Greed and Deceit

One of the largest car manufacturers in the world deliberately deceived its customers and the EPA.  That means that a group of high-level managers, engineers, executive officers, etc., sat down in conference and decided to install a device on millions of cars that "tricked" emission standard tests.
Quoting from a BBC report of October 7, 2015:
It's still unclear who knew what and when, although VW must have had a chain of management command that approved fitting cheating devices to its engines....
"Cheating devices."
Conscious, willful deception at a very high level in world commerce.


I taught an ethics class briefly at a community college. I learned that, in past decades, ethics was the premier philosophy course, required of all seniors, esteemed as the crown of legitimate education.
When I was teaching it, it had fallen to the status of one among a number of electives.
Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions, and between virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of people.  Our higher educational system has evolved [or devolved] from all major universities being seminaries, to secular education with strong emphasis on ethics, to the study of ethics as a weak, second-rate, banal discussion of how anyone determines right or wrong--or even if there is such thing as right and wrong. ["OK, give me my degree so I can start making money to pay off my student loans."] 


It concerns me that we might become desensitized to deceit and greed. I hope it doesn't become the status quo.

Mindfulness and Christianity: Miscellaneous Notes

Prayer/meditation

I. Intro. Xns? M. practicers?

Initially thot I'd talk about M. then Xn'ty, but they kept flowing into each other; which I realized is how they have become in my experience and practice. Both are bigger than anyone has plumbed the depths of. And words about them are the finger that points, but not the experience: Both must be practiced in order to benefitted from. “Only by practicing mindfulness will be able to look at everyone else with an open mind and the eyes of love.” [TN Hanh]   “It's really all about kindness.” [JK Zinn]. Both these statements also indicate mindfulness is a pathway/means to a more compassionate way-of-being, which is of course, what Xnty is also.  Jesus said “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.”  T.N. Hanh: “Mindfulness is at the same time a means and an end, the seed and the fruit.” A means to build up concentration; and the end of living life—staying free of distractions.

“Love received and love given comprise the best form of therapy. But love is not easily commanded or offered by one whose whole life has been marked by reactive protest against early deprivation.” Gordon Allport

II. Prayer-meditation “We ought to listen to music or sit and practice breathing at the beginning of every meeting or discussion.” T N Hahn

Being Light. = individuation since light cannot be polluted by that with which it comes in contact. “You are the Light of the world. Let it shine!” Jesus

Peaceful Warrior. Must be a warrior. [story of man with bowl of oil and soldier with sword behind him.] But if you lose your peace, you are losing the battle. Mindfulness calls you back. Mindfulness may be thot of as awareness of the Holy Spirit. Ruach. Breath of life.

M. is the foundation upon which you can build a personhood.

When you sit on the bank of your stream of consciousness, you can see that there is some pollution and useless stuff in the river. If you are not on the bank, you are in the stream, and you can't discern what is useful and what is useless [or destructive]. When you are on the bank, you can see that you might be straining to get somewhere that cannot be attained by straining, and that straining is the problem. You can stop straining! You can see, from the bank of the river, that you are shaking the turtle of life, trying to get it to come out of the shell; and the harder you shake, the more the turtle withdraws into his shell! Then you can smile at the absurdity of your actions.

From the bank of the river you can see that you are going through your life feeling deprived of something, or regretful about something, or frustrated about something, or anxious about something. You can observe your own heart instead of being lost in it—like a fish in the water. We can practice letting go of the useless stuff. If we simply look deeply into it, we realize that it is delusional. You should be very thankful when you dispel one of your delusions. You have removed an encumbrance to your joy and peace. Joy and peace are by-products of the realization of Universal Truth—the Truth of Christ—the Truth by which we and everything are here—the Truth that generated our consciousness. [Remember, we did not generate our selves through conscious effort. But we can purify our selves through conscious effort. We can recognize and move beyond our delusions.]

A poet [Keats] said “Beauty is truth, and truth beauty..”. I believe it is more accurate to say that Love is Truth, and Truth is Love. This is also what the Bible teaches: “God is Love.” And Christ, [God in the flesh] said “I am the Truth”.

M. is defined as “Paying attention on purpose in the present non-judgmentally.”

“Non-judgmentally” does not mean we do not evaluate [and elevate] our consciousness. For instance, I might be driving down the road on the way to meet a client in my office mindfully thinking: “There is an aluminum can beside the road. Looks like a Bud Light” etc. This is a form of mindfulness and being in the present, if I am aware of what I am thinking as I am thinking it. I might decide to shift my awareness to: “How can I best serve the client that I am going to meet? What did we discuss last time? Where is he/she stuck and how can I best facilitate forward movement?” This is how we can use mindfulness to be happier and more productive human beings. It is important to do this peacefully. The non-judgmental aspect means we do not put down on ourselves for thinking about the aluminum can. We just peacefully shift to the love-mindset.

I associate Jesus with my breath—the Breath of Life—and He delivers me out of the random chaos of my mind. The “worries and cares of the world that choke out the fruit of the Holy Spirit.” He delivers me into: forgiveness [of self and others], peace, loving kindness [JKZ “It boils down to kindness”. Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving ea. other, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you.” Eph.], Good will toward the human family, thoughts of how to love my people today—this moment, etc.

Clear vs. smoky thinking. Lucidity. When we are mindful we can be clear even if we are smoky.

Poems Altar Smoke and Tempo, both representing a shift in awareness.

My personal experience driving to office from Russel's.

It's disheartening that most people seem predominantly disinterested in spiritual growth. What is spiritual growth? It's an interest in unseen things. You can not see love, peace, joy, fear, guilt, shame. You can see the by-products of these, but you cannot put any of them under a microscope or break off a piece like a candy bar and share it with someone. The mind is unseen. We can see the brain but not the mind. And we live in it. Isn't it interesting that we live in our mind, which we neither understand nor completely control. What's more interesting is that we can become more mindful of our minds, and by so doing assert some influence thereon. How do you want to influence your mind? This place where you live? What's more important, tidying up the house or tidying up your mind?

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” HDThoreau Mindfulness facilitating compassion/agape love is this conscious endeavor.

CBT is a form of mindfulness: becoming aware of certain thoughts that are contrary to peace, and consciously changing them to thot's that bring peace. Like choosing gratitude. Theologically speaking, this is ultimately a journey toward Truth; since Scripture teaches that truth is good—Gospel—good news. This seems to be confirmed in the phenomena of the great mysteries of beauty, music and humor; giving us an opportunity to grow in trust—in God or the universe, Who or which has given us life. [Of course I fall on the “Who” side of that postulation.] But even if you fall on the “universe” side, you might as well trust what you cannot change about it. You didn't have to be anxious to be given life—seems unnecessary to be anxious about death or anything that comes in life. Jesus queried “Can you add anything to your life by being anxious about it?” I understand that, for those who suffer from some types of anxiety, a simple statement about trust does not cure it. But if one presses that universal truth down deep into his psyche, [burning some new neuron pathways in the most evolved part of the brain] it can begin to displace the anxiety, or enable one to progressively transcend it. And transcendence of some manifestations of anxiety and depression seems to be the best we can currently do, since we do not seem to be able to eradicate it. Transcendence is the cure, in some sense.

Mindfulness: paying attention on purpose, non-judgmentally. Sitting peacefully on the grassy bank of the stream of your consciousness. Peacefully observing the clouds of your thoughts pass thru the sky of your mind. Becoming aware from a more transcendent realm. Like the poem: “Hurrying from here to there, suddenly I become aware....” AWARE. We can be lost in what we are doing, which can be OK, or not OK. But we will not know if it's OK or not OK if we do not become mindful. When I am birdwatching I am lost in what I am doing, but that is OK because I choose to get lost in it. I love to get lost in it! This type of “lostness” is another form of healthy mindfulness.

Xnty gives us a home base other than, or in addition to, our breath to come back to [from all our distractions.]

Hope. Faith. Love. Gratitude. Trust. Peace. Smiling heart. Certain promises from Scripture.

Xnty may be thot of as the embodiment of a certain type of mindfulness—the mindfulness of Christ Himself.

How can the Xn faith be used in therapy?

1. Clients are Christians and open to drawing from their Xn roots in their growth

2. Prayer. Invoking an awareness of the Holy Spirit: Love, Peace, Comfort, Acceptance, Truth.

3. A deeper reliance upon the Truth of Christ – His teachings.

4. Concept of idolatry [of persons, needs, addictions, etc.]

5. “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world”* Embracing the reality of suffering with a cheerful heart.

6. “Peace I give to you. I come that you might have life, abundantly. These things I've spoken that you might have joy, the fullness of it.”

7. Discover what is oppressing you and bring the Truth of Scripture to bear upon it.

8. *I am in you and you in me and I in the Father [Creator].

9. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed [metamorphosed] by the renewing of your mind”. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy, think on these things.” Phil 4:8

10. Concept of Light = individuation. Also “Love your enemies...”

11. Love casts out fear. Be anxious for nothing.. thanksgiving. Thankful in all situations. “If we didn't learn a lot...etc. LOVE and GRATITUDE as enemies of FEAR.

You are a stream of consciousness.





How we become who we are seems to be a random process emerging out of the spontaneous thoughts that have been stored up in our mind in response to life experiences, combined with our particular genetic inheritance. As neuro-scientist Wolf Singer says, "The mind is an orchestra without a conductor." We become what we choose through devotion: Devotion to core characteristics [love, peace, courage, faith, hope, gratitude, etc.]. We set these as our default to come back to from the thousands of distractions that we inevitably experience in daily life. Mindfulness is how we stay in touch with what we are devoted to. This is one of the primary functions of our religious life. The word "religion" derives from latin words meaning to "bind back". True religion binds us to what we are trying to become, and thus shapes us, over time, into that person. We have the wonderful opportunity [it is an obligation, but should be felt as an opportunity] to consciously cooperate with God in the shaping of our personalities. We wake up from our distractions; over and over. We realize that we're not waiting for something to happen. Life is not primarily about trying to get to the next thing. It has to be about being where we are because that's the only place we can ever be! Fear, regret, dread and desire can be parasites to life; and they can be sucking the precious life out of us without us even knowing it. Mindfulness is waking up from this bad dream. The Holy Spirit may be thought of as an awakening influence. Jesus declared that some were “blind” , and He offered “life—abundant life” to people who were biologically alive [bios]. He was offering Zoe. The “fruit” or results of living in the Spirit is a life characterized by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.” Not a bad repertoire. This is our “default setting”. Mindfulness brings us back to it through the doorway of being-here-now.

The conscious will can, and at times ought to, run counter to the normal flow of life-awareness. The normal flow can be despair, pessimism, dread, fear, chronic anger, feelings of deprivation or entitlement, guilt, shame, hopelessness, etc. We need not try to block or eradicate these—a process that can be fruitless and tiresome—through mindful awareness they can evaporate in the sunlight of a greater, transcendent Truth. The Bible calls Truth “Gospel”, which means “GOOD NEWS!” Not fearful, hopeless, despairing news. Truth leads us to understand that the good and evil interwoven tapestry of life is ultimately good. The important thing is to LIVE this Reality—not just to know it. Jesus said “If you know these things, happy are you if you DO them.”





Begin with Intro. Get to know.

Altar Smoke and Tempo representing a shift in awareness.

Mindfulness = making a conscious shift.

Xnty offers some wonderful Truths to shift into:

1. God is Love.

2. The goodness of God already is. Ann Linthorst of A Time To Love [?]

3. All is well, and all is well, and all shall ever be well.

4. Be still and know that I am God. [Sarah Young of Jesus Calling]

5. I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus

6. I am in you, and have overcome the world. And you are in Me.

7. All things are being worked together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose” which is Love.

8. This is a perfect moment. I have everything I need in this moment. I let go of all desire, need or want except to abide peacefully in this moment.

ACTIVITY

The opportunity is to create a “Home Base”--a default core of consciousness to which to return from all the distractions. Create some new neuron connections. What truth/s do you want to remain close to? Decorate your “home base” with these. [Activity: Take a moment to get in touch with the most comforting, inspirational, life-enhancing truths you have discovered and felt inwardly. Not just nice-sounding platitudes, but truth your soul has resonated with. Write them. Create placards of these and place them on the walls of your mind's home base.] Use mindfulness and devotion to awaken from the distractions of life [or embrace them] in the light of this home base.

What were you thinking three minutes ago? Maybe it was a complaining thought or a happy thot—“stinking thinking” per AA. Maybe it was a thought that diminished [or enhanced] the effectiveness of your immune system. If you are not aware of what you are thinking, your thots are random; and the universe of possibility contains mind content that is life-enhancing and life oppressing. Mindfulness enables you to discern and choose. It is awareness of awareness. When you are mindful, you can come back to “home base”. Or chase a rabbit if you like. But at least you know what you are doing.

Below is a quote, the conclusion, of an article by Katy Butler entitled “Living On Purpose”.  In it she chronicles certain aspects of the lives of two men, Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr, [co-authors of The Power of Full Engagement] who were seeking perfection; one in coaching, the other in his own life. Her conclusion represents as close a description, from the secular standpoint, of the Christian worldview as I have seen. She implies that there are forces [Psychological? Social? Spiritual?] that we do not control, and that shape us. We can cooperate with these forces [and by implication resist or “channel” some of them], but we must also practice “self-acceptance”, “persistence”, and “forgiveness”. The article also briefly chronicles the secularization of culture and the helpful religious rituals that were left behind, and the deleterious effects of their loss.

This may be the greatest paradox of the expanded definition of the unconscious. The more we know about factors outside our conscious control, the greater the chance we have to influence and channel them. At the same time, the more the Renaissance vision of the perfectibility of man recedes into the distance, the more our genuine ability to shape our lives grows, and the more our grandiose sense of complete control wanes. So does Freud’s magisterial conception of an Ego that would, after indefinite years of psychoanalysis, supplant the writhing Id.

This paradox invites us to look over our lives, take a deep breath, and hold the reins with a looser hand. We can’t control ourselves. We can’t even control the factors that control us. We can simply help shape what helps shape us. We influence our lives, but we don’t control them. If we want to be effective and happy, we need to include on our lists of values not only “excellence,” “effort,” and “integrity,” but “self-acceptance,” “[peaceful] persistence,” and “forgiveness.” [and compassion] This may be the deeper meaning of the notion of “practice” that the seeker and the tennis coach have stumbled on, and a way to approach the vast unconscious with a deeper emotional wisdom. Katy Butler, “Living On Purpose”

Whatever is in the unconscious—whatever good or evil forces have shaped us into what we are—a conscious, peaceful, persistent devotion to the Love of Christ—agape—will refine us into what we choose to be. Mindfulness is the means by which we can practice this Love, because if we are not mindful, we are randomly living out whatever forces are within us or reacting impulsively to our environment. And evil exists within the world of randomness and impulsivity. The Holy Spirit keeps us mindful of the Truth that makes us safe and free.

MINDFULNESS SAYINGS

Let our doing come out of our BEING.

It's not about the object of our attention, but about the attention itself—with tenderness and conpassion.

It's about showing up [dropping in] in this moment, which is all that we have.

Befriend a silent intentionality.

Just stopping can be a radical accomplishment.

The real meditation practice is how we live our lives in the infinite present moment, which is all we have.

Mindfulness involves an awareness of relationality—recognizing how we are in relationship with our thoughts.

Feast on your life as it is unfolding—stay out of the complaint box.

Settling into this moment as if it is important. In fact it's the only moment you'll ever have to settle into anything!

Just sit. Nothing more. No big deal. A human being falling awake, over and over again. Reminding yourself that you are alive. Re-bodying yourself. Coming home.

Stillness. Silence. Presence. Wakefulness. Being.

Create a home [or discover the home] for yourself in your body that is a very good place, that you can return to at any time.

Imagine your consciousness as a stream or river. Sit peacefully on the grassy bank of that river and observe your stream of thoughts.

Choiceless awareness—just being the awareness itself; which is bigger than conceptual knowing.

Taking up residency in your home—your body.

You can chase the rabbits of your thoughts peacefully, even joyfully, knowing that you have a home to come back to—and never really left. Some of the thoughts will take you to important and beautiful places. Others will take you into useless nonsense. But you will know which is which, because you will not be lost in them.

Nothing is beyond us that we cannot embrace, welcome, observe, and learn from.

I could be happy if only things were perfect—or different, etc.

Someone asked the Dalai Lama, “What is your happiest moment?” “I think now!”

You can practice being home wherever you are; like a snail, carrying your home with you.

Mindfulness is being in touch with the great mystery that transcends all our conceptions.

M. is awareness of awareness.

SCRIPTURAL INVITATIONS:

Be still and know that He is God.

I have calmed and quieted my soul. As a baby at its mother's breast is my soul.

Peace I give to you. My Peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Jesus

Don't be anxious about anything, but in all things by prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God; and the PEACE of God, that passes all understanding, will keep you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Whatever is good, true, pure, just, excellent, praiseworthy—think on these things.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul! Ps. 23

I come that you might have LIFE; and that you might have it more abundantly. [Jesus]

These things I have spoken that my JOY might be in you, and that your JOY might be FULL. [Jesus]

In the world you will have tribulation, but nevertheless, BE OF GOOD CHEER. I have overcome the world.[J.]

I am in you and you are in me and I am in the Father. [Jesus]

What are we trying to do? We are trying to live the best life we can possibly live. And, of course, that involves helping others to live their best life. We are trying to stay awake to this Reality: It is an amazing gift to be a living human being!!

Our practice is designed to help us stay awake to certain realities that keep our lives moving in the direction of the “abundant life” that Jesus spoke about. And to stay free from distractions, maya, the “world”, the darkness of zombie-land. Christ offers us a core of eternal Truth. Mindfulness is a practice by which we can abide in that Core.

What is the Core? It's what people who've had NDE's try to describe. It is the Kingdom of God in which we are aware that the Conscious Core of this universe, permeating every nook and cranny of it, is LOVE. That we are here because of Love—and we are man and woman b/c of Love. Flowers, birds, the sky, ocean, beauty, humor, creativity, etc. all are here b/c of Love. Evil is here b/c God wants us to be free. He is not a controller.

But even in talking about this wonderful Reality, we can drift away from the inner experience of it, at which time our words are useless. If I say “God” or “Jesus” or “mindfulness”--these are just vibrations in the air. The vibrations may or may not awaken us to the Reality that cannot be captured in words. There is a credit card commercial that ends with the question “What's in your wallet?” At the end of any words about Truth, we must ask “What's in your heart?” That is what really matters.

My prayer is that our practice will keep us in peace and loving-kindness, like the dawning of the sun, shining brighter and brighter, to the full light of day.

Our Spiritual Immune System

After reading about the legal haggles  surrounding the Supreme Court's Junes 26 ruling re-defining marriage and the backlash response of the Religious Freedom Protection Act, I struggle against a sinking feeling. All the laws remind me of the Pharisees of Jesus' time. They had a lot of laws too. Jesus violated some of them because He valued compassion and healing and freedom of soul above doctrines and laws. He realised that man made laws could  deter people from living in the Spirit of the Creator of the Laws of the Universe. He realised that Satan could creep into laws through unredeemed minds. The Pharisees therefore, though very law-abiding, did not recognize the Truth when He stood before their faces.

At first my hope rises up when I read about the Religious Freedom Protection Act: a counter attack against the clear assault against religious freedom of  the June 26 ruling. Then I think, "The Muslims can use the RFPA to protect their rights to do things Allah's way." That way certainly has not worked out very well for the human family.

I finally come to rest in the deep understanding that the redemption and transformation of the heart brought forth by faith in Jesus is the only hope for our nation and our world. I remembered the devotional I wrote some years ago entitled "The Nation's Immune System" [below].  The best I can do for this world is to live and try to propagate the Christian Faith--the realization that there is a God of this universe Who is Love. That He commands us to love each other, and has demonstrated Truth through Jesus the Christ. If I or those Christians coming after me are  jailed or beheaded [like many of my brothers and sisters in other nations today] for this belief and profession, we will die victoriously for the best Cause in the human family. And we can be at peace amidst the swirl stirred up by the battle against good and evil, like Jesus asleep in the storm at sea, knowing that in this peace--the peace of Christ--we are the most powerful warriors.
 

THE NATION’S IMMUNE SYSTEM

Psa 33:12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Mat 13:33   He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

On two recent motorcycle trips, one to El Paso and the other to my hometown of Sylacauga, Alabama, I decided to avoid the interstates, take state and county roads instead and get a feel for some parts of the rural South. On both occasions I was struck with the number of churches along the way – hundreds of them. Many of them had roadside signs with admonitions, encouraging statements or invitations: “Looking for a church family? Try us!” or “The man who is not ready to die is not ready to live.” They had names that included certain qualities of the Faith, like, well, “Faith”, and “Hope”, “Grace” and “Abundant Life.” Many of them were named “New” something or other: “New Life”, “New Hope” or “New Beginnings.” One was named “New Morning Star Baptist Church.” Another was named “Mt. Nebo”, the mountain from which Moses looked over into the Promised Land, and on which he died. One church that particularly seemed to invite me to stop and take a nap under the shade of its live oaks [which I did] was, appropriately enough, named “Pilgrim’s Rest Baptist Church.” I rested well there.

I’ve heard people make disparaging or scornful statements about the “Bible Belt.” I felt very encouraged by all those churches. I know that, in them, every Sunday, children are being taught to respect and obey their parents and elders. Husbands and wives are being taught to be faithful and kind to their mates. Parents are encouraged to care for their children. And all are being taught to live the “Golden Rule” - to treat others the way they want to be treated. Jesus said the Word of God is to the world like yeast is to dough: a little goes a long way to enhance the quality. All those people in all those churches hear the Word of God – the wonderful teachings of Jesus – then they go out into their communities with the Light of it shining in their hearts. They are not perfect, of course, but how can they not be a little better, week after week? A little better at loving the people in their communities. When I stop and talk to some of these gentle, friendly people, I imagine that they – or perhaps their parents or neighbors – attend one of those churches. I feel comforted. I am at home. I am among my people. I am among God’s family.

Lord, thank You for making us a true family. May Your body of Believers – the Church – continue to flourish and prosper, and protect our world from evil.

The King of My Domain

I am the king of my domain. My domain is my home, family, pets, yard, and everything within my sphere of responsibility, including my work.  My neighbor is the king of his domain. Our domains overlap at times: my dog wanders into his yard; his grandchildren come over and jump on my trampoline; I have permission to pick cucumbers from his garden; he can use my wheelbarrow at any time.  This is no problem for us because we are both beneficent and generous kings. Since we are both beneficent kings, there is peace in our domains. If we were not beneficent kings there would be no peace within our domains or between them. We are beneficent kings because there is a King of kings who has authority over us. And that King is the most beneficent king imaginable. He loves all his subjects and desires only the best for them. He is totally unselfish,  and he requires us to love each other. Not only does he command us to love each other; he also commands us to keep peace in our hearts, and to be at peace with all who are under his authority. He commands these things but he does not force them because he is a gentleman King of kings; and gentlemen do not force. He commands, and he has rightful authority to do so; but he does not control, even though he has rightful authority to do that also. Some of the people who live in the King of kings' domain recognize his beneficence and authority and joyfully submit to it. Others who live in his domain do not recognize his beneficence and rightful authority and do not submit to it. Within these subjects there is no peace, and love is not practiced. In fact, all of us kings have not perfectly submitted to the rightful and beneficent authority of the King of kings. And to the degree that we have not, we have brought unnecessary suffering to ourselves and to our loved ones. And the King of kings, in his amazing grace, does not hold this against us. He recognizes that we have weaknesses; that we are not perfected beings, and he does not expect us to be perfected beings. He is all wise and all knowing. and so the King of kings, in His grace, has made propitiation for our weaknesses and blindness. He has given us the true and amazing  gift of forgiveness. He does not hold our rebellion against us.
Even though our Lord does not hold our rebellion against us, it has caused us much unnecessary suffering. It has been very costly in every aspect. Because the King of kings, in his infinite wisdom knows what is best for his subjects; and in his infinite love, only wants what is best for his subjects. Everything he desires for his subjects, every edict and command, has come from his heart of perfect, unselfish love for those in his domain. Every aspect of his will is for our good. And so when we rebel against him, we rebel against our own happiness, peace, joy, and well-being.  Some of his subjects know these things. They know that they have not lived in perfect subjection to the King of kings who has given us everything in his domain, and who has given us dominion of our kingdoms. They recognize that they have rebelled against him, and have been blind, and done things within their domains that have been hurtful to themselves and their subjects, which has never been the will of the King of kings. They've realized these things, and have approached the King of kings with contrite hearts, saying," O King, we realize that we have used the power that you gave us in ways that were contrary to your beneficent will, and brought unnecessary suffering into our domains and your domain. We have made a terrible mistake. We have hurt, deceived, used, ignored and tried to impress people, but we have not really loved them, as you have commanded us. We have ignored your beneficent authority and disobeyed your gracious commands. We have tried to throw off your authority and act as if we were the King of kings. We come now, in sincere humility, asking you to forgive us."  And the King of kings, in his amazing grace, has smiled upon us, and welcomed us back into his good graces. But we realize that  this grace has come to us at the expense of the suffering  of a Righteous One who was appointed by the King of kings to come into our domains and show us the way of True Life. And if we desire to maintain the righteousness that has been imparted to us, we must walk in the Spirit of this Righteous One. And those who have come to know these things walk in the Light of that Spirit, and become Light in their domains, and bring peace, and act in accordance with the Love of the King of kings.  And within this joyful domain in which we know that everything has been given to us by the King of kings who loves us with an eternal Love, our only sadness is that there are those who are still in rebellion. And our primary desire is to extend from the heart an invitation to those who are still in rebellion, to come into this peace, freedom, joy and love of the King of kings, in whose domain they live, but without awareness of his beneficence and rightful authority. And so we want everyone to recognize the King of kings' infinite beneficence, good will and rightful authority. But those who are in rebellion misunderstand this invitation as a form of condescension; even though anyone operating within the Spirit of the King of kings could never look down upon anyone. He would not allow it! He requires his subjects to love everyone; and to respect and keep peace with everyone, and have them understand that all are equally loved by the King of kings; whether in rebellion or not. But those who are in rebellion tend to see this invitation as a statement of condescension, or as an attempt to usurp their personal authority and control their domains--to exercise unrighteous authority--something the King of kings would never allow, because he has placed the authority of every person upon and within that person, and he does not allow anyone to usurp that personal autonomy.
But the King of kings is not only all-wise and full of infinite Love, good will, kindness and grace; He is also all-powerful. He has and is the Source of all power. And all the power that is being asserted within his domain has been given and authorized by him. And at any time, at his will, he can withdraw that power and call into account those who have been exercising that power, whether or not it was being asserted in the service of love and good will. In fact it has been revealed to all his subjects in all the realms of His domain that he will do that--he will call all into account as to whether they have used their power in the service of his love and truth, as demonstrated and espoused by the Righteous One. And so we know that at some time we will stand before the King of kings, who has given us all things; the earth, life, manhood and womanhood, all the senses; the ability to love and think, work and play, create, laugh, contemplate, etc. We will stand before him and give an account of how we have used the freedom that he gave to us; whether selfishly or lovingly. And those who have not willfully sought him and sought to abide in his love for all, will have to stand in the Light of that Truth about themselves.

Newness of Life

We did not do this! We did not think up and bring into existence manhood, womanhood, the amazing processes of conception and how the single cell produced from the union of a sperm and ovum has within it the secret inconceivable "knowledge" to produce a whole new human being with a beating heart and seeing eyes!  We did not do the earth with its hippopotamuses, octopi, seahorses, crocodiles, redwood forests, water in many forms, changing sky and weather patterns! We did not do our own amazing bodies that support and protect us automatically. We did not do our own minds! We live in our bodies and our minds, and we do not even understand them! An earthworm is more complex than our space station, computers, and cell phones! The complex interwovenness of the plant and animal life in our back yards and undeveloped woods is an infinite source of amazement and awe if we can get unplugged from man-made things long enough to really see it. Everything man has created was made with things he did not create, and with the use of his mind--which he did not create.
Whether you are a theist [as am I] or an atheist, this is an amazing situation for us to be in: this life-journey; this consciousness; this ability to know that we know, and to contemplate the universe. Of course, since we were born into it, the normal course of human development is to lose our since of wonder by late childhood. "Oh, that's just a tree." Only when we see something new does that wonder re-emerge.   But it can also be resurrected by spiritual growth--by consciously choosing to look deeply into life with new eyes and a new heart. The Bible says, "If anyone abide in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things pass away; everything becomes new." Everything becomes new! Eleanor Farjeon wrote:
Morning has broken like the first morning. Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.
Praise for the singing; praise for the morning. Praise for them springing fresh from the Word.
Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from heaven, like the first dew fall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden sprung in completeness where His feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning, born of the one Light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation. Praise every morning, God's recreation of the new day!
Tagore caught the spirit of this newness and wonder in his simple statement: "The same sun is newly born, in new lands, in a ring of endless dawns." Endless dawn. The Bible describes our awakening into Truth along the path of righteousness as the "dawning of the sun, shining brighter and brighter, to the full light of day." [Prov. 4:18] Someone has said "You can never put your foot in the same river twice."
We live on the cutting edge of eternity. Each second is like the sharp blade of a knife, cutting into the future, separating the present from the past! And the process that brings everything into its proper focus, gives meaning, and constantly renews the great adventure of life is to use the gift of our conscious will to peacefully love all people with the Love of Jesus the Christ. If you can think of anything better than that to do with your life, please do it. I've racked my brain, and I cannot. But if you cannot think of anything better than that to do with your life, then please don't waste the amazing gift of your precious life on anything less.

Manhood

A true man does not have to prove that he is one. He does not have to make the final decision; but if one has to be made, he will, if no one else is willing to or wants to take the wrap if things go bad. And he will consult with others because he's not threatened by others' intelligence--he delights in it, learns from it, and uses it for the common good. And he gives credit where it's due. A true man's willing to put dishes in the dishwasher, and not complain or brag about it. He cares about responsibility, first and foremost his own. He feels a little like a failure if others are doing more than him. And if anyone's working too hard [other than himself] he tries to help them slow down a little, knowing that it's not good to work too hard for too long. A true man breathes deep, and isn't rushed. He's at peace because he knows the truth about  God--the Truth that Jesus brought to us.  It has settled all the way into the bones of his soul. Death is new freedom, added to the freedom that he is growing in every day. And he sincerely desires that everyone have that same peace and freedom; and he's even doing some work, in church, or volunteering, etc. to ensure that they do. He is kind and civil, even to those who are insensitive and competitive, but he will protect himself and others from being hurt by them. He knows when he's trying to love people, and when he's only trying to impress them; and he eschews the latter. He deeply respects womanhood, and the amazing gifts [grace, goodness, nurturance, enjoyment of life, diligent concern, intuition, etc.] that she brings into the world. He acknowledges and enhances her freedom to be all she chooses to become. He knows how to feed his children's strengths rather than their weaknesses. He relentlessly faces the truth about himself: the good, bad and ugly, especially the latter two, because he knows those are the traits that can  be used of Satan to hurt his loved ones; something he's dead set against. His greatest concern is that he might falter in a way that damages his integrity and his ability to share with others what God has given to him. He considers this sharing an honor, and prays [always with gratitude] that God will never remove His hand from him and his family [the human family.]

He is a warrior, provider and protector. He fights peacefully for all that is good for the human family—for the Truth of Christ to be lived out in the world. The front line of this warfare is within himself, against the relentless upcroppings of selfishness and egoistic pursuits. He recognizes the importance of diligence, which is perfectly married to peace. He carefully avoids the pitfalls of addictions to substances and attachments to the things of this world, knowing that they will all pass away, but the “Word of the Lord endures forever.”

Guarding Your Heart

The fact that we guard ourselves at all reveals that there is something to be guarded against: destructive dynamics; evil. But we should be mindful of what we are guarding ourselves against. Sometimes we are attempting to guard our self against something that cannot be guarded against, in which case the guarding itself becomes the problem--like bracing against chronic pain. Bracing against chronic pain does not alleviate, rather it exacerbates the pain.
One very important thing to guard yourself against is this: the part of you that resists the truth about  yourself. Knowledge of the truth about you brings you closer to God, Who is Truth. To resist the truth about yourself is to resist your own freedom; the freedom that can only come with spiritual growth. Spiritual growth moves us into the Love that frees us from the need to be guarded--as Jesus did not guard Himself from the Cross.
If I do not guard myself against the part of me that resists the truth about me, I will guard myself against the truth about me. This will create a dark place in me from which Satan can do his destructive work.