STOP TRYING TO BE APPRECIATED BY THOSE WHO DON'T APPRECIATE YOU

    If you're too wrapped up in your own life to share in other people's experiences, then your missing out on one of life's most beautiful gifts.

    And if your the person who is constantly trying to flag someone down to get them to pay attention, then realize this: The person's whose gaze always drifts beyond you will never really care how big your flag is... so put it away and stop trying to tell the other person that you're important too. They won't hear you, so stop talking! Find people who will stop along the highway of life because they noticed you and see the uniqueness of what you have to offer.

CHOOSING OUR FRIENDS WISELY

    Take a look around you and open your mind. It could be that the people you give less of your attention to, are the people who are the most sincere. Our best friends are not necessarily those we see the most or who text us most often. The true friend is he or she who knows our heart and is there when no one else is. They are the individuals who always offer a shoulder to lean on when life cuts us to the core. They are the people who are truly interested in what is happening in our lives even though we don't see them as frequently as others. Most of us know such a person and we always glaze right by them in our social circles... Open your eyes, who are your true friends?

SPLITTING HAIRS

    It is time for mankind to experience a spiritual awakening. On some levels, this is already happening but on others, many are still in spiritual infancy. Many people stick to their religious practices as if they were the only way to God. There is nothing wrong with praying five times a day or going to mass every Sunday or celebrating certain holy days. But when these things become a prison the boxes us into a cemented routine, they can become a hindrance. For example, we see many Christians fretting and spreading the word of fear about such holidays as Halloween. They claim that it is the devil's holiday and no one should ever celebrate it. Then there are the Muslims who want to celebrate Christmas, and some do, yet others are afraid to do so because they were told that they should only celebrate Islamic holy days. Who gave them these rules? And who should dictate the events of someone's life but their own conscience and God speaking to them through such?

    There is nothing wrong with any holiday, and just because one celebrates it, does not mean they have to buy into the religious ideas around it. A holiday or holy day is what you make it in your heart. For example, for many years, Christmas has been a time for me to commune on a deeper level with the angels. This is because when I was younger, I had a life-changing encounter with an angelic being during that time of year. An individual should be free to live and enjoy their lives as they see fit; and there is nothing wrong with putting certain events into your own spiritual or religious perspective. You will hear some groups say that they do not do certain things because a certain prophet or holy man in their religion did not do them. I have heard many Christians say that people should not celebrate Christmas as Christ's birthday because Jesus never told us to do so in the Bible. And I've also read more than a few articles that said Muslims should not celebrate birthdays or Halloween because Mohammed did not celebrate them. This is poor reasoning; of course Jesus didn't celebrate Christmas because it was not brought into being until after his death. And Mohammed never celebrated Halloween because he probably never heard of it back in his day. And who's to say that Jesus or Mohammed never celebrated a birthday? To think that we will find the answer to everything in the universe in our holy books is unrealistic. If we were to adopt such thinking one could say, that neither Jesus nor Mohammed ever drove an automobile, so we should not either. That just doesn't make sense.

    I use the example of holidays and holy days in this article, but the tentacles of apprehension seem to reach into every aspect of some peoples lives. They worry about how to pray, where to pray. Some consider it sacrilege to worship on Sunday and believe that the holy Sabbath is on a Saturday. Others worry about what kind of movies they should watch and music they should listen to. Some individuals wear make up and jewelry, yet other groups consider these things sinful and not modest. The list could go on and on ad infinitum... But the time must come, when we all realize that these exterior things do not make us righteous or unrighteous. They do not make us favored or unfavored with the Divine. It is what's in our hearts and minds that counts with God. Are we loving and decent people? Do we try to be honest and do the right thing in every circumstance? Do we help those in need when we see them? Do we have a strong belief and love for the Infinite Spirit of the universe? We can adhere to all of the religious rules that we want, but if our hearts and minds are not in the right place, then it is all for nothing. We must get passed this nonsense that says it is what we do, how we pray, what we eat or what we wear that opens the way to heaven for us. Nothing could be farther from the truth, it is what is within that causes heaven and earth to meet in our everyday lives... everything else is just splitting hairs.

SELF DEFENSE FOR THE TENDER HEARTED

    Many spiritual people are very sensitive, and when others insult them or treat them badly, they tend to feel very hurt and become sad rather than mad. This is not a bad thing, and certainly those of us who aspire to something higher should not be flying off the handle or attacking others with an angry attitude. But this does not mean that you have to be the worlds doormat. It is not healthy to take the brunt of others cruelty and never speak out in your own defense. When we do this, it can cause us to feel very uneasy within and begin to sour our perception of the world. We certainly do not want to become brooding souls with a downcast disposition. We also do not want to become angry or cynical individuals who are quick to cut others down with the sharp blade of our words. But we do need to find a balance, we need to know when it is okay to speak our minds and defend ourselves against unnecessary attacks and cruelty at the hands of others. Sometimes this defense may be a word of higher wisdom that completely obliterates the ignorance of someone who is just spewing nonsensical ideologies or points of view. Yet at other times, we may have to rise up and meet a challenge with confidence and let someone know that we are not easy prey for their bullying and harassment.

    There maybe times when we need to end a relationship or walk away from a situation that is causing us harm. It is true, that love is the universal law. But I do not believe that the great Divine Spirit wants us to be sheep on the slaughtering block of the world. We all have a right to peace in our lives, we all have a right to feel good about who we are and we all have a right to be excepted for the individuals that we have become. No one else has the right to cross those personal lines and attack things like the way we look, what we believe, how we live our lives, what we do for a living, the color of our skin or what ever else that they may find fair game to criticize. This does not mean that we are to become emotional vigilantes and start blasting people with our words at the drop of a hat. It means we need to be patient, balanced and use wisdom in every circumstance. Many times it is best to enter into peace talks at first, and this will quickly alleviate the situation. But we also must learn to know when enough is enough. We must know when it is time to call out our inner forces. Never attack, only defend. And if someone asks for forgiveness, forgive them. When the problem has been vanquished, be grateful and show kindness to all. You never want to become the aggressor who tries to dominate others. When defending ourselves and sticking up for our own honor, the objective is to always restore peace and balance. Mutual respect is always the most important thing; you need to show it to others, you also deserve to receive it for yourself.

THE GOD VOID

    There was a time in my life when I felt very close to Spirit, but then through time and circumstance I experienced a bit of a crisis of faith. At that time in my life, I was surrounded by a lot of negative religious individuals. The sermons of hellfire and brimstone were many, and the theological arguments for an angry, vengeful God were many. According to these individuals, your chances of salvation were extremely slim, and God was ready to punish and annihilate at the drop of a hat. Needless to say, after many years of exposure to such attitudes, my personal faith bottomed out and I turned away, for a time, from any depthy spiritual thought or work.

    During that time of my spiritual sabbatical, I tried to fill the empty, spiritual space within with whatever I could. I tried to fill it with people, with material possessions, creativity, my personal goals and probably a host of other things as well. Over time however, I began to realize that none of these things really fulfilled me the way I thought they would. And the people that I trusted, whom I thought were my friends, all let me down by either abandonment or betrayal as the months went on. It was then, that I slowly began to wake up, as if from a dream state. I realized how fragile our world truly is. We often trust our governments, our friends, our jobs, our money and possessions. But all of these things are built on such a fragile structure, and none of us can never really tell when a portion of that which we feel supports us will cave-in and collapse. When this happens, we can feel devastated and lost.

    It was through this awakening process, that I realized that it is only through our connection with Spirit, that we can truly feel strengthened and supported. There is that place within us all, that nothing will ever truly be able to fill except the Divine. Some may call this escapism, or using the mere fantasy of an unprovable, being as an emotional crutch, but I beg to differ. God is a constant, when there is no love around us on the landscape of life, God is that love. When there's no one there to support us, God is that support. When things look bleak in this world, and we hope for change and a more peaceful existence; God is that place because the kingdom of heaven is within us. When we near that moment where we will take our final breath in this world, there may be no one around or there may be someone there to hold their hand ; but ultimately, it will be Spirit that will give us the greatest comfort and lead us back home. When things seem desperate in this life, it is God that provides for us through some unforeseen miracle that we label as coincidence.

    When we have that true mystical connection with the Divine, it doesn't matter whether we lay our heads down on the most expensive bed or on a tattered, old mattress at night, our peace will be complete and we will find contentment in any circumstance. Friends may betray, and the fragile structure on which man's world is built, may collapsed beneath our feet. But we will remain strong and confident that there will be better things to come. There's nothing else that can give us that kind of peace, only God can fill that void within that is perfectly shaped and fitted to the higher, infinite realms.

 

COMPLAINERS COMPLAIN

    What good does it do to complain about every instance in our lives? All of us get annoyed sometimes, or voice our disapproval over certain things. But then there are those who have a complaint about nearly everything in their lives. They complain about what has to be done in a day, they complain about the habits of those around them, they complain about coworkers or the way the cap has been put on the toothpaste... Complainers complain about practically every occurrence in their day, and they certainly have something negative or critical to say about the way others do things. Nothing is ever in harmony or done right according to the complainer. But this way of life is a burden to mind, body and soul. There is enough anxiety in a day without seeking out minor infractions to rant about. Perhaps instead of going over life with a magnifying glass, looking for something to disapprove of and complain about; we should think more about what is right in our world.  Maybe we should focus on the fact that we are alive and healthy, the beauty of nature, the feelings of elation that comes when we hear a imagistic peace of music, the serene connection we have with divinity deep within our souls or just the fact that we have a home to live in and food to eat. One blessing can outweigh a thousand complaints. Focus on what's right in your life, not the things you feel the need to complain about.

A SUPPOSITION ON WHY MAN NEEDS A BELIEF IN A GOD

    Morality: I would define this word as adhering to a certain code of conduct in which there is no deviation from unless in extreme circumstances. In my opinion, if one has a strong moral code, he will do his utmost to treat others as he would want to be treated. We cannot invoke the word morality, without it being closely tied to such things as loyalty, honesty, respect, love and an overall attitude of wishing the highest good for all. We hear many people in our world today claiming that they have strong morals, yet they gossip in the workplace, are hard to get along with, are selfish and will trample over anyone who gets in the way of their personal fulfillment. Many individuals who fly the flag of religion high above their lives, still cheat, lie, steal, murder and use their fellow man/woman as a means to an end. Religion, or the subscribing to a certain list of rules given by an organization, does not necessarily make one moral.

    Some say that it is possible to have morality without a concept of God in their lives. The argument is, that if one cannot be a good person without God, then one is truly not a good person at all or perhaps is weak in character. The claim is that religious people simply try to be good because of the threat of being punished in an eternal hell. There is some merit in this argument, because trying to be good is not being good. To act, or try to act in a certain way out of fear is a forced persona and does not come from the depths of the heart. However, we might also say that without God, the individual becomes the highest authority in his or her own life. If such an individual deems it necessary to harm another in some way, then what is to stop them from doing so? When we are our own highest authority, then we also become our highest priority. It then becomes very easy to take others for granted and have lack of respect for our fellow man because we then become an island unto ourselves. Such individuals will certainly fall into the old familiar cycles of betrayal, usery, hatred, murder, greed etc.

    Morality is not necessarily refraining from murder and not causing physical mayhem in the world around us. Morality is also our motives, and how we view the exterior world around us. If we see our fellow human beings as inferior and treat them with a harsh attitude on a daily basis, then our morality has failed us. If we see others as just puppets in some grand psychological play that we manipulate, then we truly have no morality. If we use others for monetary gain or physical pleasures only, then we have no right to call ourselves good or moral. To hurt or harm someone is not necessarily to shed their blood; and when our priorities are such that we will betray, abandoned or hurt another to attain our personal goals, we have failed the test of being decent at heart. Morality considers the welfare of not only ourselves, but those around us. To verbally or emotionally run someone through with our actions or words are unacceptable actions under the moral code.

    Most of us get our morals from our parents and those around us in society. And if one has no role models in their lives, they will make up their code of morality as they go along. But flawed morals are like a virus, and many times those which we model our lives after have also passed on to us the seeds of selfishness, greed and the attitude of looking out for number one. If humanity is to obtain world peace, that peace has to start in the home, the school, the workplace and the community. But how can we have global peace when we do not even seem to possess the common sense and fine morality to hold our own neighborhoods together? In order to possess such a moral code, there must be a source in which we can draw from that is above our imperfect ways of establishing morality. That source must have the power to change man's heart and therefore change his way of thinking. That source must inspire feelings of pure love and bring out the innate gentleness in the depths of man's soul. That source must then inspire human beings to want to love others as we have been loved. That source must be pure, kind and unconditional in its desire to want good for all. That source must have a true sense of equality for all sentient beings and not favor some over others. That source must be wise and generous and be able to show us the way to obtain our higher good without harming or destroying another. That source must inspire us to be moral out of love and not force a haphazard behavior of goodness out of fear of retribution. That source must be outside of and above the limited understanding of man, and able to show the human race a way of escape out of the vicious cycles that mankind continuously perpetuates. That source must be something higher than we currently know in our physical universe. Without our roots deeply philosophically and morally embedded in such a source, mankind will continue to pass on the damaged DNA of our limited ethics to the generations of the future. And we will not see world peace until that source is found by each of us.

 

 

ISLAM AND TERRORISM

    Recently in the United States, there was a horrible terrorist attack in a nightclub in the state of Florida. A gunman who pledged allegiance to the terror group Isis, gunned down more than 50 people and injured many others. It is a heartbreaking travesty when we see things like this occur. And generally the aftermath is a slew of anti-Muslim articles on the Internet and hate posts on social media. On today's blog, I wanted to clear up a bit of confusion about Islam and terrorism. I am not a very politically correct individual, nor am I heavily steeped in the modern day liberal movement. So what you're about to read is as balanced as possible, and comes from a lot of hours of personal study on the religion of Islam. This will by no means be an exhaustive article, but will cover some of the important facets of the Muslim faith.

    To begin with, we will mention what some call the, "violent versus," of the Koran. Did you know, that most of these verses have a historic value? They were written to the Muslims who were being oppressed and killed by their enemies who were  trying to suppress and wipe out the religion? It is also interesting to note that the Koran does tell Muslims that they can defend themselves, but only in a defensive way. They may only fight if attacked, and if the enemy surrenders or drops his weapon, they are to show mercy and let him go. There isn't actually any verse in the Koran that tells a Muslim to go out and kill in the name of Allah. This may be shocking for some to hear, but is actually the truth. The Koran states many times over, those who make mischief upon the earth and do not do good to their fellow man will be companions of the fire. It doesn't get any more clear than that.

    Did you know that early Islam and many of the peaceful sects today respect all religions? They do not believe that if you are of a different faith that you should be killed. They actually believe that all religions have certain truths from God in them and have their prophets. Their belief is that God has guided mankind from the beginning of his inception and has shown him the way to truth. They believe that Islam is the religion that unites all other faiths under the banner of the universal sovereign. The Sufi Muslims say that there are as many paths to God as there are human beings upon the earth. Many of the peaceful Muslims believe that we are all brothers and sisters and all faiths should coexist together in peace.

     Did you know that Islam actually does not suppress women but gives them many rights? A woman can even file for a divorce if she finds that she does not get along with her husband or if he is violent or abusive in any way. This certainly squelches the idea that women need to completely submit to their husbands in Islam and even be beaten if they displease or disobey him.

    In actual Islam, jihad is the war against the self. It is the fighting of all tendencies in the human nature that would cause us to live or act in destructive or negative ways. It is a purifying of the self. This is called the great jihad. There is a lesser jihad and that does consist of fighting against your enemies, but again, only if you are attacked. You have a right to fight a holy war and defend yourself if an enemy comes upon you and tries to destroy you. But you are never to be the aggressor; this is stated clearly in the Koran.

    The form of "Islam," that we see waging war on people of different cultures and faiths, and engaging in acts of terrorism is actually a political/religious system that many Muslims do not even consider to be Islam. It was born out of a movement many years ago that was started by an individual who believe that Islam should not only engage in fighting for defensive purposes, but should also be the aggressor in the cause of Allah. The individual who started this movement, went against the words of the Koran and the Prophet Mohammed and began to interpret certain verses in a way that was contrary to the tenants of early Islam. Over time, the movement became even more violent and has evolved into what we see today. It is a sad fact that many many Muslims are killed by this group and executed for not converting to their brand of perverted Islam. We must understand, this dangerous movement is out to destroy anyone who will not bow to their demands or convert to their violent death cult. Many Muslims willingly bow their heads and except death at the hands of these monsters and refuse to convert to this perverted political religion. We must understand, all religions have had their dangerous fanatics who had no regard for human life. It does not matter what religion these individuals belong, or belonged to. When we see such hellish things being played out on the stage of the world, we must come to understand that it is the heart of the individual that drives them to do such things not necessarily the religion they follow. If there was no religion, that would be something else that would fuel the fires of those whose hearts are blackened.

    I truly hope that this post will be shared among many people. We must begin to educate ourselves and stop letting the tentacles of hatred and prejudice strangle our world. As stated earlier, I am not a politically correct individual. I am not a heavy duty liberal. I'm just a person who wants to know the truth and the truth is not always what we see in the media or on the Internet. Be blessed.

 

THE COMING CHANGES

ATTENTION

    Due to new doors and directions opening on my professional/spiritual path there will be a name change taking place on Monday June 14 2016.

 Please note, that my author/spiritual work name will no longer be Paul James Caiden... As of June 14 2016, I will be assuming the name of Gabriel St. James. 

 The reasons for this change are many, perhaps I will explain some of them in future blogs. But for now, please note the change if you're a blog reader or follow me on Facebook. As of June 14, 2016 I will no longer be going under the name of Paul James Caiden... I will from that point onward be known as Gabriel St. James. 

Blessings