It is especially hard these days to maintain a center of equilibrium amid the pressures & stresses of daily life. It is difficult to escape reading or hearing stories & murky pieces of information that bring us down, making us question the sanity of the world & the viability of our own futures. We long for supportive connections with others, loving communities, & homes where we can escape from the chaos & bad news.
Over time, a constant diet of sadness & fearful information produces an unconscious but continuous state of psychological fear. Psychological fear keeps us in an artificial state of hyper vigilance so that we are ready to defend ourselves at any moment. This fear never lets up. It causes us to hold our muscles & tendons in a continuous state of tension. Worry & concern line our faces & get stored in our internal organs. All kinds of diseases can take hold, & often do, because what is really happening is that we are compromising our immune systems. The energy that would normally go to repairing & healing our bodies is instead going to holding the tension & the negativity we cannot express & instead repress.
What does all of this fight or flight behavior achieve? It serves all of those things we worry might happen but research says 90% of the time never do. In other words, it serves nothing at all but causing us harm.
Once we choose to recognize the importance of addressing our psychological fear, we can open our hearts to practices & states of mind & body that allow us to step back from disease. It allows us to breathe, replenish ourselves, & find peace & contentment. This way of separating ourselves from the clamor outside to the peace within us, I like to call calm abiding.
Calm abiding is being aware of our personal needs & feelings, thereby allowing us to choose healthy feelings, thoughts & actions. When we pay attention to our thoughts & feelings, we can choose the ones that make us feel whole & complete. Calm abiding allows us to embrace the wisdom of our self-worth & the unique value we bring to this beautiful world that G-d gave us. It offers us the option to bring more hope, love & joy to every decision we make & action we take; it enables us to live as G-d would want us to. Calm abiding means we can choose to say no to the thoughts & actions that make us feel inadequate & less than ourselves. It means we can open our eyes to love & healthy supportive relationships & communities which are actually in greater supply & abundance than we are led to believe. We are encouraged to contribute to making the world better when we can see the opportunities around us & we can work to improve things we care deeply about.
So how can you practice calm abiding? There are many methods around & each person will find themselves moving toward one or two practices that work best for them. The most important elements to keep in mind when beginning a new practice are:
1) What practice helps you relax the most deeply & completely?
2) Which one gives you the greatest gift/benefit in terms of how you feel at the conclusion of each session?
3) Which choice are you most likely to engage in consistently so it becomes a habit? (tip: close to home or work, quiet/non-distracting environment, best time of day)
4) Are you willing and ready to do whatever is necessary to relax, calm your mind, & build psychological health?
5) How important to you on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being less & 10 being more), is finding a relaxation technique? If it's less than 8, you're not ready.
There are many calm abiding practices available, from yoga, exercise, and visualization techniques, changing your inner self talk, tai chi, chi gong & many more. But when it comes to effectiveness over time & the greatest joy for your effort, meditation has been found to be one of the greatest vehicle to finding true relaxation, calm abiding, the true nature of things, & spiritual transformation; enabling you to be one with G-d.
A good way to begin your meditation practice is to find a class in your community (there usually are some) & begin meditating with a group. This will give you the support & instruction to successfully develop a practice of your own. There are many good meditation books out there as well & I would recommend you go to a local book shop & look through the volumes on meditation until you find the one you like. I have found that people tend to have vastly different likes, dislikes & needs when it comes to meditation books, so you are better off browsing on your own. If you choose to begin meditating on your own, here are some tips:
• Sitting quietly in a comfortable position on a chair or floor cushion, or outdoors under a tree, close your eyes, invite G-d to join you & then focus on your breathing. Let your thoughts come & go; noticing how they fall away as you think them. Do not force; just surrender to time & space. This is a natural organic process that needs no help from you.
• Find the time of day when you can experience the fewest distractions, & you are the most relaxed.
• Meditate in the same place each time; you can use soft music to set the mood; I am normally outside, so I use the sounds of nature.
• Start with 10 to 15 minutes each day & build longer meditations as you can.
• Meditate the same time, same place & same way each time; consistency is important.
• Once you are able to feel free, being totally relaxed, you will sense & feel the presence of G-d by your side & talking with Him in this relaxed state of mind, will become the most beautiful experience you could have.
May G-d’s true peace be within you.
G-d Bless.
J
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
G-d's Authority
The Kingdom of G-d is the entire domain over which G-d rules. It encompasses four realms; the spiritual, the physical, the internal & external realms.
The Kingdom of G-d consists of every area over which He exercises & demonstrates His dominion. The word "kingdom" is a contraction of "King's Domain" or the "domain of the king."
The term "Dominion" means the authority & ability to rule over something or someone. So, anywhere G-d's authority & ability is ruling is the domain of G-d, where His dominion is in effect.
One person tried to usurp G-d's authority in Heaven (The Spiritual Realm) & he was caught & kicked out, so G-d retained His complete dominion over Heaven.
The same person tried to usurp authority in the Earth (The Physical Realm) & partially succeeded, the reason he partially succeeded is because G-d originally gave authority in the Earth to His Chief Ambassador, a man named Adam who committed high treason & rebelled against G-d leaving a vacant spot for Satan to usurp Adam's authority to rule the Earth.
Now, since that time to now, G-d has been implementing His Master Plan to restore the Earth to His complete dominion once again.
In order to fix the problem with the Earth G-d had to go to the source of the problem, which is Adam & his descendants & to the source of their rebellion, Adam's heart & the hearts of all men (The Internal Realm).
The problem of rebellion against G-d's authority is a defect of the human heart, & in the Torah/Bible the heart symbolically represents the mind & spirit.
Therefore, this is where G-d needed to start reclaiming His dominion - Over the minds & spirits of men; this is why His primary command to the human race is to... Repent!
To repent is to change your mind so G-d can transform your spirit!
When we humble ourselves to G-d & once more seek His dominion over our lives we authorize Him to transform our spirits so that His dominion can be established in our hearts.
When His dominion is established in our hearts we give life to the doctrine that the Kingdom of G-d has come & it is within us. We are then Children of G-d.
After this amazing experience of becoming His children we now have the authority & ability of G-d personally restored to us so that we can once more exercise & demonstrate dominion.
What do we do with this dominion?
We influence culture.
Everywhere we go, in whatever we do, as Children of G-d we influence the culture around us until it resembles the culture of Heaven.
This is the purpose of having our personal dominion restored.
The reason we are changed internally is to have an impact on whichever society, in whichever Nation we live (The External Realm).
The word 'earth' is translated from the Hebrew word 'erets' which means Nations or Societies. The phrase 'filled with the knowledge' means 'to be pregnant with the revelation'.
So, 'the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the G-d’ can be translated as 'Societies shall become pregnant with the revelation of the glory of G-d’.
Now, the word 'glory' here means weight & a weight is something that causes an impact.
If you drop a 5 pound weight on your foot it causes an impact on your senses.
What causes an impact on Societies? What is the weight of a Society?
The weight of a society is its culture.
The culture of a society is what influences or impacts it. Therefore, the culture is the weight & the weight is the glory. So, the culture of a society is the glory of that society.
For instance, the glory of ancient Rome was the Roman culture. The glory of African society is African culture & so forth.
So, when the word said, "...The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of G-d..." can be translated as, "Societies on earth shall be pregnant with the revelation of the culture of Heaven'.
And this is what we, as Children of G-d need to do; we need to impact the culture of the societies in which we live.
The societies of the world are the external realms of the Kingdom of G-d & our job is to influence these societies until their culture is identical to the culture of Heaven.
The Kingdom of G-d is G-d's rule over a four fold realm; Heaven (The Spiritual Realm), Earth (The Physical Realm), Man's Heart (The Internal Realm) & the Societies of the World (The External Realm).
This is the Kingdom of G-d, and every Child of G-d is both a Citizen & an Ambassador of that Kingdom.
G-d Bless,
J
The Kingdom of G-d consists of every area over which He exercises & demonstrates His dominion. The word "kingdom" is a contraction of "King's Domain" or the "domain of the king."
The term "Dominion" means the authority & ability to rule over something or someone. So, anywhere G-d's authority & ability is ruling is the domain of G-d, where His dominion is in effect.
One person tried to usurp G-d's authority in Heaven (The Spiritual Realm) & he was caught & kicked out, so G-d retained His complete dominion over Heaven.
The same person tried to usurp authority in the Earth (The Physical Realm) & partially succeeded, the reason he partially succeeded is because G-d originally gave authority in the Earth to His Chief Ambassador, a man named Adam who committed high treason & rebelled against G-d leaving a vacant spot for Satan to usurp Adam's authority to rule the Earth.
Now, since that time to now, G-d has been implementing His Master Plan to restore the Earth to His complete dominion once again.
In order to fix the problem with the Earth G-d had to go to the source of the problem, which is Adam & his descendants & to the source of their rebellion, Adam's heart & the hearts of all men (The Internal Realm).
The problem of rebellion against G-d's authority is a defect of the human heart, & in the Torah/Bible the heart symbolically represents the mind & spirit.
Therefore, this is where G-d needed to start reclaiming His dominion - Over the minds & spirits of men; this is why His primary command to the human race is to... Repent!
To repent is to change your mind so G-d can transform your spirit!
When we humble ourselves to G-d & once more seek His dominion over our lives we authorize Him to transform our spirits so that His dominion can be established in our hearts.
When His dominion is established in our hearts we give life to the doctrine that the Kingdom of G-d has come & it is within us. We are then Children of G-d.
After this amazing experience of becoming His children we now have the authority & ability of G-d personally restored to us so that we can once more exercise & demonstrate dominion.
What do we do with this dominion?
We influence culture.
Everywhere we go, in whatever we do, as Children of G-d we influence the culture around us until it resembles the culture of Heaven.
This is the purpose of having our personal dominion restored.
The reason we are changed internally is to have an impact on whichever society, in whichever Nation we live (The External Realm).
The word 'earth' is translated from the Hebrew word 'erets' which means Nations or Societies. The phrase 'filled with the knowledge' means 'to be pregnant with the revelation'.
So, 'the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the G-d’ can be translated as 'Societies shall become pregnant with the revelation of the glory of G-d’.
Now, the word 'glory' here means weight & a weight is something that causes an impact.
If you drop a 5 pound weight on your foot it causes an impact on your senses.
What causes an impact on Societies? What is the weight of a Society?
The weight of a society is its culture.
The culture of a society is what influences or impacts it. Therefore, the culture is the weight & the weight is the glory. So, the culture of a society is the glory of that society.
For instance, the glory of ancient Rome was the Roman culture. The glory of African society is African culture & so forth.
So, when the word said, "...The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of G-d..." can be translated as, "Societies on earth shall be pregnant with the revelation of the culture of Heaven'.
And this is what we, as Children of G-d need to do; we need to impact the culture of the societies in which we live.
The societies of the world are the external realms of the Kingdom of G-d & our job is to influence these societies until their culture is identical to the culture of Heaven.
The Kingdom of G-d is G-d's rule over a four fold realm; Heaven (The Spiritual Realm), Earth (The Physical Realm), Man's Heart (The Internal Realm) & the Societies of the World (The External Realm).
This is the Kingdom of G-d, and every Child of G-d is both a Citizen & an Ambassador of that Kingdom.
G-d Bless,
J
To Identify and Deal With Selfishness
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.
-Oscar Wilde-
This is an awesome quote, because it paints a true word picture of selfishness.
You can always recognize this kind of person by their actions, & it is easy to spot them because they will try to make you feel guilty if you do not agree with or appease them.
One person with a giant ego can completely interrupt a gathering of family or friends to the point that others do not enjoy being around them. They tend to think that it is everyone else who has a bad attitude & they are only speaking what they feel. Relationships can be damaged severely & sometimes do not recover.
As a Child of G-d, you must not think that you always have to do whatever a selfish person wants just so things can be tolerable. If you do this, you will always live in a state of stress because you never know what detail (usually small) will be the one that triggers mayhem.
Have you ever thought that you might be called to be salt (gives good flavor) & light to that person? G-d might want you to show them what it truly means to be a good, solid, balanced person that others like, respect, & admire. Selfish people have a lot of anger & fear deep inside.
G-d might want to use you to show them how to handle everyday things in a way that is pleasing to Him. You do not know what another has gone through in their life that makes them the way they are. G-d wants His children to look at others with much the same love & compassion that He does. Outside actions are just the symptom of a larger inner problem.
If you always give in to their way, how will they ever start to realize what they have become & be able to make a change? G-d is wonderful at making people very uncomfortable in their current situation, & you might be the person He uses to bring it about.
When you think about your own life, you very rarely have had the incentive to change something until you grew miserable or uncomfortable with it.
If you have a person in your life that needs help in this area, do the following things:
• Pray & ask G-d to show you how to deal with them in everyday situations.
• Pray until you know you have heard the truth from G-d; then you won't be consumed with guilt or anger when you do stand for what is right.
• Ask G-d to show you what to stand for & what to let slide. After all, He wants them to change as much as you do & He always ministers with grace.
• Ask G-d to let you see them the way He does. He can show you why they have grown to act the way they do. Then you can pray for them in a more direct way.
• Ask Him to give you strength to love them, but yet stand up for your own values & not be swallowed by the values of the selfish person.
• Learn that you have to keep guard over your own character & personality & not let the other person determine who you will become. You are entitled to be your own person, so don't lose your identity.
• Ask G-d to help you be salt & light to them & do it in a way that is G-dly, with dignity, and shows mercy.
• G-d will let you know whether you are the person to help or whether you should just step away until such time that the person has been helped. Not everyone is equipped to deal with such a person & it would be better to step aside when needed.
G-d Bless,
J
-Oscar Wilde-
This is an awesome quote, because it paints a true word picture of selfishness.
You can always recognize this kind of person by their actions, & it is easy to spot them because they will try to make you feel guilty if you do not agree with or appease them.
One person with a giant ego can completely interrupt a gathering of family or friends to the point that others do not enjoy being around them. They tend to think that it is everyone else who has a bad attitude & they are only speaking what they feel. Relationships can be damaged severely & sometimes do not recover.
As a Child of G-d, you must not think that you always have to do whatever a selfish person wants just so things can be tolerable. If you do this, you will always live in a state of stress because you never know what detail (usually small) will be the one that triggers mayhem.
Have you ever thought that you might be called to be salt (gives good flavor) & light to that person? G-d might want you to show them what it truly means to be a good, solid, balanced person that others like, respect, & admire. Selfish people have a lot of anger & fear deep inside.
G-d might want to use you to show them how to handle everyday things in a way that is pleasing to Him. You do not know what another has gone through in their life that makes them the way they are. G-d wants His children to look at others with much the same love & compassion that He does. Outside actions are just the symptom of a larger inner problem.
If you always give in to their way, how will they ever start to realize what they have become & be able to make a change? G-d is wonderful at making people very uncomfortable in their current situation, & you might be the person He uses to bring it about.
When you think about your own life, you very rarely have had the incentive to change something until you grew miserable or uncomfortable with it.
If you have a person in your life that needs help in this area, do the following things:
• Pray & ask G-d to show you how to deal with them in everyday situations.
• Pray until you know you have heard the truth from G-d; then you won't be consumed with guilt or anger when you do stand for what is right.
• Ask G-d to show you what to stand for & what to let slide. After all, He wants them to change as much as you do & He always ministers with grace.
• Ask G-d to let you see them the way He does. He can show you why they have grown to act the way they do. Then you can pray for them in a more direct way.
• Ask Him to give you strength to love them, but yet stand up for your own values & not be swallowed by the values of the selfish person.
• Learn that you have to keep guard over your own character & personality & not let the other person determine who you will become. You are entitled to be your own person, so don't lose your identity.
• Ask G-d to help you be salt & light to them & do it in a way that is G-dly, with dignity, and shows mercy.
• G-d will let you know whether you are the person to help or whether you should just step away until such time that the person has been helped. Not everyone is equipped to deal with such a person & it would be better to step aside when needed.
G-d Bless,
J
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