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Keeping the Vision AliveWhen we are young supple and pure, freshly removed from the mold of the Creator, we still have within us the vision of the perfect:
of perfect love
of perfect equality
of perfect justice.

We know very well who is sincere and can smell from afar all that is false.

The image of our true and perfect self lives abundantly in our conscience.

Challenge of our lives is to keep that vision alive in our heart’s center.
To serve it and manifest it here on Earth.

The need to live in love and unity is ancient:
Its roots draw their life substance from the center of our being.

We were created to become one with all and everything.

However...
Unfortunately it is a fragile dream - a difficult one to actualize.

As we become «adults», the web of pain, disillusionment and defensiveness cover and suffocate it.

Society programs us with the message, «You can not be truthful, caring, loving and still survive.»
«Anyone who tries to us a dreamer.»
We gradually fall into the traps of alienation and loneliness.

Life’s responsibilities,
The anxiety of survival,
Our needs for affirmation,
Concerns about our children and other loved ones
and most of all, the realization that most have forgotten the vision,
all these, cause us to bury it deep within us so that it bothers us no more.

Occasionally we witness acts of love and unity, which remind us of our hidden desire, and we cry because we would like it to be that way always.

The truth is that our true nature is to feel love and unity in all situations

We will be able to create happiness, success and well being as individuals, families and society only when we have aligned ourselves with our inner vision of our true self.

All other efforts will be temporary and superficial solutions -
Efforts to fill round holes with square objects.
They can cover them but not fill them.

The time has come to bring to light the vision of a virtuous life to remember it as we did as children.

Now, however, there is an important difference.
Now, united, we have the power to manifest it.

When we were children our vision atrophied because we were weak and dependent.

Now we are as strong and as free as our beliefs allow us to be.

With mutual support from those who remember and care, we can work together towards creating a society based on love, equality, justice, selflessness, cooperation and unity.

The manifestation of the vision requires simultaneously inner work and outer action.

We need to work on developing ourselves becoming purer and stronger.

At the same time we serve the whole creating change.

It is in our hands.

Many groups have already started working on both levels.

You are needed and invited to merge your energy with these efforts adding your unique energies to this communal creation.
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2. The Benefits of a Virtuous Life

Considering the "benefits" of a virtuous life may seem contradictory.

But, in fact, we have so much to gain by living virtuously.

Alignment with our inherent spiritual values provides us the strength and peace of mind.
What would it be like to live in a virtuous society?
In such a society:
In a virtuous society each comprehends the meaning and importance of his particular his role and performs it as an act of love with dedication, interest, joy.

As all execute their roles conscientiously, everything functions perfectly, on time, harmoniously and effectively. This increases the socioeconomic stability.

Trust is the supporting foundation of this equally distributed abundance.

All willing offer their share of taxes, which the government in turn uses effectively, honestly, fairly with the highest possible good of the whole in mind.
Virtuous politicians really care and are dedicated to the creation of a just society with safety and abundance for all.
Virtuous businesspersons and entrepreneurs seek to balance their profits with the welfare of the consumer and the environment. They are interested not only in material wealth but also spiritual.

Products and services, which beautify and facilitate our lives, are available to all.

Citizens join together forming groups of volunteers who, in cooperation with governmental offices, seek to create for all equal opportunities for a healthy, comfortable, creative and happy life.

People greet each other with a smile.

Having manifested our inner integrity, we need no police or courts.
Children grow in an atmosphere of love, acceptance and encouragement.
They have role models, which are living examples of emotional and spiritual maturity.
They are surrounded by honesty, selflessness and love, which inspire their respect towards their fellow beings.

Parents are also siblings and friends with each other and with their children.
All learn and evolve together.
Functioning in harmony with our conscience, we have greater inner peace, vitality and health.
As surrounding countries also realize the benefits of a virtuous society, there is no need for an army or weapons, thus freeing tremendous amounts of economic energy for education, health and creative expression.
Increased productivity and economic power support greater possibilities of cultural and creative expression.

Each neighborhood sponsors dances, concerts, celebrations, exhibitions, theatrical performances and other events, which create joy and balance for all.

All have ample opportunities to express their innate creative potential.

As all are connected with the love which resides in the center of their being, spiritual and social life have become one.

In our daily encounters, we perceive the Divine in our spouses, children, parents, coworkers, friends, family members, clients, patients, employers, employees, strangers and of course in Nature.

Every transaction is an encounter with the divine.

We experience our and others’ inner beauty.

We perceive the trees, fields, birds and all the animals as our younger siblings, which we have the responsibility to care for and protect. Animals and humans live together in mutual trust and harmony.
The Earth is healed of the wounds inflicted by our ignorance, indifference and greed.
Rejuvenated, it is again enabled to offer us an environment conducive to health, happiness and well being.

We are reunited with Nature from which we have come and from which we had alienated ourselves

A virtuous life connects us with something even greater - our innate divine nature.

Liberated from the fears, guilt and defense mechanisms, we are now in a position to experience ourselves as temples of the living God and can feel the Divine power within us.
Opened to and filled by the Holy Spirit, we have now arrived at our destination - Theosis - divinization.
This is perhaps what a virtuous society might be like.
Even if you do not believe in God, You can live a perfectly virtuous life.
You simply need to care and love.

You have probably been thinking that I am an unrealistic dreamer, a simple-minded person.
Perhaps you are right. Maybe I never grew up so as to lose the vision or the hope.
But dreams are the preludes to reality.
Once your house was just an idea, a goal or perhaps a dream.
The same is true about your car and your clothing.
Man’s walking on the moon and touching the depths of the sea were first visions and then fact.

Everything we have and have done were once ideas - dreams, challenges to our minds and inner power.

Can you be sure that this idea, which we all want so much in the depths of our hearts cannot be manifest?
Not even in a thousand years?
A few thousand years??
Why not get started?
We are immortal.
Our only power, however, is in the present.

See you there.
3. How we can
Develop our Spiritual Qualities

When we refer to developing virtues what we really mean is that we are going to remove all obstacles to experiencing our innate spiritual nature. We are actually uncovering what is naturally already within us. Our natural state is one of pure love, truth, righteousness and peace. Our basic spiritual nature which has been covered by our fear and defense mechanisms. This is why it is said that man is created in the image and likeness of divine.
This is also the reason we seek this qualities in ourselves and others. We seek the perfection which is actually within us: we seek our true self. We will never feel totally happy and satisfied until we manifest our loving and peaceful selves in our daily reality.

We must however avoid the traps of pride and guilt in this process. Our religious education is usually laced with feelings of spiritual pride when we can act righteously and guilt when we cannot.
I would suggest that such an approach is not the best. Both pride and guilt are based on the ego and comparing ourselves with others and also with an image of our possibly perfect self. Fear is often the motive to be "good". Being "good" out of fear, it has no value. Only when we are free to chose to be good out of love and the realization that we are all one being, can we speak of actual goodness.
Also we are not worthier or more lovable because we are loving, truthful and peaceful. All beings regardless of ability and ethics have the same divine worth as expressions on one divine consciousness. We are simply freer and happier when we are ethical and loving. We are not longer controlled by our fears and defense mechanisms.
Let us approach this goal of inner perfection without pride and guilt or self-rejection viewing it a process of self-maturation and self-liberation from our ignorance and weakness. Let us view it a path of joy and discovery as we free ourselves from whatever obstructs our love, peace, truthfulness, humility and kindness.
We can do this alone but it is often much more successful in groups. A group can mirror us and help us to see ourselves more clearly. Also it can support us in this process.
Let us also remember that we can be responsible only for the quality of the effort and not for the results.
The family of Spiritual Qualities

Spiritual qualities or virtues are like rays which radiate outward in different directions from a common center. They all originate in our inner self and penetrate into our personality.
Developing any virtue brings forth all the others. With faith we feel secure and are enabled to feel love and understanding and compassion, selflessness and peace. These are all aspects of our inner being. One enables the other.

Ways in which we can develop our virtuous nature

1. Group work is very important and helpful. Our present society does not encourage us to develop love and truthfulness. We are taught that we have to be distrusting and defensive if we do not want to be used, hurt or cheated.
We need a support group of others who have the same goal in order to achieve this goal. This group can meet regularly (weekly is best) and discuss, share, pray, meditate, chant, or contemplate on the spiritual truths which enable us to be fearless in world.

2. We can pray for help in developing the qualities which seek.

3. We can read the scriptures of the various religions as well as the lives of persons who have been living examples of the strength and clarity necessary for this development.

4. We can contemplate on the meaning of all teachings and how they might apply to our daily lives.
5. In this series you are presented with a number of descriptions of how one might, feel think and act when he or she has perfected specific qualities. You may want to write your own descriptions. These function as inner thought forms allowing us to develop inwardly towards that image which we have in our minds. Such descriptions can be written or spoken onto a cassette and then read or listened to daily before sleeping and or upon waking, This will strengthen these qualities within us.

6. We can relax our mind and focus on a specific quality and ask that our subconscious present a visual symbol for that quality. We can then draw it at place it where we can see it daily so that we are reminded of that symbol daily.

7. Relaxation techniques in general bring us into contact with inner peace and clarity, thus augmenting all positive qualities within us. We have a wide variety of possible visualizations for this purpose.
Note:
The mind may at times, rebel against the development of various qualities out of fear that it will lose some comforts or imagined forms of security or self-worth. If the mind reacts in negative ways we will need to be objective witnesses and find a balance between moving forward and allowing the mind to feel secure.
We neither want to suppress ourselves nor do we want to remain stagnant. We need to find a friendly balance with our subconscious and inner child.

8. Meditation can bring us into contact with higher aspects of our nature. With time this daily contact will transform our personality.

9. Contemplation is a process in which we focus on a specific quality or teaching and seek to understand its deeper meaning and application in our lives. Such understanding enables us to live this quality much more fully.

For example is we are contemplating on "Love" we might ask:
a. What is Love?
b. What does it mean to love one’s spouse, child, parent, friend, neighbor etc?
c. When do I behave without love? In which situations and in relationships to which persons or behaviors?
d. Where do I want to love more deeply and or steadily?
e. What do I need to do or believe in order to love even in those above-mentioned situations?

10. We can analyze why we lose our love, peace of ability to be truthful in various situations, seeking to discover the fears and beliefs which cause us to become defensive or closed. Having discovered those aspects of ourselves, we can move forward to changing them.

11. Behaving as if we have already developed a quality can help us to align ourselves with it. Most religions follow this path of adjusting our behavior. This can be useful but can also create a split personality. We need to align our behavior to our highest values but also at the same time be honest to ourselves about what is going on within us.

12. Selfless service towards those who are in need is a wide field for developing various spiritual qualities. We are able to see our ego more clearly and can learn to put others’ needs above our comforts. We have the ability then to develop selflessness – an extremely important inner quality.

13. Imagining that we are the other and seeking to determine his or her needs, feelings and beliefs enables us to develop compassion, understanding and love. Once we are free from identifying exclusively with ourselves, we can then be more aware of the others. This is basic to spiritual development

14. Developing inner security is also basic to spiritual growth. Inner security is a prerequisite too love, peace, truthfulness, selflessness and all other virtues.
15. Self-acceptance is another extremely important prerequisite to feeling secure enough to love and understand others. Most often when we lose our peace and love it is because we feel that our self-worth is being undermined
Now let us look at contemplations on some of the basic spiritual qualities.

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4. When I love you PurelyWhen I love you purely, I wish for you to be always happy and healthy.
I respond to your soul needs but not always to your ego desires.
I joyfully offer my time, money and energy in support of your flowering soul.
I am happy about your successes, even when that means less attention and affirmation
for me.
I accept you exactly as you are.
When I love you purely, you are for me like a flower, a unique expression of divine energy.
I see your inner beauty even when you yourself cannot express it.
When I love you purely, I communicate with you honestly, expressing to you my true
needs, feelings and thoughts.
It is impossible for you to hurt me, because true love expects nothing and keeps no accounts.
I allow you to find your happiness with whomever and however you are guided from within.
When I love you purely, I see you not as my possession and ask not that you love only me.
That would be to limit your soul and obstruct your growth universal love.
When I love you purely, I experience your true Divine Self; as true love is divine and
perceives only the divine.
I can never fear for you even when you are passing through difficulties because I remember that you always have exactly the tests, which facilitate the manifestation of your inner magnificent and the power to deal with them.
When I love you purely, I leave you in the proper moments to find your own solutions and answers, even though I feel affirmed when I find them for you.
Out of love I allow you to discover the truth which is hidden within you.
However, in order to love you purely, I need to become stronger and cease needing you
to feel secure or worthy.

I will need to transcend loneliness and be with you because l love you and not because I need you.
It is not possible to love purely that which I need.
Actually only from a position of inner strength, self sufficiency and fulfillment can I love you purely
An even when you leave your physical body, my sorrow will not be from my love but from my need for your physical presence.
You are a divine being, which will have been freed from its material vehicle.
My tears will be for me.
But for you I will be happy.
Go forward my love,
You belong not to me
but to the Universe.
For that is what you truly are...
The Universe.

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5. True Faith

When I have true faith, I fear nothing and no one. I experience Divine attention and care.
When my loved ones are in "danger", I trust that there is a Divine wisdom greater than my needs and desires

Although I fight with love for a world of equality and well being for all, I am able to perceive divine justice and wisdom behind the apparent injustices.

When I have true faith, I do not complain when my desires are not fulfilled.

I do not feel that I have been forgotten when my prayers "are not answered", because I trust that the Divine knows better the needs of my soul.

When I have true faith, I am liberated from the need to control all and everyone. I allow each to follow his or her own inner voice.

I neither criticize nor condemn others or myself.

When I have true faith, I forgive easily, as I am aware that each experience is a just and wise opportunity for my growth process.

I feel secure in my confidence that all results of my efforts will be the best possible outcome for our mutual evolution.

I have patience because I know that the Divine knows better when my desires should be satisfied.

When I have true faith, I love all unconditionally - even those whom I do not know, and those who behave egotistically because I remember that each being is a unique Divine expression.

I never feel lonely. I feel the Divine close to me around me and within me.

I am sincere and truthful in all my transactions and communications. Doing otherwise would be to lie or cheat my own Self.

I give to all, serving the Divine in each.
I remember that it is the one Universal Consciousness (my "Self") who is hungry who is homeless, orphaned or in jail.

When I have true faith, I am simple and humble.
I have no need to boast of myself in order to feel my self-worth

My divine nature is my self-worth.
What more then can I have or do in order to be worthy?

As divine energy is it possible that my self-worth can be change because of other people’s opinions?

When I have true faith, I have clarity and power.

My energy is free to focus in the present and to express itself creatively and effectively.

When I have true faith, I am happy.
I perceive Divine beauty everywhere and in everyone.
Also in myself

My mind is free to experience the present, which is much more beautiful than the past and future.

When I have true faith, I proceed with courage even into the unknown because I know very well that all is Divine.

I radiate Joy, Light and Love.

There is peace and exhalation.

All is Divine.
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6. WHEN I AM RIGHTEOUS

When I am righteous, I never want to do injustice.

I seek to put my self in the other’s position; to see the other as myself; to understand how he feels with my behavior

When I am righteous, in my business transactions, I always check to see if I would be happy if I were the other side of this exchange.
Happy to receive what the other is getting from me.

When I am righteous, with my family, I ask myself, "would I like to have myself as a spouse, parent, child, sibling?
Would I be happy to be in the others’ position?
Am I just with them?
Am I democratic and fair?
Do I express my love?
Am I conscientious in keeping my agreements?
Am I kind with them?
Am I just?

When I am righteous, with my friends, I wonder What kind of friend would I like to have?
Then I try to be that kind of friend.
When I am righteous, in my communications, I am truthful and clear.
I act with the respect, I would like to receive from the others

When we have a difference in opinion or needs, it is more important for me to be just rather than to be "right".
I lose my rightness when I communicate without respect and love.

When I am righteous, I am conscientious in keeping all my responsibilities and agreements.

I remember and execute with joy the responsibilities which I have accepted.
When I am righteous and the other makes a mistake, I first of all remember my own mistakes and only then and if necessary I point out the problem with love and understanding.

When I am righteous, I care for others as I would like them to care for me.
I think of their needs and want to offer them joy.

I treat them, as I would like them to treat me.

When I am righteous, I feel connected with society.
I become a cell on the body of the whole, which protects me and cares for me
and I in turn serve that whole.

I look to see where I can help my fellow beings who are in need; the poor, homeless, orphans.
I act with the thought that this is the way I would like them to treat me if I were in their position.

I put myself in the other’s shoes and ask, "What would I like others to do and not to do?"

I can be righteous when I transcend the limits of "me" and "mine" even for a little, and allow myself to feel others’ needs and emotions.

I do not however, ever confuse being righteous with being "Higher", more right or more worthy.

I realize that it is one thing to "play the righteous one" and another to be actually be righteous.

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7. Sincerity

Sincerity is an absolute prerequisite for relationships of conscious love and unity.

Otherwise, we are all hiding behind masks, which we desire so much to remove but are afraid that others will not love us as we are without them.

When I am sincere, I am at ease and I feel alive.
My energy flows freely, because I am myself and am not losing energy trying to be liked by others

When I am sincere, I am well with myself and others.
It is extremely tiring to sustain a lie.
To hide ourselves and present a continuous illusion.
It is a suppression of our true feelings, thoughts and needs based on incessant postulation concerning what others want us to be and when they will accept us and when they will not.

All of this because we do not accept ourselves and cannot perceive our own self-worth and beauty.

It is a shame; a life lost; a lie which we live in order to be "Accepted"

And the humor of the matter is that the others are doing the same, afraid that we will not accept them as they are.
And thus actually no one pays attention to the others’ performance because we are all so involved in our own.

And something else.

We have the mistaken belief that the others will love us if we are perfect.

This is a great misconception.
No one feels comfortable with "perfect" people.
Their "perfection" makes us feel uncomfortable.

On the other hand, we are vitalized by the others’ sincerity even however negative it might be.

When I am sincere, I am on my path towards self actualization.
I am able to be sincere when I remember that I and all others are worthy of love a respect exactly as we are.

I can be sincere when I remember that I am in a process of evolution and that my faults are steps on which I am stepping in order to climb higher.

I can be sincere when I remember that God created me as I am and that to hide myself would be to hide divine creation.

I can be sincere when I understand that the others’ attitude towards me simply reflects my own towards myself.
Thus what I perceive as their rejection or judgment is simply a reflection of my own attitude towards myself and of course towards them.

By fearing what others’ think, I create the opposite result!
When I am sincere, others feel comfortable and at peace because the truth brings us together with our inner selves.

MY sincerity becomes an opening towards others, who in turn, open up and we experience real friendship which is the basis of love.

When I am sincere, I am my self.

My life and my life flow abundantly.

Sincerity = Openness = Friendship = Love = Unity = Beauty
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8. WISDOM

Philosopher means in Greek, "a friend of wisdom".

Wisdom creates a bright presence in our minds, allowing us to perceive with clarity beyond the veils of illusion.

When wisdom is accompanied by Faith they create together trust in our highest truths.

We are then able to pass safely through the dark and difficult corners of life feeling inner security and inner peace.
Thus, when I believe that I am an immortal soul, a divine energy that is temporarily evolving in the material body, I obtain clarity concerning what is important and what is not.

We understand that since we will be leaving this material reality that there is no sense in chasing after and accumulating material objects or wealth.

When I have wisdom I realize that all my negative emotions are a result of ignorance and fear.

Liberated from the personality, which fears and feels offended, I experience peace and love regardless of the others actions.

When I have wisdom I know that we are all one and feel unity with all my brethren and nature.

When I have wisdom, I experience my life purpose as a soul in evolution, which came to learn, serve and create.
I then direct my time and energy towards my life purpose and not on unfruitful activities which diminish the quality my life.

When I have wisdom, I understand my brethren and myself.
I understand that we are in a process of perfecting ourselves as each of us is seeking to manifest his or her inner beauty, love and harmony.
I remember Christ©s words, "Let he who has not sinned throw the first stone" and I can not judge.

When I have wisdom, I experience inner peace because I then perceive the perfection of creation.
Beyond the pain of human injustice I can sense Divine justice.

Everything and everyone are in their "places"- where they should be - at this stage of the evolutionary process.

Wisdom also tells me that these roles and situations are in a delicate dynamic balance as constantly change and growth.
Our mission is to work incessantly towards perfecting our expression of our innate spiritual quantities.
We are here to create a planet and society based on love equality and unity

When I have Wisdom,
I have:
Faith
Love,
Peace,
Clarity,
Gratitude,
Humility
Patience
Perseverance
Discipline
Understanding,
Sincerity,
Courage
Happiness
Unity ............
...................
I have
Everything
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9. What, in fact, is humility?
When I am humble, I do not feel superior to any one but neither do I feel inferior
I feel neither more nor less important than others.

I realize that my place in the evolutionary movement of the universe is simultaneously very small but yet unique and precious.

I am like a small dot of paint on the cosmic design of the universe.
Although my presence is invisible the painting is not the same without me.

I understand that, as a personality, I have neither power, nor duration.
But as a vehicle of divine energy I am both powerful and useful.

When I am humble, I am simple and kind, pleasant and supporting.

I respect and serve all without desire for recognition and without feeling that I have done something important.

I am easy to communicate with because I do not play games of who is right or who is worthier.

When others want to feel "superior" more intelligent, more correct, more important than I, I perceived them with love and understanding, knowing that I too have that aspect in myself.

On the other hand, I have no need to affirm my self-worth as I understand that, in fact, my body and personality have no worth, other than as vehicles of expression for the Divine.

I enjoy serving, thus when I serve, I keep no accounts.
I never feel I am being used or taken from, as I give of my own free will and also have the ability to say no when I choose.

My words are few and essential while my dress is simple. I have no need to provoke attention.
I feel comfortable with all persons. I have nothing to hide or to protect.

I am not focused on social differences. All have the same value for me.
I feel equally comfortable with all regardless of social status or life role.
Just as all the forms on the movie screen are expressions of the one projection light and thus have the same value, in the same way, I feel each including myself as an expression of the one divine consciousness on the screen of matter.

When I am humble, I have no need to judge others or to compare myself with them.

I greet all without being concerned about whether they respond or not.

I know that the results of my efforts do not belong to me. I am responsible only for my motives and the quality of my effort; God decides the results.

My knowledge and talents are aspects of divine grace and I use them for the benefit of the whole.

My body, mind and power are all temporarily borrowed from the divine source and are to be used towards my "Work" on the earth.

As my personality is purified, ever more power and beauty flow through it into the world around me.

And something strange.

As my ego diminishes, I become stronger.

Abandoning the need to control, everything happens for the best.

Liberated from the need for recognition, I now have as much as I need.

Freed from the need to have, I live in abundance.

When I put my ego aside, all flows more abundantly and harmoniously.

Yet, separateness is created both when we feel superior and inferior.
Finally, it seems that I can be humble when I need no affirmation, that is, when I accept myself as I am with all my faults. Thus, my humility is a direct result of my self-acceptance, self-confidence and self-love and not some type of self-rejecting self-demeaning attitude.

Although humble and simple, I walk with my spine straight because, as all the others, I too am equally a pure and lovable Child of God.
But most of all, when I am humble, I do not know that I am.********************************
10. RESPECT
Respect is the recognition of each person’s intrinsic value
Of course, each of us is always worthy of respect but we are not always capable of seeing it.
I am not talking about respect
for those in higher positions.
nor for those who have much money,
nor for those who are very intelligent,
neither towards those whom we fear.
I talk of respect that comes from the realization that each is an unique expression of the Divine
We can truly respect the other when we tune in to his inner majesty.
True respect recognizes the divine even in the unethical or the criminal, because it remembers that the Divine resides also in them, even if they do not realize it.
Respect is born from Wisdom and Love,
It gives birth to gentleness and interest in how others feel.
True respect is based not on fear but rather on awe at the divinity of all beings.
True respect, lessens not with familiarity and increases with love
It is the similar to humility, which also recognizes each beings inherent worthiness.
Friendship and Conscious Love Relationships are based on mutual respect and equality.
Respect enables two and more beings to overcome their fears and unite.
Lack of respect hurts.
It denies the existence of our true Self and our intrinsic self-worth.
When we do not respect another, we are blinded by ignorance.
We fail to respect divine creation,
This means that we do not respect our own Selves.

Respect for others and ourselves flows from the recognition the True Being in each of us.
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11. THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
When we worry about what we do not have, we forget and thus lose all the wonderful things we do have. Ken Keyes calls this "The mosquito effect". If there are ten mosquitoes in a room, and we manage to eliminate nine of them, we will still be annoyed by the remaining one. If we have ten problems and solve nine of them, rather than being grateful for the nine solutions, we worry about the remaining problem. Or if we own ten objects and lose one of them, rather than being grateful for and enjoying the remaining nine, we will be discontent about the one we have lost. If we have ten desires and fulfill nine, we will focus on the one which has not yet been fulfilled.
We have so much to be grateful for and yet gratitude is a rarely felt emotion. This is especially true if we compare our lives with 80 % of those sharing the planet with us. We would all benefit by realizing how blessed our lives are. Sharing such positive feelings of appreciation and gratitude and joy also enrichen and beautify our environment and the lives of those around us.
A simple technique is to spend a few minutes each day thinking of or listing those aspects of our lives which we could be grateful for. Even the most taken for granted simplicities of life such as running water, a warm home, friends and family can be sources of joy when seen through such eyes.
Some have even developed the ability to feel grateful for ordinarily unpleasant experiences and even for injustices because they often offer us the opportunity to develop inner strength and deep insight into ourselves and life itself.

What could we feel grateful for?
v The sun which warms our bodies and manifests food for our sustenance.
v All foods, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and beans which give pleasure to our taste and vitality to our bodies.
v For the animals the cows, sheep and goats who give us their milk.
v For all others animals who our companions on this earth.
v The beauty of nature around us; the trees, grass, the blue of the sky, the sea and rivers in which we bathe and are refreshed.
v The water we drink and which we use to clean our bodies, clothing and homes.
v Our comfortable homes that protect us from the extremes of nature - not all beings have such comfort as we.
v Our clothing which protects and warms us.
v The air we breathe which gives us life force and joy.
v For our families whom we love and who love us.
v For all our friends and relatives, and even the strangers, who we are eventually befriending.
v And even for those who test us and teach us many lessons and strengthen our character.
v For books, magazines and films which inform us.
v For all the sciences, philosophies, religions and psychology which help us to understand ourselves and the world around us.
v For all the teachers and spiritual guides who show us our way – who we are and can become.
v For the telephone and internet which make communication so easy and unite us.
v For cars, trains, boats and airplanes, which help us learn and grow into one world family.
v For all the machinery and technology which liberate our time and energy for greater mental and spiritual development.
v For the farmers who work to provide us with food.
v For all professions as each plays his and her part in our social fabric.
v For the rain and all the conditions which make the food possible.
v For these bodies and all their capabilities of perceiving and acting so that we may enjoy and participate in this lovely world.
v The ability to hear, see, taste, smell and feel.
v The ability to walk, run, dance and work.
v The opportunity to rest, relax, sleep, dream and fantasize.
v The ability to create, sing, whistle, hum, write, draw and to solve problems.
v The ability to think, wonder about life and learn about life and after life.
v The various systems of exercises and techniques that keep our bodies healthy and our minds clear.
v For meditation, contemplation and prayer.
v For spiritual wisdom which helps us view life in a more objective and relaxed way.
v For the inclination to improve ourselves to become better human beings.
v For the will power with which we transcend our lower nature and mature into beings of love, light and wisdom.
v For the discontentment and problems of life through which we are tested and grow.
v For difficult situations and difficult people, who are opportunities for us to enable our inner strength and self-confidence.
v For our fellow seekers of a better life for all.
v For life and also for death, through which we learn the meaning of love.
v For the death of the loved ones which teaches us to become more spiritually centered, more concentrated on the soul rather than the body.
v For the death of our own body which reminds us of our temporary physical nature and immortal spiritual nature.
v For our gain and loss, pleasure and pain, joy and depression so that we may eventually learn to transcend them in our realization of our inner bliss.
v For "good" and also for "evil" which enable our discrimination, wisdom and love.
v For Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, Rama and all the prophets and sages who bring messages of truth, love and peace.
v For our awareness of the divine within all beings and actually at the very center, the reality, the foundation of our being.
v For the desire to merge once again with the divine.
v And, finally, for the ability to be thankful.A SIMPLE PRAYER BY ST. FRANCIS
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred... let me sow love.
Where there is injury... pardon.
Where there is discord... unity.
Where there is doubt... faith.
Where there is error... truth.
Where there is despair... hope.
Where there is sadness... joy.
Where there is darkness... light.
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.
It is in dying ... that we are born
to eternal life.

********************************
12. WHEN I AM SELFLESS...

Selfishness is a tiring and vain effort to fill our internal emptiness externally.

The result is that our self-centeredness reflects back to us from others as their selfish behavior.

Whenever we feel others want to take from us, we subconsciously adopt various forms of defensive behavior in order to "protect" ourselves.

This is exhausting game of self-protection and control. Our personality seems to be insatiable. If ten people love and affirm us, we will be unhappy about the 11th, which does not.

In order to function selflessly we will need to be free from dependence on others for our feelings of self-worth security, fulfillment or freedom.

We can function selflessly when we remember that we are Divine creation,
temples of the living Divine essence. We are Divine energy in the process of evolution.
Connected with our inner self-worth, security, fulfillment and freedom we are liberated from the need to take from the others and to control them for our own benefit. We can begin to be selfless.

By cultivating a conscious love relationship with ourselves and God we can experience inner fulfillment and approach others selflessly.
When we function selflessly our motives are pure; we desire nothing from the others.

We become like cells in the body of humanity serving the whole.

We are interested in how we can truly help those around us.

Such service is totally natural and we see not the difference between serving others and ourselves. They are equally important.
Our actions are simple and natural.

We have no need for recognition, not even for a thank you.

An even if those whom we have served, do us harm, we do not feel injustice, for we keep no accounts, and do not distinguish them from those we have not served.

We are detached from the results of our efforts.

Having freed ourselves from the need for repayment, we have no anxiety concerning the results.

We are free to live, work and create with all our hearts without anxiety concerning the results of our actions.

It this way we are able to focus on the present, on what we are doing, and thus are more effective.

Selflessness frees us from the need to plays ego games.

We no longer feel the need to be noticed.
We have no need to announce what we do.
Selflessness means without "self". A state of inner peace free from the need to compete.

A selfless life is a beautiful life with peace and meaning.

Perhaps not very impressive to others, but a jewel to the eyes of the Divine.
********************************13. I FORGIVE EASILY WHEN
Christmas is a time of love and forgiveness.
Below you might find some thoughts that facilitate that process.
I forgive easily when I remember that there are universal laws, which allow to happen to me only what I create, deserve and is beneficial for my evolutionary process.
I forgive easily when I think that a just and wise Divine Being allowed the other to do whatever he or she did to me.

I forgive easily when I understand that I exist within Divine Plan. That all is happening to me for my long-term benefit.
I forgive easily when I realize that the other is an expression of the Divine with whom I have made a secret agreement to test my faith, love, understanding and inner strength.
I forgive easily when I perceive the other as a soul who behaves in this because of ignorance of his true divine nature and out of fear and insecurity.

I forgive easily when I remember all of my own mistakes and moments in which I have behaved without love or sensitivity having been mislead by my needs and fears.
I forgive easily when I put myself in the other's position and realize the emptiness, confusion and pain, which lead him to these acts.

I forgive easily when I take responsibility for my reality and remember that only I create in my mind what I feel.

I forgive easily when I need nothing from the other and thus am no longer in a position
to be hurt or disappointed.

I forgive easily when I am free from the game of "who is right" and understand that
saying, 'I forgive you" does not mean, "You were right", but simply that "I understand you and chose to love you as you are."

I forgive easily when I am liberated from the role of the abused who needs abusers.

I forgive others when I am free from the mistaken thought process, which says, "since I am the victim, the other is the abuser and I am good and the other is evil is I am worthy and he is not.

The victim finds his security and self worth in being victimized, and believes that, if he forgives, then he loses his self-worth.

I forgive easily when I remember Christ's words "Whoever has not sinned, let him throw the first stone."

I wonder then, With right could I ever have not to forgive?
Upon what perfection am I basing my right to condemn?

I think, "He forgave those who crucified him, saying, 'They know not what they do.'"
Because he saw them with through divine eyes although they remained totally ignorant of their Divine origin.

And when Peter asked him, "How many times should we forgive, Seven times?"
Christ answered, "No Peter, not seven times, but Seven times seventy times,"
In other words - without end.

And when I am truly conscious, I also ask forgiveness from all who I have felt hurt or disappointed by my actions, voluntary or not.

If possible, I seek to correct any wrong that has been done and desire to lessen their pain - if they allow me.

Then I communicate with God, confess my weakness and acknowledge my mistakes and egoism.
Then I forgive myself.
When I forgive all including myself,
We then all gather in love
In my heart.
********************************
13. TRUTHS WHICH AID FORGIVENESS
Some truths which will help us forgive others are (some are based on various spiritual beliefs or Christian concepts which might not be acceptable to you or the subject):
v All happens according to a divine plan which brings me exactly what I need at every stage of my evolutionary process in order to learn the next lesson.
v Others are simply actors in my life drama, the script of which I write daily.
v Others are the hands of the divine showing me the direction in which I must go.
v All are souls in evolution, who act negatively out of ignorance and fear.
v Forgiving does not mean saying that what the other did was right, it simply means that I forgive his ignorance and weakness as a fellow soul in the evolutionary process.
v Forgiving does not make me vulnerable. Still needing something (security, affirmation, love ) from the other make us vulnerable. Forgiving and loving without needing any thing from the other is my real protection.
v I am the sole creator of my reality. I abuse others when I hold them responsible for what I create.
v I have the power to create my life and need not hide behind excuses that I cannot because of something which others have done or are doing.
v As souls in the process of evolution we all make many mistakes. This is natural. What is unnatural is not forgiving ourselves and others for these mistakes.
v The other is a divine creation. Although he may not realize it, the divine is functioning through him. Not forgiving him, is to not forgive the divine.
v We create as much pain in the world when we feel hurt as when we hurt.
v And the words of Christ
v "Let he who has not sinned, throw the first stone."
v "Judge not, that you be not Judged."
v "You will be judged with the strictness with which you have judged."
v Peter asked Christ, "How many times should we forgive someone for what he has done, seven times?" Christ answered, " No Peter, Seven times seventy times."********************************
14. TRUTHS FOR SELF FORGIVENESS
Warning
The following truths can be misunderstood, misapplied and used as excuses for egotistical behavior. No truth should lead us to become indifferent to how our actions might affect others. Nor should they allow us to behave towards them in ways in which we would not like them to behave towards us.
These truths are there to help us get free from the guilt, shame and doubt of the past, not to give license to do whatever we like in the future1. All happens according to a divine plan, which brings to all exactly what we need at every stage of our evolutionary process in order to learn the next lesson. I may, in some cases, have been the instrument for that learning process for others. Thus, I am not the creator of their reality, but I can ask forgiveness for any selfish behaviors or negative emotions that I have had towards them.
2. Others are simply actors in each person’s life drama, the script of which each of us writes daily for ourselves.
3. I, as all others, am a soul in evolution, who occasionally acts negatively out of ignorance and fear.
4. Asking forgiveness does not mean that I am evil, but that I recognize my ignorance and want to get free from it. Admitting it is the first step towards that freedom.
5. Asking for forgiveness does not demean me, but rather, frees me from the illusion on my ego.
6. Each is the sole creator of his reality. I create no one else’s reality.
7. Each has the power to create his life and need not hide behind excuses that he cannot because of something that I or others have done or are doing. I refuse to be emotionally blackmailed by such situations.
8. As souls in the process of evolution we all make many mistakes. This is natural. What is unnatural is to not forgive ourselves and others for these mistakes.
9. I am a divine creation. The divine is functioning through me. Not forgiving myself, is to not forgive the divine.
10. Let he who has not sinned, throw the first stone. Who is there to judge me?
11. God’s love for me is unconditional. I am loveable as I am, with all my mistakes.
12. God has created me with my weaknesses. I cannot be judged for what has been divinely created. My destiny, however, is to free myself from my selfishness and ego-centeredness which are based on illusion.
13. Peter asked Christ, "How many times should we forgive someone for what he has done, seven times?" Christ answered, " No Peter, Seven times seventy times." This also applies to ourselves.
14. I love and accept myself exactly as I am.
15. I appreciate and respect myself.
16. There is within me an all-wise voice that leads me.
17. I have the right and the responsibility to express my inner beauty and creativity.
18. I deserve everyone’s love and respect, regardless of my appearance, social position, profession, knowledge, achievements and of what others think of me.
19. My self worth is the same as that of every other soul, no more no less.
20. I am an eternal, divine consciousness in the process of developing the ability to express the beauty that exists within me.
21. Everything is divine. There is no one or nothing that is not the expression of the one universal consciousness (God) - I am no exception.
22. It is not necessary to live my life according to the convictions or expectations of my parents or of others. I can love, respect and help them, but live according to my principles, needs and convictions.Remember not to misuse these truths, but do use them properly to free yourself from the past and from the illusion of the ego.
********************************
16. What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?
My logic and faith in the wisdom and justice of the Divine is that all religions have equal access to the one and only Divine Being.
I believe that after leaving the physical body the virtuous Christian and the virtuous Jew will keep company with the virtuous Moslem, Buddhist and Hindu as well as with the virtuous atheist.
What is of more importance, the name that we call God, or the purity with which we seek?
Does God have a religion?
What religion does "He-She-It" belong to?
I believe that there is only one God and "He-She–It" is Love and that Love is the essence of all religions.
However, being born a Christian,
I wonder the following:
Am I really a Christian?
What makes one a Christian?
What I claim or my heart’s purity?
My birth or my conscience?
My Baptism or my behavior?
Then I thought, "A Christian is a person who seeks to put in practice Christ’s teachings and example.
Subsequently I brought to mind his teachings and concluded that in order to be a Christian I would need to:
B Love others as I love myself.
B Love others as Christ loves me.
B Love even those who seek to do me harm.
B Not have any anxiety concerning tomorrow, having faith that if I work for the benefit of the whole, all my needs will be cared for as are those of the birds and lilies of the field.
B Remember that God exists in each being, in the poor, ill, imprisoned, orphans, refugees and all others and serve them in anyway that I can.
B Share my resources and belongings with those in need thus freeing up my spiritual wealth.
B Realize that the satisfaction and abundance I am seeking are within me.
B Never do to others what I would not like them to do to me.
B Abandon my personal life and unite with my fellow beings just as the first Christians in communal life.
B Never criticize or condemn others but rather seek to understand and overcome my own weaknesses.
B Have trust that God loves me unconditionally and that if I ask, I will be given what I need unless it is my greater benefit not to have what I am asking for.
B Forgive others regardless of their actions and repetitive mistakes.
B Understand and employ the power of fasting and prayer.
B Remember that our destiny is to live in harmony and unity with our fellow beings.
B Realize that my purpose is to use my talents, intelligence, abilities and virtues to create a more harmonious world.
B Remember that I could leave my body at any time and thus live in such a way so that I am without regrets or pending matters whenever I leave.
B Remember that I am the Temple of God and that the Divine lives in me.
B Realize that the Kingdom of God is within me and nowhere else.
B Realize that by following Christ’s guidelines I will discover the Truth that will set me free from me ignorance.
B Gradually absorb the truth that we are all divine and that our destiny is Theosis or to become like God through the perfection of our innate virtues.
B Believe that Christ is an incarnation of the Divine.
B Believe in his resurrection from death.
B Love God with all my power, mind, heart and soul.
B Live with love.
I suspect you could add many more qualities
of a Christian.
Then I thought, "so, am I a Christian or not?"
An answer came from within.
"It is my goal and I am in the process."
Being a Christian, Moslem, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu or even a conscious Atheist is an
ongoing process of seeking to experience our true spiritual self and manifesting it through love, truth, peace, service, right action and selflessness.
Be well – Be Happy
We are Goodness itself.

Robert Elias Najemy
www.HolisticHarmony.com