Is it better to wake up dead or be dead to waking up? ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

Judgment?

Do not condemn your brother or sister or come down on them for the choices they make. It is not your right to judge another based on your feelings, what is said in the scriptures and what is taught by those who choose resistance and hate. It’s OK to disagree with what choices they make and reveal the results of the choices they make but NOT to condemn them for making those choices. You have NOT walked in their shoes and experienced what they have learned. You do not feel as they do, experience what they have lived and learned what they have been taught. If you disagree with what they do because it does not contribute to the mutual growth and expansion of all concerned, then seek a way express yourself without hurting another. However, if what they are doing is hurting others, then speak the truth and identify what they are doing to all concerned. Be a light unto the world and don’t allow darkness and deception to proliferate. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

Greed?

Only when our congresspersons serve jail time for taking money from corporations will our system begin to purge itself. Until then, greed and ego will reign supreme. Pray for them, vote them out of office and vote for genuine representatives. It’s all about control, domination and manipulation. First, corporations and lobbyists pay off our representatives, dominate their agendas and manipulate laws in their favor. When their term(s) are up, the same corporations hire them as ‘advisors’ because they have lived how the ’system’ works. Greed and selfish motivation is all they care about. They surely don’t care about their constituency with the high unemployment and ‘entitlement’ reform. Keep their corporate financial suppliers happy at all costs; which usually comes out of our pockets. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

Order the book Spiritual Growth: Articles of Expectation by Dean A. Banks, D.D. This book shows you how to scientifically discover your own truth.

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Personally, this year has most likely been my most productive, the year that I have laid some concrete plans and ultimately embraced the notion that I have a lot more to learn before I can claim mastery on anything.  Learning and self-development should be a life-long process.  I know this now.  I have graduated from 2 colleges in the same year, earned my BA in Human Services and Counseling, and am getting ready to continue on for my M.Ed. in Education and Human Development.  But who am I to boast all these achievements?  I am the same as you; a someone trying to carve their own path in the world.  I work for minimum wage helping students who are new to higher education, because I know how daunting the experience can be.

While we cannot separate the politics from the personal, I’d say that even although the global economy is seriously troubled, how we view our opportunities is purely a matter of attitude.  Negative media reports about the economic climate seem to justify an attitude of hopelessness in the masses, and the unemployment statistics erode at our sense of self-worth by planting the seed of negativity. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of November 2011, 8.6 percent of the US population is registered unemployed, and here in Kentucky that figure rises to 9.4 percent. (Compare to North Dakota’s unemployment rate at 3.4%).  One might be inclined to think that the business of finding an occupation is pointless, and this is the very attitude that will erode at the sense of worth and crush the self-esteem.  Is it any wonder that incidences of depression and mental illness are on the increase?

We need to find a reason for being, a purpose in life, a cause that inspires us.  So, while I do not earn nearly enough to support my family, and life is a struggle, I do have a purpose. I live in hope that the financial compensation will follow, but the psychological compensation is invaluable. I have set achievable goals, volunteered my time in my community, worked “off the clock” to help others.  I have become so involved with helping others, that the economic rewards are not my reason for being.  Along the way I have made many friends, encouraged others to become involved in their community too, and thus giving their live new direction and meaning.

 Happiness and a sense of fulfillment cannot be bought, and with the current state of affairs, there are many people who would appreciate a helping hand.  A little empathy goes a long way, and it doesn’t cost a single cent.  Challenge yourself in the coming year to become involved with an event, an organization, a mission and see just how it changes your life for the better. 

It’s exactly the remedy that worked for me and I am a better person for it.  I still cannot afford to purchase the latest trends, but then I couldn’t care any less for consumer fads and capitalist notions of self-importance.  This chick is not mainstream, in any sense of the word.

Celebrate the New Year with a new attitude!

See Also:

Local Area Unemployment Statistics:  Bureau of Labor Statistics (Nov 2011) http://www.bls.gov/lau/

Other Articles by Donnah Clark

http://www.triond.com/users/Donnah+Clark

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2. Spend less than you earn. It may be difficult, but it pays large dividends in contentment. Keep out of debt. Cultivate frugality, prudence, and self-denial. Avoid extravagance.

3. Think costructively. Train yourself to think clearly and accurately. Store your mind with useful thoughts. Stand porter at the door of your mind.

4.Cultivate a yeilding disposition. Resist the common tendency to want your own way. See the other’s view point.

5. Be grateful. Begin the day with gratitude for your opportunities. Be glad for the priveledge of life and work.

6.Rule your moods  Cultivate a mental attitude of peace and good will.

7. Give generously. There is no greater joy in life than to render happiness to others by means of intelligent giving.

8. Work with right motives. The highest purpose of your life should be to grow in spiritual growth and power.

9.Be interested in others. Divert your mind from self-centeredness. In the degree that youn give, serve, and help, will you experience the by-product of happiness.

10. Live in a daytime compartmanet. That is, live one day at the time. Concentrate on your immediate task. Make the most of today.

So lets begin. Perhaps it might help you to close your eyes and visualize a situation.

You have grown old. Perhaps very old. Your physical senses may have diminished in their perceptions. You may not be as active as you used to be. The world around you seems to be moving faster than ever. It may be hard to keep up.

Despite of the above dysfunctions ( these are not exactly dysfunctions but am just using the word for the sake of convenience) you may find that these issues hardly bother you. They are not, what one might say, the core issue of your focus. It is even possible that you hardly notice these things. They may be there in your life but they don’t bother you. You just cant help but ignore these in the light of those that really matter….

So what are the things that may possibly be of importance to you at the ending moments of your life? What could be these core issues.

Purpose. Meaning. Fulfillment.

Having reached the last stage of life, it would be but natural to ponder over what you spent your life doing….. To wonder if you ever lived for a worthy enough cause.. To assess yourself by the decisions you made in your life, and how they affected the life that followed that decision.. What you thought was important, and what actually turned out to be important….

For some strange reason, it would feel stupid to remember the amount of paperwork you did in your office. You wouldn’t worry about the car you used to drive to work. Or the house you lived in, during your twenties. None of what you possessed would justify your life as well-lived.

Its the essence that matters. Essence of what your life had turned out as a whole. Essence of what you accomplished  in the big picture of life. What positive difference you made in others life. You may wish to have smiled more. To have loved more. To have given more. To have forgiven more. Standing at the last stage of your life, it would not feel very pleasing to look back and realize that all you managed to do in life was to race through it, always seeking something that was anywhere but in the present moment of life, so busy with what you wanted that you never stopped to say ‘thank you’ for what you already had. The feeling may be very intense and perhaps even threatening depending upon the amount of “work” you spent your life doing and later you realized the “work” to be nothing significant in the long run.

So what possibly could bring about this shift in you at this later stage of life? What makes you think if you made any positive difference?

Death.

Because death is the single best creation of life. Everything illusionary falls in the face of death. All pride, expectations, possessions, these things simply wither away in the presence of death. Remembering that you will be dying one day is a very good way to keep yourself from falling into illusions of life. It can help you to make the right decisions in life. It could help you to cut through what is unimportant and do what truly matters in the long run. 

It can help you to be that old man at the ending moment of his life, who reflects back at his life, and is convinced with a smile on his face that it was the best life he could possibly have lived.

Presently , there is has been a huge stir and a lot of fear surrounding the end of the world in 2012 because of misinterpreted Mayan prophecy etc., but I am here to say that that is not truly the end of the world. The end of the world is simply a shift in perception which will lead us back to knowledge.

The world itself has been created with time and space as a projection of our inner feelings of guilt, anger, among many others including separation from all that is, therefore by viewing what we see in the world, we verify the reason for the things we have held within or in some cases projected outwardly.In this case it seems that these situations, circumstances and people,  come from an external world which we have no control over. This creates a feeling of helplessness and victim hood.

The whole meaning of the end of the world then is nothing more, or less, than an unraveling of the thought system that has created a sense of separation from all that is, resulting in us all experiencing the “Real World” in which all things are actually connected on an intrinsic level and are always in sync and working together for the expression of Love, reflected in all it’s forms.

The next step will be the place where finally, the need to see the world is left behind once again because all is complete and each one finally realizes that he both has, and is everything. In this way, nothing is lacking and all are incredibly Fulfilled. The need for ways and means to be fulfilled have then disappeared. All are in a state of Fulfillment/Bliss with no external reason for it’s validation. This is the true essence of all beings. Perfect, Whole and Complete,Nirvana, Pure Spirit, God, The Atman Presence, Clear, etc. The name we call it does not matter. It is, we experience it because it is our true nature.

Written by Gabriel Quincy Collymore

Ordained Minister, Spiritual Realization Coach, Philanthropist, Author, Musician, Owner and Founder of Conscious Evolution Productions and King Gabriel.com.

click any link for further info!!!

website: http://www.kinggabriel.com

Did you know that Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.

As you are probably aware a variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources and each person will have a different definition.

I like the idea that the science of happiness endeavors to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what “happiness” is, and how we might attain it.

Reading many manuals philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion which can be true at times.

Happiness is a skill that takes work to achieve and maintain. The following is some tips on how to add more happiness to your lifestyle.

One of the greatest joys in life is when you can help other people. Those who spend their life as a servant of others usually feel really happy and fulfilled in their life pursuits

Some people think that material things or money is going to make them happy but it is a lonely road when one gains riches only to find themselves alone.

Money is not bad in itself and can provide true fulfillment if it is used as a gift to help others. The greatest joy in life is to use our talents to be a reward to other people.

Even for those who do not have much money they can still be happy. Positive thinking is one aspect of being joyful in ones life.

As they say the glass is half empty or it is half full, many people who have a happy existence will say it is the perspective they have on their lifes situation.

So seek to be happier today than you were yesterday and remember their are no tomorrows only the present.

Soul Seeing - Seeing through the eyes of the heart.

For these purposes: The term “The All” refers to the one power that exists in through and as all things referred to by many different names including, but not limited to: Spirit, The Universe, Light, Love, Fulfillment/Bliss, Love/Beauty, Jah, Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim, YHWH, God, Infinity, Everything/Nothing, Nirvana, The Void, Allah, etc. The point is that it refers to this power which is in and as all things which exist.

Have you ever really allowed yourself to listen fully to what is actually being said and what is the True meaning of someone saying “I need “The All” to see me through this time or situation”?  

Well if not, then it is truly something to take a careful listen to or a look at. It was brought to my awareness as a result of the usage of this as my main modality of allowing healing to occur for those with whom I am brought into contact. Whether it is physical or in thought, the request is actually quite simple. What we are actually asking for in such moments, is that “True Compassion” be granted. We are asking to be seen as the perfect beings that we have been created as by “The All”. We are asking that the sight of those of  healing consciousness be used to bring forth the highest expressions of our beings which are capable of allowing Self healing/ healing by the “The All”.

Once we are viewed as we truly are, the healing is certain, because “The All” has nothing to oppose it, being “The All”, therefore it can never  fail and will never fail. The requirement is simply that as the observers of this “cry for help”, we remain in a state of correct perception or seeing, and not get in the way of the process with our own judgments about what seems to be happening.

 It is not our job to heal, but to remain as vessels or as some would say, conduits for the healing to take place. This is a faculty that does not require cleansing and preparation or fasting of any sort, because that would be confusing our role with that of the True Healer, “The All”.  All that is needed is the willingness to be present to the Truth and to accept that the Truth must always be True.

This is what Soul Seeing - Seeing through the eyes of the heart is about. It is a technique used throughout the ages by Spiritual Adepts and healers. Since miracles are the natural function of those who use these techniques and anything can be cleared, healed or brought back to its natural state through this application of Truth, because there is no strain in any endeavor taken on by “The All”. 

Questions to ponder:

What would it be like to have your everyday state be that of Peace, and calm reassurance that all is well?

What would it be like to have all your needs truly met, without a problem?

What would it be like to be able to help everyone who came to you with any issue regardless of what it was?

What would it be like to be able to transform any situation to a favorable one for everyone involved?

Well, that is what is offered through

Soul Seeing - Seeing through the eyes of the heart.

What does it entail:

Soul Seeing - Seeing through the eyes of the heart is a 7 week course which meets twice a week for an hour per day that will teach the techniques used by those who have healed humanity over the ages and performed feats that were beyond human belief and comprehension. At the end of this course the world that is seen will be different and will be one of Peace, and complete certainty and assurance.

See you there!!! (No pun intended)

For more information on receiving this life transforming experience contact:

Gabriel Quincy Collymore - BSEE, Spiritual Realization & Professional Fitness Coach, Ordained Minister, Owner and Founder of Kinggabriel.com, Author, Musician…

e-mail: quincycollymore@gmail.com 

1-647-930-3963

Or

Tara Antler - BHSc, CAHT, Reiki Master, Owner & Founder of Tara Healing Sanctuary, Holistic Health Care Practitioner, Certified Yoga Instructor…

Perhaps my mother got so tired of hearing my tantrums every morning. She let me sit in the class of grade one. And I was right. Going to school was fun indeed. Though I was not a regular grade 1 pupil at that time, I was the most active among the class according to the teachers’ report. I guess the lessons my mother taught me at home paid off. During recitation, everyone would hide under their seats except me. I was one of those few who would raise a hand in class to respond to questions. I didn’t know what made my other classmates so scared to try. At the young age, I thought I had fulfilled my dream.

Years after becoming a regular student, it seemed like school turned out to be a little tedious. I wanted to grow up fast and finish college. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to work, to help my family, to buy a lot of things for myself, and so on. I really wanted to do a lot of things. I thought that would be all. I thought I would be very successful after that.

Luckily, I was one of those who easily got a job after college. That is every graduate’s dream after school, right? But then again, I would still feel that I needed and wanted for more. I changed from one job to another to find something more rewarding. In each new job I had, some of my expectations were fulfilled but so many things are still missing. The craving never stopped.

Even with the job that pays a lot higher than the minimum wage, it feels like it is not enough. Of course I need money for a living, but there is something far more important than money. I need satisfaction. I need to be productive to attain that. But how exactly? When I become more productive, will I really be satisfied with my life? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps humans are just meant to lust for more.

CHOOSING MY CAREER PATH

We all have our dreams and our hopes for what our life will be and some of those dreams are little more than pie in the sky but there are others, usually one or two that stick to you like glue.  It is that big dream, the “what we hope to be” when we are all grown up, our career, our goal for our life. 

I think I was about nine or ten when I found mine, my dream for me and set my goal.  I’m now nearly 70 and I have never lost the dream; I’ve actually accomplished most of it though I may never see a Nobel Prize in literature or even a Pulitzer.  I am a good teacher and a not so bad writer.

I think in each of our lives we somehow instinctively know that which we were meant to be but it is up to us to follow the dream and not give up on it, no matter what.  We all make mistakes, take detours, get off on the wrong path from time to time but our dream never really escapes us and our choosing of a career, fulfilling that dream becomes our passion.  That passion is centered in those things we love most in life. 

I was about ten when I announced to my family that I was going to be a writer and a teacher.  I was going to write books and teach children how to read and teach them all about nature; books and the natural world around me were then and still are among my greatest pleasures in life, aside from God and my family of course. 

Of course I got the familiar nods and smiles and I remember my dad saying, “You can’t make a living as a writer and probably will never be a teacher but being a teacher is a good goal if you think you can make it.  You have to go to college to be a teacher and that cost a lot of money.  You better start saving your money now.” Dad often told me I’d change my mind a hundred times before I was out of school.  Little did he know how badly I wanted this dream.  It was my passion; it still is. 

I believe it will be my passion until the day I die but I had no idea at the time how difficult the road would be or the detours I would take and trouble I would see in attaining my goal.  I have experienced a lot of both the good and the bad in my nearly 70 years of life and though some were stumbling blocks for a time they all turned out to be valuable lessons that helped me to grow in the direction I needed to go to achieve my dream.  My life experiences have become the stepping stones in reaching my goal, step by step and day by day.

I remember mentioning my big plans from time to time while I was growing up but I never really got a whole lot of encouragement in that direction; still I couldn’t let it go.  It was my dream, my goal for my career, my life.  I remember Mom saying to me on more than one occasion, “I don’t think you should get your heart set on going to college. It cost a lot of money to go to college.  You can find a good job in some other field.”  Mom and Dad both suggested I might think about working in a store or being a waitress.  They were good and respectable enough jobs for a girl until she met someone and got married and settled down.  They were sure I could do that and if I worked really hard at my commercial studies in high school I might even be able to find a job in an office somewhere if I was lucky.

“Nope, I’m going to be a writer and a teacher,” I said, “you’ll see.  I know that is what I want to be.”  I have continuously, though not always consistently, strived toward that goal.  It has never left me but I never did get to go to the teachers college I dreamed of going to and for a time I branched out into other fields all of which have been rewarding, educational and experiences, both good and bad, that I now have today to fall back on as the writer and teacher that I have become.  It has not been an easy path but it has always been my deep seeded passion.  Today I am a writer, I am a teacher and it is exactly what I was meant to be.

When you choose a career path it needs to feel right.  You need to know deep down in your being that your dream was meant to be.  It needs to be a field you are truly interested in and you need to give it all you’ve got.  Don’t ever give up on your dream because if you do you will never be fully happy and content in what you do.  You may very well know your job and do your job even exceedingly well but you will never be completely happy.  You can never be or follow someone else’s dream no matter how much they may think it is good and right for you.

In choosing my career path I choose a field that fit my passions in living, those things I have always been most interested in and passionate about, cared the most about.  It is how I chose my career path and I believe it was the right way to choose my career.  I’m not rich.  I’m not famous.  I’ve suffered a fair share of bumps and bruises along the way, mostly because of poor choices I made and detours I took but I have learned very valuable lessons from all of them.  What I am is happy and content with whom I am, with the “me” I have become.  I shall continue on this path and I expect I have much more learning and growing, successes and maybe even a few stumbles left in the time I have left in this life but I will not fail.  No one ever really fails unless they become a quitter and let their dream, their hope, their goal die.  I believe there is a unique and special plan and purpose for each of us in our life and we need to strive for that plan and purpose with passion and never quit.