The five parts of love

 

The philosopher's nature is to know. He seeks to understand the truth of all things. The lover's nature is to feel. He doesn't care why or how something works, his wisdom comes from feeling it. The most sacred emotion for the lover is love. He may also learn from joy and pain, but love is his highest experience. Jesus Christ was a lover, I am a philosopher. One way that I try to understand something is to take it apart and learn from its parts. It may seem sacrilegious to a lover, but this technique can be very effective and has helped me greatly in understanding what love really is, when it exists, when it doesn't, and why.

Love is a very mysterious thing to most of us. It is a strange force which binds people together in both ecstasy and pain. Upon careful inspection it can be seen that love is much more than one thing, in fact, it is at least five things with the same name.

Although true love is composed of these five parts, relationships of friendship or even marriage can be successful with less than five. In fact, we often call it love when we only feel one of these five parts of love. However, to experience the complete love that we all wish for, all of the following five parts must be present.

The first part of love is the desire to touch and be touched. We desire to pet puppies, to fondle children, and to hug our mates. This desire to touch sometimes leads to sex, but, in its most simple state, the desire to touch, hug and caress is a pure part of love and can be seen in its primitive state in the grooming between wild animals.

The second part of love is the desire to spend time with the beloved. If we enjoy the time spent together, whether in play, work, talking, or just hanging out, we love that person. Although, we all need some time alone, when we love someone, we want to spend as much time as possible with them.

The third part of love is the desire to protect the beloved. We want them kept safe, and to make sure they survive and grow physically, mentally and emotionally. This is what I call genetic love, because parents who don't seem to love their children in any other way usually love them in this way. They want them to be safe and survive. They feed them, clothe them, educate them, nurse them back to health when they are sick, and try to make them happy, even if they don't like them much.

The fourth part of love is trust. When we trust a person we feel physically and emotionally safe in their presence.  We trust that they will remain loyal on good days as well as bad., that they will be there when the children are small and when they are grown. We know that even when they are angry, they care about our physical and emotional well being.

The fifth part of love, which is often missing in relationships, despite its importance, is admiration. No one admires anyone completely. There are qualities that we despise in ourselves and in others that we cannot admire; and there are qualities in which we are just not interested. However, to love someone completely, we must admire certain special qualities in our beloved. Although this part of love can get out of balance when someone idolizes another, such as with a famous musician, actor, politician, or religious leader, a certain amount of admiration is necessary for a complete love relationship.

Besides being necessary ingredients for the lover to know he is experiencing true love, these five parts are also necessary for the beloved to feel totally loved. They must know that they are desired to be touched and hugged; that their company is treasured; that their well being is cared about; that they are trusted; and that they are appreciated and admired with pride for their special qualities. These five parts of love must be communicated back and forth between lovers, friends, parents and children. When we feel loved, and in love, we feel good about ourselves, and are filled with the self esteem we all need replenished daily.

Sometimes it is hard to know why we don't feel loved in a certain relationship. Isolating and pondering these five parts of love may help you understand why you feel the way you do. It may help you understand why you feel totally loved, and in love, at times, but not at other times; or why you doubt the sincerity of the love of a mate, parent, child or friend. If only one of the five parts of love are present, it may be true when they say, "I love you", but, you are not loved in that special way that we all seek...completely.

The pantheon of one

The pantheon of one

God created the universe out of Itself. The laws of nature are the laws that God gave us. God wound up the clock of existence and it will run by itself until the end of days when it will be destroyed. The Creator, the great singularity, also filled the universe with Its holy spirit which is life and consciousness. This remarkable force is not of the worlds of matter because it has no weight and occupies no space. The Creator also gave each and every life form a part of Its pure self. This part of us has many names. It is called the highest self, guardian angel, dream master, inner master, spirit guide, the muse, Shiva, our personal savior, Christ, the unconscious, and many many more. Since all these entities are the same thing but with different names, I call it the pantheon of one.

It is through prayer and meditation that our link with this spiritual part of ourselves becomes stronger. It is through this creative part of us that evolution was aided. It is true that evolution also takes place through accidental changes in DNA and through selective breeding, but evolution was also caused by the will of the highest self in the organism that evolved. The bones of the bird became hollow because the bird wanted to fly.

Welcome

The book I wrote 20 years ago, Illusion to Enlightenment, is printed below. It is out of print and I want anyone who wishes to read it, copy it, refute it, or believe it, to have access to it. As long as it gets you to think, I have done my job. May the blessings be on your journey and may your soul accomplish its mission in life.

With love and Respect,
Ron Chrislock

CREATION

God once lived in a timeless spaceless singularity, in Its pure form. It was pure law and energy, and alone. Everything that ever was or would be, existed in the lonely now of that moment.

After an eternity of resting in the alone, God decided to start the cycle of creation again, as It had countless times before, each with a different outcome. It divided
Itself in two, so there would be conflict and change, and It would no longer be alone. From that day forward, these two opposite forces have attracted each other, trying to reunite and become one again. The male and female, the proton and the electron, the opposite ends of a magnet, will all be apart until the Whole again merges. It is because the One became two that all action, conflict and movement exist. At that moment God decided to become something more, and It created that something out of Itself.

Long after the suns spewed out the heavy metals, and the worlds were in place, God’s consciousness entered into the universe as life. Life is God’s active participation in the world It made out of Itself. When life needs to evolve, it evolves itself. All that life needs is a desire, or a vacuum and it will try to fill it. All life radiates light in the infrared part of the spectrum. This heat radiation is the true aura of the mystics of old. All life has intelligence, can move matter and can recreate itself. Only God can do these things, and it is the God in us that does. Always remember that God became life, It did not just create it. Rejoice or weep, for you are He.

God in Its most pure form is energy and law, and this pure self exists within all matter by the four forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetic radiation, strong, and weak nuclear forces. The laws of God are the laws of mathematics, chemistry, and physics.

God acts upon the Whole in three ways: creating, sustaining, and destroying it. These are the three faces of God in the Hindu religion. We all love the creator side of God, and are thankful for our existence in the same natural way that we love and give thanks to our mothers and fathers, for our existence. We all hate and fear the destroyer side of God, for it is destruction and death in the world. We hate the destroyer although it is necessary for change. Humans spend most of their worship, the state of awe and wonder, on the center aspect of God, the sustainer. It is within this area that all the qualities that help us survive have their existence.

Thousands of years ago the sustainer qualities of power and might were worshiped. Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Mohamed and others popularized the the qualities love and wisdom to enhance our survival, and keep the human race from destroying itself. Love and wisdom constantly battle for dominance. We constantly struggle with getting the right mixture, for the ultimate chance of survival of the human race and the world. The quality of tolerance is created out of wisdom. It must one day rise to the top of the sustainer qualities worshiped by the human race if it is to survive in the future.

The qualities we worship change as the needs of the times change. We once worshiped fertility and the cold merciless killing of our enemies; today we worship restraint and softheartedness. The truth is that all human qualities are God qualities, with some being out of favor until their need arises. To truly worship the whole of God we must learn to accept the destroyer face of God and ourselves, along with the creator and sustainer. The destroyer is as important to the Whole as the others. If nothing died there would be no room for new life or change. The same is true for governments, societies, customs and even worlds. Our nature to fight the destroyer, love the creator and worship the sustainer, will always be a part of us, and this is good. We must, however, understand and accept the destroyer as a part of God and humankind, a worthy adversary in our eternal struggle. It is our struggle with this negative side that brings out our best. The deer develop their speed because of the lion's strength. Humans developed clothing, shelter and tools because of the winters cold. Our intelligence has risen because of our obstacles. We may never love this destroyer part of God and man, though some cults try; but, we can accept them as a necessary part of God’s whole self and our own, and look upon them too, with awe and wonder.

BEFORE CREATION

What existed before creation and before God? This is an age old question, often asked by children, and stumping parents and religious teachers. Although it seems perplexing at first, the answer is really quite simple.

When God created the universe, it created everything out of itself. including the law. God’s laws are those of nature, the laws of physics, chemistry and mathematics. Time is an integral part of these laws, and was created with them. To use the concept of time in the question, “what was before creation?”, is to ask about a concept which was not yet created. To put it simply, there was no before, until after God created time.

LAWS

The Jews have been waiting for over three thousand years for Abraham’s Messianic days to come, the days when all people shall live by God’s laws. The fact is that people have always been living by God’s laws because it is impossible for them to do anything else. We are in the Messianic days now, and always have been. Perhaps Abraham knew it was not time for people to have the freedom of this knowledge. That mankind must discover this truth for themselves before they could be free. The truth can make you free, but it may also hurt a little in the process. It takes a while getting used to being your own master, and being one on one with God, rather than communicating with God through another. This responsibility can be frightening, and many men flee from the realization of this truth. They flee into the arms of idols, such as masters, bibles and commandments to take up their time and energy, and to give them strength.

Abraham gave his people over 200 laws to follow and none of them will lead a man any closer to God. The symbolic fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, eaten by Adam and Eve is still with us today. Those who eat, see that nearly everything ever written about God is incorrect. But, before you eat, you must realize that you too will be thrown out of the garden of Eden, which is the comforting arms of illusion, to be alone with the alone.

Practically everything stated about God and heaven is wrong except that God does exist. Individuals have been motivated by greed, power and ego to say and write what they have about God. There are many intelligent beings in the universe who have greater power and intelligence than humans; but these great beings are not Gods, any more than any life form is God. Together we make up the Whole, which is God.

All the laws of God were made long before life began, even before the singularity spewed out the universe. God’s only laws are the laws of science: the laws of physics, chemistry and mathematics. These scientific laws apply to all of existence and cannot be broken. Anywhere you put together hydrogen and oxygen in the right conditions, you will get water, sayeth the Lord. All other laws were made by man. From the laws of Moses down to the constitution, laws have been made by men to protect the human species. Even when we make a law to protect our environment, or another species of life, it is still for our enrichment and protection. We do not want to live in an ugly polluted world. The ten commandments and the social laws of today are exactly the same in degree of holiness. They are simply tools of survival.

RELIGION

All of life is a religious experience. Religions should be looked on as schools within schools to get the true perspective of where they lie within the whole. After years of study in a religion or a school of thought, the time comes when we must choose to stay or to graduate. All religions try to keep their followers from leaving. This is a means of controlling those who are not ready to go on to something else. Jesus passed through many schools of the Far East as well as Judaism during his lost years. Paul Twitchell, the founder of Eckankar, also passed through many schools before presenting his teachings. In his book, “The Tigers Fang”, Paul twitchell tells the symbolic story of the struggle of the followers of the worlds religions with their leaders. In this story, the leaders all insisted that they were the highest and that there was nothing beyond them. As the story unfold, they are all proven to have been lying to keep control of their followers. There was always a teaching higher than the one just left behind.

And, so it goes in the real world. There is always something more to be learned; and qualities of God to be discovered and perfected. A religion that is willing to change with the discovery of new knowledge regarding man and his world is a living religion. One that holds steadfast to its ancient dogma is dead. Living religions are what man needs for further evolution. If you cannot find a living religion that fits the way you believe, it may be the time for you to create your own personal religion or belief system. For some, it is better to have a religion of one, than to follow a religion that has been outgrown.

CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness exists everywhere and nowhere. It exists in all matter and space, just as energy exists in all matter and space. A rock has a small quantity while a planet has a larger quantity; but even our whole planet has less consciousness than one human being. As you approach the mass of the sun, you approach the consciousness of man. A neutron star or a black hole has much more consciousness than any life form. It is the consciousness of dark matter which causes the universe to accelerate its expansion. Imagine all matter in one place, such as the beginning of the universe and you have a consciousness of an almost infinite nature; billions of times more intelligent than a human being. This is only part of God the creator; the creator of the laws of math and science, the architect of the all. As It blew Itself into space, It used Its purest self, the holy spirit, to create the universe and to sow the seeds of life.

As we learned in high school physics class, all matter has certain qualities. It has weight, occupies space, and contains energy as stated in Einstein’s formula E=MC2. One quality we never learned in class is that all matter also contains consciousness. The problem is that matter cannot communicate its consciousness. It is life’s special ability to communicate consciousness, turn it into action, and replicate itself. It is the communication of consciousness rather than the consciousness itself, which is unique in living things.

The brain is a complex mind over matter machine. It permits consciousness, which is in everything, to have its effect on the universe. A rock is conscious, but can do nothing about it. A brain on the other hand, makes it possible to do something other than just be.

How do we know our fellow human beings have consciousness? It is simply because they act like us that we presume they must have consciousness. The rock, on the other hand, is not like us and cannot communicate its consciousness. Therefore, we presume that it has no consciousness when in fact it does. All matter from the tiny electron to the universe itself has consciousness and intelligence. Together these make up part of the mind of God.

The forces of nature have been around since the beginning of the universe, over 20 billion years ago. It is logical that consciousness must also have existed since creation; long before the planets could support life. Just as electricity can be manifested from an electromagnetic field, consciousness is manifested from, and is part of, the natural forces of nature.

As the universe expands and cools, consciousness in life forms will continue to rise until, at the extreme opposite end of creation, the fruits of God’s labor will be gathered. This will be in the form of greater qualities and quantities of consciousness and intelligence and their manifestations. This will all be kept in the records of the eternal now; that place beyond the speed of light where time stands still.

After God the holy spirit created the universe and the law out of Itself, Its sole purpose became to sustain that which It created while It evolved and matured. Matter on the subatomic level is very close to nothingness. Units of force which create matter tend to blink in and out of existence all the time. It is God’s job to keep the universe and the law in existence until they are gathered together again during the destruction phase of the universe. The rest is up to us. The creator God has not interfered with our lives in a direct way since It became life.

THE VOID

Like many other areas of metaphysics and spiritual philosophy, the void is cloaked in useless mystery. To understand it simply and clearly, let us first take a look at the field of mathematics.

For every positive numbers there is a negative number: 1 and -1, 10 and -10, 1000 and -1000 and on into infinity. The number 0 is the only number with no opposite, and it lies in the center of the universe of numbers. It can be said that in the number 0 is the potential for all other numbers and their opposites. It is from the number 0 that all numbers are created.

This is also true of the worlds of matter and energy. The reason the universe is expanding equally in all directions is because it started at point 0, the great singularity, or point nothing which is the void. God, the unknowable, was the void before creation. There is confusion over the concept of the void because there is no true void in existence in the physical world; it only exists in the spiritual world. The true void is more than the absence of things; it is the potential of everything. Just as all numbers exist in 0, all creation exists in the void.

The void is also filled with consciousness. It is the pure state of the Holy Spirit and the force that creates, maintains and destroys the worlds of time and space. It is the dark matter of which the scientists speak, which is neither dark nor matter. If anything it is light and energy, but even this doesn’t describe the indescribable nature of the void.

GOD’S COMMAND TO LIFE

1. SURVIVE: Do what you must to insure your survival, as well as the survival of those whole systems to which you belong. Whole systems include family, society, nation, world, philosophical belief, race, etc. When threatened, we naturally revert to the whole system which is in danger. For example, we work for the growth and survival of the world, but in time of war we revert to the protection of our nation. We also work for the growth and survival of our nation; but, if our family is threatened, we identify first and foremost with it and its protection. If we as an individual are threatened, our association with other whole systems will normally be put aside to deal exclusively with the protection of the smallest whole system to which we belong, the self. Although these general rules can be overcome by some people, they hold true in most cases. In time of conflict and strife, it is very difficult to think first of the greater whole, but it is something we must practice. Placing the whole above the self, the world above the nation, and the whole of life above human life, are heroic qualities and are desperately needed to save the world from destruction.

2. DIVERSIFY: Diversity helps to insure survival of different species of life and of life itself. The many physical, emotional, mental, and personality traits of humans enhance specialization and division of work. Since it cannot be foreseen what type of quality might be the one to advance the human species or to save it from destruction, a wide variety of qualities are important. All qualities have an upside and a downside. Just as a small car saves gas, but loses room and the opposite is true of a large car, so every man and woman has their strengths and weaknesses. Never feel guilty because of an inadequacy, for it is the nature of all things to have both strengths and weaknesses. It is up to us to place our attention on our strengths, after discovering them through self realization. This is the most important lesson of self realization and must be understood.

Variety is one of God’s more important laws for life. It insures a wide range of experiences from life and guarantees its survival. Species come and go, but life will remain and evolve. The law of diversity will always be with us; and, because of it, there will never be agreement on anything by all people. There will never be one government, religion, or one way to do anything. All these things have a truth of their own and are necessary. Each calls to its own, those who are in harmony with its ways. This state of apparent confusion is the natural way. This is the way it was planned and the way it shall remain. There will always be people who will harmonize with your views, but never will everyone agree with them. Unless a person is ready for a way of thinking, it is a waste of time trying to convert them. There is a place for everything in this world, for in diversity there is strength.

3. GROW: The driving force in all life, is to become more, This is because it is God’s nature to become more; and, being part of God, it is our nature as well. This is why in our sports we are always striving to become stronger or faster; and why in science and philosophy we are always striving for more knowledge. It is our responsibility and desire to constantly try to reach higher levels in ourselves, our family, or job, community, nation, and world. This command to life is what gave us the will to evolve ourselves and will always be our destiny.

HEAVEN

Everything we are, do, and cause to be done, from our first breath to our last, is constantly being recorded and will be preserved forever. Just as radio waves projected into space travel eternally, so does a thought, a feeling, or an action. Our lives are like works of art and are preserved forever in the mind of God. It is in this way, along with the effects of our actions and our children’s actions on the earth, that we humans are eternal. We need not rely on the old beliefs of heaven and reincarnation. The fact is, that these beliefs may do our world and us more harm than good.

There are two basic areas in which humans wish to be immortal. One is to be eternally conscious and the other is to be eternally remembered, or to cause an effect which will be felt down through time. The first type of immortality is less important since we lose consciousness every night between dreams while we sleep. We all enjoy this deep dreamless sleep and it really does not seem so terrible if this is what we may face after death.

The other type of immortality is to be remembered, or to have our actions cause effects which will be felt down through time. Our children are one way for us to influence the future in this way. We mold them in our image and they in turn mold their children. As each generation proceeds, our influence on the future through our children is cut in half, and while being eternally present, is being eternally diminished.

The children of our mind, our thoughts, words, and deeds also affect the future long after we have died. Things we do or say today may live until the end of the world. Even a simple complement may change another person’s life and the course of history. I once heard of a mass murderer who, upon receiving a smile and hello while having breakfast in a cafe, later wrote in his diary that he decided not to shoot anyone that day. Someone’s life was spared by that smile and who knows what the spared person will accomplish with their life. Our actions are eternal and true karma is their cause and effect which rebounds through time.

Although anything is possible, it is highly unlikely that there is another world where we go after death. This belief has come to us from ancient times because of the lack of the understanding of dreams. Dreams are so life like that early man mistook them for other worlds rather than seeing them as ways to deal with this one. It was the dream which caused even the earliest man to bury his dead with things to use in another world. The belief in an after-world may actually be harmful to human growth. Life should be motivated by what can be done to better this world and not what to do to enter or avoid another.

If it is unlikely that there is a heaven, the idea of hell is even more absurd. It is simply a fear tactic of religion to keep their members loyal and to control their actions.

A wise man like Moses needed a big stick to get his ignorant people to follow the rules which were for the good of the tribe of Israel. He and those before him obviously thought this small untruth was worth the price of obedience. We are no longer ignorant and now have many laws to take the place of the commandments. We must think and feel for ourselves the ethical consequences of acts which may hurt the whole. Today we do not just follow laws; we change them to fit our needs. This is true of government and should be true for spiritual laws as well since it was man who wrote them both.

It is time for humans not to worry about heaven and put all our energy into making this world better. It is the only world we will ever have for certain and is worthy of our full attention.

SUICIDE

The correctness of an action changes with time in response to what works for survival. A hundred years ago it was correct and intelligent to have a large family to share the work load and to populate the world with allies. This ancient reasoning is still being used by the Catholic Church to support its stand against birth control and abortion. Through large families the Catholic Church continues to grow in number and power. Most people feel, however, that today it is more correct and intelligent to limit the size of families in order to control excessive population growth and to limit the stress on our natural resources. A smaller size family today has a better chance of survival and growth in terms of education the young and acquiring material goods.

It is more important for the whole to survive rather than the parts. The whole of life is more important than the whole of mankind and mankind is more important than the individual. In the old days, a feeble Native American would roll off the horse drawn drag on the way to the winter camp ground to die alone. They felt that to continue their life would harm the chances of survival for the tribe. Today’s modern man must also have the right to end his life if it appears that its continuation would destroy or bankrupt the family. This is no different than the war hero who attacks the enemy bunker single handed with certain loss of his life in order to protect his comrades and country. When suicide is done as an unselfish act for the whole, it is heroic. When it is done for selfish reasons, such as escaping fear, pain, humility, or boredom, it is cowardly. This is because the unique talents of the departed may be needed by the whole for its survival or growth at some future time.

It is strange to see so many people of the world try so hard to cure all disease, prevent all war, eliminate all abortions, executions and famine; and then, also worry about pollution and over population. We humans must be willing to adjust or eliminate the worship of certain qualities and actions which threaten the whole of man and the whole of life. The worship of large families and long life, at all costs, must be re-evaluated with modern problems and goals in mind. Instead being seen as a sin, suicide should be considered a solution to some of the problems facing the world.

MEDITATION

You are perfect just as you are. There is no need to contemplate or meditate to become a better person in the spiritual sense. However, if you admire a particular quality, and wish to strengthen it in yourself, meditation ore contemplation may be helpful. Also if you wish your soul to fulfill its destiny for this life you might like to meditate. Meditation can strengthen the communication between soul, the Holy Spirit and the mind.

An extrovert places most of his attention outside his head in the world of action, things and people; while the introvert places most of his attention inside his head, thinking, dreaming and feeling. This behavior can be extreme and you may wish to balance it in the middle area which is where most people exist. I would like to point out, however, that extremes add strength to the whole and are important. Anyone wishing to change their objective/subjective balance should give some consideration to the good of the whole before making this decision. It is often better to learn what our strengths are and to use them, rather than trying to strengthen our weak qualities in order to become a perfect person. This type of perfection of becoming strong in all qualities goes against God’s law of balance. It is an illusion of man and impossible to achieve. The truth is that we are already perfect from God’s viewpoint of the whole, and by dwelling upon this perfection you will begin to see the truth in all things.

People often think they will become closer to God by using meditation techniques. It may be true that to contemplate on love will cause you to feel and express more love in your life; but, this is not being closer to God, it is only expressing more of a certain quality of God. We can use these techniques to become different, but not more God like, because we are already totally of God. Time would be better spent recognizing all our human qualities and those of the world, and accepting them all as necessary for survival, existence and growth. It is only that they are need at different times in our existence, and in the existence of the human race. Meditation and contemplation can be used as tools of the mind to understand the mystery of ourselves and the universe.

Try meditating twice a day for about 20 minutes morning and night. Consistency is important, even using the same chair helps achieve success. Start by concentrating on your breathing and feel the in-breath going into your heart area. Chant a holy word inside your mind or out loud if you like. After a while switch your attention to your head area and look hard at what is in your field of mental vision. If you see a blue or other colored light, watch it as it builds and recedes in brightness and form. If you get a sound listen to it build and recede. You may get short dreams or visions. Try to bring them into your consciousness. They are difficult to capture at first, but with practice you will be able to remember them. Take a minute to interpret the symbols of the vision as you would in a dream. Look at the symbols and ask yourself, what this represents in my life. Remember that only the dreamer can interpret the symbols accurately. These visions are messages from your higher soul self. They are trying to guide you in your life so that soul can accomplish what its mission is in life.

BELIEF

Everything we know has its beginnings in a belief. In mathematics, the whole body of proofs rest on the belief or definition that certain things are a certain way. In chemistry and physics, we build great technologies on laws which have their roots in mere beliefs. Even in our everyday life we must believe that what we experience is real and will still be real tomorrow.

We must also permit religion and philosophy some basic beliefs to establish a foundation upon which to build. After the basic beliefs are in place, the use of observation, logic, reason, along with a small amount of intuition, can be used to finish and test the structure. Belief must always, however, be kept to a minimum. To test the validity of a belief, we can use the law of simplicity which states that the truth will be that which is most simple, beautiful and reasonable.

Of all the questions put to science and religion the one which has the most diverse answers is: What or who created the universe? Science normally says chance and religion says God. This is one area where science and religion agree because chance is a quality of God. When God created the universe it also created the law. The laws of science, math and nature cause the universe to unfold according to God’s plans. Random behavior and chance are simply laws of mathematics and alone could not create anything. They were themselves created. Once the laws of nature were created by the pure intelligence of God the rest was easy. Like a wound up spring the universe unfolded and is unfolding still. The birth and death of stars created the heavy elements to build our planet and our very bodies. Even dark matter, which contains enough force to keep the universe accelerating in its expansion, was created by God. In fact dark matter isn’t matter at all, it is the Holy Spirit using it’s will to create this force. Everything works together like a great symphony. There should be no doubt, especially to the scientist, that intelligence created the universe and life. Scientist are often embarrassed to say that they really do believe in creation of the universe by God, the great Singularity. The idea alone is most simple, beautiful and reasonable.

PRAYER

There are two types of prayers, the asking and the thanking prayer. The asking prayer is a tool to marshal the forces of our whole self to obtain survival qualities and goods. It works because the first step in obtaining something we want is to know what it is well enough to ask for it. The second step is to have a strong emotion generating the power to achieve it. The asking prayer is the precise forming of the correct words and emotions to communicate the ego’s desires to the higher soul self. Frequent communication of these desires with the higher self, either by prayer of goal setting, keeps it informed of what the ego wants in life.

Communication between the ego and the higher soul self is not always easy. The higher self uses dream symbols, hunches as well as actual words to communicate its desires and the answers to our prayers. The ego has difficulty perceiving these subtle messages and often misses them altogether. The higher self also has difficulty interpreting the ego’s messages. This is why emotion, precision and repetition are necessary for prayer to work; and, why in goal setting, they must be put down on paper and reviewed often. I find that simply meditating on the breath while chanting Holy Spirit or some other holy word is very effective in stimulating communication between the ego and soul. After much practice at this, the soul will send messages in visions, which are like short dreams which can be interpreted. This is one way you can know what soul wants you to do so it can complete its mission for this life.

The thanking prayer is actually the worship of a special part of God. It is that part of God that God wishes us to worship. I call this side of God the Son of God. The son is the best of all qualities for humans, the survival qualities. It is destructive for humans to worship the entire whole of God because within God lie the negative as well as the positive. God is all tolerant but species cannot afford to be. We cannot be tolerant of murder or stealing and the like. We also cannot worship the whole of God, but we can understand it and accept it in its entirety.

HEAD VERSES HEART

Heart based religions are those which worship the high emotions such as love, bliss and compassion. They profess these emotions to be more Godlike than the mental qualities such as reason and logic. This thinking is not only incorrect, it is also the wrong way to obtain these sought after emotions. To seek an emotion like bliss is to chase it away from you. The best way to make these high emotions a part of your consciousness in a balanced manner is through the mind.

The qualities of the heart as well as those of the mind are important on the road to God realization. Although the mental is often ridiculed by the heart based religions, it is the road to understanding ourselves and our relationship to God. Understanding the truth helps us gain freedom. The realization of self and God are mental acts, not emotional ones. It is through understanding and freedom that confidence, happiness and love come into our lives. Heart religions ridicule the mind because they know it is the only force which can break their hold on their followers. They know that it can defeat blind faith and superstition.

It is man’s nature to try to understand God and himself. The mind’s higher intelligence evolved last because it is the newest and most potent tool we have for this quest.
If you use the mind to know yourself and God, the high emotions will also be yours. Seek first the understanding of the kingdom of God and everything else will also be yours.

EGO

Let us take a minute to put in balance our high opinion of ourselves as humans. The human species is just one of the millions of species of life on this planet. We all look different and have a wide variety of skills because our species has found success in survival by diversification. We have a highly developed ego, or I center, which can identify with anything. Have you ever heard of a dog, who after living with many cats, thinks he is a cat? Or a pet, who is exclusively around people who thinks he is a person? Other animals do have this ability but the human ego has perfected it.

We can identify with good or evil. Good are the higher survival qualities for the individual or the group. Evil are the lower survival qualities which cause the lessening or destruction of the individual or the group. When God looks at mankind, It sees the whole of mankind within the larger whole of life. God, the Holy Spirit, sees neither good nor evil in mankind, only perfection in what is. When you look at a painting, do you say, “the reds are beautiful, but those blues and browns are sure ugly”? No. You see the whole of the painting.

We humans are fortunate to have developed the ability to identify with anything, from politics to race, from sex to philosophy. As stated in the chapter on group consciousness, listen for the words I am to discover with how much your ego identifies. I am a republican, I am white, I am an American, I am a Catholic, etc. Make a list and you will see how active your ego is. The point is not to eliminate identifying with the parts of the whole; but, to add a few more, For example: I am part of the whole, therefore, I am the whole. I am part of God, therefore, I am God. Try to see the whole as God sees it. Seeing from this viewpoint will put you in a higher state of consciousness and will raise the whole of mankind along with you.

DREAMS

In days of old, dreams were the primary method of man to spiritually know himself. Even today partial self realization can be gained through dreams; though modern man more often uses hunches and insights to receive information and direction from the soul and higher self. Dreams, however, can still be a powerful tool in the pursuit of self and God realization. Every cell in the body sends signals of its needs and of its experience to the unconscious mind. There it is sorted, stored and communicated to the ego through dreams, hunches and insights.

The Native American and many other primitive cultures placed a high value on the content and messages of their dreams. It was through their faith in the truth of their dreams that their higher selves influence their lives and destiny. The true spiritual power of dreams is this communication between two parts of us, the soul and the mind.

The dream is also one of the greatest tools we have for solving problems and getting rid of the suppressed emotions which face us daily. Yet, we often fail to remember even a part of the dreams which help solve our problems.

Full conscious or lucid dreams happen to most of us occasionally and can be prompted by certain techniques. Soul travel and out of the body experiences are two forms of lucid dreams. These special dreams are unique in their ability to teach us, for they simulate life experiences exactly. During these full conscious dreams the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming, while still having complete access to his memory and intellect. The mistake many spiritual seekers make when they have this type of experience is that they believe they are actually visiting a part of the physical world and that they are interacting with real people. They fail to realize that these experiences occur only within their private dream world and are filled with characters and symbols which represent parts of themselves. Although subjective and dream experiences are real in a personal way, they do not meet the definition of the word reality. Reaity is defined as when two or more people are conscious of the same thing at the same time. The sharing and validating of experiences creates reality. This does not lessen the dream experience for while not reality in one sense, it is real in that its power affects and changes our lives.

It can be shown that both lucid and normal dreams are the products of our minds, by the fact that all people dream in their own language and of their own culture or those they have experienced. The early Native Americans dreamed of nature, and their heaven was the happy hunting grounds; the ancient Egyptians dreamed of the Nile and the pyramids; we dream of our homes, cities and country side. We all dream what we have perceived and stored in our memory, although it may be reorganized to achieve the proper symbols for the lesson or the emotional release.

One of the most remarkable things about a dream is the part of the mind which creates all the scenery for the dream world. It is not the ego, that part of us who we normally think we are. It is the highest soul self, that part of our mind which is truly the master of the self. This dream master creates the scenes and the characters while the ego watches, acts, and reacts to it. This is how they communicate with each other.

Though lucid dreams seem real, they are a private reality which cannot be shared. It is a mistake to think that anyone else shares your dream or out of the body experience with you. The masters and friends you may see while dreaming are all part of you. No one ever enters into your dream and you never enter into the dream of another.

It is the beauty and freedom of our dreams that have caused the belief in life after death. Whether or not life after death does, in fact, exist is a personal thing for everyone to decide. If it does exist, we will one day know it; and if it does not, it will not matter. What is important is to pay attention to life’s own rewards. We must try to advance life where we can, not because we hope to gain entrance into another world after death, but because it is our nature to grow and become more.

The dream is a powerful tool of survival and growth. However, to move from illusion to enlightenment, it must be seen without its mystery and superstition.

MASTERS

Webster has two definitions of the word master: 1. One who has chief authority or control. 2. One eminently skilled in an occupation, art or science. Although the spiritual masters of the past and present did and still do have some authority over their students, and they have or had skills in the art of religion, the term master is , in today’s world, a negative one when used in the master/student relationship.

Since the days of slavery, the term master points to its opposite, slave. The words we use affect the subconscious mind by turning ideas into ridged structures of thought. If, for example, we use four letter words which describe lower bodily functions to constantly express ourselves, we will experience a lowering of consciousness. This is because we subconsciously identify with that which we place our attention upon. Of course, the opposite is also true. If we think high thoughts, emotions, and words such as love, or God, we will be raised in consciousness. Using the word master in describing your spiritual teacher makes you develop the consciousness of a slave with feelings of inferiority and should be avoided. The word, teacher, is much more appropriate and causes less harm to both student and teacher.

Most students who follow a master are taught that the master has two sides: the outer or physical side and the inner or spiritual side. This spiritual side is said to be an entity which watches your every move; and teaches, loves, protects and guides you. Before you can be spiritually free you must learn and gain confidence in the fact that this spiritual entity is your own higher self. You are the only true master of yourself. Teachers come and go; but, your higher self is always there, closer than a heartbeat.

Religions are schools and as everything else have a good and bad side. The upside is that they teach the qualities of loyalty and discipline; and, some powerful techniques for survival and growth, such as prayer, contemplation, meditation, and ethics. The down side is that they breed guilt, fear, inferiority, and dependency. If you are ready to test yourself and be your own master, it can be a beautiful experience; but, leaving the nest can be hard and frightening in the beginning. During this early stage, remember that with use your wings will grow strong and you will fly with the truly free.

Religion often supplies many people with a necessary element for their growth, the loving teacher. The reason there are people who do not have a strong need for religion, is because they had one or more loving teachers in their forming years. This type of relationship gives one self confidence, reduces fear, and promotes self confidence, reduces fear, and promotes self love. It is with a loving teacher that we truly absorb what is taught into the fabric of our consciousness. Some people find a loving teacher in a parent, brother, sister, friend, or a loving mate. But, millions search the religions of the world for their loving teacher. Teachers long dead are tempting, for they are held up to the world as lovers of all people. Although these departed teachers can help a person to cope, they can only learn the lesson of love from a living person. The loving teacher must be someone you can meet with privately or in small groups. Someone who can look at you, touch you, and care enough for you to teach from love, Many of today’s spiritual teachers want large groups so they can be powerful in the world, despite the fact that this power will almost certainly corrupt them. Most of these teachers try to hold on to their students by guilt, fear, and illusion. It is only when the student begins to see through this deception that he realizes he no longer needs the teacher.

The highest lesson you can learn from any master or teacher is that the highest part of yourself is the true master of yourself. Most teachers will not tell you this directly, you must come to realize it yourself. They will do everything in their power to remain in control. With persistence, however, you will realize that the inner master, dream master, and guardian angel are all parts of your own higher self and the only master you will ever need. The teachers of the world only help show the way, provide a foundation upon which you can build, and try to hold you back until you are strong enough to become free. Once you learn this and accept all the parts of yourself, both good and bad, as parts of your perfect self, you will be free. You must learn to see the wholes within the whole. This is the way to self realization and God realization. Enlightenment is becoming truly human in order to begin life in earnest.

GROUP CONSCIOUSNESS

It is an illusion for humans to think of themselves as individuals. A human is actually made up of many layers of consciousness, the most basic being the cell. The consciousness of each cell is a lot like that of any one celled organism. They all think individually and are the only true individuals.

The lowest of the group consciousness’ starts with the groups of cells which make up the tissues and the organs. These groups have a consciousness of their own, made up of the units involved. The heart and the stomach actually have different types of awareness. The brain system gets most of the attention, concerning consciousness, because it communicates with all the other groups within the body by way of the nervous system. It also communicates with other life forms through the languages it has developed. The language of visual movements of the face and body, the language of smell and of hearing, are all much more ancient and important than word symbols. To make things more complex, the brain is divided into left and right hemispheres, as well as different areas on the cortex. These areas all have their own consciousness. Have you ever had a debate in your head whether to do something or not? This is one of the manifestations of the different conscious brain parts. Some, like the brain stem, are primitive and deal with bodily functions and perceptions. While other more recently evolved areas such as the frontal lobe, engage in areas such as reason, creativity, and philosophy.

Starting with the human consciousness and moving outwards, the first social group consciousness of which we are a member is the family; followed by the tribe, city, state, nation, and world. We are a part of groups even larger than our world but they do not have much meaning for us at this time. The solar. Galactic, and universal systems are far in our future. But even so, we must try to remember that we are all a part of the great Whole, which is God.

Every religion creates a group consciousness of its own. In fact, it is this very consciousness which is the God of most religions. However, very few religions recognize the group consciousness for even the whole earth, much less that of the one true God of the Whole. Any religion which exempts evil from its God cannot possibly be a religion of the whole. All the major religions mistakenly teach that the negative forces are not a part of God, nor a part of themselves. They look down on those who do not agree with the dogma of their church founders. In self righteousness they teach their followers that the rest of mankind are heathens and cannot be saved. They are to be considered devils or less than human. Think of the conflict and bad feelings this attitude creates in the world. A religion of truth must embrace all of mankind and reality. Animals, plants and different states of consciousness, although different, must be considered equal in the eyes of God.

We all have our Gods or group consciousness’ even if we think we do not. The Russians worship mother Russia and Marxism, while an American worships freedom. A good test to see what group consciousness’ we belong to, is to see where we use the words I am. I am a Dodgers’s fan, I am white, I am an American, I am a Catholic, I am a Republican. Although it is not bad to belong to these group consciousness’, we must be aware of what groups we belong to in order to develop in truth and wisdom and become spiritually free.

It is easy to see why a patriot views his country as a God. This group consciousness has power, wisdom, love, and control over its subjects. Even a small group consciousness, such as a high school, has a spiritual entity or consciousness surrounding it. Sports teams often get that extra power and go on to victory, as a result of the schools spirit. We humans continually build and tear down our Gods as the need arises. We form alliances with the ones we desire and with whom we identify.

Money, for example, is a product of a certain type of consciousness, which when joined, showers its subjects with wealth and power. However, it is often accompanied by corruption and unhappiness. Rare is the man that can walk the balance between excessive money and high character.

To become one with any of God’s qualities, one must identify one’s self with that quality, group or substance. This is done by continually holding it in one’s mind and acting as if it is already one with you. However, I advise the true seeker of God and the truth, to keep his attention on the whole and all its qualities in a balanced manner. As has been said so many times before, we can only serve one master. When the attention is focused too much on one thing, we become blind to the rest. It is through understanding the relationship between yourself, your group consciousness’ and the whole, that spiritual freedom will be found.

PRIDE AND HUMILITY

Pride and humility are opposite ends of the same emotional concept of self esteem. Just as love and hate are the opposite ends of passion. Both ends, or qualities, have their place in the whole and neither are intrinsically good or bad. It all depends upon what you want to achieve with your life. To obtain true self realization, you must understand these two qualities and their effects.

Pride is the joy we feel when we, or someone in our group, demonstrate a survival quality which is above average. When our sons and daughters excel in school or sports, we are proud of ourselves for our part in bringing them into the world and influencing them. We are proud of our leaders when they demonstrate skill in the qualities of leadership. It is also good to be proud of ourselves when we demonstrate qualities above the average. These qualities are the strengths that we must discover in ourselves; and, when we find them, it is good to rejoice. Why then do many feel guilty when they are praised and have difficulty accepting complements? It is because as a society, we have been taught that humility is the best of the two qualities. Jesus said: “Blessed are the humble”, he did not say blessed are the proud.

Pride taken to an extreme is untruth. While it is truthful to see and worship a survival quality in ourselves or in others, it becomes untrue when we think that, because we possess a special quality we are superior to others. It is a temptation for those with superior qualities to feel they are better than other people. This is the danger of pride. To think you are above or better than others keeps you from the state of enlightenment. We are all equal but different in making up the whole. None better or more important than any other. Always remember, if you loose one piece of the puzzle, it is incomplete.

Humility has been forced upon people by those who believe they are superior. A man who wishes to convince others of his superiority, must convince the others that they are inferior and that humility is the quality they should worship. A superior acting person needs humble people to complete his illusion and to bow down to him. People who think and act like this always doubt themselves and need constant reassurance that they are, indeed, better. Most of this behavior was started with the priestcraft of the early religions. Masters and holy men, who supposedly had a closer link to God, used the teaching of humility to further their own ends and to dominate others.

It is good to have pride in our qualities which excel, but it is also important to have the humility to know that you are no better or worse than any other human being. We are all uniquely different, and in this way special.

DETACHMENT

Detachment is a wonderful quality to have on our spiritual journey, as long as it is only used in its proper place. It can help prevent us from squandering too much energy on dreams which are only remotely possible. It is important to remember, however, that detachment should come only after the battle is lost and never during the struggle, When things are hopeless, detachment lets you appreciate the outcome and the correctness of the world as it is. This is certainly true in the case our our ultimate death. We fight it with gusto until it is obvious that the end has come; and only at that moment do we use detachment to depart the world in peace. If you are too detached during a struggle, it is unlikely that you will ever win it; for passion is needed to succeed at most things in life.

Many Eastern religions and some Western ones make the mistake of being detached at the wrong time or over the wrong things. While this practice has its place in a poverty stricken, over populated place where detachment brings with it less suffering, it can easily lead to passivity. This must be guarded against by most so that they do not become less than their best. Both conflict and detachment are equally important qualities in our lives and we must learn to know when to use each of them.

If you think you need more detachment in your life, you might try the wishzone technique. Next time you find yourself attached to a strong desire, remember that every person has a wishzone, and area of desire that they will never obtain or achieve. For the rich, it may be that they will never own that rare collector’s item they have been trying to acquire; for the crippled, it may be a walk in the mountains; for the poor, it may be a new car or vacation. Simply knowing that every one has this wish zone and suffers from it, and that we all experience the same emotions and have access to the same ultimate lessons will help in acquiring detachment. This can be a powerful tool in life, but it must be used sparingly.

BRUSH STROKES

This journey’s just a brush stroke
in the painting of your life
it moves across the canvas
drawing meaning of your plight
it sweeps and shades and swallows
empty space and time
creating a masterpiece
from a life completely blind

There’s a statement in a life cut short
and in the lines of an old man’s face
there’s beauty in the courage
of something done in vain
and of joy and love, desperation and pain
every life’s a masterpiece,
there will never be two the same

Fill your brush up with emotions,
and boldly pint
mixing vivid colors
with tears for subtle shades
your mind is busy etching symbols in the piece
forever changing patterns,
your creations never cease

This life is just a brush stroke
in the painting of your soul
you lay there on the canvas
in the act of trying to know.

DISCIPLINE


The ultimate purpose of discipline in the pursuit of spiritual truth is to curb the human nature to become more. Our nature to survive and become more serves us well most of the time; but, even this tool must be discarded to reach the highest truth. Through discipline, one learns to understand how this part of our nature creates the illusion that there is more to God than there really is.

As humans grow into higher areas of socialization and evolution they rely more and more on discipline. The ability to curb the appetite for sex, hunger, violence, greed, etc. Can achieve greater happiness and a higher survival rate for the whole.

It is human nature to desire to become more in all phases of our existence. We wish for more power, possessions, wealth, love, happiness; and yes, even more God. Our nature to become more is what has evolved life to this point. This nature was placed in all life by God when It became life. It is because of this compulsion to be more that we invented or embellished some and perhaps most of the supernatural aspects of God. Only through the discipline of this urge can we grasp the truth. The truth is that God became the universe and all its laws, which in turn created and evolved life. Creation is God’s way of experiencing as much as It can; and, when It is through, we and the universe will once again become God in Its pure energy state.

Life is like a flame, they both have consciousness and the ability to move or change matter. Life is a chemical change, with the emission of photons being consciousness. Our bodies, brain, and mind constantly emit photons in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. These packets of energy travel at the speed of light where time stands still. Life, like energy, is always conserved. Life simply changes form through physical and mental work. It becomes its creations and is forever a part of everything it touches. We affect our world through our actions and our children’s actions. This is our immortality and the way we shape the future. Isn’t this enough? Isn’t the continuation of God’s quest enough reason for our birth, existence and for our death? Even if we give up the concept of being an eternal consciousness and there being a special place created for us to spend a blissful eternity with God Almighty, it is still very much worth being a piece of the puzzle. It is an honor being a brush stroke in this great work of art. We need wisdom and courage to see and accept true spiritual insight and this is why we practice discipline. Everything has a price and part of the price of spiritual freedom and enlightenment is the acceptance of our mortality.

BALANCE

There is nothing wrong with extremes in life. In fact, extremes give strength to the whole by discovering new ways of survival and growth. Nothing new comes out of average or common qualities; yet they are also very important, for it is the common qualities which sustain the new which has been created. Both are extremely necessary in there proper place. Balance must be learned and understood in order to choose what is best for the whole and for your spiritual growth. It is balance which gives man control over his life.

One of the functions of balance is to prevent us from becoming disillusioned along the path to enlightenment. Everything in life has an upside and a downside. The most glamorous movie star loses his freedom to get lost in a crowd, the rich man worries of ways to protect his wealth and possessions, and the hobo has the time to do anything and the money to do nothing.

As far as the spiritual journey goes, it is possible to study, meditate, pray, or even love too much, as well as too little. All the parts of our mind and emotions crave to have expression and must be kept in balance. Our bodies need exercise and play and our senses need stimulation. We must not take life or the spiritual journey too seriously, it is to be enjoyed. All of life is a part of the religious experience and a part of the whole, which is God.

One area which most people take for granted and which needs changing is the way they view the world and its natural substances. They fail to see the spirituality in the common substances such as water, air, earth, and the sun. They worship the supernatural substance like heavens, angels and deities, despite never having experienced them. Spiritual truth lies in the knowledge that all the world and that which fills it, is holy.

The world and problems, injustices and inconsistencies, will be clearly understood if you start by seeing certain simple truths. The most basic of truths is that God is the whole. Individuals, families, and nations are all parts which make up the whole. These wholes within wholes are valuable for study, for if you completely know any whole system, you will begin to know the greatest whole which is God.

Because God’s nature is survival and growth, these two qualities exist, to some degree, in all things. Variety is perhaps the single most survival oriented quality in existence. God created the countless variations of life and qualities so there would always be a way for at least one of them to survive and grow. This is why you have your strengths and weaknesses. We often hate our weaknesses but those very same weaknesses have a strong side that is often hidden. We are all composed of upsides and downsides, as is all of creation. The definition of evil is the downside of the human species. But, if you step above the human scale, good and evil cease to exist. When we watch a colony of ants invade another colony, we fail to feel or see injustice or evil. This is the way the atrocities of man are seen from the viewpoint of the Holy Spirit.

There is a price for everything good and a blessing in everything bad. We may not like it, but it is the way things were created and we must learn to accept, understand and live with it. We can focus on the optimistic or the pessimistic side of life, or we can take an overview and see all in its entirety as the whole.

One example of good and bad in balance is the population explosion of human life. The invention of animal husbandry and agriculture has caused overpopulation, which in turn has caused pollution of the earth, air and sea. Yet this was the price we had to pay for our wisdom, art, science, and philosophy. It was the price of knowing ourselves and God, and defeating the superstitions which have mislead us for hundreds of thousands of years. So while it may seem that we are destroying our world, we are also entering into the golden age of wisdom.

Religions are also a balance of strengths and weaknesses. They appeal to those seeking to acquire the particular qualities worshiped. Religions specialize in combinations of qualities such as power, faith, bravery, love or mercy. Few religions, however, have their strength in wisdom because after the founder has died they are unable to change, and they become ridged and obsolete. No one religion is strong in everything. If you want to strengthen or enhance a quality, you may have to change religions, jobs, friends, or what ever it takes to surround yourself with the quality you wish to become. You may, however, eventually realize that the combination of qualities you now have, is perfect for you; and, that your particular variation of life is a necessary part of the whole. The whole would be incomplete without you. Once you realize this, you will begin to move in harmony with the world.

PHILOSOPHY

Human beings are all philosophers to one degree or another. Most borrow their ideas from a culture or a religion and change it slightly to their needs, while others try for a little more originality, insight, and depth. Philosophy is the act of understanding and simply stating the laws of life. It is used by man to become more, and to enhance his chances of survival. However, any philosophy is only a part of the truth. When you ask people to describe the earth, they normally describe the area where they live, or that which is familiar. Some talk of the desert, some of the mountains, others of the sea shore. All speak the truth, but only a part of the truth, The true and complete philosophy of life is the whole of all philosophies. All political, economic, religious, scientific, and humanistic philosophies still only begin to describe the whole truth, as there are many more philosophies yet to be discovered.

We learn from debate that there is truth in both sides of every argument. This way of seeing all sides of an issue is called the 360 degree viewpoint. Wisdom is the selection of the right idea at the right time, with the whole in mind, while still seeing the truth in the ideas of others. This is the attitude needed in the world today to increase the level of tolerance where it is warranted. Since any philosophy of life is only part of the truth, an open mind will permit you to see more of the truth in everything, even in the ideas of your enemies.

WORD OF HONOR

Keeping or breaking one’s word has several important effects on the individual and the whole. The most common is that correct information and trust result in better social organization. To be able to count on what others say makes it possible for a group to achieve more with less mistakes.

The Native Americans considered the lie to be one of the most serious of transgressions. It could result in death or banishment for those guilty of it. Societies which hunt and gather, and are in a constant threat of war, need to trust in statements and promises in order to survive. Today, people still have the instincts from these early times, though not always essential for survival. This is why most people detest those who lie, and those who do not do what they say they will.

The other reason for keeping one’s word is how it affects the individual giving it. Every time we say we will do something, either to ourselves or another, the message is passed from the ego to the higher self or soul. The higher self takes everything we say and think very literally and immediately begins planning how to achieve success regarding the matter. If we do not follow through with our promises, the higher self cannot count on the orders and information received, and becomes confused. After a while, it will no longer give its entire energy resources to a project because it cannot trust the ego. This is similar to the way lies have power over others until those lied to become aware and lose trust. Ultimately the liar has less power than ever because of their ruined reputation.

The way to correct the situation of a mistrusted ego is to start with small goals and promises to yourself and others, and always complete them as precisely as possible. This will help the higher self or soul become confident that what is promised will be done. Once this confidence is established, it can marshal all its forces on your behalf and can actually make things happen that we at times cannot explain. The higher self can bring actions into being which are as close to miracles as we will ever perform. The higher self has access to information and power that we rarely use. Being true to your word will manifest this power and wisdom in your life and make you more successful at everything you attempt to do.

RESPECT

“Honor thy father and mother, that the days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God has given you.” We have all heard this commandment. The concept of honoring or respecting one’s elders has been with us for a long time, even though it has fallen into neglect lately. The reason it has become less followed is that modern people intuitively see the one sidedness of the commandment. It is a law obviously written and encouraged by the elders. To understand the injustice of the law, we must look at its underlying meaning. What it is really saying is: children, respect the qualities that come with age, the qualities of experience and wisdom.

But, what of the qualities of youth? Qualities such as enthusiasm and naivete? And how about the qualities of middle age, such as strength and confidence? The point is, that there are beautiful strong qualities in every stage of life we live, and these qualities should all be honored and respected. The qualities we respect and honor are the parts of God that we worship. Though they change over the generations, they are always the qualities that contribute to the survival and growth of the human species. They are the qualities we wish to strengthen and manifest in ourselves, and nurture in our children. Let us see the holiness of the qualities of all age groups in our society, and not just the elders. They all add strength and beauty to the whole.

WISDOM

Wisdom is another of the most worshipped of qualities of mankind. Wisdom is the use of intelligence in such a way that it benefits the whole of mankind through an individual. Wisdom is something which is constantly expanding. Although we never hear of a new emotion or the creation of a new force of nature, we are constantly creating new ideas. This area of intelligence and wisdom is the place where life is evolving the most today. With every new idea the Whole of God expands. During the last 2000 years, love has been the most worshipped quality. Now, however, it is time for the quality of wisdom to dominate the world. Philosophy, Science, and other mental based systems are gaining more and more power. It is not that they speak more of the truth than the heart or emotions, but that they speak a different part of the truth which begs to be brought into existence.

To clearly see the Whole of God, one must see the balance of all of God’s qualities, It is wisdom, not love or power, which allows us to do this: for self realization and God realization are products of the soul through the mind.

POWER

Power is the second of the big three of spiritual qualities. Along with wisdom and love, it has been worshipped down through the ages. We can see in the old testament of the Bible that power was the most feared quality of God and religion. The leaders of old used this fear to their advantage and it is still used today.

All qualities contain power, which can be used by those who know how. Power exists in so many things that it is hard to see the spiritual connection, unless you look at the area of survival. Any quality that insures our survival and the survival of the whole is worshipped by humans. We admire these qualities in others even when they misuse them because a part of us wishes to possess them ourselves. The urge to have power over our environment and over others is in all of us to some degree. The most competition for power results in the most able making the important decisions in all our organizations from religion and politics to business. It is our leaders who have won the test of power and have taken on the responsibility for the survival of the whole system which they are head.

It is not so important that the seeker of truth gain more power in his life, but to see how others hold him captive with their power. It is only through this realization that one con escape their grasp and be free; or at least be a knowing participant in the struggle.

By seeing yourself as a perfect part of the whole, you will take away much of the power others have over you. Do not believe people when they try to make you feel inferior; or those who try to make you feel guilty for the way you act or see life as long as you are not destructive to others. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. Have the confidence to be what you were intended to be and fear will leave you. This is the beginning of freedom. In this state of mind, no one will have power over you unless you permit it. There are, however, times when it is in our best interest to permit ourselves to be dominated. Just as there are times when we ourselves are called on to dominate. The whole is strengthened through the organization of its parts under wise leaders.

LOVE

Jesus gave the message of love to the world 2000 years ago. The message was: love God, love your neighbor as yourself, and love your enemies. He taught this message in a simple way using parables, because those he was teaching were mostly uneducated people. The were the salt of the earth: laborers, fishermen, farmers and the like.

Love is one of our highest emotions. It helps protect and nurture our young, and binds the family into a tight unit for the purpose of survival. It is a quality which all humans possess to some degree, although women more abundantly, because of their special role in bearing and nurturing the children. If you are lacking in the quality of love, do not despair. Use the qualities which are strong in you instead of trying to force one which is weak. There are other high emotional and mental qualities which are as “spiritual” as love.

Not only is love one of our highest emotions, it is probably our favorite. Our literature and poetry are full of the subject, as is our music, films, and art. We all enjoy loving and being loved. Of all the qualities of ourselves that we worship, love is among the highest. Only wisdom and power are even in the same league.

Love is like a talent, you are born with different degrees of it; and , just like a talent, it can be improved upon if you have the desire to do so, Joy is the purest form of love that can be given to others. When we are simply happy we give out love as naturally as a fire gives out light.

We can see that God was loving because of how It created the universe. Take color for example, the world could be black and white; and sound, if sound waves did not travel through air or water, we would have evolved without hearing. As you study science, you are confronted by countless examples of how things seem to have been created with intelligence, and with the love of life in mind.

Despite the value mankind places upon love, it is important not to worry if you are lacking in it, or any of the more worshipped qualities. It is God’s plan that we all have varying degrees of all the qualities in order to gain the strength found in diversity. Despite your personal mixture of qualities, you can rest assured that you too can achieve spiritual liberation.