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The human body is a temple of God that requires our very best care.
L.D. Pankey
Editors Note:
I feel that it is valuable for each us to share how we approach the Spritual Side of Living, as it's importance is all too obvious. For how can one watch their daughter singing like a song bird (when you yourself can not carry a note in bucket) and not feel amazement beyond explaination? Or, how can one look at a snow-capped mountain and not have it take your breath away in sheer admiration of God's work?
Just a matter of random luck? I'm not buying it…
For the sake of transparancy, I am a practicing Christian. This shades my world view. It influences how I raise my children as well as how I treat others. It is the bedrock onto which my life has been built.
This however does not make me in any way judgmental toward others who believe differently (that is, unless their belief system is anti-social and destructive), for the pursuit of knowing God and accepting His will is deeply personal and therefore expressed in many appropriate ways.
Let's focus here on the positive things your Faith and Spirituality have brought into your life and into the life of others. And so doing, may we help others who feel lost in this essential area of living.
Paul A. Henny, DDS
Publisher / Managing Editor
Co-discovery.com
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THOUGHTS FOR LIVING
Go Places amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, strive to be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too, have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of God. Find peace through accepting that His plan is unfolding as it should. Yours is not to know why, as only He knows the greater context and reason for everything.
Therefore through acceptance, be at peace with Him, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisey confusion of life keep this peace and be assured, Strive to share His love and Peace with others.
Adapted from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)
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The Miracle of Faith
M. William Lockard, Jr. DDS
Contributing Writer
God sent the Holy Spirit to reside with Jesus to enable His ministry on earth. Today we twentieth-century Christians can receive the Spirit no other way, except from Jesus. However, we must take the first step of commitment to Jesus before we can receive the fullness of His Spirit.
Faith is the substance of all our hopes and dreams and the assurance that our plans and desires will be fulfilled by the Grace of God. Without faith in Jesus Christ which gives man direction for a meaningful life there can be only fear and uncertainty.
The gift of the Holy Spirit was not specifically for our personal happiness, selfish needs, and peace of mind or joy. Self-fulfillment will follow as dividends to us only as we share the joy of Christ’s love and promise of salvation with all people. The gift of the Spirit is for Service: the ability to communicate truth to people with in-depth perception of their needs as we serve God’s mission on earth.
When faith is blended with thought, the subconscious mind instantly picks up the message, translates it into its spiritual equivalent, and transmits it to God, as in the case of prayer. All thoughts which have been emotionalized (given feeling) and mixed with faith begin immediately to translate themselves into their physical equivalent. The emotions, or the feeling and believing portion of our thoughts, are the factors which provide vitality, life, and action. Your belief, or faith, that you will receive that for which you ask, is the element which determines the action of your subconscious mind followed by definite plans for procuring that which you desire.
A mind dominated by positive emotions for the benefit of others becomes a favorable abode for the state of mind known as faith. A mind so dominated may, at will, give the subconscious mind instructions, which it will accept and act upon immediately.
v Faith is the “eternal elixir” which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought.
v Faith is the basis of all “miracles,” and all mysteries which cannot be analyzed by the rules of science.
v Faith is the only known antidote for failure.
v Faith is the element, which, when mixed with prayer, gives one direct communication with God through Jesus Christ.
v Faith is the element which transforms ordinary thought into the spiritual equivalent.
v Faith is the means through which the will of God can be received by man.
The Magic Subconscious Mind
It is a well-known fact that one comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement be true or false. If a man repeats a lie over and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth. Moreover, he will believe it to be the truth. Any thought, idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought. Every man is what he is because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind. These thoughts constitute the motivating forces which direct and control his every movement, act, and deed. This is why you are asked to write out a statement of your major purpose-driven vision for a meaningful life of service; commit it to memory, and repeat it day after day until these words have reached your subconscious mind.
When one can vividly imagine his dominate desire to the extent that he can see, sense and feel that he possesses his desire as in a virtual reality or hologram, and is pleased with what he will have become and attained, the subconscious mind will guide him to make the necessary decisions and activities to achieve his desire without conscious effort. Only after one chooses to become the person in one’s dreams are the capabilities of the subconscious brought fully into play. Making the right choices and focusing on the results that are really important is the process to achieve a meaningful purpose. It may be, as suggested, that the Holy Spirit is the small, quiet voice in our subconscious mind guiding our thoughts and actions. The subconscious mind will bring to pass any picture in your mind through faith.
According to Napoleon Hill, “There is plenty of evidence to support the belief that the subconscious mind is the connecting link between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence (God). It is the intermediary through which one may draw upon the forces of Infinite Intelligence at will. It, alone, contains the secret process by which mental impulses are modified and changed into their spiritual equivalent. It, alone, is the medium through which prayer may be transmitted to the source capable of answering prayer. It is true that the subconscious mind responds more quickly to, and is influenced more readily by thought impulses which are well mixed with emotion.” “As you think, you travel: and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts take you. You cannot escape the results of your thoughts but you can endure and learn: can accept and be glad. You will realize the vision (not the idle wish) of your heart, be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both, for you will always gravitate towards that which you most secretly love. Into your hands will be placed the exact results of your thoughts: you will receive that which you earn – no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideals. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominate aspiration. -As a Man Thinketh, James Allen
M. William Lockard, Jr. www.billlockarddds.com
