We Reap What We Sow

On Tuesday Bombay, India was paralyzed by a deluge - 37 inches of rain. It was the heaviest rainfall since India began keeping weather records in 1846.

The rain turned roads into dangerous rivers and caused landslides that killed dozens of people and devastated villages.

Climate change is real and occurring now. Hundreds of plant and animal species have become extinct as a result of global warming. These are all part of our web of life on earth and as they disappear, the balance of earth's ecosystem is further compromised.

Why is it happening?

Some say it is happening because we don't read the Bible enough. Some claim it is our sexual practices.

In saying these things, they distract us from realizing the real cause.

Extreme climate change is occurring because we have worshipped at the altar of materialism.

We in the U.S., especially, have worshipped at the altar of the automobile and made the world converts.

As a result we have created billions of tons of pollutants and gases that have built up in our atmosphere and trapped heat.

There are scientists who say that it is too late to stop the inevitable, that the earth has been warmed as a result and will keep on warming so that half the ice in the Arctic will be melted before the end of this century, raising ocean levels by a meter or more.

You and I may not be here as the worst unfolds. But our children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren will likely bear the brunt.

Ezekiel 6:5-6:

I will lay the corpses of the children ...before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars.

In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols maybe be broken and made to cease...and your works may be abolished.

For what we do comes back to us. Unless we open ourselves to be tools through which God can heal our mistakes, God has no choice but to allow us to reap what we have sown.

Galatians 6:7:

...for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Life is an experiment. God is not angry with us for making mistakes, but neither can He help us when we put our hands over our eyes and deny that anything is wrong or that we have any responsibility for it.

Therefore, for the sakes of our children and theirs, let us stop running from the truth, no matter how frightening it is.

Let us face the facts, take responsibility and turn our lives over to God so that He may show us how to heal the damage.

God can work miracles through us.

Let us each decide to be part of those miracles today.

Honor Thy Father And Mother

One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:12 is:

Honor thy father and mother.

In 1 Corinthians 10:24 we are told:

Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well being.

Nearly two-thirds of the elderly depend upon Social Security for the majority of their income. Over half would live in dire poverty without it and over one-third of Social Security benefits go to widows, the disabled and low-income children.

Yet Congress and President Bush persist in trying to do away with Social Security.

This is counter to everything Christ stood for.

Please stand up for Christ and our elderly by signing a petition sponsored by Sojourners to save Social Security.

Thank You and God bless you.

End Terrorism

Much of the violence we see today occurs in battling over possessions, land and ideas. We fight to decide who owns what and how it may be used.

Yet Jesus told us that none of this is worth injuring another human being.

For if we continually strike out at real or perceived enemies, we guarantee our own destruction.

This is Universal law.

But if we reach deep and are determined to forgive, then we can create a new world.

Just as Jesus forgives all, so must we do the same in order to achieve the joy on earth that is possible.

Jesus gave us the road map to heaven on earth in Luke 7:35-36:

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Judge not, and you shall not be judged.

Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

None of this is easy. If it were easy we would have no terrorists detonating themselves nor wars anywhere.

On the contrary, it is easy to hate. It is easy to seek revenge and kill when enraged and hurt.

However, unless we make the decision that we will do what Jesus has asked us to do, we will see more and more violence and tragedy in the future.

Jesus gave us the way to life and happiness. It is our job to follow up on his teachings and begin to input the Quantum Field with non-violence and forgiveness.

Nothing else will bring the nightmare of terrorism to an end.

Therefore, pray with all your heart and mind to "be peace."

Let us work together to bring about the most noble goal we could possibly undertake: ending terrorism.

Jesus: Practice Non-Violence

Jesus belabors His point about how to meet violence in Luke 7: 27-30:

But I say to you who hear:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you.

To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.
And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.

Give to everyone who asks of you.
And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

Is this not shocking? To not defend ourselves? To not even seek redress from those who steal from us?

Why would Jesus say such a thing? Surely he wasn't serious?

But He was.

First, Jesus knew that the worst thing we face is not death.

On the contrary, death will be a joyous reunion with our Creator.

The worst thing humankind faces is that earth will become a living hell of terrorism and hate.

And this is happening.

Why?

Some say it is the war in Iraq. But that is just a symptom of an illness that afflicts our collective soul.

Terrorism is growing because we are stubborn.

We refuse to follow Jesus' teachings of non-violence.

Firstly, we refuse to surrender our anger and fear. We think it protects us.

Secondly, we like to believe that revenge is a deterrent to further violence because revenge feels good, biologically.

Thirdly, we refuse to stop programming our minds with violence through film and television because we like to be thrilled and entertained.

If Jesus appeared on earth today and said we could have complete peace if we turned off our TV sets, how many people would do it?

My guess is about 3. We are addicted to television and violence. So although we say we believe in Him, we ignore His messages for the most part because following them would require us to give up our addictions.

Yet we are in a catch-22. As long as we keep growing violence inside, we will see an increase in violence outside. Macrocosm mirrors microcosm.

Jesus urged that we train our minds to practice forgiveness and non-violence because He knew that no one can hurt us when we are full of love.

What we need is a kind of 12-step program that weans us from violence to love.

It was my intention when I wrote Prayerforce: 365 Days To A New Life to create such a process.

For when we are fearless and intend only love and forgiveness toward others, God is there with us and the hate of others cannot touch us.

When we communicate with God on a daily basis and affirm He leads us in safety, He does. And He never fails us.

It is only when we walk alone that we are on our own and subject ourselves to the odds of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But when we live a life in which we send love back and forth to God for ourselves and others, we need never fear for our safety again.

For as you do unto others in your mind, so will it be done to you in the world.

Feel the truth of this and your life will be transformed.

The Blind Leading The Blind

I wish I could assure the sincere seeker that following God is easy.

It isn't.

Human beings are composed of light and soil. We contain the light, but we are growing out of darkness.

Our task is to continually recognize that there are two directions we can go. One leads to destruction and the other leads to healing.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture of death that celebrates violence, killing and revenge "against the bad guy" and which urges us on toward destruction.

Action heroes - who blow away scores of people "to save the day" - are extremely popular and have most of us wishing we were super human so we could dispatch our enemies quickly and surely.

These icons of violence have been filling our collective consciousness for decades, through film and television, and we have glorified them. We long to be like them and many feel frustrated, depressed and powerless because they are human and "can do nothing" against terrorism.

For we can see what a robo-cop with a gun can do, but it is not so obvious what "being peace" can do.

It is no wonder that talk of peace and "turning the other cheek" evokes insults from many. It is no wonder that so many think that the solution to violence and terror is more violence. And it is consistent with our culture that even the religious who feel they have found Jesus may think talk of actually following his teachings on non-violence or healing humanity through healing collective consciousness is "psychobabble."

Other than Gandhi's great triumph of freeing a nation through non-violent passive resistence, what proof do we have that collective non-violence works?

Until scientists discovered the workings of the Quantum Field, we had none.

But now we know that what we think effects the world around us at the subatomic level.

The Quantum Field brings back to us what we put in it.

That is what is meant by "as you sow, so shall you reap."

Yet many people are unaware of these findings. Many do not realize that science has virtually proved that everything Jesus taught has a basis in quantum physics.

Therefore, most of us remain blind to what is going on and are trying to solve age old problems of violence through the same old ways that have never - and can never - work.

This is the lesson that we have been taught by the killing in London of an innocent man who was mistaken as a terrorist. He ran out of fear and he was killed out of fear.

Fear took over and made the police blind.

As Jesus said in Luke 6:39: Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

And he was right. If we continue to focus on fear and then use violence as a means to stop violence, we are blind men destined to fall into a ditch and be buried.

Focus On Gratitude

It has become a cliche that we are like the Fisherman's Wife.

Instead of being grateful and happy for what we have, we grouse in discontent and long for more.

Beloved, when we express such discontent, by the power of spiritual laws, we are actually asking for more discontent.

For every thought we think is a type of prayer.

Every thought we think vibrates the Quantum Field - God's way of making things happen - which will result in a corresponding result.

If we express sincere gratitude for the good in our lives, that good - over time - will increase.

If we grouse and complain and ignore all the blessings in our lives then - over time - we will discover we have fewer blessings and more that displeases us.

Would it not be a tragedy to find, when we stand before God, that we created most of the misery in our lives by focusing on the negative instead of training our minds to be grateful for the positive?

We have so much to be grateful for. Every day is the chance for a new beginning. Every day is an opportunity to create a new life based upon God's word and expressions of gratitude.

No matter what the sorrows in your life, I ask you, today, to forgive them.

Do not dwell on them or hold resentment against God, life, yourself or any other person for them.

Instead, set aside time to consider your blessings. Give thanks to God for them and realize that, by doing so, you are setting God's power in motion to bless you further.

Remember Jesus words in Mark 11:26:

...if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive...

Without Love We Have Nothing

Ignorance that a problem existed or that we contributed to it does not make us bad people. We simply didn't know. Who teaches us to take responsibility for everything?

Yet this is our burden - and our blessing - in living on this earth.

Once we become aware that a problem exists we can take responsibility for it and, through God's guidance, become part of the solution.

Blaming others or ourselves never helps. Guilt never helps. Dumping our problems on God doesn't help. Doing nothing until we feel the consequences and feel "punished" doesn't help.

As 1 Corinthians 4:21 asks: What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

Only love heals all things.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

With love our lives can be profound tools of healing and we will know joy.

Let us be God's love today.

Approaching Problems With Love

Is there something bothering you? Something over which you debate what to do because you are unsure what is right?

Does a problem seem so big you don't know where to begin?

We all have conflicting feelings. It can be difficult not only to know the best course to take, but even the next small step.

Fortunately, we have access 24/7 to a touchstone of truth. We call Him God.

Align with God and His love will illuminate your way.

So how can you align with God? Does it take hours of prayer or meditation?

No. Although spending hours in prayer or meditation is uplifting, joyful and cleansing, we don't often have the time, given the structure of our lives, to do so.

So when you are in a hurry, but you need to connect with God's good, do this:

Ask God to illumine your heart and mind so you become part of whatever solution you need and know your next step.

Then sit, take three deep breaths, close your eyes and focus on your heart. Let go and realize there is nothing more important that you could be doing.

Then love our Source/Creator with all your heart and mind for five minutes.

After this interval, spend time sending love to yourself.

That's right! For five minutes send yourself the love you feel for God, your children, spouse, parents and pets, for you deserve no less love than anyone else.

At the end of this "spiritual treatment" using the best medication in the world - love - you will know your next step. And you will know it comes from God so you can proceed with confidence.

Remember, God can only do for you what He can do through you.

Love God and yourself every day and ask for guidance. Make this ten minutes a day your top priority.

In this way He will be able to work through you for the healing of your life and the world.

Remember Galatians 5:9:

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Despoiling Earth Displeases God

Human perception functions best at the small, individual and personal level. Vast perspectives, whether they involve societal trends or climate change, are far more difficult for us to discern and grasp.

It is, for example, virtually impossible for most of us to grasp the effect that 6.3 billion people have on the earth when they are all using her resources at once.

But earth's resources are finite. And we are having an effect.

Our atmosphere and seas have warmed due to our activities. We are beginning to notice because our weather has begun to change dramatically.

Our scientists have been measuring these changes for decades and warning us that if we did not alter our course, we were headed toward disaster.

Now this change has begun occurring all over the world. Icecaps the size of Rhode Island are melting, forests weakened by drought are being attacked by bark beetles, hurricanes are forming earlier, desertification is on the increase and climates are changing.

There has been a heat wave throughout North America including Canada.

In fact, Ontario has seen record breaking heat and humidity this summer.

Locals say that over the last fifty years winters have warmed so that Canadian boys in Ontario are lucky to get two months of hockey practice in winter on outdoor ponds. It is predicted that in 30-50 years ponds in Ontario will not freeze at all.

Floridians have seen four major hurricanes form in 2005 and it is just the beginning of the hurricane season. Last year Florida was hit by a record 4 hurricanes.

In Phoenix, Arizona a record heat wave has hit, killing 18 people so far.

During a visit two weeks ago to Tennessee, I noted the temperature at one point was 105.

A friend writes of a heat wave in California.

On Tuesday it was 117 in Las Vegas, breaking a record set in 1942.

And, currently, there are 35 major forest fires burning in ten states due to dry conditions. 4.6 million acres burned last year. 3.9 million acres have burned so far this year.

Beloved, changes are occurring. And we on earth are responsible for them, for we have changed the earth's climate with our lifestyles.

In Ezekiel 36: 4-5 we are told that God is not pleased when the land is despoiled.

Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around - therefore thus says the Lord God: Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations...who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.

We cannot expect continued blessings if we continue to plunder and despoil the world God gave us.

We cannot rely on government to lead us, but we can rely on God to show us the way.

It is, therefore, the job of every Christian to ask God to help us make the changes necessary to become careful stewards of the earth's resources and stop the dramatic climate change that is unfolding.

It is time for every Christian to begin doing what we should have done long ago: downsize our cars, turn lights and appliances off when they are not being used and begin to look for ways in which we can live in greater harmony with the earth.

One simple thing you can do is put your television on a timer.

Our television sets are made so that they use electricity even when they are turned off. Putting them on timers stops that energy drain.

If we saw to it that our television sets were completely shut off or unplugged when we are not using them, we would, collectively, save electricity, decrease the coal burned to produce it and reduce the heat and pollutants released into the atmosphere.

God can only do for us what he can do through us.

Let us ask God to work through us for the good of our planet - and our children - today to preserve our resources and halt climate change.

What We Do Comes Back

Many Christians do not realize that what we do comes back to us.

If we think good thoughts for and about others, we actually strengthen ourselves.

If we criticize and find fault with others, we weaken ourselves.

1 Corinthians 10:10: Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

For as we "do unto others" so do we do unto ourselves.

This is the Universal law that God set into motion.

So while we have absolute free will, everything we do automatically has consequences upon the world and, eventually, upon us.

God's time is infinity, so we may not see the consequence of our actions right away.

Also, because we are used to cause and effect being discrete and distinct events that are very close together (you put the pot on the stove and the water boils within moments or you hit your thumb with the hammer and the pain is instantaneous) we can miss the fact that something happening now is the consequence of what we have been doing over time.

Therefore, when problems begin to surface, do not look to see whom you can blame.

That is something that a child does.

Instead, quiet your mind, sit and send God love for five minutes and ask to understand what part you have played and what you can do to make things right.

For you are part of everything and effect it for good or ill.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12:

When I was a child, I spoke as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

Ancient Sounds For God

Do you know that our closing word AMEN - which we speak after prayer - has an ancient sound of our Source/Creator within it?

That is the sound AH. AH is thought to be a sound of creation.

By using Amen at the end of a prayer we are committing our words to the power of God - at one time known as AH - to manifest them through sound.

If you begin a cleansing of your nervous system by using such ancient sounds and words for God, such as AH and HU, it will have a positive effect on your mind, reducing worry.

Remember, John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In the beginning God created vibration.

Everything material - everything manifest - is composed of packets of vibrating energy.

Before modern science we did not know solid objects were really packets of vibrating energy.

Ancients, therefore, called the process of putting energy into motion - of creating vibration - using The Word, for sound is a type of vibration.

Yet they were correct. Sound's vibrations - and words - do create by shaping the vibrating matter around us.

For everything that vibrates has an effect on the entire quantum field.

God still creates with sound through us. He has given us power to create with sound that evokes His power.

Therefore, we can use sound - and words - to create, raise our vibrations and heal.

God has given us so many tools to use to connect to Him. Let us redouble our efforts and use as many tools as we can to speed our alignment with Him today.

The Power of The Word

Quantum physics shows us that everything has a vibration. Sound can change vibration, much as a tuning fork, when struck, makes strings near it vibrate at a different frequency.

We move closer to God by raising our vibration. This is the purification the Bible talks about.

As our vibrations rise, it becomes easier to love others and intend peace. It becomes easier to make our lives work.

I know from personal experience that when I raise my vibration, whether through prayer, meditation or sound, I feel far more loving. I then behave in more loving ways toward the world in general. Not surprisingly, it follows that my life goes far more smoothly.

Reaching a higher vibration is what Jesus wanted for us. He told us over and over again not to get stuck in the low vibrations of fear or revenge, but to train our minds and hearts to forgive and love.

Although we might like there to be exceptions, 1 Corinthians 6: 7- 8 makes it clear there are none:

Now, therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?

But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. Luke 6: 27-28

Jesus told us that to reach the kingdom, we have to learn to see beyond the limited thinking we are so familiar with that focuses on fear and punishment.

Raising our energy automatically lifts our thoughts to a higher place more aligned with God, love and compassion. If we raise it enough we will "enter the kingdom" because the kingdom of God is within us.

Mark 12:34: You are not far from the kingdom of God.

Every choice we make in a day either helps us move closer to God or moves us away.

The sounds we hear in our lives can raise our vibrations. They can also lower them. If you realize certain sounds drain or irritate you, stay away from those sounds.

For instance, if your TV is on all the time and you find yourself frequently irritated or tired, turn your TV off and leave it off. Give yourself some silence. Or find wordless music that you find beautiful and which transports you.

The ancient Egyptians used sound, along with movement, color and fragrance to cleanse and heal themselves. Through a type of holistic theater they raised their vibration which resulted in feeling better. Going to the theater for this "treatment" was a delight and a type of medicine for them.

If you want to test the power of sound, try an experiment. Stand alone in a room - without any other sound - and sing the syllable HU for ten minutes.

HU is an ancient name for God. Let yourself go and sing HU over and over. You can dance or move if you like as the power of God's joy begins growing in you.

At the end of ten minutes you will be vibrating with a feeling of power and happiness.

What you will have done is raise your vibration closer to God using "the power of the word."

If you like you feel, do this every morning before you pray and your connection with God will grow stronger.

Purifying Ourselves

We move closer to God by raising our vibration. This is the purification the Bible talks about.

To purify ourselves we can use a number of tools, including prayer, meditation and sound.

Prayer is the tool we most often use. With it we speak to God and communicate what we want.

Prayer, depending upon our words and intent, can calm and raise us up so we feel God's holy presence within us and begin to resonate with God's qualities of love and compassion. With the right intentions, prayer can transform us - and our lives - dramatically.

However, not everyone understands that prayers can become litanies of our fears or sorrows.

Certainly we have seen people who pray often and go to church, yet are burdened with troubles.

Repeating our fears and sorrows cannot lift us up. Prayer should, therefore, always be constructed so that once we reveal our sorrows or lacks to God, we then affirm God is raising us up out of them.

Meditation is a quieting of the mind in order to hear God. It is a time in which we practice silence.

We normally practice this clearing out of thoughts by focusing on an ancient sound that has been a name for God, such as Om.

As our minds learn to be quiet, we can better hear "the still small voice within" that always urges us toward love, empowerment and healthy choices.

However, depending upon the type of meditation, unless we are instructed correctly and have the correct intentions, we can meditate for years without our lives or inner landscapes changing much.

You may have seen this. One person who meditates is loving and his life works. Another may still have troubles.

There is another way to transform the nervous system and raise our vibration, and that is by using sound. Using sound alone also bypasses any confusion over the meanings or intent of words.

This is what the practice of chanting mantras is meant to accomplish. It is meant to raise one's bodily vibration - and the state of one's mind - so it more closely aligns with Spirit.

Tomorrow I'll give you a sound you can play with. If you like the way it makes you feel, you can use it frequently to help lift yourself closer to God.

Transforming Our Lives

Through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. Proverbs 11:9

Quantum physics shows us that everything has a vibration. Sound can change vibration, much as a tuning fork, when struck, makes strings near it vibrate at a different frequency.

When Jesus walked on this earth, people were healed merely by touching the hem of his garment.

This is because Jesus' energy and vibration - his aura which we see depicted in paintings of him - extended out beyond his body and was of the highest frequency possible on this earth.

He was in constant two-way communication with God. Just to be in his aura assured complete healing.

Jesus' vibration was so high, he could drink wine and remain unaffected by alcohol.

Most of us, however, cannot drink without lowering our vibrations to the point of being unable to hear - or understand - God's voice within us.

This is why drunkenness is condemned in the Bible such as in Isaiah 5:22 which states: Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink.

It is important to realize that when we operate at lower vibrations, we make poorer choices than when we are living "in the light" which is a metaphor for raising our energy to a high and fine vibration.

Simple choices we make every day, such as whether to drink wine or juice, either help raise or further lower our energy calibration and weaken or strengthen our communication with God.

Yet, Jesus said in Mark 12:34: You are not far from the kingdom of God.

He meant that the kingdom is within us and if we raise our vibrations enough, we will experience a life of peace and joy. We will experience that constant "oneness" with our Creator.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Corinthians 3:16

In fact, the ideal way to get over an addiction or a bad situation in your life, is to raise your vibration to the point where the need for the addiction dissolves.

Most people do not realize this key truth and it keeps them enslaved in problems:

Therefore my people have gone into captivity. Because they have no knowledge. Isaiah 5:13

Yet if we could steadily raise our vibration, we would become more and more closely aligned with God until our problems and addictions began to dissolve.

But how do we do that?

I'll discuss that tomorrow.

Calling All Christians

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities.

Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving on another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

From Ephesians 4:17, 4:31-32, 6:12, 6:14-15

"Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others." - John F. Kennedy

"You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door." - Robert Collier

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. Matthew 21:22

Beloved, when a person is committed to a goal, he or she accepts no excuses, but keeps on until the goal is reached.

Worrying about terrorism is useless. Anger over terrorism won't help and revenge will only feed the problem.

Instead, all Christians are called to make a commitment now to being peace. God will guide you in achieving your goal. Nothing else can heal this world of terrorism and chaos.

Your commitment is needed today.

Send God Love

In Mark 12:30, Jesus is quoted as saying:

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Mark adds that loving God "...is the first commandment."

Mark 12:31 prefaces Jesus' words with "And the second, like it, is this:"

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Then Mark states: "There is no other commandment greater than these."

Today take just five minutes to love God.

Don't pray to God. Don't ask God for anything.

Instead, sit down, take three deep breaths, close your eyes, focus on your heart and send love to God for just five minutes.

God loves you 24/7 more intensely than you know.

Give just a little back today.

War Feeds Terrorism

The National Demonstration Project to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Governmental Effectiveness conducted an experiment in 1993. Between June 7th and July 30th, 4000 experienced meditators came to Washington D.C. to see if meditating as a group could reduce violent crime in our nation's capitol by 25%.

A 27-member independent Project Review Board consisting of sociologists and criminologists from leading universities, representatives from the police department and government of the District of Columbia, and civic leaders approved the research protocol for the project and monitored its progress.

The results astounded the D.C. police force who previously maintained that only "two feet of snow in July" could reduce the incident of violent crime.

What does this have to do with being a Christian?

Everything.

God has told us He can only do for us what He can do through us.

If we honestly look at our minds, we will see they are filled with chaos. Our minds go round and round in loops of thought, much of it negative.

Yet quantum physics demonstrates that we - and our thoughts - are linked to the entire world.

As Deepak Chopra, M.D. states in Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, pg. 46, para. 3: "There is no flicker of activity in any of your cells that goes unnoticed across the entire quantum field."

Imagine then what we are broadcasting into the quantum field as we worry and disasterize? What are we broadcasting when we feel resentment, anger and hate?

Chaos.

People's minds whirl on about the negatives in the world, mostly on automatic pilot. It takes effort to even notice how negative our thoughts are, because negative thinking is so ingrained.

Most of us - who do not meditate - are broadcasting chaos into our quantum field except for those times in which our minds are engaged in deep prayer.

It is no wonder, therefore, with 6.3 billion minds obsessing over thoughts of lack, fear, anger and hate, that we find ourselves in a world of growing chaos and terrorism.

The terror that exists in the world today has less to do with religious ideology than about the states of our minds. They are not peaceful. And those who perform acts of terror while saying God will reward them for such destruction are deeply deluded. God is love, not terror.

Unfortunately, we in the United States - although we all know war does not please God - answered terror with war. Predictably, it has not helped.

Why? Precisely because war does not please the Lord.

Proverbs 16:7 clearly states: When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes...his enenmies to be at peace with him.

If the war in Iraq pleased the Lord, Iraq would not be the bloodbath it is after two years. The bombing in London would not have occurred.

In fact, we have not overcome terror by fighting because we cannot. War is terror and horror. Thinking we can heal terror with another type of terror is a false idea inconsistent with scripture. The bombing in London actually proves that we are on the wrong path.

We can only heal terrorism by quieting our minds and teaching ourselves to think compassionate and loving thoughts aligned with God.

We can only reduce terror by broadcasting peace into our quantum field.

Corinthians 1, 16:14 states: Let all that you do be done with love.

The path to healing - and to peace - requires that every Christian quiet his or her mind and fill it with love.

Healing terrorism is the job of every Christian on earth. It is an inside job. It is not something we can expect "Rome" - or the U.S. government - to do. And we must use whatever works to accomplish the goal.

As stated in Romans 12:2: "...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."

We must cultivate peace in our minds so we think peaceful and compassionate thoughts as we go about our everyday lives. If it takes learning to meditate, then let us embrace meditation and let us sign up to learn it today.

Anything else is a betrayal of God, Jesus Christ - and ourselves.

Pope Pious: Pray For Bombers

Pope Pious has asked us not just to pray for those killed and injured by the bombings in London. He has asked us to pray also for the bombers.

We will be wise to take his advice.

Remember Romans 12:20 - echoed in Proverbs 25:21-25:

If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.

You have the right to hate the bombers, of course. But by hating them, please understand that you help breed more hate and terrorism.

It is not easy to forgive and bless those who are so destructive, but we must. It is only through our prayers that God can reach through their confusion and hate and reactive their hearts so they do not bomb again.

Blessing our enemies is a commandment from God that will, eventually, free us of terrorism if we follow it.

It may be the most difficult thing you ever do - to turn your will to forgive instead of fear and hate. Hate is addictive.

But please, today, make that decision that will help change our moral climate.

May the words of St. Francis help you:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal light.

May God Bless You.

Peace: An Inside Job

Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us. Isaiah 26:12

Make me an instrument of Your peace. St. Francis of Assisi

War cannot stop terrorism. That is the way of "Caesar" not Jesus. Instead, let us begin to turn our hearts and minds toward God and peace.

Let us pray:

Dear God,

Peace is now.

Within my soul and mind, peace is now.

Gandhi said: "We must become the world we want to see."

Lord, I want to see peace reign everywhere in the world—between parent and child, neighbor and neighbor, country and country.

Let peace begin with me, God, here and now.

Show me the unrest in my soul
—and let Us resolve it, You and me.

Show me my hostilities so I clearly see them for what they are
—and let Us melt them, You and me.

Give me the work to do and I shall do it, under Your guidance and care.

Let this be true now:

—that I recognize and resolve all conflicts within me
—that I surrender my need to "be right"
—that I stop all criticism of myself and others
—that I choose love over fear
—that I choose forgiveness over hate
—that I cease all attack.

I am willing to forgive what feels unforgivable

I am willing to live my life aligned with You.

Plant the seed of peace within me, O God, and make it grow strong.

Make it grow strong for me, my family, my friends, my nation and the world.

I take responsibility for establishing peace in my life and peace in the world.

I declare there is peace in my time, Lord.

And it begins here, now and inside me.

The miracle is everywhere.
Thank You, Mighty Peacemaker.

And so it is.

Amen.

The Decision Is Yours

It is tempting, after the bombings in London yesterday, to give way to outrage and hate for those who tore London apart.

It is human to fear and loathe those who took the lives of loved ones, injured and traumatized so many.

They did not even have the courage of their "convictions" because, unlike the suicide bombers in Iraq, these cowards set timers on their bombs and ran to save their own lives.

We can give in to raging against them. We can give in to scenarios of how we would like to hurt them.

But it will not help us or those whose lives have been torn apart.

Today is a dividing line for each one of us.

Today is when each of us has a decision to make. Do we choose to fill our souls with hate and fear? Or do we do everything in our power to turn our hearts over to God so He can fill us with understanding of what we must do.

Because we must forgive.

This does not mean we wave this horror off or say there should be no consequences for those who did this.

No. They need to be found, jailed, brought to trial.

But realize they fear us. They fear us horribly. A man only wants to destroy those he loathes and he loathes out of fear and feelings of powerlessness.

Believe it or not people who feel utterly powerless turn to this kind of "ultimate power" to feel worthwhile.

We cannot afford to become like the enemy. God is very clear on how to defeat such enemies. The only - the real solution - is love.

You are part of God. You are powerful. Together, through love, we can change what we are seeing in the world today.

Are you willing to be part of this solution?

If so, turn your heart over to God today. Affirm that God cleanses you of hate and fear. Intend that you will not contribute to this terror which is oppressing our world.

Insist to God that you will be a force for peace, for forgiveness, for love.

Open yourself.

Do not let the terrorists turn you into a mental terrorist dreaming about torturing those who bombed London.

To heal the world of terrorists, none of us can be one - not even in the privacy of our own thoughts.

Remember Romans 12:20 - echoed in Proverbs 25:21-25:

If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.

If you choose today to hate, you strengthen Al Quaeda.

If you choose today to learn forgiveness and love, you weaken the forces in this world that allow Al Quaeda to recruit bombers.

Every thought you think contributes one way or the other: to peace or violence.

For God's sake; for the sake of your children, for those people in London and all of us, get over your outrage.

Take a Whiffle bat, pin a picture of someone that represents these terrorists on a pillow, get on the floor with it and beat that pillow until you can beat it no more.

Purge your rage and then work - actively - through prayer and intention to defeat this enemy in the only way we can: through changing human collective consciousness.

Be love and you are the solution.

Decide that you will be love today.

Blessings and healing upon you -

God Made It All

A sweet and reverent woman bought my book and loved my prayers.

At least she did until she came to a section in which I make reference to a religious tradition other than Christianity. With this she closed my book and declared she "could not read any more."

The Sufi poet Rumi wrote about just such an attitude in Moses and the Shepherd:

Moses heard a shepherd on the road praying:

"God, where are you? I want to help you, to fix your shoes and comb your hair. I want to wash your clothes and pick the lice off. I want to bring you milk to kiss your little hands and feet when it's time for you to go to bed. I want to sweep your room and keep it neat. God, my sheep and goats are yours. All I can say, remembering you, is ayyyy and ahhhhhhhh."

Moses could stand it no longer.

"Who are you talking to?"

"The one who made us, and made the earth and made the sky."

"Don't talk about shoes and socks with God!And what's this with your little hands and feet? Such blasphemous familiarity sounds like you're chatting with your uncles."

In this poem, Moses gives the Shepherd a good tongue thrashing beyond this. The result is that the shepherd "repented and tore his clothes and sighed and wandered out into the desert."

But a sudden revelation came to Moses as he heard God's voice:

You have separated me from one of my own. Did you come as a Prophet to unite, or to severe?

I have given each being a separate and unique way of seeing and knowing and saying that knowledge.

What seems wrong to you is right for him. What is poison to one is honey to someone else. *

There is a reason that Rumi is the best known and read poet in North America today. He was in touch with the Divine and with Divine intent.

There is no one right way to love God. There is no one right way to worship God.

Let us not - like Al Quaeda - try to impose our religious views on everyone else.

Let us instead do as Jesus taught: treat everyone with loving kindness. Let us teach through example, not doctrine. That is the essence of God.

God made us all. God made all minds and, therefore, all religions. Embrace love of all. Anything other than a heart that is filled with tolerance and compassion separates us from one another and from God.

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*From The Essential Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks