Monday, January 31, 2011

Soul


Recently, I've observed failures in marriage, in business, in health, and in many other arenas of life. No failure is worthy of our losing our sense of "Divine." We have duel natures, one part physical that is made literally of the dust of the earth, which has been organized into human form; we are also part spirit or intelligence, which enables live within our bodies. Mother Earth has lent us our bodies, and God, who is known by many names, is the Father of our spirits. We cannot see God in this life without walking a very special path, but we are not limited from being able to feel and hear Him immediately. His light is in everything, and if we will use the gift we possess to feel His Spirit and to hear His voice, we can live in such a manner that enables us to also see His face while we still live.

The veil that disables us from seeing Him at present is thin; however, it is rent in part anytime we act in harmony with His Spirit. One day I walked to a neighbor's home with the intent to give her a piece of my mind for having spread gossip about my wife, which was entirely unfounded or true. My wife had spilled many tears because of the gossip. I thought I was doing my duty to put my neighbor in her place and such was my intent. The moment before I opened my mouth to share my displeasure, God's Infinite Spirit rested upon my soul. I had a choice to speak in harmony with that spirit, or to succumb a baser spirit. I found myself looking her deeply in the eyes and telling her how much we care about her and expressed my hope and desire that we could be good neighbors, that were unaware that we had offended her; I asked her forgiveness and reasserted our desires toward her.

She commenced to cry and told me that the gossip she had spread about my wife was because of a misunderstanding and because of great pain she was suffering. She had recently lost a child she had been carrying in the womb. Her parents, celebrated the loss of the child and hurt this woman's soul terribly. During the next few minutes, a bond was forged, understanding was enlarged, and permanent love was established between two neighbors. Rather than bring more hurt to her soul, I succeeded in bringing God's perfect influence through the veil to shape and mold an important relationship. How so? Simply by acting in harmony and obedience to the omnipresent Spirit of the Infinite. By resisting the natural man within me and by speaking in harmony with the Spirit, an amazing spirit and power rested upon our conversation. It healed the breach between neighbors, and helped ease pain that my wife and I were entirely unaware of. We eased her burden and a wonderful relationship ensued between our families.

Holy writers have promised that as we live in harmony by choosing to act in harmony with the Spirit of the Infinite, we qualify ourselves to see God's face whilst we live and to know that He is. In this very moment we can feel His deep and unconditional love; stop, pause, be still, and know that He is; know that He loves you immeasurably, that your best efforts--mistakes and all--are sufficient before Him because anyone who will do there best will receive compensating help from Him to learn to do better than their best. To God you are priceless and amazingly beautiful. He never dwells upon your mistakes, only how to enable your forward progression as a spiritual being. Take a moment right now to look in a mirror deeply, look into your eyes and while doing so pause to remember just how beautiful and perfect you are, not the dust you are made of, but "You." See yourself as the Father of your spirit sees you, and envision where He wants your life to go...

You are not required to be like your earthly father, your mother, your heros, or anyone else. You are required to simply live in harmony with the Spirit of the Almighty daily. That is enough! This life and all its quirks, turns, trials, joys, adventures, fairness, unfairness, and sorrows is to give you experience that can be had in no other way. Revel in every experience; ponder deeply to learn all you can from every experience; the path to heaven goes through hell; we are intended to experience deep adversity in order that we may fully contemplate and lay hold upon redeeming knowledge. The darkness of adversity enables us to more fully understand and embrace light, knowledge, and truth.

Right now, you can learn to live in harmony with the Infinite; it doesn't matter your religion; it doesn't matter your ethnicity, and it doesn't matter your status among men. Your successes and failures are irrelevant. He is no respector of persons and will visit anyone who will forsake disharmony with Him, and who will strive to come unto Him, and who will call upon His name, and who will obey His Voice and permeating influence. As you grow in this path, first you will "feel" His influence, then you will feel it and will receive "pure thoughts" from Him; as you act upon these inspirations, you qualify to hear His voice and it will come to you distinctly from time to time. You must act upon inspirations received or they will cease to come to you until you repent and act in harmony with all that has already been given to you. As you continue to grow in this path, you will continue to grow in light, truth, knowledge, and faith. From time to time you will also receive both earthly and divine messengers that are sent to enable you with even more light and understanding. As you continue to act in harmony with the Spirit of the Infinite,  there will come a time when you will see God's face and your faith in Him will pass to "sure knowledge."

No disbeliever possesses any direct evidence to the contrary regarding the path described above; yet, every saint from every period of earth's history who has walked this path has born testimony of its truthfulness and reality. In addition, over 13 million accounts have been collected in recent years from people whose spirits have temporarily left their bodies during near-death experiences (NDE). The weight of evidence regarding what occurs after the spirit leaves the body has grown to such a proportion that even hard-core scientists conclude that it is more rationale to believe in the eternal existence of our spirits than it is to believe otherwise.

God has come to me as a boy, as a young man, as a husband, as a father, as a friend, and I know that His perfect and powerful influence touches every aspect of our lives--as we live in harmony. His tender mercies surround us, they are in us, they reach out from us to others, and they are showered from heaven upon us. If we allow Him to be in us always, His power and influence can mold and shape the events of our lives on a day-to-day basis. Like the Hebrew boy David who faced Goliath and learned that Goliath's power, strength, and ferocity were mere illusions, we too can face our Goliath's or great struggles similarly. By acting according to the Spirit of the Lord within Him, even in the face of extreme and real danger, David successfully rent the veil and through obedience to the Spirit that encouraged him to confront Goliath, David brought forth God's power and strength from heaven, through the veil, and into the confrontation. David learned that Goliath was a mere illusion when compared to God's power, grace, and perfecting influence.

Everyday Goliaths, such as gossiping and hurtful friends, neighbors, and family must be confronted similarly. As we act in harmony with God's Spirit with every Goliath we face, our "great" problems will also become illusions to us. We must believe in "real time" or we miss the opportunity to act in faith and to bring forth His power in the moments we need it.

I took a moment to consider the many names of God; the Father of our spirits is called by many names; He is known as the Infinite; He is known as Allah; the qur’an contains the Ninety-nine Most Beautiful Names of Allah. Judaism refers to 72 Divine names for God. The Mahabharata contains a thousand names for Vishnu, the Supreme God in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. What is in these various names that can teach us about attaining spiritual health in our quest to enable the spiritual part of our natures more fully? Whether from the Kabbalah, Christianity, Hebrew, Shinto, Buddhism, or otherwise, God’s names pass into common forms of thought and are symbolic of the characteristics, attributes, and perfections that are used by sacred writers of holy writ to describe Him.

Every culture speaks according to their language and understanding, according to traditions that influence them, and according to the light and truth they possess as a culture. God works among all who will receive further light and truth. He is no respecter of persons or religion, or belief. He is patient and will come to anyone who will approach Him. His Son, who was sent to earth, is known by many people and by various names and has revealed Himself in the flesh to many people. The Father enjoys characteristics, attributes, and perfections that He seeks to share with all men who will strive to live in harmony with Him and the teachings of His son. His many names merely reflect His characteristics, divine attributes, and perfections and influence the writings found among all religions today.

For example, The Almighty is a name given that reflects God’s omnipotence and His power to do as He says, declares, or promises. Other names are symbolic of His omniscience or of His all-seeing ability to see the end from the beginning, or of His truthfulness and inability to lie or to deceive us, or they symbolize His mercy, kindness, and slowness to anger. Some names remind us there is no variableness or changing in Him--that He is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. Some names remind us that one’s personal rank, stature, wealth, or power does not elevate his spiritual health or position before God; rather, our status before God is based solely upon the truth and light that is within us--obtained through our obedience to His Spirit. Because He is no respecter of persons, anyone who will receive more light from Him, grows in stature before Him.

His various names symbolize a being in whom we can trust. We are reminded that He is perfect, just, and that His judgement is always perfect. Therefore any difficulty or suffering we may face while obeying His Spirit will be perfectly judged and justly rewarded. Perhaps most inspiring are names which remind us of His perfect and unconditional love toward each of us. Each of His names are guides to help us better understand how our spirits can achieve health through total harmony with His Spirit.

Friends, the devil and His minions believe in and fear God; believing in God is utterly insufficient. If you believe in God; if you have felt His Spirit and perfecting influence, please know that believing in Him is not sufficient. If you would live young all the days of your life; if you would continue the wonder, the joy, and the adventure you felt intuitively as an infant and young child, then you must live in complete harmony with God today. You must choose to act upon His omnipresent influence today. You must choose to deal with your neighbor according to that Spirit today. The veil will not rend for you one moment sooner or later than your willingness to act in obedience to His perfecting influence--today!

It isn't sufficient to "believe in Him." We must come to live everyday so that we "Believe" Him today in a manner that can bring His power and influence through the veil to shape and mold outcomes in our lives today. Are you abused by someone incapable of changing? Learn how to bring God's power through the veil in your behalf and in behalf of the one who cannot change. Miracles only happen when we "believe" that all the wonderful religious stories are not just stories, but are examples of how we are to conduct ourselves and how we are to receive miracles today. Do you know anyone who walks on water? Do you know anyone who raises the dead? Who causes the blind to see? If not, why not? Did not the Son of man prophecy that His disciples would do all things He did and even greater? Who do you know today who is actually doing all things He did and even greater? Are you? Only by acting in harmony with the impressions He gives today, or in harmony with His direct voice that He sends from time to time, or to messengers He sends to those who continually follow Him, can you continue to grow and to preserve wonder, joy, and high adventure that marks the path of those who live in continual harmony with His Spirit. Only through this path is true belief expressed and are true miracles wrought. When they are not wrought and are only spoken of, sang of, and prayed of, then our faith is weak. We draw near unto Him with our lips, but we deny His power by not bringing His power into our lives to help us in our day-to-day crossroads. I offer this not as criticism, but as a reflection concerning believing, versus believing in. True belief regarding His goodness and power leads to bringing that power directly into your life in "real-time" as you face life's real challenges.

Now, please consider the following: Beliefs not founded in reality are defined correctly by medicine as insanity. Therefore, consider carefully the reality of your "duel nature." For in that duel nature lies the only sane balance of realities that can establish a foundation for Living Young all your life. You are part spirit and part matter (body); you must serve honorably and rationally the needs of both your body and spirit if you hope to Live Young for a lifetime.

Billions of dollars are spent annually to preserve and lengthen lifespans by focusing upon the physical aspects of our duel nature. Expenditures are made toward a range of healthcare services, treatments, drugs, surgeries, nutrition, and upon various areas of health research. Thirty million will be spent during the next few years on anti-aging research alone. As a result of these expenditures and research some promising discoveries have been made, which demonstrate the ability to slow down, arrest, and reverse the physical metabolic aging processes.

A desire to improve vitality and to extend lifespan has been of interest to just about everyone whose eyes have dimmed, whose hearing has lessoned, whose mind has weakened, or whose body has experienced aging or disease. A time comes when each of us is awakened in some degree with a desire to slow down, arrest, and reverse needless aging processes. However, to truly understand the secrets of Living Young we must go beyond our physical health. The soul of man is part spirit (intelligence) and part matter (dust). To maximize vitality we must address both the spirit and the body of man. Let's speak for a moment about the physical aspect of our duel nature.

Science teaches that the elements used to create humans, plants, and animals in their various forms can neither be created nor destroyed. Elements or matter are building blocks, which are organized into the myriad life forms we recognize. Similar to my son’s legos, matter is inert and has no power in and of itself to act, but all matter must be acted upon in order to take on or to be organized into various forms. Just as my son’s creative genius leads to various lego forms, creative genius has also led to various forms of plants, animals, and people. As Einstein and many other scientists have concluded, the forms of life we know are not random accidents; rather, they are outcomes of purposeful, superior, creative design. Each species multiplies and replenishes according to the genetics or creative plan that is embedded within the DNA that exists inside the nuclei of nearly all living cells.

Science has come a long ways in understanding the biology of each species. It also has recognized that spirit, like matter, can neither be created nor destroyed. It is a part of the duel nature of creation. The spirit or life that exists within an embryo acts to form two cells from one, and then four cells from two, and so forth until trillions of cells are created and diversified into twelve body systems that form a perfect body, one that is capable of surviving, thriving, and producing offspring. How does this happen? Without this intelligence within the cell, no such multiplication of cells could possibly occur. We cannot ignore the bedrock requirements associated with spiritual health, without suffering negative and even harmful physical consequences. Now consider the following process:

A pregnant mother eats plants and animals of the earth to sustain her physical needs. As she does so, the embryo within her womb is nourished by earth’s elements. The spirit or intelligence within the embryo acts upon these elements of matter provided by Mother Earth to form a person, according to a blueprint contained within the DNA of each cell. Mathematically the process is expressed as follows:

A human genetic blueprint + Intelligence that acts upon matter according to a human genetic blueprint + inert elements or matter = a unique human life form.

This repeating pattern or mathematical formula, which includes spirit acting upon matter to create life forms, is seen throughout the whole of nature--within plants, animals, birds, and in everything that creeps upon the earth or lives within the seas. God has placed a pattern of growth within the DNA of nearly every living cell. The intelligences assigned to those cells choose to follow that pattern of operation and are 100% responsible for growth, repair, maintenance, and all inner workings of the cell that enables it to survive and thrive.

Each life form is part dust or matter and part spirit; together the physical and spiritual form the soul of man, plant, or animal and live together as a soul until it is time for the elements to separate to return to Mother Earth from whence they came and for the spirits to return to their home. At my father’s funeral it was impressed upon my soul that the mortal remains I viewed were not the man whom I loved and cherished. Rather, they were merely a shadow of what was once him. What I viewed possessed no intelligence, life, or spirit and utterly lacked my father's personality, wit, humor, and love. He was gone. Only inert matter remained, and even that was rapidly on its way back to the dust.

Elements that form our bodies return to the earth, similar to the elements found in a compost pile. Song writers and poets have aptly penned words describing the circle of life. One of my favorite country song writers sings about how the flower that his horse ate, sprouted from his friends grave, to become the bones and sinew of his horse and as he rode his horse off into the sunset, a part of his friend went with him.

Because we are formed from both spirit and matter (body), to Live Young requires that we give proper and rationale care to both the spirit and the body. While we know a great deal about the proper care of the body through science, optimizing the health of our spirits is best described by the sacred writers of holy writ. Such writings teach us that our spirits are eternal and divine and can neither be created nor destroyed, but are capable of growing in intelligence, power, light, truth, knowledge, faith, and love. To not enable one’s spirit fully in this life is utterly irrational and ignores the sane reality of the spirit’s divine potential.

While infants progress, learn and grow rapidly and their youth remains continually renewed as they successfully take each progressive step in their lives, it is possible for us to also live in a similar rapid state of progression. As we do so, each step leads to greater light, joy, and renewal. To Live Young, as an infant or child, is to forever live in spiritual harmony with the Infinite who to us can be as a perfect coach enabling us to take the steps which lead us to greater light, knowledge and spiritual power. Choosing to live and act in harmony with His Spirit enables His perfecting influence and power to mold and shape our yet undeveloped divine qualities. Rediscovering and strengthening the intuitive spiritual capacity we enjoyed as infants is the key to extraordinary spiritual health and is the greatest catalyst possible for enabling greater physical health.

As we most efficiently meet our physical requirements for good health and as we also act in complete harmony with the Infinite, we achieve our ultimate potential for Living Young! If you have not yet read the Living Youngnewsletter, I invite you to do so. The first five volumes focus purely on the physical aspects of health. We will also devote some time to spiritual aspects of health.

Live Young Always,
Jim and Colleen Simmons 

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