"Is it fair to say or assume that the body ages as negative thought patterns accumulate in the emotional body and the subtle body?"
Yes, but that is only a part of it.
As you know, genetics play a role because you inherit not only emotional aspects from your ancestors but you also inherit some of their patterns. It is that aspect that's contained in what science calls your "junk" DNA and they don't understand that yet, but there's more to genetics than the physical properties, so to speak - the colour of the hair, the eyes, the stature, the emotional makeup, longevity. That's understood by science. What is not understood by science are the things that a child inherits that have to do with the emotional aspects of past life history. So that plays a role in ageing. Those negative thoughts that you currently use, which of course, can be influenced genetically and the negative attitudes, belief systems, the mores from the years that your ancestors lived. You carry that also. Those aspects don't always show up in the younger years. They show up later.
Then nutrition plays a role? Exercise.
Very important - the attitudes of self-worth.
Love yourself - it's that simple. If you don't love yourself you will age faster.
The heart must sing. The soul must laugh. There must be joy.
If the heart is shut off to others, you age quicker. If you don't understand love and you feel unloved, you age quicker. If you feel you are cursed in some manner by another human being, you age faster and you wither.
And so, there are many aspects of ageing. And also, if you have a belief system that humanity is destined to age according to the number of years that you have lived, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. These are all aspects of ageing. And there is also the time that you carry these attitudes with you where it starts to involve other systems.
Reversing the ageing process
So to reverse ageing you can go through all of this clearing that you are talking about (karmic patterns from this life and past lives, belief systems, patterns within the DNA , etc), but the first step is to heal organs and you don't see those. All of the organs must be healed first so that the systems can perform at peak performance. The Peak. They can't be compromised in any way. Digestion, elimination, assimilation. These are all affecting organs that must be healed first.
So, even though you are clearing attitudes, past life trauma, if you start on this, say, in your '50s, you haven't started doing this until they have been in place for a very long time. You spoke about Atlantis. They did this every 5 years (at the Temple Beauty ) and so their clearing took place before it affected the organs. And once the organs are affected, it takes much longer in clearing.
"How long will it take for the organs to heal and in what timeframe would we expect to see visible change?"
All of those prerequisites that I've discussed take a lot of work. A person has to be very diligent in completing these things. If you are taking the proper nutrition, clear water, elimination, mental attitude and we're not talking about a disease here, but simply the outer results of ageing. It depends on how intensive a program is that one follows. If these systems are worked upon - and this is without a healer, because intervention by a healer would quicken the process, of course - it might take several years for a person to heal the organs. With the intervention of a healer, it could take a month or two. Healers will show that kind of results in a body because they are bringing down energies that the individual who is not working with a healer has a very difficult time to accomplish for themselves. So when two people work together in the healing process, the organs can be healed faster. Now if you have worked closely with a healer and the organs are healed at optimum, 2-3 months - that is optimum.
That means all the things that we've talked about have to be of the highest priority and besides water, the air quality is important also.
So another factor sits here and that is the toxins that have been accumulating in the body and that would be the toxins and also the amount of plaque that is in the veins. So we would add to that to clear the veins of the plaque, to clear the body of the toxins, to clear the colon - all of those things must be cleared before the youth and vitality return. And so you see, this really is an 'if' answer. Because it is based upon so many components and if all these are dealt with as a high priority of clearing and you worked with a healer, it might only take 3-4 months.
But to work to the point where the reversal of ageing process is noticed – but that's working at the optimum - you can see how intertwined the system is when it has been allowed to go on for many years. If you are only working with a 5 year period like in Atlantis, it would be much easier to clear this.
You see, what ageing is as far as organs are concerned is a loss of cells. They're not replicating like they should. And that means the entire organ now has to carry procedures that were meant for many other cells. So there has to be a rejuvenation of cells. And this takes time.
You're looking at least 9-12 months before you can start to demonstrate any kind of change in the outward appearance because that is one of the last places that reversal of ageing actually is demonstrated. But it can be done.
But you have to apply yourself in all these other areas. Greens are extremely important and if you are not eating enough quality greens, then drink your greens in a powdered form. Greens will heal in ways that you cannot understand because, even though there is a lot of talk of proteins, the human body was designed to exist on greens and fruits, with some nuts. So even though humanity is, as you've been talking about, 200,000 years old, the digestive system and the assimilation system really hasn't changed that much. But what humanity is eating has changed dramatically. In essence, the physical was designed to eat raw food. Raw fruits. Raw greens. Raw nuts. Berries.
And what is being consumed is animal fats, which clog up a lot of the systems, so it would be important to look at the amount of fats that are consumed - except for vegetable fats. An avocado has fat in it but that is a vegetable fat. And it is alkaline. And if you ate the ideal diet, the body would be alkaline. And it is the acetic body that is causing the toxins.
If the body isn't alkaline, even if you're working on clearing the toxins, the toxins still increase.
Jeshua
Jeshua through Carolyn Evers, carolyn@metatronminutes.net
Carolyn Evers, PO Box 1314 , Blackburn North, VIC 3130 Australia
Monday, January 19, 2009
Behavior Affected by Eating Toxin from GE Corn
Bee Learning Behavior Affected by Eating Toxin from GE Corn
* Bioscience Resource Project, December 2008
Concerns over bees, especially the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) have rarely been higher. Although there are few hard data there is a general consensus that both solitary and social bee populations are declining and that recently the still-mysterious colony collapse disorder (CCD) has dramatically worsened this situation. No definitive cause for CCD has yet been established but there is widespread agreement that CCD is caused by more than one factor (Calderone, 2008 ; Oldroyd, 2007).
One of the speculated contributors to this decline is transgenic crops and specifically those containing Bt proteins since these are insect-active toxins to which bees are exposed through various routes. In particular, bee larvae are exposed since they consume large quantities of pollen which they sometimes source from maize plants (Sabugosa-Madeira et al. 2007). Up to now however there has been no specific evidence that any Bt toxin has negative effects on bees, but equally such studies have been rare. Particularly lacking are studies on sub-lethal effects of Bt toxins on bees.
In the view of many, there is clear evidence from laboratory settings that Bt toxins can affect non-target organisms. Usually, but not always, affected organisms are closely related to intended targets (reviewed in Lovei and Arpaia 2005 and Hilbeck and Schmidt 2006). Typically, exposure is through the consumption of plant parts such as pollen or plant debris or through Bt ingested by their predatory food choices. Nevertheless, due to significant data gaps, the real-world consequences of Bt transgenics remains unclear.
Thus the lepidopteran-active Cry1Ab is, not unexpectedly, toxic to some butterflies (e.g. Losey et al 1999 and Lang and Vojtech 2006) while more distantly-related organisms affected by Cry1Ab are ladybird larvae, caddisflies and Daphnia Magna (Rosi-Marshall et al 2007; Bøhn et al 2008; Schmidt et al 2008). Other variants of Bt, such as Cry3Bb, are considered coleopteran-active but have been the subject of less research. Nevertheless, these may also affect non-target coleopterans such as ladybird larvae as well as more distantly related organisms such as lacewings (Hilbeck and Schmidt 2006; Schmidt et al 2008).
A recent paper adds to the non-target story by demonstrating that honey bees fed on the active form of purified Cry1Ab protein can be affected in the learning responses necessary to associate nectar sources with odourants (Ramirez-Romero et al 2008). This learning response is important in bee foraging behaviour and it has attracted the attention of CCD researchers since it is known to be inhibited by the insecticide imidacloprid (e.g. Decourtye et al 2004). In this latest study bees consuming artificial nectar containing 5000ppb of Cry1Ab continued to respond positively to a learned odour even in the absence of a food reward, while normal bee behaviour is to become discouraged and seek more abundant food sources.
Left unstudied by the authors however was the likely mode of action of this behavioural effect. This is of considerable interest since the principal means of Bt lethality, which is thought to be a receptor-mediated effect on gut integrity, fails to explain the observed behavioural modification. The new finding is therefore particularly interesting since it lends weight to a previous suggestion that Bt toxins may have other, non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the normal (i.e. lethal) effect is absent (Hilbeck and Schmidt 2006; Schmidt et al. 2008). If there were to be multiple modes of Bt action then many more non-target organisms would likely be at risk from Bt transgenics.
The authors propose that bees are unlikely to be exposed to the quantity of Cry1Ab that led to the defects in behaviour they observed. However, this conclusion seems premature since Bt concentrations in plants are highly variable (Lorch and Then 2007). It is also probable that in real situations bees may be exposed earlier in their development and over longer periods. Bt Researcher Angelika Hilbeck believes that experiments simulating real-world bee experiences are still lacking. "What really needs to be looked at are combinations of both the Bt toxin AND imidacloprid and not Bt toxin OR imidacloprid, and in a form that simulates the exposure routes in the field".
References
Bøhn T., Primicerio R., Hessen D.O., Traavik T. (2008) Reduced Fitness of Daphnia magna Fed a Bt-Transgenic Maize Variety. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 55:584-92
Decourtye A.; Armengaud C., Renouc M.; Devillers J.; Cluzeau S.; Gauthier M. and Pham-Delègue M-H. (2004) Imidacloprid impairs memory and brain metabolism in the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 78: 83-92
Hilbeck A. and Schmidt J.E.U. (2006) Another View on Bt Proteins – How Specific are They and What Else Might They Do? Biopestic. Int. 2: 1-50
Lang A. and Vojtech E. (2006) The effects of pollen consumption of transgenic Bt maize on the common swallowtail, Papilio machaon L. (Lepidoptera, Papilioni). Basic and Applied Ecology 7: 296-306
Lövei G.L. and Arpaia S. (2005) The impact of transgenic plants on natural enemies: a critical review of laboratory studies. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 114: 1-14
Lorch A. and Then C. (2007) How much Bt toxin do MON810 plants actually Produce? www.greenpeace.de/fileadmin/gpd/user_upload/themen/gentec...
Losey J.E. Rayor L.S.; and Carter M.E. (1999)Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae Nature 399: 214
Oldroyd B. (2007) What's Killing American Honey Bees? PLoS Biol 5(6)
Ramirez-Romero R.; Desneux N.; Decourtye A.; Chaffiol A.; Pham-Delègue M.H. (2008)Does Cry1Ab protein affect learning performances of the honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae)? Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 70:327-33
Rosi-Marshall, E.J.; J. L. Tank; T. V. Royer; M. R. Whiles; M. Evans-White; C. Chambers; N. A. Griffiths; J. Pokelsek and M. L. Stephen (2007) Toxins in transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104: 16204–16208
Sabugosa-Madeira B.; Abreu I.; Ribeiro H. and Cunha M. (2007) Bt transgenic maize pollen and the silent poisoning of the hive Journal of Apicultural Research 46: 57-58
Schmidt J.E.; Braun C.U.; Whitehouse L.P.; Hilbeck A. Effects of Activated Bt Transgene Products (Cry1Ab, Cry3Bb) on Immature Stages of the Ladybird Adalia bipunctata in Laboratory Ecotoxicity Testing. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2008 Aug 20
from: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16249.cfm
* Bioscience Resource Project, December 2008
Concerns over bees, especially the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) have rarely been higher. Although there are few hard data there is a general consensus that both solitary and social bee populations are declining and that recently the still-mysterious colony collapse disorder (CCD) has dramatically worsened this situation. No definitive cause for CCD has yet been established but there is widespread agreement that CCD is caused by more than one factor (Calderone, 2008 ; Oldroyd, 2007).
One of the speculated contributors to this decline is transgenic crops and specifically those containing Bt proteins since these are insect-active toxins to which bees are exposed through various routes. In particular, bee larvae are exposed since they consume large quantities of pollen which they sometimes source from maize plants (Sabugosa-Madeira et al. 2007). Up to now however there has been no specific evidence that any Bt toxin has negative effects on bees, but equally such studies have been rare. Particularly lacking are studies on sub-lethal effects of Bt toxins on bees.
In the view of many, there is clear evidence from laboratory settings that Bt toxins can affect non-target organisms. Usually, but not always, affected organisms are closely related to intended targets (reviewed in Lovei and Arpaia 2005 and Hilbeck and Schmidt 2006). Typically, exposure is through the consumption of plant parts such as pollen or plant debris or through Bt ingested by their predatory food choices. Nevertheless, due to significant data gaps, the real-world consequences of Bt transgenics remains unclear.
Thus the lepidopteran-active Cry1Ab is, not unexpectedly, toxic to some butterflies (e.g. Losey et al 1999 and Lang and Vojtech 2006) while more distantly-related organisms affected by Cry1Ab are ladybird larvae, caddisflies and Daphnia Magna (Rosi-Marshall et al 2007; Bøhn et al 2008; Schmidt et al 2008). Other variants of Bt, such as Cry3Bb, are considered coleopteran-active but have been the subject of less research. Nevertheless, these may also affect non-target coleopterans such as ladybird larvae as well as more distantly related organisms such as lacewings (Hilbeck and Schmidt 2006; Schmidt et al 2008).
A recent paper adds to the non-target story by demonstrating that honey bees fed on the active form of purified Cry1Ab protein can be affected in the learning responses necessary to associate nectar sources with odourants (Ramirez-Romero et al 2008). This learning response is important in bee foraging behaviour and it has attracted the attention of CCD researchers since it is known to be inhibited by the insecticide imidacloprid (e.g. Decourtye et al 2004). In this latest study bees consuming artificial nectar containing 5000ppb of Cry1Ab continued to respond positively to a learned odour even in the absence of a food reward, while normal bee behaviour is to become discouraged and seek more abundant food sources.
Left unstudied by the authors however was the likely mode of action of this behavioural effect. This is of considerable interest since the principal means of Bt lethality, which is thought to be a receptor-mediated effect on gut integrity, fails to explain the observed behavioural modification. The new finding is therefore particularly interesting since it lends weight to a previous suggestion that Bt toxins may have other, non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the normal (i.e. lethal) effect is absent (Hilbeck and Schmidt 2006; Schmidt et al. 2008). If there were to be multiple modes of Bt action then many more non-target organisms would likely be at risk from Bt transgenics.
The authors propose that bees are unlikely to be exposed to the quantity of Cry1Ab that led to the defects in behaviour they observed. However, this conclusion seems premature since Bt concentrations in plants are highly variable (Lorch and Then 2007). It is also probable that in real situations bees may be exposed earlier in their development and over longer periods. Bt Researcher Angelika Hilbeck believes that experiments simulating real-world bee experiences are still lacking. "What really needs to be looked at are combinations of both the Bt toxin AND imidacloprid and not Bt toxin OR imidacloprid, and in a form that simulates the exposure routes in the field".
References
Bøhn T., Primicerio R., Hessen D.O., Traavik T. (2008) Reduced Fitness of Daphnia magna Fed a Bt-Transgenic Maize Variety. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 55:584-92
Decourtye A.; Armengaud C., Renouc M.; Devillers J.; Cluzeau S.; Gauthier M. and Pham-Delègue M-H. (2004) Imidacloprid impairs memory and brain metabolism in the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 78: 83-92
Hilbeck A. and Schmidt J.E.U. (2006) Another View on Bt Proteins – How Specific are They and What Else Might They Do? Biopestic. Int. 2: 1-50
Lang A. and Vojtech E. (2006) The effects of pollen consumption of transgenic Bt maize on the common swallowtail, Papilio machaon L. (Lepidoptera, Papilioni). Basic and Applied Ecology 7: 296-306
Lövei G.L. and Arpaia S. (2005) The impact of transgenic plants on natural enemies: a critical review of laboratory studies. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 114: 1-14
Lorch A. and Then C. (2007) How much Bt toxin do MON810 plants actually Produce? www.greenpeace.de/fileadmin/gpd/user_upload/themen/gentec...
Losey J.E. Rayor L.S.; and Carter M.E. (1999)Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae Nature 399: 214
Oldroyd B. (2007) What's Killing American Honey Bees? PLoS Biol 5(6)
Ramirez-Romero R.; Desneux N.; Decourtye A.; Chaffiol A.; Pham-Delègue M.H. (2008)Does Cry1Ab protein affect learning performances of the honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae)? Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 70:327-33
Rosi-Marshall, E.J.; J. L. Tank; T. V. Royer; M. R. Whiles; M. Evans-White; C. Chambers; N. A. Griffiths; J. Pokelsek and M. L. Stephen (2007) Toxins in transgenic crop byproducts may affect headwater stream ecosystems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104: 16204–16208
Sabugosa-Madeira B.; Abreu I.; Ribeiro H. and Cunha M. (2007) Bt transgenic maize pollen and the silent poisoning of the hive Journal of Apicultural Research 46: 57-58
Schmidt J.E.; Braun C.U.; Whitehouse L.P.; Hilbeck A. Effects of Activated Bt Transgene Products (Cry1Ab, Cry3Bb) on Immature Stages of the Ladybird Adalia bipunctata in Laboratory Ecotoxicity Testing. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2008 Aug 20
from: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16249.cfm
GM Corn Disturbs Immune System
Study Finds GM Corn Disturbs Immune System of Mice
* By Ken Roseboro, ed.
The Organic and Non-GMO Report, December 2008
Italy' s National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition recently published a report online in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (read study here) documenting significant disturbances in the immune system of young and old mice that have been fed the genetically modified corn MON 810.
The study evaluated the gut and peripheral immune response to corn in mice in vulnerable conditions-either very young or old. Weaning and old mice were fed a diet containing GM MON810 or its parental control corn or a pellet diet containing a non- GM corn for 30 and 90 days. MON810 maize induced alterations in the percentage of T and B cells and of CD4+, CD8+, γδ T, and αβ T subpopulations of weaning and old mice fed for 30 or 90 days, respectively, at the gut and peripheral sites. An increase of serum IL-6, IL-13, IL- 12p70, and MIP-1β after MON810 feeding was also found. These changes were not detected in the mice fed the non-GM diet.
The researchers said that the study's findings underscore the importance of considering the gut and peripheral immune response to GM crop ingestion as well as the age of the consumer when evaluating GM crop safety.
A press release issued by the Institute of Science in Society stated, "It is clear that genetic modification is inherently hazardous, as it invariably results in unpredictable and uncontrollable changes in the genome and the epigenome (pattern of gene expression) that impact on safety."
from: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16248.cfm
* By Ken Roseboro, ed.
The Organic and Non-GMO Report, December 2008
Italy' s National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition recently published a report online in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (read study here) documenting significant disturbances in the immune system of young and old mice that have been fed the genetically modified corn MON 810.
The study evaluated the gut and peripheral immune response to corn in mice in vulnerable conditions-either very young or old. Weaning and old mice were fed a diet containing GM MON810 or its parental control corn or a pellet diet containing a non- GM corn for 30 and 90 days. MON810 maize induced alterations in the percentage of T and B cells and of CD4+, CD8+, γδ T, and αβ T subpopulations of weaning and old mice fed for 30 or 90 days, respectively, at the gut and peripheral sites. An increase of serum IL-6, IL-13, IL- 12p70, and MIP-1β after MON810 feeding was also found. These changes were not detected in the mice fed the non-GM diet.
The researchers said that the study's findings underscore the importance of considering the gut and peripheral immune response to GM crop ingestion as well as the age of the consumer when evaluating GM crop safety.
A press release issued by the Institute of Science in Society stated, "It is clear that genetic modification is inherently hazardous, as it invariably results in unpredictable and uncontrollable changes in the genome and the epigenome (pattern of gene expression) that impact on safety."
from: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16248.cfm
Nature vs. Nurture debate
Fruitflies put buzz into Nature vs. Nurture debate
Sun Jan 11, 5:20 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) If you could put an animal in a time machine and send it back to live in the distant past, would its DNA evolve in reverse, returning to the genetic code of its ancestors?
The intriguing idea has been tested by scientists in Portugal and the United States, using the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) as the animal, and a laboratory to recreate the conditions of the past.
The modern-day fruit flies were the distant descendants of an original group that had been harvested in the wild back in 1975.
Over the following decades, 500 generations of flies grew up in different environments.
Different groups of insects were starved, exposed to greater humidity and so on in various research projects, and as a result developed specific characteristics, moulded by these conditions.
Henrique Teotonio and colleagues put these various populations back into the ancestral environment and let them reproduce for another 50 generations.
They then took a close look at a telltale stretch of DNA, on Chromosome 3, to see whether "reverse evolution" had taken place.
The answer: Yes, it had, but only up to a point.
Once the flies had adapted comfortably to their new environment, the backwards-winding clock of evolution came to a halt, according to their paper, published on Sunday in the journal Nature Genetics.
"Reverse evolution seems to stop when the populations of flies achieve adaptation to the ancestral environment, which may not coincide with the ancestral [genetic] state," said Teotonio.
"On average, only half of the gene frequencies revert to the ancestral gene frequencies. Evolution is contingent upon history at the genetic level, too."
The work also suggests evolution is rather more complex and less linear than is generally thought, Teotonio said.
For one thing, it shows that species can evolve from generation to generation by reshuffling variant forms of a gene, rather than introducing new mutations of it, he said.
from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090111/sc_afp/scienceevolution_newsmlmmd;_ylt=Aiwl1M2lY3WVSPGLuYv4XojPOrgF
Sun Jan 11, 5:20 pm ET
PARIS (AFP) If you could put an animal in a time machine and send it back to live in the distant past, would its DNA evolve in reverse, returning to the genetic code of its ancestors?
The intriguing idea has been tested by scientists in Portugal and the United States, using the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) as the animal, and a laboratory to recreate the conditions of the past.
The modern-day fruit flies were the distant descendants of an original group that had been harvested in the wild back in 1975.
Over the following decades, 500 generations of flies grew up in different environments.
Different groups of insects were starved, exposed to greater humidity and so on in various research projects, and as a result developed specific characteristics, moulded by these conditions.
Henrique Teotonio and colleagues put these various populations back into the ancestral environment and let them reproduce for another 50 generations.
They then took a close look at a telltale stretch of DNA, on Chromosome 3, to see whether "reverse evolution" had taken place.
The answer: Yes, it had, but only up to a point.
Once the flies had adapted comfortably to their new environment, the backwards-winding clock of evolution came to a halt, according to their paper, published on Sunday in the journal Nature Genetics.
"Reverse evolution seems to stop when the populations of flies achieve adaptation to the ancestral environment, which may not coincide with the ancestral [genetic] state," said Teotonio.
"On average, only half of the gene frequencies revert to the ancestral gene frequencies. Evolution is contingent upon history at the genetic level, too."
The work also suggests evolution is rather more complex and less linear than is generally thought, Teotonio said.
For one thing, it shows that species can evolve from generation to generation by reshuffling variant forms of a gene, rather than introducing new mutations of it, he said.
from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090111/sc_afp/scienceevolution_newsmlmmd;_ylt=Aiwl1M2lY3WVSPGLuYv4XojPOrgF
the foundation in life
Love is the foundation in life; not just in receiving love but in giving and becoming love, too. Consider these seven amazing ways to discover how to become love.
1. Love is a choice. There is a difference between love, the feeling and love, the choice. Throughout life, we often have the opportunity to fall in love. Feelings of excitement are often associated with love when it is first experienced. It can feel very good to fall in love and it can feel very empty when the love is taken away. However, in order to live a happy and purposeful life it is important to choose to become a loving person. Even though we can’t always control or predict when we may feel love, we do have the power to choose to become love. We get to choose when and how to act with love. Opportunities exist everyday.
2. Love your self, first. Before you can share love, you must first have love for yourself. Otherwise, how can you share what you don’t have? It may be difficult to find happiness and peace if you don’t think of yourself as worthy of receiving it. Self love is the most important element of becoming a spiritually healthy person. Love for self gives you balance, it centers you, and it keeps you on track when circumstances in life attempt to derail you.
3. Give yourself love. The challenge becomes when you have never learned how to love yourself. Some may find it difficult to self love, not because of their worthiness, but because they don’t know how. Because of childhood events, or other life experiences, some don’t even understand they are allowed to self love. If you have difficulty with the idea of self love, consider imagining you are holding the smaller you; the younger you. What would you say? Would you show love? Chances are you would. Extend that same love and grace to yourself today.
4. Make time for love. What’s more important to you, watching television or providing your focus to the person standing in front of you requesting your time and attention? Often times when we think we are too busy to give some of our time, some of our love, we are really just making the choice to do something else. The five minutes it might take to be fully present for someone or to return the telephone phone call to a friend who needs to talk, or to give and receive a hug can be the best time invested all day – and this investment will come back to you with more meaningful returns than perhaps anything else you may do.
5. Try to see the best in others, not the worst. When you expect good things to happen, good usually does happen. When you expect the best in someone, you often receive that, too. Bottom line: You usually get what you asked for in life. Begin learning how to experience those in your life (co-workers, friends, and family) as essentially good, worthy and full of incredible value. Look for ways they please you, surprise you, and make your life better. They will feel your admiration, confidence and love for them.
6. Do your best to do your best, never try to do your worst. Becoming love takes effort. Becoming love is a commitment to show grace and compassion to others no matter how upset or discouraged you may feel. Becoming love has no margin for short-cuts or intentional ill-will. When you set out to try to do your best, no matter the circumstance, it will come back to you 20-fold or more.
7. Celebrate the love in your life. Love is a miracle. When you are able to share your love and become love you have something worth treasuring and celebrating. We should never take love for granted – it can be snatched away quickly and without mercy. Celebrate your loving heart and celebrate how blessed your life is becoming as you become love to more and more people. Celebrate the “one thing” in your life with passion and enthusiasm!
www.thebridgemaker.com
1. Love is a choice. There is a difference between love, the feeling and love, the choice. Throughout life, we often have the opportunity to fall in love. Feelings of excitement are often associated with love when it is first experienced. It can feel very good to fall in love and it can feel very empty when the love is taken away. However, in order to live a happy and purposeful life it is important to choose to become a loving person. Even though we can’t always control or predict when we may feel love, we do have the power to choose to become love. We get to choose when and how to act with love. Opportunities exist everyday.
2. Love your self, first. Before you can share love, you must first have love for yourself. Otherwise, how can you share what you don’t have? It may be difficult to find happiness and peace if you don’t think of yourself as worthy of receiving it. Self love is the most important element of becoming a spiritually healthy person. Love for self gives you balance, it centers you, and it keeps you on track when circumstances in life attempt to derail you.
3. Give yourself love. The challenge becomes when you have never learned how to love yourself. Some may find it difficult to self love, not because of their worthiness, but because they don’t know how. Because of childhood events, or other life experiences, some don’t even understand they are allowed to self love. If you have difficulty with the idea of self love, consider imagining you are holding the smaller you; the younger you. What would you say? Would you show love? Chances are you would. Extend that same love and grace to yourself today.
4. Make time for love. What’s more important to you, watching television or providing your focus to the person standing in front of you requesting your time and attention? Often times when we think we are too busy to give some of our time, some of our love, we are really just making the choice to do something else. The five minutes it might take to be fully present for someone or to return the telephone phone call to a friend who needs to talk, or to give and receive a hug can be the best time invested all day – and this investment will come back to you with more meaningful returns than perhaps anything else you may do.
5. Try to see the best in others, not the worst. When you expect good things to happen, good usually does happen. When you expect the best in someone, you often receive that, too. Bottom line: You usually get what you asked for in life. Begin learning how to experience those in your life (co-workers, friends, and family) as essentially good, worthy and full of incredible value. Look for ways they please you, surprise you, and make your life better. They will feel your admiration, confidence and love for them.
6. Do your best to do your best, never try to do your worst. Becoming love takes effort. Becoming love is a commitment to show grace and compassion to others no matter how upset or discouraged you may feel. Becoming love has no margin for short-cuts or intentional ill-will. When you set out to try to do your best, no matter the circumstance, it will come back to you 20-fold or more.
7. Celebrate the love in your life. Love is a miracle. When you are able to share your love and become love you have something worth treasuring and celebrating. We should never take love for granted – it can be snatched away quickly and without mercy. Celebrate your loving heart and celebrate how blessed your life is becoming as you become love to more and more people. Celebrate the “one thing” in your life with passion and enthusiasm!
www.thebridgemaker.com
The Way We Eat
The Way We Eat May Be "Making Us Crazy"
Poor diet gets a hunk of the blame for rising rates of mental illness, according to new research from the UK. "Feeding Minds," a report by the British Mental Health Foundation, describes how eating habits have devolved over the past 60 years. The recent report emphasizes the link between diet and mental health, saying "the evidence indicates that food plays an important contributing role in the development, management and prevention of specific mental health problems, such as depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer's disease."
Bad habits -- like skipping breakfast, grabbing a fast-food burger for lunch and popping a frozen pizza into the microwave and calling it "dinner" -- have become a way of life, in large part because people are busy. This kind of food may fill the stomach, but not the body's nutritional needs. The "Feeding Minds" report found that British people now eat 34% fewer vegetables and 59% less fish than 60 years ago. Fast and processed foods are almost always low in critical brain-supporting components such as vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, and are loaded with refined carbohydrates, saturated fats and additives -- a recipe for irritability, mood swings and worse. Another factor is that industrial farming has altered our food at the most basic level. Changes in feed have increased body fat composition of certain animals and farmed fish we eat -- as a result we now often take in a far higher ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3s, a shift that has been linked with depression as well as deficits in memory and focus.
Food allergens are yet another contributor to mental health issues, including mood and attention problems. According to Russell B. Marz, ND, an assistant professor of nutrition at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, the growing use of genetically modified high fructose corn syrup in many foods and beverages has been suspected not only in increasing rates of obesity and diabetes, but also serious food allergies.
POOR DIET & MENTAL HEALTH
These changes add up to neurological challenges such as slower brain function and chronic inflammation. Poor diet has been linked with mental health in a number of conditions...
- ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Studies show that people with ADHD are low in certain types of omega-3 fatty acids, like DHA.
- Anxiety. Nervousness and anxiety are associated with a lack of folic acid, niacinamide, pyridoxine, magnesium and calcium.
- Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Research has linked Alzheimer's with an increased level of homocysteine, an amino acid metabolite associated with decreased levels of folate, B-12 and pyridoxine.
- Depression. Depression is linked to low fish consumption, as well as deficiencies in B vitamins, vitamin C, folic acid, magnesium, selenium and zinc.
- Irritability. A lack of vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), magnesium and selenium is commonly found in people who are irritable.
- Poor memory and concentration. Lapses in memory and concentration may be linked to a lack of B-12 and other B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.
- Schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that people with this disorder have low levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids or antioxidant enzymes in the brain... and low levels of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).
EAT YOUR WAY TO MIND-BODY HEALTH
With growing evidence of the link between mental health and diet, it's yet one more compelling reason, if indeed anyone still needs one, to follow a healthy diet. Fortunately the same whole foods that nourish the body also nourish the mind.
- Avoid additives, preservatives and pesticides. Pesticides and other chemicals can aggravate problems like depression by impairing the absorption of vital nutrients such as pyridoxine, cautions Dr. Marz. When possible, buy free-range, antibiotic-free meat and local produce that is in season and organically grown. The fewer chemicals, the better for your health. If you purchase non-organic fruits and vegetables, wash and peel them to reduce chemical residues.
- Include protein in every meal. Protein is the body's source of essential amino acids, required to produce neurotransmitters such as serotonin (which stabilizes mood and promotes sleep) and dopamine (which imparts energy and mental focus). If you lack sufficient amino acids, you cannot manufacture enough of these chemicals. Protein also helps stabilize blood glucose levels and prevent mood swings. Good sources include fish, eggs, skinless chicken and lean meats. Seafood or animal protein is the best source of vitamin B-12, but if you're over 50 you may have trouble absorbing this nutrient and require a supplement.
- Eat fish such as salmon or halibut two or three times a week, as they are excellent sources of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Seventy percent of the brain is composed of fat (if you exclude the water), making essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) a must for optimal brain function. Research from the Framingham Heart Study shows that people who ate fish more than two times a week halved their risk of Alzheimer's. Another option is to take a daily fish oil supplement of combined DHA and EPA.
- Go nuts. Eat a handful of nuts and/or seeds daily. Walnuts, cashews, peanuts and sunflower and pumpkin seeds are rich sources of magnesium and zinc. Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flax and hemp seeds are also good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. One mice study showed that a diet high in almonds may lower the risk of or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
- Eat lots of fresh produce -- five to 13 servings a day, according to US guidelines. Leafy green veggies such as spinach and kale are rich in folic acid, which supports concentration and memory... citrus fruits, peppers and strawberries are excellent sources of vitamin C... broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage are sources of magnesium. In Dr. Marz's opinion, including more nutrient- and fiber-rich foods in your diet is even more important than including protein.
- Stay hydrated. About 50% to 65% of your body weight consists of water, which carries vital nutrients into cells and ushers waste products out. This seemingly simple advice constitutes a cornerstone of health.
- If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation only. A study in the October 2008 issue of the Archives of Neurology notes that alcohol causes shrinkage of the brain. The more you drink, the more your brain shrinks. It's best to drink alcoholic beverages with your meal and choose organic red wines and unprocessed darker beers that contain higher phenolic levels. Experts generally advise against more than one alcoholic beverage a day for women and two for men.
ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
Of course, a good diet is not a panacea for mental problems any more than a bad diet is the sole cause. Serious diseases such as depression and schizophrenia obviously require expert medical treatment. That said, diet is one piece of the puzzle, and a healthful diet is a must for optimal health overall.
Note: You can download a free copy of the "Feeding Minds" report -- complete with recipes and nutritional advice -- at the Web site of the British Mental Health Foundation, www.mentalhealth.org.uk.
Source(s):
Russell B. Marz, ND, LAc, assistant professor of nutrition, National College of Natural Medicine, Portland, Oregon, and medical director of the Tabor Hill Clinic in Portland, Oregon.
Mental Health Foundation, www.mentalhealth.org.uk.
Forgiveness
Introduction
Forgiveness offers wings to prayer, to make its rising easy and its progress swift. Without its strong support it would be vain to try to rise above prayer's bottom step, or even to attempt to climb at all. Forgiveness is prayer's ally; sister in the plan for your salvation. Both must come to hold you up and keep your feet secure; your purpose steadfast and unchangeable. Behold the greatest help that God ordained to be with you until you reach to Him. Illusion's end will come with this. Unlike the timeless nature of its sister, prayer, forgiveness has an end. For it becomes unneeded when the rising up is done. Yet now it has a purpose beyond which you cannot go, nor have you need to go. Accomplish this and you have been redeemed. Accomplish this and you have been transformed. Accomplish this and you will save the world.
I. Forgiveness of Yourself
No gift of Heaven has been more misunderstood than has forgiveness. It has, in fact, become a scourge; a curse where it was meant to bless, a cruel mockery of grace, a parody upon the holy peace of God. Yet those who have not yet chosen to begin the steps of prayer cannot but use it thus. Forgiveness' kindness is obscure at first, because salvation is not understood, nor truly sought for. What was meant to heal is used to hurt because forgiveness is not wanted. Guilt becomes salvation, and the remedy appears to be a terrible alternative to life.
Forgiveness- to-destroy will therefore suit the purpose of the world far better than its true objective, and the honest means by which this goal is reached. Forgiveness- to-destroy will overlook no sin, no crime, no guilt that it can seek and find and "love." Dear to its heart is error, and mistakes loom large and grow and swell within its sight. It carefully picks out all evil things, and overlooks the loving as a plague; a hateful thing of danger and of death. Forgiveness- to-destroy is death, and this it sees in all it looks upon and hates. God's mercy has become a twisted knife that would destroy the holy Son He loves.
Would you forgive yourself for doing this? Then learn that God has given you the means by which you can return to Him in peace. Do not see error. Do not make it real. Select the loving and forgive the sin by choosing in its place the face of Christ. How otherwise can prayer return to God? He loves His Son. Can you remember Him and hate what He created? You will hate his Father if you hate the Son He loves. For as you see the Son you see yourself, and as you see yourself is God to you.
As prayer is always for yourself, so is forgiveness always given you. It is impossible to forgive another, for it is only your sins you see in him. You want to see them there, and not in you. That is why forgiveness of another is an illusion. Yet it is the only happy dream in all the world; the only one that does not lead to death. Only in someone else can you forgive yourself, for you have called him guilty of your sins, and in him must your innocence now be found. Who but the sinful need to be forgiven? And do not ever think you can see sin in anyone except yourself.
This is the great deception of the world, and you the great deceiver of yourself. It always seems to be another who is evil, and in his sin you are the injured one. How could freedom be possible if this were so? You would be slave to everyone, for what he does entails your fate, your feelings, your despair or hope, your misery or joy. You have no freedom unless he gives it to you. And being evil, he can only give of what he is. You cannot see his sins and not your own. But you can free him and yourself as well.
Forgiveness, truly given, is the way in which your only hope of freedom lies. Others will make mistakes and so will you, as long as this illusion of a world appears to be your home. Yet God Himself has given all His Sons a remedy for all illusions that they think they see. Christ's vision does not use your eyes, but you can look through His and learn to see like Him. Mistakes are tiny shadows, quickly gone, that for an instant only seem to hide the face of Christ, which still remains unchanged behind them all. His constancy remains in tranquil silence and in perfect peace. He does not know of shadows. His the eyes that look past error to the Christ in you.
Ask, then, His help, and ask Him how to learn forgiveness as His vision lets it be. You are in need of what He gives, and your salvation rests on learning this of Him. Prayer cannot be released to Heaven while forgiveness- to-destroy remains with you. God's mercy would remove this withering and poisoned thinking from your holy mind. Christ has forgiven you, and in His sight the world becomes as holy as Himself. Who sees no evil in it sees like Him. For what He has forgiven has not sinned, and guilt can be no more. Salvation's plan is made complete, and sanity has come.
Forgiveness is the call to sanity, for who but the insane would look on sin when he could see the face of Christ instead? This is the choice you make; the simplest one, and yet the only one that you can make. God calls on you to save His Son from death by offering Christ's love to him. This is your need, and God holds out this gift to you. As He would give, so must you give as well. And thus is prayer restored to formlessness, beyond all limits into timelessness, with nothing of the past to hold it back from re-uniting with the ceaseless song that all creation sings unto its God.
But to achieve this end you first must learn, before you reach where learning cannot go. Forgiveness is the key, but who can use a key when he has lost the door for which the key was made, and where alone it fits? Therefore we make distinctions, so that prayer can be released from darkness into light. Forgiveness' role must be reversed, and cleansed from evil usages and hateful goals. Forgiveness- to-destroy must be unveiled in all its treachery, and then let go forever and forever. There can be no trace of it remaining, if the plan that God established for returning be achieved at last, and learning be complete.
This is the world of opposites. And you must choose between them every instant while this world retains reality for you. Yet you must learn alternatives for choice, or you will not be able to attain your freedom. Let it then be clear to you exactly what forgiveness means to you, and learn what it should be to set you free. The level of your prayer depends on this, for here it waits its freedom to ascend above the world of chaos into peace.
II. Forgiveness- to-Destroy
Forgiveness- to-destroy has many forms, being a weapon of the world of form. Not all of them are obvious, and some are carefully concealed beneath what seems like charity. Yet all the forms that it may seem to take have but this single goal; their purpose is to separate and make what God created equal, different. The difference is clear in several forms where the designed comparison cannot be missed, nor is it really meant to be. In this group, first, there are the forms in which a "better" person deigns to stoop to save a "baser" one from what he truly is. Forgiveness here rests on an attitude of gracious lordliness so far from love that arrogance could never be dislodged. Who can forgive and yet despise? And who can tell another he is steeped in sin, and yet perceive him as the Son of God? Who makes a slave to teach what freedom is? There is no union here, but only grief. This is not really mercy. This is death.
Another form, still very like the first if it is understood, does not appear in quite such blatant arrogance. The one who would forgive the other does not claim to be the better. Now he says instead that here is one whose sinfulness he shares, since both have been unworthy and deserve the retribution of the wrath of God. This can appear to be a humble thought, and may indeed induce a rivalry in sinfulness and guilt. It is not love for God's creation and the holiness that is His gift forever. Can His Son condemn himself and still remember Him?
Here the goal is to separate from God the Son He loves, and keep him from his Source. This goal is also sought by those who seek the role of martyr at another's hand. Here must the aim be clearly seen, for this may pass as meekness and as charity instead of cruelty. Is it not kind to be accepting of another's spite, and not respond except with silence and a gentle smile? Behold, how good are you who bear with patience and with saintliness the anger and the hurt another gives, and do not show the bitter pain you feel.
Forgiveness- to-destroy will often hide behind a cloak like this. It shows the face of suffering and pain, in silent proof of guilt and of the ravages of sin. Such is the witness that it offers one who could be savior, not an enemy. But having been made enemy, he must accept the guilt and heavy-laid reproach that thus is put upon him. Is this love? Or is it rather treachery to one who needs salvation from the pain of guilt? What could the purpose be, except to keep the witnesses of guilt away from love?
Forgiveness- to-destroy can also take the form of bargaining and compromise. "I will forgive you if you meet my needs, for in your slavery is my release." Say this to anyone and you are slave. And you will seek to rid yourself of guilt in further bargains which can give no hope, but only greater pain and misery. How fearful has forgiveness now become, and how distorted is the end it seeks. Have mercy on yourself who bargains thus. God gives and does not ask for recompense. There is no giving but to give like Him. All else is mockery. For who would try to strike a bargain with the Son of God, and thank his Father for his holiness?
What would you show your brother? Would you try to reinforce his guilt and thus your own? Forgiveness is the means for your escape. How pitiful it is to make of it the means for further slavery and pain. Within the world of opposites there is a way to use forgiveness for the goal of God, and find the peace He offers you. Take nothing else, or you have sought your death, and prayed for separation from your Self. Christ is for all because He is in all. It is His face forgiveness lets you see. It is His face in which you see your own.
All forms forgiveness takes that do not lead away from anger, condemnation and comparisons of every kind are death. For that is what their purposes have set. Be not deceived by them, but lay them by as worthless in their tragic offerings. You do not want to stay in slavery. You do not want to be afraid of God. You want to see the sunlight and the glow of Heaven shining on the face of earth, redeemed from sin and in the Love of God. From here is prayer released, along with you. Your wings are free, and prayer will lift you up and bring you home where God would have you be.
III. Forgiveness- for-Salvation Forgiveness- for-salvation has one form, and only one. It does not ask for proof of innocence, nor pay of any kind. It does not argue, nor evaluate the errors that it wants to overlook. It does not offer gifts in treachery, nor promise freedom while it asks for death. Would God deceive you? He but asks for trust and willingness to learn how to be free. He gives His Teacher to whoever asks, and seeks to understand the Will of God. His readiness to give lies far beyond your understanding and your simple grasp. Yet He has willed you learn the way to Him, and in His willing there is certainty.
You Child of God, the gifts of God are yours, not by your plans but by His holy Will. His Voice will teach you what forgiveness is, and how to give it as He wills it be. Do not, then, seek to understand what is beyond you yet, but let it be a way to draw you up to where the eyes of Christ become the sight you choose. Give up all else, for there is nothing else. When someone calls for help in any form, He is the One to answer for you. All that you need do is to step back and not to interfere. Forgiveness- for-salvation is His task, and it is He Who will respond for you.
Do not establish what the form should be that Christ's forgiveness takes. He knows the way to make of every call a help to you, as you arise in haste to go at last unto your Father's house. Now can He make your footsteps sure, your words sincere; not with your own sincerity, but with His Own. Let Him take charge of how you would forgive, and each occasion then will be to you another step to Heaven and to peace.
Are you not weary of imprisonment? God did not choose this sorry path for you. What you have chosen still can be undone, for prayer is merciful and God is just. His is a justice He can understand, but you cannot as yet. Still will He give the means to you to learn of Him, and know at last that condemnation is not real and makes illusions in its evil name. And yet it matters not the form that dreams may seem to take. Illusions are untrue. God's Will is truth, and you are one with Him in Will and purpose. Here all dreams are done.
"What should I do for him, Your holy Son?" should be the only thing you ever ask when help is needed and forgiveness sought. The form the seeking takes you need not judge. And let it not be you who sets the form in which forgiveness comes to save God's Son. The light of Christ in him is his release, and it is this that answers to his call. Forgive him as the Christ decides you should, and be His eyes through which you look on him, and speak for Him as well. He knows the need; the question and the answer. He will say exactly what to do, in words that you can understand and you can also use. Do not confuse His function with your own. He is the Answer. You the one who hears.
And what is it He speaks to you about? About salvation and the gift of peace. About the end of sin and guilt and death. About the role forgiveness has in Him. Do you but listen. For He will be heard by anyone who calls upon His Name, and places his forgiveness in His hands. Forgiveness has been given Him to teach, to save it from destruction and to make the means for separation, sin and death become again the holy gift of God. Prayer is His Own right Hand, made free to save as true forgiveness is allowed to come from His eternal vigilance and love. Listen and learn, and do not judge. It is to God you turn to hear what you should do. His answer will be clear as morning, nor is His forgiveness what you think it is.
Still does He know, and that should be enough. Forgiveness has a Teacher Who will fail in nothing. Rest a while in this; do not attempt to judge forgiveness, nor to set it in an earthly frame. Let it arise to Christ, Who welcomes it as gift to Him. He will not leave you comfortless, nor fail to send His angels down to answer you in His Own Name. He stands beside the door to which forgiveness is the only key. Give it to Him to use instead of you, and you will see the door swing silently open upon the shining face of Christ. Behold your brother there beyond the door; the Son of God as He created him.
Forgiveness offers wings to prayer, to make its rising easy and its progress swift. Without its strong support it would be vain to try to rise above prayer's bottom step, or even to attempt to climb at all. Forgiveness is prayer's ally; sister in the plan for your salvation. Both must come to hold you up and keep your feet secure; your purpose steadfast and unchangeable. Behold the greatest help that God ordained to be with you until you reach to Him. Illusion's end will come with this. Unlike the timeless nature of its sister, prayer, forgiveness has an end. For it becomes unneeded when the rising up is done. Yet now it has a purpose beyond which you cannot go, nor have you need to go. Accomplish this and you have been redeemed. Accomplish this and you have been transformed. Accomplish this and you will save the world.
I. Forgiveness of Yourself
No gift of Heaven has been more misunderstood than has forgiveness. It has, in fact, become a scourge; a curse where it was meant to bless, a cruel mockery of grace, a parody upon the holy peace of God. Yet those who have not yet chosen to begin the steps of prayer cannot but use it thus. Forgiveness' kindness is obscure at first, because salvation is not understood, nor truly sought for. What was meant to heal is used to hurt because forgiveness is not wanted. Guilt becomes salvation, and the remedy appears to be a terrible alternative to life.
Forgiveness- to-destroy will therefore suit the purpose of the world far better than its true objective, and the honest means by which this goal is reached. Forgiveness- to-destroy will overlook no sin, no crime, no guilt that it can seek and find and "love." Dear to its heart is error, and mistakes loom large and grow and swell within its sight. It carefully picks out all evil things, and overlooks the loving as a plague; a hateful thing of danger and of death. Forgiveness- to-destroy is death, and this it sees in all it looks upon and hates. God's mercy has become a twisted knife that would destroy the holy Son He loves.
Would you forgive yourself for doing this? Then learn that God has given you the means by which you can return to Him in peace. Do not see error. Do not make it real. Select the loving and forgive the sin by choosing in its place the face of Christ. How otherwise can prayer return to God? He loves His Son. Can you remember Him and hate what He created? You will hate his Father if you hate the Son He loves. For as you see the Son you see yourself, and as you see yourself is God to you.
As prayer is always for yourself, so is forgiveness always given you. It is impossible to forgive another, for it is only your sins you see in him. You want to see them there, and not in you. That is why forgiveness of another is an illusion. Yet it is the only happy dream in all the world; the only one that does not lead to death. Only in someone else can you forgive yourself, for you have called him guilty of your sins, and in him must your innocence now be found. Who but the sinful need to be forgiven? And do not ever think you can see sin in anyone except yourself.
This is the great deception of the world, and you the great deceiver of yourself. It always seems to be another who is evil, and in his sin you are the injured one. How could freedom be possible if this were so? You would be slave to everyone, for what he does entails your fate, your feelings, your despair or hope, your misery or joy. You have no freedom unless he gives it to you. And being evil, he can only give of what he is. You cannot see his sins and not your own. But you can free him and yourself as well.
Forgiveness, truly given, is the way in which your only hope of freedom lies. Others will make mistakes and so will you, as long as this illusion of a world appears to be your home. Yet God Himself has given all His Sons a remedy for all illusions that they think they see. Christ's vision does not use your eyes, but you can look through His and learn to see like Him. Mistakes are tiny shadows, quickly gone, that for an instant only seem to hide the face of Christ, which still remains unchanged behind them all. His constancy remains in tranquil silence and in perfect peace. He does not know of shadows. His the eyes that look past error to the Christ in you.
Ask, then, His help, and ask Him how to learn forgiveness as His vision lets it be. You are in need of what He gives, and your salvation rests on learning this of Him. Prayer cannot be released to Heaven while forgiveness- to-destroy remains with you. God's mercy would remove this withering and poisoned thinking from your holy mind. Christ has forgiven you, and in His sight the world becomes as holy as Himself. Who sees no evil in it sees like Him. For what He has forgiven has not sinned, and guilt can be no more. Salvation's plan is made complete, and sanity has come.
Forgiveness is the call to sanity, for who but the insane would look on sin when he could see the face of Christ instead? This is the choice you make; the simplest one, and yet the only one that you can make. God calls on you to save His Son from death by offering Christ's love to him. This is your need, and God holds out this gift to you. As He would give, so must you give as well. And thus is prayer restored to formlessness, beyond all limits into timelessness, with nothing of the past to hold it back from re-uniting with the ceaseless song that all creation sings unto its God.
But to achieve this end you first must learn, before you reach where learning cannot go. Forgiveness is the key, but who can use a key when he has lost the door for which the key was made, and where alone it fits? Therefore we make distinctions, so that prayer can be released from darkness into light. Forgiveness' role must be reversed, and cleansed from evil usages and hateful goals. Forgiveness- to-destroy must be unveiled in all its treachery, and then let go forever and forever. There can be no trace of it remaining, if the plan that God established for returning be achieved at last, and learning be complete.
This is the world of opposites. And you must choose between them every instant while this world retains reality for you. Yet you must learn alternatives for choice, or you will not be able to attain your freedom. Let it then be clear to you exactly what forgiveness means to you, and learn what it should be to set you free. The level of your prayer depends on this, for here it waits its freedom to ascend above the world of chaos into peace.
II. Forgiveness- to-Destroy
Forgiveness- to-destroy has many forms, being a weapon of the world of form. Not all of them are obvious, and some are carefully concealed beneath what seems like charity. Yet all the forms that it may seem to take have but this single goal; their purpose is to separate and make what God created equal, different. The difference is clear in several forms where the designed comparison cannot be missed, nor is it really meant to be. In this group, first, there are the forms in which a "better" person deigns to stoop to save a "baser" one from what he truly is. Forgiveness here rests on an attitude of gracious lordliness so far from love that arrogance could never be dislodged. Who can forgive and yet despise? And who can tell another he is steeped in sin, and yet perceive him as the Son of God? Who makes a slave to teach what freedom is? There is no union here, but only grief. This is not really mercy. This is death.
Another form, still very like the first if it is understood, does not appear in quite such blatant arrogance. The one who would forgive the other does not claim to be the better. Now he says instead that here is one whose sinfulness he shares, since both have been unworthy and deserve the retribution of the wrath of God. This can appear to be a humble thought, and may indeed induce a rivalry in sinfulness and guilt. It is not love for God's creation and the holiness that is His gift forever. Can His Son condemn himself and still remember Him?
Here the goal is to separate from God the Son He loves, and keep him from his Source. This goal is also sought by those who seek the role of martyr at another's hand. Here must the aim be clearly seen, for this may pass as meekness and as charity instead of cruelty. Is it not kind to be accepting of another's spite, and not respond except with silence and a gentle smile? Behold, how good are you who bear with patience and with saintliness the anger and the hurt another gives, and do not show the bitter pain you feel.
Forgiveness- to-destroy will often hide behind a cloak like this. It shows the face of suffering and pain, in silent proof of guilt and of the ravages of sin. Such is the witness that it offers one who could be savior, not an enemy. But having been made enemy, he must accept the guilt and heavy-laid reproach that thus is put upon him. Is this love? Or is it rather treachery to one who needs salvation from the pain of guilt? What could the purpose be, except to keep the witnesses of guilt away from love?
Forgiveness- to-destroy can also take the form of bargaining and compromise. "I will forgive you if you meet my needs, for in your slavery is my release." Say this to anyone and you are slave. And you will seek to rid yourself of guilt in further bargains which can give no hope, but only greater pain and misery. How fearful has forgiveness now become, and how distorted is the end it seeks. Have mercy on yourself who bargains thus. God gives and does not ask for recompense. There is no giving but to give like Him. All else is mockery. For who would try to strike a bargain with the Son of God, and thank his Father for his holiness?
What would you show your brother? Would you try to reinforce his guilt and thus your own? Forgiveness is the means for your escape. How pitiful it is to make of it the means for further slavery and pain. Within the world of opposites there is a way to use forgiveness for the goal of God, and find the peace He offers you. Take nothing else, or you have sought your death, and prayed for separation from your Self. Christ is for all because He is in all. It is His face forgiveness lets you see. It is His face in which you see your own.
All forms forgiveness takes that do not lead away from anger, condemnation and comparisons of every kind are death. For that is what their purposes have set. Be not deceived by them, but lay them by as worthless in their tragic offerings. You do not want to stay in slavery. You do not want to be afraid of God. You want to see the sunlight and the glow of Heaven shining on the face of earth, redeemed from sin and in the Love of God. From here is prayer released, along with you. Your wings are free, and prayer will lift you up and bring you home where God would have you be.
III. Forgiveness- for-Salvation Forgiveness- for-salvation has one form, and only one. It does not ask for proof of innocence, nor pay of any kind. It does not argue, nor evaluate the errors that it wants to overlook. It does not offer gifts in treachery, nor promise freedom while it asks for death. Would God deceive you? He but asks for trust and willingness to learn how to be free. He gives His Teacher to whoever asks, and seeks to understand the Will of God. His readiness to give lies far beyond your understanding and your simple grasp. Yet He has willed you learn the way to Him, and in His willing there is certainty.
You Child of God, the gifts of God are yours, not by your plans but by His holy Will. His Voice will teach you what forgiveness is, and how to give it as He wills it be. Do not, then, seek to understand what is beyond you yet, but let it be a way to draw you up to where the eyes of Christ become the sight you choose. Give up all else, for there is nothing else. When someone calls for help in any form, He is the One to answer for you. All that you need do is to step back and not to interfere. Forgiveness- for-salvation is His task, and it is He Who will respond for you.
Do not establish what the form should be that Christ's forgiveness takes. He knows the way to make of every call a help to you, as you arise in haste to go at last unto your Father's house. Now can He make your footsteps sure, your words sincere; not with your own sincerity, but with His Own. Let Him take charge of how you would forgive, and each occasion then will be to you another step to Heaven and to peace.
Are you not weary of imprisonment? God did not choose this sorry path for you. What you have chosen still can be undone, for prayer is merciful and God is just. His is a justice He can understand, but you cannot as yet. Still will He give the means to you to learn of Him, and know at last that condemnation is not real and makes illusions in its evil name. And yet it matters not the form that dreams may seem to take. Illusions are untrue. God's Will is truth, and you are one with Him in Will and purpose. Here all dreams are done.
"What should I do for him, Your holy Son?" should be the only thing you ever ask when help is needed and forgiveness sought. The form the seeking takes you need not judge. And let it not be you who sets the form in which forgiveness comes to save God's Son. The light of Christ in him is his release, and it is this that answers to his call. Forgive him as the Christ decides you should, and be His eyes through which you look on him, and speak for Him as well. He knows the need; the question and the answer. He will say exactly what to do, in words that you can understand and you can also use. Do not confuse His function with your own. He is the Answer. You the one who hears.
And what is it He speaks to you about? About salvation and the gift of peace. About the end of sin and guilt and death. About the role forgiveness has in Him. Do you but listen. For He will be heard by anyone who calls upon His Name, and places his forgiveness in His hands. Forgiveness has been given Him to teach, to save it from destruction and to make the means for separation, sin and death become again the holy gift of God. Prayer is His Own right Hand, made free to save as true forgiveness is allowed to come from His eternal vigilance and love. Listen and learn, and do not judge. It is to God you turn to hear what you should do. His answer will be clear as morning, nor is His forgiveness what you think it is.
Still does He know, and that should be enough. Forgiveness has a Teacher Who will fail in nothing. Rest a while in this; do not attempt to judge forgiveness, nor to set it in an earthly frame. Let it arise to Christ, Who welcomes it as gift to Him. He will not leave you comfortless, nor fail to send His angels down to answer you in His Own Name. He stands beside the door to which forgiveness is the only key. Give it to Him to use instead of you, and you will see the door swing silently open upon the shining face of Christ. Behold your brother there beyond the door; the Son of God as He created him.
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