I BELIEVE

    I have studied and sampled many spiritual paths in my life. But no matter what road I may have travelled, or what label I had put on myself, there is one thing that I have always believed. And that is, that there will be a final day of judgment for the inhabitants of the earth. Most all religions have taught the concept of the judgment of the soul after death, and the judgment of humanity as a whole. The imagery may be different, but the idea behind these teachings is all the same: and that is, that each of us will receive payment for what we have done in this life. Not all rewards are the same, the murder and the terrorist will not receive the same compensation as the saint or the one who truly has goodness in their hearts. We may look at our world at this point, and be dismayed about what is happening in the political arena, the wars, all of the many evils done by man on both a large and smaller personal scale. But these things will not last forever. I truly believe that one day, reality will open before our very eyes, and mankind will see the world beyond this world and know that its greed, killing and heartlessness was a grievous mistake. I believe in the end, it will be as the Bible says, many people's hearts will fail them because of fear of what they see coming upon the earth. None of us really know how these things will take place or play out but rest assured, it is coming in some form, one day. Therefore we should not fret about the misdeeds of man... We should also be more mindful of our own actions in our personal lives. What we do does matter, and it is those actions of love that count the most...

INNER CHILD

    Too many times, we get caught up in the affairs of this earthen realm and rob ourselves of the simple joys in life. We act like all of eternity hinges on our hectic schedules and to do lists. As we continue this pattern day by day, we become anxious creature of stressful habit that loses its ability to play and see the wonder in our world. If you're living this kind of lifestyle, ask yourself, am I truly happy? Do I feel fulfilled in my daily life? When I lay down at night, do I have a sense of inner peace and feel thankful for my blessings? Do I look forward to tomorrow and the little plans I've made to season life with happiness and excitement? Is there anything I'm looking forward to, or am I in a constant state of worry and planning and have no time for amusements in my thoughts and life?

    Don't take yourself too seriously, if you do, you only succeed in stifling the energy of your soul. You will put stress on your body and be more susceptible to illness. Your mind will become stagnant, and you will become a statue of a person; meaning, you will be the same, unchanging, distracted and negative person every day of your life and bring no joy to yourself or those around you. No human being truly wishes to live this way. We want to enjoy life, we want to live, love, laugh and play. And you can only do this by letting your soul have free expression in your life by letting your inner child come out to play. You cannot let your cynical mind tell you that you're being immature, or perhaps wanting to do something that is only for children. If you do this, you've already defeated yourself and handicapped your soul... Don't let the world turn you into another lackluster drone who is constantly preoccupied by some worrisome thought, and getting little to no joy out of life. Open your heart, your mind and let your inner child lead you in the direction of your authentic self.

    And of course, this does not mean that we become people given to flights of fancy and take no responsibility for life. Of course, there are things we all must do in a day to survive and make a living. But when we become so mired in those things that there is little to no room for anything else, then we have an obvious problem. Life is about balance, and living to extremes on either side of the fence is not healthy or realistic. It takes some honest self evaluation, being mindful of our schedules and planning to keep things in a more healthy balanced state. But it can be done, and after while it will become second nature. As my grandmother used to say, "another day, another dollar, but make sure you use some of those dollars to make yourself happy." Life was not designed to drown us, it was designed to be lived.

A METAPHYSICAL CONTEMPLATION

    Think about it, do the trees suffer from high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease, arthritis or diabetes? Does the wind suffer from poverty, stress, anxiety or depression? Is the cosmos beyond our tiny blue planet filled with war, lack, disease and unrest? No, the universe and the elements are free of such human conditions and ailments. In nature, there seems to be a perfect peace and balance. All of the creatures that dwell upon the earth are provided for by the natural elements around them. It is said, in many spiritual disciplines, that nature reflects the attributes of God. Therefore, if none of these human challenges exist in nature, they do not exist in God, who is the one who put nature into motion. From the earthly atmosphere upwards, the problems that beset us as human beings seem not to exist. But isn't it an interesting thought to ponder that idea from the top down: that is to say, none of these problems exist in God, so they must not exist in his creation. Could it be that it is our own consciousness that brings these sufferings into our existence? Could it be that what we think, we become? It is said that God indwells all of his creation. Even the Bible tells us that God dwells within us. So if the force that created all things is exempt from such things as disease, discord and poverty, might we expel those things from our lives by tuning deeper into that force? By contemplating God, could we become more like the thing that we think about? In metaphysics they say that this is the case. I cannot argue with this hypothesis, because I've seen the contemplation of God dissolve a great many mountains in my own life. Perhaps we should all take a few days this week to contemplate the higher nature of God, and see what changes take place in our lives by its end. After all, it doesn't cost us anything except a little time. And then we might ask ourselves, what if it actually works?