First Cause, Part 1

  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1  

I now come to a discussion of first causes, because creation—as opposed to construction--begins there.

   When you first tried to think about the difference between Spirit and Matter, you probably came to the point of view that Spirit is alive while Matter is dead, because dead means the inability to move. But now that you know from science that everything—from the rocks to your very own heart—is constantly moving and vibrating at different, unique frequencies. So, movement is not the differentiator between Spirit and Matter. Rather, Intelligence is.

   Although a rock may be moving internally, it is not intelligent in the sense that it has the ability—volition—to move itself without being moved by an external force. Intelligent beings, whether plants, animals or people, have volition and can decide—even if that decision comes from instinct rather than thought—to move themselves.

   The higher the level of Intelligence, the greater the capacity to think. So, you can assume rightly that human beings can act both by instinct and decision stemming from thought. When you come to the question, Which came first, the chicken or the egg?, your understanding of first cause teaches you that the chicken had to come first. The egg is the reproduction of the chicken—a secondary cause—while the creation of the first chicken is a first cause.

   Thus, the origin of anything is connected to the first cause, while the reproduction of that same thing is a secondary cause.

   Put another way, the first causes are creative while secondary causes are constructive.

   As you travel back in your mind to millions, billions, or farther back trillions or quadrillions of eons ago, you will bump into the beginning: that place antecedent to space and time. There was only Self-Existent Spirit there and nothing else.

   My discussion of the first cause must bring you to the question: What was around before the heavens and earth were created? The obvious answer is the Spirit because you can't conceive of nothing. (Even empty space is something!) But your next question must be: What materials did Spirit use to make the heavens and the earth if there was nothing else but Spirit at the beginning? This then is where your deeper inner journey begins.

   Since there was nothing but Spirit at the beginning, Spirit contemplated Its Self and through involution—entangling Its Self to become other than Its Self—became the raw materials It needed to create the heavens and the earth. This involution—this divine engagement in becoming what was not Spirit—is the first cause that made creation itself possible. It is also the pattern by which Spirit has always operated.

   First comes Spirit, then Spirit’s involution or engagement in entangling Its Self in that which It is not. Out of this involution comes the raw materials from which Spirit created the heavens and the earth.

   Once you grasp the significance of Spirit’s penchant for involution, you will begin to see how and why God would become the Man Jesus in the same way that God becomes you. But for now, it is only necessary that you become familiar with the term involution.

   So, you see that the first cause (the All-Originating Spirit of God) did actually create everything out of nothing external to Itself. Spirit created everything needed for creative activity out of Its Self!

The 12 Components of True Wealth

True wealth is much more than financial wealth, although financial well-being plays a significant part. The first and most important component of true wealth is having a positive mental attitude. People who lack a positive mental attitude are miserable, despite whatever money they may have accumulated, while people who maintain a positive mental attitude attract wealth to themselves.

The second and next most important component of true wealth is sound physical health. You can lose all your money and recover more than you lost, but if you lose your health you’ve lost something that may never be regained. Spend time on maintaining and sustaining your health by eating healthy food and exercising often.

The third component of true wealth is harmony in human relations. Harmonious and peaceful relationships, both in the family and then with business associates, lead to goodwill, a good reputation, cooperation, and peace of mind—a personal state of well-being.

The fourth component of true wealth is freedom from fear. No fearful person can enjoy life or its perks. Fear robs you of the ability to enjoy life to your fullest capacity and imprisons you in a dark place where there is no peace of mind or joy in being alive.

The fifth component of true wealth is the hope of future achievement. This component gets you out of bed every morning to pursue your dream of success. Without hope for the future, you are poverty-stricken even if you are sitting on millions of dollars.

The sixth component of true wealth is the capacity for applied faith. The capacity for applied faith is your ability to believe in the dream you have for success to such an extent that you actually do something to make it happen. Applied faith is acting to make your dream a reality, while unapplied faith is merely wishing for something to happen for or to you without doing anything to make it happen.

The seventh component of true wealth is the willingness to share your blessings. You cannot have true wealth if you’re stingy and completely self-absorbed. The truly wealthy person gives to and helps others achieve their goals.

The eighth component of true wealth is to be engaged in a labor of love. True wealth is only experienced by those who are doing something good that they love. There is nothing in the world more satisfying than being able to do what you love and know that what you are doing is benefitting other people.

The ninth component of true wealth is to have an open mind on all subjects and toward all people. The truly wealthy person does not think that the world is only as she believes it to be. She is open to learning from others, listening to their opinions, and not judging them for not seeing the world as she does or believing in the same things as she does. She accepts people for who they are, not for what she believes they ought to be, in her opinion.

The tenth component of true wealth is complete self-discipline. The truly wealthy person is self-directed. He is not driven by the whims and demands of other people, but by the goals he has set out to achieve. That is why he has mastered complete self-discipline: he refuses to allow any outside influence to distract him from the task of achieving his goals.

The eleventh component of true wealth is wisdom with which to understand people. Your life in the world, in your family and in your business consists of interacting with people. To gain true wealth, you must first study the people with whom you interact. But studying them will not give you the wisdom to understand them. The only way you can gain the wisdom to understand people is to put yourself in their place and deal with them from their—not your—point of view.

The twelfth and final component of true wealth is financial security. It is not an accident or an oversight that financial security is the last component of true wealth. Every component that comes before it paves the way for financial security and guarantees that once you have the financial status you desire, you will be able to maintain it by treating everyone by the standard of the Golden Rule.

True wealth begins on the inside spiritually before it manifests outside materially. Strive to accumulate spiritual wealth internally, as you accumulate material wealth externally.

Quantum Physics Demystified

The most significant idea that resonates with me from the study of quantum physics is that the observer/measurer of quantum activity influences the observed/measured behavior. What is first seen as a particle can become a wave, and vice-versa. This indicates that humans can and do change what they perceive as real at a quantum level. This brings new meaning to the phrase, "As people think, so are they."

While most people walk around believing that the world happens to them, the truth is that people make the world happen. What we think in our heads resonates outside of our heads at a quantum level and creates our reality. Our doom and gloom beliefs manifest in our world, just as our hope and happiness beliefs do. So, it matters how we think--whether from a positive or negative worldview--and what we ponder--whether our thinking is rooted in fear or faith.

Everyone has been created in the image and likeness of the All-Originating Spirit that caused their existence and that of the universe. We all have been endowed with an imagination that can create new conditions not historically present. We all have an endowment of volition/will that enables us to decide whether to take or not take a particular course of action. These God-like attributes are at once creative and constructive--i.e., through the Spirit within us, we can think of an idea and then turn it into Matter.

Thus, there is no Spirit/Matter divide. The Spirit creates Matter because it can, and Matter--having been created by the Spirit--responds to every command of the Spirit. 

For better or worse, YOU are an integral part of the Spirit. Therefore, you have everything you need to create (Think) and construct (Build) a brave new world of love, joy, peace, and prosperity. The only question you must answer is: Do I have the faith to believe that I can do this?

Quantum Physics Meets Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think on such things.

Philippians 4:8

Einstein's theory explains what happens when things move very rapidly. However, his special theory of relativity--when combined with quantum physics--gives quantum physicists the ability to create quantum field theories that alleviate at least some of their headaches.

Five fundamental forces govern everything in the universe: Spirit, gravity, the weak force, electromagnetism, and the strong force. Physical sciences are concerned with the first four of these, while three quantum field theories have been able to grapple with only three of these.

Three distinct quantum field theories have carved out three of the five fundamental forces by which Matter interacts: electro-magnetism (which explains how atoms hold together); the strong nuclear force (which explains the stability of the nucleus at the heart of the atom); and the weak nuclear force (which explains why some atoms undergo radioactive decay).

Over the past six decades, three theories have been brought together, known as the "standard model" of particle physics, and until recently served as the most accurate picture of how Matter works.

In 2012, the "standard model" proved itself with the discovery of the Higgs boson--the particle that gives all other fundamental particles their mass. Although it had not been discovered until 2012, the Higgs boson's existence was predicted by quantum field theories as far back as 1964.  

Despite this and other scientific breakthroughs using quantum physics, some lesser problems remain. One example is how electrons move (or do not move) through a solid material to make a material a metal, an insulator, or a semiconductor. 

The multiplied billions of interactions in these crowded environments require the development of effective field theories that can explain why many important questions in solid-state physics remain unresolved.

What is Quantum Physics?

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Quantum physics (sometimes called quantum mechanics) is the branch of physics that explains how the invisible particles that constitute Matter behave and the forces with which they interact.

Quantum physics operates in the invisible realm of sub-atomic particles which cannot be seen with the naked eye. It provides the modern explanation for how atoms work, and why chemistry and biology function as they do. From quantum mechanics, we learn how electrons move through a computer chip, how photons of light get turned into electrical current in a solar panel or amplify themselves in a laser, or how the sun keeps burning.

Although modern scientists can learn a great deal from quantum physics, it can also--and often does--give them huge headaches. For instance, there is no single quantum theory, which means scientists have had to innovate and adapt to alleviate their headaches.

Quantum mechanics was developed in the 1920s by Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger, and others who developed the basic mathematical framework that underpins theoretical quantum physics. 

It characterizes simple things such as how the position or momentum of a single particle or group of few particles changes over time. But to understand how these things work, quantum mechanics must be combined with Alber Einstein's special theory of relativity.

Time, Intelligence, and You

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

The scientific definition of time is the period occupied by a body passing from one given point in space to another point in space. This definition makes clear that if there were no space, there would be no time. Since Spirit (Thought) has no extension in space, it follows logically that Spirit (Thought) exists outside of time also. Consequently, since Spirit (Thought) exists independently of space and time, every thought or idea ever thought exists now and is present now.

This means that nothing is remote or distant from us. We all have access to Spirit or Pure Thought that exists in the universal here and the everlasting now. However, there is a marked distinction between the Cosmic Intelligence that originated every inanimate substance and living organism up to and including our individual intelligence. 

What makes our individual intelligence stand out and apart is our power of choice, volition or will, to think, say or do this thing, as opposed to think, say, or do that thing. 

Because you are intelligent, you have the capacity within yourself to think yourself into whatever situation you desire. This requires that you be conscious of your thinking ability and then harness it in the direction of good, truth, and concern for others. You must use your consciousness of the Thought Power within you to direct your thoughts in positive, creative, and constructive ways. 

Your conscious self-awareness and use of your intelligence to positively advance the human condition will place you among those who are forwarding their own evolution by participating in the evolutionary scheme to grow all humankind up to a higher level of existence.

Spirit and Matter

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

From the mere outward appearance of things, using our five senses only, we might describe the difference between Spirit and Matter based on our observation that Spirit is living while Matter is non-living or dead. We might even think of non-living or dead as lack of growth and/or lack of activity. If we are still thinking like this, modern science tells us that we are very wrong.

We used to think that something was alive if we could observe its movement and growth. In the same way, we thought that something was dead if there was no observable movement and growth. However, science continues to teach us that this "outside only" distinction we make between Spirit and Matter entirely misses the point.

In fact, there is movement in everything around us. Negatively charged particles are moving around positively charged nuclei in the chairs we sit in, the rocks we lean on, and the metal in the cars we drive. So, how can we make the distinction between Spirit and Matter, when the issue of movement is completely off the table?

We are forced to find a new measuring stick, and that measuring stick is intelligence. Modern science takes the view that Spirit has intelligence while Matter does not. It is the level of intelligence that places the plant kingdom at a higher level of being than the mineral kingdom; the animal kingdom above that of the plant; and the human kingdom in a higher order of being than that of animals.

Intelligence is the capacity to think. So, we can say that the distinctive quality of Spirit is its Power of Thought, while the distinctive quality of Matter is its Form. Matter (Form) extends in space, but Spirit (Thought) does not extend in space. Matter (Form) is limited by certain boundaries of size, shape, and configuration. Spirit (Thought), however, neither extends in space nor has any limitations. 

Therefore, Matter (Form) is held captive in the space-time continuum while Spirit (Thought) is free and unlimited because it exists outside of the space-time continuum. Since Spirit (Thought) is not bound by extension in space, it is present in its totality everywhere at every point of space simultaneously.

The Law of Change

 "You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3:7-8

The Law of Change (changing yourself internally to develop your character) is another Universal Law. What this really means is that you must go through a violent internal revolution that tears down all notions in your mind that put the love of money, the desire for power to oppress others, and the desire for self-aggrandizement at the cost of harming others ahead of being and doing good in the world.

The words of Jesus are not religious, but political. "You must be born again" has a definite political tone when you consider that we all were born and steeped in Eurocentric-oriented capitalist thinking. The radical shift in thinking from a white-only-oriented mindset to a humanocentric mindset involves cataclysmic change. This change does not come simply from reading books or attending new-thought lectures. Instead, the shift from selfishness to selflessness is a revolutionary internal change that is mediated by the Holy Spirit which lives dormant in some, but very active in others.

You are not born again by choice or by attending a religious revival service. In the same way that babies who are born cannot choose their parents, ethnicity, or where they will be born, the born-again experience is a Spirit-driven, Spirit-perfected process that comes to those who are called and chosen to do only good in the world. Your desire to create only good is proof that you have already been chosen. Remember, however, that change is progressive. It is a matter of growth through trial and error. Growth is incremental, so be patient with yourself as you grow up into the fullness of evolved humankind that you are destined to become.

Although you cannot influence or manipulate the Law of Change, you can attest to the material effects and results produced by it. The Law of Change is responsible for evolving selfish people into generous and giving people. It has influenced naturally arrogant and small-minded people to evolve into humble, compassionate, and open-minded people. 

All you need to do to embrace the Law of Change is to desire it for yourself. As a person thinks, a person becomes. It is a matter of intentional growth.

The Law of Leadership

 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

Psalm 78:72

The Law of Leadership (that leadership development is crucial to realizing your full potential) is another Universal Law of significance to you. 

Leadership has been defined by many in many different ways. One definition is that leadership is communicating to people a sense of their own inestimable worth and unlimited potential to such an extent that they come to see it in themselves. Another is that leadership is the function of one who guides, directs, or otherwise controls the activities of others.

However, at the most basic level, leadership simply means having influence that affects the behavior and/or worldview of others within a particular sphere, whether that influence is negative or positive.

Negative leadership is coercive--i.e., it requires raw power (external force) to maintain itself. Examples of negative leadership include threats from the gun, the law, economic reprisal, and negative propaganda that exploits people's fears. People tend to follow negative leadership because they either resonate with it, feel psychologically threatened, socially compelled, or physically forced to do so.

Positive leadership is inspirational--i.e., it requires Soul Power (internal values) to perpetuate itself. Examples of Soul Power include the power of being, the power of behaving, the power of belonging, and the power of believing. 

The power of being is the manifestation of God's DNA within you--your power of imagination and creativity. The power of behaving is your ability to choose how you will act on your own (your power of choice).

The power of belonging is the strength you feel when you work with others to accomplish goals you can never reach alone. The power of believing is your personal miracle-working power that works within you to create your future.

These powers are activated by your faith in yourself and the Divine connection that you have with the All-Originating Spirit of God.

The Law of Abundance

 They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer the sacrifices of the righteous; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand.

Deuteronomy 33:19

The Law of Abundance--that you live in a world of plenty and not lack--is a fundamental Universal Law. All the water that has ever been on this planet is still here. Although it is constantly recycling itself and changing form from liquid to solid to steam and gas, not one new drop of water is added to, nor one old drop subtracted from the water supply. In the same way, all the wealth that has ever been amassed on this planet is still here. So, related to resources, everything that has always been here is still here.

Consequently, there is no lack of resources available to you. If you accept this first foundational principle, it will affect your mindset in two specific ways. First, you will tend to be optimistic with hopeful expectations for the future. Second, you will have a positive attitude that whatever your goals in life, you will succeed in achieving them.

Your mindset--the way you think, what you think about, and how you process thought--determines what you believe, regardless of the facts. Even if there is no lack, but you believe in your mind that lack exists, then despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, you will persist in seeing only lack. For you, every glass of water is less than half full and on its way to being emptied forever. Accordingly, a mindset of lack provides you with countless excuses for not developing the highest and best use of yourself, the resources you receive from others, and the resources you create for yourself.

When you believe you can achieve something, you can and will achieve it. When you do not believe you can achieve something, you cannot and will not achieve it. The way you think (your mindset) determines your destiny.

The Law of the Mirror

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do.

James 1:23-25

The Law of the Mirror teaches that you need an external standard to view your behavior objectively, without fear or favor, and to which you can and must be held accountable. The Law of the Mirror teaches you to look at yourself early and often as your character, thoughts, and behaviors are reflected in Scripture. When you examine the standard for right thinking and behavior evident from Genesis to Revelation, you can compare what you see in the standard with what you see yourself becoming according to that standard. The Law of the Mirror reveals what it sees in you--the good, the bad, and the ugly--and encourages you to discipline yourself to become a better person by growing and expanding your horizons daily.

The Law of the Mirror has no memory; it only illuminates what and where you are on the standard scale today. So, you cannot revel in yesterday's victories or wallow in today's defeats. The Law of the Mirror keeps you so occupied with self-improvement and personal growth that you have no desire to criticize, correct, or otherwise judge others negatively. 

However, despite your introspection, the Law of the Mirror does not lead you to self-absorption, but rather to principled thoughts and behaviors that focus your attention on helping others. 

By going to the Law of the Mirror as the impartial standard for viewing yourself, you are declaring through your practice that the collective wisdom of our ancestors gained over more than 6,000 years is the best mirror to use.

The Law of Iron Will

 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Ephesians 4:14

The Law of Iron Will requires that once you make a decision, you must be unwavering in carrying it out, despite whatever obstacles or apparent impossibilities confront you. You can ill afford to second-guess yourself because other people and/or institutions disagree with your decision. The Law of Iron Will allows you to commit your decisions to God and resolutely carry them out, no matter what the odds of success may be according to the popular pundits of the day.

Expanded/evolved people have had to take a stand on ground that was not confirmed as solid by their detractors. Every significant breakthrough in science, education, and industry has come as the result of single-minded, steadfast opposition to the conventional wisdom of naysayers who oppose change and cling to the presumed safety of the status quo.

The master key to the Law of Iron Will is the definiteness of purpose. Focus on the definite objective that your decision represents and concentrate on that objective while awake and asleep. You will develop toughness of mind, tenacity of spirit, and tautness of emotions. This will help you counter, withstand, and overcome all objections and negative assaults from those who don't have your drive and vision.

The Law of Iron Will can support and cradle you during difficult times to bring to fruition the new project, process, service, or strategic application that you have created through your imagination and the concomitant skills and abilities you have developed along your life-path. The Law of Iron Will protects you by focusing your mind on the rightness of your firm resolution.

You Are a Mentor Whether You Like It or Not

 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7

You have been placed in a mentor/teacher position because the people who surround you pay attention to what you say and do. To become the wise mentor/teacher that you were created to be, you must constantly expose yourself to the Universal Laws that will equip you to demonstrate your wisdom and leadership skills.

The nature of growth, transformation, and evolution requires that you pass on to younger generations the Laws you are learning and practicing. This means you must provide your mentees/students with opportunities to engage in creating positive outcomes that will change their lives for the better.

The best way to do this is to employ constant repetition of the Law of the Farmer to achieve positive remembering results for you and your mentees/students.

The Law of the Farmer teaches that what is planted today in a field will not visibly grow today, nor will what is harvested from that field in the future bear any resemblance to the seed planted today. 

The Law of the Farmer also teaches that crops take a long time to grow. This means you must learn to be patient with yourself and your mentees/students as you grow together. No matter how it may look to you today, the good you sew now will one day produce an abundant crop in you and in your mentees/students. 

Begin by planting seeds in the ground of your own mind: seeds that will yield a harvest of developed personal character. 

The Law of the Farmer teaches that no seeds will be planted successfully until the soil has been prepared to receive them.

You must answer the "Who am I?" question because the answer to that question describes the soil--your identity--that must be prepared to receive your new growth.

Don't Let Others' Criticism Determine How You Live Your Life!

 He shall say: "Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them.

Deuteronomy 20:3

I read a story once about an old man, a young boy, and an old donkey. The three were traveling on a long journey with the old man riding on the back of the donkey and the young boy walking beside the donkey. When they entered the first town, the townspeople were furious with the old man for making the boy walk while he rode on the donkey. They criticized the old man, accusing him of child abuse, and insisted that the young boy ride the donkey while the old man walked. 

Shaken and dismayed by the harsh criticism of the townspeople, the old man got off the donkey, placed the young boy on the donkey, and walked beside the donkey until they reached the next town.

When they reached the next town, the townspeople there were outraged that the young boy rode on the donkey's back while the old man was forced to walk. They accused the young boy of disrespecting his elders and of elder abuse. The young boy was deeply hurt to the point of tears and self-loathing because of the criticism of the townspeople.

After this, the old man and the young boy, in fear of the criticism they would receive in the next town, came up with the perfect plan to avoid criticism. They decided to continue their journey by strapping the donkey to a pole and carrying it as they walked to the next town.

Of course, you know the criticism that both the young boy and the old man will receive when they enter the next town on their journey.

The obvious moral of this story is that people will criticize you no matter what you choose to do. You must overcome your fear of criticism and have the courage to follow the Law of Your Own Being. This means you must trust yourself and your instincts to get you where you desire to go in your life. 

Every achiever, innovator, and change-maker in history has had to overcome criticism to make the world a better place. Stay faithful to the good you are creating for the world's benefit!

The Secret to Personal Transformation/Evolution

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear or reverence of God is where wisdom begins. But beyond the beginning of wisdom lies a continuum of behaviors and ways of being that constitute its existential dimensions in your lived experience as a creative Person of the I AM. These behaviors include a disciplined lifestyle; the habit of functioning from a God perspective; a cultivated discernment to apply both natural and spiritual knowledge to concrete situations; and a determination to bring about only good on the earth.

If you are seeking personal transformation/evolution, then you will strive to live an ordered, intentional, and focused life in which you choose to function from a God mindset. 

Because you desire to become a transformed/evolved Person of the I AM, you will come to understand the importance of lifelong learning. You will never be content to live on what you learned yesterday, but will always be studying and learning from what presents itself to you today.

As a transformed/evolved Person of the I AM, you will one day be able to say as Thomas Troward once said:

"My mind is a center of Divine operation. The Divine operation is always for expansion and fuller expression. And this means the production of something that has not gone before; something entirely new, not included in past experience, although proceeding out of it by an orderly sequence of growth. Therefore, since the Divine cannot change its inherent nature, it must operate in the same way in me. Consequently, in my own special world of which I am the center, it must move forward to produce new conditions, always in advance of any that have gone before."

Until that day for you arrives, concentrate on positive, creative thinking that has the production of good as its focus. If you will do this every day, one day at a time, you will be surprised one day to find that you are exactly what you always truly wanted to be.

A Different Perspective on the Nature of Violence

 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.

Matthew 11:12

Every physical and mental motion or action dislodges, dislocates, and disrupts the inertia it must overcome to act. Inertia is an enemy that only action can destroy. Motion is always violent because only violence can move or act against the negative force of inertia in the world. To act is to engage in violence. To refuse to act is to allow the violence of inertia to overcome the self. Therefore, the issue of violence versus nonviolence is illusory at best and detrimental to one's health at worst. Instead, we need to examine the nature of violence in itself.

The violence of freeing oneself from a kidnapper cannot be equated with the violence of enslaving millions of people for their sale to the highest bidder. Nor is the violence of laying one's life down for another comparable to taking the lives of innocents to demonstrate one's power to do so. Thus, the false issue of violence versus nonviolence must give way to the real issue: positive violence versus negative violence.

Positive violence is that powerful word or act which aims at the liberation of the oppressed and social justice for the poor. Negative violence is that powerful word or act which aims at keeping people oppressed and exploited. The perfect example of positive violence is love--love that gives itself unselfishly to free the last, the least, and the lost. The perfect example of negative violence is hatred--hatred that selfishly takes, enslaves, kills, destroys, and steals from the poor and marginalized.

The motive, purpose, use and intent of violence determine whether it is positive or negative. Every thought, word or action motivated by love is positive violence, while every thought, act or behavior motivated by hate is negative violence. 

What is the "Image" and "Likeness" of God?

 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

Since you were created in the image and likeness of God, then you must find out what the image and likeness of God mean to find clues to your true identity. That you are a human being does not define who you are, it merely describes your ancestral heritage that goes back to the beginning of creation itself and the All-Originating Spirit of God, the Creator.

The image of God means that you possess certain attributes that mirror God's, such as will, creativity, and self-awareness. The likeness of God means that although you are only one individual, a single entity, you manifest yourself in three distinct ways just as God does: you are mind (God, the Father), you are body (Jesus, God the Son) and you are Spirit (God, the Holy Spirit). If you connect to God through your awareness of who you are, then you will be able to mirror God's character attributes of love, forgiveness, patience, and faithfulness.

You must reinvent yourself with a new mindset that sees you as God, the Great I AM, sees you--a constantly evolving whole person who lacks nothing nor needs any modification.

You are not to rule over people because people are created in the image and likeness of God, and you were never created to rule over God. You were created to rule over things and lead people, beginning with yourself. Your purpose in life is to maximize your personal development and highest and best use, doing the same with the resources you receive from others and the resources you create. However, you will not be able to do this without aligning yourself with the All-Originating Spirit of God and living with the knowledge that you are in an individual microcosm what the All-Originating Spirit of God is in a Universal Macrocosm.

How to Recognize Your Creative Day

 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day." and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

Genesis 1:4-5

You will have a good creative day when you can look back over it and know that what you created was good. There is always light--illumination--that shines on every good thing you create. It leaves you feeling good, wholesome, and satisfied.

There is no depression, anxiety or other dark emotion or feeling that accompanies your good creative day. The light you created is distinctly separate from the darkness that may be all around you.

Just as the original creation took innumerable days to accomplish, so too will your creative work take time. So, take pleasure today and every day in producing every piece and part of the whole creation that will emerge after today.

The creative movement that you began will keep you illuminated with hope, despite your present circumstances. Your decision to think, say, and do something good will always generate enough light for you to see, no matter how dark your outer world becomes.

Because you have learned that you have the power to generate your own light by engaging in creative movement, you'll never have to depend on anyone else's light to do what you need to do for yourself and those you love.

You are freer than you have ever imagined. You can make yourself happy. You are finding that you are the center of your own universe--a localized microcosm that is modeled on the Universal Macrocosm.

As you keep your mind focused on the good, the beautiful, the noble, and the kind, you will notice that your thankfulness and gratitude for being alive will spring up as living water.

The Law of Speech

 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Genesis 1:3

Speech is more powerful than anything else because it creates out of nothing whatever you consistently speak. Speech does not follow religious guidelines or moral laws. It is a universal law that is morally neutral. Use the law well and create good, life-affirming things. Use it wrongly and create evil, life-denying things.

What this means is that whatever you speak continuously will come into existence, whether the spoken thing is good, bad, or indifferent. The Law of Speech is one of the central laws that drive systems, products, and service innovations. New systems, products, and services begin their existence as non-material ideas that people dare to speak again and again. Invention and innovation begin with the rearrangement of known created things into a new form. It is the power source that the All-Originating Spirit of God has placed in your hands that allows you to create your own future.

The Law of Speech requires that you not only speak wholeness but also commit your active intention--your focused life force--to the object of your speech. Your speech must be accompanied by specific actions that are aimed at realizing or manifesting what you have spoken. Your speech without your follow-up action is useless in the same way that faith without deeds has no value. It is your positive speech and related action that must overcome the inertia of the status quo to produce the desired new outcome. This is why focused attention (intention) is the catalyst that brings about the birth of the created thing that was set in motion by your positive speech followed by your positive action.

If you are looking for a way to free yourself from the economic and social limitations that are affecting your life, then speak, write out, and then take action toward your dream.

Your "First Cause" Creative Activity

 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2

Your original creative activity must always begin in a formless, empty, and dark environment. It is precisely the dark place of perceived injustice, lack, need, trouble, anguish, distress, pain, or just your desire for positive change that calls forth the creative movement to begin hovering over you.

This process may feel extremely uncomfortable to you. It may arise from anger, discontent, or any number of responses to your circumstances that are uniquely your own.

Go with your own flow. Trust your own instincts. This is not the time to seek someone's advice. You don't need to understand what is happening to you to create something out of nothing. Your feeling of disturbance or discontent in any given situation is a sign that you have the power to do something positive about what bothers or concerns you.

Aim your thoughts toward the root of the disturbance in you and let them go free. There are things that you already know that you are not presently aware of, but as you think freely, these things will come to your mind.

Spend time with the positive thoughts that come into your mind that you can do immediately. Go and do (or say) that one thing, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may seem.

When you obey your own command, you will open the way for more light and direction to come to you for the next step you are to take.

Learn to listen to your own heart and mind. The inner you is a deep wellspring of wisdom and knowledge. Give yourself time to let the water of wisdom and knowledge percolate up to your conscious mind. Just remember that when it does come up, you must obey and do what you know to do.

Today is the First Day of Your Life

 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Treat this day as if it were your very first. By its very nature, it is a creative day--a day for new thoughts, new ideas, and new beginnings. Begin this new day by asking yourself some questions.

What matters to me? What do I really care about? What makes me happy? What brings me joy? What gives me a good feeling that lasts? What good thing makes me feel good?

Don't avoid answering these questions. Your answers are your very own footpath to the inner you. So, be patient with yourself if you find it difficult to think about these questions. You are worth whatever time it will take to finally settle down and look at yourself with loving nonjudgmental eyes.

Relax. Don't beat yourself up if you can't get yourself to think on the questions right now.

Thinking higher thoughts is a process that takes some time. If you cannot engage the questions today, there is always tomorrow. Just being exposed to the questions will bring you to consider them sooner than you think. It is a matter of mental suggestion that will work itself out inside you.

You will deal with the questions in your own time--whether you are awake or asleep. That time will be the right time for you.

In the meantime, try to imagine what your life would be like if you felt happy with yourself, your accomplishments, your surroundings, and the people who would be in any part of your life. Pay attention to how you feel as you think about these things.

Your feelings are the means to think higher thoughts. Not only are thoughts things, but feelings are real things themselves. When your feelings are good, the thoughts that produced your feelings are good too. Always follow the good thoughts that bring you good feelings. Good feelings are part of your creative power.