Life is a yearn to reside, and better still a desire to reside joyously. As we strive to satisfy this yearns, we encounter obstacles that perplex or frustrate our efforts. This difficulty or annoyance allowances to pain because it stands in the way of satisfaction.

Wisdom is designed to help us contend with this suffering. It is an adaptive product of cause in the face of strong circumstances. Thanks to it, joyfulness is conceivable and achievable in spite of everything. It is thus the supreme good.

Actually, religion is a good that numerous grade equally high, since it serves the identical reason as wisdom, if distinctly. The difference lies in the way belief and wisdom depict suffering and characterize the meaning of life.

From the perspective of religion, pain betrays a state of worldly imperfection that is in contradiction with the human yearn for perfect joyfulness. Consequently, life here underneath – where humans are condemned to suffer – is absurd in itself. Or rather, life is significant strictly in terms of means to a fantastic end in the large after: A life of virtue organizes the way for an afterlife of bliss. The religious accept as true this in agreement with the teachings of an motivated religious foremost, who assertions to know the transcendental environment of the hereafter.

While personally I cast a skeptical eye on these teachings, I keep my brain open. They are highly doubtful, but the transcendental environment of their object places them after the come to of any discredit founded on conclusive clues.

anyhow, as I glimpse it, wisdom is independent of belief, though it can complement the latter. According to it, life in itself has significance, regardless of its imperfection that people can discover to accept. Better still, they can discover to worth this imperfection as they recognize that perfection, contrary to well liked conviction, is not infinitely attractive.

Indeed, flawless happiness leaves certain thing to be desired. By delineation, it omits pain and therefore all forms of complication or frustration. It supposes that attenuating factors are wholeheartedly favorable – that is, not strong in any way. Thus, no effort is essential while every dream is likely. At first glimpse, this noise like the most magnificent position imaginable, and yet taking another gaze at it will dispel this illusion.

What odd whim, in the annals of humankind, has compelled persons from every stroll of life to depart their cozy dwelling and embark on risky projects? Perhaps this whim is not so odd after all. A multitude of conquests have been made for the sheer joy of conquering against large odds. The operative phrase is pride, accompanied by exhilaration. To conquest-minded persons the infinite alleviate of heaven entails infinite boredom. To them life – simultaneously with the struggle that is integral to it – is the very thing that flawless happiness departs to be desired. It is an opportunity to verify courageous and victorious, though it is furthermore a risk of falling short painfully.

Joyfulness is about grasping this opportunity with bravery and profiting a victory over the obstacles that stand between us and achievement in all the activities that most issue to us. This victory is often strenuous and always restricted, precarious, and transitory, and we are bound to lose the battle in the end; but that makes the triumph all the more prized and worthy of savoring.

When endeavoring to characterize the undertakings in which we most care to do well, we are compelled to study our environment to know our reason. Our growing shrewd depends on this study and this information, leading to this definition. It begins with a perception of our animal will to endure, as survival is the base on which life, in the truly human sense, is constructed. The awareness of life in this sense follows. It takes into account both our humanity and our individuality, as constituents of society with specific flavors and abilities to which a broad variety of undertakings are matched.

The clearer we are about our reason, the more we can live our lives with conclusion and passion, and so with a larger possibility of doing well and accomplishing happiness. The reverse is equally factual. It thus stands to cause that in striving after wisdom we lay the groundwork for achievement and happiness.

Our Divine desires are never completely fulfilled until we expect them to be manifest and arrive in a state of peace where we have experienced and reflected on their manifestation. When we become who and what we were created to be we are not living by what someone else thinks we should be, but who and what we truly are.

When your actions align with your Divine purpose, manifestation of that Divine purpose is the result. There is no right way or wrong way to attain this dynamic state of creativity. The true test of whether you are on the right track or not is whether the unfolding of the desire through expectation is proceeding in Divine order and whether or not you are aligning yourself with it in Divine order.

When you trust in the Divine within you to guide you is the point where you accept, allow and experience your natural state of complete well-being. We were created to actualize our Divine purposes. Do we take the opportunities that arise everyday to move toward that state of peace where we have experienced the fruition of our Divine desires? Or do we dismiss them as unattainable or not worthy of our investment of expectation?

We are Divine co-creators and anyone who tells us otherwise is operating from a state of internal denial as to the Divine order of the universe. Through observation, collation and deriving conclusions we learn about how the perceived dualistic reality operates. Through introspection, intuitively listening and manifesting inner peace we learn about how the Creator operates according to Divine law.

By integrating all that we’ve learned we align our Divine purposes within Divine order in order to ‘arrive’ at a state of complete peace, joy and understanding, where we automatically co-create the complete manifestation and fulfillment of our Divine desires.

Be the vehicle of Divine love expressing peace into all of eternity! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

It’s a fact. Self-centered individuals roam our world with the same right to do so as anyone else. They go about their business focusing on nothing else but themselves, their own pleasures, their own interests, and never stop for a second to become aware of others’ mere existence; for them, others are only instruments designed to fulfill their needs.

And there are the rest of us, people who care about others’ feelings, who wouldn’t intentionally cause harm to other people. And the subcategory here includes those who believe everybody cares about others’ feelings. Such naivete becomes a target for smugs who seek self pleasure and would do anything to get it.

This group of naive, good-hearted people are easily lied to and taken advantage of, and the law of attraction claims that everything, and everyone in our life we attracted with previous thoughts. It’s hard to believe a right-minded person would request the Universe to be deceived and played with. Are the channels through which our thoughts travel into the Universe broken? Or are we unconsciously sending the wrong message?

Whether or not one believes in the law of attraction, it’s easy to see how some people develop behavioral patterns that result in being taken advantage of over and over. But it seems unjust to assume they are attracting harm upon themselves, especially when they lack the awareness that something is causing the damage.

When it comes to designing our fate the responsibility may be our own, but it seems to me the main contributing factor is awareness or the lack thereof.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htX2usfqMEs&noredirect=1).

Elizabeth Warren talks about our ‘social contract’ and Charles Blow emphasizes the ‘greed’ factor (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/opinion/blow-bitter-politics-of-envy.html?_r=2&ref=opinion).

Liz made an interesting observation this morning. There is nothing more memorable about this day that recognizes an international man of peace as a 10% off sale at Sears and K-Mart. The marketing managers directing this revered holiday for a man who championed civil rights for ALL should be taken advantage of for a sale to boost their profits. Shows like The Bachelor, Jersey Shore Housewives of Whatever all reveal a vapid and apparent innocuous effect to our consciousness. Emphasis is put on what you can ‘get’ instead of what you can ‘give’.

Romney further claims that Barack Obama hasn’t created jobs and that he will; despite his record of cutting jobs in the quest of Bain Capital to make a profit. Do we live in a dictatorship? Since when does the President become a job creator when it is Congress who decides legal policies? Obama INHERITED the problems created by the tax cuts to the rich and corporate de-regulation created by the previous administration and Congress.

Would you jump into a lifeboat with a gaping hole in the bottom and start bailing out water as fast as you can? It takes courage, dedication and determination to help others WHILE you’re helping yourself. Yet, as we celebrate MLK day today we need to reflect on what a true person does to help themselves AND others. Read what Martin Luther King has said (http://socyberty.com/history/i-have-a-dream%E2%80%A6/).

Dr. King, we honor and respect your leadership, drive and embodiment of the message of Christ. We know what you were up against and we will not allow the greed, avarice and selfishness to rule our lives and especially those who embody these values to rule us. Thank you for standing up peacefully to the ‘ruling’ class and letting them know our voices demanding dignity, respect and the pursuit of happiness.

Today, we honor you, your family and all who stand for fairness and equity in this world. As you rest in peace in the bosom of the Lord we carry your message to all whom we meet. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

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Sources

Berk, L. E. (2008). Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Washington D.C.: Allyn & Bacon.

Crosser, S. (n.d.). Do You Know How I Feel? Empathy and the Young Child. Retrieved October 29, 2011, from Earlychildhood NEWS: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=242

A basic mindfulness exercise starts with sitting down, relaxing and breathing deeply through your nose. Close your eyes and be aware of your breath going in and out. After a minute, move your attention to your body, one part at a time, noting sensations of cold, hot, tight, sore and anything else you identify. In a few minutes, start listening to sounds in the room, without thinking about them. Just listen.

When it feels right, open your eyes and look around as if you are seeing for the first time. Rest your eyes on an object for half a minute, examining it without talking about it in your mind. Then move to another object, and another, while still maintaining an awareness of your body, your breathing, and any sounds. Stay in this state of mindfulness until you are ready to get up.

Being aware of your body, breath and immediate enviroment, puts you more fully “in the moment.” Your mind is in a very receptive state, with fewer mental distractions that prevent clear thinking. Doing a mindfulness exercise before important mental tasks will give you greater mind power, specifically more focus and concentration.

An Even Easier Mindfulness Trick

Try this one today: When you feel stressed, stop, and carefully watch yourself to identify what’s bothering you. Maybe you’re expecting something bad to happen, or an argument is going on just below the surface of your consciousness, or you’re worried about something, or in pain in some way. Make a note of everything you find.

Then deal with these mind-irritants. Make a phone call that’s on your mind, take an aspirin, apologise to whomever you were fighting with. Write things on tomorrow’s list, to get them off your mind. If there’s nothing you can do right now, tell yourself that. Do this exercise, and you’ll feel less stressed, and more able to concentrate on the tasks at hand. You’ll have more mind power today.

Special Note: I have been thinking a lot. So I may turn this into a series of my thoughts. Tell me what you think below. Please, for the sake of the article leave your own philosophy on the word “strength” below.

We become aware that the garbage needs to be taken out. But why? Was the request mad as a command, suggestion or need? We determine which one by changing the intent of the statement in our minds to, “Take the garbage out [please]“, “Take the garbage out [will ya?]” or “Take the garbage out [NOW!]“, depending on the tone of the person making the request. ‘Please’ denotes a request, ‘will ya’ denotes frustration and ‘now’ denotes something either temporal [now because it smells] or a command [to accommodate the person making the command].

What we perceive as the intent of the statement becomes the ‘truth’ to us. But is it the truth that the person making the statement was intending? Whether it was or not we have already convinced ourselves of the ‘truth’ in our minds AND hearts. It is our relative truth based on our perception, reaction and conviction.

An absolute truth is something that we all share and have the same experience NOT dependent on individual perceptions, but understanding in our hearts. It is a feeling of acceptance, a knowing of purpose and a centering of being. It is beyond our perceptions, reactions and convictions. It is what it is; an absolute truth.

When we embrace absolute truth as ‘MY truth’ is when we follow the heart of God in Divine order to fulfill our Divine purpose. Be ONE with the absolute truth of the Divine and express that truth as “MY truth’ every day of your life! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

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Pick up a copy of my new book as a gift for your family and friends for the holidays. Spiritual Growth: Articles of Expectation is a new book that contains a series of articles by one of the most controversial authors in the field of Spirituality, Dean A. Banks takes on some of the most debated issues in regards to Spirituality today. Included in this book is an online debate between the author and Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries who are directly linked to Anti-Gay Legislation in Uganda based on their own ‘Christian’ doctrine. His main focus is on the growth and expansion of the human condition, what to look out for in spiritual leaders and how to scientifically discover your own truth. A must read for any truth seeker!

The adjective black  has been appended to similar occasions ever since, including October 29, 1929, the Tuesday of the market collapse that marked the start of the Great Depression, and Black Monday  of October 19, 1987,when the stock market experienced its greatest fall since the Great Depression. Any day marked by great confusion or activity, as in “It was just my luck to be traveling on Black Tuesday.” This usage, too, is based on the events of 1869, marked by economic chaos. It has since been extended to other kinds of confusion, such as an accident hampering traffic during the evening rush hour” [dictionary.com].

Now, that we have established its definition, let’s change its meaning to something positive for consumers and not just retailers. It’s the second day of the beginning of the end of year celebrations. A time of unity, family and the giving of gifts to loved ones. A time to feel the joys of life and be thankful for its bounty. A time to be selfless and not selfish. A time to experience how we should be all year long.

Children of the Most High God respecting other children of the Most High God. Blackness is a state known as the absence of white light. Since white light is always present and exists as a combination of all of the different colors, let’s use our presence to bring light into the darkness of blatant commercialism and greed at the stores. Don’t participate in the rush to ‘have’. Participate in the subtlety to ‘give’.

Pray for peace in this world, meditate to feel the essence of peace within and go into your community and share your wealth of inner peace with those who don’t understand the peace you live within. Give of yourself to others and turn Black Friday into White Friday. Celebrate your Oneness with the Spirit of God and share your wealth of inner peace. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.