The Rev Makes Some Pertinent Points...

One Sunday November 16, 2008, Rev. Mo Benson addressed the congregation at the Community Miracles Center in San Francisco, CA. What follows is a lightly edited transcription of that lecture.

Good morning family! First off, I’d like to thank Reverend Tony and Reverend Larry for trusting me enough to let me come up here to talk about A Course In Miracles.

Rev, Mo Benson
What I’m going to talk about today is the importance and power of purpose. I said it that way because I like the alliteration, but it’s not to be confused with a book that was written a while back called The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The only thing I know about that book is that he talks about five purposes given to each of us by God. Those are worship, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and evangelism. You can probably tell that those don’t resonate with me, (laughter) but they probably resonate with a lot of people so, if they wish to go down that path then that’s certainly fine for them.

The dictionary defines “purpose” as “something set up as an object or end to be attained.” For myself, an example would be that for 11 years I have belonged to what is called a Men’s Division. That’s a group of men who have an organizational purpose. Each division is made up of teams and the teams have their own team purposes – and often what we do among the teams is talk about our own personal purposes. I personally like to call them a higher purpose rather than just a purpose because, for me, and maybe for some others in this room, it would seem that my basic purpose is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Can anybody relate to that? (laughter) That’s a very hedonistic purpose to be sure, and that would simplify everything to be sure. If it brings some degree of pleasure, you do it and if it brings some kind of pain, you avoid it at all costs if possible!

So, that’s why I want to speak of my purpose as a “higher” purpose, something higher than that, and that’s what we do. One thing that the Men’s Division organization talks about, our so-called “technology”, is an exercise we call CPR. This stands for context, purpose, and results. Anytime we lead an exercise, manage a meeting or event, we’re required to do a CPR and that’s just what it says – we make a list of your expected results, the purpose, and our context. Now, for me, the most important part is the “P” part, the purpose, because that’s what we’re aiming at. That’s the reason why we’re doing this thing, whatever it is, and that is the power of the purpose. You keep the purpose in mind and that serves as your guidepost that tells you if you’re erring in the wrong direction or not. Certainly, you can say in fact, I have a purpose for this talk I’m giving today. I could say to myself “do I want to include this” and ask if it serves my purpose or not. It’s up to me. It’s just part of the equation, to ask yourself if it serves your purpose or not. So knowing your purpose is very important.

I talked about a basic purpose for me as being to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Unfortunately, the Course tells us that “Pain compels attention, drawing it away from Him and focusing upon itself. Its purpose is the same as pleasure, for they both are means to make the body real. What shares a common purpose is the same. This is the law of purpose.” (T.27.VI.1:3-6)

What the Course is saying is that pain and pleasure are both the same since they share the same purpose. It’s all to make the body real. In the Course, whether you thought about it or not, the purpose is everything! Purpose is mentioned over 650 times. The Course will tell you the purpose of the ego, the purpose for Holy Spirit, the purpose of the world, the purpose of the body. All throughout the Course there is a purpose for everything. Purpose is very important in the Course.

The Course is very explicit on this. It says “This is the question that you must learn to ask in connection with everything. What is the purpose? Whatever it is, it will direct your efforts automatically. When you make a decision of purpose, then, you have made a decision about your future effort; a decision that will remain in effect unless you change your mind.” (T-4.V.8-11) So, there you go. That’s the same thing that I was just talking about. It’s going to point to your future actions depending on what your purpose is. Your actions either serve that purpose or they don’t.

I want to share a story which is why I brought this topic up today. A few years ago, around 2004 or 2005, my wife Marci and I attended a workshop that was being put on by Candace and DavidPaul Doyle – commonly known as “the Doyles.”** (laughter) This was the first time we had ever heard them or saw them, and this was a workshop about listening to the Voice of the Holy Spirit. That’s what it was about. It was an all-day workshop. We went through different levels, and, toward the end, part of the exercise was to get into a quiet meditative state. Then we were directed to ask a question of the Holy Spirit. We were supposed to keep our eyes closed and write the answer to whatever our question was. Now, did I ask for the winning lottery numbers? Noooooo! (laughter)

What I did was – I had the arrogance, audacity, the temerity to ask for an experience of specialness. As I look back on it, I asked the Holy Spirit what my purpose was. And I got this answer – literally, when I read what I wrote, and I kept that paper for a long time. It was hard to read because, well, have you ever tried to write with your eyes closed? I wanted to make sure that I got the words right for what I heard. What I heard was this. This was my purpose, “Bring peace to all you meet. See them exactly as they are. Love them, bless them. Be of good cheer.”

I have used that. I told my teammates in the Men’s Division that that was my purpose. I was impressed! That sounds good, doesn’t it? (laughter) Yeah, I was impressed by it. The Course says, “A purpose is attained by means, and if you want a purpose you must be willing to want the means as well. How can one be sincere and say, “I want this above all else, and yet I do not want to learn the means to get it?’” (T-20.VII.2.6-7)

Here you have a purpose. Are you willing to do what it takes to attain that purpose? That what that is saying to me.

So what I decided, upon reflection – it took me a while – I mean, here’s this great purpose, sounds good. I wrote it down many times. It sounds simple, but it’s rather like the Course – it’s very simple, but it’s not so easy. I also figured that I was arrogant in asking for this experience of specialness, because I thought that you could just go to the Holy Spirit and say “give me my purpose because I’m different than everyone else” but really, when you think about that purpose that I just told you about, that’s all our purpose – the purpose for everybody. The Holy Spirit knew that and denied me my moment of specialness. He gave me the purpose for everybody. That was clever of Holy Spirit! (laughter)

Basically, I look as these four lines as four elements and I asked, “What am I going to do with this?” Also, the other question that came to my mind, was this voice that gave me this purpose – was it the Holy Spirit or was it the ego? Often times that’s a question when you hear something. Where is this guidance coming from? Which is it?

I’m going to tell you the process that I went through with that, and you can decide for yourself what voice I heard. Here I had these four elements. I decided that I would deconstruct it. In other words, I would look at each element and think about these four lines.

The last line, looking at it from the end back to the beginning, was “Be of good cheer.” Now, I believe Jesus says that in the Bible, allegedly. He also says in the Course “In this world you need not have tribulation because I have overcome the world. That is why you should be of good cheer.” (T-4.I.13.10-11)

Now, I interpret that as meaning not to take the world seriously. Okay. That sounds simple enough. It’s much easier to forgive the world if you don’t take it seriously. Why do we do that? Because the world is illusion. How can you take illusion seriously to begin with? But, I have some trouble with that. I really admire comedians who can look at the absurdities of the world and then find humor in them. That’s what makes them successful comedians. We have a friend who is a well-known stand-up comedian. He has specials on HBO and all that, and he is a long-time Course student. He is able to do just that – look at various aspects of the culture, see their absurdity, make up jokes and make us laugh about them. Laughter is what they say. It makes good medicine. It makes us all feel better. We shouldn’t take this all that seriously, and I’ll never forget that. Marci and I saw him is Las Vegas and one of the lines he says is that he played an engagement at a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and all they wanted to hear were knock-knock jokes! (laughter) So that’s how I took that last line to be of good cheer, not taking the world seriously.

The previously line before that says, and this applies to all the people that I meet, “Love them and bless them.” I had to stop and think about that. How do you do that? Well, I can love everybody I meet by accepting them and not judging them. I can bless them. To bless is a prayer to glorify, by wishing the best for each person. Sounds simple to do, but you know yourself, probably driving down the highway offers a good chance to test that out – to love all of the other drivers and bless them – and also looking only at your shared interests instead of your separate interests. You’re all on the highway together trying to get from one place to another rather than “I’m more important than the rest of you, I need to get home before all of you.” So that’s my way that I think I’m going to do it.

I haven’t mastered these steps. I look at these as four separate elements, and I’m going to master each one of them. That’s my purpose, and I invite you – as it’s our purpose – to engage in this as well. I think that’s what the Course is asking us to do.

The Course says “When a brother acts insanely, he is offering you an opportunity to bless him.” (T-7.VII.2.1) So, it’s pretty easy to look around and see our brothers acting insanely – at least our version of insanely. We really only need to – going back to look at humor in the world – watch television for just a few minutes to see absurdity and how insane things would seem to be. Watching previews of The Real Housewives of Orange County, or watching drug commercials that tell of side effects such as “spontaneous oily discharge.” You have to laugh at these things! (laughter) They expect you to buy that.

The third part of the purpose I was given was to “See them exactly as they are.” I’ve been thinking about that one as well. What that means to me is not to criticize my brothers and sisters, or listen to other people’s criticism of them. We have a lesson in the Workbook that says “Let all things be exactly as they are”, (W-pII.268) and that’s what it is referring to here. Do not criticize and do not listen to other people’s criticisms – see our brothers and sisters exactly as they are. The Course also says “In love was I created, and in love will I remain forever. What can frighten me, when I let all things be exactly as they are?” (W-pII.268.1.5-6)

The first line of my purpose, and you could almost boil it down to just this line, is “Bring peace to all you meet.” That was a tough one. I had to ask myself what that meant. How do I do that? The Course will tell you that to learn something you must teach it, and to teach something you must demonstrate it. What that’s saying is first I have to have peace in order to bring peace to all I meet. So it’s putting the responsibility back on me to find a state of peace – of inner peace. The Course says to reach this state of peace is, as it talks about in the Manual for Teachers, going through the “Development of Trust” (M-4.I.2.A) There are six stages in the development of trust that lead you to a state of peace.

I need you to follow with me here because I’m going to tell you what these six stages are, and then you can decide along the way where you think you might be.

The first stage is called a “period of undoing” (M-4.I.A.3.1) “It seems as if things are being taken away, and it is rarely understood initially that their lack of value is merely being recognized. How can lack of value be perceived unless the perceiver is in a position where he must see things in a different light? He is not yet at a point at which he can make the shift entirely internally. And so the plan will sometimes call for changes in what seem to be external circumstances. These changes are always helpful. When the teacher of God has learned that much, he goes on to the second stage.” (M-4.I.A.3.3-8)

We’re talking about the feeling that something is being taken away, but really we’re only recognizing that it’s just not valuable to us anymore.

The second stage is called a “period of sorting out. ” (M-4.I.A.4.1) “He will find that many, if not most of the things he valued before will merely hinder his ability to transfer what he has learned to new situations as they arise. Because he has valued what is really valueless, he will not generalize the lesson for fear of loss and sacrifice. It takes great learning to understand that all things, events, encounters and circumstances are helpful. It is only to the extent to which they are helpful that any degree of reality should be accorded them in this world of illusion. The word ‘value’ can apply to nothing else.” (M-4.I.A.3.3-7)

This is very similar to the first one in that we are sorting out what we value from what we don’t, realizing in the first stage that this is what is causing us to feel that we are giving something up.

The third stage is called the “period of relinquishment.” (M-4.I.A.5.1) “If this is interpreted as giving up the desirable, it will engender enormous conflict. Few teachers of God escape this distress entirely. There is, however, no point in sorting out the valuable from the valueless unless the next obvious step is taken. Therefore, the period of overlap is apt to be one in which the teacher of God feels called upon to sacrifice his own best interests on behalf of truth. He has not realized as yet how wholly impossible such a demand would be. He can learn this only as he actually does give up the valueless.” (M-4.I.A.5.2-7)

So, all along, the Course is about not looking for what’s real, but what is unreal. What has no value? It’s a deductive process. I was alluding to this the last time I talked about the “digital” nature of the spirituality of the Course – the removing of what is not true and keeping what is.

The fourth stage is called the “period of settling down.” (M-4.I.A.6.1) “This is a quiet time, in which the teacher of God rests a while in reasonable peace. Now he consolidates his learning. Now he begins to see the transfer value of what he has learned. Its potential is literally staggering, and the teacher of God is now at the point in his progress at which he sees in it his whole way out. “Give up what you do not want, and keep what you do.” How simple is the obvious! And how easy to do! The teacher of God needs this period of respite. He has not yet come as far as he thinks. Yet when he is ready to go on, he goes with mighty companions beside him. Now he rests a while, and gathers them before going on. He will not go on from here alone” (M-4.I.A.6.2-13)

We come then to the fourth stage where we find a little peace. This is the peace of God that we say we want. If you’re doing the Workbook where you say “I want the peace of God.” (W-pI.185) There is a difference between the peace of God and the temporary ego-respite that you might feel. When you’re sitting in a chair in a nice location doing something that you like to do and you feel at that moment that everything is peaceful, but it wouldn’t take much to come along to disturb that. That’s a temporary ego-respite rather than the peace of God that cannot be disturbed.

Stage number five is called the “period of unsettling.” (M-4.I.A.7.1) “Now must the teacher of God understand that he did not really know what was valuable and what was valueless. All that he really learned so far was that he did not want the valueless, and that he did want the valuable. Yet his own sorting out was meaningless in teaching him the difference. The idea of sacrifice, so central to his own thought system, had made it impossible for him to judge. He thought he learned willingness, but now he sees that he does not know what the willingness is for. And now he must attain a state that may remain impossible to reach for a long, long time. He must learn to lay all judgment aside, and ask only what he really wants in every circumstance.” (M-4.I.A.7.2-8)

You can see that it’s getting a little more difficult as we go along here, or so it seems. Even though He says it’s simple. (laughter) He doesn’t say it’s easy.

The sixth stage is the “period of achievement.” (M-4.I.A.8.1) “It is here that learning is consolidated. Now what was seen as merely shadows before become solid gains, to be counted on in all ‘emergencies’ as well as tranquil times. Indeed, the tranquility is their result; the outcome of honest learning, consistency of thought and full transfer. This is the stage of real peace, for here is Heaven’s state fully reflected. From here, the way to Heaven is open and easy. In fact, it is here. Who would ‘go’ anywhere, if peace of mind is already complete? And who would seek to change tranquility for something more desirable? What could be more desirable than this?” (M-4.I.A.8.2-10)

So, here you have it. Six stages are talked about in the “development of trust” (M-4.I.2.A) that lead to the state of peace that we all want. By having that peace we can demonstrate it to our brothers and, therefore, teach peace.

When I looked back on this, I think that I jockey back and forth between stages two and three right now, and that’s fine.

Now to reiterate what the Course says earlier, here’s something that I want you to take home. It’s actually a reiteration of something I said earlier. “The test of everything on earth is simply this; “What is it for?” (T-24.VII.6.1) That’s the same as saying, “What is its purpose” “The answer makes it what it is for you. It has no meaning of itself, yet you can give reality to it, according to the purpose that you serve.” (T-24.VII.6.2-3)

I would like to end this a little differently. Would everyone please join hands with the persons seated next to you.

“When brothers join in purpose in the world of fear, they stand already at the edge of the real world. Perhaps they still look back, and think they see an idol that they want. Yet has their path been surely set away from idols toward reality. For when they joined their hands it was Christ’s hand they took, and they will look on Him Whose hand they hold.” (T-30.V.7.1-4)

Thank you very much. That’s my talk for today. Y


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© 2009, Rev. Mo Benson, Stockton, CA – All rights reserved.

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Rev. Mo Benson
c/o Community Miracles Center
2269 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415)621-2556
miracles@earthlink.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.miracles-course.org

Why can't we be friends?

Yakety Yak...don't talk back..

Simple reminders of how our thoughts and actions permeate the Grid. Every thought you have is sent out to the consciousness on this planet and is received immediately....We are walking and breathing little transmitters. So Intend to send only Loving thoughts all the time. I do this and I see it work every day of my life...I watch the faces of others when I say loving things to them...some are taken aback and some are grateful...but I know this: all of them are receiving it in their hearts...and that is all I wish for them to do.






The Bridge ~ Reminder #78
Backbiting


Pretend you're above it, looking down from a mountaintop

It's real easy nowadays to find yourself in conversations where people are talking about other people, saying things they probably wouldn't say if the other person was there. What most people don't understand is that gossiping has the same effect on those we talk about that sickness does. It works against them. Just as when we talk about Aunt Flora's bad knees and, in doing so, we make her knees worse, so do we make things worse for people we backbite. But with backbiting, there is an added detriment: we make things worse for ourselves, as well.

It works like this: If we are talking about a neighbor, for instance, it is because we've first been entertaining thoughts about that person. As you're learning, thoughts are invisible but very potent, nonetheless. And they are received - always - by whoever we're thinking about. So, if we're thinking about being wronged by our neighbor, we are actually reinforcing our neighbor's "wrongful" behavior. We're adding to it, and here's the kicker. If, when we are backbiting or gossiping about the neighbor, we are standing in opposition to them in anyway, we are also becoming just like them.

You've seen this often. When someone is complaining about another person you know, if you look closely, you can see them beginning to act just like the person they're complaining about.

The best thing to remember in these situations is that we become like whoever (or whatever) we place our attention upon. It's the Law, whether we are aware of it or not. Once we truly understand that we're becoming like the person we're backbiting - and that we are also reinforcing their discordant behavior - shouldn't that give us pause to reconsider our own actions?


The deepest desire
of every one of us
is to know that we are loved,
to know that our world will feed us
and give us all that we need
just as it freely surrounds us
with the air we breathe
the water we drink
the land we walk upon
Constantly giving to us
like a parent to a child


We harm ourselves and others in ways we don't realize when we backbite or gossip. Wouldn't it be better if we were to use our precious time and energy on a creative endeavor that fulfills us and makes us happier? And what would happen if, instead of giving in to our fears of lack and losing (which is why we gossip in the first place), we were to think kindly thoughts of our neighbors? That's what will give us the results we truly desire for ourselves.


My Intention for today is:

I Intend that am rising above any behavior that isn't serving me and my fellow travelers.

I got all my Sisters and me...

Dis-Ease and the cure for sure...

The following is an excerpt from The Law of Agreement, the new book by Tony Burroughs, to be released in the spring of 2010.

This is a core belief situation if there ever was one. The idea that we can get germs from others so easily or even at all is so pervasive and backed up with the science and everything that it is rock solid in our thoughts.

Read this and then ask yourself why you believe all that stuff anyway:

One of the most pervasive of all the same old tricks being shoved at us is contagion. Also known as Playing Catch, it suggests that we can catch sicknesses from other people - and this is true, but only under one condition: we have to believe that we can.

It's no different than when we were kids and someone said "Hey, let's play catch!" and they threw the ball at us. In most cases, we couldn't resist reaching out and catching it. In real life, however, it's not wise for us to reach out and catch every ball that comes our way. We serve our self and all those around us better if we simply let the ball go by, and go on about our day.

Playing Catch describes the entire foundation upon which contagiousness or "Germ Theory" is built. It depends, 100 per cent, on our gullibility, on our openness to reach out and believe in ideas that don't serve us, but which engender huge profits for those who have a vested interest in them.

Germ Theory is just a theory - it is not a fact at all. It would have us believing that a bunch of little bitty bugs are out to get us. We are shown pictures of these little bugs swimming around in Petri dishes or on microscope slides, and we are told that what we are seeing is very dangerous. To make matters worse, we are also told that if we come into contact with someone else who has a few of these bugs in them, then we could catch whatever sickness they have. This ploy has been used for thousands of years, but its days are numbered now as we begin to delve deeper into how it all works.

Indeed, for it to work, we have to believe what we are told about the little bitty bugs. We have to forget that our thoughts, and not a bunch of bugs, are creating our experiences. Furthermore, we have to give our power over to those who make these conscience-less suggestions, and in doing so, two things occur: 1.) We open ourselves to having to deal with all sorts of maladies; and 2.) We separate ourselves all the more from our fellowmen and women - and that is the most harmful thing we could allow to happen, for it leads to a scenario where, if the powers-that-be have their way, we would all end up wearing face masks, rubber gloves, and all sorts of protective clothing in order to keep ourselves apart from each other. The sad part is that this agenda is being pushed on us at a time when it is clearly to our great advantage to explore ways of coming together in community, instead of allowing ourselves to be divided even further.

Here's the point. We have the choice about what we believe in. We have the choice about what it is that we create with our everyday thoughts and words. Just because the TV people or our coworkers and close friends have bought into the game of Playing Catch, we need not agree with them. Instead, we can withhold our agreement and therefore remove ourselves from harm's way. We can choose to see ourselves healthy, happy, and living our lives to the fullest, and, by the Law, that is what we will create.

And that brings up perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves: what is it that we really want to create? Do we want to believe the stories about the little bitty bugs and continue to create a world of suffering and sickness? Or, do we want to stand strong in our integrity in the face of all the ruses and suggestions? We always have the ability to see ourselves in our Highest Light, filled to the brim with light, love, and life, and thus create that for ourselves.

I have a friend who went to the doctor's office awhile back and got sicker as a result. What happened was that she was made to stand in line for a long time with a crowd of other sick people, and one of them sneezed in her direction. She left right away and came home that night to tell the whole story about how it felt bad at the doctor's office, and about the peril she didn't realize she had put herself in.

I explained to her that she didn't have to believe that way, but she didn't hear me. Two days later she went to bed with all sorts of symptoms. Only after she got well was I able to explain to her about how she manifested the whole experience for herself by believing in old paradigm ideas about catching things from people who are coughing and sneezing. From that perspective, the whole situation, including her time in bed, became a blessing because she's been perfectly well ever since.

It Just Keeps Making Sense...

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI3jzgaKV8Q

A Code to Keep...Stop beating yourself up...

The Bridge ~ Reminder #71
Timing
From The Intenders...for thought and action with Intention creates your reality..

Whatever needs to be known will be revealed in the
exact moment you need to know it

How often do we stress ourselves out because we think we know how long something is going to take, and then it takes longer than we expected? We see this all the time and yet we do ourselves a tremendous disservice by setting time related goals. For, from the moment we go past the time parameter we have set for ourselves, we tend to take on unnecessary emotional charge. For some, this charge acts as a small nuisance, but for others they see themselves as "running behind" or "having to play catch up all the time." What they aren't realizing is that they never would have built up any emotional charge in the first place if they hadn't set any predetermined time limits for themselves.

The truth of the matter is that we never really know how long something is going to take. We can guess, but in guessing we run the risk of needlessly upsetting our inner balance. If we would remember this, we'd save ourselves a whole lot of self-imposed stress.

The next time you make an intention--it doesn't matter what it is--resolve, at the same time, that you're willing to wait as long as it takes for it to manifest. Do this for a few of your intentions, then step back into a state of divine nonchalance, knowing that whatever you're intending is coming to you in its perfect timing. Now you're free to experience patience, and one of the first things you'll discover is that stress is not as much a part of your life as it once was. It's gone by the wayside because peace of mind has stepped in and taken its place.

From The Code: Intentions in Action


My Intention for today is:

I Intend that I remember that everything is happening in its perfect timing.

Our Own Path

Listening to KT Tunsdall while writing this..I have been re-discovering music in my life this past year. Her music and so many others has begun to enter my heart with a fire and emotion I had known before. Before I chose a different path.
God...think of all of the paths we choose...and all of the paths that shoot out from every decision and thought we ever make. So many. Forever and ever. Really...it never stops. Isn't supposed to..and that is a wonderful cosmic law...Free Will!! Yes!

Free to do what ever you wish...love,kiss,hug,be,see,feel,eat,saunter,banter,cantor,cook and serve others..I mean anything you wish...anything. And do we all love it too...

And we also are not that excited about others' decisions...funny how that works. Carlin used to do a routine about " My stuff and your shit "....very funny...but so true. I sometimes make the decision to see another soul's path as one I would not take and therefore judge it as something that does not have the value I think it should have. Know what I mean about this? I think you do. This is arrogance and does nothing to further Love. Although all thoughts and actions are opportunities for Soul growth...they may not actually further it. Some times they serve to go backward or remain stagnant.

See here is the rub...one either believes we create our reality or not. No real grey area there. If you believe you create your reality through your thoughts and intentions...then you also agree to accept everything as consciousness. If you believe that we are all the same (only on different paths )...then you will begin to see the Divine within each person. It's there you know. Every heart knows another heart when it speaks to it. Always. Set up that way from the beginning. No need to change it either.

This is what I feel to be truth...we are all spiritual beings in Human Containers. Here to experience what we created. If we all knew who we actually were...all kinds of shit would hit the fan...so we have to find out through our many lives here. And we do too.

Right now the conscious being called Gaia is going through her marvelous and magnificent process called evolution...and she is moving to a new and higher age. You can choose to feel the changes with fear or with love. In either case whatever emotion you send into the grid will be what comes back to you. I want to be here for those beginning changes and to send Love energy to Her during this time. She responds to our thoughts and we can actually shape the changes with our thoughts...there are many around the planet doing this everyday.

Mass consciousness is more powerful than any single thing we know. Don't believe me? Look around and see the pain and destruction and deceit and poverty and dis-ease and fear and control and separation and on and on...every single bit of it is driven by our little friend Ego and then spread by mass consciousness until it is accepted as the norm and then we rail against it...not knowing that we are actually creating more of it through our thoughts....

So how does it change? Many have told us time and again it starts within...too many have told us this. But thank God they do not judge...they keep telling us to look inside and change our own lives. By doing so you change others that you relate to. It is only a thought. A simple thought. With Intention. Are you going to change every injustice you see tomorrow? No. Does that mean you stop seeing others with love and bless all you see, understanding they are on a different path than you? No.

If you do not change your thoughts..you stay on whatever path you are on...and you keep creating stuff you don't want...actually you do want it...take that in for a minute. Your life is EXACTLY what you want it to be. Hard to take huh?

Do I have the answers? No. Am I just another Soul on my path? Yes. I have all the answers for me. I listen to my body. My Angels. My Higher Self. The Earth around me. God. Source. I am happy with my path and I realize it is mine alone...to travel and learn who I am. To share this path with another is an honor...and a deep responsibility I take seriously.

To preach is foolish. I will see you on your path..stop and say hello and share your lessons learned with me. I will do my utmost to honor you as you are...

Have a date tomorrow with some folks that are changing their lives thru healthy choices. We can and do choose what we eat and drink. It matters what you put into your human container. How long do you want to live well? How many dis-eases do you want to deal with? How much pain do you think is just enough pain? I meet people all the time who say " it is what it is " and " I just have to deal with it ..can't change it "...

And their life will go exactly as they think it will.

So let me get this straight...you traveled all the way here from Source ( actually asked to do it and found the soul you would be born from and eveything...whew..that is a lot of stuff to do...coming from pure energy and all )..so you get here and are born...then spend most of the rest of your life eating and drinking crap...smoking..wasting your time with pointless TV shows..enter into countless relationships based on control and god knows what...

After a time your body starts to wear down. You begin to get dis-eases. You think this is how it is supposed to be. You go with it and suck it up and you show courage and fight the dis-ease you have created...you lose and die. Everyone says what a terrible loss. How sad. This get repeated a gazillion times.

Not for me. I am reversing the aging process as much as possible thru what I eat and how I think. So are millions of people all over the planet...believe it. Something so simple as eating real food and exercise can change your entire life for good. Don't give in to " it is what it is " thinking...stop everything and breathe..say ' I love you to your self ( naked ) in the mirror everyday...do it. It will give you a dose of humility and you will feel really weird at first. But keep it up...do it again the next morning..say it..say " I love you " and feel it when you say it.

If you can do these things...simple things. Eat real food. Exercise. Tell yourself you Love yourself...you will begin to be the person you really are. Then you can begin to discover your path this lifetime and who you really are.

Start today ( okay tomorrow is cool too ). Ask yourself why you exist. Why did you travel all the way here? Who are you really? There are answers. Start asking the questions.

Tomorrow night in San Francisco I will be surrounded by souls that are actively changing their lives and I have the honor of helping them with that choice. I am blessed.

Check out my new blog We Are All Energy... http://weareallenergy.blogspot.com/

This is the face of God.
Science proves the existence of God Source everyday. All around you God lives. It is the cosmic life/love energy that created all there is and you are a part of it...not seperate from it. This is the big lie. You are God. God is you. One and the same.

So why do we seperate it? Why do we call ourselves sinners? No such thing. Do you really think God hates? God takes sides? Wants the Steelers to win above all else?

Or did Man make this stuff up for control and to serve his Ego? You know the answer..

Take a deep breath and send Love Energy to the Crystalline Grid we are all attached to...feel the calmness you are creating and the balance that is needed will come forth. Hold this Love Energy in your heart today. Be in love with all there is.

As the kids say" not feelin' it " today...think it is the change in weather. My body is adjusting to the change...I felt like just spending the whole day with my Gina at the park or the beach...listening to or playing music. Hard to focus on speaking with others...I was stammering and lost my pitch. Happens.

I said "I bless my life and I am so grateful for all I have "... then went to the Co-Op and got a decaf and a peanut butter cookie...and bought some CD's ( Latin Lounge and Euro Groove ). Felt much better.

I see so many souls everyday wandering around out of balance. Not connected to Gaia. Not connected to love energy. Not connected period. When I encounter them I try and understand their path and free will choices...without judgements. I still judge. Pisses me off too...think I would be done with that limited crap. The energy of others and of mass consciousness is so strong it overwhelms me sometimes and I have to step back and literally close my eyes and shut it out with breathing and certain thoughts.

Want to go as far away as possible sometimes and live like a hermit with only the animals and nature.

I sadly watch the whole health care thingy go down the toilet. This is what happens when a profit is put on everything...including health and education. This is very Ego driven...all of it. I see no compassion for others or Love based and heart based decisions being made here...none at all. Ego driven and Ego protection is the order of the day.

Obama is afraid to make the tough decision to tell the truth about our corrupt institutions... so sadly we go down the limited thought path to sameness. It is becoming more and more obvious that " leaders " are not the answer....never were. All change has to come from within...individually.

Can you imagine a small community says " hey we want to be such and such "...and then go out and create their own institutions? And why not? Anything and everything is possible and we will see such things happen soon.

Interesting day today...an unusual amount of testosterone on the streets. When the door opens and I am standing there with my box and clipboard and smile...two things happen if it is a guy...he looks me over and quickly figures out where we would fit in the man cave and then makes the decision to either dismiss me entirely or we bond.

Very funny actually...I feel all of this happening as I do my pitch ( which is like breathing for me..lol..) and I can tell within seconds if I have any chance to be accepted by his Ego. Some times I am surprised but mostly I am not. At least it saves me time when my Male Ego Radar goes off..lol..I have taken to saying " tell ya what..here's my card..if your interested you can go on our really cool website..thanks "...they love this BTW...it totally let's them off the hook and their Ego smells a huge win!!

All in all it matters little what passes for reality. It is created by our thoughts every second.

For instance the whole Swine Flu Fear Trip is perfect...did anyone tell you that the normal Flu kills WAY more people EVERY YEAR? Nope..you did not hear that and you won't either.

You can chose to live in fear or love. Take care of your body..feed it right..sleep..meditate..workout..walk..bicycle...run...take vitamins...feed it healthy thoughts...do not watch the news ( ever )..listen to music and laugh alot...alot...alot...alot...

Visualize yourself as you wish to be and you will. Bless all you see and all you know...and I mean ALL..not just some...be grateful..and forgive yourself for everything...

These are the things that will set me free..I am workin on 'em...believe you me.

Todays Recipe: Marinara Pizza
Here's a recipe for two pizzas that is perfect for feeding a crowd. This makes a great meal for a large gathering or plenty of appetizers for your next party.
Estimated Time(s):
Preparation: 10 min Cooking: 15 min

1 container (15 ounces) BUITONI® Refrigerated Marinara Sauce
2 packages (10 or 14 oz. each) premade Italian thin or regular pizza crusts
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup sliced white mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) bulk Italian sausage cooked and crumbled

PREHEAT oven to 400° F.

SPREAD marinara sauce evenly over pizza crusts. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with mushrooms, onion, bell peppers and sausage.

BAKE on oven rack or baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serving Size: 12

Welcome to November! Crisp and clear outside...gonna kick some soccer balls around after workin out. Good for the soul and the body. Today's recipe:

A nice hot cup of your favorite bev
A really good and fresh scone or muffin from the co-op
A bottle of water
A long walk in nature with your loved one..yeah I mean your dog..

Enjoy every moment of this day..you created it!

Halloween! My folks get into this...90 yr old pop with stupid hat on scarin the kids...funny..Mom complimenting the kids on their costumes..then talkin about how cute they all were...very sweet.

I lost the compassion for holidays after I lost my kids. God I remember how cute Sarah was in her little outfits! We had so much fun...and then Christmas too..

I consciously made the decision to leave the kids and wife...I say to you now: be careful of your decisions thru your Ego. They may leave you utterly empty at times...and all you will be left with is your Ego and an empty heart. When I was 40 I wanted to marry a family. It was too late for me. I committed ( against my heart ) to a co-dependent relationship that would last 25 years. When I woke up all was changed...and not for the better. Or so I thought...

Every so often I sit here ( and in other places ) and cry my eyes out. They are tears of regret and the knowledge that I could have made so many different choices in my life...so many. Damn...if I could just go back and try it again..it would be different. Of course it would not. But we do like to think it would be. I am finding that to go back is silly and serves only your Ego. To go forward with Love and Forgiveness is the way...and man is it tough sometimes...especially on Halloween.

Another beautiful day today...just wonderful. Spoke to some very nice people. A little ol lady named Margaret signed up for a box of fruit...she is so cute and kind...got me thinkin about the last generation and how their sense of protocol is such a part of their life. I love talking to the older generation...when they can actually hear me that is..lol..

I smiled at every single person I met or passed or saw today...every one. I got back smiles, frowns, giggles, curious looks, and some laughs too. This job is an exercise in psychology and it is so much fun to play...I can literally produce the exact response I want by speaking and acting a certain way most of the time...

I got to this one door and the dogs were totally in control ( something that is in the majority BTW ) and I decided to just stand there and see what happens...as I stood there and said nothing...the person did not know what to do...lol...I sent out love to the dogs and waited...in a few minutes they stopped! The person said " well I'll be damned"....I laughed and went to my little pitch...

Another door revealed an angry person that was all wrapped up in his ego..I looked at him and said ( with my thoughts only ) "All is well...you are safe..let your anger go and relax for 5 minutes "...he came outside and listened to me....

This stuff works! I prove it everyday...and the thing is...it is LOVE...just LOVE...when I show or project Love from my heart and release my Ego...the energy between me and the other person changes to one of acceptance and allowing...even if it is for only a moment ( and sometimes much longer )...

If you want to change your life...change your thoughts and actions...and do it NOW. Right now. Why wait? Got some big deal Ego thang to do? Try it...start by loving others with your thoughts.

As I sit here writing and listening to an incredible CD called Women of the World Acoustic...really...get this CD! Some incredible voices on it...
....anyway I am sitting here and the thought occured to me that my sister ( Shelley Anderson of Dealing With Diva's fame ) is pretty cool. She has done some cool stuff and has lived an interesting life. I honor her soul and am happy that I chose this family in which to incarnate...I wish we were closer physically...She has beautiful fire energy and is always fun to be around..

Looking forward to seeing her and April soon. Which brings me to my niece April. I have been following her in various places and have to say....she is stuck. I am not so sure what I mean but it feels as if she is stuck. No direction...yet. We all have our own path and that is as it was designed...I hope she finds hers. I think I am looking at her life thru my past and all of the years of stunted growth ( we do seem to love our detours )...

It is very hard to live without your nasty little Ego...very hard. And yet so simple.

Well off to soak my body..I am workin out ( and look and feel better than ever too )..so my body loves to be soaked...Pop has taken to watchin old movies ( LOUDLY )...he is going backwards...it is alarming and kind of fun actually..lol..

New recipe: Pasta with tomato sauce...my favorite...( I could eat pasta just about every day )..

This one is easy...take some great sos and pour it over some great pasta...eat it with some great Chianti wine and a great salad...and your life lover. Listen to Pavrotti or some jazz...dance before you eat and after too..take a walk with her ( or him ) and kiss alot....

Actually...this is what we do for most meals!!...works for me..lol..

Got beat up today...or I should say my Ego did...I am just fine but man did he take a hit. Spoke to alot of people today and they just would not commit to my farm...very frustrating.

Then I realized that it had nothing to do with me...lol..hell I wasn't even there....lol..I let my Ego get all beat up. Good for him anyway. Maybe he will settle down when this stuff happens....I kept talkin to him...shit he even listened a couple of times.

The more I do this vocation...the more I let him go. At some point I will look around he will be gone! Bothering someone else I'm sure..lol..

All in all a good day!! Namaste!

Today I woke up feeling rather splintered...kind of half there. I kept waking up last night..dealing with issues of my integrity and honesty with others. I have been trying to release my propensity to embellish...wanting to sound like there is more than meets the eye...

All about the Ego again...little bastard. So this time I woke up and took some long deep breaths and said Love in and Love out...and visualized beauty and light and warmth all around me.

Worked like a charm! Please do this for yourself. Breath in Love...say it as you breath in...then the same thing when you breath out...do it like 6 times at least. Then visualize colors...and nature...and lights...and feel warmth all throughout your body. Stop what you are doing right now and do this. Do it all throughout the day too.

It will calm you down and center you. It will put you at peace.

And most importantly...it will not include your little monster..your Ego.

Are you ready for the next issue? Judgement. Whoa...now this one is huge!! Can you go an entire day without judging anything. I bet you cannot go one hour...lol...

Try it. Go ahead...

Well...that's done. At least for now anyway...need some feed back on the layout...too green?
I will probably change it a billion times..lol.. that's the thing about the web and these cool social sites...they are so damn addicting!

I made the page without any consultation from my Ego ( which will now be called The Great Scott )...and he was pissed. Locked him in the front closet.

Got a clear message from my angels..." Write" they said.. So I begin the next chapter of my life.

I have to begin by writing about The Ego. That man made monster. That total control freak. That little voice that always tells you what to do. You know who I am speaking about...that person.
I am going to figure how to leave him...tried alot of stuff...tried running...tried closing my eyes and counting to 10...
Hopefully this blog ( book ) will end up with the answers I seek. Hope you have some input too. You are welcome to add your issues and ideas...in fact I need 'em..lol..

See ya soon...have to do something with you know who...he is getting a little suspicious of all this writing ( I won't let him in the room while I do this..lol.. ) so he gets all geeked up about it...a real pain in the ass...