to think oneself better than others.
Pride is not honor. when a parent is proud of their child. or a person is proud of the job well done, it is not necessary to say that the job I did is better than others. but the job I did Honors myself and my family. or my country.
but when you think that you or anything you have including your character traits, skills, talents, possessions family name etc. makes you better in some way than another person. is the moment that you have stopped loving others and started loving self.
Because I am proud I think I am better than my children. My needs are greater than theirs. My current task is more important than theirs. not so say that I do not care a great deal for my children, but to be perfectly honest, the only reason I ever loose patience with my children, is because I put myself above them. (not a character trait I am proud of just being honest)
The Reality is that my children are my equals. I am a child of God, and so too are they. and while I have a stewardship to care for them while they grow into adults, and I have obligations to raise them unto God, They are in the Eternal nature my Younger Brothers & sisters and nothing less.
so too are all humans on this earth my spirit brothers & sisters. they are all my equals. they are all co eternal with god, they all have the potential to become co-heirs with Christ.
Often I am so wrapped up in my own life that I can end up having a center of the universe sort of attitude. everything is my problem and the world revolves around me. I am in a hurry so everyone should move out of the way. I am angry so everyone should do whatever it takes to make my day better. Days like this are days when the very worst of me appear. and I am ashamed of it!
To bring me back into reality I like to contemplate the lives of those that I pass. as I drive to the store I count the number of houses along the way. and I try to imagine what is going on in the lives of the people who live there. This one probably just lost their job. that one probably lost a loved one. perhaps this one is struggling to have a family. perhaps this one is struggling through a divorce.
When I truly consider those around me I begin to have more love for them. I begin to consider how my actions could impact them. they are just as likely to be having the worst day of their life. and My actions could make their day better, or worse.
remembering also that each action has a butterfly effect on the world around me. consider if I am the 5th car at a traffic signal, and I choose to push the limits and run a yellow/red light and it causes the 4th car in the line to go next to not make it through the light, which puts that car just a few minutes later, those few minutes could be the difference between arriving on time at work. getting into an accident, or something as simple as that person being grumpy because he didn't make the light, and now his good mood switches to a bad mood, and he yells at the teller at the bank and makes the teller's day bad, and the teller grumps at the next person in line who is having a really bad day and that sets them off so the drive away angry cutting off someone on the road. you can see how this could effect a million people literally because I choose to decide that my getting through the light was more important than anything else.
most often i think we do not even consider the repercussions of our actions. and the far reaching effects. if I run a red light and the chain reaction is that a person 10 or even 100 people down the chain decides to beat or kill someone is that my fault? well quite possibly.
a woman I knew once told me I was guilty of the sins of others that make choices based on my actions. and until recently i did not believe this. I always felt like it is not my fault if someone decides to smoke just because they see me smoke. but the truth is. that I am responsible for ALL my actions and the consequences that come from them.
thinking on this. I think that the greatest problem is pride. when I am only concerned with myself and only worrying about my life, then I am putting myself above everyone else in the world. and that is pride.
but if I truly love my neighbor as myself. then I would be concerned about my actions and the effects they might have on the lives of those I interact with, even those that i don't knowingly interact with.
If I truly love others I would do not thing that would cause another stress or frustration, or would cause them to make bad choices because of my example.
the opposite of Pride is Love. I think that Pride is worse than Hate. because before I can hate someone I must think myself better than them.
Love is the greatest thing in the world.
Love is unselfish, Good tempered, wise, Guileless, Happy, Patient, kind, generous, humble, diligent sincere.
God is Love
therefore Be Love, and rid your life of Pride.
Pride in Other religions -
Islam - The disease of pride and arrogance deletes all traces of goodness and piety. This is the worst vice in causing havoc to Deen and a regrettable disease to have for the followers of this perfect and exalted religion. It launches a direct attack on beliefs and principles. If ignored and overlooked for sometime it becomes fatal and incurable, and gives rise to other spiritual maladies and vices, which are no less than four in number, as, mentioned below:
Jewish - Pride is, in the Jewish tradition, among the most serious of the vices, as humility is among the highest of the virtues
Buddhism - A clear distinction needs to be made between what people might call egotistical pride on the one hand and, on the other hand the self esteem and rejoicing in oneself (and others) that is intrinsic to a balanced, enlightened and self actualized being.... make those two meanings clearly distinct and use different terms for them, so that full, unqualified self esteem is never confused with problematical tendencies. This is what needs to replace all the culturally based and dark-force instigated stuff about humility and modesty. Let us stand our full height and tune into such a self view as "I am great, unique and beautiful - you are great, unique and beautiful too".
Bahai - According to Bahá'u'lláh, pride or self-centeredness is one of the greatest hindrances to spiritual progress. Pride represents an exaggerated sense of one's own importance in the universe and leads to an attitude of superiority over others.
Yogi -Again and again does pride, the tempter, come to bother us. Its existence is based upon the
delusion of separateness, which leads us to imagine that we have no connection with other
manifestations of life, and which causes us to feel a spirit of antagonism and unworthy rivalry
toward our fellow beings, instead of recognizing the fact that we are all parts of the One Life—
some far back struggling in the mire of the lower stages of the road—others traveling along the
same stage of the journey as ourselves—others still further advanced—but all on the way—all
being bits of the same great Life. Beware of Pride—this most subtle enemy of advancement—
and supplant it with the thought that we are all of the same origin—having the same destiny
before us— having the same road to travel—brothers and sisters all—all children of God
World Scripture - The correlate of ignorance about Absolute Reality is pride and the inordinate preoccupation with one's own self. Pride and egoism blind one to recognizing transcendent Reality, or even to taking an accurate measure of oneself. Because of pride, a person thinks he is independent and cannot recognize that his very existence is dependent upon Ultimate Reality. He is blind to his relationships to other people
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Thursday, December 9, 2010
A New Thought, mixed with an old one.
I believe that Prayer by any other name is the same thing. and that the power of intention or intentionality is the same thing as prayer. That God has in place tools already that if we desire A and do B Result C will automatically happen. and as such God does not actually individually answers each and every specific prayer, but has already answered them in a cosmic sense. and that Prayer is God's way of teaching us to access the power of intention.
ok I dont think I explained that well but that is ok, I don't think many if anyone is reading this anyways and I know what I mean.
Anyways.
my new thought came while considering that there are those who say that they pray, and they cannot see any direct answers to their prayers. there are several options here generally. 1 they are not doing it right, 2 they are not seeing the answer but it is there.
but I was considering today, that it is interesting that I pray, and most often it is answered so immediately that it could not easily be missed. passed of as coincidences perhaps, but only if you were really stubborn or not putting it together well. For example I prayed that someone would open a door for me while I was carrying big awkward packages and didn't know how I was going to get through without dropping them or setting them down, unless someone opened the door, so I prayed, and the door was opened at the exact moment I arrived and needed it. ok sure the odds are really for me that this could happen. I know that. but the swiftness and sureness of it happening to me are such that I have great confidence when I pray..... another example. I'm ill and in bed I do not want to get up, but the dog pushed through the door (its winter by the way and I'm using a space heater to heat my upstairs bedroom) and that lets in cold air. I'm dreading getting up, and so I close my eyes and silently pray dear God, I know with you anything is possible, can you close the door please.. and no sooner did I end praying that my 14 month old baby gets up from nursing on the bed with me, climbs down off the bed and closes the door, turns around and climbs back into bed with me. now I can't get my baby to do anything I ask him to do so even if he had heard me do it. I also can't get him to stop nursing without screaming until he is finished. this is so much less likely to be coincidence, as really to be quite remarkable.
so thinking about all this and I begin to wonder. is power of intention ie prayer a learned skill or even born talent, that some have the ability to pray more successfully than others. is that why certain friends and associates can not see their prayers answered? but God is not a respecter of persons. so perhaps because I have learned to recognize answered prayers that I see them more easily. or perhaps because I see them and recognize them and are thankful to God for them he is swifter in answering them. the scriptures say something to the effect of God being slow to remember those who are slow to remember him.....
ok lots of thoughts, and that is all they are just thoughts. but I felt like sharing.
ok I dont think I explained that well but that is ok, I don't think many if anyone is reading this anyways and I know what I mean.
Anyways.
my new thought came while considering that there are those who say that they pray, and they cannot see any direct answers to their prayers. there are several options here generally. 1 they are not doing it right, 2 they are not seeing the answer but it is there.
but I was considering today, that it is interesting that I pray, and most often it is answered so immediately that it could not easily be missed. passed of as coincidences perhaps, but only if you were really stubborn or not putting it together well. For example I prayed that someone would open a door for me while I was carrying big awkward packages and didn't know how I was going to get through without dropping them or setting them down, unless someone opened the door, so I prayed, and the door was opened at the exact moment I arrived and needed it. ok sure the odds are really for me that this could happen. I know that. but the swiftness and sureness of it happening to me are such that I have great confidence when I pray..... another example. I'm ill and in bed I do not want to get up, but the dog pushed through the door (its winter by the way and I'm using a space heater to heat my upstairs bedroom) and that lets in cold air. I'm dreading getting up, and so I close my eyes and silently pray dear God, I know with you anything is possible, can you close the door please.. and no sooner did I end praying that my 14 month old baby gets up from nursing on the bed with me, climbs down off the bed and closes the door, turns around and climbs back into bed with me. now I can't get my baby to do anything I ask him to do so even if he had heard me do it. I also can't get him to stop nursing without screaming until he is finished. this is so much less likely to be coincidence, as really to be quite remarkable.
so thinking about all this and I begin to wonder. is power of intention ie prayer a learned skill or even born talent, that some have the ability to pray more successfully than others. is that why certain friends and associates can not see their prayers answered? but God is not a respecter of persons. so perhaps because I have learned to recognize answered prayers that I see them more easily. or perhaps because I see them and recognize them and are thankful to God for them he is swifter in answering them. the scriptures say something to the effect of God being slow to remember those who are slow to remember him.....
ok lots of thoughts, and that is all they are just thoughts. but I felt like sharing.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
In the Millennium we will not all belong to the same "church"
Without those to serve we could not receive the blessings that come from service.
and each type of service comes with it's own rewards.
Serving a mission to spread the gospel is a special service with special blessings.
considering this line of thought it occurs to me that:
During the Millennium there will still need to be missionaries.
but won't the world all see God, wouldn't he just say ok folks were all going to be _____ you fill in the blank.
The basic principle of faith demands that he will not.
Even though he will be in our presence and we will be in the millennium there are many churches that will recognize the fulfilling of those prophecies, in fact most will according to their own religion. Can you imagine the confusion when a baptist and a catholic stand together in the millennium, both believing that their having survived to see Christ's descent from the clouds proves that they belong to the right church.
eventually someone will explain to them, that God wiped out the wicked, not the Wiccan.
and what I mean is that there are Good people have faith in God, Good people pray to him, and are struggling to do the very best that they can according to the dictates of their religion. There are even very good people doing the best they can with whatever information they have and do not believe in God at all. Would God destroy the righteous because they lack a title? No that would not be just. though righteous will be destroyed as a by-product of destroying the wicked.
The millennium will be a wonderful time, and I eagerly look forward to the return of our God.
it is amazing to me to see the eternal, universal, and inexorable principle in missionary work. and it amazes me how plain and simple and precious it is and yet here I am only just realizing it.
and each type of service comes with it's own rewards.
Serving a mission to spread the gospel is a special service with special blessings.
considering this line of thought it occurs to me that:
During the Millennium there will still need to be missionaries.
but won't the world all see God, wouldn't he just say ok folks were all going to be _____ you fill in the blank.
The basic principle of faith demands that he will not.
Even though he will be in our presence and we will be in the millennium there are many churches that will recognize the fulfilling of those prophecies, in fact most will according to their own religion. Can you imagine the confusion when a baptist and a catholic stand together in the millennium, both believing that their having survived to see Christ's descent from the clouds proves that they belong to the right church.
eventually someone will explain to them, that God wiped out the wicked, not the Wiccan.
and what I mean is that there are Good people have faith in God, Good people pray to him, and are struggling to do the very best that they can according to the dictates of their religion. There are even very good people doing the best they can with whatever information they have and do not believe in God at all. Would God destroy the righteous because they lack a title? No that would not be just. though righteous will be destroyed as a by-product of destroying the wicked.
The millennium will be a wonderful time, and I eagerly look forward to the return of our God.
it is amazing to me to see the eternal, universal, and inexorable principle in missionary work. and it amazes me how plain and simple and precious it is and yet here I am only just realizing it.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Christ's Salvation Compared to the US Court Sytem
In The USA, we the people have decided and declared Laws that the members in our country are required to abide by. some of these are do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness. and breaking these laws are punishable by a set predetermined set of punishments equal to all that break the same law and distinct and just for the crime.
In the heavens there are inexorable laws, with predetermined punishment universal and equal to all who break the said law and, with distinct punishments justified for the crime.
There are some crimes in both locations that are inexcusable, unforgivable. and the punishment for that crime is the same for both, permanent banishment from that society aka death.
but for the lesser crimes here in the USA there is a set punishment often with options 5 years or 10,000 or both. depending on the crime etc.
should a person rob another in the USA that criminal must appear before the judge who will pass sentence. and when the verdict comes out guilty and the judge declares $10K fine to be paid to the victim or 5 years in jail, and $5K to be paid to the courts or community service.
if that criminal does not want to go to jail, and does not have the money to pay he can borrow the money from a brother or bailer, who would make arrangements with the criminal for that debt to be repaid. with penalties for not repaying the debt.
In the very same manner when we "sin" and become "sinners" we have broken celestial or heavens laws and are heavenly criminals. we have a great advantage under the celestial law than the US law, and that is that all of our crimes and debt arrangements are made prior to going to court so that when we get to heaven the judge will pass verdict and issue sentence, and our brother/mediator can step forward and declare the debts paid.
On earth as it is in heaven. we have a choice. we CAN choose to go to jail and serve our time. and afterwards to repent of our misbehavior or not to. it is the same in celestial law. if want to pay the debt ourselves, or we have not figured out how to get a hold of the the bondsman, then we will pay for our sins ourselves in the predefined sentences. afterward we have paid for our own debt, we will be given the choice to repent or not.
While we are on earth. Jesus has paid the price for our sins already, if we are willing and choose to allow him to do so. but we are not forced to allow him. but should be decide to repent and allow him to take our yoke, then we are obligated to fulfill the contract as agreed.
Often in our US court systems, when a person is in need of a bail-bond, the criminal does not meet directly with the bonder, but with a secretary or servant of the bonder, who hands you a contract which you are required to read and understand on your own, and to commit to.
Similarly Jesus has given us the scriptures from his secretaries the prophets to spell out the contract, what you are expected to do to repay the debt, and what will happen if you do not.
If we understand the above to be true, it can become easy to see how any other church, could have a partial truth without the whole.
for instance. in the Catholic Church they have purgatory where you pay for your sins, many eastern churches have celestial punishment as well for the various crimes they might commit, some are very specific, such as if you kill by the sword on earth then your hell will entail being killed a thousand times by the sword in your punishment period.
I do believe that many of these specific details may in fact be correct, as it is the inexorable law that "as you sow, so shall you reap"
Getting back to my main goal. When I consider all the religions in the world each have similar laws, but vary with the details. As I look at world religions I see that once upon a time there was only 1 religion. and along the way this group took ---- this much and that group took -------- that much, and some took from this part and that part but NONE, not one single religion on this earth has ALL the details that were in the first church. Many of the details are just not terribly important perhaps. Does it matter how I will be punished for my crimes, perhaps knowing my punishment would be a deterrent, but it is not necessary for salvation to take place. Often criminals commit crimes not being aware of the extent of the possible consequences, but those who can be held accountable for their actions are aware that it was wrong and there is some type of punishment.
However I maintain, that "ALL Truth can be circumscribed into one great whole".
There are religions who have retained or had it restored to them, much of the first religion. but are still missing some of the most vital details.
I have found that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) has the MOST truth when compared to other religions, and in addition many churches are self secluded from further light and knowledge, and the LDS church not only allows continued personal and worldly revelation, but encourages seeking out truth from "Good Books". seeking out light and knowledge are encouraged. in our men and our women. and openly acknowledge that there is yet to be revealed many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
In the heavens there are inexorable laws, with predetermined punishment universal and equal to all who break the said law and, with distinct punishments justified for the crime.
There are some crimes in both locations that are inexcusable, unforgivable. and the punishment for that crime is the same for both, permanent banishment from that society aka death.
but for the lesser crimes here in the USA there is a set punishment often with options 5 years or 10,000 or both. depending on the crime etc.
should a person rob another in the USA that criminal must appear before the judge who will pass sentence. and when the verdict comes out guilty and the judge declares $10K fine to be paid to the victim or 5 years in jail, and $5K to be paid to the courts or community service.
if that criminal does not want to go to jail, and does not have the money to pay he can borrow the money from a brother or bailer, who would make arrangements with the criminal for that debt to be repaid. with penalties for not repaying the debt.
In the very same manner when we "sin" and become "sinners" we have broken celestial or heavens laws and are heavenly criminals. we have a great advantage under the celestial law than the US law, and that is that all of our crimes and debt arrangements are made prior to going to court so that when we get to heaven the judge will pass verdict and issue sentence, and our brother/mediator can step forward and declare the debts paid.
On earth as it is in heaven. we have a choice. we CAN choose to go to jail and serve our time. and afterwards to repent of our misbehavior or not to. it is the same in celestial law. if want to pay the debt ourselves, or we have not figured out how to get a hold of the the bondsman, then we will pay for our sins ourselves in the predefined sentences. afterward we have paid for our own debt, we will be given the choice to repent or not.
While we are on earth. Jesus has paid the price for our sins already, if we are willing and choose to allow him to do so. but we are not forced to allow him. but should be decide to repent and allow him to take our yoke, then we are obligated to fulfill the contract as agreed.
Often in our US court systems, when a person is in need of a bail-bond, the criminal does not meet directly with the bonder, but with a secretary or servant of the bonder, who hands you a contract which you are required to read and understand on your own, and to commit to.
Similarly Jesus has given us the scriptures from his secretaries the prophets to spell out the contract, what you are expected to do to repay the debt, and what will happen if you do not.
If we understand the above to be true, it can become easy to see how any other church, could have a partial truth without the whole.
for instance. in the Catholic Church they have purgatory where you pay for your sins, many eastern churches have celestial punishment as well for the various crimes they might commit, some are very specific, such as if you kill by the sword on earth then your hell will entail being killed a thousand times by the sword in your punishment period.
I do believe that many of these specific details may in fact be correct, as it is the inexorable law that "as you sow, so shall you reap"
Getting back to my main goal. When I consider all the religions in the world each have similar laws, but vary with the details. As I look at world religions I see that once upon a time there was only 1 religion. and along the way this group took ---- this much and that group took -------- that much, and some took from this part and that part but NONE, not one single religion on this earth has ALL the details that were in the first church. Many of the details are just not terribly important perhaps. Does it matter how I will be punished for my crimes, perhaps knowing my punishment would be a deterrent, but it is not necessary for salvation to take place. Often criminals commit crimes not being aware of the extent of the possible consequences, but those who can be held accountable for their actions are aware that it was wrong and there is some type of punishment.
However I maintain, that "ALL Truth can be circumscribed into one great whole".
There are religions who have retained or had it restored to them, much of the first religion. but are still missing some of the most vital details.
I have found that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) has the MOST truth when compared to other religions, and in addition many churches are self secluded from further light and knowledge, and the LDS church not only allows continued personal and worldly revelation, but encourages seeking out truth from "Good Books". seeking out light and knowledge are encouraged. in our men and our women. and openly acknowledge that there is yet to be revealed many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
A Passing thought
I firmly believe that at some point science will catch up and either be able to prove in the exitance of God or will know as much as God.
the scriptures say that when Christ returns the veil will roll back like a scroll in heaven and the whole world will be able to see him at the same time.
What if it is science that discovers how to see the other realm that Christ is in, and that is how ans when he comes again.
the scriptures say that when Christ returns the veil will roll back like a scroll in heaven and the whole world will be able to see him at the same time.
What if it is science that discovers how to see the other realm that Christ is in, and that is how ans when he comes again.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Feng Shui - A Commandment to Keep your Houses in Order
in Nearly all religions there is a form of Feng Shui is the attempt to direct the flow of energy from the universe to your advantage.
Though there are angles and lines etc involved in Feng Shui that goes into Astrological alignments. I am not going into that part for now. I am going to simply and generalize.
Can we function in a world of chaos? most of us find order to keep us sane. The same is true in our homes. If the house is cluttered so too are our minds, it is hard to relax in a cluttered environment. How can we access the powers of the universe the Chi or the Light of Christ if we cannot access our front door?
In Christianity we are told -
to Keep our houses in order
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
In Feng Shui it emphasis more on the exact placement of items for maximized energy flow, but the main principle is to - put things in their place. if it is where it belongs it is not messy or cluttered.
many easter religions focus on minimalising "stuff", getting closer to nature etc.
We as Americans and World wide as Christians have what I call excessive stuffism.
We have so much stuff, we cling to it and don't want to get rid of it, part of our energy is stuck in those "things" and the more things our chi is stuck into the more we become stuck in life.
we have all seen those house where a person dies and there is stuff stacked floor to ceiling with pathways going from one part of the house to another sometimes having to step over the stuff to maneuver. That person's life became the stuff. they were so emotionally involved in that stuff that their energies became stuck. was any of it particularly valuable. even if you found an original Rembrandt under the piles of stuff, did it help her? so was it valuable to her? did any of that stuff help her to gain anything in life except more stuff?
Too much stuff causes us more work, less time for spiritual things.
Too much stuff easily becomes clutter
God knows that we need to have free flowing environments for us to function to our full potential. and so in every relgion he has given us the same basic rules.
keep your houses in order.
I recommend becoming a minimalist this has many potential benefits
1 giving away your things to charity will count for future blessings
2 less stress, less work keeping up with the excessive stuff
4 Physical, Emotional, and spiritual health
5 Obedience to the celestial laws predicates blessings
6 free flow of your energies
if you have ever been to a spa/retreat, you will have noticed the relaxed atmosphere, it was carefully created out of very little, and every item was placed in such a way as to be functional, and aesthetic, allowing you to become more relaxed. Do you think you could walk into a room filled with clutter and get just as relaxed? and yet our homes are full of clutter, is it any wonder we never feel like we can relax, even our sleep is disturbed. we buy bigger beds more sound machines, more and more to create a relaxed atmosphere in our homes. but the truth is less is better.
So start today, and continue every day. if you don't use it regularly. its not an investment item or a family heirloom get rid of it. and on the family heirlooms, there is a such thing as too many of those too. so if you find you have 20 large family heirlooms, perhaps it is time to spread those to other family members, or to other families to be heirlooms to another family.
Some additional information - "In a recent study conducted by Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Program at the University of California, San Diego, 20 adults with clinically significant compulsive hoarding issues and 18 healthy non-hoarding controls were given PET scans to measure their brain metabolism. Hoarders were found to have lower activity in a specific part of the brain that’s involved in decision-making, focused attention and the regulation of emotion.
Though there are angles and lines etc involved in Feng Shui that goes into Astrological alignments. I am not going into that part for now. I am going to simply and generalize.
Can we function in a world of chaos? most of us find order to keep us sane. The same is true in our homes. If the house is cluttered so too are our minds, it is hard to relax in a cluttered environment. How can we access the powers of the universe the Chi or the Light of Christ if we cannot access our front door?
In Christianity we are told -
to Keep our houses in order
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
In Feng Shui it emphasis more on the exact placement of items for maximized energy flow, but the main principle is to - put things in their place. if it is where it belongs it is not messy or cluttered.
many easter religions focus on minimalising "stuff", getting closer to nature etc.
We as Americans and World wide as Christians have what I call excessive stuffism.
We have so much stuff, we cling to it and don't want to get rid of it, part of our energy is stuck in those "things" and the more things our chi is stuck into the more we become stuck in life.
we have all seen those house where a person dies and there is stuff stacked floor to ceiling with pathways going from one part of the house to another sometimes having to step over the stuff to maneuver. That person's life became the stuff. they were so emotionally involved in that stuff that their energies became stuck. was any of it particularly valuable. even if you found an original Rembrandt under the piles of stuff, did it help her? so was it valuable to her? did any of that stuff help her to gain anything in life except more stuff?
Too much stuff causes us more work, less time for spiritual things.
Too much stuff easily becomes clutter
God knows that we need to have free flowing environments for us to function to our full potential. and so in every relgion he has given us the same basic rules.
keep your houses in order.
I recommend becoming a minimalist this has many potential benefits
1 giving away your things to charity will count for future blessings
2 less stress, less work keeping up with the excessive stuff
4 Physical, Emotional, and spiritual health
5 Obedience to the celestial laws predicates blessings
6 free flow of your energies
if you have ever been to a spa/retreat, you will have noticed the relaxed atmosphere, it was carefully created out of very little, and every item was placed in such a way as to be functional, and aesthetic, allowing you to become more relaxed. Do you think you could walk into a room filled with clutter and get just as relaxed? and yet our homes are full of clutter, is it any wonder we never feel like we can relax, even our sleep is disturbed. we buy bigger beds more sound machines, more and more to create a relaxed atmosphere in our homes. but the truth is less is better.
So start today, and continue every day. if you don't use it regularly. its not an investment item or a family heirloom get rid of it. and on the family heirlooms, there is a such thing as too many of those too. so if you find you have 20 large family heirlooms, perhaps it is time to spread those to other family members, or to other families to be heirlooms to another family.
Some additional information - "In a recent study conducted by Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Program at the University of California, San Diego, 20 adults with clinically significant compulsive hoarding issues and 18 healthy non-hoarding controls were given PET scans to measure their brain metabolism. Hoarders were found to have lower activity in a specific part of the brain that’s involved in decision-making, focused attention and the regulation of emotion.
“We found that patients with compulsive hoarding had a unique pattern of brain function abnormalities,” says Saxena, whose study is currently undergoing pre-publication review. “This pattern was not seen in other OCD patients, nor in the normal controls."
Now I find this very interesting, though they think that the brain dysfunction is why they hoard. but I say it is the hoarding that has caused the brain dysfunction. it has stopped the flow of energy, and actually caused brain damage. these people were not OCD hoarders as children. these people learned to be hoarders, by valuing their "stuff" too much. and caring more about the stuff than anything of any real importance.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
"Hood" - belonging to a group or Order, sharing a certain characteristic.
When I think of orders, I typically think of Priesthood - defined as a group of individuals with authority to act (ie perform rites) on behalf of whom it is they receive the authority from. Priesthood is a companion to Fatherhood.
But I want to talk about Motherhood -
I was asked recently if I was Pagan. and when I said no, why, he replied I looked like a woman of power. (quite a compliment) but on further investigating this man was a Pagan following the Norse Viking Traditions, and he was thinking I was a Volva - basically a Viking Priestess. intrigued I went and investigated the whole Norse Viking paganism, and kept coming back to a thought.
Women have been revered as being women of power since the beginning of time. working their magical protections around the house, caring for the sick and elderly, praying for their warriors away. and this tradition of being a Homemaker was passed down mother to child until the witch trials caused women to hold back openly accessing their "magic".
but when I consider the word MotherHood - I define it not merely as a group of Mothers. but as an Order With Authority to Act on behalf of the one who gave that Authority within the full capacities required of a member of that order.
Who gave us this authority? both PriestHood and MotherHood are given to us directly from God.
The Scriptures tell us of the great responsibility it is of Mothers to raise their children properly, to care and tend to their stewardships. The Priesthood is there for the specific rites that need to be performed by God through Proxy, ie priest.
but Mothers have direct Authority to act on behalf of God for the raising of his Children, by Proxy, which includes all the powers that God has Authorized for us to use. which includes - Stewarding over the children. Physical, Spiritual, and Mental/Emotional Healings, Keeping the House. Protecting supporting our Husbands. etc.
MotherHood is a position of Power
The Feminist Equal Rights Movement Demoted us, and confused the issues. Yes we can work,Yes we can fight. but that is not what God gave us Authority to do. Nor is it how we can be most effective.
Am I a Woman of Power?
Why Yes I am. Without boasting but stating of fact. I am capable of Great Spiritual Understandings. I am Capable of Great Healings, I am the single most important and greatest influence on the children in within my stewardship, I the ability to be a great influence for my husband. I am capable of affect Great changes.
With all this ability comes a great deal of responsibility to use this Motherhood appropriately, because authority once given, can be taken away.
Are you a Woman of Power?
If you are not now, I KNOW that you can be.
Lacking the act of having children spew forth from your womb does not disqualify your membership in the order of Motherhood. there are other children you within your stewardship, there are plenty of healing that needs to happen in the world. and having our women locked away in offices has locked up our compassion and our Love and locked away the key.
Women are capable of the greatest amount of:
Spiritual Strength
Compassion
Empathy
Love
and Influence
Women once controlled the World, Men bowed at their feet, kissed their hands, opened doors for them, begged for their hand in marriage, slaved to death to provide a good home for their treasured wife. and now that we are "equal" We hope we are good enough for a man, we kiss their butts, we stubbornly open our own doors, we wait and hope for men to ask us to marry, and if they don't, we continue to debase ourselves as their free access whores, and if that isn't enough we have to slave away and "pay our share". Men have become Lazy, They don't have to work so hard. Women have become desperate and work harder to make up the slack.
But that can change! if we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Know that as Women we belong to the Order of Motherhood, which makes us Priestesses with Authority direct from God. Act Like Women of Power and we can regain our strength.
As I step down from my soap box, I would like to add. Men and Women were already equal. The roles were equally split between the men and women. and while I would like to see a return of the Women to her proper place. there were some great benefits to the equal rights movement, that sadly got carried to far. Women do have brains and are capable of using them and should be allowed by the governments to do so. to own property, to think for self, to vote etc. and I would never suggest we take those away. but if we as women were to fully understand our importance, and our roles in the world, we would willingly fight to be at home, where we can be most effective. If you want to fix the economy, women should go home that would create twice as many job openings for the men. sure women can still work, but much of it can be done at home. Doctors can go home and heal their families and loved ones. lawyers can go home and support and defend their husbands, Psychologists can go home and provide the emotional mental & spiritual support their families need, and can even charge to give advice to others for their knowledge, but should find balance at home.
But I want to talk about Motherhood -
I was asked recently if I was Pagan. and when I said no, why, he replied I looked like a woman of power. (quite a compliment) but on further investigating this man was a Pagan following the Norse Viking Traditions, and he was thinking I was a Volva - basically a Viking Priestess. intrigued I went and investigated the whole Norse Viking paganism, and kept coming back to a thought.
Women have been revered as being women of power since the beginning of time. working their magical protections around the house, caring for the sick and elderly, praying for their warriors away. and this tradition of being a Homemaker was passed down mother to child until the witch trials caused women to hold back openly accessing their "magic".
but when I consider the word MotherHood - I define it not merely as a group of Mothers. but as an Order With Authority to Act on behalf of the one who gave that Authority within the full capacities required of a member of that order.
Who gave us this authority? both PriestHood and MotherHood are given to us directly from God.
The Scriptures tell us of the great responsibility it is of Mothers to raise their children properly, to care and tend to their stewardships. The Priesthood is there for the specific rites that need to be performed by God through Proxy, ie priest.
but Mothers have direct Authority to act on behalf of God for the raising of his Children, by Proxy, which includes all the powers that God has Authorized for us to use. which includes - Stewarding over the children. Physical, Spiritual, and Mental/Emotional Healings, Keeping the House. Protecting supporting our Husbands. etc.
MotherHood is a position of Power
The Feminist Equal Rights Movement Demoted us, and confused the issues. Yes we can work,Yes we can fight. but that is not what God gave us Authority to do. Nor is it how we can be most effective.
Am I a Woman of Power?
Why Yes I am. Without boasting but stating of fact. I am capable of Great Spiritual Understandings. I am Capable of Great Healings, I am the single most important and greatest influence on the children in within my stewardship, I the ability to be a great influence for my husband. I am capable of affect Great changes.
With all this ability comes a great deal of responsibility to use this Motherhood appropriately, because authority once given, can be taken away.
Are you a Woman of Power?
If you are not now, I KNOW that you can be.
Lacking the act of having children spew forth from your womb does not disqualify your membership in the order of Motherhood. there are other children you within your stewardship, there are plenty of healing that needs to happen in the world. and having our women locked away in offices has locked up our compassion and our Love and locked away the key.
Women are capable of the greatest amount of:
Spiritual Strength
Compassion
Empathy
Love
and Influence
Women once controlled the World, Men bowed at their feet, kissed their hands, opened doors for them, begged for their hand in marriage, slaved to death to provide a good home for their treasured wife. and now that we are "equal" We hope we are good enough for a man, we kiss their butts, we stubbornly open our own doors, we wait and hope for men to ask us to marry, and if they don't, we continue to debase ourselves as their free access whores, and if that isn't enough we have to slave away and "pay our share". Men have become Lazy, They don't have to work so hard. Women have become desperate and work harder to make up the slack.
But that can change! if we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Know that as Women we belong to the Order of Motherhood, which makes us Priestesses with Authority direct from God. Act Like Women of Power and we can regain our strength.
As I step down from my soap box, I would like to add. Men and Women were already equal. The roles were equally split between the men and women. and while I would like to see a return of the Women to her proper place. there were some great benefits to the equal rights movement, that sadly got carried to far. Women do have brains and are capable of using them and should be allowed by the governments to do so. to own property, to think for self, to vote etc. and I would never suggest we take those away. but if we as women were to fully understand our importance, and our roles in the world, we would willingly fight to be at home, where we can be most effective. If you want to fix the economy, women should go home that would create twice as many job openings for the men. sure women can still work, but much of it can be done at home. Doctors can go home and heal their families and loved ones. lawyers can go home and support and defend their husbands, Psychologists can go home and provide the emotional mental & spiritual support their families need, and can even charge to give advice to others for their knowledge, but should find balance at home.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
about section 132
Those who are married in this life for time will in the next life be servants to Gods. Single and neither married nor given in marriage in the world to come.
Those who are married in this life for time and eternity but not by the holy spirit of promise that marriage is not done with authority and is not in force in the next world.
those who are married in this life for time and eternity by the holy spirit of promise will in the life to come continue to be married and will be Gods having a continuation of seed.
if this is true then what about those who did not have the opportunity to get married for eternity.
Well we do sealing in the temple for those who have passed and marrying them for eternity.
but then they did not do it in this life.
but God is just.
why do we do sealings if it is not to seal couples and families together?
IF a husband and wife. desired to be together for eternity, but did not have the opportunity and the only thing lacking is the the physical ordinance, then our doing it for them fulfills the law.
We shall be judged on the laws that we had. will a person from the dark ages be less likely to attain the celestial kingdom than myself having the full and everlasting gospel?
no, we will both be judged on the law that we had, if the only law another person has, is to have faith in God, and they do that perfectly, then they have lived righteously. if that righteous person loved their spouse and desired eternal marriage, but that ordinance was not available, then when we do their work for them then they can be reunited in the afterlife. and as a couple could enter into the celestial kingdom, having fulfilled all righteousness.
if that same person does not love their spouse and sees death as a day of freedom from bondage, if we seal them together will they be forced to be married in the next life?
no. it is the desire they BOTH had within the bounds of their contract that will be upheld
if a person contracts to be the servant to a master for 10 years but enjoys the relationship and wishes to continue indefinitely would a judge tell him that he could not? no of course not. but neither would he force the servant to continue longer than the agreed time period.
Likewise if a person wishes to be married for eternity then it is possible through the temple ordinances.
Can I have hope to be married to my spouse in the next life for eternity, if he refuses to do it in this one? - it depends on the laws that he has, the knowledge that has been revealed to him. does he KNOW it is possible to be married for eternity, and he does not want that? or does he have any understanding?
Though I have hope for this life. I think I have finally found hope for the next.
but we must still live according the the laws that we have that we may be counted as righteous.
and it is fair that I should have more laws to abide than another, I have asked for them. I have asked for further understanding. and I have been given it, and I must abide by the understandings that I have been given or it will not be counted for righteousness.
Those who are married in this life for time and eternity but not by the holy spirit of promise that marriage is not done with authority and is not in force in the next world.
those who are married in this life for time and eternity by the holy spirit of promise will in the life to come continue to be married and will be Gods having a continuation of seed.
if this is true then what about those who did not have the opportunity to get married for eternity.
Well we do sealing in the temple for those who have passed and marrying them for eternity.
but then they did not do it in this life.
but God is just.
why do we do sealings if it is not to seal couples and families together?
IF a husband and wife. desired to be together for eternity, but did not have the opportunity and the only thing lacking is the the physical ordinance, then our doing it for them fulfills the law.
We shall be judged on the laws that we had. will a person from the dark ages be less likely to attain the celestial kingdom than myself having the full and everlasting gospel?
no, we will both be judged on the law that we had, if the only law another person has, is to have faith in God, and they do that perfectly, then they have lived righteously. if that righteous person loved their spouse and desired eternal marriage, but that ordinance was not available, then when we do their work for them then they can be reunited in the afterlife. and as a couple could enter into the celestial kingdom, having fulfilled all righteousness.
if that same person does not love their spouse and sees death as a day of freedom from bondage, if we seal them together will they be forced to be married in the next life?
no. it is the desire they BOTH had within the bounds of their contract that will be upheld
if a person contracts to be the servant to a master for 10 years but enjoys the relationship and wishes to continue indefinitely would a judge tell him that he could not? no of course not. but neither would he force the servant to continue longer than the agreed time period.
Likewise if a person wishes to be married for eternity then it is possible through the temple ordinances.
Can I have hope to be married to my spouse in the next life for eternity, if he refuses to do it in this one? - it depends on the laws that he has, the knowledge that has been revealed to him. does he KNOW it is possible to be married for eternity, and he does not want that? or does he have any understanding?
Though I have hope for this life. I think I have finally found hope for the next.
but we must still live according the the laws that we have that we may be counted as righteous.
and it is fair that I should have more laws to abide than another, I have asked for them. I have asked for further understanding. and I have been given it, and I must abide by the understandings that I have been given or it will not be counted for righteousness.
Monday, September 20, 2010
I was Blind but now I see....
OK so I'm not going in order any more.... what can I say I'm scattered that way... one day it will all get compiled into something that vaguely makes sense....
I have always love the song Amazing Grace, though I don't think we are saved by grace alone. the words I was blind but now I see have always touched me deeply.
When a person's eyes are shut, they cannot see. it does not matter if they want to see, or not. it does not matter if they are shut because of their own choice or because of another's choices. If they are Shut, they cannot see.
see. see what?
See truth.... What truth?
The Truth in all things, in any thing, everything.
at various times in our lives, we have closed our eyes to certain ideas.
Why did we do that?
Though there are various reasons we shut our eyes the most common one, is that the truth is hard, and it is easier to close our eyes to it, and not see it, than to acknowledge it. because once we see it we are responsible for doing something about it.
but why not do something about IT?
because, IT requires change. and change is hard. change in what we are doing today, change in our lives for ever, or even change in what we are doing this very moment.
so, if we close our eyes does IT go away?
away from our minds perhaps. but not away from itself. and IT will always be there.
What if my eyes are open, but I still do not see?
Then you must try to see. sometimes after we have refused to see something, it can be very hard to see it again. IT may not happen every day, IT might not want to risk showing itself again and be rejected. IT might be offended by your lack of concern up to this point. IT might be shy and want you to try a little harder, just to show you will not scorn later.
What is IT?
It, is IT. Whatever it is that you have refused to see, and respond to.
Your child doing drugs
Your husband cheating on you
Your friend being beat by his Father
A neglected animal
A tree in the middle of the road, you went around it for yourself, but you did nothing to remove it for others.
The Love of a quite child
The Love of a girl/ or boy
The Love of a Parent, sibling, or friend
The Love of a God
There are many times we are blind in our daily lives. because we choose not to open them.
That also may mean missing out on some of the greatest gifts available to us.
If we close our eyes and someone givers us a gift, but we never open them to see it, did they give it to us?
yes of course they did, but you have been silly and kept your eyes shut.
Open your eyes and see the truth that is in front of you, Good, Bad, Scary, or Wonderful. just OPEN Your Eyes.
I once was lost, but now I'm found, I was blind, but now I see.
I have always love the song Amazing Grace, though I don't think we are saved by grace alone. the words I was blind but now I see have always touched me deeply.
When a person's eyes are shut, they cannot see. it does not matter if they want to see, or not. it does not matter if they are shut because of their own choice or because of another's choices. If they are Shut, they cannot see.
see. see what?
See truth.... What truth?
The Truth in all things, in any thing, everything.
at various times in our lives, we have closed our eyes to certain ideas.
Why did we do that?
Though there are various reasons we shut our eyes the most common one, is that the truth is hard, and it is easier to close our eyes to it, and not see it, than to acknowledge it. because once we see it we are responsible for doing something about it.
but why not do something about IT?
because, IT requires change. and change is hard. change in what we are doing today, change in our lives for ever, or even change in what we are doing this very moment.
so, if we close our eyes does IT go away?
away from our minds perhaps. but not away from itself. and IT will always be there.
What if my eyes are open, but I still do not see?
Then you must try to see. sometimes after we have refused to see something, it can be very hard to see it again. IT may not happen every day, IT might not want to risk showing itself again and be rejected. IT might be offended by your lack of concern up to this point. IT might be shy and want you to try a little harder, just to show you will not scorn later.
What is IT?
It, is IT. Whatever it is that you have refused to see, and respond to.
Your child doing drugs
Your husband cheating on you
Your friend being beat by his Father
A neglected animal
A tree in the middle of the road, you went around it for yourself, but you did nothing to remove it for others.
The Love of a quite child
The Love of a girl/ or boy
The Love of a Parent, sibling, or friend
The Love of a God
There are many times we are blind in our daily lives. because we choose not to open them.
That also may mean missing out on some of the greatest gifts available to us.
If we close our eyes and someone givers us a gift, but we never open them to see it, did they give it to us?
yes of course they did, but you have been silly and kept your eyes shut.
Open your eyes and see the truth that is in front of you, Good, Bad, Scary, or Wonderful. just OPEN Your Eyes.
I once was lost, but now I'm found, I was blind, but now I see.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Between First God & Pre-Earthly Exhistance
Many religions believe in the idea of "reincarnation" the idea that a soul relives life on this earth over again until it gets "it" right and can move forward in progression.
some believe that it is the same physical shape ie human vs animal reliving life on earth as "past lives" others believe that those past lives are not always human but start from a lower life form to a higher life form.
this is called Transmigration of the soul. Samsara. Reincarnation. Rebirth, Punarbhava.
though there are differences - same soul, different soul, no soul, - the idea of progression from something less to something more until reaching some form of perfection, seems to be fairly universal.
even in science the Darwinism concept of evolution that we all started as a very small single celled organism but slowly progressed into more complex organisms is a form of this same progression.
I firmly believe that the truth is a bit of a mix of all of these.
When we end a way of life and begin a new way of life, it is often considered rebirth. being laid as dead in the baptism waters to be born again a new person.
Our individual intelligence has similarly gone through a progression and there are those who are ahead of us and those who are behind us.
If I believe the general occult concept of their being 7 layers of the soul I would suggest that we have been through 7 major steps in our progression to our human earthly state.
and I know that there is universally a supreme being of some sort that is more evolved than ourselves.
we do not know all of the steps we have already taken, but we do know some......
Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother conceived and created spiritual bodies for the intelligence to enter, much in the same way that earthly parents conceive and create physical bodies for the spirit to enter into.
This gives us 3 layers -
The "intelligence"
The Spiritual Body
The Physical Body
most occult texts deal primarily with these three layers - they are also knows as
The higher mind
the Spiritual Mind
and the Natural Mind
So we know that somewhere between the beginning and the now, we went through 4 unknown evolutions or rebirths and the 3 known rebirths. it is my belief that reincarnation and evolution are partial truths but missing the importance of the whole. and that is that it is not an earthly rebirth but a heavenly one.
I lost where I was going with this as I watch river monsters
goal is eternal progression and attaining perfection I'll come back to this later
some believe that it is the same physical shape ie human vs animal reliving life on earth as "past lives" others believe that those past lives are not always human but start from a lower life form to a higher life form.
this is called Transmigration of the soul. Samsara. Reincarnation. Rebirth, Punarbhava.
though there are differences - same soul, different soul, no soul, - the idea of progression from something less to something more until reaching some form of perfection, seems to be fairly universal.
even in science the Darwinism concept of evolution that we all started as a very small single celled organism but slowly progressed into more complex organisms is a form of this same progression.
I firmly believe that the truth is a bit of a mix of all of these.
When we end a way of life and begin a new way of life, it is often considered rebirth. being laid as dead in the baptism waters to be born again a new person.
Our individual intelligence has similarly gone through a progression and there are those who are ahead of us and those who are behind us.
If I believe the general occult concept of their being 7 layers of the soul I would suggest that we have been through 7 major steps in our progression to our human earthly state.
and I know that there is universally a supreme being of some sort that is more evolved than ourselves.
we do not know all of the steps we have already taken, but we do know some......
Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother conceived and created spiritual bodies for the intelligence to enter, much in the same way that earthly parents conceive and create physical bodies for the spirit to enter into.
This gives us 3 layers -
The "intelligence"
The Spiritual Body
The Physical Body
most occult texts deal primarily with these three layers - they are also knows as
The higher mind
the Spiritual Mind
and the Natural Mind
So we know that somewhere between the beginning and the now, we went through 4 unknown evolutions or rebirths and the 3 known rebirths. it is my belief that reincarnation and evolution are partial truths but missing the importance of the whole. and that is that it is not an earthly rebirth but a heavenly one.
I lost where I was going with this as I watch river monsters
goal is eternal progression and attaining perfection I'll come back to this later
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