Faith First, Then Enlightenment

Faith (believing without the benefit of proof) must come into our minds first before spiritual enlightenment can set in and grow. Faith can thus be looked upon like fertilizer for the soil...the mind being the soil (in this analogy). Faith can be likened to the act of opening the blinds to let light shine in. It is not an easy feat to accomplish (the feat of believing blindly) since the mind can be quite stubborn and thus needs to be programmed.

The step to programming the mind is simple. It is a series of repetitive, daily verbal declarations affirming the belief you wish to program your mind with. Say out loud to yourself (look at yourself in the mirror if you wish) continuously everyday for at least thirty days "I believe..." Successful salespeople use this technique to change any belief that mentally blocks them from achieving their success. If they are shy and hesitant, they will verbally declare out loud to themselves "You are bold and confident."

This is easier said than done but if you can manage to get yourself to do it, you will reap the rewards of your new found Faith. Are you desperate enough to try anything? Desperation can surely be turned into a good thing...in this case, if you can somehow channel it into the stimulus that sparks a monumental change in your life.

To illustrate with the example of my own life, I blindly believed in Jesus at the moment when He was revealed to me at an early age. From there my life ventured into a path of absorbing as much enlightenment as my young mind was capable of absorbing, then subsequently questioning these beliefs (during my adult life) and seeking analytical and logical proof, and finally coming back full circle into settling into a set of beliefs fully centered on following the Way and Truth that is Jesus, even in the absence of any proof.

Trying to gain enlightenment without first establishing a level of faith within our minds will more than likely lead to confusion...something we certainly don't need any more of.

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Meaning and Purpose in Life

In the description of the soul and its activities (in other essays on this blog) , we learned that the soul connects with other souls and within that connection it fulfills its essence and nature...that essence being LOVE. We further learned that the direction of Love's spiritual energy is from one soul towards another...it is an outward direction. Human nature on the other hand is focused on the self (and the term we use for this activity is 'selfish'), the preservation of the self, and the fulfillment of all the various needs of the senses of the body (touch, sight, hearing, taste, smell)...it is an inward direction.

With this in mind, it is easy to see how a tug-of-war between the two elements is constantly going on. During the infant stages in the development of the connection between the body and the soul, the soul has very little activity on the mind. As we grow older and incrementally garner wisdom from our various experiences of "pain" and "suffering", the connection grows, gets stronger, and the activity of the soul on the mind (its influence on it) increases.

To illustrate, when we first come into the world in the form of a baby, we are in our most selfish state of being...that is only natural. After all, we need to preserve our existence and yet we are completely incapable of taking care of our basic needs at that stage. As we grow and acquire more and more physical and intellectual abilities, we becomes less and less dependent on others. As we acquire more independence and the capacity to provide for our needs, we begin to have more control over these necessities. As we attain increasing control over the fulfillment of our necessities, we can begin to learn about considering the needs of others. And so goes this cycle of our development until we reach the end of our lives. It is therefore our spiritual goal to somehow reach the highest level of state of unselfishness and love we that we are capable of attaining by the time that moment arrives.

The surest measure of the growth and increased development of the connection between our body with our soul is the amount and degree of selfless acts of love (charity) we do on a moment by moment, day to day basis. The more acts of love we do and the more of these acts we do automatically (like it being a second nature to us), the more certain we are that this connection is reaching higher and higher levels in the spiritual plane.

This is, in essence, the true meaning of and purpose in the journey of life - the incremental growth and development of the connection between body and soul. Consequently, as our body (mind) connects with our soul, we connect with God. The perfect union of our soul with God is our ultimate endpoint.

Every act of love we do for others is influential in the growth of that other person's body-soul connection, their spiritual journey and ultimately, their connection and communion with God.

The act of love we render can be as simple as a sincere, welcoming smile delivered at the just right moment to a stranger who is so moved by the loving gesture that the direction of his life path is altered toward the light.

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Loving Intentions or Simple Lust?

This is essay is not about spirituality but I share it here to shed some light on some of the questions women have relating to their relationships with the men in their lives. What I am about to share here for all women (young and old) can be a rather harsh and difficult truth to accept and come to terms with. Let me be clear at the onset that this truth applies to men in general and not to all men. This is advice that I give my own daughters and female friends whom I care about.

Men make an instantaneous (practically automatic) discernment at the very moment they first cast their eyes on a woman they are attracted to. They discern that the woman is either:
(1) someone with whom they can enjoy sexual fun and pleasure with and (quite soon after) leave and discard once they have had their fill and move on to the next, or
(2) a serious contender for their heart and soul and whom they would consider living the rest of their lives and possible starting a family with.

How can one a woman what is going on in the mind of your date? Here is one surefire and certain way to tell.

If the subject of sex in any manner, degree, shape or form is brought up at any moment in the first date then the woman can be certain that the man has discerned her to be type (1) and looked upon with pure lust (whether the man realizes this himself or not) with short term expectations.

For a man who discerns a woman to be type (2) as described above, sex would be the farthest thing on (even absent from) his mind. The man would be so enamored that he is completely focused on getting to know and connecting with the person inside the object of his sentiment. In fact, sex will not even venture into his mind until well into the point when he and the woman both have developed a high level of connection and intimacy such that the thought of sex would naturally arise more as a result of the desire to be as physically close and connected to her as he can be in order to express through physical means that sense of spiritual intimacy. For some men, they may respect and look at the woman as they do their own mothers so much so that they would repress any natural development of the desire for sex with her (not a good thing either).

While it is certainly true that sincere feelings of love can and has been observed to develop with relationships that started out as purely lustful in nature from the very beginning, these have sadly been proven (many more times than not) to be short-lived and lacking much longevity.

With this awareness about men and the way men think and feel, you should be in a better position to make well informed decisions concerning your numerous dates, set reasonable expectations and increase your likelihood for success in fulfilling what you desire the most from the dating experience.

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Spirit and Flesh

A great spiritual Teacher expressed this truth as the hour of His capture and subsequent torture approached while in the company of faithful disciples who could not even manage to stay awake with him during those last few minutes of freedom “…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

With those few words, this Teacher effectively captured and profoundly articulated the natural and difficult tug-of-war between the soul (and its activities) and the body (human nature or programming). Let us not be discouraged by our current inability to overcome aspects of our nature that undermine the activities of the soul. Rather, let us keep striving for small incremental successes day by day, moment by moment.

As we recognize our own limitations in this regard and accept these with peace (with awareness that we are earnestly connecting with and responding to the activities of your soul), let us leverage this understanding of ourselves into an earnest effort to understand others and be at peace with their shortcomings and earnest efforts in becoming a better persons. This is a worthwhile act of love and charity.

This act of love is in line with the same act of love exhibited by the same great spiritual Teacher above when He expressed these last words as He was being put to death on the cross - "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do".

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A Leap of Faith

It is my sincere hope that as you read the various entries on this blog, you will come to sense and allow yourself to open your mind to one very important and essential consideration - the soul is simply too important, too critical, too fundamental an element and factor in the being of a person to deny its existence (and consequently deprive yourself of the benefits derived from acknowledging it) solely on the basis that it is "imaginary" and you are unable to sense it and prove it.

Understanding the soul is key to fully knowing and understanding ourselves. This is definitely (and logically) one area where giving the benefit of the doubt will reward you in countless ways. Some of these rewards include attaining a sense of belonging, understanding our place in this existence, finding fulfillment in our lives and reaching the state of inner peace.

I solicit you to heed a well known absolute truth - blindly believe first and then and only then will you sense and see the truth beneath that which you believe. Believe in the presence of the soul and the soul will reveal itself to you.

Here is my invitation to you...take a leap of faith with me in earnestly believing the existence of the soul and take steps to nurture it until you reach a point where you have complete certainty over its falsehood. Even if you do get there, what do you stand to lose by this leap of faith apart from a feeling of disappointment at the end? Heck, we stand to lose much more playing any game of chance in Vegas. I assure you (just as everyone else who took this dive would), you will not get to that sad endpoint.

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We Know

We know because our souls told us so.

The soul is a reservoir...a repository of the absolute and universal truths. This gift comes with free will...after all, we cannot claim that free will is truly exercised without knowledge of the truth.

This pool of knowledge can be used in one of two distinct ways:
1. enhance our connection with and dependence on God
2. enhance our sense of independence from God and (foolishly) try to reach the level of Divinity with it

Be careful with your use of any body of knowledge. Knowledge can be intoxicating. It is well said that "knowledge is power" (quote by Francis Bacon) and "power is corrupting" and "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Conversely, knowledge can be humbling...and from humility, comes a sense of our true and rightful place in the order of things...connected with God.

The soul (our soul and the souls of all others who touch our lives in whatever manner or form) is the medium through which God reveals Himself to us. The day our body connects with our soul is the day we begin to connect with God. Find the connection between your body and your soul...and never let it go.

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The Complete Apology

There was a time, back during my childhood days in the sixties, when saying sorry included a statement of what the repentant person would strive to do in the future to avoid committing the same offense. This practice not only ensured the level of sincerity and remorse on the part of the person saying sorry, it also ensured that both sides were on the same page with regards to the nature of the offense that an apology was being offered for.

Somewhere along the way, we as a people lost that virtue and now dish out apologies in a manner that sometimes can be likened to quickly throwing out some candy to an offended child to quickly appease their hurt. We then go about repeating the offense due to a lack of earnest commitment to do better. I am just as culpable on this one as anybody else.

Perhaps the time is long due to go back to yesterday’s practice of rendering sincere and earnest requests for forgiveness to those we have hurt or offended. I will commit to striving to do this beginning today. I hope that you will see the virtue in making the same conscious commitment in your life (even if others do not follow suit).

Here are the steps to a complete apology in a nutshell:
1. Be clear and specific in your description of what you are sorry for
2. State the specific steps that you will be taking moving forward to minimize the future occurrence of the mistake

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A Clear and Unmistakable Mission

There was a time in my life when I asked (and would wait) for some mission from God that I could valiantly carry out. I would wait and wait and wait for that clear and unmistakable message regarding my special, all-important, super-duper and world-changing assignment.

The message never came and I began to feel discouraged and disheartened. Then one day, as I went about my regular daily routine of caring for my children (young kids at that time), a moment of realization hit me like a ton of bricks...the care and raising up of my children into independent, grounded, confident, considerate, socially responsible, giving and loving individuals is my clear, unmistakable and number one mission from God. This change in perspective has since become the foundation upon which I base my priorities and choices in life.

We can view each and every child that we send out to the world as our very own direct impact on that world. In light of this, I invite each and every parent to reflect on their current perspective concerning their responsibilities toward every child entrusted to them by God. Parenting is not your regular, common, no-choice-but-to-do task...it is a mission...a God-given mission and all bets are on you (the parent) to come through. By the mere shifting of your perspective, you will definitely turn parenting into a more fulfilling activity for you.

Another change in perspective came to me shortly after that hit-by-bricks moment - the everyday little and humble acts of love and charity that we manage to do for common folk (that we encounter along the way in our life journey), all have the potential to significantly affect the world in a positive way and make it a better place for all. The image of a tiny pebble cast upon a still lake thereby creating a ripple that starts small yet progressively and exponentially gets bigger and bigger as it eventually covers the entire lake is a good illustration of this truth.

That is my number two, clear and unmistakable mission from God. In accepting this perspective, I was at first saddened that I may not even see any of the fruits of my labor since the human nature side of me desired this form of gratification. However, I have learned to overcome this need and desire and get my gratification from my faith that my humble activities are making a difference.

If I did not have any children, then my number two mission would clearly and unmistakably be my first and foremost one. At the end of the day, all missions are equally significant. The distinction I make are applicable only in those very rare (hardly ever, really) situations where I would have to prioritize and make a choice between the two.

I share this with you so that you may reflect on the truth concerning this as it applies in your own life and arrive at your own recognition of your mission.

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Abortion

Abortion is too critical an issue to the well-being of the soul for me not to share the truth (as I believe it) concerning it.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the body-soul entity is formed at the very moment of conception. How do I know this with such certainty? My certainty comes through the associated knowledge that I managed to tap into and draw from the reservoir of absolute truths locked within my soul (and locked within all souls). Everyone who seeks to determine this via their own souls will eventually derive the exact same truth. I implore you to earnestly seek the truth yourself via that pathway.

A doctor who has performed countless abortions shared this telling observation - four out of five of all his patients who opted for abortion eventually suffer from deep and prolonged bouts of depression. This should not be too surprising when we consider that the soul connects with all other souls...and consequently, the extinguishing of a body-soul entity creates a severe disruption in the body-soul harmony of any person who elects to kill. An ensuing deep and prolonged depression is the manifestation of this disharmony.

In light of this truth, we cannot escape from the realization that abortion is evil (albeit, in the majority of cases, a misguided act rather than an outright assault on the soul). However, as with all things evil (misguided or otherwise), let us resolve to counter it with acts of love and resist the natural inclination to chose acts of judgement, condemnation, hate, violence, or other forms of evil as countermeasures.

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Human Trafficking

Human trafficking (in all its forms) is evil. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Let us remove all selfish concerns, fears or anxieties that we may be inclined to feel that cause us to close our eyes to the occurrence (around us) of this assault on the souls of many. Furthermore, let each of us resolve to find some small act of love (that is well within our capacity to do) to counter this plague of humanity.

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The Perspective of Good and Bad

When we aspire to live our lives according to a knowledge of "good" and "bad", we set ourselves up to ultimately fall short of our full potential and likely expose ourselves to uncertainty, confusion, and futile arguments over what is "good" and what is "bad". This is simply due to the fact that both terms "good" and "bad" are adjectives...adjectives are subjective...subjective things are potentially clouded by the idiosyncrasies of each and every individual.

The better perspective to live our lives by (and to gauge it) is a focus on the amount of love that we put in everything we do and the consistency by which we do this. There are no grey areas with true love...only black and white...you either do something with love or you don't. In this arena, no person is capable of determining the presence and degree of love in the actions of another person and thus, is in no position to make a fair and correct judgement of action...only God can. It is not our business to judge anyway...it is our business to love and to love greatly.

In all our relationships (especially the ones we value and wish to maintain), we will have more successful outcomes if we can manage to resist our natural inclination (programming) to judge the actions of those whom we wish to have fulfilling relationships with. If we do find ourselves casting judgment, then judge with charity and love.

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The Nature of Evil

Ever wonder why evil exists in the world? Ever wonder if God willed evil to exist or if He condones it? These are questions that almost every person who witnesses pure evil or who are deeply affected by it asks time and time again. I have pondered and asked God these very questions myself and I would like to share with you the truths (as I believe these to be so) that I gained in my seeking for the answers to these difficult and highly emotional questions.

Evil is the antithesis of Love. It is a by-product of the imperfection brought about by the free will choice of spiritual entities to break away from God and (attempt to) be God. It is the manifestation of all manner of attempts to deny the existence of the soul, to extinguish it, or to shatter any harmony between the body and the soul.

Though evil may exist in the world, it does not have unbridled dominion over all that is in the world and of the world. One day, during the end times, the old world will be cease to be, and with it, all evil that exists in it. In its place, a new world will arise…a world where perfection is restored just as it was in the Beginning...this being the consequence of the free will (and redeeming) choice by the new Adam (Jesus) to surrender free will back to God and reestablish the original and proper relationship of the body-soul entity with Him.

Until that moment in time comes, we must continue to actively defy evil wherever and whenever we encounter it. The most effective response to evil is Love. Strive (with all your conviction and might) to always resist the natural and powerful human inclination (programming) to counter evil with more evil...this is evils way of perpetuating more of itself (more evil). Rather, counter acts of evil (and its vicious self-perpetuating cycle) with acts of Love (charity)...even one single act of Love can effectively disrupt the course of evil dead on its tracts.

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Feelings and Sentiments

Dear Friend: This entry is still a work in progress and needs further refinement in the articulation of the main point.

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All feelings and sentiments are complex. Various aspects of human nature intermingles with the activities of our soul to affect the hue, flavor and intensity of each and every one of these...and in a dynamic (ever changing) and tug-of-war-like fashion.

Sadly, our selfish and self-serving (and ultimately self-defeating) needs (driven by our human nature) greatly influences us into pigeonholing our viewpoint into stubbornly accepting just one (and only one) static aspect of our sentiments and that of others...negating all other dynamic flavors...thereby, unnecessarily (and perhaps tragically) depriving ourselves of the full potential of our aspirations and relationships.

Have you ever found yourself confused over your feelings for another...seeming to bend one way, only to find yourself bending another way? Ever have another friend or lover (or perhaps enemy) display the same erratic and conflicting feelings for you? Are you feeling frustrated by the seemingly irresolvable dilemma?

Don't be...rather, be in peace with the awareness and acceptance that these are the natural dynamics between the activities of our human nature and those of the soul. Consider being more accepting of and open to the wide spectrum of flavors (tasteful and distasteful) that may be present in our sentiments and that of others who share with us (however briefly that may be) our walk along our path of life. In doing so, you may have a better outcome in your efforts to overcome aspects of your human nature that may be getting in the way of your fulfillment in life. This act of acceptance is an act of love (charity) worthy of your consideration.

The activities of the soul behind each sentiment is what matters over all else. By placing our focus firmly on that, we can (hopefully) have a better grasp of what is "real".

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Dedication

This body of work is dedicated to all my daughters, nieces, and nephews...you are all my children. God knows how great my desire and intention is to be an active part of your growing lives. It is my hope that one day, you may set aside some moment out of your busy lives to contemplate the thoughts and insights I tried to articulate here to the best of my ability.

Perhaps one day, God willing, you might even share with me how the reading of this body of work has (or has not) impacted your life path and the journey of your soul.

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Key to Successful Relationships

Dear Friend: This blog entry is still a work in progress...it is not a completed reflection yet...thank you.

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The fundamental factor behind all successful relationships is the awareness and understanding of human nature and the use of that understanding to exercise patience and charity in our response to it.

Conversely, the fundamental factor that is at the root of all failed relationships is a lack of understanding, patience and charity toward the unpleasant, unpalatable, disgusting, despicable, appalling, dreadful, shameful and indigestible human nature of others.

We need to view human nature as a form of programming...human programming (if you will). Nature (for its own reasons and in accordance with its overall design) has programmed into the minds and bodies of each and every one of us characteristics, traits and behaviors that makes us act and react automatically in certain ways. Part of these programming is write-protected and read-and-execute only...these are the ones that we cannot change but can certainly overcome. The rest of these are editable or deletable programming...these are the ones that we can change and should if we desire to eliminate or alter it.

If we care enough about a particular relationship with another (be it a friend, enemy, spouse, ex-spouse, colleague, competitor, neighbor, companion, classmate or any other manner of mate) and desire to do whatever it takes on our part toward keeping it a pleasant, palatable, enjoyable, gratifying or fulfilling one, then we would simply start with a process of truthfully observing our very own individual set of human nature programming. By subsequently learning to accept our less desirable human nature traits without self-condemnation but with a charitable and sympathetic eye, we develop a valuable skill that we can consequently learn to apply toward being more charitable and sympathetic toward the less desirable human nature traits and programming of others.

This is, of course, a heck of lot easier said that done (I personally know)...this is so because a powerful part of our human nature programming (for most of us, that is) is to be intolerant of what we do not like in others and to judge and apply some form of punishment in response to it.

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The True Fountain of Youth

Here is a truth that is nicely depicted by the movie "Up".

The day you loose your sense of adventure is the day you begin to grow and feel old. The source for adventure is all around us...it only takes a little bit of imagination and an openness to look at things with a more open perspective.

A sense of adventure is the true fountain of youth. Find and start yours today...and everyday!

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New Order for Mankind

We can look at the conception of Jesus inside the womb of Mary as a reset (start over) of the creation of mankind whereby a spiritual entity (this one being distinct from the soul) is merged with the human body all over again just as it was in the beginning when the soul was first merged with a body (in the form of Adam). This is the rationale behind the proclamation by many that Jesus is the new Adam...and Mary, the new Eve.

It is of worth to note the new order of things as well, as symbolized here by man coming from woman (as opposed to woman coming from man). One would be inclined to believe that women would warmly embrace this symbolic concept brought about by the arrival of Jesus.

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In the Beginning...

Dear Friend: This is perhaps the most difficult spiritual concept to fathom, embrace and articulate...and the most important one in understading who we are and our life journey. As such, I am open to and encourage your candid comments and reactions.

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In the beginning was perfection. When an (animal) body was first merged with a soul during the creation of the first human being (referred to in the Book of Genesis as Adam), and subsequently from this human being the first matching human being (referred to in the same book as Eve), these were molded into a state of perfection…in complete harmony within itself and with the rest of creation.

One aspect of the nature of the soul is that it is has free will...with this free will comes the privilege to make one special, one-time and particular choice…a most important and powerful choice which I will refer to here as "divine choice" (mainly because, as you will see later, it is a choice to be divine or not). The choice is simple - keep your free will and assert you power to exercise it (in other words, declare your independence from God) or tender it back to the God (affirm your dependence on God).

The power to have this choice is a universal law that applies to the spiritual. The choice to retain one's free will is equivalent to desiring and aspiring to be God or equal to Him...an act that is referred to as "original sin". To further clarify, the term "sin" is used here to refer to any activity that results in our separation from God.

When a choice to become God is made by a spiritual entity, the state of perfection of that entity is lost and its existence slips into a state of imperfection. Thus, when the first man and woman (body-soul entities) made such choice, they brought about upon themselves (and all mankind after them) the current imperfect existence that we find ourselves in. It marked the beginning of the long journey of the human soul toward restoring the state of perfection that the body-soul existence once enjoyed.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (whose fruit Adam and Eve ate in order to know as much as God knew and be equal to Him) did not itself possess any power to cause the fall of mankind (into disharmony and imperfection)...neither did the fruit. These were merely the mediums by which divine choice was exercised. It was the choice made by the first man and woman (manifested by the eating of the fruit) that changed the outcome for mankind from that point on.

Fortunately for mankind, the universal law (that applies to the spiritual) provides for the existence of a redeeming action that would give mankind a way out of this miserable state. This action essentially calls for a particular spiritual being (distinct from the human soul) to assume the imperfect state of the body-soul existence and make the choice to surrender free-will back to God. Mankind (the body-soul entity) could not make perform this act of redemption because his one-time, irreversible choice was already made.

For those who believe in and accept the divinity of Jesus Christ (I do), His unconditional surrendering of His free will back to God (the Father) throughout His life in the body-soul existence and culminating it in the bearing of the pain and torture along the way of the cross…dying at the hands of man's hatred…and then rising again…completed the redemption of mankind and thus restoring the state of body-soul entity back to perfection.

This action by Jesus opened the door for all mankind to now make the choice to surrender their free will back to God and reestablish their dependency on God.

For the reader who is being exposed to this concept and story for the first time, it may seem like a fairytale (unprovable by tangible means). I offer you a spiritual axiom to consider as you try to establish in your own mind the validity of this truth - the soul has knowledge of all the universal truths. This knowlege came with the eating of the fruit from the tree. However, it also came with a predicament - the human mind cannot readily tap into this knowledge because of the disharmony present in the imperfect state of the body-soul entity. There are steps to enhance the connection between body and soul and thereby allow you to tap into this resource and discern the truth. I will expand more on this in my reflection on the nature of the soul.

So, if you have not done so yet, consider making the choice to surrender your free will to God and reestablish your destined and rightful relationship with God...thus, finding your life.

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Foreword to the Essays

A great spiritual teacher shared the following universal truth..."seek and you shall find". I may not be the most consistent follower and applier of the truth but I am certainly one who sought it passionately. The reflections that I share in this blog are the product of my best attempts at articulating the truths that I have found and discerned through my almost forty-five years of earnest seeking. These are the truths that I have settled into at this stage in my life...they are the beliefs that I hold as true in my heart without any reservations or doubts.

By sharing these truths (as I have come to know them), I am hoping that the insights and words may in some way help you find that which you seek and/or inspire you to begin your own reflection on aspects of your life that you never quite gave much conscious thought to...until now. At the very least, these insights can serve as a starting point for your own quest for the truth.

These writings also fulfill my calling from God to articulate the truths (as I know and believe them to be so) concerning some of the most difficult aspects of our life and existence in this world in a manner that can be readily understood and subsequently applied by the lay person.

Although the first several reflections written so far are primarily in the form of concepts, I do intend to also include essays later on that will illustrate (with examples) how these concepts may be applied in our everyday life and struggles. The subject matter that has been covered to date are the offshoot of questions posed to me by friends. In capturing my answers in this written form, I manage to leverage the rather exhaustive contemplation and articulation effort that went into answering the question into the creation of of this body of work that others can repeatedly benefit from.

At the end of the day, what matters most is that we each eventually find and settle into a truth that we can accept, follow and apply (hopefully before we reach the twilight of our life)...thereby breaking free from our perpetual state of uncertainty and allowing ourself to live a fulfilled life.

May God (through my soul) guide my hand and mind in this endeavor...I trust that He is doing so.

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The Nature of God

Dear Friend: this entry is still a work in progress and not yet a completed thought.

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A great spiritual teacher gave us an important glimpse into the nature of God. God is a being whom we can have a personal relationship with.

The mind of a human being cannot (and never will) fully fathom the full nature of God. Perhaps we do not really need to know much more apart from simply recognizing and accepting that God is someone we can turn to and relate with in exactly the same manner that we would a good father.

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The Nature of the Soul

Dear Friend: this blog entry is not yet a completed reflection...it is still a work in progress.

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The journey of life is the journey of the soul. The journey of the soul is a path that (incrementally) leads to the full development and maturity of the union and harmony between the body (which includes the mind) and the soul.

If we visualize God to be an inexhaustible source of energy (I use the term energy here to include all things beneficial to the healthy functioning of the body) that we can tap into in order to supply our body with whatever energy needs it is not able to sufficiently generate itself, then visualize the soul as a conduit by which this energy can be tapped and channeled to the body. Every human being has a soul and every soul is connected...thus, we (through the connection of our soul with other souls) are also able to channel energy from God to the bodies of others.

It is well written and (rightfully) proclaimed by others that God is Love and Love is God. Love is an elemental aspect of our soul...thus, we can envision our soul to be (quite simply) the presence of God within our body.

Let us examine the body-soul entity and the harmony (or disharmony within). All manner of thinking is an activity of the body, it is not an activity of the soul. Thinking includes the emotions we feel, the senses we perceive, the intelligent analysis we do, the logical conclusions we make, and other thought processes. The soul does not think...rather, it connects with other souls and with God (as described above) and it influences the thought processes of the mind. Through the influence that it imparts of the mind (which controls all activities of the body), the soul is able to indirectly affect the rest of the body.

One manner of influence that the soul causes on the mind is in the recognition of a universal truth at the very moment when the mind is brought to an awareness of it. I will try describe what this feels like because I am at a loss for an appropriate term to use that applies. I would describe it as a soothing and warm feeling that radiates inside the body (in the proximity of the heart) coupled with a surge of electricity flowing through the back...similar to the sensation of the body hairs rising in the arm.

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Theory of the Oneness of Space

I would like to share in this blog a concept that I have never come across (by way of reading or hearing) at any point in my lifetime. It is a thought that came to me back when I was in college and reflecting on Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

At first, it seemed like some wild theory but as I reflected more on the concept over the years, I have come to believe more and more that it may not be so farfetched after all. Don't ask me to prove it because I would never ever be able to do so. However, I hope that a more enlightened mind out there might one day do so. The first step therefore is to state it.

Theory on the Oneness of Space:
The endpoints of inner and outer space are one and the same.

In layman's language:
If two people were to take a journey in opposite directions...one grows bigger and bigger into the outer reaches of outer space...one shrinks smaller and smaller into the inner reaches of inner space...they will eventually meet each other.

Said another way...if a person traveled into inner space, that person will eventually be observed to arrive from outer space.

I like to believe that I am not alone in thinking these thoughts. If any reader has encountered this theory elsewhere, please let me know.