's a place of complete dependence upon God as our source for all we need; whether it is an explanation, direction, or a physical or psychological need.You don't have to wait for the dark times either, God is waiting for us to diligently seek him, anytime.And, if we obey him and yield ourselves to his will instead of our own, we can have the Heavenly Definition (HD) experience every day.
The "big secret" with the law of attraction is that you have to feel good now; before physical manifestation can take place.To live life in a place of constant needing of something that will "make" us happy only keeps us in an vibration of wanting and needing and the universe keeps answering that vibration with more for us to want-- and not "get".It's crucial that you get yourself in a state of mind that is already happy and peaceful and not keep yourself away from what you desire by thinking that "one day, when I have this new job, this great relationship or my million dollars-then I will be happy and fulfilled" because when you think like that you are actually coming from a place of lack and the universe knows nothing about lack and scarcity.It is abundantly rich, and so are you-- so when we seek first to get into alignment with the reality of which we truly are; perfect, whole and peaceful (and yes; WEALTHY too.-), only then can we "get" what we desire the easy way."Seek ye the Kingdom first.And all things will be added unto you".From a place of peace not only are we attracting our highest good, which includes joy and freedom, but we are also hearing our inner voice more clearly and we are more likely to make the right decisions for ourselves.We can't hear the voice of the Holy Spirit when we are holding ourselves in fear and worry.Fear only blocks us from our good, so let it go, if only for today, and then again tomorrow-one day at a time.One step in the right direction taken consciously every day puts our good intentions out there and the universe will respond to that.If our goal would only to be to seek peace first, or the feeling of happiness, all things would easily flow to us, because we are now facing in the right direction of the flow of life; and not striving to "paddle upstreams" as Abraham Hicks puts it.-).Manifestation is not something we have to strive hard for at all.We are to only step into the flow of natural abundance; the alignment with God if you will.So make this day a day when you put your happiness on the top of your list; do things that feels good to you and forget about the hows of your dreams.Stop struggling with trying to make things happen, relax, let go for a while, and focus on the why of your dreams, and feel the feeling of already having that which you desire- Now.Get yourself to Peace.That's where you can find all the good stuff waiting for you!.-D.
God promised a life of love, wisdom, and quiet confident strength and will never repent or change.Character firmness binds faithfulness.He acts out of who He is, not out of what He feels.His action restores relationship life in the human experience.Christ Jesus invites all, who with unhesitating trust to confidently live, certain that God's promise leads into Heavenly Life, the superior way of being and living.The way is endless and unchangeable; eternal life.Character in essence and fundamental nature, in type of behavior, in consciousness, and in will, as it is in God, is unchangeable and perfect; immutable.Eternal God is above all and creator of all, and consistent.Science, the knowledge of observable creation facts and its cause, is a systematic arrangement of known facts for human understanding of what God has put in place and upholds in design perfection.Science is subject to change as unseen existing facts enlighten the mind.Mankind manifests complex, changeable, error prone behaviors always subject to fact which, along with will, motivates character adjustment and direction correction.Binding immutability of God is appropriately His character.In God's faithfulness the necessary part which makes people human and not animal, is not only recognized, but honored; non-interference with willful people yet continually encouraging actions beyond body demanding instincts.The promised love, wisdom, and quiet confident strength shown in Jesus are God's intent for people as reasoned and relational in responsive Love; character.Decisively adopting and accepting God's character, each person willingly begins to mature in the eternal fundamental nature and essence of Heaven toward character calmness.God's chosen place of abode for His Spirit is in humanity and together with others is a new corporate body of Christ on earth.Jesus lived God's Spirit while here on earth, but ascended to complete preparation for people as sanctuary for His Spirit's dwelling.This inconceivable Spiritual mystery, preceded by Old Testament foreshadowing and prophesying Jesus' birth, His death, resurrection, and ascension, can only be grasped with insight (revelation) stimulated by the comforting indwelling perfect (Holy) Spirit.Following 10 days of unceasing anticipatory prayer, Heavenly Life (God's perfect Spirit--the Holy Spirit) encompassed the lives of ordinary people.Experiencing loss of the comforting person, followed for three years, folks gathered expecting to receive a new unknown comfort, a new promised comforter--a new insight into God's nature.A new enlivening Spirit of Love, Wisdom, and quiet comforting strength descended, manifesting in a new confident character changing freedom.Many will think of Heaven as a place where God is; as a place of entitlement with hope of going there when death happens.Scripture outlines Heaven as a life which lasts forever and of God's closeness now; the relational experience for every day, hour and minute.Jesus said the 'relational' Kingdom is at hand, now as well as future.Feeding and clothing the widows and orphans is now.Only out of the gift of God's Spirit, can the true character of God be manifested here on earth; God's eternal will.People are happy to pray "thy Kingdom come on earth" without the immanence realization of this daily prayer; thy Kingdom comes on earth "as it is in Heaven" with a human element; willingness.From ones relationship with Father God, to relationship with another, God's character appears on earth.Spiritually quickened Word seeds, stored in each heart, responsively returns to memory to plant in the receptiveness of another.The sprouting 'true' human loving maturity in the world is the place Jesus promised to prepare for each person's unique growth.From Father God's Holiest presence, beyond the veil of fleshly desires, Christ Jesus sends the Spirit of God into spiritually bankrupt (fallen) humanity to transform the heart into a holy sanctuary.Fellowship with Father God, in His Spirit, lights the maturing heart's pathway to faithfully invest heart fellowship in others.Relationship with God and relationship with others successfully concludes in reconciliation; Heaven's Joy and Peace experience.Prayer. Father God I have accepted your Spirit Life into my spirit by believing and confessing that Jesus is the Christ.I now want to have my heart condition transformed by renewing my mind in your Word.I want to mature in the place where I live, to become more like Christ, consistent in word and deed with others.I want your Kingdom done on earth through me.Forgive my immaturity; for not preparing my heart.I want my heart as your heart; focused on relationships in your Spirit.Thank you, your guiding and teaching Spirit is my comfort.Amen.Keith Gaebel, Being Godly in an Ungodly World 2011.
In the generations that followed the Great Flood, there was a tower built in the land between the rivers, the land of Shinar, perhaps better known as Mesapotamia.This was the Cradle of Civilization, located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the area of modern day Iraq.It was there that men became quite advanced.Hebrews Chapter 11 reveals the hope of Abraham.He was looking forward to a city "whose architect and builder is God." (1) But men became impatient waiting for the city God would build so they took upon themselves the task of building a city.It would be a city built, not to bring glory to God, but to satisfy the desires of the human flesh."Let us make a name for ourselves", they said.(2) Has that not been the theme of man down through the ages? I walked into our new multi-million dollar public library in Columbus, Georgia recently.Near the entrance I saw a plaque with the names of major contributors to this community structure.It is fundamental to a race of fallen men to have an urge to "make a name for ourselves." It is the basic tenet of humanism; stealing glory from God and elevating man.The Tower of Babel was a religious tower.The purpose of its construction was to reach God.But their motive was corrupted by their desire to make a name for themselves.There is a corner stone on many churches I've seen."Erected in the year ________, to God be glory".As the years pass, the glory of God fades from the institution while the centrality of man emerges.In a God-centered church the purpose of music is to bring glory to God, in a humanistic church the purpose o music is to entertain people.A God-centered church has a God-centered pastor whose primary goal is to preach for the glory of God.A humanistic church wallows in spiritually shallow waters with a pastor who is often humorous and can entertain people with catchy quotes and funny stories.Humanism has so invaded our culture that God has been relegated to a back burner.We are not atheistic, atheism leads to a despair that few can endure for any length of time.Many in the American culture are more interested in calling the shots when it comes to God.God is placed on a shelf to be reached for at our own convenience.Our "don't call us, we'll call you" attitude toward God indicates that we think ourselves more important than he.The words of the Psalmist are foreign and confusing to us, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God." (3) Our callings to God are now limited to 911 calls.We have little thirst for God but we are quick to pull him off the shelf if we are experiencing a crisis in our lives.I have read recently of three people in the state of Georgia who are suffering from an infection called Necrotizing fasciitis.One of those is Aimee Copeland who has had one leg amputated at the hip and her fingers removed in an attempt to save her life.This is a horrifying disease for which there is no cure.Humanism as infected our culture and the church like a flesh eating disease.The spirit of the church is being consumed by a philosophy that makes the happiness of man a priority and conveniently ignores the glory of God.Liberalism in the church flowered in the mid-1800's.Charles Darwin explained away the role of God in creation.Humanist philosophers taught that the chief end of man's existence was his own happiness.Religious liberals embraced the cancer of humanism when they declared their uncertainty about the existence of God, heaven or hell.Their unbelief made it impossible for them to offer any hope beyond our earthly existence so they began to address the happiness of man in this world.They offered a watered down version of Christianity that focused on the happiness of man in this life.The doctrines of sin, eternal life and hell were avoided and the focus was on "Your Best Life Now.".A movement arose in answer to the liberals of that day and they called themselves fundamentalists.But humanism is not selective in its choice of victims and fundamentalism also became a victim of the deadly virus of humanism.Fundamentalists grew as a conservative movement because of their common beliefs in holding to the traditional teachings of the word of God.They defined themselves as those who belief in the divinity of Christ, the creation, the holiness of God and the authenticity of the Bible.If you believed in this list of essentials you were labeled a conservative fundamentalist.In successive generations, fundamentalists began to teach that one might be saved by simply giving mental assent to a list of basic scriptural doctrines.The measure by which one became a Christian was not the confessing of sin and experiencing a Holy Spirit- induced soul cleansing.The evidence of one's Christianity was a simple vocal affirmative to a few basic questions regarding the nature of God.A radical change in one's lifestyle was no longer associated with true Christianity.A card carrying Christian was no longer expected to demonstrate righteous living or freedom from the bondage of sin.Experiential Christianity was thrown out the door in favor of a simple "I believe.".Liberalism set about focusing on this life instead of the next life.The assortment of social programs developed to improve the lives of the masses are too numerous to mention.Great declarations were made about eliminating poverty, drugs and war.But their utopian goal was shattered when the First World War erupted and men set about to destroy one another.The War to End All Wars was followed by another horrendous war and men began to question the idea that the heart of man is essentially good.Then men proved how short their memories are and liberalism made another great comeback.L.B.Johnson declared his War on Poverty.The flower children of the 1960's demanded the end to all war.Liberalism continues its march through the modern age.Al Gore seems nearly insane and certainly delusional in his attempt to create a better earth.Our first lady is strongly dedicated to manipulating the diets of our children.The liberal says that man must be made happy while he lives on this earth.The fundamentalist says that man must be made happy in the afterlife.Both have succumbed to the primary teaching of humanism. the happiness of man.When a fundamentalist preacher declares that a person ought to accept Christ so that he can escape the fires of hell, or so he can live in eternal bliss, is he not focusing on the humanistic idea of the happiness of man? Should men not accept Christ because he "deserves to receive the reward of his suffering.".Christ did not walk away from the glorious splendor of heaven and submit to the humility of humanity solely to make us happy.Christ did not drag his cross to Golgotha and allow the Romans to pierce his hands with spikes and his side with a sword only to make us happy.Believing that or preaching that is replacing God with man as the central purpose of our salvation.Does this not border on blasphemy? Did Christ not go to the cross and die for men because it was the only way men might be saved and thus bring glory to God.It wasn't so much about saving us from hell or making us happy in heaven, it was all about bring glory to God.How many today get saved as a way of making a deal with God? It is true that salvation comes with benefits but the benefits are a byproduct.Modern day ministers will one day be accountable for the steady stream of lies that come from their pulpits.We are no longer being told that sin corrupts the soul.We are no longer told that the grace of God can bring deliverance to hungry hearts.Instead, we are being fed a steady stream of heresy.We are being told that if we accept Christ he will make us millionaires, he will cure our diseases and dedicate himself to our happiness.We are being sold a bill of goods.Humanism teaches us to look for human solutions to human problems.We are the most over-medicated society in history.We run to counselors instead of running to Christ.We read self-help books written by pop-psychologists instead of turning to the word of God.If we would only turn to the right source we could find a cure to alcoholism, to drug addiction, to sex addiction and to dysfunctional families.But all of this is frosting on the cake.The true motive for submitting to Christ should not be "to make a name for ourselves" or for our own happiness, it should be because doing so is the only possible way an earthly soul can bring glory to a deserving God.1.Hebrews 11.10.2.Genesis 11.4.3.Psalm 42.1.
Spiritual power is available for those willing to learn how to use it and improve it.Just like we can increase the power of our minds and bodies to improve our life, we can increase our spiritual powers to manifest abundant prosperity in all areas of life.Spirit, Soul, and Body.We are three-part beings; spirit, soul (mind), and body.It is normal for people to go to school, study, and take classes throughout life to improve their minds and intellect.It is also a common practice for people to learn how to strengthen and condition their bodies for improved physical strength.These are all good things that improve our overall quality of life and ability to have growing prosperity.But what about the spirit part of our being? How easy is it to ignore that part of us that we cannot see, touch, or feel?The thing is; even though the spiritual realm is invisible it still affects our physical world.The condition of our spirit can be strengthen and improved, just like our mind and body, and it also directly affects the quality of our life.So if you have been neglecting this part of yourself, today is a good day to reconsider the power of the human spirit.Spiritual Power.What part of you doesn't grow old? Your inward man, your spirit; it is renewed day by day and never ages."Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." -- 2 Corinthians 4.16.It is vital that you realize the Kingdom of God is inside you and operates through your spirit.As a child of God it was your spirit that was born again of the Spirit of God.You now have the life of God in you, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.When the Greater One is working inside our spirit it is capable of providing everything we need in this life, whether it be spiritual, physical, or financial.It can produce it, lead us to it, or cause it to come.However, we need to learn how to tap into this power and allow our spirit to operate effectively.Operating in the Spiritual Realm.Our own spirit knows more than our intellect.It is our spirit, inside us, that is the real us that is in contact with God and knows all about our needs, failures, and strengths."For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him." -- 1 Corinthians 2.11.If we learn to tap into the power of our spirit by seeking first the Kingdom of God and studying His Word, we can tap into the wisdom of God and have all things added to us and prosper.God's system will produce abundance when we are diligent to work the system.It requires getting His Word into our heart and spirit and not just our intellect.Why? Because it is a spiritual operation.We can plant it in our spirit and start it growing by confessing something such as the following daily..'I give and it is given unto me.I sow bountifully and reap bountifully.My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.'.When we begin to operate in the spiritual realm, we empower ourselves with a positive force that wards off negative attacks.This positive, spiritual, faith force works on a higher realm than the physical realm and causes the abundance of God to manifest in our lives even if others are in lack.Truth is. Knowing how to operate on a higher spiritual realm is worth discovering.When we operate in the realm of the spirit with God, we will find His wisdom and empowerment to bring us growing prosperity on earth.May you operate on a higher spiritual realm and live a life of growing prosperity!
Heaven is a place on earth.Does that raise questions.Sound absurd? Is it possible to experience a moment on earth that's just like heaven? Only you can know for yourself.Not believe for yourself.But know for yourself.Keep reading.Heaven may be closer than you think.A big tough samurai warrior once went to see a little monk."Monk," he said, in a voice accustomed to instant obedience, "teach me about heaven and hell!" The monk looked up at this mighty warrior and replied with utter disdain, "Teach you about heaven and hell? I can't teach you anything.Look at yourself.You're dirty.You smell.Your blade is rusty.You're a disgrace.Get out of my sight." The samurai was furious.He trembled and his face turned red with rage; he raised his sword, preparing to slay the little monk."That's hell," the monk said softly.The samurai was completely taken back.He took a deep breath, deeply moved by the compassion and surrender of this little man who had offered his life, to give this teaching, and show him hell! He slowly lowered his sword, filled with gratitude, and suddenly peaceful."And that's heaven," said the monk.After reading the above story in a book called How Can I Help, I immediately thought how much we are like the warrior when something unpleasant happens and we get angry.Our upset fills us with inner turmoil and gives us an experience of life that we describe as "going through hell".If that's where we are left when upset, it's not where we must stay.Many people use the saying, "This is a slice of heaven on earth" to describe a beautiful place, experience, or time when they are present to what only God could create and make possible.Describing life that way is not normally what we do on a day-to-day basis.Watching your child being born, standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon, and other amazing experiences, aren't regular occurrences for most of us.However, that doesn't mean we can't experience life as "a slice of heaven on earth" on a day-to-day basis.The key is being present to what God has created and made possible -- day-in and day-out.Since God is love and we are created in His image, when our way of being encompasses love (patience, kindness, gratitude, gentleness, forgiveness, etc.), we experience the Kingdom of Heaven because we experience the presence of God, but only if we recognize the opportunity.Recognizing and experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven is only possible in the present moment.Experiencing life as, "just like heaven" arises from our Godly way of being.Right now; Not our human way of being.Here's what I mean.Consider the two fundamentally different ways of being, from which we live our lives.God's way of being shines through when we are being. Loving, Accepting, Grateful, Faithful, Trusting, Forgiving, Hopeful, Joyful, Helpful, Caring, Generous, Giving, Compassionate, Kind, Patient, Understanding, Humble, and Authentic.The human reactive way of being shines through when we are being. Hateful, Judgemental, Ungrateful, Fearful, Worried, Anxious, Distrustful, Resentful, Angry, Full of Despair, Miserable, Distraught, Uncaring, Selfish, Unkind, Impatient, Self-Righteous, Prideful, Inauthentic, and Fake.As you can see, how much or how little we experience God and "heaven on earth", depends on our way of being.When our reactive ways of being run rampant, we experience separation from God, just as the the warrior did.In our suffering, the Kingdom of Heaven seems far, far away.We fail to realize that God isn't missing from our life.Rather, our reactive ways cause us to miss God's presence.In missing God's presence, we also miss the Kingdom of Heaven.On the other hand, when we reflect a Godly way of being, we are in harmony with God.As a result, we experience God's presence and peace and naturally describe life as."just like heaven.".Today is a part of everlasting life.Heaven and hell are words that can describe your experience on any given day.If you ever describe yourself as "going through hell", take a deep breath and do what you must to adjust your way of being so you can experience the other side -the Kingdom of Heaven.Right here on earth.
God promised a life of love, wisdom, and quiet confident strength and will never repent or change.Character firmness binds faithfulness.He acts out of who He is, not out of what He feels.His action restores relationship life in the human experience.Christ Jesus invites all, who with unhesitating trust to confidently live, certain that God's promise leads into Heavenly Life, the superior way of being and living.The way is endless and unchangeable; eternal life.Character in essence and fundamental nature, in type of behavior, in consciousness, and in will, as it is in God, is unchangeable and perfect; immutable.Eternal God is above all and creator of all, and consistent.Science, the knowledge of observable creation facts and its cause, is a systematic arrangement of known facts for human understanding of what God has put in place and upholds in design perfection.Science is subject to change as unseen existing facts enlighten the mind.Mankind manifests complex, changeable, error prone behaviors always subject to fact which, along with will, motivates character adjustment and direction correction.Binding immutability of God is appropriately His character.In God's faithfulness the necessary part which makes people human and not animal, is not only recognized, but honored; non-interference with willful people yet continually encouraging actions beyond body demanding instincts.The promised love, wisdom, and quiet confident strength shown in Jesus are God's intent for people as reasoned and relational in responsive Love; character.Decisively adopting and accepting God's character, each person willingly begins to mature in the eternal fundamental nature and essence of Heaven toward character calmness.God's chosen place of abode for His Spirit is in humanity and together with others is a new corporate body of Christ on earth.Jesus lived God's Spirit while here on earth, but ascended to complete preparation for people as sanctuary for His Spirit's dwelling.This inconceivable Spiritual mystery, preceded by Old Testament foreshadowing and prophesying Jesus' birth, His death, resurrection, and ascension, can only be grasped with insight (revelation) stimulated by the comforting indwelling perfect (Holy) Spirit.Following 10 days of unceasing anticipatory prayer, Heavenly Life (God's perfect Spirit--the Holy Spirit) encompassed the lives of ordinary people.Experiencing loss of the comforting person, followed for three years, folks gathered expecting to receive a new unknown comfort, a new promised comforter--a new insight into God's nature.A new enlivening Spirit of Love, Wisdom, and quiet comforting strength descended, manifesting in a new confident character changing freedom.Many will think of Heaven as a place where God is; as a place of entitlement with hope of going there when death happens.Scripture outlines Heaven as a life which lasts forever and of God's closeness now; the relational experience for every day, hour and minute.Jesus said the 'relational' Kingdom is at hand, now as well as future.Feeding and clothing the widows and orphans is now.Only out of the gift of God's Spirit, can the true character of God be manifested here on earth; God's eternal will.People are happy to pray "thy Kingdom come on earth" without the immanence realization of this daily prayer; thy Kingdom comes on earth "as it is in Heaven" with a human element; willingness.From ones relationship with Father God, to relationship with another, God's character appears on earth.Spiritually quickened Word seeds, stored in each heart, responsively returns to memory to plant in the receptiveness of another.The sprouting 'true' human loving maturity in the world is the place Jesus promised to prepare for each person's unique growth.From Father God's Holiest presence, beyond the veil of fleshly desires, Christ Jesus sends the Spirit of God into spiritually bankrupt (fallen) humanity to transform the heart into a holy sanctuary.Fellowship with Father God, in His Spirit, lights the maturing heart's pathway to faithfully invest heart fellowship in others.Relationship with God and relationship with others successfully concludes in reconciliation; Heaven's Joy and Peace experience.Prayer. Father God I have accepted your Spirit Life into my spirit by believing and confessing that Jesus is the Christ.I now want to have my heart condition transformed by renewing my mind in your Word.I want to mature in the place where I live, to become more like Christ, consistent in word and deed with others.I want your Kingdom done on earth through me.Forgive my immaturity; for not preparing my heart.I want my heart as your heart; focused on relationships in your Spirit.Thank you, your guiding and teaching Spirit is my comfort.Amen.Keith Gaebel, Being Godly in an Ungodly World 2011.
Valentine's Day.The day I try hardest not to look like a gerbil (difficulty level 5) approaches.I take five online 'How Romantic Are You?' tests and do not score highly.This is a shock.I pride myself on being the 12th least emotionally stunted comedian in the country and (arguably) the second most romantic after Jack Dee.True, it has never occurred to me to leave my husband an 'I-love-you-have-a-great-day' post-it note under the toilet seat but surely 'You are spiritless and dead' (MySpace) is over-stating it?I like the dinner and compliments side of Valentine's Day, it's the thoughtful extras that stress me out.I have experienced few things more frightening than being led blindfold by a fruitcake Valentine into a dimly lit room full of balloons.I would genuinely prefer to come home to a bed with 'I drown squirrels' spelled out on it in Refreshers than one strewn with rose petals.Producing anything more complicated than a heart-shaped fried egg on Valentine's Day should be a sackable offence.Fortunately my husband agrees.He's still hard to buy for.What to get for an amateur arsonist who is terrified of dog poo and whose favourite film is Mrs Doubtfire? I did find combustible false breasts with wire bristles for Christmas.I hope I don't get roses again.How to receive roses graciously. Lesson One.Receiving roses graciously is so hard the University of Ham is now offering it as a degree course so what follows is a very simplistic overview.Say "ohTHANKYOUtheyresoBEAUTIFUL!" with meaning, inhale deeply and pretend they smell of something.You must not then leave them in the sink - unwrap them immediately and attempt to hack the bottom section of the stems off at an angle with your kitchen scissors.Although this will be akin to cutting an Action Man's leg off with a Twix you must persist as whipping out bread knives and shears etc will make you look unfeminine and scare your Valentine.As will screaming 'sh*t me' when the thorns get stuck in your thumbs.Do not hammer the stems with a meat mallet in front of your Valentine for the same reason, also because it kills the flowers.N.B.If your roses do not come with rosefood you CANNOT, it turns out, make your own by tipping caster sugar into the water instead, though this is a fun way to grow Quorn.Try to put your roses in something classy, like a vase or spaghetti jar.Using a decapitated Matey bottle may seem ungrateful.If you are still excited about your evening after all that then you may be experiencing lurrrve and will probably get distracted and forget to put any water in and your roses will wizen.Oh well.Thank God I don't live in America where Valentining is such a serious business people who score twos on 'How Romantic Are You?' quizzes are left in swamps to be eaten by alligators.My husband and I may never do Valentine's on a pink horse, pockets jammed with doves but deep down we're very romantic.Maybe very deep down and maybe romantic in the way a homophobe may, deep down, one day, turn out to be gay.But we're up for the 14th.We like each other.We have a copy of this catalogue.And we can tango.*The 15 best days. Anniversary (1), Christmas (2), Enjoyable family/friend Birthdays (3,4,5,6), Bringing baby home from hospital (7), Baby sleeps through night (8), Give baby lemon (9), Baby says 'Mama' (10) and Dada (11) for first time, tadpoling day (12), duvet day (13), bier festival (14) sporting events (15).
For some of the most inexplicable reasons, anxiety threatens to kidnap our day, perhaps because of a couple of residual concerns.What should be, at least in theory, a relaxing or manageable day turns out to start as a struggle.There are two ways a day like this will end. as a struggle we endured; or, a struggle we overcame.This article is about that latter outcome.It's about finding the specific way to think and act differently.Here, below, are three strategies to consider..FINDING FREEDOM FROM WITHIN OURSELVES.Upon every challenge, especially those that are self-imposed, there is an opportunity to think differently.Finding freedom from within ourselves is taking a moment's psychological breath; experiencing the freedom of mind and heart devolved from the strains of the felt life.This is about feeling safe, however that's arranged, within our core; just being us.Sometimes it's a deliberate mental or emotional escape, even in the midst of grating life.At other times we picture everything we cannot see.Sometimes we can't see past our anxiety and we need to be reminded how narrow our perspective has become.The logic of finding freedom from within ourselves is noticing how faithful God has been right up until this point.We've endured these things before.UNDERSTANDING AND ACCEPTING OUR PERSONAL ANXIETY INSIGNIA.Everyone has anxiety.And the more self-aware we become, possibly the more anxious our dispositions.We become hypersensitive to our feeling and more honest about how and when we feel.On one level this is good; on another there's more pain.Understanding how anxiety enrolls itself upon us - as dictated by our personalities and our experiential backgrounds - is critical in accepting it.It takes courage to accept that a certain anxiety will be ours all our lives.Perhaps it's only when we understand and accept our personal anxiety insignia - how anxiety translates for us, personally - that we'll be more open to the thought of gently and patiently overcoming it.ENROLLING THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRIVILEGE AND THE METHOD OF PATIENCE.We could do with a mode of living that overcomes.When we incorporate a philosophy of privilege - and that is what our lives are. privilege - thankfulness is the situational mandate.From such thankfulness the method of patience seems natural.When we think thankfully, patience becomes more our manner.And life is happier.Patience to suffer well any negative thinking as the philosophy of privilege re-enters our minds ensures panic doesn't take a corrosive hold.And the temptation to panic is tempered by the truths of privilege we allow ourselves to know, afresh.Patience is possible in any moment, and when our days are broken down to these moments it's not difficult to be encouraged to believe in the philosophy of privilege - we're overcoming.We have this difficult life, yet we can overcome the difficulty one step at a time.***.From an outlook of anxiety, when all looks difficult, and within us is a flurry of panic, we can find the freedom that exists within ourselves.We understand and accept our anxiety, and we don't fight it.And we work on the qualities of recalling our privilege and working in patience.We slow down.We smile.We sing, if it helps.2012 S.J.Wickham.
Most people fall quickly into the clone-relationship trap.They come out of a bad experience and think, "Now I'm out of it I'm free to start afresh." The confident ones are able to conjure up a new date pretty swiftly.Others take some time, maybe a little more cautious this time round, perhaps even trying a dating website or club.After a while, they begin to notice the same old issues re-surfacing.Within a short stretch of time, you find yourself sucked into the same disagreement, niggles and patterns as before.This indicator is telling you that you still haven't learned the lessons from your previous relationships.And there is no point blaming your opposite because you cannot in a million years change another person.The only person you can change is yourself.No matter how many times this knowledge is passed on, until it becomes part of your self-awareness practice, you might as well remain celibate or stay exactly where you are.It seems a harsh thing to say but I know this from experience and I know also from experience that taking one hundred percent responsibility for who you are and how you act is virtually guaranteed to bring you closer to the relationship and the person of your dreams.You can try all the dating systems in the world.You might even succeed in finding a partner, but the chances of the relationship enduring are slim to none if you haven't changed some of the characteristics that caused the breakdown of your previous relationships.Give the dating system a chance and some new raw material - your new self - to work with.This is no big secret and it is relatively easy to change a couple of character traits and be a newer you.Try these three.1 - Relax.Nobody likes a desperate 'partner hunter.' This is definitely a pre-qualifier to a destructive relationship.If you are desperate then you may become willing to be a person you think or assume the potential partner would like best.You may be tempted to not be yourself, hiding parts of you for fear they may not like or love you.2 - Take one hundred percent responsibility for whom you attract.If you are thinking, "I want someone who doesn't wake up too early, who isn't untidy, who doesn't snore or have any bad habits" you are likely to attract someone who, over time, displays those qualities or displays similar qualities which give you the feelings you didn't want to experience.This is because you were focusing on what you didn't want.Whatever you focus on, you will get.If you're focusing on a person who doesn't smoke, you are actually focusing on smoking.So, in this instance, you would focus on a person who appreciates clean, healthy living and the chances of attracting a smoker are vastly reduced if not completely eliminated.3 - Remember some of your annoying and self-centred habits from your previous relationship? Eliminate one or two of those and you are on your way to new ways of relating, so long as you replace them with new, positive habits.For example, if you were the one who left the top off the toothpaste and you didn't have a problem with it but your ex did; put the top on and 'voila,' you have changed something."If you want things in your life to change, you have to change things in your life." Brian Tracy.Do some positive work on developing your character and you will attract someone who is doing positive work on developing their character.This is another way of experiencing the Law of Attraction at work and giving yourself more chances of avoiding relationship groundhog day.
Everybody wants to have success in life and wants their children to experience success too.Isn't that what drives us out of bed each morning and keeps us going each day, -- that hope that somehow we are heading for a better life by doing what we endeavor to accomplish day by day?But what is true success about anyway? The media tries to sell us the following image of a successful person. a good looking young business man or woman who is enthusiastically waving their briefcase full of money while they are off to work with a huge smile on their face.In God's eyes this is a very poor view compared to what He has in mind for us.The Bible says that "the blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow to it."(Proverbs10.22).God wants us to have a huge smile on our face while we are about to pull off yet another successful endeavor, and He wants to abundantly bless our finances too.But for Him it doesn't stop there.He has greater plans for our lives.You see, we were not made to just have a good life for ourselves on this planet.True fulfillment only comes once we pass on what God has given to us.These 2 vital keys to Godly prosperity are in harmony with our true human essence, --what we were truly created for in the first place..Number one.Being a good steward over what God has given us. our gifts, our talents our belongings.Number two.And then impacting this world for good in some way with whatever God has put in our hands.Yes, let's pursue success, and yes, let's accumulate wealth by developing our talents to the max.But let's lift our eyes beyond our drive for mere provision.Let's always ask, "God, what is my assignment? What do you want me to do for others while I am here on earth?".Only then will you experience the fulfillment everybody is yearning for so much.
Reality..Reality! It's second nature to us.It is what we live our entire lifetime in and are forever within that lifetime surrounded by.Reality isn't just interacting with matter and energy (and associated forces); ditto time and space, but in lots of less intangible ways like comprehending the names of objects and their nature; dates, and their importance; and places (we've never been to).And there are other concepts you can't really grasp in your hand yet which you'd consider real - like Wednesdays and blueness and freshness.And there are also your mental realities of memories and knowledge and emotions, etc.You often interact with reality in degrees of ignorance just because that reality is just the way things are, and are done, even if you don't know the full evolution of why it came to be that way.But is reality really real in the sense that it would still be an identical reality even if you didn't exist, or yet exist, or that your equivalent halfway across the world, or the Universe or as someone generations ago or to come experiences it? You'd probably agree - surely rain a million years ago has the same wet reality as rain you or your equivalents experience.The stars would still shine even in a lifeless Universe.You believe it, but can you prove it?Reality must also be an individual's experience.You can experience something creative - a painting, a song, a book, a garden, interior decorations, or a work of common or extraordinary architecture.That's one reality.But you can't share or come to terms with the nature of the reality experienced by the creator part and parcel in creating that work.So your perception of reality is somewhat limited.As the song title goes, "Is that all there is?" The answer is "No".Your reality isn't another person's or species reality, and further more, your day-to-day reality is but a small subset of all possible realities, reality here equated to environments, past, present and future and just beyond your event horizon.It's self evident that a NASA astronaut has a quite different day-to-day reality relative to that of an Australian drover who road the range a century before.While you of course have some say in expanding your personal reality event horizon, you could change jobs or move halfway around the world, or win the lottery, some environments and associated realities are forever beyond your reach.You can't experience life a thousand years ago, or in the future; you can't currently live on Mars; if you weren't born an American citizen, even though you're now an American citizen, you can't become President of the United States.Of course if there is such a thing as reincarnation (which I seriously doubt), then you might eventually experience other realities, elsewhere and else-when.Then too, if there is a Multiverse, then in other universes you might just be living and experiencing other lives and lifestyles and times.Who can say?But wait.What if reality is all in the mind - your mind? You are the sum total of all there is.Then anything you want is yours.If you imagine living on Mars, then Mars is your home! Assuming however you're not the be all and end all of life, the Universe, and everything, an associated question might be if you have never heard of it, or experienced it, or imagined it, does 'it' have reality? Even if you have heard, but forgotten about it; experienced it, but not at this very moment; even if you have imagined it, but not currently, does 'it' have reality?Before getting to the nitty-gritty of reality, I'll just point out that there are various components to reality.There are lots of ways those components can be put together - as Black Holes, as planets, even as people.But the most mysterious component of all is probably mind - a construct of reality and by reality that can comprehend reality.You are an example of reality's way of comprehending reality - or some of it anyway!Is Reality Observer Dependent or Independent?One of the most important players in all things quantum is the observer - that person or instrument that makes a measurement will decides between all possible outcomes.Even though the Copenhagen Interpretation says that Mother Nature only makes up Her mind - collapses the wave function of possibilities to a specific outcome - when an observation or measurement is made, and until then all possibilities are, well, possible, then I have to ask, how on Earth (or in the Universe) did anything happen before any life (and associated mind) evolve? Taken to its logical conclusion, the Copenhagen Interpretation would say that prior to the origin and evolution of life, the Universe didn't exist because there was nothing with sensory equipment and a comprehending mind around to observe it and give it existence.[Of course if the Universe (actually Multiverse) has always existed and therefore if life has always existed somewhere or other, that would take care of that little problem quick-smart.] Regardless, how does Nature make up Her mind today in those parts of the Universe where there are no observers? Observers, to my mind, are an irrelevance and while a part of reality, do not determine what reality actually happens.Reality exists - it is what it is and what it is exists independently of any observer or mind or consciousness.Another important player in all things quantum is the concept of probability, or chance, or randomness or uncertainty or indeterminacy.That's in stark contrast to classical physics where all things are predetermined and where cause and effect rule the roost.Now to my manner of thinking, quantum uncertainty, the core of which is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, is only uncertain because there are observers trying to measure things, although fundamentally they can not ever get a precise measurement, no matter how good their instruments are, or ever will be.You can't measure things in the micro realm without affecting the every thing you are trying to measure.However, remove the observer from the picture and things are as certain and predetermined in the micro world as they are in the macro (classical) world.An electron might jump around like a flea as it is pummeled with photons of all wavelengths and energies from radio to gamma, and to an observer trying to measure the electron's position and velocity finds it is always somewhat uncertain, nevertheless, at any specific point in time, it's somewhere with precise coordinates, and it's traveling at a specific velocity.Any radioactive substance decays at a known rate - the half-life.If you have 1000 atoms of a radioactive substance, and the half-life is one year, do you really need to interrupt your holidays after one year to check that there are still 500 radioactive atoms left?Now apparently an isolated neutron will decay into an electron, a proton and (I believe) an antineutrino within roughly ten minutes.If you could put an isolated neutron in an impenetrable box, and put it on your closest shelf, do you really need to open the box - other than to satisfy personal curiosity - ten years later to find out what's in the box? If you believe the Copenhagen Interpretation, there's a possibility that there is still just a neutron in the box.Me, I think that's so unlikely a possibility that you could stake the family fortune on the outcome and win hands-down.To flog a dead horse, the Copenhagen Interpretation says that you have to actually observe something in order for it to have reality.Until you observe, all possibilities are, well, possible.Mother Nature makes up her mind when you observe.But it does seem to be possible to know the reality of something without measuring or observing it because of entanglement, where knowing the state of one object, immediately gives you information on the state of something intimately associated with it, but which you don't actually observe.The Reality of Both Nothing and Something..There has to be some nothing as well as some something.If everything were something, then nothing could move as all the Universe would be chockablock - like the fad of a VW, or a phone booth being stuffed full to overflowing with college kids.You couldn't push anything out of the way as there would be no nothing to push it into!The Reality of Something. Matter & Energy..We live in the world of the macro and in the realm of classical physics - the physics you were taught in high school.Your homes, cars and offices are probably filled with electronic gadgets that operate in the realm of the micro - quantum physics (which you probably weren't taught in high school).You'd think that there should be a smooth and continuous transition from the macro/classical to the micro/quantum, and vice versa, as you go up or down the scale of size.However, I'm hard pressed to think of an example in reality where both quantum and classical physical concepts or laws have to be integrated in order to explain or predict something.Again, it's like there are two different sets of software running the cosmos!That said, the reality of matter and energy in our macro day-to-day existence, while obvious, depends on the reality of the bits and pieces that make up the realm of the micro.So, molecules had better be real, and atoms and the particles that make them up - things like quarks and electrons and neutrinos.Thus, it's disturbing to read in various books on particle and quantum physics that these are treated as point (dimensionless) particles.Presumably this is to make the mathematics easier or simpler (and just pick up an academic text in these subjects, open to a random page, and see what I mean).Clearly a dimensionless particle can not have reality as particles have mass.That implies of necessity that the particles must have size - a volume.If you gather up an infinite number of dimensionless particles, you could fit them into zero volume.Since macro bits and pieces have volume - you have a volume - you can not be ultimately comprised of dimensionless micro bits!Further, we have all these high energy 'atom smashers' (particle accelerators) where the objective is to smash one particle into another at higher and higher energies and see what happens.If the particles, usually electrons or protons, had zero volume, they couldn't collide! Despite phrases like 'point particles', particles really have three dimensions (volume), and thus objects around you, including you, have volume.Particles have reality, and so do you.And because mass and energy are interchangeable, energy has reality.If you doubt that, put your hand on a hot stove!In addition, the very fact that we experience variety in matter tells us that there must be more than one kind of matter.If there were only one kind of stuff - say electrons and only electrons - then everything we experience would be just that stuff; only that stuff; that stuff alone.No variety - it's all things electron! That's clearly not the case, so there's more to matter than just, say, electrons!The Reality of Nothing. Time & Space..Go into a dark, quiet room with no sensory distractions.You know that time is passing all around you, yet you can't detect this time with any of your five senses.You can't see time; hear time; smell time; taste time; or touch time.To detect time, you need some intermediary mechanism - look at your watch; listen to the ticking of a clock; feel your pulse.Translated, to detect time (and by the way ditto space), you need matter/energy which time as some effect on.Put another way, if matter/energy did not exist, the concept of time would be meaningless.(Ditto space - in the absence of matter/energy you couldn't detect space with your five senses.There'd be nothing to see, hear, taste, touch or smell.).Space has no meaning unless there is something inside it, and/or outside it, to give it some boundary and hence reality.If there's no matter/energy, there's no need of any space for it to reside in.So, time and space aren't real without matter and energy.Only matter and energy have reality.Since time and space are meaningless concepts without matter and energy, its nonsense to talk about creating time and space.You'd automatically create time and space if you could create matter/energy.Alas, the conservation laws of physics state that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed only changed in form.Presumably nothing can create matter/energy - certainly no human being has ever done it - and since I reject the concept of a supernatural creator being (God), I'm forced to conclude that matter and energy, therefore space and time, have always existed and will always exist.[Eliminating a creator God from consideration simplifies things no end.].Your Pet's Reality..I'll assume that as your pet (assuming you have one or more), or some other animal you have had a relationship with or observed closely, can't speak for itself or themselves, and as you're totally familiar with your pet's personality, that you're a good spokesperson for them - as good as it's going to get anyway.So, if you were your pet (bird, fish, cat, whatever) how would your perception or knowledge of reality shift - if it does.Firstly there's a near universal reality for all higher life forms - including humans.That universality is expressed in the phrase "empty what's full; fill what's empty; scratch where it itches"!Humor aside let's start with the initial gateways - the senses.We're all aware that our sensory apparatus can and has been exceeded by some animals - including common household pets.Not only is vision more acute in some animals, but extends further into the ultraviolet and/or infrared than ours.Hearing is keener; sense of smell is sharper; pressure gradients more noticeable, etc.Be all that as it may, I can't see that altering basic perceptions of reality in any significant way.Ditto for physical abilities - birds gotta fly; fish gotta swim; horses gotta run.Again, there's nothing significantly different in principle here.The fact that a horse can run faster than you doesn't give the horse a whole different perspective or outlook on the world.Yet, on our home world, there is a life form, with a most alien of realities, at least relative to us or from our perspective.The most alien of realities, from our point of view, must be experienced by that of a fish, even a pet goldfish.Consider, we live for all practical purposes in a two dimensional world - the surface of our planet.Fish live in a three dimensional world.They, for all practical purposes, experience no weather or climate.There's not much temperature variation.They, depending on species and depth, may never experience a day-night cycle, rather live all the time in absolute darkness.They don't experience gravity per say as the water and swim bladders produce neutral buoyancy.From our point of view, I guess, their reality is not only quite different, but certainly more boring - although boring is a rather emotive term.The fish may not have any comprehension of what boring is.So, having a conversation with a fish (a thought experiment obviously) might be about the closest one could come to terms with a substantial alternative reality.Except the absolutes, the basics are still there - survival, food, sex, etc.Reality is ultimately perceived and processed by our brains, and our companion animals have brains, just as we do.Animals have a "The You" component to them.Pets clearly can think, make (to them anyway) intelligent decisions; they can and do dream.They have emotions.They can learn; they have memories.They have a world view.Yet, I'm sure that 99.9% of the time your pets and mine have absolutely no comprehension of what you are doing or why.They may like warmth, but have no idea of what thermodynamics is.They like sex but the purpose and genetics of it all is beyond them.They like food but have no comprehension of agriculture and manufacturing and transport and distribution and money and shopping and all those bits and pieces that put doggie food in the doggie bowl.Yet your activities, warmth, sex, food is of course part of their reality, although not part of their understanding.Now our companion animals are fairly closely related species to us.Felines, of which I have two, have a worldview.However, their worldview, concerns, philosophy, science, etc.Revolves around whether there's food in their food bowl; do they have a clean litter box to access; am I around when required to open doors for them and where are the mice hiding! I often envy their relatively uncomplicated lives.No pondering the great issues like looking at a star and wondering if an alien cat is looking back in this direction; no comprehension of taxes or money so-called compulsory voting or politics.Four billions of years of evolution (assuming an origin of life within 500 million years of Earth's origin) made no demands or requirements for living things to comprehend abstract things like philosophy or science (like cosmology or quantum mechanics) or mathematics, not to mention politics and economics.The sum total of our (meaning life, not just humans) concerns, over those four billion years, our worldview, or our reality, centered on food, shelter, sex and just plain survival.That's also true for the hundreds of thousands of years, all through human evolution, into what we've become now.And that's true today.I'm sure 99.9% of good folks (meaning humans) today pay near zero attention to these abstract non-essentials in their day-to-day existence.It's bad enough that our lives have been enhanced by the abstractions of government and taxes and bills and nine-to-five jobs (or lack thereof).So herein lays my fundamental question.If our companion animals can't come to terms with the Big Picture, ultimate reality, relative to us, but we ourselves are only just that little bit further along in evolutionary (brain-related) advancement (call that advanced IQ or whatever) relative to them, then, what makes you think that the entire vista of reality is comprehensible to you? I sometimes wonder if we're yet fully biologically or mentally equipped to ponder the great abstracts - comprehend the fullness of reality, not just the few bits and pieces that we have come to terms with and think as being the near be all and end all of what's real.Perhaps our worldview of these things are not only limited, but of necessity will be limited.Translated, perhaps further eons yet worth of brain development might be necessary to fully comprehend our reality; what we comprehend currently might be, relatively speaking, just a tiny bit in advance of what our animal friends comprehend! There's a long, long, road to hoe.Personal Reality..For all you know, you might actually be a multi-tentacled, slimy green blob-thing living on the Planet Zork and dreaming that you are a human living on Planet Earth and deriving near infinite amount of civic pride/satisfaction and/or orgasmic pleasure in paying your way (mainly via taxes and rates).Then again, maybe your really Triffid-like, living on some extra-solar hot Jupiter, hallucinating that you're on Planet Zork and consequently dreaming of being a Planet Earth humanoid.Well, maybe not.But be that as it may.It's probably impossible to ever know of experience absolute reality since everything external to us, in order to be experienced, has to be filtered and processed through a complex biochemical laboratory via our eyes, ears, skin, etc.Hence via our nervous system up to the brain.Who really knows what kind of translation happens along the way or what's lost (or wrongly gained) in translation.Our reality might be a total hash of actual reality! But, we do the best we can with what we get to work with.We perceive the reality of the Universe (and its component parts) via our five senses - sight, sound, touch, taste and smell - and through instruments (technology) which, while extending the range of those senses, translate their measurements back into the range we can comprehend with our sensory apparatus.A radio telescope can see and record radio waves, but the (computer or paper) image spat out for our viewing is obviously in the visible light range to cater for our eyes.Ditto our radios translate radio waves we can't see or hear into sound we can hear.While there are probably differences in the perceptions of reality twixt males and females, it's probably also true that these are so minor as to not be really worth elaborating on.No two people ever experience seemingly identical things exactly down to the Nth degree.That is, you and I will not experience vision, hearing, taste, smell or touch in the precise same way.That's quite apart from relativity theory which can illustrate these differences quite dramatically.No, even in our relativity-irrelevant day-to-day life and world, for example, what's blue to someone might appear slightly blue-green to another; what's a perfect C-note to one is ever so slightly sharp (#) to another; what's a hot cup of coffee to one person is only very warm to another, even though the temperature is identical in both cases.Even two people tasting the same food will perceive things slightly differently.Yet clearly the blue/blue-green color has one and only one specific wavelength; the note has one and only one frequency; and the hot/very warm cup of coffee really has just one uniform temperature.[Note that these differences have nothing to do with individual likes or dislikes - that's a separate category of an even more personal 'reality' altogether.].Speaking of temperature, differences in perception extends to instruments which augment our senses as well.We might be able to estimate temperature to within a degree or two.But even two seemingly identical thermometers will register ever so slight differences, perhaps to with 1/100th or 1/1000th of a degree, but differences nevertheless.So what aspects of the Universe do we sense? Well, obviously things that are composed of matter and energy (which are two sides of the same coin).We can see matter and energy, we can hear energy, we can touch matter and experience its energy, and we can smell and taste matter.Yet, those aspects are quite incomplete.Our sense of vision is useless over most of the electromagnetic spectrum.Our sense of hearing is adequate over only a relatively small range of frequencies or octaves.Our reality, apart from vision and hearing is also confined to a relatively narrow range of temperatures, gravitational and magnetic fields, and chemical elements.But we don't sense Earth's magnetic field (though apparently some animals do), which is a tad strange since we can sense or feel the Earth's gravitational field or force.Our senses can't see, hear, taste, touch or smell time, and time is a fundamental aspect to our existence and to the properties of our Universe.And if string or superstring theory is correct, then we exist in a ten or eleven dimensional Universe, yet we can't see, hear taste, touch or smell them.An extra six or seven dimensions to our Universe is not trivial, yet we're not equipped to experience them.That's weird! We've no direct awareness of the quantum world.What would our reality be like at the atomic level or below? I don't know, but it sure wouldn't mirror the comfortable reality we deal with in the macroverse.Although the strong nuclear force holds together all the atomic nuclei in our bodies, we don't feel or sense it, nor for that matter the weak nuclear force.There's strong circumstantial evidence that parallel universes should exist, yet we've no apparent perception of these.We've no perception of what it would be like to experience reality inside a Black Hole, and for that matter, we've only an academic understanding of the reality of the interior of a stellar object, like our Sun, not a personal reality, or for that matter most of the environments in our Universe.Think of all those realities we've never experienced, and probably never can experience.What else might we lack knowledge or perception of that's not yet been dreamt of in our philosophy or science? I shudder to think of all that we're missing!Personal Reality from Two Points of View..Let's return to our favorite imaginary couple, Jane and Clive, one of which sees blue, hears a pure C-note and perceives coffee as hot; the other a shade of blue-green, hears C#, and perceives equally hot coffee as only very warm.Jane is aware of the idea that matter is mostly empty space.Jane knows that neutrinos can pass through light-years of 'solid' lead unimpeded."Why can't I be like a neutrino and pass through 'solid' matter?" she asks.Jane, being a good experimental scientist, decides to personally experiment and test the idea.Both Jane and Clive look up a physics equation, F=ma (force equals mass times acceleration).They ponder this abstract representation linking force, mass and acceleration and how it could be translated into showing that matter was mainly empty space.Jane gets an idea of accelerating a mass (her fist) to provide a force against another mass (say a brick wall), expecting her fist mass and the other brick mass to intersect.[Boy is she going to be in for an unpleasant surprise.] Jane was aware of course that just leaning her hand on the wall wasn't sufficient enough oomph - she needed more force.Anyway, Jane and Clive discuss this practical demonstration of Jane slamming her fist into a brick wall; Clive tries to talk her out of this experiment, but has to capitulate (a woman just has to have the last word) and just observes while a remote camera films the event for posterity.So, we have Jane slamming her fist into a brick wall and Clive watches.We assume that Jane's fist doesn't pass harmlessly through the brick wall - empty space or no empty space.So Jane experiences the physical reality of intense pain; at best black and blue bruising; at worst, broken bones in her hand.Clive of course experiences no such pain (though he'd better show some sympathy or else he just might), but he certainly experiences the intense sound (scream) of Jane's 'ouch'!So one definition of reality could be something along the line, and I'm sure Jane would now agree, is that reality is something that hits back when you hit it! Yet, there's got to be more to reality than that.Later on, we have Jane and Clive watch the film of Jane slamming her fist into a brick wall.Neither Jane nor Clive now experiences any actual pain, yet the mental reality of watching the film will trigger quite different memories in each of the two participants.We have Jane and Clive just think about Jane slamming her fist into a brick wall; we have Jane and Clive dream about Jane slamming her fist in to a brick wall; we have Jane and Clive hallucinate (being somewhat under the influence) about Jane slamming her fist into a brick wall - these are all variations on the same theme.If these mental processes (thinking, dreaming or hallucinating) happened before-the-fact that Jane slammed her fist into a brick wall then that's going to produce quite a different mental image(s) than if these mental processes happened after-the-fact that Jane slammed her fist into a brick wall.So you see, one scenario gives rise to many varieties of reality.There's the abstract reality of the equation.There's the mental reality of what might be.There's the mental reality of what was.There's the physical reality of Jane's pain and Clive's throbbing eardrum! There's the reality of the film to remind them never to try this stunt again!
Rev 21.4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.".One day the trials of this life will cease.There will no longer be any pain in our lives to mourn over.No physical pain to anguish over and no emotional pain to weep over.Jesus will wipe the tears from our eyes and love us into eternity.There will be unending joy because death will be defeated and life will be triumphant.One day.But what about today? What about the pain you and I might be going through right now? Pain from losing someone very close to us to cancer.Financial struggles and the disappointments that come from not being able to provide for your family.The thought of packing up all the bags of clothes and toys and everything you own and moving on yet again.Starting over, broken relationships, shattered dreams.These things are real and they happen to all of us eventually.There is hope that one day the tears will dry up, but until that day what do we do?2Co 1.3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.We seek out our comfort in Him.Jesus is our comfort and our shelter from the many storms that crash upon our shores.Not only in eternity but in the here and now.2Cor 1 tells is that He is the Father of mercies and the God of ALL comfort.He will comfort us when our loved one dies.He will comfort us when we lose heart and don't feel like taking another breath.He will comfort you and me when trouble comes our way unexpectedly.I encourage you to turn over all your affliction to Him.Don't hold back, don't try to fix it, and just trust in Jesus.He always does what He promises, if He didn't He wouldn't be God.Are you needing His comfort today? He is there waiting for you to cry out to Him and put all your cares and trouble on His shoulders.In addition to crying out to Jesus I encourage you to seek a friend who will pray with you today.We all go through trials in our life and Jesus wants us to be comforted and then in turn comfort others.Cry out to Him, pray for healing, and seek out others.Remember the words of Jesus today..Mat 5.4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
The definition of abundance is a very large quantity of something; fullness to overflowing.Many times, when we hear the word abundance, our first thought is money, wealth.Abundance is in every area of our lives and is not limited just to money.Are you "tuned in" to see the abundance that is all around you? Simply shifting your focus to be in a state of awareness allows you to acknowledge and receive the abundance that is in your life, right now, today.Being in a state of awareness.Being in a state of awareness feels great because your thoughts and your feelings are in alignment and you are able to experience the blessings as they are showered upon you.Now you are "tuned in.".You are aware of everything that occurs throughout the day with a renewed sense of gratitude.Here's a personal example of a day filled with abundance..My day started out with a friend of mine treating me to a cup of coffee.(a gift of abundance) I arrived at the office and I had a message that another friend of mine wanted to take me to lunch.(another gift of abundance) At the end of the work day, when I arrived home, a very dear friend of mine called and wanted me to know how much our friendship/ sisterhood meant to her.I feel the exact same way about my friendship with her.Wow, what a day filled with exorbitant abundance!You see, abundance is around us all the time.We get so busy in our day in, day out, routine of life, that we overlook blessings that were given to us that day.We miss out on the joy in receiving the gift of abundance.Starting today, make the shift to focus on being aware of all things in your life.Look with joy and excitement for the abundance that is all around you, right now."Tuning in," being able to experience the many gifts of abundance that are showered upon you everyday, fills your heart and soul with fullness to overflowing.That is "joy rising." I am so thankful for the gift of being able to witness and feel abundance in my life on a daily basis and I know you are too.Staying focused.Each day, you will experience more and more abundance.As you acknowledge the gifts of abundance in your life, be thankful for being in the space to see the wonders and the miracles that are unfolding before your very eyes.When we thank the Universe/ God for our gifts, we will continue to receive more and more.I would like to share another great testimony of abundance..The other day, I went to the store to buy the ingredients that I needed to make my husband and his son a pecan pie.I had found this amazing recipe in a magazine and was excited to make it for them.I shop at one particular grocery store where I live and when I was checking out, I was told that I had earned a free 14lb.Turkey! I was so excited.That too is a gift and I felt abundant!Wow, as I sit at my computer writing this article, my husband just brought me a cup of hot tea.It is great being "tuned in" to see all the abundance that is in my life.I am truly thankful.My heartfelt desire is for you to live your life everyday "tuned in," to receive the gifts and experience the joy in feeling and knowing that YOU are abundant! May your heart be overflowing with large quantities of abundance.
