YOUR STRESS ANTIDOTE

Most of the things we feared in the past never happened. Meanwhile, we had brought ourselves under intense stress for nothing.

The fearless person always has the advantage because such a person moves forward freely in life without constraints.  They overcome obstacles with ease.

The feeling called stress is a form of fear and we are better off by releasing such fear from our lives and living as care free as children.

It is certainly not fashionable to wear stress as a garment. Is it?

So instead of affirming that we are stressed,  let us say joyfully to ourselves that we are capable of attending to every matter that comes before us, that we trust that we will be guided by our intuition to make the right decisions and that we  release ourselves from fear and that we are safe and confident about the ever present  help from above!

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ATTITUDE TO WEALTH?

We owe it to ourselves to live our lives such that our innermost desires, thoughts, words and deeds will not come back to burden us like heavy weights. This same principle should apply to whatever we have, what is in our custody or under our control. These includes our physical body, our clothing, our money and even our relationships. All of these may not be treated in ways that will cost us our inner peace. So, what should be our attitude when it concerns material possessions and wealth generally?

We can obtain clarity about this when we recall the answer which Jesus gave to the rich young man who asked him about what he should do to attain eternal life. Christ told this particular man to give away all his earthly possessions. This is because this young man was surrounded by wealth and was too weak to exert himself to rise inwardly. His riches and the attendant comfort formed a hindrance, like an inner weight, to his spiritual ascent! The best advice which Christ could therefore give him was to remove every obstacle, which in his case was the wealth which was inducing him to live a life of comfort. So when the man asked, Jesus bent towards him, saying in a low voice so that only those who are standing nearest could hear his words: “Give all your wealth to the poor, and work for your livelihood with your own strength; then your life will have meaning for you and make you happy. Thereby you will smooth your paths to the Kingdom of Heaven.” Please note that this advice of Jesus applies to this man and to all those who are like him. It is not the case that Jesus is against wealth, but we must not allow the comfort provided by wealth to become a burden that will pull us down into the regions of the damned.

Let us therefore use whatever we have, who we are and our relationships in such a way that it leads to our ascent, our joy and our peace.

CAN WE DEFY THE LAWS OF NATURE?

No one can get round the Laws of Nature! We cannot defy them because the Almighty is the Power that activates the Natural Laws.  This unseen Power affects us every fraction of a second and is in everything we can observe.

One of the Natural Laws is the Law of Gravity. This law, just like the other Natural Laws cannot be circumvented and that was why when the Tempter suggested that Christ should jump down from the pinnacle of the Temple to prove that He was the Son of God, Jesus refused. Jesus knew that this Law of Gravity cannot be annulled for Him or for anyone else for that matter!

Throwing Himself down from the temple top unaided would be a flagrant defiance of the Natural Law of Gravity which is capable of causing bodily injury to Jesus thus producing an embarrassing occurrence that could have harmed His Mission. That was obviously the aim of that temptation. 

We as creatures should take a serious lesson from this occurrence and never allow our vanity and praise singers push us into the abyss of destruction. When sinners entice us, we should not agree to their suggestions or advise. Let us always seek for clarity in all matters and pray that it be given to us to act in the way pleasing to our Maker. This is the way to lead our lives in a way that brings us nothing but peace and happiness.

HOW CAN WE WORK IN OUR DAILY LIVES WITH THE LAW OF GRAVITY?

There is a creation law known as the Spiritual Law of Gravity. This Law tells us that every innermost wish, every thought, word, and action carry appropriate spiritual weight and density. For example, haven’t you noticed that when you are angry and tempers are high, you feel as if a weight is placed on your shoulders? It is this weight that makes you feel depressed after the show of anger. Even when something annoys us, we still reserve the rights to act in ways that will not burden us later. 

When you receive a bank alert for credit, when a letter of promotion arrives or when you receive that examination results that shows excellent grades, you feel so light as though you are flying in the skies! All of these inner feelings occur through the working of the law of gravity.

We can easily describe the working of this spiritual Law as follows: Thoughts, words and actions which are good and pure uplift the spirit and thoughts, words and actions which are evil and impure must pull the spirit down!

Here are two examples of how we can work with this law in practical terms:

1. We can align with the law of gravity in the way we pray. Instead of using words and repetitive phrases, let us pray more in spirit as this makes the prayer lighter. Let us pray in quietness and purity, so that the power of the intuition will be increased through quietness and receive through purity, that luminous lightness which will enable the prayer to be carried upward to the heights of all that is light and pure. Then we will receive that fulfilment which will be most beneficial for us and really advance us in our whole being!

2. If we wish to climb a mountain, we need to shed all heavy loads so we can climb freely and easily to the summit. In the same vein if we desire peace and happiness and if we are earnest about our striving towards Paradise then we urgently need to shed off all baggage of hatred, rudeness, selfishness, immorality, and so on. We become lighter also when we embrace love, forgiveness, consideration for others and we learn to receive by giving!

The law of gravity is our friend which lifts us upwards when through our thoughts, words and deeds, we engage only in what is good, pure and light. Let us adjust our lives to this law such that our actions lead us away from the lower regions of evil reactions  into regions of peace and bliss even whilst we are still here on earth!

VIRUS VERSUS VIRUS!

How do viruses operate?

According to the National Human Genome Research Institute a United States Research body, a virus is an infectious agent that occupies a borderline between living and the non-living. They are sub microscopic and can be described as parasitic as they can only survive inside a host cell in order to survive and replicate, thereby harming the host. Virologists say that you should think of the interaction between the virus and your body as a war. This battle can cause all sorts of problems in the body. Depending on the virus and its location, inflammation, fever, mucus and more can occur and in the case of COVID-19 the lungs can be affected leading to the deaths we see worldwide.

Now let us ask ourselves some questions: Are there similarities between the way viruses operate and the actions of men? Is it not true that like parasites we secretly want to earn a lot for doing little or nothing? If viruses precipitate wars on entering the human body, is this not similar to the attitude of the majority of men who are rough, who lack consideration for others and cause disharmony everywhere they go? If we are not sure whether viruses are living things or non-living things, is this not the same for many men today who are only living physically but are almost dead spiritually?  Today, a virus is at war with the entire world population, as all of us are affected in one way or another. Let us humbly admit that our penchant for confrontation, causing disharmony and living as parasites have now been brought home to us! The law of sowing and reaping is now presenting to each and every one of us the fruits of our past activities which includes our deep inner wishes, our thoughts, our words and our visible deeds. 

If mankind’s former actions require that a global pandemic should break out in reciprocity, then the law of Sowing and Reaping is bound to bring about the natural conditions that will give rise to it! Once man has called for it in thought and action, the nature beings who are servants of the Lord inside of Nature will ensure that these desires manifest in the material world, for good or evil just as man has desired it earlier on.

New spiritual knowledge makes us understand that tribulation, despair and destruction are always and only the lawful reciprocal effects of wrong actions.

Let us resolve today to become truly human in every sense and this means becoming a source of joy to fellow beings!

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

Happiness is a condition of the soul. It is felt within. It cannot be measured by the earthly senses as such. Our earthly senses (the intellect) wants to dimension everything but who can measure the size, weight or height of happiness? It can only be inwardly sensed. At best, the intellect can be self-satisfied, but never really happy. Happiness therefore, depends on the condition of the spirit. A spirit which is unburdened and unconstrained in this Creation will be happy. As long as it knows and adheres to all the Laws of God, happiness comes to it as a reward. He is content. Happiness actually is contentment; spiritual contentment. It means contentment with the present, enjoying and experiencing each moment in all its ramifications, taking in all its blessings and benefits, lessons and maturing thereby.

The happiness we are considering has nothing to do with earthly position and wealth. Wealth does not necessarily bring happiness and there are many materially poor people who are perfectly happy, perfectly content. This happiness comes with an understanding of where our path leads us after our life on earth. It comes with the knowledge that our spiritual ascent is the main purpose of life. This way, we will not be intimidated by any condition we find ourselves: whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, at peace or in conflict as we will be able to recognise why we are having these experiences which add to our spiritual maturity. We will see beyond the outward occurrences but consider them as aids towards our spiritual growth. This way we will be happy no matter our circumstances.

True happiness also comes hand in hand with a deep inner feeling of being protected by the Almighty and having confidence in the Will of God.

In one sentence, happiness is when we live in complete harmony with the Will of God, receiving and using the powers of Creation aright which lets us intuitively experience peace, contentment and bliss unceasingly! We will also be able to stand in prayer of thanksgiving in perpetuity!

AVOID THE LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY CREEDS!

Christ Jesus, the personification of Divine Love, did not concern Him­self with creeds. Creeds are actually meant to control blind followers. They also fulfil man’s craving and love for ease. After all it is easy to convince oneself that by attending a meeting of believers on a particular day set aside for this, one has fulfilled a major Commandment.  It is also easy to assume that one has attained a high level of purity simply by avoiding the consumption of a particular type of meat! However, Jesus advised long ago that we should look deeper than these.

It so happened that one day a Pharisee came to report to Jesus that His disciples have not only transgressed the Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy, they do not observe the times of fasting and they neglect the prescribed ablutions. In response, Jesus made it clear that we need to look for the real and spiritual values in what we do and not just cling to the outward forms only. So, He kindly responded that man can actually have the Sabbath every day, ablutions point us to the need to purge our souls and fasting is not just about abstaining from food. On that occasion, Jesus declared: “The man who communes with himself in a quiet hour, who frees himself from all base, everyday thoughts, who does not indulge his lusts, and humbly approaches his God in prayer, keeps the Sabbath. He hallows it! He has cleansed himself of all impurities, and have fasted by eating only what his body needed.”

Now we should not think we are above creeds. Are you looking down on people who are not of the same faith you hold dear? Are you keen to fulfil the outward aspects of your religion so that others can see you as a good example? Are you always eager to be in the good books of the head of your religious association? Do you assume that members of your religious group are perfect?  All of these are the characteristics of a life suffering from the shackles of creed and dogma! Free yourself today!