 
WHAT IF THE BIBLE WERE WRITTEN TODAY

2000 Years of Change

Book Two

Copyright: 2003

By: K. C. Boone, MSFE

Publisher: The Scribed Light

ISBN: 978-1-939634-20-7

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Ten Commandments

Chapter 2 - The Golden Rule

Chapter 3 - Spiritual Rendition

Chapter 4 - Spiritual Beings

Chapter 5 - Meditation

Chapter 6 - Dealing With What You Are Dealt

Chapter 7 - Choices

Chapter 8 - God's Work

Chapter 9 - Soul's Desires

Chapter 10 - Life's Purpose

Chapter 11 - A Loving Bible

Chapter 12 - Things To Avoid

Chapter 13 - Personal Relationships

Chapter 14 - Free Will

Chapter 15 - God's Love

Chapter 16 - Would You Read It

Conclusion

Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Ms. Caler. She was an inspiration to all who were lucky enough to know her. I was blessed indeed to have her call me friend.

Acknowledgment

To the countless others who have walked before me and have inspired me with their writings. God does work in mysterious ways, as it would seem at first. Almost without notice, the perfect books have come to me at just the perfect times. The availability of written resources has made my journey one of hope and inspiration. The student of God is given exactly what he/she needs at exactly the right time.

There are far too many to list and certainly my list of life references is not the same as yours. Allow God to guide you to the perfect learning tools and you will be aware of God's constant interactions in your life. Yours is a personal journey and should be traveled at your perfect pace. God will lead you to where you shall go.

Introduction

Even text books need updating, so why should the BIBLE be any different? More recent examples of miracles and Saints would put things into a better perspective for us. How can we relate to things that happened a zillion years ago? Sure, the BIBLE, as it is written, will remain forever the greatest document of all times and this will probably never change. I don't know that anyone, except scholars, question the validity of the current translations of the BIBLE – we just accept them blindly as the Word of God. We either forget or don't know that changes/deletions were made previously.

Has anyone seen the tablets on which the Ten Commandments are written? No, but the movie RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was an awesome depiction of the search for them. Did anyone ever think that perhaps, after all those years, the tablets would have turned to dust? Hmmm, that really was a brilliant thought, which had never crossed my mind. What of the other documents from which our current BIBLE is taken?

Has anyone ever seen the complete original BIBLE? No, nor will you ever. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, was a great find and did offer enlightenment to the people of this century. Consider that the BIBLE was written as an evolving history book, most of which was based on stories passed down over the centuries. Let's consider that Adam and Eve probably didn't keep diaries of their daily thoughts and activities, so how do we know if the apple story even happened? We simply trust what is written. Having never seen Noah's Ark, how do we know that it really existed or that the story is not just a wives' tale passed down through the generations?

Geologists believe that a great flood did happen based on soil and fossil examinations. Almost everyone believes that the Ice Age happened, but it was never mentioned in the BIBLE. Why the disparity – why include one huge event and not the other? Why even care if either happened? We sit and ponder things that we may never be able to answer, so why not move along.

If you look at the Big Picture, there really is very little on which we base our faith and lives. God hasn't really given us very much on which to stand. Think of all the books and documents produced, yet the BIBLE is one simple book that you can hold in one hand. It is the most respected document of all times. Wow, talk about verbal efficiency.

If we took the BIBLE and replaced old stories with new ones, which accurately reflect the concepts conveyed by the original, then would the BIBLE be more or less effective? Take the major Biblical players, such as Jesus. Ok, so He would be one that couldn't be modernized as He is a one of a kind. The other players, such as the Apostles – could they be modernized? I think so. What about them individually? If we consider the characteristics of each, we can see that they are much like people we know today.

Clearly, the Apostles were ordinary folks like us who were given the unbelievable opportunity to be in the presence of and learn from the greatest teacher of all time. Which Apostle would you most emulate? Please don't let your dilutions of grandeur cause you to liken yourself to Christ Himself. We don't want to make ourselves feel too good and have to uphold such high standards, or do we? It should always be our goal to be the best that we can be, so having such a great role model can never do us any harm. The latest trend to inspire us to behave more appropriately is to ask, "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" You've seen the bracelets, bumper stickers, etc. What an innovative concept which is such a simple message and with such great ramifications. If everyone acted as if they were Jesus, would not the world be a better place?

As I can aspire to be the greatest basketball player of all time, I do realize that I never will be, barring an extreme physically transforming miracle. I realize that Jesus was in a league of His own, so I won't kid myself into thinking that I can be as forgiving and kind as He. I can learn by His example and live my life by simple rules of humanity which will benefit me and those around me. There's certainly no harm in that, or is there?

What if I decide that I will not store up worldly possessions and will wonder the towns as Jesus did? Have you ever seen one of those Jesus look-alikes walking beside the road carrying a cross and apparently talking to himself? Your immediate thought is, "There's one of those Jesus freaks." What does he think he is accomplishing – granted, we respect his right to follow his beliefs, but do we stop to talk to him and perhaps glean some pearls of wisdom from someone of such conviction? No, you speed up the car and get away from the crazy person. You are absolutely sure that the person has slipped over the proverbial edge and is two steps away from being institutionalized. What if Jesus walked the streets today? How long would it be before He would be taken away to a padded cell? Can't you just see it now – the headlines read, "He says he's Jesus, but is schizophrenic."

He would be discredited so fast that it would make your head spin. So, would Jesus, like the BIBLE, need an update if He were walking the streets today? I'm sure, so let's ponder what the Jesus of today would need to appear as. Hmmm, Wall Street broker - not. Business tycoon - no. Biblical scholar - maybe, but how many of these do you know? Genius - the world would have a hard time relating to His concepts. Common person as He was previously, I'm not sure. If He went on TV and announced that He is Jesus, oh, how quickly would He be laughed off the air. How would He best be portrayed today for maximum effectiveness?

In our skeptical times, no one is held with such esteem as to command the respect given to Jesus. I'm not even sure that it is possible today for one person to make such an impact. I can't even imagine such a person who could command the respect of people today. I guess, if we look back, Jesus didn't get much respect during His own time, so why would today be any different? What would it take for you to be impressed if Jesus were alive today?

What are recent examples of Job, Moses, Abraham, etc. like persons? Surely, persons so influential may not be possible during our times, but we can find examples which portray enough likeness to be convincing.

There are people today who have made tremendous contributions to society. One of my favorite examples is Bill Gates – not that he is an example of great humanity or religion, but he has made a profound impact on the world. Mother Teresa, another of my favorites, did make a great impact on the world with her kindness and simplicity. There are great people alive today who can offer us great inspiration. There are people today who have made tremendous impacts on the world in a less than positive light. But each have, regardless of motives, been able to change the world and its history. The fact that I'm typing this in a Bill Gate's Windows program inspired by thoughts offered by Mother Teresa is evidence of their contributions to society. What Biblical persons could these two portray?

Hitler, Castro, and Hussein are but some examples of those who have evidenced greed and can surely be equated to Biblical persons. Not all leaders in the BIBLE were of a kind and gentle nature. The old saying that history repeats itself is true in relation to the BIBLE. Do we ever get any smarter and do we ever learn from our mistakes? Apparently not, as we just keep falling into the same old habits. Should the world not have been more astute than to allow Hitler to run rampant in Europe? Really, did we not know better at the time? Even in the 21st century, we allow the same things to happen as did in Biblical times. Why can we not seem to learn?

So, the lessons of the BIBLE can be relative today. So, why do we not allow ourselves a more modern version, which will further bring the light to more masses than ever? Why do we hold onto customs and teachings from eras long gone which are surely not relevant to us? The Jewish customs are deeply rooted in history and are held in the highest regard. But, does celebrating Passover really help us today? Could we not better serve our purposes by celebrating the miracles of today? We pretend as if miracles are not still happening today. Take a moment and look at all of the miracles around us which are far greater in comparison to the scope of the event known as Passover. Do we prefer to celebrate the past rather than the present? Why do we hold so tightly to the past and ignore the present?

Heritage is important, but is it as important as we think? People spend countless hours searching for their roots, while losing sight that they and what they do now are the roots of others in the generations to come. Does anyone ever think about what their future relatives will think of them when they look back? Do we consider the mark that we are leaving or do we choose to focus on the past? Would we not be more wise to concentrate on the present, so that we can affect the future and hopefully make things better for the others to follow? We simply see our history as more important than our present and lose sight of us and our possible contributions to the future.

And no, I'm not bashing those who appreciate the past and choose to follow years of tradition. Realizing that we cannot change the past, should we not be more future oriented? If the BIBLE were written today, would it serve the past or the future? Think ahead. The movie PAY IT FORWARD was very insightful and did offer a great perspective on this issue. Look to the future and the possible benefits of an updated BIBLE with lessons learned from the recent past.

The scholars would go nuts trying to figure out what should be included. All religions would be arguing over the importance of rituals and traditions. Everyone would be out to get their views included, as we all believe that our way is the right way. What if the BIBLE were written in accordance with the concepts conveyed in CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, that God is only love? Hmmm, now that would indeed give us reason to put on our thinking caps.

If you take the simplest concepts conveyed and put them into a format of easy to follow instructions, would this not be more effective than to expound limitlessly on the examples and issues raised? Think about the simplicity of the Ten Commandments. If everyone followed these simple rules, would not the world be a better place? We seek always to complicate and explain when so little is required. We want God to be more complicated than He really is. We envision the majesty of Him and just know that only an extremely complicated document can represent the Almighty.

How many people do we fail to attract due to the complexity of our conveyances? Using words like conveyances seems cool, but may cause some to scratch their heads and wonder what is really meant. Like math, there are many ways to get the message across, with some being very complicated and some being very simple. The success of the "DUMMIES" books indicates this concept to be very true. Have you ever decided to buy a book about a computer program? The books are usually very large, and I have never been able to get through even one chapter. There's a lot of wasted paper in all those programming books. Ick – talk about a perfect alternative to sleeping pills. We choose to be so pretentious that we forget that our message can just as easily be conveyed using the simplicity offered in the Ten Commandments. One of my college English teachers once said, "It is better to use a two letter word correctly than a fifteen letter word incorrectly." We should take the hint. Is it not better to write for the understanding of many than to write to impress scholars? If you truly want to change the world, use God's example of simplicity - the Ten Commandments.

Chapter 1 - Ten Commandments

Let's take a minute to look back at the only words written by God, the Ten Commandments:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before thee.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honor thy father and thy mother.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10. Thou shalt not covet any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Very simple, yet eloquent. Of course, we may offer some insight, which may bring these concepts up to date, yet all still apply.

A much simpler rule of thumb is the Golden Rule conveyed by Jesus, which states that we should treat others as we want to be treated. Now, that offers the greatest simplicity with the most positive result. I think that perhaps this is the one truly Golden Rule which offers the greatest wisdom in the most compact package.

CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD would offer a different view of things, in that God is now saying that there is no such thing as right or wrong, no good nor bad. In light of those darned consequences, we do tend to learn that there are greater and lesser consequences. In our cost/benefit analysis, used to determine which actions to take, we must look at the upside and the downside of each action. Or as God would say, there are no bad consequences, only those that happen as a result of the action taken. So, if we take good and bad totally out of the equation, then we'll keep everything on an even keel.

I really don't believe that people intend to cause harm to others. I think that harm is a result of an action taken with good intentions. (Understand that harm is a relative term.) Hitler did not start out to kill millions, he simply wanted to experience power and bring great wealth to the German people. It was his intent to do good, but the results are seen as very bad. Starting on the path of good intentions often leads to unimagined results. There had to be a way to rally the troops and he used the common hatred for the rich (Jews) as the selling point. The common enemy theory worked wonders. The Germans, who were poverty stricken, hated those who they saw as having much; therefore, they wanted to eliminate the greedy Jews so that their society could be free of the money mongering menace. Hmmm, things didn't quite work out that way, and many lessons were learned from the experience. Perhaps if Hitler had decided to use the talents of the citizens to produce better products and utilize the ingenuity of their scientists to produce better televisions and radios, then they could have brought much wealth without having to cause such destruction. Think of which is more memorable for the Japanese – their contributions to the war effort or their contributions to the world marketplace after the war? Granted, some of their war strategies were great; however, managing to take over the world economy in such a short time after the war by building better products really takes the cake.

So, which is preferable – in God's eyes, neither. In our eyes, the improvement in manufacturing techniques to bring societal improvement is far superior. Beating down the Jews did little to improve the wealth of Germany. Another of history's great lessons. When we make a choice, and there are always choices, we should focus on the price paid for our actions. If my goal is to be the CEO of a company, should I choose the shortcut of stabbing people in the back to climb faster or should I choose the much slower paced hard work pays off method. Sometimes we can't see how our actions affect others. We lose sight of what is important while focusing on the prize. Our egos and desires take over and we don't realize until it is too late that we have sacrificed our most cherished possessions while reaching for the stars. It is not until our spouse leaves us that we stop and look at what caused us to lose sight of our most precious relationships. We take for granted what we have, while reaching higher and higher for what we think we want.

In reflecting on our lives, it is so easy to see our mistakes. Why didn't we see that coming? It should have been so obvious. Yet we fall into the traps of our own making because we lose sight of our true selves, or are our true selves reflected in our actions? Maybe we really didn't care about our spouses when we made those decisions. Maybe our greed is our greatest core value. Maybe the illusion of power drives our every action. Maybe, we need to do some soul searching.

Getting to the bottom of our actions is really the only way to see what drives us. Is it greed, power, kindness, fun, or service to others? It is easy for us to imagine the motives of others, but it is far more difficult for us to look within ourselves. Do we really want to know ourselves for the primal animals that we are or do we prefer to envision ourselves as altruistic? Are we ever really honest with ourselves? Or do we hide behind false mirrors which offer us a more acceptable façade? Societies are similar and never really show their true colors except when the chips are down. Peeling away the layers of unintentional deceit reveals the basic action motivators which we often seek to hide. Do we want to appear to be greedy, even if we are? Do we want to appear weak, even if we are? Do we want to be honest or front for others? Are we more motivated by what others will think? The answers are surprising if we allow ourselves to be honest. This is not to judge, as your motives are right for you. If your motive is to be a superstar, then by all means go for it. If your motive is to be a servant of the poor, don't hesitate. Is either right or wrong? No, it is all in what is right for you.

We tend to hate or envy those who have much, but never imagine the struggles experienced in the attainment. We've all heard of actors/actresses who lived in their cars and waited tables just to make do until the big break came. There's no shame in that, but once they have all of their dreams realized, we don't waste time criticizing their excessive lifestyles. Are we to judge because we didn't reach for the stars? Why hate someone else who took the chance and made their dreams come true? We didn't take the chance and don't like those who did. The envy/covet commandment comes quickly to mind.

My favorite simplistic example of coveting is a friend of mine who never orders food first – she decides only after everyone else has ordered because she always thinks that their food choices are better. Talk about living for others.....this takes it to another level. When you are so scared that someone will order something better than you, aren't you cheating yourself out of the opportunity to fulfill your own desires? Maybe it is her desire to be like everyone else that is the true motivation. If she were alone in a restaurant, would she not choose for herself the food of her liking? Why then is it different when in the company of others? Why do we spend most of our lives "keeping up with the Jones" when we probably won't be happy with their choices?

Envy is a great motivator. If we believe that a beautiful new house purchased by our neighbors brings them happiness, then we will work ourselves to death trying to have the same. We don't stop to realize that we can't possibly afford or even want to afford such trappings. Why do we want what others have? Why do we suppose that others are happier than we are? This, if you think about it, is really a stupid assumption and we are all guilty of making such assumptions. We see movie stars on TV and would just die to have what they have. We are so envious of their lifestyles that we don't for a minute stop to think about the reality of their lives. We only see the glamour and not the reality. We watched Princess Diana with all of her wealth and fame die in a effort to get away from nosey people like us trying to enjoy her life, if only vicariously. Remember, photographers only make money because we want to see the pictures.

Why do we want to be something that we are not? Why does the grass always seem greener on the other side when we all know that it is not greener anywhere? When we are young, we perhaps don't have a full grasp of the reality; however, maturity does demonstrate that things are not always as they appear. Everything has a downside and an upside. I recently thought about the choices that our souls make for our lives. If we chose to live in poverty, how would our lives really be any different? Imagine yourself in a small poverty ridden nation. You get up in the morning, struggle all day trying to make enough food and drink to sustain your existence and you lay down at night and go to sleep. What is the difference, at the core, for a Wall Street executive? They get up early and work hard all day trying to sustain their existence and then lay down at night and go to sleep. The obvious differences are in the trappings, but the existence is the same.

When we die, we realize the futility of it all and probably can't believe that we were so stupid as to waste our lives chasing material trappings when we would have been better served in chasing our soul's desires. Of course, it's too late then as we cannot go back and change our past. Why do we not realize during our lives that we are not the sum of our possessions but are the seekers of wisdom? One of my friend's grandmothers used to say, "You live and learn; die and forget it all." Yeah, there's something to look forward to. But, if we realize that the soul never dies, then we can make different choices and seek the fulfillment of our soul's desires. When you die, does it really matter if you made millions or if you toted water in buckets every day? While we are living, we imagine that it matters, so much so that we spend our every waking moment in pursuit of the brass ring. But, do we fool ourselves and reach for the wrong brass ring?

Of course we do, unless we really know what our brass ring is. Introspection is the only way to see our brass ring. This brings me to my latest lesson from God – how do you know what is your brass ring/soul's desire/highest thought? I get so much crap rolling around in my head that I can't seem to cull out the true desire. I imagine that there are three impulses within myself: my mind; my heart; and my soul. You know that the mind will steer you toward the material. You know that the heart will steer you toward the fantasy. You must assume that your soul is the true voice inside that cries for your attention. So, how do you know which is which? I did ask God last night this very question. So, let's not assume that I have all the answers as my journey is progressing as I write.

Go with your gut instinct. Hmmm, this is generally the first insight you get in any circumstance. God says that we can listen to our head and our heart and their influences are inspiring, but only when we listen to our gut instinct will we truly know our desires. Try an exercise and see what happens. Give yourself a "for instance" situation and see what happens. If my gut instinct says that I should quit my job and find something more suitable, my mind will say that I have to keep my job because I have bills to pay and my heart will say that my happiness is most important and to heck with the rest. We spend countless hours wrestling internally between the three. Who's right and who should we listen to more than the others? If my gut tells me to quit my job, then I just quit and assume that everything else will fall into place? History tells me that this isn't exactly so. I once resigned my job in order to avoid having to do something that I knew was wrong. After almost a year without a job, I really didn't feel that I made the smartest move. I guess I could have blown the whistle and faced all of that harassment. But, that would be another lesson to be learned. I knew that I couldn't stay, so I made the only choice that I thought that I could – I pushed back my chair, submitted my resignation letter and walked out of the building. There were consequences, but none as harsh as for those who chose to remain.

Our instinct tells us, but our minds and hearts temper our instincts. If we always listen to our instincts without consulting our hearts and minds, then chances are that we would be happier, but would face the hardships of our choices. God said in CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD that our happiness lies just outside our comfort zone. Our minds and hearts create our comfort zone, so we must squelch them just enough to be able to listen to our instincts. There are those who can totally put aside minds and hearts and go for what their instincts want. Those, I do believe, are those who truly are the masters, as they have realized that we are not really living until we are living our innermost choices. I have so many times thought about doing this or that but never did after I listened to my mind. Following my heart has led me to do some really stupid things . We generally feel the answers to our questions deeply inside, but feel obligated by fear to analyze them into our way of thinking. That dirty word fear just seems to take on a life of its own. How do we then, realizing that fear is one of our greatest motivators, learn to overcome its power?

If fear is our own creation, then why are we so attached to it? Do we just love to live in fear? Think about fear in our everyday thinking, giving it the importance that we really do. I think I'll be afraid of everything and enjoy a day filled with fear. I'll be afraid to drive my car because I might have an accident; I'll be afraid to go to work because my boss will terrorize me; I'll be afraid to take a lunch break because I'm afraid I'll miss something important; I'll be afraid to answer the phone because I'm afraid that an angry customer will be on the line; I'll be afraid to drive home because I'm afraid that someone will suffer from road rage and kill me; I'll be afraid to cook dinner because I'm afraid that I'll burn myself; I'll be afraid to talk to my spouse because I'm afraid that my point of view will be missed; I'll be afraid to go to sleep because I'm afraid that I won't wake up. Sounds like a lovely day – shouldn't we have more just like it?

The reality is that we do live our lives primarily motivated as in the above scenario. We often have to force ourselves to do things which make us afraid or uncomfortable. How many times have we just had to convince ourselves that facing traffic is just part of life and we have to do it regardless? There are people so motivated by fear that they are literally paralyzed and refuse to leave their houses. We believe that this is a disease, and write it off to medical reasons. I'm no doctor and I don't play one on TV, but I know that we are all susceptible to such control by fear. Mental illness is serious and I don't mean to imply that irrational thinking is due to mental illness or that mental illness is created in our minds. I am talking about two entirely different things. I do not, to the best of my non-medical opinion, suffer from mental illness. I do suffer greatly from insecurity caused by fear. I created the fear based on early teachings of my parents and have allowed fear to take control on many occasions. It is by my own choice that I give fear the control that it has in my life.

So, after all of these years of learned behavior, do I now change my behavior and put fear in its proper place? This is a big one and I'm still at God's door asking for the answer. Often, I think that God allows us to experience our worst fears so that we will realize that the world will not come to an end or that we will not cease to exist in the face of our greatest fears. This is not to assume that we will not die – fear of poisonous snakes is often justifiable, but we should not stop living our lives just in case we may come in contact with snakes. I pray that God doesn't wish to teach me any other lessons about snakes – the heart attack from a surprise encounter can be very deadly.

If you think that fear isn't real, suddenly realize that you are within striking distance of a snake and check your pulse. I'm guessing that the expression, "I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest," takes on a new meaning. Remember, I was raised on a farm and I do clearly remember seeing my brother leap across two rows of squash after seeing a snake. It was amazing that he took that leap without bending his knees. I didn't know a person could just magically move over two rows. It was so funny to watch, but don't think that I stood around laughing, as I was far more concerned about where the snake was then.

There are instances where proper fear is warranted. Knowing that a snake can kill you but not your soul does not necessarily mean that you should stick around and play with it. Err on the side of caution when you know that your odds aren't good or desirable. Of course, if you are a snake handler, then your choices will surely be different. Many people don't like guns, but police officers have to have them. Imagine how much respect you would have for an officer who simply toted a stick? In England, the Bobbies do not carry guns, so I guess it is possible for a society to exist without guns. Ok, so I like the stories of the old west and all the gun slingers and how the west was won. As an American, I believe that it is our fundamental right to bear arms; as a realist, I also believe that a gun in the wrong hands can only lead to trouble. A proper respect for a gun is warranted. You'd be amazed how helpful a gun is in eliminating my fear of snakes – nothing like an equalizer!

Oh boy, I have taken a long left on the topic and wound up on the farm. Whoa, back to the subject. Fear has a purpose, but it is not to run your life. Put all things into their proper perspective so that you are free to enjoy your experiences.

Chapter 2 – The Golden Rule

If the BIBLE were written today, it would probably have as its premise, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," or in today's terms, "Treat others as yourself." Of course, we can make this a bad thing, especially if we are in to self hatred and are suicidal. Perhaps we should explore better wording such as, "Treat others as God." Now that has a catchy ring to it, but that kind of leaves you out, so let's try, "Treat yourself and others as God." Hmmm, now I think we may be on to something more in line with God's perspective. But, how do we treat God? That's another issue for a later rambling.

I don't remember an instance of God being treated badly. I'm trying to roust my memory cells to find one known instance of God hating – oh, if we consider Jesus as God, then we have a good one. But, it wasn't God they were hating, but the man Jesus. So, I guess this doesn't qualify. Perhaps agnosticism is as close as we can get, but no hatred there. We don't often see signs touting hatred for God, so let's assume that if we treated ourselves and others as God, then this would be the way to go.

Our negativity sprouts when we immediately think of praying to ourselves or to others. Would you really pray to your neighbor Ralph for the wisdom of the ages? No, so let's not get off on that tangent. Treating Ralph with the same respect that you would God, if He were your neighbor, would give Ralph more deserving treatment. If God were your neighbor, would you put your trash in His yard? Would you call the police on God for disturbing the neighborhood? Would you put up a fence to keep God and His children out of your yard? Would you throw bricks at His windows? Would you break into His house and steal His stereo? I bet He would have a great stereo, but you wouldn't even think about stealing it.

If your coworker were God, would you run to the boss to tattle on Him? Would you drop all that extra work on Him just to make things easier on yourself? Would you undermine Him at every turn to make yourself look better? Would you take the last cup of coffee knowing that He really needed the morning boost? I'm guessing that you would be just a little more considerate of a coworker who you treated like God. Think of all of the cashiers that you should have treated more like God – they are just doing their jobs and deserve respect just like God. Think about your morning commute to work – instead of cutting people off and honking at every idiot who does what you don't like, try letting people in front of you and driving with a more God-like attitude. You'll find that your commute is far less stressful once you realize that it isn't a life and death experience. God would probably leave home earlier so that He wouldn't have to drive like a bat out of hell infuriating everyone on the road.

We can easily see the benefit of living life showing respect, but let's also consider the side benefit of being respectful – getting respect! Wow, give a smile and see how quickly you get a smile. Give a wave and get one. Give and you shall receive truly does work. Seldom is an act of kindness not returned in kind. We tend to walk around every day with such a chip on our shoulder that we can't even imagine being nice because everyone else is so rotten and awful. We get caught up in the negativity that we can't see the positive much less be positively proactive. We gather and carry a cloud over our heads such that the sun never shines in our sight. Why do we prefer such misery to a more positive experience? We get up in the mornings dreading the day, when a little attitude shift could make a wonderful difference in our experience. Why, why, why do we do this?

The people who seem to get the concept fully are those who are cheerful in the mornings and always have something positive to say. What planet produced these aliens? Always smiling and getting on the nerves of those of us who have things to do and are very busy. Don't they just make you sick with all of that niceness? Not being a morning person, I always had issues with the morning lovers who always greeted everyone cheerfully. I wanted to give them a dose of reality and slap them back to their senses. My philosophy was that I shouldn't be bothered until after 10:00 am and not be held accountable until after noon. Mornings just don't bring out my best and a chipper person first thing in the morning was only to be avoided.

So, half the day is gone and I'm just starting to come to life. So, where's the brilliance in that? By 3:00 pm, I am on a roll, filled with enough anxiety to operate heavy equipment. A day that starts off bad, generally doesn't wind up much better. But, I'm far too busy to worry about saying hello to people who know me. They know that I'm a grouch, especially in the mornings. (It's hard to be nice when you are in charge of the money and always have to say no.) I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and do enough worrying to fill a swimming pool each day. Why do I do this? Why am I my own worst enemy? I guess I just enjoy torturing myself and others. But, but, but.....I just seem to be a bad luck magnet. I seem to experience the worst things and no body understands me. Blah, blah, blah....woe is me and the pity party rolls to a crescendo of misery.

Now, let's suppose that I were a morning person and went to work feeling happy and motivated to experience nothing but positive things all day. I would be the one saying good morning; I would be the one walking on air bringing smiles to others. If you've never tried it, do so immediately because it really works. You'll see and feel the difference and you'll be amazed. Try bringing candy to work – you almost can't make an enemy with a sack full of candy. Pass out so many compliments that it makes people wonder if you really have gone over the edge. Try different things – mess up your schedule and live dangerously. Variety is the spice of life and will do wonders for your day! Ask someone, who isn't your favorite, to lunch – that will throw them for a loop. Offer your assistance to another department – keep them guessing. Take a few minutes to visit other departments, even if it has to be on your break. You'll be surprised by all of the goodwill gained by a modest effort.

Attitude is everything! If you expect good things, you'll have good things. If you expect bad things, you'll have bad things. Look on the bright side and expect the best. I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

Yeah, all of this sounds just a little too prissy for you to handle. Reality takes over and you are bound to fall. Your attitude just won't be so festive after a not-so-nice visit from your boss. There will be moments and this is just a fact. You are only human and everyone will not share you great new attitude. But, don't start out the day being negative – give yourself at least a good start. Chances are that a good start will keep the rest from being totally negative. Gradually make the change and cut yourself a break when you have moments of weakness. For those who do care about their performance and their jobs, it is difficult to always handle the bad things with a smile. Know this and make the best of the situation knowing that everything will seem positive soon if you choose it. Look at the experience in a positive light and soon you will do this with no effort at all. Practice does make perfect and once you go through the learning curve, you will be on the road to a better life experience.

Sure, bad things happen in our perspective which makes them our reality. What may seem devastating to us may in fact be minor in the Big Picture. Don't be overwhelmed by circumstances, appreciate the experience and know that every experience makes you who you are. I was in a store this week and an elderly lady starting talking to me. She wound up telling me that she had lost one of her sons to cancer recently and she didn't understand why God had not taken her instead, that her son was such a good person and was only 52 years old. Try explaining God's position to someone who just can't see the light of the experience. I told her that obviously his purpose had been served and that God had other plans for him. That just didn't seem to offer her any solace, and she went on to detail other aspects of her life and that she had been married twice and had eight grand children, etc.

What possessed that woman to talk to me? Did I look like I was a sounding board for her? Did I have "tell me your story" written on my forehead? Did I have a sign on my back that said "sucker for a sorrowful tale?" Something obviously made her feel that she could share her story with me. Having not invited the conversation, maybe it was the smile on my face that made her feel comfortable with me. It was one of those things that you knew deep inside that you had just done a good deed and had helped someone feel better.

Sometimes God sends us people for no apparent reason or puts us in places where we will help His people. It happens everyday; we just don't seem to take notice. We pass it off as an interruption to our otherwise busy lives. We fail to see the beauty of God's interactions in our lives daily. Why? Because we are so busy and so important that we can't see anything else. Granted, on that day, I had not one other thing to do and was merely shopping to avoid being bored at home. What an opportunity for God to use me to help another, or was it God who sent someone to help me? Ahhh, perhaps I was the one with a sorrowful tale and needed someone to put my life in perspective. We always envision ourselves to be the ones who don't need help when in reality, we are desperately in need of God's intervention. Maybe, God saw an opportunity to serve a mutual need by one chance encounter. He does work in mysterious ways, or so it often seems.

Chapter 3 - Spiritual Rendition

Well, on to further analysis of the new BIBLE of today. We have our basic principle – treat yourself and others as God. What else do we need to analyze? The BIBLE teaches lessons by offering relative examples. We have looked at examples of our basic principle, so let's move on to other lessons needed in our BIBLE.

We should provide all sorts of guidance and wisdom for now and the future. The BIBLE has served us well, but we need to move to a more spiritual rendition of the BIBLE. We need to focus on things which surpass current teachings. For example, the BIBLE tells about heaven and hell. The most shocking portrayals of hell are offered which induce instantaneous fear and obedience. Heaven is portrayed as something wonderful and beyond our belief. The thought pops into my mind that perhaps, if God were describing heaven and hell to someone, how might He describe them? What words would be used to best communicate the concept? If God showed a prophet scenes of the inner turmoil suffered by someone, what might the prophet see and write? One has to imagine that a burning pit of torment could be a very good descriptor for the restlessness in our soul. Do we take the description literally and assume that there is actually a place with a burning fire seven times hotter than any on earth? Generally we do.

We never stop to realize that perhaps our soul's burning desire for fulfillment could be mistaken if the words were not understood by the recipient. Is there a literal heaven where angels live and God and Jesus are sitting around being worshipped for ever and ever? Or, do we go out on a limb and know that the relief felt by our soul after death could possibly be described as paradise? Could we imagine that paradise is actually our mind's experience of no pain and suffering? Wow, now that would be paradise.

The concepts of heaven and hell have always mystified the masses. Literal translations of these eternal areas give us at least one good assurance – that life does go on after death. If you believe that there is a heaven and a hell, then only after death can these areas exist. So, it is a relatively safe bet that there is an afterlife, even for those who do not believe in reincarnation. The most literal believers have faith that these places exist; therefore, their lives are spent in pursuit or fear of one or the other. Christians believe that if you are saved by Christ, then you will go to heaven after death. Christians believe that if you are bad, then you will spend eternity burning in hell. This does not suggest that reincarnation exists as most people imagine, but it does imply that the spirit spends eternity in one place or the other. The BIBLE does state that in death, you do shed your earthly body and are left with your spirit. Your spirit, based on your life, spends an eternity of its deserving.

The Christian belief is that your spirit must go through judgment upon death in order to determine its fate – either heaven or hell. The Lamb's Book of Life, as described in the BIBLE, will contain the names of all of those who are to enter heaven and I'm guessing that if your name isn't there, you'll have something to worry about. Imagine standing before the Almighty and knowing that your name has not been found. Ick! You are going down on an express elevator to hell. Now that's something to look forward to, don't you think? You've lived your life trying to do the best that you can but you somehow missed the boat because you didn't get saved. Now you'll have to pay for that mistake forever and there's no turning back. How's that for justice?

If I have been a good person and have been saved by Jesus, then I will spend eternity in heaven in the presence of God where there is peace and worship. Eternity in heaven – would you get bored with the same old thing over and over? How many praises can you give to God during an eternity? Everyday, the same thing, over and over again. I'm thinking that the new might wear off after a few years. Perhaps your mind would start to wonder and you would forget to go to the daily worship service. Perhaps you would become slack and start to think up new things to do. Is this really what God wants for us? Does He really need to hear us give praise 24/7? I really don't think that if you do the math that this really adds up. So, what is the alternative, assuming that we can't go to hell either?

Having been raised Christian, I was always of the belief that you live right, die, and go to heaven. Having analyzed this over the years, I find that there may be some holes in the scenario. If you were God, would you want people to sit around and worship you all day forever? Do you think that a person's best talents are put to use this way? I have come to speculate that maybe there is more to the afterlife than we first suspected. I have done some research and there are many books about reincarnation and the afterlife. At this point, I don't have any conclusions, but I do have plenty of brain food to digest.

Other religions have different views of the afterlife and I don't want to deprive you of the experience of researching each and every one, especially since I really don't like to read and I can't possibly absorb enough information to adequately convey the concepts of each. Suffice it to say, the evidence, including the BIBLE, points to the existence of an afterlife. The differences generally involve the specifics of the afterlife. In the grand scheme of things, if our only purpose is to live a very short time on earth to spend an eternity in the afterlife, what have we really accomplished? Perhaps our time would have been better spent learning more valuable spiritual lessons. Think over your life (I have only 42 years to ponder) and think of all the time that you've wasted. Certainly, as for me, my every waking hour was filled to the max with great spiritual enlightenment opportunities (not really – as I have wasted so much precious time that I can't even believe it myself.) Remember all those hours sitting watching TV, riding around aimlessly, contemplating boredom, etc. We've all done it and have done much of it.

So, let's assume that 1/3 of your life is just simply wasted with mindless activities. I'm being quite generous and assuming that 1/3 of your life is spent learning about life here on earth (and watching the Discovery Channel does count.) That leaves the final 1/3 for spiritual pursuits (and this is by far the most generous estimate so far.) I have spent quite a bit of time contemplating religion, God, the afterlife, etc. Well, let's tally up and see the score – 42 divided by 3 = 14 years of spiritual development. God's math might say that, if I died today, I would have wasted most of my life and only have 14 years on which to earn eternity in heaven.

In a cost/benefit analysis, does this really make sense? How developed can a person become in only 14 years? Did God really get the most bang for His buck? I don't think so, and can't believe that this is all there is. There must be more. Think of young people who have died – did they have a fair chance to gain spiritual maturity? I guess we just assume that they got what they got and that was enough. Why would such a system be practical? Would it not be better to assume that one chance isn't enough and that God, in His infinite wisdom, gives us more time to achieve better results? Even if we lived our lives to the fullest, there simply isn't enough time to experience the wonder of God. The wonder of God cannot be fully grasped in many life times, so why can we assume that He only gives us one chance? In the grand scheme of things, our lives are but a flicker and more likely less than that.

If we are souls housed in earthly bodies, and heaven provides us eternal bliss, then what have we truly accomplished by being finished at this point? One life does not begin to give us an idea of all that life has to offer. Think of the many people that you have met and the various experiences of each. You would be irked that you never got to experience the life of a rich person or that you never got to be a Saint and perform miracles. If you were just a meager person in your one life, oh, you might be just a little miffed at being cheated out of all that life has to offer. I personally would feel cheated if the past 42 years were all that I was allowed to experience given that almost 20 of those years was spent in school learning about things I'll forget upon death. How fair is that? I really don't see much need for my worldly learning in heaven (and yes, I do intend on going to heaven and not hell, as it were.)

Imagine lying on your death bed thinking that you have lived your only chance to enjoy life's bounty. There's been good and bad, but you are tired and are ready to go home to God. What? I should have done this or that starts to creep into the picture. I wish I had time to go here or there. If only I had known, I would have spent more time doing this or that. Would you have regrets? Would you perhaps like another chance to experience more? I have regrets now, and I'm sure that another 40 years won't offer me any fewer regrets. Of course I'd like another chance. This time, I'll do things differently. This time I'll...and so on. Would you prefer to believe that you are done or that you are just beginning?

I believe that God does offer us another chance or perhaps many other chances to explore His magnificence. I think that we would be shortchanged if we only had one chance. I would like to think that perhaps I have many chances to become the spiritual master that I really want to be (and I don't see it happening in this life time.) Many have laughed at Shirley MacLaine for her views on reincarnation and she also laughs along. She is a person who stands firmly in her beliefs and convictions and for that she is truthful with herself and others. What if she is the one who is right and the rest are wrong? What if she got on the boat while we missed it laughing at her departure? What if we were drowning in a sea of ignorance while she was making the most of her lives here on earth? Hmmm, it does give one food for thought.

I have done some reading on the subject of spiritual masters and their views of the world and the after world. It seems that the more I read, the more all views come to basically one conclusion – that there is life after death and that reincarnation does exist. This is not to say that you should believe one way or the other, but it is to say that perhaps it is a possibility that we should consider. Let's look at the downside to reincarnation. Our spirit has the opportunity to come back to earth and experience life over and over until we have fulfilled our spiritual destiny. This means that we are subject to many lives which may not be so very pleasant with experiences that are not very nice. This means that we have to experience the tragedies of life over and over. This means that we can't get to the finish line to spend forever just chilling. This means that we have to work more. This means that we have to do things over till we get them right. Ohhh, that is a down side and makes the picture not so appealing. Perhaps God will cut us a break and let one life be good before we have another bad. Maybe we will see things differently when we are pure spirit. Maybe, we can just put off till tomorrow what we don't have to think about today. Nahhh, that is not why we are here, we want to know the answers now. We are impatient.

One can consider the good and bad in any scenario. Let's take a more broad view of the afterlife to include our soul's true purpose. If our soul's purpose, the one for which God took the time to create us, is to be fully developed, then many lives will be needed to accomplish this task. We would need many experiences to even be able to begin to grasp the fullness of God. In 42 years, I have not even begun to touch upon spiritual maturity as it is described by spiritual masters. Yes, I have tried shortcuts, but don't seem to be able to cheat my way to wisdom. I'm going to have to learn the old fashioned hard way and it will take many lives, of this I am almost certain.

Let's say that our first life on earth is one of basic discovery. Our second life will be one offering more discoveries, building on the growth from the previous life. This is not to suggest that we go into our next life remembering our first life. Our soul will be able to realize the spiritual growth from the first life and will use that to further grow in the next lives. We shouldn't assume that our soul is the same as our body. Our bodies will not last through eternity. I'm certain of this given the aging that my body has already experienced in just 42 years. I'm guessing that 40 more won't put my body back to its youthful self of the teenage years. So, let's separate our thinking away from the body to the soul. Let's focus on the soul which never dies and this is verified in the BIBLE. All we are changing here is what happens after the body dies – we are not changing the fact that the body dies. But what's a soul to do without a body? Why get a new one, of course!

If the BIBLE were written today, surely it would contain a section on the afterlife and the many lives to follow. There would be some specific guidance for souls which would be offered in a more understandable context than simply heaven or hell. If humans knew that this wasn't their only chance for redemption, would they not then be more open to experience the joys of each life? If you knew that it was ok to make mistakes, that you were going to have other chances to get it right, you would more fully experience each life. The saying, "Live each day as if it were your last," is very freeing except when you consider the consequences of maybe blowing all of your money and quitting your job assuming that it is your last day. If another day comes, you would be in serious trouble. So, keep it real, but keep it fun. We often take ourselves and our lives so seriously that we forget to enjoy our lives. We opt to stay late at the office even when we don't have to just to try to get ahead. Have you ever noticed that you never seem to get ahead in spite of your best efforts?

Perhaps we would make better use of our time if we knew we had more of it. If this life doesn't fulfill our desires, then surely the next one will. It does offer us hope when once there was none. Just as every summer school was out, why should not our souls get a rest after each lifetime. Just as we use the summer to refresh and reflect, we could use our time in the afterlife to refresh and reflect. Some writers suggest that after death, our souls go through a reflecting and learning process which readies us for our next life. We are given a chance to review our most recent life and the choices we made. We are given a chance to rest and replenish our soul for the next experience. If souls go through a learning process much like our school process, then yeah, you must go back next year for more until you have accomplished all the learning that your soul needs. Look at it from your soul's perspective – 42 years just isn't enough even if they were extremely fruitful.

Think of a soul's progression through the supposed learning process – beginner to master to God (and any steps in between which I may have left out for now.) In HOW TO KNOW GOD, Deepak Chopra outlines the steps as levels of fulfillment. Each level demonstrates the progression of the soul from beginning to God, the full realization of God. I see how the progression of each of his levels makes sense and that the soul builds upon and reacts based on the level of progression. Each level is demonstrated by examples of behavior based on the level of advancement.

I have tried to summarize the levels from Deepak's book:

Level 1 – Fight or Flight Response

You fulfill your life through family, community, a sense of belonging, and material comforts.

Level 2 – Reactive Response

You fulfill your life through success, power, influence, status, and other ego satisfactions.

Level 3 – Restful Awareness Response

You fulfill your life through peace, centeredness, self-acceptance, and inner silence.

Level 4 – Intuitive Response

You fulfill your life through insight, empathy, tolerance, and forgiveness.

Level 5 – Creative Response

You fulfill your life through inspiration, expanded creativity in art or science, and unlimited discovery.

Level 6 – Visionary Response

You fulfill your life through reverence, compassion, devoted service, and universal love.

Level 7 – Sacred Response

You fulfill your life through wholeness and unity with the divine.

As the examples indicate, there is a specific progression in behavior and insight. The more we learn about God, the more we behave as He does. Once we reach level 7, our spiritual fulfillment is complete – we have achieved our soul's desire to be God just as God made us as part of Him and wishes for us to realize that we are Him. Ohhh, how unsettling is this concept for most of us – it's just blasphemy! Not really, if you realize that just as your parents made you, they taught you to grow up and be like them. Aside from your parental disagreements, you are more like your parents than you might realize. The older I get, the more like my parents I become. What an ugly thought if you are a teenager swearing to never be like your parents.

The more we learn about God and the more our souls develop, our actions demonstrate the learning in more spiritual ways. An advanced soul like Mother Teresa behaves far differently than I do. Whereas, I would be begging God to help me, Mother Teresa would know intuitively that God is there and is already helping. This is similar to the differences between a child and an adult. As the child grows, it needs less and less help from the parent as we need less and less from God when we become more like Him. Once we understand more about how He works, we learn to be more confident of His actions and learn to emulate, to the best of our ability, His actions.

If it takes so many years to learn to be parents, imagine how much time is needed to be like God. One lifetime just isn't enough. Is a thousand lifetimes enough? I really don't know. Neale Donald Walsh was told by God that he had already lived over 600 lives, yet Neale had quite a rough ride in this life. So, based on his analogy, we have many lessons to go. I wonder how many lives Mother Teresa has lived to get to the level of her mastery? I personally shudder to think that I have so many lives to go to get where I need to be. I guess this also begs the question, "Do I ever get any smarter in succeeding lives?" The logical answer is that we do not get smarter in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense. Remember, spiritual growth in no way is like physical growth. Putting things in proper context and they are much easier to understand.

Does there come a point when an advanced soul such as Mother Teresa comes to earth just to teach? Did Jesus come to earth to learn or to teach? I really don't think that Jesus learned much from the mortals, but He had so much to offer. What a difference He made in the lives of all who lived after Him. How many lives did Mother Teresa inspire by her modest deeds? I for one am awe stricken by the contributions of both and strive to be more like them, knowing that in one of these lifetimes, I will achieve their level of spiritual maturity. When eternity seems a little boring and a soul has much to offer, why not come back and teach the seekers of knowledge? We learn so much more by example, so how great is it that we have such great teachers among us?

Chapter 4 - Spiritual Beings

Moving right along, if the BIBLE were written today, would it include information about spiritual beings among us? Now this opens up quite a large can of worms for us to chase. I was recently sitting around contemplating all that I learned, when suddenly on TV, God dropped another bomb on me – Angels. I was blinking through the channels when I happened upon a documentary on Angels. Having never really given much thought to the presence of Angels, I had always gone with the vague concepts and references in the BIBLE. I have never seen an Angel nor have I knowingly experienced one, but I do keep replicas in various places such as my car just to be on the safe side. A friend of mine insisted that I put a motorcycle Angel on my motorcycle before riding, so I purchased one and did install it faithfully. It must have worked, as I had no incidents on the motorcycle the entire time that I owned it. There's your proof right there! Or is it? Maybe it is just wishful thinking that causes us to be sentimental. Maybe we figure that there is no harm in putting a metal replica in our car, so we do it for the heck of it.

If we assume that we are spiritual beings as the BIBLE says that we are and that Angels are among us as the BIBLE says, then why are we so skeptical that Angels really do exist? I for one have had some questions on the subject and haven't seen proof as of yet. Just as Deepak says of God, "God has managed the amazing feat of being worshiped and invisible at the same time...somehow the vast majority of people believe in God – as many as 96 percent, according to some polls." If we believe in God, of which we have heard much, why then can we not believe in Angels of whom we have heard much? Of course, I immediately ran to the bookstore to find books on the subject of Angels. God just loves to make me read when He knows that I hate it. But, ever diligent, I went on my knowledge quest in hot pursuit. Depending on what you read, as with almost everything, you can get as many different opinions as there are books. The obvious question that first comes to my mind is, "If God works with us directly, then why do we need Angels?"

Why indeed, as we are always in need of more assistance than the law allows. If God knows that we are susceptible to belief in Angels, then why not send Angels? If God knows that we are susceptible to TV, then why not send Angels in TV programs? If God knows that we are susceptible to inspiration by signs, then why not send signs? God can use as many vehicles as He has at His disposal – and there are many. Each person communicates differently and receives information differently. Just as there are persons who learn better visually, there are also persons who learn better through hearing. We must not put limitations on God nor the means with which He will communicate with us.

Many people have had wonderful interactions with Angels and their lives have been changed forever. If you believe that an Angel kept you from wrecking your car, how can this be seen as anything but good? If you believe that Angels carried you away from physical harm, then you have had a great experience. I don't think that I can remember hearing a story about negative interactions with Angels, except for those involving the fallen angel. Of course, there are stories about Satan, the favorite Angel, falling from heaven and tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, tempting Job and tempting Christ. Of course, these stories happened long time ago and we may not have all the pertinent information of the subject.

Let's assume that except for the one bad Angel referenced, that the rest are good and are here to serve us according to our needs. I prefer to not think that God would send an Angel of Car Accidents to inflict harm upon me; I would rather think on the bright side, knowing that God is love and sends us love through His messengers. I prefer to envision Angels much like in the movie THE CITY OF ANGELS. I just loved the character of Nathan Messenger, a former Angel, who has the smarts to enjoy the wonderful gift of life. I'm sure that the spiritual reality is different, but just as we picture God sitting on a throne, I choose to picture Angels with wings and white gowns. Work with me here – I'm not that advanced yet.

What if Angels were with you right now? A book I'm currently reading states that there are two Angels with you at all times – one on the left side and one on the right side. If you need more Angels, you simply call them to you. Now really, even this is a far stretch for my imagination, but I'm trying to learn as God is giving me the inspiration. I can see that it would be possible and I would like to have the spiritual backup just in case I need it. How sad it would be if we had such a resource at our disposal but failed to realize it? Hmmm, does out disbelief warrant our doing without? All good questions, but the doubter in me wants proof. The book I'm reading specifies exercises for meeting and talking to your Angels. I'm in the learning process on this, so I'll have to catch you up on this later. Worst case scenario – what if I believed in Angels as long as it didn't hurt anyone? I might find that I've been missing a great deal of spiritual comfort.

Are there other spiritual beings among us? Are there spiritual advisors or mentors? Are there goblins or ghosts? Are there lost souls seeking to end their earthly bonds? Have I wondered off into a realm way beyond my comprehension? Oh yes, and I don't want to delve too deeply into the spirit world, as I am certainly not able to offer much insight. There are people who believe in ghosts just as I believe in God. There are people who believe that there are haunted houses, but I choose to not find out. I once thought it would be cool to check out one of those spooky stories by visiting a supposedly haunted place. I went to a graveyard at night and learned one thing - I can't say that it was haunted, but I surely knew that I didn't want to be there to find out. It may have all been in my mind and I'm sure that it was, but why tempt fate? I knew that I had the creepiest feeling and it just wasn't worth staying one more minute. Better leave those sorts of things to those who have the courage to experience them.

Chapter 5 - Meditation

If the BIBLE were written today, what would it say about meditation? This is a relatively new concept for me and I am in the learning process. I will say this - meditation is recommended in almost every book that I have read. What's all the buzz about meditation? Why do so many feel that it is absolutely essential to living life to the fullest? What can be gained by sitting in a corner with your legs crossed and chanting ohms? There must be something or else it wouldn't get all the hype. So, true to form, I dashed out to the bookstore for info. Many books I have read and all say basically the same thing – meditation is essential! Of course, not everyone uses the same meditation techniques, but the basic purpose is much the same. You must get in touch with your inner self before you can properly live your life. If you haven't "searched your soul," then how will you know to fulfill it? Your innermost desires are only in one place and you must go there to get the information needed to get the most out of your life.

So what's the harm in meditation? As I see it, none. Sitting quietly, reflecting on or just being open to whatever comes up, is nothing if not relaxing. If you achieve no other benefit, quiet time is priceless. How can you get in touch with yourself if you are always pulled from pillar to post by every little detail of life? Take the time to reward yourself by listening to yourself by being alone with yourself. Get in touch with who you are and what your desires are. There is no set time limit nor is there a set format – just stop for a few minutes as often as possible to spend time within yourself. There are many books on the subject, so don't be limited by one view. Do some research as I am doing and learn that the best source of information comes from within yourself. We don't even feel guilty about taking the time to contemplate the problems of others or consider the feelings of others, but we can't seem to make just 5 minutes a day for ourselves. Really, you should appreciate yourself more and do something selfish which will benefit you and all who know you.

There is much to learn outside of ourselves, but more to learn within ourselves. Why do we do the things we do? In reflecting on some of my present fears, I searched for root causes and found that I had to go down a few layers to get to the bottom. No one else on earth has the answers, so why not find the answers where they are? Until we understand the causes of our behavior, we will never be able to change our behavior. If we realize that we are afraid of graveyards because of all of the stories that we've heard, then we may not need to be afraid at all. Our preconceived notions based on what we've heard or read cause us to do some things which defy reason. There are people who don't even consider entering a graveyard, much less find the beauty in them.

During the day, I enjoy looking at the headstones and the dates on them – imagining the person's life and what it must have been like. At night, I really just don't go near them. Why, because I have so many spooky stories in my head that I can't seem to overcome. If you think that there's a ghost, then there probably is one. You are more likely to scare yourself with your own mind than with anything else. My fear of snakes keeps me out of the woods. My fear of motorcycles caused me to sell mine. My fear of God kept me away from Him for many years. I was always told to fear God, so I did. Why? I was told that the BIBLE says to fear God, so that was that.

Often, if I take the time to search for the real causes of my behavior, I find that many clouds are lifted (not literally.) I find that many of my fears are irrational and can be released once I understand that I have the fear and the reason for it. There are things which cause me fear to this day for which I cannot seem to overcome – fear of being stranded by my car, fear of lightening, fear of boredom (made you laugh,) etc. I guess that humans will always have a certain amount of fear and some fear is good. If I have no fear of power tools, then I will be more likely to hurt myself with one. Perhaps respect is a better word than fear. I have to respect the things that can hurt me and give them their due. I learned that there is no need to fear sharks, especially since I don't go in the water!

There are many burdens on our souls that have built up over the years. Releasing those burdens can be beneficial beyond belief. Let's say that you have hated your neighbor Fred for 20 years. The mere thought of Fred causes you to physically wince. You drag around this baggage for 20 years and the load can get pretty heavy. You plot revenge and you throw trash in his yard and back over his mailbox and cut down his trees. You are sure that one day you will win. You expend many hours, days, weeks and months swallowed by your hatred and contempt. Meanwhile, Fred is going on with his life, not giving a second thought to you or your hateful self. He doesn't even give you a second thought. Just to add insult to injury, he even waves as he passes. The nerve of that man! Looking at this situation from afar, you might just laugh at yourself.

How do we keep ourselves from wasting our time on foolishness such as this? We must get in touch with ourselves and realize why we do what we do and decide how we choose to behave once our vision is clear. Those 20 years could have been spent in far more useful ways – what if you had spent that time working at a homeless shelter or an orphanage? Kind of makes you see the foolishness of your actions in a less than flattering light. Can we avoid these traps? Can we learn from the past? Can we realize that Fred may have had good reasons for his actions? Did we bother to talk to Fred or did we just convict him? We need to realize that we are the only ones who can control our behavior; therefore, we are the only ones who can know our soul's desires. Of course, God knows, but He has given us free will and He only gives what we ask for. Let's not put the blame on God again.

God says in CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD that, "If you don't go within, you go without." If you think about it, this is very true. Think about your average day – you get up, run like crazy all day, and don't stop once to think what your purpose is here on earth. Isn't that much like cheating yourself? Are you less important than others in your life? At what point are you going to step up to the plate and realize that you are the center of your destiny and that you must have some input into your life's choices? Are you just going to exist for the rest of your days doing what is expected of you by others? Are you just going to go with the flow until you die?

Lying on your death bed, reflecting on your life, is not the best time to realize that you should have made better choices. Don't procrastinate and lose valuable time. Put yourself first and you will give untold rewards to others. This may sound selfish, but think of it this way – is it better for your spouse to see you happy or sad? If you are just living to please others, then you will be sad and this will be reflected in every aspect of your life. If you are living to please yourself, assuming that you are not choosing to hurt others with your recklessness, then you will be happy and this will be reflected. I'm not saying that spending money recklessly in order to feel happy is the answer – I'm talking about true happiness which comes from doing what is right for your soul.

That brings up another interesting point – what is right for us and how do we know? Back to the meditation and you'll find the answers. You might think that you will be happy living in a zillion dollar house, but your true happiness may be in a small house in a comfortable neighborhood. After you move into the overly ostentatious house, you discover that it has more issues than Publishers Clearinghouse. Your poor insight may be your downfall if you don't take the time to examine your primary motivations. What is you truest desire? Get to the bottom of the issue and if you have a little trouble, ask God to help you see the light. We all have issues that we can't fully understand and need His help with them. Don't be shy – ask away.

What is it that makes me happy? Don't look at others, look within yourself. Why am I not happy? Don't ask for the opinions of others, look within yourself. What is my soul's purpose? This may be a tough one requiring a boost from God. Just ask and He'll give you a jumpstart. Many of the writers that I have discovered in my research have for years wrestled with their soul's purpose – either finding it or realizing it. It seems that all have had hints over the years, but have waited until God simply laid it out so that it couldn't be missed. I knew many years ago that I should write, but just couldn't imagine actually doing it. I found almost the identical story in several books I've read. Neale had a little trouble eking out his purpose. What kills me is that I've wasted 20 years, but know that all things happen in due time. Twenty years ago, I didn't know God as I do now or will know him in another twenty years.

A soul's purpose is different for each person and only that person can hold the key to unlocking the mystery. If wisdom comes with age, surely it came later for me than some and earlier for me than some. I have wrestled with my purpose many times over the years, but until God just stated it plainly for me to hear, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Sometimes, we need God to put things in terms that even we can understand. It was not until Neale was fed up with his life that he discovered his purpose. He was writing to God about all the bad things in his life and suddenly God showed him the light. The pessimist that I am wonders why we have to sink to such depths before we are lifted up and our purposes are revealed? Why could God not have told Neale many years before that He would write books that would revolutionize our thinking about God? Was time wasted? Only God and Neale know the answer to that one.

We must trust that God reveals Himself when we seek Him. Did we seek? I think we all have said God tell me this or that, but few of us have really gotten in touch with our true selves until we have exhausted all other known resources. It is often out of desperation that we seek God and this is a sad fact. But God in His ultimate wisdom understands and knows that our trials are part of what makes us who we are and His purpose for us is that we fulfill our soul's desires.

So, let's not waste any more time considering meditation. Stop in your tracks and take five for the inside! Or take ten or fifteen or as many as you can muster – but do take some time to go inside. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Chapter 6 – Dealing With What You Are Dealt

If the BIBLE were written today, what would it say about the amazing worldwide communicative ability of today? What would Jesus have thought of spreading the word if He had the internet or satellites? Imagine Jesus typing His teachings into a website which could be accessed immediately in almost all parts of the world. What a difference that would make. Think of all that has changed since Jesus walked the earth. Couldn't you just imagine Him on TV giving an inspirational sermon? Wow, to be able to hear that without leaving home. Being able to see the parting of the Red Sea as it occurred would be quite motivating. Watching God in action would give us quite a new perspective.

The possibilities are endless, but the reality is somewhat less spectacular. With the advent of worldwide communication also comes the consequences. Not all that is communicated is for the benefit of all. Just as we have free will, we also have free speech. With freedom comes consequences. Miscommunication is just as freely spread as is perfect communication. So, which is which and how do we know the difference? Just as in the reading of many versions of the BIBLE, we must decide what is true for us.

During those times when we feel most alone and neglected, we find that our truth bubbles to the surface. When we have nothing else to lose, it is then that we face our ultimate reality or our true feelings. What makes us so prone to only evaluate our lives when we feel that we have nothing else to give? We have all contemplated our purpose when there seems to be no light in sight. As surely as I'm sitting here, we have all faced those times of deep trouble and loss of direction. Why must we hit bottom before we can begin to climb again? What is God's purpose in having things work this way? Why must we suffer great losses before we get back on the path of our destiny? Tirelessly, I have wrestled with this and have begged God for the answers.

Why can't we simply rise to the next level without having to undergo some major catastrophe in our lives? What is sparked in us during these times that make us seek a higher level? Is it that we have to lose before we gain? Is it that we can't see clearly until we have less clutter in our lives? What keeps us from making contact until we are slapped in the face with the obvious? Perhaps we get so caught up in the daily routines of life that we just simply don't take the time to evaluate our lives properly. We generally have times which we consider low – with mild anxiety or general unhappiness. This is normal and all fall prey to low moments. These gentle nudgings don't seem to kick us where we need it and it seems that we have to really get the big boot before we open ourselves up to see the light.

Our most life altering experiences are generally seen as tragedies. Near death experiences are frightening, but the fact that you survived gives you a new respect for life. These experiences, although very scary, serve to open us up to much greater spiritual awareness. Think of the most tragic incidents in your own life and realize how you were changed by the experiences. Many times we have heard stories about people who took a tragedy and have changed their entire life's work after the incident. John Walsh, whose son was kidnapped and murdered, is a perfect example of such a person. He became a great advocate for stopping crimes against children. His work is inspirational to all who hear about it. There are so many others and so many organizations founded by persons who have experienced like tragedies. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is such an organization which was founded from a mother's tragic loss of her child at the hands of a drunk driver. There are so very many people who have turned their tragedies into positive actions; however, we, in our simple minds, can only see the tragedy and not the reward. Why must a great tragedy be suffered before something wonderful is created?

In my mind, it would have been much simpler for someone who thought that drunk driving was wrong to simply start an organization to fight drunk driving. Let's imagine that someone did just that. Would it have had the same effect as an organization based on such a tragedy? Would John Walsh have had the impact that he has if he had not suffered the tragic loss of his son? It is obvious that the impact would have been very little without the inspiration of the tragedy to back up the fight. But why do we have to go through the loss to get the gain? Let me tell you, I have fought the battle with God to understand this rationale. Many a sleepless night has been spent in quest of the deeper meaning to why we have to suffer before we see the light.

I wonder if our minds cannot comprehend unless we have the wind knocked out of us. Maybe a portal to the subconscious is opened by a tragic blow. Surely, there is a rational explanation and surely with enough searching, I will find the answer. And yes, I have asked God many times to explain it to me and many times He has explained it to me, yet I just can't seem to grasp the concept. Perhaps it is not for me to understand, but I really don't want to believe that is the reason. I guess I must open myself up to deeper thoughts and greater understanding than that to which I am accustomed. But how do I get to the place where the understanding lies? How do I get in touch with the part of me that can understand the deepest spiritual truths? How many times must I ask before I get it? So far, hundreds of questions asked with very little knowledge gained. But, I will keep searching till I understand. I know that I will find the answers if not in this lifetime, then surely in the next. But, I'm impatient and I don't want to wait. I believe that God causes us to seek the answers so that we can learn His ways. What is the use of having questions if you can't get the answers? God does work in mysterious ways, but as we mature spiritually, His ways are less and less mysterious. So, what knot on my head do I need before I get the picture?

I cannot say that my life is a tragedy or has been tragedy filled. As a perfect pessimist, my tragedies are usually of my own creation. I have been truly blessed and I do realize this. I see the sufferings of others and am amazed at their strength and fortitude. A close friend of mine who has terminal cancer continues to thank God every day for His many blessings. Ok, raise your hand if you would be the one wailing and crying and waving your fists at God asking, "Why have you done this to me?" Does it sometimes seem as if the worst things happen to the nicest people? It seems as if people who are hateful just seem to continue on their way to continue to cause hate and discontent? I have a little trouble understanding this also. Why do very bad things happen to nice people and why do only the good die young? Surely, I can understand these things with enough grueling research.

God has tried to explain to me many times that every person makes choices individually. I cannot fully understand the choices of another no matter how hard I try, because I don't have insight into their internal choices. My friend who has cancer has had a life that would bring most of us to our knees, yet she has such a wonderful spirit and such great faith. God has tried to explain to me that different spiritual levels bring different experiences and different results. Perhaps she is on a much higher level than I am and has chosen to have her faith tested on a level of her needs. Jesus suffered great tragedy, but it was in line with His level of spirituality. How many of us could have done what He did and still have faith as He did? We would be cursing God like nobody's business. We would be mad and God very well knows that we just simply can't handle such or would not gain from the experience. It is possible that if we are offered situations beyond our level of spirituality that we will be harmed. Think of all the suicides in the world. Can you even imagine what a person must have gone through to even contemplate suicide much less carry it out? Suicides, I believe, are persons who have been put in situations beyond their capability to handle. Have you ever imagined sticking a gun to your head and pulling the trigger? Somewhere in the thought process, you decide that perhaps you can make it one more day and change your thoughts to remedies a little less extreme.

I think that once a person reaches the point of suicide, they are in a mental state beyond normal reality. I can't even imagine being in such a desperate state, unless perhaps a person who is terminally ill and even then knowing that he/she is choosing to take your own life is a hard sell. A coworker once told me that if you find her dead, look for a murderer because there is no way that she would have the guts to kill herself. Amused by the tale, we are still left with the supposition that it would take much courage to knowingly end one's own life. Ever the pessimist and knowing that I could mess up even a free lunch, I think about a man from my home town who had decided to kill himself. He had placed the gun barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Worse than death at that point, was the fact that he lived and was forever physically handicapped. The bullet had done much damage to his face, mouth, etc., but had failed to kill him. What's the lesson here? If you are going to commit suicide, make sure you finish the job? No, I believe the better lesson here is that we should be certain that we fully choose to end our lives before we pull the trigger. I honestly believe that this gentleman did not intend to die (obviously, as he did not,) but merely wanted to find himself. If our first thought is suicide, then what is the underlying root cause? This is where we should go before we start hunting the gun with which to do the deed.

The referenced gentleman was a good person who had just lost his job and was affected by a failed marriage. I did not know him personally, but my sister knew his daughter. I remember her telling me about the daughter's stories after visiting him in the hospital. What a tragedy this was and the family was devastated. I never found out what happened after that. I trust that he did find himself and was able to work out his issues in a more subtle manner after that.

More recent stories of unsuccessful suicide attempts are not very rare among teenagers today. I have known several kids who made attempts at suicide, but really didn't intend to do any real harm – they were just after the attention that they wanted, especially in the case of a friend's child who claimed to have taken pills and then called 911. Do you call 911 if you really want to end it all? No, and there are many who are so desperate that they will fake a suicide attempt to get attention. Sadly, there are still too many who can't see a light ahead and do commit suicide.

We are always told that, after a person commits suicide, there were signs of trouble before but no one did anything about it. Just like the child above who just craves attention, how do you know who is really desperate enough to commit suicide? There's a big difference in having your stomach pumped and dying. I guess the bigger question is what brings a person to the point of no return? What would it take for me to actually commit suicide? Like my coworker, better look for the murderer if you find me dead. I know for a fact that adolescence is a very difficult time and the difficulty increases with the increased access to the perils of society. Imagine the cultural differences between my being raised in a very rural area on a farm and those who are raised on the mean streets of a big city without proper parental supervision. Wow, talk about two different worlds and add to it the societal changes since my teenage years (and no, it was not a hundred years ago, even if it seems like it.)

The pressures of life can often seem overwhelming and beyond our capability to handle. God tells us that we should turn to Him and let Him handle our problems. Now really, do you see God strolling down to the principal's office to deal with the bully who is terrorizing you at school? Have you ever seen the bully get what he deserves for torturing you? At what point does God come to the rescue, if He does, and how do we know that He will come to the rescue? Very good questions with which I still wrangle.

It seems that my lessons will never end. In a current crisis, I do the usual and ask God for help. I get the usual answer that He is with me and has everything under control. The obvious reality is that He isn't there and nothing seems to be happening. So, I go back to God and He says, "Where is your faith?" My faith was left about thirty feet behind with the bully who was harassing me. So, after I make my escape from Mr. Not-So-Nice, I naturally ask God where was He when the chips were down and all the assurances were made? At this point, I'm having a little trouble with the faith thing and feel more than dejected and alone. If we liken God to our parent, my parent would never have left me to fend for myself against the mean old bully. But God did, and I'm not amused and not filled with awe inspiring faith.

I've heard all the stories about faith and increasing your faith, blah, blah, blah. Where's the proof? Show me the actions to back up the words. Haven't you ever been in a situation and gave God the benefit of the doubt and did as He asked and had faith? Has it ever really worked? Did He swoop in and save the day? Or did He let you make your own way out and fend for yourself? Did He give you the story about learning a valuable lesson? Did He say that it was your destiny? What's the deal here?

I have to admit that sometimes, His ways are very mysterious to me. I guess the fact that I could run fast enough to get away was God's answer to my prayers. But what about the next day when the bully would surely be after me again? Has the problem really been resolved or am I a sitting duck waiting for another chance to run for my life? It's hard to see the beauty of God's actions in this instance. Not having the years of experience blessed upon the rest of us, teenagers have a tough time realizing that what is here now is not the end. They cannot even comprehend the majesty of God much less find the wisdom in His actions.

If adults have trouble understanding God and His ways, imagine (or think back) how a teenager feels when it seems that no one cares and there is no help in sight. Adults often have just as much trouble knowing God because they have severed their spiritual ties with Him. So, what's a poor lost soul to do when suicide is not the answer? We must reconnect the lines to God and get busy with our communications. How much easier it would be if we could just pick up the phone and speak to God. In fact, I'll make that suggestion the next time I speak with Him. Until we get the 1-800-CALLGOD listing, let's use the lines that we have.

First, let's consider, what lines do we have? The most obvious is talking at God. We've all done it, but He never seems to answer (especially since we are telling Him something and not waiting for an answer to what is not really a question.) Then, we can take the more logical approach and ask Him for answers and guidance, again not waiting for an answer, because either He isn't really listening or He doesn't have time to answer our measly questions. Don't forget about begging – my personal favorite. How do we really expect God to answer? Do we only expect Him to answer in deed or action? Do we expect His booming voice to answer us from on high? Do we expect to see a flashing neon sign with His pearls of wisdom glowing for our eyes to behold? Let's get real here and think rationally about how God communicates with us.

Certainly, God can use any method. As He told Neale, He uses every conceivable method to communicate with us, especially in ways that we will understand. If we realize that no two people understand the same way or the same things, know that God must individualize His communications with us. He told Neale that words are the least effective communicator and if you think about it, it is true. Words can have two meanings and no two people might interpret a sentence the same way. Think about all the BIBLE scholars who have different opinions on the meanings conveyed in the BIBLE. So, if God is communicating with both me and Mother Teresa, surely He would speak to me in English and her in her native language. Never underestimate language differences, as I learned while visiting Miami. A country bumpkin visiting a Spanish-speaking neighborhood left me with the difficult task of ordering at a restaurant. Anyway, back to the subject.

Factor in spiritual differences – Mother Teresa would understand things about God which, if explained to me, would make absolutely no sense. God would have to bring it down a few notches for me. While Mother Teresa would be asking for assistance in feeding the poor, I would be asking for assistance in balancing my checkbook (as a degreed and experienced accountant, surely this would never happen to me.) There may be a completely different set of standards applicable to each. Even if I may be equally grief stricken over my checkbook as Mother Teresa is over the starving children of India, God may have things in just a little different perspective. Not to say that God won't help, and I assure you He has helped me out of many accounting crisis (those pennies are the hardest to find,) God may deal with the two situations entirely differently, each one meeting the real needs of each person.

It is our arrogant nature to tell God what He needs to do. In our presumed infinite wisdom, we always have the answers. It must be fun to be God and listen to all the correct answers that I have given Him over the years. I just can't understand why He seldom takes my advice. My answers and solutions are always so well thought out and incisive. Hmmm, He just doesn't understand what it is like to be me. Someday, He'll come around to my way of thinking. I just know it. I have faith! Reality check for self – if God were to come around to my way of thinking, we would all be in quite a mess. We would be hurting lots of bullies and would be striking lots of folks with lightening. We would never see that the bully has serious issues and takes out his aggressions on others. We would never understand what it takes to turn a bully into a pussycat. We would never know the pleasure of seeing someone turn his/her life around and see the light for the first time. Oh, maybe I have been just a tad short-sighted. Maybe I have been a little too quick to judge. Maybe no one would have even a remote chance at salvation if God thought like me.

Would it not be better for God to see the beauty inside the bully and work to resolve his issues, so that he could be the good person that he secretly craves to be? Beating the crap out of bully may make us feel good, but does it really get to the root of the problem? Usually, beating up a bully is really just a way to make the bully even worse and is often the very reason that he became a bully in the first place. Bullies are generally the product of an abusive environment and act out as they have experienced. So, let's assume that God has a little more on the ball and knows what the bully needs better than we do. It's hard to see the wisdom at the time, but when all is said and done, we will understand why God does what He does. I must admit that I still have some learning to do about God and His ways. But, I'm sure He'll offer me a few more lessons.

Back to the communication lines subject. God can use any means available – music, TV, billboards, messages, etc. Let's diversify our thinking into two realms – physical and spiritual. (The word realms just seems to have such an auspicious aura.) God can communicate with our minds, bodies, ears, eyes, etc., or He can communicate with our spirits. Whew! We are really spreading our thought provoking wings now. You know the ways that people communicate with each other – just imagine that God has TV and everything else at His disposal, so He can really get the message across, but only if we are willing to receive the message. If we close our ears, we will not hear. If we close our eyes, we will not see. If we close our minds, we will not know. First, we must be open to the communication, then we will get the message.

The spiritual avenues of communication are a little more difficult to grasp. In the book DIVINE GUIDANCE, Doreen Virtue categorizes four avenues for spiritual communication which she calls the four Clairs: Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Clairsentience, and Claircognizance. Clairvoyance is clear seeing; Clairaudience is clear hearing; Clairsentience is clear feeling; and Claircognizance is clear knowing. Now I must admit that some of these concepts at first glance are a little far fetched for my simple mind; however, reading the book did cause me to have some flashbacks to times when I just simply "knew" something or had "seen" something and could not reason either. All efforts to try to explain these occurrences rationally failed in spite of many attempts. Have you ever had such a thing happen and wondered if God was trying to tell you something? The book describes instances of amazing accident avoidances which just seem to come directly from God. Other things are described in detail and many of the types of occurrences have been experienced by me or others who have told me about them.

Sometimes we get messages and we just simply choose to ignore them. We write them off as coincidence and go on with our business as usual. What makes us so sure that the incidences were just coincidences? God told Neale that there is no such thing as coincidences and this book makes the same assertion. So, if coincidences aren't real, then what is the cause of the action? Does God warn us of impending doom so that we just know to take another way home and later find out that there was a horrible accident which we would have been involved in if we had gone our regular way home? Worse yet is if we don't heed the warning and write it off to paranoia and travel our usual route and become involved in the accident. So many times, people have told stories of odd "knowings" about not getting on planes only to later find that the plane was involved in a crash. Have you ever "heard" something whispered in your ear that seemed to defy reason but did, in hindsight, save you from something? Have you ever had a dream that came true?

God has an infinite toolbox of communication possibilities. He can give us messages in ways that we would never have suspected. There are many stories of Angels and their intercession in the lives of people. Perhaps Angels are simply messages from God presented in a fashion most understandable to us. Neale got to a state in his life when he felt that he didn't know what to do next, so he wrote a letter to God. To his amazement, God gave him answers and Neale was astute enough to write them down as they were received. God communicated with Neale through his spirit, through the clairs. The answers just came into Neale's mind after each question. Oh sure, you are saying that Neale heard what his mind made up as we all have internal dialog and our mind talks to us all the time. How did he know that it was God? Well, he asked that also.

You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge it by its contents. The contents of God's answers are such that Neale in all of his wisdom could not have come up with them without divine intervention. An earth based rational mind could not conjure up what God told Neale. If you read the books, certainly you can judge for yourself, but the information is so insightful that one would be hard pressed to think that Neale, a mere mortal, could have made this stuff up. So, let's just for giggles, assume that what God told Neale is true and it came from God. What an excellent avenue of communication! I've tried it and it works like magic (not to assume that it has anything to do with magic.) I must confess that God skirts some issues at times which He says I'm not ready to hear the answers to, but for the most part, the answers are very wise and wonderful. What the heck, give it a try. You've got nothing to lose.

Let me offer you some advice – realize that the specific wording of your question determines the answer given. If I ask nebulous questions, then I will receive nebulous answers. If I meant to ask for this, but really asked for that, God will answer based on the specific question. Sure, it's fun for God to trick me, but I'm learning with every question. The old saying, "Be careful what you ask for because you might just get it" certainly puts a different spin on things. How many times have you asked for something and upon receiving it realized that it was not what you imagined it to be? Oh, how I just had to have a sports car. For years I wanted and wanted until at 38, I finally bought one.

Suffice it to say that it has not been the dream that I imagined. It has been in the shop more times than even the mechanic can believe and its service record contains more paper than a small forest. I guess God's divine guidance which caused me to purchase the extended warranty was His way of helping me deal with my stupidity. I just asked for the sports car never stopping to ask if it was wise to purchase one. Let this be a fair warning – I have been duped and have learned my lesson so that I now more carefully phrase my questions. In this lesson, I also saw that words are the least effective communicator, just as God had told Neale. Finding just the right words is a challenge, but well worth the effort.

Doreen's book also gives much excellent advice and specific exercises to increase your spiritual communication. Excellent reading and very thought provoking information between the covers of the book. I am still pondering some things in the book, but know that as soon as God wants me to understand, He will give me the knowledge. Sometimes I feel that God is always one step ahead of me and drops tidbits off about something new just when I almost have one thing figured out. I can't seem to get ahead of the game. I'm just working on the final thoughts about the steps to knowing God, when I turn on the TV and see a show about Angels. Well, mind change and start a whole new learning mission. It was the Angel knowledge quest that took me to the DIVINE GUIDANCE book which incorporated many subjects into one book. If I had not seen that show, I would not have been sparked to search for Angel books and would not have found this book. God just keeps me moving in my spiritual quest – I can't even relax and watch TV. Now I'm always looking for hidden messages.

That is not to say that messages are bad or that I don't enjoy getting a good spark of inspiration. I find it absolutely fascinating and can't wait for the next message. Once you realize that He is sending messages all the time, your entire focus changes and you start to search them out. Where will the next message be? It's kind of like hide and seek, but you really don't have to seek. God knows where you are and what you are doing. The seeking is irrelevant – the reception is all you have to do. Think of all the times that you've tuned someone out, especially a child. You pretend to hear, but really are just letting it go in one and out the other. Blah, blah, blah. This is how we miss God's messages. We prefer to blame God, but really are our own worst enemies. We don't take the time to listen and then are mad when we don't get it.

On another level, if we are tuned in and don't get the answers that we want, we are justified in being mad, aren't we? During those times when the messages are, "You aren't ready for the answer," I get so frustrated that I can't see straight. These are the answers that I'm sure that I most need to hear. On the other hand, as in one case, He told me that I would absolutely freak if I knew the answer and in hindsight, He was correct. So, God knows us well enough to temper His messages so that He doesn't cause us to harm ourselves with undo worry or stress. Of course, not knowing the answers causes me to worry anyway, so what is the real harm? I just have to trust that He knows best. I have waited on Him so many times and have failed to see the wisdom until much later. Perhaps if He gave me better spiritual equipment, then I could deal with His answers better. Again and as usual, blame God.

Ok, so my equipment is faulty, where do I get some better equipment (and it will not come from the same place that manufactured my sports car?) I can't really get better equipment, and I, like my car, must have continuous work to get in proper working order. God is constantly giving me tune ups, trying to get my spirit to run better than my car. I feel as if I and my car have a lot in common – we just can't seem to get it right. If God compiled a service record on me, He would surely not have time to do anything else. I bet He wishes He had gotten the extended warranty on me. Anyway, we all spend our lives growing spiritually and every day has another lesson. I guess we should be more cognizant of our daily lessons and perhaps even write them down. We do learn something new every day and, more often than not, fail to see the beauty in the learning. We write it off to another hard day at the office and quickly fall asleep for yet another exciting day tomorrow.

Do you ever take stock of your life? One of my students surprised me when she conveyed a story of how she often took the time to evaluate her life. She smartly sat down during her winter break and looked at her accomplishments and goals. She was only 18 years old, so I was shocked at the wisdom in her story. It was a Monday morning and few things grab my attention at that time of the day, but she captivated me that morning. I guess God was sending me a message that perhaps I would be wise to stop and evaluate my life. You just never know where the message is, so always be on your toes.

Self evaluation is invaluable. Why do I not do it more often? Ok, I'm lazy, I'm busy, I'm hungry, etc. Everything is just more important, right? Honestly, there is nothing more important and as I add years to the old body, I find this to be more and more true. Perhaps a morning started off with a good dose of self evaluation might just be what turns a bad day into a good day. Perhaps the right start, starting from the inside out, can make all the difference in the world, literally. Instead of sitting down for that cup of coffee and planning out your day, take the time to mull over what your soul's desires are and how you can accomplish your soul's goals. Instead of planning to go to the post office and grocery store, plan to behave in a more loving fashion. Put on your mental schedule to smile every time you see someone. And don't stop there – after work, plan to treat your family to something special, like a happier you.

Talk about living in a different world – oh, could this have changed my last 42 years. I'm going to get my new mental scheduling in place and I can't wait to see the results. I have in the past made conscious decisions in the morning to be happy all day. Those days were filled with happiness. Days started on the usual foot, progressed on the usual foot. Let's try the new mental, or should I say, spiritual scheduling. Drag out the old day planner that you really don't use anyway and make some spiritual scheduling notes. Don't let anyone else read it or they will think that you have finally gone over the edge. Let it be your secret – you know, they'll all swear that you finally starting taking antidepressants. But, it won't matter because you'll be the new you – the star attraction at the office and the envy of all. They'll talk about you behind your back – what's up with him, he must be having an affair. Yeah, he has been hanging around Susie a lot lately, she must be the one. Oh, the hens will be clucking and you'll be having the time of your life. More importantly, you will feel good and will do good. Is there anything better?

Ok, so we can't live in fantasyland, but we can make the most of what life gives us. Just as my sick friend chooses, so can we also. Life is full of choices and we must learn to make the most of what we are given – regardless of what it is or who we choose to blame. If it's bad, surely you must blame God – it's just our nature. There are days when you can't seem to see the light just as there are days when nothing but light can be seen. If you've made bad choices, change and make different choices. Easier said than done? Yes, but far worse is remaining in the misery of a bad choice. If you hate your job, why stay there? If you hate your car, why not trade it? If you don't like where you live, why not move? Sure, reality kicks in and we have to do some head scratching to find ways to accomplish our new goals, but the first step is always in the choosing.

The accountant in me keeps me from doing many of the things that I really want to do. But you can't afford it; you can't find the time; it's risky; you might have to declare bankruptcy if it doesn't work out; or my favorite, you'll have to live in a hut and starve. The reasons why we remain in miserable situations are obvious. We are taught from childhood that we can't just do as we please. We are taught to be stable and work hard and provide the best that we can for our loved ones. We are not taught to live in a fantasy and to flit about at our whims. Wouldn't that be nice? But, there are the consequences, so we have to do some analysis and seek our truest desires.

Our wish to be free of job stress does not mean that we should quit our jobs and live at the mercy of the world. Some people have tried this and many wind up as homeless people sleeping on park benches. Granted, this may be the life for some, but as for me, I choose to have a few more perks in my life. But choose, and choose carefully. If you think that a new spouse is the answer to all your problems, think long and hard about the reality. How long did it take you to find the one you have and what are your real issues with your current spouse? If your real desire is a happy marriage, then choose it and make it happen. Chasing an attractive new potential spouse may be fun for a while, but you will soon realize that you would have been much better off working it out with the one you have. After all, you did pick each other once, so why not again?

There are so many choices in life – the possibilities are endless. Whether to go with green or brown shoes, or to wear a hat or not, or to take the 501 or the 436 – the choices are mind boggling. We don't give a second thought to taking the time to decide on which color to wear, but we fight with all our might at having to decide what vocation really suits us. We may know inherently that we are not suited for our current occupation, but we continue to drag to work every day filled with dread and unhappiness so that we won't have to choose something different or take some risks. If we really can't muster the courage to choose different lifestyles, then at least choose to make a better life with what you have. Choices do not have to be drastic in order to fulfill our needs. If we are truly in touch with our innermost desires, our choices may involve nothing more than an attitude adjustment.

The KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid) works more often than not. You don't have to get a fabulous job in Hawaii to be happy. You don't have to marry a supermodel to make your dreams come true. You don't have to win a Nobel Prize to make your life meaningful (but it does help.) I'm reminded of the saying, "Those who say that money doesn't buy happiness just don't know where to shop." Or the saying, "He who dies with the most toys, wins," says a lot about the person adhering to the principle. Very amusing and true if your possessions are what bring you true happiness. If, however, you are a person who does not live for possessions and is not gratified by worldly goods, then you will never be satisfied even with great wealth. Reading this book leads me to believe that you are not a person who seeks to amass great wealth, but desires God's spiritual fulfillment of your soul's desires.

Doreen states in her book that true divine guidance asks you to help others. If serving God's purpose for you is your desire and you are very aware of this, then you are half way to your fulfillment. Realizing your soul's desires is the catalyst. Choosing to fulfill your soul's desires is the jumping off point and the day of the choosing is the first day on the road to fulfillment. Choosing to read this book is a very good sign that you are or are about to be on the road to fulfillment. Heeding the messages of God will bring you the guidance that you need to make the road smooth and the ride enjoyable.

Chapter 7 - Choices

If the BIBLE were written today, what would God include in relation to physical and spiritual realities? How would we be able to glean from His words direction for the separate realities which can be experienced, especially the separation of the spiritual and the physical? Once, twenty years ago when I was first learning about God and His majesty was led to read the books of Carlos Castaneda. I personally found the books to be so far out in the outer limits that I didn't get much from them. Although well written and very descriptive, I mentally wrote off the information as drug induced hallucinations experienced by those who were involved in things which were not for us to dabble in. I really haven't given them a second thought until recently in my quest for information on spiritual maturity I saw them again. Suddenly, I remembered some of the concepts conveyed in the books which relate to almost exactly the same things expressed in books written about spiritual communication.

Honestly, I can't remember much about the Castaneda books, but I do remember the topic of the "will." The will came from some area around the navel, I can't remember the exact location, but while reading about the Chakras, I found that almost the same concept was conveyed. In Doreen's book, she talks about your intuitive knowing and other books talk about your "gut feelings." Can all of these concepts be relating to the same overall concept? Can so many different sources all come together to describe one thing? I guess you have to take a large leap to bring so many points together to describe one thing; however, I find that the same is true if you bring all religions together – they basically all say the same thing.

The fact that the Castaneda books convey messages of Sorcery really gave me the creeps and really didn't let me absorb the spiritual information. I know that your first impulse is to chunk this book in the trash and say that this nut believes in things that are not of God. The BIBLE says that we should stay away from such things as astrology and sorcery, so we can't even contemplate these topics. What heresy! Don't mess with things we don't understand or have a need to know. I, much like you, have said the exact same things and still have some hesitance about going where I've never gone.

Of course, if you look back at the Testament of Solomon - remember him, the wisest man who ever lived according to the BIBLE. In the Testament of Solomon, he had all sorts of spells, which he used to conjure up spirits. I bet you didn't know that, did you? When you are so sure that you have all of the answers, take a look at some of the wisdom of Solomon and see if he believed in spirits. This information is available on the internet or in the apocrypha. Please don't take my word for it, do the research.

Let me remind you that many writings were not included in the KING JAMES VERSION of the BIBLE. The deleted writings contain much about spiritual practices, which today are considered taboo. I find it ironic that the Priests, who alone were authorized to enter the Holy of Holies in God's Temple, used oracle devices to divine God's answers. The oracles were called Urim and Thummim, and were carried in a pouch on the priestly garments. There are also many, many references to God's chosen leaders seeking God's direction through the use of Prophets and Seers. So, maybe we should be less judgmental about the methods used to divine God's answers.

I think that there is much more to the spirit than meets our eyes or is included between the covers of the BIBLE. If it is not included in the BIBLE, then it must not have any relevance to us. The BIBLE is very small compared to the knowledge available in the world. Should we discount everything not in the BIBLE? What if there are larger concepts or spiritual things in the BIBLE which we just simply do not understand? What if we are missing something wonderful because we didn't get the intended message? What if during this age of extreme enlightenment, God is trying to get us to see the Big Picture? Should we just ignore the message? Should we believe that God gave us writings once and never again? Should we be so simple minded that we can't see past the covers of the BIBLE? Yes, people have lived for years holding tightly to only what is written in the BIBLE. Look around you – how much happiness and spiritual fulfillment do you see?

What if we are missing the boat while holding on to the presumed basic primer of God's wisdom? What if we take the first reading book that we ever had and refuse to read another? Is that really logical or rational? Are we doing the same thing with the BIBLE? Have we used the BIBLE to close off all the other possibilities and knowledge that God has to offer? Have you ever read the BIBLE so many times that you think there must be more? How many times can you read the same thing over and over and over? Maybe, just maybe, God has more to offer if we are willing to open ourselves up to it. Do I have the answers? No, but I do think that God inspires me to look further than I have ever looked before. In my quest, I have found one thing to be true – I am very closed minded to things which are spiritual. This is something that God has had to really work with me on. Ask me about something outside my personal context and I will just say no.

Much wrangling has brought me to the point where I can now at least contemplate other things and new ideas. This is not to say that I suddenly believe all of the things that come into my view. This is not to say that if I consider Angels, that I automatically believe in their existence. This is only to say that I am actually taking the time to consider things which I have never considered before. I know that God gives me inspiration to explore other ideas and to try to understand how all people are basically the same. This vanishing point of faith at which all religions come together is the point where we really know God. Our divisiveness over miniscule differences between religions causes people to plot against each other instead of bringing people together for the one common good. Catholics and Protestants are not very far apart when you look at the overall picture. Would our time not be better served bringing the two together than focusing on their differences?

I used to be spooked by the Mormon religion, as it is classified as a cult. God gave me the experience of working for a company based in Utah with many staff who were of the Mormon faith in an office filled with Mormons. What are the odds, that in South Georgia, this would be possible? Anyway, I confess that I don't know much about their religion, but I do know that some of the most wonderful people I have ever met are Mormons. I have never worked for a more ethical company than this one. Mormon or not, I just loved working for and with these people. And no, I didn't know any that had multiples wives.

I heard that the Wiccan religion is the fastest growing religion in America. Having heard that Wiccans are witches, caused me to somehow relate the religion to Satan. Why not just say boo, because you can't scare me any worse. Having been raised in a very literal Biblical interpretation, these things were never to have been discussed or even contemplated. Of course, the fact that our annual plantings are always done following the FARMER'S ALMANAC is somehow acceptable despite its astrological roots. My grandfather always had to "check the signs" before planting or going to the doctor, etc. How can we reconcile accepting some things if not others? My grandfather would not have considered going to have a palm reading or an astrological chart prepared, yet he believed heavily in the wisdom contained in the Almanac.

Perhaps there are many roads leading to the same place and we discount the ones which don't make sense to us. Why do we do this? Are we afraid that we may be on the wrong road or are we just afraid that the devil will come and take our souls to hell? Honestly, I can't see myself participating in Satanic Rituals, but should I not respect the free will of those who choose to do so? Am I the judge and jury? What gives me the right to choose for others? Don't get the impression that I promote such things as Satanic Rituals, as I can't even watch them on TV or in the movies. They are outside the realm of my understanding and I really have no desire to delve into such things, but I wish to not condemn others and I do not wish to be condemned. Now, human or animal sacrifice I have a problem with regardless of the religious justifications. I can't see that God really wants us to do such things, but am reminded of the Old Testament and the sacrifices that were required in it. I guess we can't say that God doesn't approve of sacrifice as He required it of His people.

Let's look on the bright side and get out of the icky topic of sacrifices. I believe that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so that no other sacrifices would be necessary. That's my belief and I'm sticking to it.

Back to the subject at hand – separating the spirit from the body, at least in our minds. Think of the two separate entities contained in the same house. Just as in any house with two residents, there is bound to be conflict. Not that I've ever personally experienced a disagreement, as these sorts of things only happen to other people, I do understand that conflict is a fact of life. As surely as God and Satan were at odds, our spirit and our body have two entirely different view points. If we try to contain our spirits within our bodies, then our spirits will cause our bodies to suffer. You can't keep a good spirit down or contained in a tired old body. Think of the spirit as a burst of energy and you are trying to keep it subdued in its house. Somehow, someway – the spirit is going to get out. Many books that I have read suggest that the spirit leaves the body when we sleep. The spirit needs to rejuvenate itself, so it gets the heck out when our body can't do anything to stop it.

Pretty clever, huh? The spirit sneaks out when it can so that it can get itself back together and not be muddled down by the body. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in myself that I wish I could leave and take a break. Imagine how the spirit feels? Trapped in this cloistered environment with all the silly, closed minded concepts. That really must be like throwing a wet towel on the fun. I remember how I used to feel as a small child when I would have to be dragged to church, knowing that I would have to sit for hours in that boring old place with no air conditioning. That must be how our spirit feels being trapped for hours inside the boring old body. Certainly, I can relate, but can't seem to open myself up to a better spiritual environment.

Sure, I've tried meditation and continue to try, but find that I need lots more practice. The spirit craves to exist in its own environment and not the environment of the body. Our minds and bodies cannot even imagine spiritual things, so how cool is it to be trapped where you can't be yourself? Think of you going to church every Sunday thinking the same old things and hearing the same old sermons. Over and over and over but you can't not go to church. That would be wrong and God would be displeased. The movie SISTER ACT brought to light the difference that a little change can make. Does God really want us to be stuck in routines of thought and worship? Does He really believe that repetition is the secret to Godliness? Should we import different thoughts into our routines to shake things up? Or are we stepping outside our comfort zones and allowing the devil to influence our lives?

Does the devil really exist? The BIBLE says so and we just naturally believe that he does. We give so much power to the devil without even realizing it. We think that the devil made us do it. We don't give a second thought to the possibility that the devil is simply our basic mortal thoughts which conflict with God's higher thoughts. Perhaps the devil is just the counter to God's wisdom. Honestly, has the devil ever really made you do anything? Or is the devil just an excuse that we use for the unholy thoughts that we have? It is so much easier to blame the devil than ourselves and certainly we would never have done such things of our own accord. We are taught from a very young age that the devil is ready to get us at every turn. Oh, the hours I've spent trying to avoid the devil and his wicked ways. Is the devil just our scapegoat for behavior which conflicts with our God fearing souls?

Have you ever really stopped to consider that, like Santa Claus, perhaps the devil is just our way of coping with bad things? Somebody has to take the blame and the devil seems like the obvious choice. Certainly, I would never have done those awful things were it not for the devil's influence. I can't for a minute imagine that I would have been so blinded from God's wisdom if it were not for the devil's unscrupulous attacks. Oh, the devil gets the wrap every time. I guess in this way, we truly are perfect because we do no wrong. The devil does all the wrong and we are without fault. Yes, I like this, as it surely takes the blame away from me.

As if we don't spend enough time blaming the devil, think of all the time that we spend blaming God. One or the other of the two will get the blame every time. How else could we be so perfect? Is there ever a time when we look in the mirror and truly see ourselves as the maker of our own destinies? Is there ever a time when we can't find someone else to blame? What gives us the right to be so faultless? I guess in the final analysis when we lay down to die, we do not reflect on our lives, but how we reacted to the lives caused entirely by God and the devil. We must see the wisdom or lack there of in the actions caused by the two of them. We can't take credit for our lives because our lives were the functions of others. Why then do we even exist if not to make our own choices? Do you really suppose that your life is but a walk in the body of the choices of others? Like a boat tossed to and fro by the sea, we are simply at the mercy of the two powerful beings. Now, that really makes my life seem even more unimportant than I once thought it was. I'm starting to think that I should not exist at all if I am only here to be a pawn in the chess game between God and the devil. Where's the beauty and inspiration in a life lived for the pleasure of others?

Do you really think that this is all God had in mind when He created you? To be just the reflection of His desires and the recipient of the devil's challenges? I just had a thought, the name devil could be thought of as d'evil or the evil. Does that make sense? The very name implies the evil contained within our minds. Hmmm, just a thought that has never crossed my mind before. Anyway, back to the subject. Why did God create us if not for us to be ourselves? When you have a child, do you want the child to only do or say what you want him/her to? Do you want your child to simply be a victim of God's or the devil's whims? Where's the beauty in that?

Imagine talking to your child and explaining that the meaning of life is that you are just here as a puppet for God and the devil to play with. You have no purpose or direction. You will struggle all the days of your life trying to survive the actions of others. You have no personal agenda, so just do the best that you can. Remember, that both can punish, so don't even think about going astray. You must stay in line, but remember that the devil still can have his way with you. Remember Job? You are here at the mercy of those more powerful than you, so try to do just what you are told. Don't even bother to have a thought lest you be punished for your free thinking. Do the best you can and try to be the best person possible so that your suffering will be minimized.

Now, that paints a lovely picture, but it paints the picture that we have painted for ourselves. This is really how we see life if you take a good look at it. We see ourselves as puppets with no free will of our own. Now, I just might have a tough time swallowing this if I had not been taught this all of my life. Talk about mind control. We have been so brow beaten that we are afraid to be ourselves. Those who have chosen to live freely are seen as radicals with no self respect or morals. Those wild ones with no purpose or direction are bound to come to nothing. What if we could shake our heads and erase all that we had been previously taught?

What if God gave us a chance to wipe our slate clean and start fresh? What if we could freely question those things that have always made us wonder? What if you knew that you would never be punished for your deeds or thoughts? Well, take a leap of faith and wipe your slate clean. Wipe out all of your preconceived notions about God and the devil and all of those other things that you have believed. Start today to see God in a whole new light. The devil will magically disappear as you will see no need for him. Once you understand that God's will for you is your will and that He is the facilitator of your dreams and choices, you will be open to knowing God as He really is.

God tells us that He is love and that love is all there is. If this is the basis for all, then let it be the start of your wisdom of God and the starting point of your discovery. If God created us for the purpose of experiencing that which He cannot physically experience, then let this be the basis for your actions based in love. If God wants us to experience for Him, then it is our obligation to experience all that we can so that God will get the benefit of our actions. If we sit in a corner and do nothing, the experience that we give God is not a very beneficial one. If we experience joy and happiness and spend our days spreading our enthusiasm for life, then we will have given God a great experience and we will get the side benefit of feeling great. Granted, you can't have the good without the bad or else you wouldn't appreciate either, so be prepared for whatever comes along and celebrate each experience for the beauty of it. If you were never sick, then you would never know the beauty of being well. The bad is not for the purpose of punishment, but is for the greater appreciation of the overall experience. If you've never been without love, how can you truly appreciate being loved?

This is really a shift in our focus and naturally will take some time to absorb. I have a little trouble myself removing the blame objects and seeing myself as the maker of my own destiny. Why little old me being able to choose? Now that flies in the face of everything learned to date. God is giving me something that I don't know if I can handle. Perhaps I should just run back to the safety net of God and let Him do all the choosing. And this is exactly what most people choose to do. Not to say that this is bad, as it has served us well to date, but we now realize that we can choose to leave the comfort of God's nest and learn to fly freely. How about you – to sit in the nest or to fly free?

Another choice and I'm not sure about the last few choices. What to do? At first, flying freely sounds great, but you start to ponder the downsides, not the least of which is falling. Oh, before you know it, you'll have talked yourself into sitting right where you are. This great analogy is well portrayed in Bruce Wilkinson's book THE DREAM GIVER. I think you'll get a laugh at yourself while reading this book. But it does give great insight into the choices of man. It does let you see the upside and downside to every choice. But, it always comes down to your choices. You are the maker of your own destiny.

Now, this brings up the point that God and I have gone around and around about. If I am the maker of my own destiny, then where do you fit in to the plan? What does God do – just sit on the throne and laugh at my ridiculous struggles? I have a problem with this, not the least of which is the thought that God just lets us make stupid choices while He watches from above. So, what do I need God for if I have to do all the work? If I make all the choices and I suffer all the hardship, why do I need God at all? Yes, God continues to laugh at me as I do myself. God tries so hard to get my hard head to understand the Big Picture. I just know that one day I will get it, but I hope that I get it before I die. If not, I would see this as a waste. I want to understand now so that I can make the most of my remaining years on earth. I just can't believe that I have come this far only to be left not knowing.

Chapter 8 - God's Work

If the BIBLE were written today, what would God indicate that He does? The obvious creation of all is a given. Then what? Does God just sit there and watch the little people scramble around trying to live their lives? Does He intervene randomly or at will? Does He react to our requests? What does God do if we make all the choices? I asked this very question and what I've come up with is that we make choices based on our soul's desires, our real deeply felt desires, and God works out the details. If I choose to have love, God makes it happen. The grandest experience in my life involved the gift of my heart's delight. At a time when I was at my most open and spiritual, God gave me what my soul needed most. It was not something that I found for myself, as I could never have found it. It was not something that I could have imagined ever being so lucky to have. Deserving I am not, so I could not even fathom that I could have what I most wanted. But, I was open to the guidance given and did proceed as directed toward my heart's delight.

This was a very profound experience in my life and God reminds me often that I do not choose the details, but the innermost desire. It is not the job that I choose, but the experience that I wish to have. Have you ever felt that you were just "led" by some force to places where you would never have gone? I can honestly say that I have not held one job that I actually picked for myself. I have gotten things that I would never have chosen for myself. Sometimes, it is as if a powerful force leads you to where you are to be. So, what's the purpose of choosing if you can't choose everything, I asked. God told me that I do not have the wisdom or the power to control everything. If we understand that every person chooses and the unity of all the choosing creates an effect, then only He can direct all of the choosing to the benefit of all. Hmmm, now that's a tall order, but one that prompts us to think is really beyond our scope.

So, think in your life of all the individuals choosing what they desire. Your friends are choosing this, while your family is choosing that, and you are choosing something else. That's a whole lot of choosing in your life. How does it all come together to make the choices really fulfill our innermost desires? Wow, that does make my brain swell in contemplation. This is what God does. He has told me time and again to let go and let Him. Easier said than done, but let's give Him the benefit of the doubt. He sees things that we do not. He sees the Big Picture, whereas we can only see our picture. We have always relied on our own devices to muddle through life and have made choices based on our best instincts. But at some point, He takes over and points us in the direction of our best interest. This is not to say that we can't make poor choices, remember, He only leads but doesn't choose. He can point me in the direction of my happiness, but if I choose to go another way, then I'll take a much longer time to realize my happiness.

Remember the poem by Robert Frost THE ROAD NOT TAKEN? There always seems to be a fork in the road where we must choose. The wisdom is in the choosing of the best path, so how on earth do we know which is the better choice? You really have to reach deeply within yourself to know the answer. Yes, if you ask God for assistance, He will provide it. He will put you in touch with your inner self, so that you can make a wise choice. Don't sit around and wait for him to choose for you. Make your choice, let Him know your choice and then let Him make it happen. Don't think that He will do the physical things alone; He will lead you to do what you need to do to make your fulfillment happen. I never would have found my heart's delight if I had not physically reacted to the inspiration. God won't do it alone – at least meet Him halfway. And whatever you do, don't waste your time, as I have, telling Him what He should do. He will not do what you tell Him to do, because He knows you better than you do.

Ok, so what if I think I want this, but God knows that it isn't best for me? Conflict, oh yes and the ensuing turmoil is unreal. How does God get the message across to the very one who feels so certain that what I need is this or that? At this point, we have to let go of ourselves and let God take us where we will go. This is where faith comes in to play. But why do we need faith if we make all the choices? We don't, except when we want God to guide our choices. We can live our entire lives by our own choices. We can choose to live by our own wits and do just as we please. Or we can live a spiritual life following God's guidance and inspiration. We can live for the flesh or for the spirit. We've all heard about this in the BIBLE, but we just don't really think of ourselves as spiritual. We hear the words, but don't fully realize the concept.

Does God tell us what time of day to go to the grocery store and does He really care? Not really and will only intervene when a significant incident may occur which will alter our life's path. If God knows that an accident is in your path, then He will, if it is according to your desire, inspire you to take another route or go at another time. (God does not interfere with our free will unless we invite Him to do so.) We never consider that our car may not start because we would get in an accident if we drove it at that time. We instead curse God for not making our car start when we want it to. There are times when we simply "know" that we shouldn't do something at that time. There are times when we suddenly change our plans for no apparent reason. God does influence our lives, but not in the ways that we generally understand. If God is not dishing out what we want at our beck and call, then we just can't understand what purpose He serves.

Understanding God is a journey of a lifetime and the sky will not open up at once with all the answers flowing forth. We must not look at the daily details, don't sweat the small stuff, but we must look at the overall trends in our lives to even begin to understand God. In the same way that all religions start to flow together and all spirits start to flow together, so does the understanding of God. The vanishing point of understanding is where the rubber meets the road. You can take a million pieces of information and separately each has no meaning. When all are put together, even if in random order, some truths become evident. If the pieces are put together properly, then the truth is without question. Think of God as an infinite number of pieces and you are trying to put them in their proper order, so that you have a full understanding of God. You'll be very busy, to say the least.

All that we can do in this one lifetime is make the most of what we are given and understand the best that we can. As we cannot remember our other learning experiences from other lifetimes, then we have to start each life anew. In the roughly eighty years, more or less, of a person's physical life, it is not even imaginable that a person can fully understand God. We can only get as far as we can given what we are given. If we choose to know nothing except the BIBLE, then our understanding will stop at that point. If we choose to learn more, then we will be inspired to do so. Let's face it; the knowledge just doesn't drop in your lap, just as a college degree doesn't magically appear in your name. You have to choose what you wish to learn. You have to then choose to act upon your desires. God will lead you where you will receive the greatest benefit for your efforts.

Does this offer some clarity into how God works? I hope so, but I still have some thoughts on the matter as I just can't seem to draw a line in the sand where God's choices end and mine begin. But, that's my lesson to learn and if I get any updates soon, I'll pass them along. Until then......

Chapter 9 - Soul's Desires

If the BIBLE were written today, what would God teach us about our soul's desires? What do we really want, even if we don't know how to get it? We have explored meditation and I find that most often I simply meditate myself to sleep. I'm certain that I just need more practice and to be more open to spiritual things before I can fully appreciate the meditative experience. I will keep practicing. We have explored looking within ourselves and uncovering layers of what we think we want until we know for certain our innermost desires. God helps us get through the layers if we ask. We have explored separating our spirit from our bodies so that our spiritual desires can be revealed. We have explored God's role in all of this and are now at the point of getting down to the business at hand.

What is our purpose for the fulfillment of our soul's desires? I think that we all have some general intuition that we have a purpose in this life. Surely, it isn't to drive the bus to school every day or to make bread at the local bakery. Most certainly, it is not to keep books and do accounting. Granted, these things have their place, but there is no God that would make my soul's desire accounting. So, let's not assume that what we do is our purpose. I believe that our purpose must involve something relating to others. What is the benefit, except to myself, of having all this knowledge and simply dying with it? What is the purpose of Einstein being a genius if not having shared his wisdom? What is the purpose of a scholar if not in the teaching of others? I tend to believe that our lives are not for the purpose of what we absorb, but what we expel for the benefit of others. Conversely, we are fortunate to receive what others have shared.

Let's imagine God sitting on high knowing all that He knows. He doesn't choose to share His wealth of knowledge, so who benefits? He already knows everything and will not share, so what is the benefit of the knowledge? If the BIBLE had not been written, then think of the lacking of the masses. If textbooks were not written, think of the ignorance. If teachers did not teach, then we'd all be destined to lives of aimless wondering. It really doesn't seem logical that our purpose is selfish. Let's then assume that we are here for a larger purpose, one designed for the benefit of many.

Neale said that he discovered his purpose is wisdom and clarity. Many have found that their purpose is in the ministry. Others have found that their purpose is in service to others, such as Mother Teresa. What is our purpose and how do we get in touch with it? Is our purpose something that we make up or decide within ourselves? Is it something that God has instilled in us since our creation? There are varying viewpoints which can be researched at your leisure but we will not swat at gnats now. We'll move on and assume that your purpose is within you and you have to get in touch with it before it drives you crazy. That internal nagging feeling that keeps rearing its head, driving you always with its unceasing cry – it never goes away. Even if you tell it to go away, it will always keep coming to the surface. You have to get in touch with it – that is the only way to make it go away. You can spend your entire life ignoring its cry, but you have always known that it is there. You know it just as surely as I know it. It will not go away until you satisfy its need for fulfillment.

So, you can't stand it one more minute – you have put it off for years and are just ready to get it over with. It's like a child who cries at the store until you buy that toy. You have to have some relief, so you finally give in. But what do you do first? You try this and that and you don't seem to get the needed results. You ask God for help and you meditate and pray until you finally realize what you've known all along. You finally acknowledge that you are meant to do this thing that you have craved doing all of your life. You have for so long put it in the background because you couldn't see how to accomplish your purpose. Now, it is time for you to get on with the business of fulfilling your purpose.

Easy, never. Challenging and exciting, always. Until you actively pursue your soul's purpose, you will never know what real feeling is all about. You can not even imagine the joy of experiencing that which is your destiny. Schlepping off to work everyday without purpose is hardly a desirous activity. How can you be fulfilled by what you do? Should we change our focus, as advised by the learned, to what we are instead of what we do? You are not your job or your life's circumstance. You are something much greater than that. You are inspiration to others. You are messengers from God. You are healers of the sick. You are kindness. You are helpful. You are comfort. You are wise. You are health. You are happy. Etc.

Now, is what we are what we are or is it a frame of mind which we consciously choose? Yep, God and I have gone around the mulberry bush over this one a few times. If I choose to be happy, then surely I will be happy. Is this my purpose? I guess it could be, but walking around being happy may not have the intended impact; it may make people wonder if I am just crazy as ignorance is bliss. If I see my purpose is to make people happy, then I am going outside of myself and touching the lives of others. Would this not be a more noble pursuit? If I am happy, then only I benefit. If I work to make others happy, then there is much benefit. If I make myself happy while making others happy, this is the win-win situation and truly serves my purpose. Let's try to get in touch with ourselves, our desires and focus on a win-win situation that will bring fulfillment to us and others.

If my purpose is seen as gaining happiness from bringing happiness to others, then what specific methods can I use to accomplish this task? This is when you can use all of the resources available to accomplish the task. Who knows best how I can accomplish this task – me with all of my great insight and talent for making great choices or God who actually does know everything? Sure, I can waste a bunch of time conjuring up my own means of accomplishment, but I prefer to defer to the expert and cut to the chase. So, let's just ask God for guidance and get on with the task instead of wondering aimlessly in our own presumed skill.

So, God, when you listen, sometimes does tell you something that just doesn't make sense. He does have a nasty habit of talking over our heads in parables and such. So, don't take some blah, blah, blah as your only answer. Go back and ask again and again until you have your answer.

Having received God's answer, I never forget to spend lots of time worrying about how the plan will fail and what a miserable time I will have. I waste not one opportunity to let God know how His plan can not possibly work. I feel free to make every excuse in the book and believe every one of them as if they were written by the Hand of God. Like me, be scared, lay awake at night, and worry yourself into a fritter. Don't miss this chance to distract yourself from your purpose and then blame it on the devil. You laugh, but this is how my mind works – I beg for the answer and spend countless hours disputing it. Is it any wonder that God answers me at all?

God will patiently work with you until you can see the Big Picture and will motivate you on the path of your purpose. There are those who have more faith than others. Those with a great deal of faith may quit everything and move to another place and do whatever their inspiration leads them to do. There are those of us who will manage to work our purpose into our comfortable lives so that we don't have to take any risks at all – or at a minimum, the least risk possible. God understands and will give you what you need. Perhaps you need to take baby steps until your faith is such that you can take giant leaps of faith. We all have to start with the faith that we have. If only we could go to the store and buy a sufficient quantity of them to get us where we need to be. Then everyone would have lots of faith and it wouldn't be very valuable.

Oh well, so you know your purpose, you have the faith that you have but you want more, and you are kind of vague on the Big Picture. How much information will God give you at any given time? Only what you can handle. More than one time God has told me what I wanted to hear so that I wouldn't freak out. More than once He has told me that I'm not ready to know the answer. Now, how does this give me what I need, not what I want? I have a little trouble with this, but have to have faith. Wouldn't it be nice if God would just drop a handbook in our laps titled, "Fulfilling your purpose – a specific guide for you with all the details necessary for accomplishment." Ain't gonna happen, so get over it. You remember the old saying, "Wish in one hand, and ____ in the other. See which one fills up faster." It's not about wishes or making things easy. Anything worth having is worth working for. This is very true. Look at those who have had vast wealth given to them by relatives. Do they appreciate what they have? No, and they will never have a truly spiritual life if they have not earned it.

So, what about the details? How do you know where to start or what to do or when to do it? God will inspire you, but you will fight Him all the way, if you are anything like me. Oh no, I can't do that. You must be kidding? Blah, blah, blah. Excuse after excuse, until I have exhausted my resources. If you take a look at the amount of faith that you have, remember what has brought you to the faith that you have. If I remember that the greatest miracles in my life were not of my own divine wisdom, but were destined by God, then I can have the strength to take the next step. If my faith only allows me to take baby steps, then take the first baby step. If bringing happiness to others is my calling, then I should start today.

Start your day happy and set out to bring happiness to others. Don't be concerned about how as the opportunities will present themselves. Maybe Johnny will walk by and look as if he has lost his best friend. Take the time to inquire and to listen. This will make the difference between a good day and a bad day for Johnny. More often than not, people just want to know that someone cares. People don't expect for you to have all of the answers, they just want someone to listen. Listen as if there is nothing more important to hear. If you don't feel that you have the answer, just offer your best wishes and kind thoughts.

Making someone laugh when they most need it is truly the best medicine. Often we get caught up in our own dismal experience and can't see any humor in the situation. Drift by and drop a bit of humor their way and see if it makes a difference. Never fail to laugh at yourself, as this usually makes people laugh. A friend of mine used to tell her daughter when she had a cut that they should cut it more so that it would really bleed. The daughter would have to start laughing at the exaggerated desire for it to bleed a lot. Soon, the hurt was gone, being replaced with laughter. Granted, a serious injury should not be a laughing matter, but putting things into proper perspective can help us to deal with them more effectively. After the release of the initial tension, the situation seems to come into perspective and the person is better able to deal with the situation.

How many times do we work ourselves into a lather about something and someone else comes along and lets us see how ridiculous our worries are? Sometimes a different perspective is really what is needed. Sometimes just having someone listen helps tremendously. So, if it is your purpose to bring happiness to others, start at once. Don't delay as you have already missed several opportunities to fulfill your purpose. "Times a wastin'," as my friend used to say!

If you are a person of great faith, then you will have the fortitude to do great things without hesitation. Mother Teresa knew early in life her purpose and set out on her path at an early age. Having much less faith, I still sit here wondering if I really know my purpose and just can't seem to get to the task at hand. Or, is my task already in hand (keyboard?) Perhaps God just put me to work and didn't let me get wrapped up in purpose deliberation. He just told me to write and that is what I do. I just write and write and write, knowing that He will direct the work to fulfill my soul's purpose. How's that for laying it off on God? Pretty clever, if I say so myself. If only all of it were that easy?

And why wouldn't it be? Why does God want us to suffer and wallow in misery when all we really need to do is respond to His inspirational messages? He tells us what we should do, but we just have to have ideas of our own. He lets us go where we want to go, but we always come back to where we should be. We can run, but we can't hide. We can put off things until we can stand it no longer. Or, we can just choose to live according to God's guidance and inspiration. If only we were so filled with faith? Of course, then would we be who we are if we just followed guidance blindly? Wouldn't God be doing all of the choosing instead of us?

Good questions, but look at the truth below. My mother, who knows me well, used to always give me two choices, to do as she advised or do what I wanted to because I was going to anyway. Perhaps there was great wisdom in this. Perhaps this wisdom mirrored perfectly God's wisdom. Perhaps, if I had taken her advice more often, I could have saved myself much trouble. Hmmm, that's an insight that I've never before had. God just dropped that pearl on my head. Wow, now I almost see the light of God's guidance. Giving me a choice, but offering me His advice for my better choice. Hmmm, if there are not right or wrong choices, but He knows that one will serve me better than the other, then this is still giving me the choice, isn't it?

Maybe it's like this – I need something from the store. I ask God for direction. He says that I can go two ways: illegally cross the street for the shortest route; or walk to the crossing at the intersection, wait for the light, then cross the street, walk to the store, etc. Now, God knows that I will always opt for the shortest route as I am so impatient. He gives me a subtle nudge that perhaps I should take the long route as there is a lot of traffic today. What do I do, knowing that time is of the essence and dinner will be late if I don't hurry to and from the store? Perhaps my whole evening's plans will be disrupted when my guests arrive on time and dinner isn't ready. We'll all be late for the movie if dinner isn't done on time. The baby sitter will cost me extra if we have to stay for the late movie. We'll get home much later and will be tired in the morning if dinner isn't done on time. Or, if I'm hit by a car trying to illegally cross the street, then dinner ain't gonna happen as I'll have to be transported to the hospital for surgery and there ain't gonna be any movie tonight.

Wow, can I go off on a tangent or what? But this is really the kinds of things that factor into our daily decisions. Imagine how many more things are factored into our life's decisions. If my life's purpose is to bring happiness to others, then I could choose to be a clown. I could open my own business which provides clowns for parties, etc. But where will I get the money? As most people, I don't have a vast storehouse of wealth from which to pull. Rich, I am not. So what do I do? If your life's purpose is to bring happiness to others and God knows that your clown business is your best avenue, then He will give you a way to make it happen, even if that way is an idea or inspiration. I can't say that He will drop cash from the sky, but I can say that He will inspire you on how you can fulfill your purpose. Just as He brought me to my heart's delight, He will bring you to yours.

Do you honestly believe that God would direct me to accounting because He thought that I would serve the purpose of my soul? Really now, He told me long ago to write and I did but I didn't have the courage to pursue the dream. I was a worry wart, so I sought for something a little more do-able. In my mind, I couldn't see outside my own logic, so I chose the path of least resistance. Granted, I had parental influence and they had my best interest at heart, but I knew that it was not my life's calling. I chose my path, not based on the inspiration received, but on the worldly advice of reality. Imagine how different my life would have been if I had taken the road inspired by God. I think that I would have more quickly been where I am now without all of the misery of having spent twenty years doing what I didn't feel inspired to do. I did have a choice, and I did make the one that seemed right for me at the time. Regrets, yes I have plenty, but I don't choose to have any more. I have wasted enough time trying to make a living in this world. I am ready to make a life in this world – a life filled with love and divine inspiration. A life that will bring happiness and fulfillment to many others. I choose to follow God's direction and know that He WILL make it happen. I am at the vanishing point of faith where I let God take the wheel and fulfill my dreams.

As if I could be any more afraid – I could not. I have always been the doubting Thomas and have always seen the dark rather than the light. It is time for me to get over myself and feel the love that God has to offer. By my own devices, I have suffered much. My unknowing has caused me much grief. I have come to this point both by my own choosing and by the inspiration of God. Are you also at that point? Is it time for you to take the leap of faith? Is it time for God to be the driver and you the passenger? Or, are you still certain that you have the answers and can handle this just as you always have?

If you are so sure that you have all the answers, then why are you bothering to read this? I suggest that you write to me and give me your insight, because surely you know more than me. I know more than anyone that I don't have the answers. Believe me when I say that I am just as full of doubt as anyone who ever lived. I just know this – all of my efforts and there have been many and they were all well thought out – that I have yet to experience the fulfillment of my soul. If all of my efforts have failed, then what else do I have to lose? Is it time to get out of the driver's seat and know that only God can take me to the place of my fulfillment? I think that you and I are both at that place where we are ready to let go and let God. Take my hand and let's go.

Chapter 10 - Life's Purpose

If the BIBLE were written today, what guidance would God offer us about living a purposeful life? Would He sit back with a cup of coffee and let us figure it out? Would He give us hints at our purpose, yet leaving us to our own devices? Would He offer specifics on accomplishment? Would He tell us to get out of the way and leave the driving to Him? I think that the foremost issue is that God conveys to the masses that each should do what is best for each. Just as a spiritual master may not need the same guidance that I do, God would have to incorporate all possibilities into His guide.

Taking into account our individual spiritual needs, God would give us enough information to start, but would inspire us individually to meet our individual needs. The BIBLE does not get down to the individual level; a reader must surmise for him/her self that which is relevant. Just as everyone does not read on the same level, everyone does not interact with God on the same level. One size does not fit all and the BIBLE must be written as a starter guide for a spiritual life. Reading about God is not the same as experiencing God. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God. First, we must learn to believe that there is a God, and then we must seek knowledge to the point of our fulfillment.

Your fulfillment may be the point of what is contained in the BIBLE. My fulfillment may be the point of knowing God. Their fulfillment may be the point where they become God; one becomes part of the whole. The ultimate understanding of God is the point where the child becomes the parent. Until a person becomes a parent, they can never really understand what it is to be a parent. We can imagine, but we can never understand without the experience. You can never understand what it is to be an accountant until you have sat behind a desk, alone, with your spreadsheets and pencils. This is not to say that accounting is not a good career, but it does leave something to be desired in the interactive realm. Ok, so today's accountants do have computerized spreadsheets and have no need for pencils, but the theory is the same. If you want to know what it is to be an accountant, go for it. Let nothing stand in your way.

I always felt that accounting left me lonely and isolated. The best part of the job was when I finished a task and was able to leave the desk and have a reason to talk to people. There are people who love accounting just as my aunt does. I am not one of those people, as I need people. Granted, sitting here writing is much like accounting, but I feel that it is the means to the end, just as accounting was the means of earning a living, not the purpose of my life. Sometimes, you just have to do the paperwork. What about you? What do you seek for fulfillment? I trust by now you have had a few conversations of your own with God and have had some sparks of inspiration. Trust me - people who think that God doesn't communicate with them are simply fooling themselves. Ask God something and get ready for the information to flow. You can't write fast enough or comprehend fast enough to absorb it all. Remedial messages are always necessary for me and my simple mind.

Let's assume, and that is dangerous, that your fulfillment lies in making the most of your life as it currently is. What on earth can you do to bring fulfillment to your otherwise mediocre life? Well, start by choosing it. If you get up each morning and are determined to have a great day, say it and live it. If you come home from work and are determined to enjoy your family, say it and live it. If you need a change in your life, say it and live it. If you are dissatisfied with circumstances in your life, say so and make some changes. Remember that you can start changing at any minute. You can change your way of thinking instantly. You can change your career with one small step – by choosing. The work comes later when you have to put thought into motion. Deciding to make changes is usually the hardest part if you really think about it. Once you have decided to pursue your dreams, then you will be focused on finding the means to do so.

Yeah, yeah – it is easy to dream but hard to fulfill. This is very true and we shouldn't wear rose colored glasses and expect that everything will be perfect. It hasn't happened before and it won't happen now. But, having and knowing your purpose/dream makes a huge difference in how you see your life. When you see your life as a non-stop routine of have to, then you are not filled with excitement and yearning. When you see your life as a means of dream fulfillment, then every step is a way to the top. If you know that you will one day be a great teacher, then let every step of the way be with that in mind. Let your actions be always toward your goal. Let every step be seen as part of the overall plan. Take every step anxiously and without regret. Climb faster and faster as your dream comes into sight. Have no other vision and no other eventuality. Go forth and make it happen. God will give you what you need – that is His promise and His part in your life.

Imagine yourself as the race car driver that you always wanted to be or the Mother Teresa that you always wanted to be. Judge not your desires or motives; realize your dream, which is your fulfillment. Are not sports heroes inspirational to us all? Do we not find their dedication to fulfilling their dreams inspirational? Are we not impressed by the hard work of those who have set world records? Don't think that one day an athlete decided to win an Olympic medal and it was so. There was a lot of hard work between the dream and the realization. Lance Armstrong spent many hours on that bike before he came to be known by me. Did we know him while he was dreaming? Did we care that he expected to be a world class rider? He cared and that made all the difference. He chose, he worked and God delivered.

Do we assume that all of his hard work just happened to put him in the right places at the right time? Do we believe that his efforts alone made him who he is? If this were so, then we would have no need for God, except for His creative efforts. We would not need His guidance or His assistance. We would just do everything right and be the master of our dreams. Yeah, if only it were so, then we would be God and God could just sit back and relax. There are those who truly do believe that there is no God and that we, in this life, just magically appeared and are left to our own devices. Why does everyone not follow this wisdom? Why does almost everyone ever born feel that God is real and that He interacts in our lives? How do we decide? Where's the proof? Does God even exist?

We've been through this before and I can't tell you that God does or does not exist for you. I can only know what I know and believe what I believe. I find that living a life without God to be a lonely prospect. I choose to believe that God exists and when most I am doubtful of His interactions, I find the greatest interaction. When most I need proof, it is given. When at the lowest points in my life, I find that He interacts more often because I find more time to interact. Maybe I just tune Him out when everything is going along smoothly. If you ever doubt that God exists, tell Him. Get ready for some insights that will boggle your unbelieving mind.

I do believe that God's interactions in our lives are what cause us to go toward the things that bring us the greatest satisfaction. But you must realize this for yourself and must find the place of God in your own life so that you can travel on your journey to fulfillment at the pace that you have chosen. God has given us His wonderful promises and does give to those who ask according to their innermost desires. Just like me, you will have to work out with God your fulfillment and the pace of your journey. He will go slowly if you wish or as fast as your spirit can travel. If you have doubts, don't travel faster than you can comprehend. Go at your own pace and know that God is with you all the way.

Let's take a brief interjection to the point of predetermined gifts or special talents. Now, there are those who have a "gift" for certain things. Do we believe that they learned their talents or do we believe that their talents were God given? There are very young children who seem to have a gift for music. They are called prodigies. There are those who are handicapped who have special abilities. They are called idiot savants. It is possible that children can learn to be musical, but can a person who is so severely handicapped from birth learn to sculpt like a master? These things boggle our minds, unless we believe that these people just have special gifts from God. These gifts aren't inherited because the parents don't have these abilities. Granted, children can be taught some of what the parents have learned such as playing golf or tennis. But we are talking about those who defy logic.

So, if some people are given special talents, why are not all people given special talents? Is Lance Armstrong a gifted athlete or a trained athlete? Was Mother Teresa a gifted servant or a learned one? There are those who just seem to surpass all others, even those who have trained equally as hard or studied just as much. Are not all of God's children given the equal opportunity for special gifts? Why are some better than others? Why is calculus so hard for me but so easy for others? Certainly, everyone has his/her own talents and calculus just isn't mine. Doesn't it sometimes seem as if each person does have a special talent? Many people don't choose to realize their potential for various reasons, but it seems as if everyone has something unique to offer. I bet that if we asked 1,000 people what their special talent is, most of them don't know. I do believe that each of us, as part of our destiny and our soul's desire, do have special talents. I do believe that those who realize their potential are the ones who accept no alternatives and do not live filled with doubt and fear.

I'm sure that Lance is a gifted athlete with the inborn drive for accomplishment that allows nothing but success. In the face of extreme adversity, Lance overcame the devastating effects of cancer and continued on his career path. Letting nothing stand in the way of his dreams, he persevered. Perhaps this is why he wins time and again. Is it his innate abilities that drive him to where he currently is? Is it God's divine hand that plotted his course of success? Is it the inborn gifts of God that made it all possible? I think that all things are factors, not the least of which is the inspiration of family and friends that allowed the success of Lance. No man is an island and we are not separate from God.

Chapter 11 – A Loving Bible

If the BIBLE were written today, how would God describe Himself to us? In the old BIBLE, words like all powerful, mighty, wise, loving, etc., were used to describe God. Would there be any changes necessary for today's version? What clarification would today's people need to be able to better know God? I think that if God were to show us Himself on a more personal level, then we would be more prone to accept Him in the light that He wishes to be seen. It was only after I began to know God on a personal level that I began to open up to Him and to see the impact that He has on my life. Seeing God as awesome and mysterious did little to bring Him into my life personally. I believe that if God portrayed Himself as the loving and kind being that He is, then those chickens like myself would be more prone to approach Him.

Fear has been the greatest separator between God and man. It is wise to fear God because He is so powerful, but fear is not a reason to love God. We should love God because He is love, not because we are afraid not to. A greater emphasis on love would help me to see God as a helper and a guide. If the BIBLE were simply called Love, then it would have far better readership than it currently does. If the BIBLE taught only love, then the world would look for ways to bring the experience of love. The old BIBLE talks about wars and vengeance and turmoil and suffering, etc. The new BIBLE's emphasis on love and understanding and tolerance and forgiveness would change the very core of the entire BIBLE. When I read the Old Testament, I do not get the feeling of great love. I do not feel wafts of kindness and happiness. There are instances when the powerful God granted solace to the few who served Him. I don't remember reading about all of the happiness and joy and fun that the people were having. Think about it – the BIBLE is sort of a downer. The parts about Jesus are uplifting, but how much more uplifting could it have been if the scary parts were not included? Think about the rapture. Think about the end times. Scary stuff for those who are left.

The overall message is one of live right or burn in hell. Perhaps this turns people away from God, as I know that it kept me at bay for quite some time. If the overall message were God is love, then perhaps people would be drawn to it as bees to honey. You probably wouldn't have to be forced to go to church if the message was God is love. The old days of fire and brimstone seem to be fading and the new days of love and kindness seem to be increasing. Are you not more inspired by stories of miracles than by stories of hell and punishment? Perhaps there was a time when people needed the more strict messages from God, but I believe that the old messages aren't working these days.

Sure, we can continue to scare young children into believing and fearing God. It worked for me, but it never gave me the close relationship that I now have. Just as any textbook needs revision, I believe that God would be best served by issuing a new BIBLE filled with messages of His love. Stories of miracles and kindnesses would fill the pages of the new BIBLE. God's promises and assurances of love and support would inspire those hard hearted souls who seek to see the light. Let the light be shown in its brightest form. A loving BIBLE which brings God to the people in a way that will be most effective and productive.

Think of the most wonderful book that you ever read, besides the old BIBLE. Think about why that book stands out in your mind. Think about the messages conveyed. Think about the writing style. For me, a book that makes me laugh is one that I always hold dear. Perhaps God could drop in some humor, as it helps us more than we realize. The devout believers would find this unholy, but the majority would find it great. There is nothing so wonderful as laughter. Of all of the sermons that I've heard, the most memorable are those with humor interjected throughout. When the preacher throws in a funny story, it breaks up the mood and lets everyone know that you are not alone in your trials – that everyone goes through basically the same things.

Making it personal makes it real. Putting a person in the story makes it more believable. Telling you about someone you don't know, doing something to which you can't relate, really doesn't get the message across to you. Imagine that there were a BIBLE issued that could have your name interjected into the places relevant to you. Wow, imagine that. Wouldn't that be great? And God said to Anna (you are Anna), "Go forth and spread the love of God." That would probably sell a few copies just on novelty alone. I'd certainly have to have one. This is now very possible and can be done almost instantly. The Personal BIBLE for Anna or Anna's BIBLE or God's BIBLE for Anna, etc. Cool, huh?

Make it personal – now that's the ticket to success. God should be seen as the personal guide to every individual. He shouldn't be seen as the President of the World, but as the personal tutor of each person. Seeing Him from afar puts distance between you and Him. Meeting the President and having a personal relationship with him are two entirely different things. Establishing a personal relationship with God is something about which there is much talk, but which almost never happens. Most God fearing people see a relationship with God as having the proper amount of Fear of God with the prayers for His blessings to round out the whole. It is about serving God, now knowing God. If you think about it, knowing God causes you to serve God. Once you know God, then you just have to tell about it. You can't just bottle up all that wonder and keep it to yourself.

Spreading the word is not so difficult when the word is love. Why don't we live the love of God instead of living the fear of God? When you finally realize that God is love and only wants for you what you desire, then you can fully realize the love of God. Your feelings of subservience are removed and you are free to experience the entirety of God's greatness. Just as getting to know a friend personally makes all the difference, knowing God personally is an experience like no other. Why then would God not offer us this perspective and insight? Why would He not want us to experience all that there is to experience? After all, He coined the notion of spreading the word about Him and He should be willing to give us all the info that He has.

Now that sounds like fun. It doesn't have the usual ring of boring repetition that if we were honest would ring true of our Biblical readings. It is not well thought of, but the fact is that we need a change now and then. A new way of looking at things, especially from God's perspective, would open up the world in ways we never even imagined. Our best efforts at globalization have paled in comparison to the globalization of God. We can't even agree between two of us, how then can we even dare to hope for a globalized vision of God? There has to be a starting point and one version of the BIBLE with God's wisdom pertinent to all is a good starting point. If this group has this and that group has that, then there will certainly be no middle ground on which to bring the masses together. The United Nations is probably one of the most universal of all organizations; however, there is still much divisiveness and disagreement within the organization. Imagine that all nations were represented and all nations had one common view of God, then where would we go from there? I guess that a standardized view of God is not realistic, but it is a nice thought.

Imagine a world that did business based on love. Imagine that those who have share equally with those who have not. As much as we all think that communism is the pits, its root ideal was a good one. The reality is that the haves do not share equally with the have nots. The haves continue to acquire more while the have nots continue to get less. The root word of communism is commune. The theory of community – all are equal and all have the same, just does not work as a practical reality. A little thing called greed and another thing called power come into play. Selfishness, when given a chance, will win almost every time. Think of all of the communist countries that have fallen because the have nots realized that the haves were getting the better end of the bargain.

If all Catholics realized how well the Pope lives and became envious, then there would be a mutiny which would end Catholicism as we know it. The hierarchy of power and control is something that is just basically a part of the human nature. We always strive for more and more, never realizing that more is not necessarily better in the grand scheme of things. Our mindset is such that we believe that there are those who do deserve more than us. Catholics believe that the Pope, because of his position, deserves to have all the perks. I am not questioning this – I am simply stating the facts. We Americans want our President to have all the best things in life so that he will represent us as a prosperous nation. What would the French think if Mr. Bush wore suits off the rack? The shame of it all. We couldn't show our faces at an international summit.

Our pride often gets in the way of our clear thinking. Just like the sports car that I just had to have, I was more inclined to purchase a hidden lemon than go for the more modest and reliable import. Ok, so I've had the imports and I wanted to live on the wild side. Now, I have learned my lesson and will revert to a more modest selection. The wild side just isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Pride causes us to behave like absolute idiots, because we are more interested in what others think that what we feel. The old BIBLE says, "Pride cometh before the fall and haughtiness before disgrace." Truer words have never been spoken. If you want to make an ass of yourself, just do something with pride as the root cause. Get ready to kick your own stupid self when you are hit in the face with the pie of regret.

Is it pride that separates the nations? The old BIBLE portrays the story of the Tower of Babel. All the people joined together and decided to build a tower up to heaven. Oh, but this was seen as a no-no by God and He scattered the people and gave them different languages so that they couldn't do such a thing again. Now, why in the world would God be so afraid of His own creations? Did God honestly think that man could build a tower to heaven and perhaps take over the place? I have a few concerns about this story, but am certain that there is some wisdom in it. The more likely scenario is that man would build until the structure collapsed, as there is no heaven, they would either continue to build or it would give way to collapse. I just can't see that God was worried about man outsmarting Him. The whole story of spreading out the people is itself an expression of discontent and not love. Would not God want the world's people to join together in a spirit of love?

Perhaps I have wandered off the trail again, but I do believe that commonality in love is the secret to bringing peace and harmony to the world. I'm not a dreamer so as to believe that it is going to happen, but I do believe that our current world can easily start on the road to realizing that these wars and power struggles only lead to misery. Granted, power is a powerful master and there will always be someone who will take advantage of a situation and will rule with selfish motives. I think that if the United Nations, following the basic human rights credo, gave a thumbs down unanimously to a nation which was mistreating its citizens, then perhaps the nation would be more likely to stop the offending practices. If the world is united against one country, then the county cannot exist. Economic sanctions only work if all other countries unite for the cause of basic human rights. If half stop imports and half continue so that they get twice the money, then the purpose is failed.

If a dictator is in power and living with great wealth while plundering the country, then his inability to get money from outside sources would render him useless. But, as we all know, there is always someone who slips in the back door and gives him the money that he needs to stay in power. We see it over and over. We tend to focus less on the have nots than on the haves. This is a universal truth – easy to see, but difficult to overcome.

What would God say about world peace? As we have just discussed, it is hard to even imagine world peace when we are in another war. I believe that the war could so easily have been avoided, but all countries were not willing to stand up for human rights. So how does God propose that we fulfill our desires for global peace? Granted, there has been much change in the world's governments, even in the last century; however, there are still many places where poverty and chaos are rampant due to the unrest caused by the greed of the haves.

Knowing that God is love offers us the insight that peace is inherent in His nature and that it is our innermost desire. Why can't it happen if we all really want it? Because, we don't all want it as you very well know. Even at home, we opt for fights when we don't get our way. We will stand against the masses to defend our turf. Knowing all along that our arguments are hollow, we will fight to the death just to defend our honor. Is it honor that causes us to fight, especially when the fight doesn't make a difference? We call it honor and this gives justification for our efforts.

National pride and honor were tested with the events of 9/11/01. America was ready to defend its honor at all costs. Was it honor or security that motivated Americans to come to action? I think that fear of another attack was at the root, but honor sounds so much nicer and valiant. I agree with our decision to stop terrorists such as Bin Laden. It is a shame that people live in such a mind set that they believe someone like him and follow him and even die at his behest. How sad is that? Surely, someone with the wealth of Bin Laden could have done much to ease the suffering of his people in more humanitarian ways. Instead he chose to take the low road, using the common enemy scapegoat just as Hitler had done years before. It is true that history repeats itself. I guess we get more educated but not really any smarter through the years.

So, what would God say about all of this turmoil? You make your bed, so lie in it. God gives us choices and free will, but He determines the overall flow of things. If He went around willy-nilly moving leaders as chessmen on a board, then our free will would seem a lot more like God's will than our own. Our world has not self destructed and currently there are fewer wars than ever before. I think that perhaps the world is waking up to a new reality. We used to be so fearful of Russia and now our First Ladies visit each other as if it were no big deal. When the world's two largest countries can see the bigger picture, then surely the rest of the world will follow. Our nation's attempt at controlling the treatment of humans in countries where there is much unrest is a noble cause. In spite of the naysayers, I believe that many evil dictators have been removed and countries are given a fighting chance to be good global partners.

Our goal is not to control the world, but to give everyone a decent chance at a good life. Supporting a dictator who is murdering his own people just for sport is hardly the sort of thing that we should be doing. We all have to make moral judgments and act accordingly. God does not wish that we be perfect, but that we aspire to be the perfect us. He would advise us to behave with love as our only motivator. This is the greatest guidance ever given.

World peace can only happen one step at a time and it starts with just one person. The dreamer who has a vision of world peace and who commits himself/herself to the cause of world peace. There have been many who have tried and many who have made valiant efforts toward the dream. Once the dream is on the table, and one victory after another is had, then more and more people will jump on the band wagon and the world's peace will be at hand. Until the dreamers become the dream, until the world chooses peace collectively, it will not happen. Currently, there is more world peace and unity than ever before. World peace is possible, but most have to come together without greed and with much sacrifice to make the dream a reality.

Wishing for world peace will not make it happen. Wishing for the cure for aids will not bring it to light. The tireless pursuit of dream fulfillment will make it happen. Aids is but a virus and its cure can be found. This is not to suggest that it will be easy, but with an inspired mind comes the solution to many problems. Remember smallpox and how simple the cure was when you found out what it was? The same is true for aids.

Cancer is another matter as it mutates quickly and is not one thing, but many. Its basic building block or driving force is one thing and you have skirted it for so long. Look for the more obvious cause and you will find the cure for this also. Cancer has to do with growth in an environment of lowered immunity. In the right conditions, it flourishes. Change the condition and it will not flourish. Look for the environment in a place as simple as emotions and stress and you will find the answer. You look for causes such as smoking or pollution when the environment is the medium, not a specific cause. Granted, smoking is not good and in the conducive environment will worsen the problem. Look for what emotional conditions cause the body to be affected. You all know that stress takes a toll on the body. Why not look for specific chemical effects which produce an environment of waste. Just as fungus grows on rotting logs, so does cancer grow on dysfunctional flesh. It feeds on the host and proliferates exponentially.

Finding the cure for cancer and aids will surely bring about some world peace. Think of the ramifications. Sometimes you have to go around the mountain to get to the top. The direct route is not always the best route. Look at the alternatives – the answer is as simple as seeing yourself in the mirror. Of course, that's easy for God to say – He already knows the answer. So why not ask Him for the answer? "Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find." Our preconceived notions keep us from our dreams. Change your way of thinking and change your world.

Chapter 12 - Things To Avoid

If the BIBLE were written today, what would God warn us to avoid? Oh, the answer is so obvious that I am almost embarrassed to give it a name, but know that your greatest enemy is........fear! If we liken fear to the devil, that will put a face on our enemy. Not that fear is the devil, but it behaves with many of the same characteristics. The worst part of fear is........that we create it! We, in reality, are our own worst enemies. In a round about way, we are the devil fighting our own selves.

How in the world did we become our own enemies? Well, it started when we were children and our parents taught us to fear things that would hurt us. It spiraled out of control from there. We are so obsessed with fear that we are physically and spiritually immobilized. We open up the can of worms and soon they are swarming everywhere. How do we change our patterns of dream, fear, and retreat?

Once we recognize that we constantly follow this pattern, we can begin to dig out the root causes and begin to change our thought patterns. This is of supreme importance in obtaining spiritual maturity and fulfillment. If your dream is to become a great opera singer and you are afraid to sing in front of an audience, you might have a problem. So, dream the dream and take singing lessons and take some performance classes which will teach you to overcome your shyness. Is your shyness worth giving up your dream? Certainly not, so don't let your fears stand in your way. Use your fears to teach you how to become the best that you can be. It is comforting to note that everyone has insecurities, so you are not alone. Barbra Streisand has horrible stage fright, but where would she be if she had let it rule her life? She'd have been Barbra Nobody and we'd have missed the beauty of her performances.

Fright, flight or fight? What will you choose? Once you choose fright, and you generally have fright with any choice, you can learn to stick fear in your pocket and carry it with you or throw it over your shoulder and never let it bother you. Fright does not have to stop you – you can choose to work through it. You must go for your dreams if you wish to know fulfillment, even if afraid. If you choose flight, well, you will continue to wallow in your constant state of the uneventful comfort zone. Now, the comfort zone is not necessarily bad unless the gnawing inside becomes overwhelming. If your truest desires creep to the surface time and again, then God may have to boot you into action for your own good. I tend to think that my reticence to leave my miserable employment for fear of unemployment was the reason that God jumped into action and made the choice for me. I admit that I didn't have the guts to do the deed. Even when pressed into a corner, I refused to give up the fight. He gave me no choice and made my face my fears. But the elimination of one fear just brings to light another. It seems a vicious cycle that never ends. Choosing to fight, be it fear or whatever else, puts you on the fast track to dream fulfillment.

I feel certain that greater things are ahead, but until I see them, I have a tough time believing. As Neale told God, it's not that I doubt that you can do something; I doubt your will to do it. Neale had faith that God could do something if He wanted to, but wasn't sure that God would want to. That's kind of like faith, don't you think? God went on to tell Neale that it was his own choice as to the action that followed. Of course, put the blame on poor Neale who is trying desperately to understand how to get what he wants.

God, in His infinite wisdom, turned the tables on Neale and told him to choose. Now, Neale is much like us in that he had lessons to learn. All this "ask and you shall receive" business is often hit or miss – sometimes you get, but mostly you don't. The wisdom is in the knowing what to ask for. This is where we miss the boat. This is where I still miss the boat. I guess my desire's determinants are still rusty and I may slip in an occasional want instead of a true desire. More often, fear causes me to beg for things that I think I need. What the heck, ask anyway. You have nothing to lose as long as you don't let your faith hang in the balance.

The more we get in touch with our inner selves, the easier it is to distinguish our earnest desires from our perceived needs. This is like weeding through the flower bed - being able to ignore fear based wants from spiritually derived desires for fulfillment. Sometimes we let our weeds get out of control and overrun our flowers. Sometimes our weeds turn in to trees and take over the entire flower bed. Sometimes our weeds overcome to the point that we are like Jack and the Beanstalk. Whew! That fear has really gotten out of control. It'll take a miracle from God to cut down that worry. But know that my fear of unemployment is just a big as Jack's beanstalk. You'd think that I was subject to homelessness immediately for all the whining that I do.

What is your beanstalk? Oh yeah, you have at least one and it is rather overgrown. Think about it and mull it over. Is it real or perceived? Is it possible to overcome like Barbra's stage fright? Is it beyond your capability to control? If you need help killing the overgrown beanstalk, ask God. I'm sure He has some powerful weed killer with your beanstalk's name on it. Get control of the beanstalk before it controls you, if it doesn't already. Know your fear and conjure up a way to overcome your fear or go around your fear. Don't let fear be your master. Master your fear!

There is nothing to fear but fear itself! Where does the author of this wisdom live? In the realm of the absolute where God lives? I must say that if fear had no place in our lives then it would not exist. Is there a difference between good fear and bad fear? Is there just fear based on irrational thoughts? Is it ever prudent to respect fear? What in the world am I rambling on about? Oh, the fear that seems so real in our lives every day. Whether rational or irrational, it exists and we have to face it. We beg God to help us overcome our fears and remove our paralysis of inaction. But, the fear still haunts us like a dark cloud over our lives. The beanstalk grows and grows.

Bruce Wilkinson's book talks about how the very real existence of obstacles and how they will continue to come. We must accept this fact and continue on our journey undaunted by the hindrances along the way. It would be lovely if everything went according to our plans; however, I can't think of even one instance in my life when my perfectly developed plans didn't go awry. Perhaps if I had more faith and let God work out the details, then I wouldn't have so many failed plans. Hmmm, God just never does things my way. What's up with that?

So, acceptance of fear as a part of your life and the willingness to work past your fears is great wisdom which will save you much distress in your life. Use fear as a tool for your own benefit – see fear in another light. See fear with the proper respect and use it to your advantage. It is wise to be fearful of oncoming traffic, but use caution to maneuver through the traffic instead of turning back.

If fear is overtaking your life, stop it. Take some action rather than being overcome with anxiety. Any action beats inaction at this point. If the action is to turn it over to God with faith, do it. If the action is to come up with your own plan and follow it, do it. Don't let your fear take over your life. It is not worth it and your fear will become your life. It is better to live with a mistake than to live paralyzed by fear. God can and does help us in our times of need. He knows what you need before you ask, but the asking is the action needed to invite His reaction. Remember, you have free will and God will let you float along, until you ask, unless there is imminent danger to you. Asking can bring you no harm, but can open you up to an immediate communication with God where all the wisdom is. Ask and you shall receive.

As for other things to avoid, God would advise that we avoid those things or people who are not a reflection of our true selves. Don't hang around those who cause you to behave unlike yourself. If you are adversely affected by a certain group, then politely remove yourself from their presence. If you find yourself in a situation which makes you uncomfortable, find a way to remove yourself. Remember that inaction is an action. If you remain in an uncomfortable environment, harm can come to you, even if ever so slight. This is not to say that you should run screaming from the middle of a party when someone starts behaving badly. Politely remove yourself from the situation. There are people who do not reflect our values, but we are not to judge them. We are simply encouraged to be in the company of those who bring us comfort in being ourselves.

Now, if we apply this to social workers, can we say that the discomfort experienced in their work is a reason to remove themselves? Certainly not for this is their job. As surely as a police officer sees things which are disconcerting, the officer must do his duty. When I talk about removing yourself from those people or situations which do not reflect you, I am talking about in your personal life. If your work environment causes you to lose touch with yourself, then by all means seek employment elsewhere. Don't let your circumstance be who you are. Don't let a crappy boss turn you into a crabby old employee. "If you don't like the weather, move," as George Carlin used to say in the character of the Hippy Dippy Weather Man. Smart advice to all. If we visualize our environment as we do the weather and its effects, then certainly this is very good advice. If you are trapped in stormy emotional weather, get the heck out.

More than anything else, avoid avoiding your inner spiritual purpose and desires.

Chapter 13 - Personal Relationships

If the BIBLE were written today, what would it say about personal relationships? The old BIBLE talked about wives being submissive to husbands and husbands being good leaders of the household. As you might have guessed, a few things have changed since those words were written. Just in the last century, women have made massive strides in becoming equal partners to men, so it might be a hard sell in the new BIBLE to tell women to automatically be submissive to men. More than a few women actually have the audacity to believe that they are equal to men and deserve half of the running of everything. Men, are you going to take this anarchy?

Well gentlemen, let's face it, you've already lost that battle. You can't turn back time or force women back into the kitchens. The times have changed and women are in the workforce just like you. With the money, comes control. You can't boss around the little woman just because you think you can any more. She's not going to take it because she doesn't have to. And why should she? Women work at least as hard as men and generally more. Let's not kid ourselves about who really raises the kids and goes to work and keeps the house. Sure, some men dabble in it, but for the most part, the woman totes the lion's share of the work.

So, this creates a new dynamic for our new BIBLE. The Golden Rule still applies, especially in your own house. Even more difficult to control than a married woman is an unmarried one. We can hide our faces and pretend that couples don't live out of wedlock, but realistically they do. Are we to judge? With the divorce rate at astronomical rates, how can we judge? Perhaps it is more wise to cohabitate rather than rush into a marriage doomed to fail. If everyone took marriage more seriously and waited before running down the aisle, then the divorce rate would take a nose dive. Our society frowns upon such things and in our veiled view of reality guilt people into marriage just because they want to have sex. Of course such a marriage is going to fail – get real and get your head out of the sand.

There are two sides to this coin, just as there are two sides to every coin. If realistically, sex only occurred after marriage, then we might be justified in coercing people into marriage. But it ain't so, so let's not pretend that it is. Just as teenage pregnancy doesn't go away because we tell teenagers to abstain from sex; people rush into marriage and will end up in divorce court. People have to be able to make their own choices and coercion is not the answer. Sure, it is preferable for a couple to live the fairy tale and only have children in the bonds of marriage, but wake up and smell the coffee. Teenagers are going to have sex and there is nothing that you can do to stop them. You can prepare them for the responsibility that comes with their choices, but you cannot lock them up and control their behavior.

You cannot make people get married just because you think they should. Believe it or not, in this day and age, my secretary's dad would not stay at her house because she lives out of wedlock. Now really, she has been married before and intends to marry her fiancé, but they will marry when they are ready and her dad is being a little judgmental, don't you think? Well, to his credit, he did come down and stay with her while she had surgery. He had such a good time, that he and his wife recently visited again. Sometimes if we get over our judgments, we might have a good time.

Other personal relationships must be included. Friendships offer some of life's greatest experiences. The need to belong is primordial. There is great comfort in the company of others. A support system can be invaluable in life. There are vast numbers of groups started due to our need to share the insights and talents of others. A gardening club can bring forth a wealth of ideas and expand the experiences of its members. There are fan clubs, sports clubs, etc. It is simply fun to be in the company of those who share our interests.

As with other relationships, we must choose wisely. There are myriad examples of those who have gotten into really bad situations because of their associations with less than honorable people. Choose your friends wisely and you will find life more interesting and exciting.

You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your relatives. How well we can all relate to this. On the other hand, perhaps we would not have been the first choice of our relatives, so suffice it to say that all relationships are "relative."

Children present the most profound personal relationships of all. Children bring obligations which should not be taken lightly. God would surely give us much verbiage on the proper care and raising of children. Perhaps, the Golden Rule would apply here also – raise your children as you would want to have been raised. We always swear that we won't raise our children like we were raised, but somehow we emulate the patterns of our parents. Parents are given much responsibility without much guidance. Children seem to behave by exceptions rather than by rules.

If only there were a guide book, given by God, which would cover all the bases and make parenting more effective. As with everything else in life, we start out with the best of intentions and are soon parenting by response. Life's circumstances take over and soon you don't have time to spend with your kids as you had intended. You were certain in the beginning that you would spend valuable hours with your kids each day, but have found that the available hours just aren't available.

With so many dual income households today, parenting has had to be worked into a rather limited schedule. It has gotten to the point that relationships come after work – work has to come first. Our bosses don't have much sympathy for our personal relationships. The situation had gotten to the point that society had to step in and force businesses to honor certain personal situations. The Family and Medical Leave Act, fought by businesses, was enacted so that employees would have the right to not have to choose between family and work, if only in the most serious of circumstances.

More often than not, family needs are sacrificed for the good of the business. Our businesses have become the focus of our lives and employees are working more and more hours each week, just to make ends meet. We had all hoped that with the advent of the computer age that people would have more time for personal relationships, but this has not been the case. Persons who choose to spend more time at home simply must choose to live with a lower standard of living. Sacrifices must be made – you can't seem to have it all. Something will get the short end of the stick, so you must decide based on your personal priorities.

It is interesting to hear about the lives of people in other countries. I am told that Americans work far more than people in other countries. We have heard about countries where a two-hour lunch is the norm. But, Americans have chosen to sacrifice relationships in favor of having more stuff. We would rather neglect our children, in one sense, to provide designer label clothes for them. If you were a child again, would you rather have nice clothes or your parent's attention? We have to be honest as most children today will say that they would rather have the nice clothes because they are speaking from the current American perspective.

God knows that there is no substitute for a parent's love and nurturing. This is a basic fact of life. Do your kids get the attention that they need, or do they get the attention that you can squeeze in between your other duties? This is not to say that you are to be condemned – you are just doing the best that you can with what you have. As with taking the time to meditate, we must take the time to give our full attention to our children, even if the time is very limited.

God wishes for our lives to be filled with love. How we do this is our choice. If we choose to be in a relationship, then it is ok. If we choose to not be in a relationship, then it is ok. But in any relationship, be love.

Chapter 14 - Free Will

If the BIBLE were written today, let's assume that the new BIBLE states and approves of the free will that God has given us. What will fill the pages now that punishment is no longer an issue? I suppose that there will be lots of joy and happiness and opportunities to learn from life's experiences. Not having to live in fear opens up a myriad of opportunities for those who have for so long lived with limits presupposed upon them.

Imagine that you are living with your parents and you know that there is no chance for punishment. Realizing that consequences are a natural part of life but you have the freedom to choose for yourself anything that you wish to pursue, you put your mind to work. You think first, "What have I always wanted to do, but have been afraid to do?" You think and think and think. You let your mind go places where it has not dared go before. You think of all of the fun things that fear of punishment caused you to talk yourself out of doing. You decide that traveling across country after high school is the best possible way of experiencing and discovering. This is something that a young person is more prone to try than an older person. Once a person becomes tainted by life's pitfalls, they are far less apt to try new things.

Not one to rush into things, you mull over what you'll need and how you'll cope with things as they come up. You plan for the money you'll need, your transportation and your living arrangements. You think that a cross country trek on a motorcycle with a tent and camping gear is plenty. You'll carry just enough money to get you there and back. You have great hopes and are excited about the adventure ahead. So, you manage to gather up what you think you'll need and are prepared to leave. You say your goodbyes and are on your way.

The first few hours are filled with heart-pounding thrills of the journey. Your mind races to imagine all that you will see and do. Oh, bad news – it starts to rain. No problem, you'll just have to wait it out. The sun comes back out and you are on the way. You are getting tired and hungry, so you decide to rest for awhile. You stop for the first night and set up camp. You are amazed by the grandeur of nature. You sleep under the stars and are amazed by all that is in this world that you've never taken the time to experience. The sounds of crickets, birds, and the wind blowing through the trees bring you to a oneness with nature and you are filled with the wonder of it all.

You start day two rested and inspired. You jump on your bike and head off on the next leg of your journey. Slowly, time starts to pass into weeks and you are starting to get tired of the routine. You start to imagine your life and what you really want to do for the next 50 years. You start seeing yourself like your parents with children and responsibilities. You see yourself going to work every day and coming home just as they do. You just can't imagine that you, such a free spirit with free will, can be settled down. You have so many dreams and desire, so you concoct yourself a delay plan – college! That'll give you four more years of fun before the real life starts.

You return home exhausted but invigorated by all that life has to offer. You enroll in and start college. You had previously failed to realize that college actually entails study, but you do just enough to get you through as this is your only ticket to avoiding real life. You have fun and try out life on a smaller scale. Your relationships are mostly unfulfilling until one day in your junior year, you discover the love of your life. You are swept away in a manner far greater than any movie version you have ever seen. You are in love and there is nothing to compare. Wow, this must be what life is for – to discover your one true love, get married and live happily ever after.

What a dream come true! Having never felt the depth of such love before, you are totally entranced. You both agree that college must be completed first, you don't have long to go. You'll get jobs and get married and live happily ever after. Yippee!!! Your life finally comes into focus with purpose. You just can't even consider any other scenario. You are in love and there is no other option. You've taken the time to explore yourself and have gotten your education out of the way. Now, you are ready for some real fun.

So, your plan comes to fruition and you have tied the knot. You are so filled with joy and happiness. Wow, what else can life possibly have to offer? Before you know it, you have two kids and a mortgage. You are living the dream. You have become your parents. Now, how did that happen? I was certain that I would not be trapped by all of those responsibilities and would never feel obligated to do anything. What have I done? How did my perfect plan for free will and independence go so wrong? I have blindly fallen into the same trap as my parents. I never intended for this to happen.

The years dwindle by and suddenly twenty years have passed. Ok, really, I have to get more out of life, you think to yourself. What must I do differently to bring the satisfaction that I once had? I'll try new things – I'll put some adventure in my life. I'll buy a sports car. I'll experiment till I find what will fill my soul. You try desperately to find something, anything that fills that driving inner need for fulfillment. You take trips, you buy new things, you get new hobbies, and you exercise feverishly.

Yet, nothing seems to fill the empty hole. You just can't seem to find that missing something. You ask friends and acquaintances. You go to the library or bookstore to find personal improvement advice. You check internet sites for the missing piece of information which will put you back on track and will bring you purposeful fulfillment. You even think about going on another road trip, but you realize that it wasn't as much fun the first time as you had imagined and sleeping in a tent really does not compare to your own bed. You think of a million reasons why this is not the answer.

At last, feeling as if you will never find the answer, you turn to the old standby – God. Certainly, He has the answer. Yeah, you've been generally supportive of God. You've gone to church on special occasions and have talked to God whenever a crisis warranted. You never really took the time to imagine that there really was a God or that He was always just hanging around. You only called when you needed something, otherwise you left Him alone. Now, though, you feel as if you are being called by Him. You can't imagine why, you've been a good person and have fulfilled all of your obligations to family and community. What could God want with you?

Well, you reason, you've tried everything else, so you finally sit down for a chat with God. Never have you experienced such peace and inner joy. Wow, why hadn't you done this before? You can't believe that you have lived all these years without making significant contact with your maker. Hmmm, your curiosity grows with the thoughts of God's interactions and you ponder the wisdom of this time in your life. You dig deeper to seek fulfillment and knowledge. What is God trying to tell you? What do you need to know? What are you to do? What's the meaning of all of this?

Your seeking only brings more questions and you are in a mental frenzy to know everything at once. You start looking and focusing on things in a day which may bring you insight. You look for hidden messages and signs. You run to and fro trying to find the answers. You realize that all of your life has been spent pursuing fulfillment in the same exact ways as those before you. Your parents went through the same middle-aged crisis at about the same time. Most people just call it empty nest syndrome. The kids are grown and parents feel an emptiness which needs to be filled. Is this the culprit or is there something more?

Just as when you left high school, you begin again to seek your fulfillment. You think of the things that you really wanted and missed the opportunity to get. You now have the time, so why not take another look. You spend time having dreams again. You think of the things that you wished you'd done or seen. You know that having isn't all that it's cracked up to be – so you change your focus to the doing. You contemplate the charity work that you have never managed to find the time to do. You contemplate that perhaps you have a larger purpose in life than you have imagined. You seek and seek and seek. You learn about meditation. You just know that the answer is hidden somewhere deeply within yourself, so you are bound and determined to get in touch with yourself.

You sit for hours trying to see the light. You focus on breathing until you are nearly hyperventilating. You strain to see the answers and spend tireless hours sitting and waiting. Why can't you just get it? What is so difficult and why does God just not show you the answers? Why God, do you make it so hard? Always our last resort – blame God. It is His fault that He is teasing you and keeping you from knowing what is inside. Surely, God must be cruel to keep the answers hidden from you? He knows what you need and you have asked a thousand times. What's the hold up?

After a few weeks of this, you are just sick of the whole thing and drop meditation and seeking. You obviously aren't meant to know the answers, so you just give up and concentrate on TV. That's where you were when you started, so you seek solace in the known. You are so pissed that you can't see straight. Your image of God has changed significantly and you are just not in the mood to hear anything He has to say.

You pout and blame God. You stew in your misery for months. Your life starts to fall in decline as you just don't seem to care anymore. What's the use? The answers are always beyond your reach. And the pity party kicks into high gear. Your spouse is just sick of you and your despondency. Nothing seems to motivate you any more. You've lost that enthusiasm and drive that you once knew. Surely, God is playing a cruel trick on you and you are not amused. But, He had His chance and He has blown it. You won't be suckered in any more. You are through with the mind games and tricks.

Suddenly, as if heaven opens up and the blue bird of paradise drops a bomb on your head, you see the light. Not all of the light, but enough to spark you to get back into the game. Hmmm, this must be another trick and you are not so stupid as to fall for it again. Ever so skeptical and intrigued at the same time, you ponder the light. What does it mean? Why did God wait so long? Why must I have to wallow in despair before the light comes into view? Why, oh why? Surely, those questions won't just magically go away, but the intrigue grows. The dark gives way to the light. Still more light shines down. Another hint and another. You are starting to be overwhelmed by all the light. You can't seem to dodge the light. The answers start coming faster than the proverbial speeding bullet. You can't sleep. You are tired, yet invigorated. What does all of this mean?

You finally realize that you have missed your "calling" and have dodged your dreams all along. You now know that you chose security over sanctity. You chose to please others over self. You put your dreams in the recesses of your heart and kept them safely tucked away. You now see the light and know that your dreams are still there – waiting for you to let them escape. You dare to dream those dreams again. You are scared as you remember why you put them there in the first place. You remember the self-doubt and fear that caused you to hide them all those years ago. Whew! At least you have finally opened the door to knowledge. You are about to let out all of those repressed dreams and bring them back to light.

Nah, you can't possibly do that. Who in the world would ever let me get away with that? How could you possibly do such a thing? The doubts and fears associated with the dreams come to light also. You are back to square one – twenty years ago. So, you analyze the situation and realize that you are not satisfied with spending the rest of your life ignoring your truest inner desires. You come to the point when you just say – what the heck. You've really got nothing to lose, so why not give it a try? What's the worst that can happen? Is it worth the risk? Is it worth not taking the risk? You realize that not taking the risk is the worst mistake you can make. That's when the light shines brightest.

You finally realize that you've had the answers all along, but have failed to acknowledge them. You knew that you were taking the safe way to life. You made choices all along the way. You wanted the best for those around you, but you never took the time to seek the best for yourself. You have put your dreams on the back burner for the dreams of those around you. Now, you start thinking all of those selfish thoughts that you never dared think before. You start blaming others for the misery of your life. You just know that you gave more than everyone else. You have let your life give way to the lives of others. You won't stand for it anymore.

You seek immediately to rectify the situation. You go on a massive hunt for your happiness, generally in all the wrong places. This is the time when you seek the glitter and find the deception. You chase the physical pleasures which you have for so long denied yourself. You lose sight of what you hold so dear in a fog of perceived happiness at the hands of one so pretty. You lose sight of true and run straight for fantasy. Your short-sightedness now runs your life and your dreams are out of control. You are now the person that you always imagined yourself to be. But the fantasy usually fades quickly and reality starts to come back into focus.

You left your spouse over a perceived love and found that all that glitters isn't gold. You gave up the solid for the ephemeral. You are beginning to realize that what you thought you wanted was just not what it was cracked up to be. You let the fantasy overshadow your reality – your dreams took over your life and put your life into another place of despair. How could this be? You followed your dreams and wound up in a much worse situation. What were you thinking?

Now, look at yourself. What have you done? How could finally following your dreams bring you such misery? What's wrong with this picture? Having free will means that you have free will to mess up also. Did you ever once take the time to consider what your dreams really are? Did you call dreams those thoughts which sounded like fun? Did you confuse dreams with fantasy? Did you choose folly instead of your truest desires? You sit now and realize that you were a little too quick to follow your dreams without fully realizing what they were. Now, you are certain that following your dreams is a mistake and you are certainly glad that you didn't make that mistake earlier.

Yet, when all is said and done, you know that you played a trick on yourself. You were looking for fulfillment in all of the wrong places. Fulfilling the body doesn't fulfill the soul. The sports car and the cute new honey could not fill what you really needed. Sure, they pass the time and seem cool, but the reality is that what you need is fulfillment of your soul's desires. You lost sight of the true you and ran half-cocked in the wrong direction. You see yourself as the balding man in the cool sports car with the young blond chick. You see yourself as Ms. Jones. Think of how ridiculous you must look to others, just as others look ridiculous to you.

So now what? I've made a mess and don't know how to clean it up. You realize that your spouse is by far the best choice that you ever made. Sure, perfect not, but a bringer of peace like no other. Your first instinct is to beg your way back, claiming stupidity and short-sightedness. Can she ever forgive you? Maybe you better cut your losses and move on. You spend some time crying over the spilled milk and make your choice. You beg for another chance as you realize your mistake. Let's imagine for our story that you do get a second chance. You have to be twice as good this time, because there won't be a third. But you know that you can handle it, and soon you are back into the routine of your life.

Realizing your mistakes and realizing that dreams are not fantasies, you seek to find your true happiness. You enlist your spouse's support and ask for her truest desires also. You allow the spouse to seek fulfillment also as you are two, not one. You and your spouse concoct a joint plan for true desire fulfillment. You strike off on your journey together realizing more each day that your life together has already been the fulfillment of a dream.

You both want more, not to have more, but to experience more. You both go bravely into the new world and think different thoughts. With all of your combined experience, you make choices different from those previously made. Instead of security, you choose happiness. You choose to experiment and take chances. You buy the old house and open a bed and breakfast. You buy the bread shop and love your work. You buy the beach house and trade antiques. You do what your heart leads you to do. You find that there is no greater happiness than what you are doing right now. You know that there is no greater love than the one sharing this time with you. The TV show THE GOOD LIFE exemplifies this concept. It is one of my favorite shows and I am forever inspired by the show. People give up very successful careers to live their dreams. I find this very profound. Once you have success, you can realize that it is not what you really wanted. Have you ever said, "Is this all there is?"

If you are satisfied with what you have, then your dream has already been realized and activated. Many of us sit and ponder the meaning of life and what our true purpose really is. I guess we are waiting for a brick to fall on our heads before we get off the chair and go after our dreams. Rest assured, a brick (not necessarily a real one) will fall on your head one day if it hasn't already. You will be sparked to action and your innermost desires will come to light. You will be so filled with a craving for fulfillment that you simply can't ignore it.

Some of us may need more than one brick, but God will send as many bricks as are needed until we get the message. You can run and you can hide, but you can't get away from that nagging self. You know and you have always known that you have a purpose in life and fulfilling that purpose is the only way to release the desire. By having your soul's desires satisfied, you will reach the fulfillment of your dreams. Only then will your life be in the perfect balance. This is not to say that one dream fulfilled is all there is. You will start to fulfill more and more dreams. You will find that the more you achieve, the more you seek. Feeling true fulfillment causes you to seek more fulfillment. This is life lived to the fullest.

This is not to say that you won't make mistakes or have all wine and roses. Life just isn't perfect and neither are we. We have to take the lumps and proceed undeterred. We have to keep the vision in sight and drive ever near. Don't lose sight of the Big Picture, regardless of the distractions incurred upon the journey.

The souls' desires are the most powerful driving forces in our lives. We knew about them when we were young, but put them away. During our later years, they crop back up and we are forced to deal with them. There are but a few who realize their dreams early, but these are the most fulfilled people you will ever meet. Granted, fulfilling one dream only leads to the dreaming of another dream, but going after your dreams with all of your might is the true secret to success and your greatest gifts to yourselves.

Our dreams don't have to be selfish – we can work our families and lives into the dream and make our lives work toward our dreams. Sure, some dreams seem really impossible at first glance. No way! That's just not possible. How many have said that and really believed it? Ok, so I must admit that I am one of the naysayers. I sit here at a place where I could have been twenty years ago. Granted, I wouldn't have all of this valuable experience behind me, but I could have done the same things many years ago if only I could have let go of fear and followed the dream.

I don't wish to waste another minute filled with regret. I choose to get on board the dream boat and am already paddling like crazy. So, a few bricks had to fall on my head, but the knots provide wisdom to keep me from repeating my mistakes. It is always our first instinct to hit the water and swim for shore at the first sign of troubled waters. It is then that our resolve must be greatest and our vision of the dream brightest. We must paddle that boat with all of our might knowing intuitively that our dream is just ahead. God has assured us that He fulfills our dreams, but we must be paddling in the direction with all of our might.

Are you on the boat? Have you ever even thought about the boat? Are you scared of boats like me? Wear a life jacket and get in the boat! It's not too late, even until your last breath. Don't do anything that causes you to freak out with fear; take baby steps if you need to. At least realize your dream and start dreaming of ways to make your dream come into focus. You can do it and you will do it. The first step is always the hardest, so just say, "What the heck?" Think always about the process and the consequences, but always seek the boat of dreams (not the ship of fools) and row as if your life depended upon it.

Chapter 15 - God's Love

If the BIBLE were written today, how would God convey His love? There would be stories galore about miracles and angels and His constant interactions with us. He would tell of the glorious ways that He touches the lives of each of us. He would not defer to Jesus or other mortals; He would convey His love in the examples of His actions. Love without deeds is useless. Love alone is without merit. Love enacted is God. God is love. Love is all there is. Can there be anything to compare to love? A God not exemplified by love is not really worth knowing.

If it is and has been so easy for us to love a vengeful and fear inspiring God, how much easier it will be for us to know a loving God. We don't seem to question God when we are shown evidences of "punishments" dished out by God. We cower in the awe of a God who readily punishes us for our sins. Oh, the wisdom of putting us in our place. Stomp us down when we surely deserve it. Whip us into submission. Threaten us so that our fear keeps us under control. Yeah, that's the way we like it. Fear will make a believer out of you every time.

What a fool believes? How misguided are we? We must really glutton for punishment. We must love living under the will of another. We just love to be told what to do. We are all sheep and must have a Shepherd. We are mindless robots and we can't possibly even dream of thinking for ourselves. It's kind of nice to have someone else take all of the responsibility. Being the bearer of the blame is not an enviable position. Let's just hang the blame on God, or the devil if it pleases you, and keep being herded. Yeah, that's how we like it – nice and easy, blameless and not responsible.

Do you think for one minute that perhaps we have taken the entire BIBLE out of context and have revised its meaning to reflect one of a dictatorial realm? Has it ever occurred to us that God's Word has been handed down by people who see things as the world sees things and have put upon God's Word the influences of the world? Is it even possible? Perhaps, inadvertently, mankind has used the rulers of the time to influence God's Word? As the Pharaohs of Biblical times are exemplified in the BIBLE, are not their methods also conveyed? Does the God reflected in the BIBLE not behave like the rulers of the times?

Let's assume for a minute that God could be reflected in a more democratic way. Let's say that God is the elected leader of the world. How might He be reflected differently from the descriptions given in the BIBLE? Certainly, He would not be so autocratic nor power hungry. Certainly, He would not inflict His will upon His people. Certainly, He would only want the best for His people. He would know that He is His people and that they are His creations and the objects of His love. He would only want what they want and would give them the tools to fulfill their dreams. He would be seen as more down-to-earth and kind. He would not be seen as above and beyond His people; He would be among them, helping them and making their world a better place for them.

Jesus was seen as a kind man and never pretentious. He went about His life in an unassuming way fulfilling His purpose. Why is God so different? Why must we see Him as something so mystical and out of reach? Why must He only be glorified by His mystery? Why can't we write of a God who is within reach, even if not physically? Why can't we know God for the kindness and love that He is? Why can't we see the beauty of God without having Him appear grandiose? Why do we need for God to be so far above us that we cannot reach Him? We see the President of the United States as someone great and we go to great lengths to catch a glimpse of him. In actuality, he is just another man who holds a very seemingly powerful job. Is he the job? Is he better than any other American? Does he have some special powers? He is just like everyone else and he only has power given to him by the voters. He is nothing but a mere mortal just like me and you. Seeing him as just a man puts a different spin on him and makes him somehow more approachable. Certainly, his friends see him in a much different light. I bet his friends from the old days don't chase around the motorcade to catch a glimpse of him.

Why can't we see God, not as a mere mortal, but as one of us with a higher purpose? Ok, so He created us, but looking at Him as one of us makes Him more accessible to us. Don't worry – He's not pretentious and won't get offended. Let's see Him more on our level so that we can more fully realize His love. Let's imagine a BIBLE written with nothing but love as the focus.

God's just one of the guys or gals and He has managed to fill His creation (earth) with His other Creations (all things on the earth.) He's just chilling, taking in all the action. He's hanging around watching the action, wishing He could get in the game and know what it's like to actually throw a baseball or fly a kite. He's thrilled by the World Series, but not for who wins or loses, but by the fascination of being able to play the game. Imagine always having to sit on the sidelines and watch the game. God wants to play and we are His players. We feel the thrill of victory and we suffer the bruises of defeat. He's the coach in a sense.

I guess the BIBLE should be more like a player's manual, but without all those nasty rules. It would be more like a suggestion book for players with all sorts of wisdom without all of the punishments and rule violations. Think of God coaching you and your team. You have tremendous respect for the position, but you are always able to ask the coach for assistance. Yeah, that's putting things into perspective. Coach God and His team of Spiritual Fulfillment Seekers. Hurray! They are taking the field. Who are the opponents? Sure, there always has to be opponents. Coach Naysayer and his team of Aimless Wanderers. Of course, God's team has home field advantage, so they'll be wearing white. Naysayer's team will be wearing black to reflect the misery of their ways.

Coach God and Coach Naysayer shake hands and agree to a good game. Naturally, God's team wins the toss. The game starts a little one sided and continues accordingly. We won't get into the final score, but a blow out might be an appropriate adjective. Imagine the differences in the players – ones with purpose versus those without. Imagine the tough job that Coach Naysayer has in trying to bring his team together for a purposeful game. Have you ever felt like Coach Naysayer? If you haven't, you should try coaching very young girls in sports. Oh, the challenges are great. Oh, I don't want to get dirty. My hair will get messed up. It'll hurt! I'm scared.

So, Coach God has an easier job in some ways, but a more difficult job in others. If we assume that 96 percent of all people believe in God, then God should have an easy job, right? Let's put it into perspective – imagine that 100 percent of all people have different beliefs and are at different spiritual levels. Sound so easy now? I think not. Think about all the whiners (not me) and the naysayers fighting against you. Think about all the choices of others causing havoc on your players. Think about having to explain why YOU cause all the bad in the world. Yeah, it's an easy job – don't you want it?

God surely needs assistant coaches to pull off the big win. You have chosen to fulfill your life's purpose of bringing others to God or bringing God to others. You put on your hat and whistle and get ready for the game. You are so excited. You just know that you can bring all those doubters around to your way of thinking. Yeah, go get 'um! Off you go, to fulfill your purpose. You hit tackle after tackle. You find that you've got more bruises than a prize fighter. Your head swims in disbelief – this was supposed to be easy. Why is it so hard? Why has Coach God let me down? Where is Coach God, anyway? And He better not be sleeping on the sidelines.

Coach Naysayer and his players are ever diligent in their quest to find nothing. They run and play hard, but never seem to make a goal, because they don't have one. They scurry around aimlessly searching for the unknown without purpose or guidance. They just "do" without any reason or purpose. Have you ever felt like you play on this team? Yes, I have and often seem to be team captain.

Imagine that, as with any team or organization, divisiveness grows from discontent. Some players on Coach God's team decide that they don't much like the way that He coaches and they are thinking about starting their own team. Surely if they did a few things differently, then a win would be within their grasp. So, several of Coach God's players start a new team called Coach Rebellion's team. Their leader is a feisty one with lots of ideas. We'll take the best ideas from the other teams and add a few of our own and surely we can beat the pants off the other two teams. Yeah, we are guaranteed success as we have a definite plan and an infallible strategy.

Coach Rebellion's team, like all rebellions, start out on a winning note. They are all for one and one for all. They play with all their might, but soon start doubting their own leadership. The strategies, which seemed so foolproof, are beginning to get holes. Player one and player two get in a fight over the disagreement and player three just wants off the team. All the players start choosing sides and soon the team is a wreck. The Rebellion team has fallen into much the same predicament as the other teams. Why can't everyone just get along and play together for the good of all? Oh if it were that easy.

This scenario is much like what has happened throughout history. Once there was a large church that had a rule against divorce. Well a king decided that he wanted to divorce, so he made up his own church which allowed divorce. Another person of power decided that he didn't like the celibacy rules, so he made up another church. Many churches have sprung out of one church in the same way that the teams split. If you don't like your church's rules, make up a new one. Could this same kind of thing have happened to God and our views of Him over the years? If we don't like God's rules, then we just make up our own and say that they are God's? If we go straight to the Source, what would God say of His own rules? What would God teach us about Himself? What if God cut to the chase and said that there is only one rule and it is the Golden Rule? What if God broke the BIBLE down to one line – God is love? What if God gave only one guiding principle – act only with love?

Could this be just too simple? We tend to like things that are complicated and mysterious. Would this satisfy our craving for complexity? This would shut down many churches and theological institutions. What would we do? We would start filling up the BIBLE with more and more information – God can't be that simple, just as we are not. We need more and more and more. We want more – we want something that is beyond our reach. We like the challenge. We don't appreciate simple things – they are just not worth having. We want to earn God and spend years in thought trying to contemplate His ways. We need to make God greater than He needs to be. We need to have something beyond ourselves so that we can marvel at the majesty. We don't want ordinary, we want extraordinary. Think of the awe inspiring word GOD. Wow, that's a lot of intrigue in just three letters.

We continuously put God out of our reach for our own satisfaction. A common old God who just seeks to enjoy us and our experiences would not hold our attention. Just as molecular biology sounds intriguing, the scientist who works in it everyday finds that it can often be quite boring. Accounting is just that boring – I could never even pretend that it is intriguing. But the same is true for everything – we always find great intrigue in that which we do not understand. If you thought that God simply created us for His enjoyment, then you and all of your pretentiousness would take a dive. I must be more important than that. How could God trivialize me – His greatest creation? Blasphemy!

We get caught up in our own fascination with self and imagine ourselves more than we are. We see our lives as having great importance when in reality, they are not. Very few lives are immortalized. John Doe did great wonders with his amazing skill of welding. Read the headlines – the accountant finds the missing penny! Get a grip on yourself. Have a dose of reality. Did Albert Einstein sit around imagining the writings of his work in history books? Oh, they are going to love me – I'm amazing and I have changed the world. I can't imagine that Albert sat around singing his own praises. He was probably a little more focused on relativity than on infamy. Can't you just see Jesus giggling to himself about His contributions to history? I am the Master and all will worship Me!!!! Jesus would never have had such thoughts, because He saw no need for them. Why are we so stuck on ourselves when it simply isn't necessary?

What say we try putting God on a more personal level and letting Him focus on the greatness. He can show you His wonders and you won't need to imagine His greatness. Let Him dazzle you with His miracles – don't super impose greatness upon Him. He doesn't need your praise and admiration – so why bother? Let Him reveal Himself to you in the most magical and unexpected ways. See Him sitting across the room from you – you won't have to pretend to be impressed. You can't make Him more than He is so don't try. He doesn't need an ego trip – He's not into that. We like the old ego stroke, but God doesn't. You can't make Him feel good about Himself – He's already God. What else does He need?

We need to be the focus of need. God is, we are not. We need to find out what God knows so that we can be. That's the secret that the BIBLE should expose. God is love and behaves accordingly. God isn't in any way like us, except that He made us so we are a part of Him. He doesn't operate on our agenda. He operates on His own agenda and works with us so that we can learn to operate on His agenda of love. If we do not emulate God in our actions, then how can we begin to experience the love that He has to offer? Think about a situation in which you acted totally with love and generosity? Didn't you feel great? Imagine how God feels all the time. He always acts with love and compassion. Shouldn't we desire more such experiences? Doing good for another produces a great feeling for which there is none to compare. Strive to do good at all times, so that you experience that great feeling all the time.

But, I can't just go around doing good for others. I have to live and work and drive the kids to school and to soccer practice. I have to go to the dentist and to the grocery store. I can't just be hanging around doing good. Who's going to cook dinner? Sure, life is full of mundane tasks, but do we take advantage of the opportunities that do present themselves? Or, do we avoid them like the plague and dodge those who need our help? We will often go out of our way to avoid helping others. If you think this isn't true, you haven't looked at your own actions this week. Be honest, could you have opened that door for the other person at the store? Could you have let that car turn out in front of you – you weren't in a hurry anyway? Think of all of the opportunities to brighten someone's day that you avoid everyday. Shame on you – shame on me.

The simplest things make a world of difference. Saying excuse me or have a nice day can bring a smile to someone's face and cost you nothing. It torques me good when someone walks in front of me and doesn't say excuse me. My mother would chap my cheeks for such rudeness. Why do we suppose that we are more important than others? We just buffalo our way through life as if no one else exists. Me, me, me!!! If you think that you are so important, try spending a day alone. You'll quickly realize that others are more important than you thought.

Think of every opportunity that you have for helping others and think of how good it feels to help others. This is a universal fact of life for those who know their soul's purpose. It's not about me – I didn't sit at this computer for hours and hours and hours and hours to share God's message with myself. He beats me over the head personally with knowledge bricks daily. What if Neale and Deepak and Doreen and Bruce and many others had decided to not share their knowledge gifts with others? I would still be swimming in a sea of ignorance, not that I've learned all that I need to. How my life has been changed for the better for their having shared their gifts with me. It's not about them, for they have the knowledge – it's about us, who need the knowledge and the gift of their sharing. What have you done for others lately?

Chapter 16 - Would You Read It

If the BIBLE were written today, would you actually read it? If you saw it on the news and had it available in every outlet possible, would you actually take the time to sit down and read it? Some people would, but I fear that the majority would spend more time discrediting it than gleaning the knowledge and beauty of it. It would fly in the face of most current wisdom and would therefore shake the very pillars of the world as we know it. It would be seen as blasphemy and anarchy and would be the brunt of the wrath of the world. Quicker than you can say scandal, it would be proclaimed not of God and would be the victim of book burning ceremonies world wide. The uproar would be tremendous and it would fall to the far corners of libraries and bookstores everywhere. I don't think that the world is ready to know God as He wishes to be known.

We are not necessarily interested in seeing God in the light of His choosing. We are more interested in preserving our institutions that we have created for our selfish benefit. Imagine the demise of the world's great religious institutions – we simply would not stand for it. We would fight tooth and nail to make sure that things as we know them are preserved, even if we sometimes doubt their validity. Our governments and laws and financial institutions will not be put in question of something so obviously radical as God giving us a new BIBLE. Scholars from every corner of the earth would kick into action finding fault with the new BIBLE.

There would be only a few who would heed the great gift from the hand of God. The majority would find their own selfish reasons to make it go away. Even as highly respected as the current BIBLE is, it still has its detractors. There is no one document ever produced which is held as truth to all. If God were to give us a document which provided universal truth, the world would be shaken to its core. We can't have that – it would mess up everything. A world without conflict is a world without free enterprise. You can't get rich if you have no market. The world's military makers would be out of business. The international peace keepers would have to find work elsewhere. The tiny governments of the world would no longer be necessary. Lots of folks would fall to instant ruin. Or would they?

We are so focused on life as we know it that we can't even imagine a world economy firmly rooted on true free enterprise, not forced enterprise. We cannot see that providing food for the world can be just as lucrative as providing war ships and missiles. We undervalue low cost items for high dollar items. Think of the control that oil rich countries have over the world. Think of the world's supply of diamonds being controlled by one company. Is this not ridiculous, if you think about it? If we shifted our focus from military spending to hunger elimination, would we not be able to instantly eliminate hunger? Yeah, but what's the benefit of that? There's no glory in that and besides, those people would just have more babies for us to feed. On the other hand, there are less people for us to kill if we keep starving them. Yeah, that's it – starve them instead of educating them. That'll keep them in check and just where we want them.

Why do we need to fear them? Feed them and they will be friends forever. There's no need for military might if you have only friends. Oh, but would the big defense contractors go for that? Absolutely not, and the lobbyists would be out of jobs if the military were not longer necessary. Sure, all of this is dreaming, but you have to start somewhere. It's easy to be an armchair quarterback, so I'll just keep doing my part. Conflict happens because people are dissatisfied. Happy people rarely seek to insight a riot. We are often more open to starting a fight than to finding a quick easy resolution. Why is it that we seem to crave conflict? Because those idiots just can't see it our way. In the same way that God can't see things my way, people can't see things His way. Would it not be easier to sit down and work things out according to a mutual agenda?

Try the Mideast conflict if you think that you have the answers. Israel and Palestine just seem to enjoy fighting with each other. Have you ever seen anything, except the Irish Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Gentiles, etc, less peace loving than these two groups? There seems to be one person who keeps the fracas going. Why? The perception of power seems to be rather motivating in the creation of conflict. If the Palestinians keep the focus off themselves, then they won't ever have to deal with the mundane tasks of running a country. Keep the red herring pointed at Israel so they don't have to take the wrap. Just as we blame God for everything bad to keep the wrap off of us, not taking responsibility is a major cause of conflict.

How easily we see the mistakes of others while not seeing any of our own. Do I have the answers to world peace or any other subject for that matter? No, and I don't even pretend to. I just wonder at times why things happen the way they do as an interested spectator. If I were to step up to the podium at the United Nations and announce that I could solve the Mideast conflict, I might get some laughter and a short recess while being escorted out of the building. Do I qualify to hold the answers to God's mysteries? Certainly not, but I do seek the answers and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

If we do not seek, we do not find. Of this you can be assured. There is no harm in the asking and I do take full advantage of the opportunity. I'm sure God wishes that I would give it a rest, but I won't. I won't rest until I am satisfied that I have the answers that I need to fulfill my soul's desires. I will ask every day until I get what I'm after or until I take my last breath. Rest assured of this, I'm sure God has.

Conclusion

If only it were as simple as God giving us a new BIBLE with all of the answers to our questions. Knowing the struggles of my seeking, I would be just too anxious to get a copy of the new BIBLE so that I could finally have rest in my soul for having finally found the answers. I would love to sit and finally know that I had the answers and that my quest could end. It's like finally understanding calculus (not that I actually do, but I can imagine.) Ohhh, now I see. That feeling of contentment that you feel when you finally get it after struggling for so long. Now that makes sense you say to yourself. Why didn't I see that all along? Boy, I was looking in the wrong places and didn't see the obvious. Whew!!!

But, would we just find ourselves a new challenge to replace the old one? Surely there would have to be something out there to boggle our self-important minds. We would just go on and on – focusing on things that we wish we knew while ignoring the things that we do know. We do know that we love our kids, so why not spend some time showing them our love? We know that charity work is good for the soul, so why not do charity work? We know that we really enjoy flying kites, so why not fly kites?

There has always to be a balance in our lives. Our quest for knowledge must work within our framework of reality. We must not ignore one for the other. We must find the balance and seek a happy medium. There are those who seek no new knowledge and this is fine. There are those who are so wrapped up in acquiring knowledge that they forget to live. Don't forget to live and use quickly the new knowledge that you acquire.

If God does drop a new BIBLE on us, don't miss the opportunity to read it. Sure, you can tell everyone that you don't believe it and that you only read it because curiosity got the better of you. But, if we should get so lucky, do read it. Until that happens, don't overlook the wonderful resources that God has given and is constantly giving. Go to the Source and ask all the questions that you can dream up. Let Him personally tell you what you need to know. Let Him guide your journey as only He can. I can derive great insight from others, but I can only get the total insight that I need from God. Only He has the answers to all of my questions.

Don't be shy – ask why? (The poetry just keeps on coming.) Ask Him why this or that happens. Ask Him why He let you be so stupid. Ask Him why He didn't give you what you needed. Ask Him anything and everything. You've got nothing to lose except time and time's a wastin'.

Don't wait for the sky to open up and the answers drop on your head (granted, He has dropped some proverbial bricks on my head.) He only answers when we ask and He very well knows when we are seeking. He knows that you seek to fulfill your soul's desires. He knows that all are not destined the same. He knows that your calling may be to design clothes or decorate houses or save souls. We are all different and our priorities and circumstances are not the same. Don't try to be like anyone else. Don't seek your answers in others. My answer will probably be very different from yours as I am in a totally different circumstance from you. Seek what you need.

As surely as I'm typing this, you are seeking. As surely as I am seeking, you are anxious to have a more personal relationship with God. As surely as I am learning, so shall you. I am not at the place of knowing, but am at the place of seeking and learning just as you are. I can choose to ignore the gnawing inside to know more or I can choose to seek at the speed of my desire to learn. I choose to know God as quickly as possible. He has a tendency to slow me down occasionally, but always provides a steady stream of knowledge to keep my interest peaked. There have been times when I have felt overwhelmed and confused. There are times when I think that my head won't hold one more tidbit of info. There are times when I just need to sleep to escape the rush of info. Sleep is invaluable to a soul's journey. A tired soul is a soul which can't truly see the info as it is given. The soul needs rest just as your mind and body do. Don't cheat yourself out of this wonderful time of rest. Be inquisitive, but be kind to yourself. Too much too quickly can have an adverse affect.

I can almost guarantee that your quest to know God will bring immediate results. Don't just open a book, read and walk away. Take time to absorb and to question what you have read. Look at everything for its merit and don't take anything as gospel. Evaluate all information and make your choices based on your own beliefs. If you believe that God will punish you for a wrong choice, then surely you will not make a free choice. Look at every choice as if it were a major choice. Look at the root causes of your actions before making choices. Meditate or connect with your inner being to derive your highest truths and aspirations. There are tough choices to be made, especially when your life as you know it will change drastically.

It's easy to say that you would do this or that until you are faced with that choice. Suddenly, the choice has to be made and your first impulse it to retreat back to safety. Think about the safety in light of your soul's purpose and realize that safety may not be your wisest choice. Certainly, don't run out like a crazed animal and just do whatever pops into your head. Make informed choices, but don't be afraid of new experiences.

My most recent lesson is on the subject of letting go and letting God. So far, He has put me in a situation where I have to make a life altering choice. So, not knowing what to do, I chose for what I wanted. Then I commenced to question God to death about the choice and when it was going to happen and on and on. I am so confused at this point that I just don't know what to do. And the lesson is...let go and let God. Hmmm, sounds easy, but my accounting instincts can't jive with that. I have to worry and plan my life to death – now that's a scary thought. Anyway, He has given me no choice but to trust Him to make my choice happen or to revert back to my security. Ohhh, now that's a toughy. What to do, what to do? I know that my security won't bring me happiness as it hasn't in the past. I'm afraid of making a radical change because of all of the unknowns. Oh crap – what do I do? If I don't take the leap of faith, I'm trapped in misery again. If I take the leap of faith, surely I'll face a world of unknowns.

There comes a point in life where you just have to choose and let God facilitate the choice. I have in the past, devised the most magical plans which have not worked out. I have given God so many wonderful suggestions for making my life what it should be. Usually, He doesn't listen and only after years of reflection have I discovered the reasons why He doesn't listen to the wise one who is me. Hindsight is always 20-20 vision; God has foresight which is far better. If we don't reach a place of trust and faith, we will never be able to see the true beauty of God and the wisdom of His ways.

So, in desperation and despair, I choose to let go and let God. I have made it a point to ignore my internal dialog so that I don't run back to security. I have fought with myself tirelessly to keep from running back to what I knew and very well knew to not fulfill my soul – just my bank account. That point in life when happiness has to be chosen over security is a point reached by most of us sooner or later. We make different choices for different reasons. It is easier for me to choose happiness, as I do not have children who are affected by my choices. I am at a place in my life where I realize that security will not bring me happiness, but can I make the leap of faith?

I have placed the issue in God's hands and trust that He is true to His word. He has promised that He has everything under control and that I should relax and enjoy life. So, I spend my time sharing with you the journey as it happens hoping that you will have the courage to take the leap of faith as your soul desires. As I cannot foresee the future, I can only trust. I know God and what He has provided me in the past. I know that what He provides I can never provide for myself. I don't have the means or the smarts to make those sorts of things happen. If I take the time to evaluate the things that I have picked versus the things that He has picked, I fail miserably in comparison.

So, I feel certain that God is leading me on the path of my happiness and I know that I have not gone back to security for a reason. My soul simply would not let me go back to what didn't fulfill me in the past. I need new adventures and I need new ways to fulfill my soul's desires. Going backward generally isn't a smart thing unless you are in a parking space which fronts a store. God told me very plainly to stop looking backward and only look forward. By looking backward, we see what we've already accomplished. How can you move forward if you are looking backward? Does this make sense? Sure, we have to analyze our choices in hindsight, but don't look behind to see your best move for the future.

Life is a journey and it is a wonderful journey. It is filled with ups and downs, highs and lows. The magic of it all is realized when the Big Picture comes into focus. There does come a point in each life when we realize the futility of our daily struggles.

I have always marveled at the wisdom of the elderly. They always seem so grounded and never seem to be swayed as we are. They are very constant and calm. They've been there and done that. They are past the point of realizing that all the anxiety and stress are but a waste of our time. They have realized that we are as leaves in the wind, controlled by a power greater than us. They know that with the end in sight, the journey's purpose is not for each day but for the overall experience. An elderly person does not sit around and question whether they should have called Sally on Thursday 50 years ago. They realize that choices were made and that the past is history. They realize that their life is a gift and they live it to the best of their ability. They realize that death is not the end, but is yet another opportunity for greater things. The wisdom of the elderly is to be envied and sought.

If I knew then what I know now...I could have changed the world. But, it is ours to change? Realize your place in the Big Picture and make the most of what is given to you. Don't settle for less and don't cry for more. What you have is given by God who knows you best. Just as He will not give you more than you can handle, He will not give you less. He will give you exactly what you need. Trust Him, ask Him and know Him. God told Neale that your life's purpose is to re-member your connection with God. If this is true, get busy. You have no reason to wait.

You are obviously at a cross-road in your life, where you face choices which may or may not be fully known to you. You may be facing some internal unrest in your life or simply a feeling that something is missing. For some reason, you have been drawn to this book and the information contained within. Don't miss the opportunity to make choices which can make your life true to the real you and choices which will fulfill your soul's desires.

Reach within your soul, by whatever avenue works for you, and know your purpose and desires. Reach out to God for the guidance that you need to make your choices a reality. Reach out to others who are on your journey with you for their support and comfort. Know that you are not alone on your journey and your family's journey and yours is the same. Each individual member of your family has their own agenda, but your intertwined lives affect all involved. Don't make radical choices which adversely affect the lives of those around you. Make informed choices best suited for all involved. If your choice is to support your spouse, then there are many advantages and rewards for such a choice. Maybe you have to put your dream on the back burner so that your partner can realize their dream first. How great a gift is that? Don't be selfish and ego-centric. If you choose for others to join your journey, choose also to join theirs.

Your kids are not your pawns and they too must be considered. Slinging them around from this place to that, deeply affects their lives. Give them a say-so in the journey so that they may also be fulfilled. I know of so many children who have suffered out of lack of consideration by parents. These children turn into adults who then have to deal with the baggage acquired in youth. Children who aren't well adjusted have to relearn their mind sets so that they can make free choices of their own without fears brought forth from the past. I know of many children who just have to move whenever their parents see fit without having at least been consulted. At least your children deserve your respect and consideration. Certainly, children don't make wise life choices, but they can at least have the opportunity to express their thoughts. Just as God gives you free will, give your children the opportunity to be a part of the whole and not just a pawn for the moving.

How many times have you heard of men coming home and announcing that we are moving? How comfortable can a family be if they are not part of the decisions? Give everyone a chance to be part of the whole just as God gives us the chance to be part of the whole. You'd be surprised by the support that you can get by being supportive.

Dream the dream and live your life to the fullest. God will make your dreams reality when you choose to let Him. That leap of faith is but one step, yet it is the biggest step that you will ever take. Imagine yourself standing at the edge of the cliff just as Indiana Jones did. What would you do? If you knew that taking the step would offer you happiness never before experienced then you would have no problem taking the step. But you do not know in advance – that is why it is a leap of faith. You only know what is behind you and on this you must base your choice. Is it worth the risk? Can your soul afford for you to not take the risk? Is safety your highest truth? Did you already take steps away from the cliff? Chicken!!!

What will you do, what will you do?

We can muddle this over and over, but we must move on. Your internal wrangling will continue just as mine does until we know the answer. We will one day look back and laugh at our grand struggle which was in hindsight not life and death. We will one day in our elder years look back on our lives and probably not even remember this day. Why then are we so concerned about this choice on this day? Because it seems really important now. We have made a mountain out of our molehill and are standing there looking at the mountain as if it were the biggest thing ever known to mankind. We have placed our decisions on such a scale of importance that only God Himself can decide for us what choice we should make. Now really, is the choice that important?

Back to perspective and reality. Put the choice into the proper perspective – see it from your whole life's perspective and give yourself a fighting chance to take the leap of faith. The end of the world will not come and you probably won't die from anything related to the choice (choose carefully if choosing skydiving or bungi jumping.) This is not to imply that your life will not be changed by your choices, but it will not be so radically altered that you will not be able to deal with the change.

Life has much to offer and we can choose to shoot the moon or settle for less. It's all about choices and doing what you think is best for you and your family. Don't let relatives outside of your immediate household make your choices for you, as they do not necessarily have your best interest at heart. You and your household should make choices for your household. The mother-in-law cannot choose for you as you do not choose for her. You and your spouse and kids make the choices. How many times have we done what others have wanted us to do and have been saddled with great regret? Far too often, as if their choices were so great, you wouldn't have to ask for their advice – you would be able to see their excellent decision making skills at work and would seek to emulate them.

No one has the answers, so don't put too much weight on the advice of others. Ask God and yourself and proceed with the fervor of an enlightened soul. Remember, in the grand scheme, the years of your life are fleeting and your time is running out. Do you really want to sit in comfort or do you want to take life full speed ahead? If more people were willing to take the leap of faith, I honestly believe that there would be a lot more happy people. Think of all the people who you know are not happy at work. When the chance to leave comes, they are just as excited as a child who got a new bike. What if they never sought the chance to get out and just resolved themselves to staying in their comfort zone? The misery doesn't go away. As one of my former supervisors used to say, "Bad news doesn't get better with age."

I think it's time to bring to a close this part of our journey. Know that the journey continues and I can't wait to share the choices that follow.

Never underestimate your power to control your own destiny and never make choices which are not based on your innermost truth.

I bid you farewell as I keep rowing with all my might!

Bibliography

Books

The Lockman Foundation. The New American Standard Bible. California: Riverside, 1960.

Tyndale House Publishers. The Living Bible. Illinois: Tyndale, 1971.

Walsch, Neale Donald. Conversations With God Book 1 New York: Putnam, 1995.

Hungry Minds, Inc. Dummies Books.

Chopra, Deepak, M.D. How To Know God. New York: Random House, 2000.

Virtue, Doreen. Divine Guidance. New York: St. Martins Press, 1998.

Farmer's Almanac. New Hampshire: Yankee Publishing.

Wilkerson, Bruce. The Dream Giver. Oregon: Multnomah, 2003.

Movies

Paramount Studio. Raiders of the Lost Ark. California: 1981.

Warner Home Video. Pay It Forward. California: 2000.

Warner Studios. City of Angels. California: 1998.

Touchstone Video. Sister Act. California: 1992.

Poem

Frost, Robert. The Road Not Taken. 1915.

TV Shows

HGTV. The Good Life. Tennessee: Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company.

The Scribe Described

This scribe did not intend to be, yet was somehow chosen. Destiny played its part, shifting me to we, from I to all. I have always had a great curiosity about God and had studied much on the subject, but my primary focus was my career. Learning about God took on a new twist when God inspired me to write the words heard. "Hearing" is not how the words actually come, for it is more of a "knowing." When the mind is quieted, the emptiness is filled with inspired knowledge.

I write as and when instructed, either with pen or keyboard. The vehicle does not matter, but the content is to be kept sacred. Always, I understand that I must keep the sanctity of the gift given. Regardless of my own judgments about the content, I understood that the content is not about or for me. The content is to be presented as received, for the benefit of those seeking to have their questions answered.

I cannot profess to be specially qualified, except that I am able to simply bring the words received to print. My credentials really do not offer credence to the work, except that they are verifiable and do demonstrate the normality of my life. I do hold degrees in accounting and education and have thirty years business experience.

K. C. Boone

