DICTIONARY & ANECDOTES
SLEEP,
WHY DO WE? Isn't it amazing how one is able to sleep for about the same
length as the night? Evolution, if there is such, is subject to the heavenly
bodies. Just as there is a correlation between the moon and menstruation,
there is a correlation between sleep and the Sun. Long ago, when night
came there were no lights to turn on. It was pitch black except for the
millions of stars and the moon. Because the environment was so dangerous,
it was safer for many animals to wait till morning before going about.
The sensory depravation of night and stillness bores the conscious which
discriminates amongst sensory reception and thus with little to discriminate
amongst, the conscious wanders off to discriminate amongst the subconscious.
The body too became dependent upon this time as a time of healing.
SMILE: There is a smile inside you waiting to be worn.
SOUL: You are a living person, or living soul. You
are made of flesh and spirit. When your flesh dies, your spirit remains
and continues to exists and must face the judgement of God. Only God can
save or destroy a soul, which is the whole person. It is said that those
who are saved by God when the world is judged will be given a new eternal
body.
SPILT MILK: We all know the saying, "Don't cry
over spilt milk," but what does it really mean? First of all, the
reason one might cry is that one has the expectation that the milk would
not spill. Expectations are delusions of a future that has not happened.
When the future turns out to be different than ones beliefs there is conflict
and the potential for emotion. (Emotion is the physiological response
to surprise) When milk spills, one has no choice but to face the truth
that it has spilt, perhaps against ones own will. All in all, if ones
will and God's will are not aligned, then one is setting oneself up for
many surprises. Milk is a temporary thing. It is not the same as saying,
"Don't cry over spilt blood."
Christ is the embodiment of God. This embodiment is called the "word
of God." In many ways, it might be said that "the word"
became a pen whose ink was spilt so that all might understand. The spilling
of ink is universal. One need not be able to read Hebrew to understand
such action. The ink of the word is what the truth of the word is made
of. Metaphorically, before there was the word, there was the ink which
is what the word is made of, which is God. In the same way, one might
say that the blood of Christ spilt so that all might understand the truth
of the word.
SPIRIT, WHAT IS? The word "spirit" means
"breath", or "wind". The words "spirit"
and "life" have often been used interchangeably since if a body
is not breathing, it is either dead or very close to death. It is the
spirit which animates the flesh. Spirit, however, is not a ghost-like
apparition, as it is so often depicted in the media. Ones spirit would
be better described as what is going on in ones mind. Thus, a spirit maligned
with God (i.e. spirit of the Devil) might be characteristic of what today
is called mental illness.
There is a difference between ones flesh and ones spirit. Ones spirit
is that which is not ones flesh. It is the electricity and light of life.
Ones "flesh" is ones body, including ones brain. However, ones
spirit, which animates ones flesh and is more akin to ones mind, is in
control of ones flesh. When the flesh dies, the spirit remains.
You are one of God's creatures and are made of both spirit and flesh.
If one has identity only in ones flesh, one is lost with the death of
the flesh. As Jesus said, "that which is born of flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of spirit is spirit". When one is "reborn"
spiritually, one becomes a new spiritual creation whose identity is in
God. After all, God is spirit. To loose identity in the flesh, and gain
spiritual life, is to loose identity in the pursuits and passions of this
world.
Since "spirit" is like breath, the "holy spirit" is
the breath of God which comes and fills one up, and gives one life. Be
continually filled with the Holy Spirit. In other words, when one finds
it impossible to breathe on ones own, let Jesus be ones respirator.
SPIRITUAL ANTENNA: Raise your spiritual antenna
and see clearly. Make oneself receptive to truth and "tune-in"
to the frequency of God and get a clear picture. Put on your spiritual
"rabbit ears" so that you may find what you are seeking. If
you still get no reception with your antenna extended, this does not mean
that there is nothing to receive. Change the orientation of your antenna
until you get a meaningful picture.
SPIRITUAL FINGERPRINT: You are unique. There
is no one else exactly like you. The fingerprints on your hands are unlike
those of anyone else. The fingerprints on ones hands should remind one
of ones spiritual fingerprint known only to God. God knows each of us
uniquely and keeps those who graft themselves to God.
SPIRITUAL SELF-ESTEEM: One must develop spiritual
self-esteem to reach enlightenment. Spiritual self-esteem is confidence
in the ability to overcome ignorance, find, and become one with God. Like
personal self-esteem, one is able to regain ones spiritual self-esteem
with the illumination of the truth of how it was taken away.
SPIRITUAL SOAP: When you were young, your parents
bathed you. You were not able to bathe yourself. When you grew older and
learned how to clean yourself, your parents only had to provide you with
soap. God is like your parents. God no longer washes God's own. The chosen
people of God were like children washed by God's hand. However, as mankind
grew in a more mature understanding of God, God had only to provide his
children soap. And when the soap was rejected by God's own children, God
gave the soap to the world.
God has given soap to the world so that whoever uses it will be made clean
in God's eyes and God will recognize them as God's children. Find the
soap inside of yourself and wash away the evil which clings to you. This
"soap" is the truth which we may use to wash away evil in our
beliefs and be made clean. This "soap" is the Soap of Salvation
which washes away ones sins.
Jesus Christ is the soap for the world that whoever believes and follows
him shall be made clean and will be recognized as a child of God. If people
call soap dirty, then what is clean? For what would you use to clean the
pure soap of God? Spiritual soap is for the soul, for who after he has
washed the dirt from his flesh thinks he has washed the sin from his soul?
Likewise, who after washing themselves runs immediately back outside to
play in the dirt.
Only Jesus brand soap will clean ones soul, all other "detergents"
are like "brand-x". These other generic soaps might at best
clean ones flesh but certainly cannot remove the stains of sin from ones
spirit.
STAR STUFF, ARE WE? Science contends that all of the
atoms in ones body may once have been a part of an ancient and long dead
star shining in the Universe. Accordingly, when that star became a supernova,
it exploded and imploded causing the creation of new "heavier"
elements and sending chunks of "star stuff" out into space.
Our planet may be a piece of this "star stuff" which has been
caught in the gravity of the Sun. The Sun acted upon our planet creating
the conditions for life according to the design of God. Thus, ones flesh
is also made of this "star stuff," for ones atoms came from
the "dust" of the Earth.
Only through God could all these events happen. Because of the vastness
of the Universe, which is God's creation, it might seem strange to assume
that the Earth is the only planet which supports life in the Universe,
then again, who knows? It really doesn't matter with regards to enlightenment.
Although ones body is made of matter, we differ from rocks in that we
have life, spirit, and divine purpose. After all, where is life in the
equation E=MC˛? Too often, science gets caught up in the building, design,
and blue print, and forgets the architect all together.
STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES: Where are you going? What
could be more important than stopping to catch your breath and enjoying
the beauty of life. If one lives in the moment, then one takes the time
to enjoy the moment. Pause and take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Our
breathing is similar to the ocean waves which are exhaled upon the shore
only to be inhaled back into the sea in almost the same amount of time
it takes us to take a breath.
STOP CHASING RAINBOWS: Stop chasing rainbows, the
pot of gold you seek is inside of you. You must look inside yourself to
find happiness. Happiness comes from within not from without.
STRESS: When the "s" of "Satan"
enters and mixes up your "rests" you get "stress".
Thus, "stress" is created by mixed up "rests". If
you illuminate your beliefs to the point where you find rest, you will
have automatically reorganized the "stress" into "rests",
and gotten rid of the extra "s" Thus, stress is just a matter
of observation. When you have illuminated your observation, you will find
that what caused you stress before, will cause you stress no more. A stressful
environment is a matter of observation often caused by the confusion of
contradictory beliefs. How can you "re-lax" when you feel you
have never "laxed" before?
STRING TUNING: The unenlightened body is like an
instrument out of tune. There are "bad notes" entering ones
ears and leaving ones lips, and the result is spiritual noise. Tune each
"string" of goodness within oneself until it is in perfect harmony
with God. When one plays a note on such strings, it will ring true. When
all the strings of ones existence are tuned, one will be in tune with
God. Let goodness resonate through oneself until one tunes oneself to
it. When one is tuned into the goodness of God, then the "notes"
and "music" one "plays" will bless oneself and all
who "hear" it.
The "strings" are Truthfulness, Love, Selflessness, Energy,
Joy, Devotion, Cleanliness, Gratitude, and Justice. Concentrate on each
string name and tune the string inside oneself to the true meaning of
that word. For the "strings" within oneself are ones beliefs.
The string name itself is pure and in tune, but the "string within
oneself" as defined by ones beliefs has to be tuned, or aligned with
the truth, so that any "notes" (behaviors) which come from the
use of each string are pure and in tune with the will of God.
The prayer of St. Francis begins "Lord make me an instrument of your
peace..."
STUMBLING BLOCK: A stumbling block is anything
that comes in the way of one walking the path of righteousness. Hypocrisy,
for example, is a stumbling block to communication of truth. The Bible
says eating meat could be a stumbling block to sharing the gospel with
vegetarians. If one wishes to be sure footed on the path of righteousness,
do not put anything between oneself and God, or allow something to be
put between oneself and God, lest one stumble upon it. Though one may
stumble, one need not fall, one need only remove the obstacle.
SUBCONSCIOUS: The portion of the mind which
receives and stores raw sensory receptions without discrimination of such
data. The subconscious is always actively receiving all sensory receptions
24 hours a day. Whereas the subconscious might be likened to awareness,
the conscious mind might be likened to ones awareness of ones awareness.
The subconscious can be likened to that portion of an iceberg which exists
"below the waters" of the visible and "awake" conscious
mind.
SUBJECTIVITY: The belief that there exist no
absolutes outside oneself, but that reality and truth itself is based
on ones own point of view.
SUCCESS: Success does not come to those who demand
it, it comes only to the deserving. More is given to those who have done
more, not those who boast that they will do more if given more. This applies
to spiritual success as well as financial success and success in relationships.
This reminds me of a story Redbone's singer Lolly Vegas told me about
a Native-American brave who went to the tribe's chief and said, "I
have a hankering to be Chief." The chief responded, "Well then,
you are just a handkerchief."
Success is not something obtained, it is something added to. If one thinks
it is something to be obtained, one finds it is always around the corner,
or out of ones reach. It is that one extra step that a racehorse makes
ahead of the pack that puts it in the lead and makes it the winner.
Sometimes one has to take a step back in order to take two forward. Realize
that one is already successful! When one realizes one is already successful,
then one will allow oneself to become more successful. Success comes to
the successful. If one perceives oneself as being successful, everyone
else will perceive one as being successful, and they will be more likely
to help make one more successful, seeing ones success, than if they perceive
one as a failure. For example, if you needed a stock broker wouldn't you
give your money to the broker who seemed to be making lots of money? Success
breeds success.
Another secret of success is to do more of what you do good. After you
find something that works, do more of it, and increase your rewards!
Imagine a knight trying to win the hand of a fair maiden. He may spend
his life trying to impress her by winning treasures that he thinks will
make her happy. She is not impressed, so he continues to try harder and
harder obtaining greater treasures to no avail.
Rather than trying to get what you want the way you want to get it, be
the desire of the object you desire. Perhaps, the maiden does not want
treasures and only wants love and a simple life. If so, the knight is
going about it all the wrong way. He is actually working against getting
what he wants! Be conscious of the wants of others, especially God.
Success is well oiled. It is hard to attach doubt, procrastination, hesitation,
and other invalid beliefs onto a successful belief. Likewise, success
is the natural result of cleaning the corrosion of doubt, procrastination,
and hesitation form ones beliefs.
A wounded animal tries to bite even those who come in love to help it.
If one can only get ones wounds patched up, one can then enjoy the love
and help which makes one successful.
SUNGLASSES: God made the Sun bright, so they
made sunglasses. Rather than adapt itself to nature, modern society has
adapted nature to suit its desires. The results of this philosophical
approach to nature and life have in general been destructive to the Earth
and to each individual in such a society. God gives rose colored glasses
to anyone who discards his or her sunglasses by believing in truth.
SUPERCONDUCTOR OF GOD: The goal of illumination
is to make the mind like a superconductor of God. By aligning the belief
networks of ones consciousness, one facilitates a frictionless transfer
of information wherein information is neither lost nor distorted. An untangled
mind functions with the least amount of effort allowing information to
be gathered and disseminated effortlessly. The less the distortion of
the truth, the greater the joy of God. Just as a frayed and rusty wire
is a poor conductor of electricity, until one reorganizes ones frayed
and rusty beliefs, one will be a poor conductor of God's grace.
SUPERCONSCIOUSNESS, WHAT IS? "Superconsciousness"
is the word for the state of the illuminated mind. Ones mind is transformed
into superconsciousness when self interest succumbs to God and to doing
good. When one aligns ones beliefs in truth, ones subconscious and conscious
minds automatically reconcile themselves bringing a profound peace and
joy. Illumination, or alignment, enables one to manifest truth and awareness
more readily as ones mind increases in order. EEG brain wave maps show
that illumination creates an ever increasing expansion and coherence in
theta, alpha, and beta brain wave frequencies as the conscious and subconscious
become reconciled to each other and to God. It is like an iceberg being
aware not only of the portion of itself which exists above the water,
but being aware of its entirety.
SURPRISE: In this book, the concept of surprise
means those times of being out of control which are later referred to
as being pleasurable. i.e. a surprise party. On the Emotional Spectrum,
or Pendulum between Pleasure and Pain, their exist two corresponding extremes
being Surprise and Trauma. Observations made under degrees of emotion
cause such emotion to be associated into the observations. Observations
made during periods of surprise cause emotions of pleasure to be associated
with the observation. Observations during periods of trauma cause emotions
of pain to be associated with the observation. An illuminated belief is
free from pleasure and pain.
SWISS CHEESE: Are not holes in swiss cheese natural?
Is swiss cheese not good and perfect even though it is filled with these
holes? When you look at swiss cheese do you look at the cheese or the
holes? Do you throw swiss cheese away because it has holes in it? Eat
the cheese not the holes. Too often, one may find "holes" in
a belief and discard the entire belief as being untrue when perhaps what
appears as a hole is actually a part of the belief. See the truth, not
the holes. Accept the holes as being a part of the truth. Things are not
the way one wants them to be, but the way they really are.
SYSTEM: A group of components which work together
for a common purpose.
