Have you ever experimented with this?  I have.  Let me tell you; it is scary how well this process works.

It has worked with the friendships I now have.
I didn’t fully understand that the friends I have now are a COMPLETE result of this Law of Attraction tenet until I was immersed in the friendships for a couple years.  I looked back at the relationships I have cultivated and I clearly see that I have received what I have asked for.

That old adage:
Be careful what you ask for because you JUST may receive it.
is something to pay close attention to when putting out there what you want.  

Before you voice what you want
Before you write down what you want,

Think long about the ramifications when you receive it.  Because receive it you will.  The Universe/God/Source has no option but to bend when you ask.  And what you ask for will come EXACTLY in the way you ask for your intention.

I am reminded of the old Dark Fantasy story called The Monkey’s Paw when relating the preceding.  If you’re not familiar with the story search it out.  I made it easy by creating a Google Link above.

My advice is to consider deeply what you want and be as specific as possible, as I said above BEFORE you put your intention on paper and BEFORE voicing your intention.  You don’t want a time to come when you regret your intention.  Fortunately I now understand this and have shifted my thought process, my intentions in this direction so I now consider carefully before I put forth my wish.

Another example I saw to fruition:

Several years ago around the beginning of November I put forth that I would receive an unexpected check of $500.00 by the end of month.  I wrote the intention on a piece of paper and left it in my wallet.  Two days after Thanksgiving the check arrived.  I nearly forgot about the note and when I opened my wallet to put the check in I saw the note.  I laughed out loud and shared the note with the person who wrote me the check.

 They were in as much shock as I was.

 Unbelievable!

See?  This stuff REALLY does work.

Law of Attraction is real.
You simply have to believe.

I’m now tasking you with the following:

Think of something that you desire.
Consider carefully the consequences of receiving your intention.

–Write out your intention.

Be as specific as possible.
Give a deadline.

–Put the thought out of your mind

–When you receive what you’ve asked for thank the giver.

Return to this column and leave a comment.

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

Thomas Merton

Along with Saint Thomas Aquinas, another spiritual person I connect deeply with is Thomas Merton.  My friend Jessica at Ascending the Hills connects with Merton as well.  In fact, I seem to recall when I first became acquainted with Jessica it was through a Thomas Merton column.  Called:
Smaller World Bigger Peace, Jessica wrote the column in 2011.  If that wasn’t the first time I discovered her it wasn’t too much before.  I’ve discussed Thomas Merton here a couple of times previously as well.  I appreciate much of his life and the quote above particularly resonates.

To be loved and to love is what we all want.  Merton is right when he says:
We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone.

We need companionship.
We need to know that we are wanted.
We need to know that we are loved.

A little odd this quote coming from Merton as later in his life he shut himself off from the world, becoming almost hermit like.  Reading the quote attributed to Merton only convinces me further of the importance of that slippery feeling that is love.  Having seen the quote before, I wonder now whether Merton somewhere in his soul regretted the life he chose.  Maybe he wasn’t consciously aware that he could have chosen another life.

Sometimes when we communicate without thinking is when our truth emerges.  Understanding what I know about Merton however leads me to reconsider.  From an early age, Merton knew the path he wanted to travel, knew The Gift he was given.  As with everyone however, perhaps there were times in his life when he may have thought about the road not travelled, the path not crossed.  I think we all have thought about what may have been at some point during our many incarnations.  For those of us who KNEW we chose correctly however, those thoughts are fleeting.

Are you one of those fortunate enough to have chosen correctly?

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you!
–
Chris

Saint Peter like his brother, Andrew made his living as a fisherman.  In the Bible it is said that Peter one day caught so many fish that he fell down at the Lord’s feet and wept.  Jesus said:
Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.

Jesus also said:
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.

I often wonder what Jesus would think of the Church today.  Is this really the organization he envisioned when he commanded Peter to build the Congregation?  I wonder.

When Jesus said to Peter:
…from now on you will be catching men.  it surely seems that the Church has lost its way as more of the population is leaving organized religion than is moving toward it.  Is The Church still following the command of Jesus, to be catching men?

Saint Peter seems to have been the closest confidant of Jesus as Peter is mentioned more often than any of the other disciples.  In another example of Jesus implying to Peter to tend his flock and to be catching men, after he had risen, Jesus returned and was first seen by Peter (another example that Peter was the closest friend of Jesus,)  Jesus said to Peter:
Feed my lambs.  Tend my sheep.

Jesus chose Peter to build His Church, because I believe in Peter, Jesus saw his own reflection.  Even though, Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus still counted him as his friend as can be seen in many cases.

Could you do the same?  If someone you trusted, someone you counted on, someone you thought was your friend did something to break that trust would you be able to look passed the broken trust and still embrace them?

I think that’s what made Jesus who he was.

I think that’s why I feel so strongly that the Church has lost its way, has lost its mission.

Jesus was entirely about forgiveness, acceptance.  From what I know of the Church today, that

The Church no longer accepts.
The Church now denies.
The Church takes the Word far too literally.

In my opinion it wasn’t the admonition of Jesus to Saint Peter to shut out a whole swath of the population because they differed in their opinion.

Jesus accepted all.
Jesus loved all.

What happened?

As you know someone can only be canonized only if miracles were performed.

According to Acts, Peter’s first miracle cure was of a man who had been lame since birth, immediately cured by being commanded to stand and walk. This miracle was performed in the name of Jesus, at the Temple, where the faithful saw the healed beggar praising God, and was the opportunity for some outstanding proselytising.

In an even more difficult challenge, Peter resurrected Tabitha, a good woman and a disciple, who was certainly dead and her body had already been washed. This miracle became known throughout Joppa and, as a result, many were converted.
Wiki.Answers.com

Be Happy!  Be Well Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

Abraham Hicks

Exaggeration?
Stretching the truth?
Fantasizing?

I bet we’ve all done this when someone asks us how we are, what we do,  and how we can make a living doing that.

Is it denial?  And if it EVEN is denial, is it a bad thing?  If we are NOT outright lying then I certainly don’t think it is a bad thing.  The more we talk up our business the better off we will be.

If we are living Law of Attraction
If we are practicing Law of Attraction
Then we want to broadcast that we are doing well when we may just be doing alright.  The more we say we are doing well, the easier it will be to convince ourselves.  If we can convince ourselves it will be that much easier to convince others.

Believing we are performing above par is half the battle to getting there.

Let’s try a little exercise:
How do you feel when you tell someone how well you are doing?
Close your eyes and think about it for a moment.

I imagine, you’re smiling, feeling pleasure, feeling joy.  Isn’t this what you SHOULD be feeling?  When you feel joy, more of that will come your way

Now, let’s do the opposite:
How do you feel when you tell someone that you are doing poorly?
Close your eyes again and think about THAT for a moment.
Stress?
Heart racing?
Sweat streaming down your face?
Panic attacks?

Is this REALLY the way you want to feel?  How do you think that pressure is affecting your health?  Your wellbeing?

Don’t you understand yet that everything will be okay in the end and if it isn’t okay then it isn’t the end?

Maybe you should Abraham-Hicks advice:
The next time someone asks you how you are, exaggerate, embellish, stretch the truth JUST a BIT.

You may just find that what you tell that person actually comes to fruition later on down the road.

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

Life has a way of changing our plans, has a way of interrupting the natural flow, has a way of getting in the way of our best intentions.  Those friends that understand this are the ones to hold onto.  For they don’t arrive in your life often.  I’m as much to blame for losing touch, for not spending time with my friend.  See? That’s the mark of true friendship.  I’m so fortunate to have a small tight knit circle of friends who mean the world to me.

We fall into an easy flow.
There is no blockage, no forced conversation.

My friend is a huge Ray Bradbury fan, has in fact met Bradbury on several occasions.  As we talked over dinner I mentioned My favorite Time Travel story EVER and it is one by Bradbury called:
A Sound of Thunder.
Image from:
Tumbler

Jason wanted to know why I connected so deeply with that story.  I told him it was because I understand now that any MINUTE change we make to the past can alter our own future so dramatically as to make it unrecognizable.  The first time I came across that theory was when reading “A Sound of Thunder.”

Jason mentioned that the term:
The Butterfly Effect was later coined from Bradbury’s short story.  I haven’t seen the movie, but Jason told me in one scene of the movie The Butterfly Effect  there was a poster that read Bradbury University, a clear homage to The Sound of Thunder.  Now as I’m sitting here writing this I realize once again how important Science Fiction (SF) TRULY is to the world and it is so disconcerting to me to see the genre relegated to the slums of fiction.  People who don’t appreciate SF don’t understand how many advances were first produced in the SF genre. There far too many to list here.

There was a time when growing up that I so desperately wanted to change certain aspects of my life and I’d stay up at night considering what I would do if time travel were available. However as I said in the previously linked column, I now understand that changing ONE thing in our lives will take our life in an entirely different trajectory.  That thought was first brought up in Bradbury’s time travel story A Sound of Thunder.  If you haven’t read this story, I highly recommend tracking it down.

Thanks, Jason for jarring my memory about why the story means so much to me.

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

Alright!  Alright!
So I’m cheating with this “Saints” Monday theme.

My first Saints column a few weeks ago about Saint Anthony produced some thoughts about the word “saint” which lead to Anne Tyler’s Saint Maybe.  I believe this was my introduction to Ms Tyler.  What an introduction indeed.  Everything my worldview consists of is wrapped up in this book:
–Forgiveness
–Second Chances
–A welcoming spiritual community

–A church with the name:
Church of Second Chances.

The story centers on Ian who has a suspicion that his older brother Danny’s wife, Lucy is having an affair.  When Ian discusses the possibility with Danny, Danny commits suicide.

Now wracked with guilt, Ian becomes despondant himself.  He seeks support from a Reverend Emmett at the Church of Second Chances.  I just love the name.  Because it is EXACTLY how I feel:
That everyone deserves a second chance.

I believe this is why Saint Maybe still resonates with me even though over twenty years has passed since I read the book.

Saint Maybe was engaging, powerfully written and I felt as I was inside Ian’s thoughts.  That’s the mark of a talented writer.  Anne Tyler is someone who I highly recommend.  If you haven’t read Saint Maybe, I think it’s a good place to start.  Not just because I started there but if you are a follower of this blog I’d like to believe we are on the same page so to speak.

Second Chances:
What do you think?  Does everyone get a second chance?
Does it depend on your worldview?
Does it depend on how many times you’ve been burned?

Forgiveness?
Second Chances?

Who does it really hurt to hold onto anger?
Who does it really hurt not to give a second chance?

If you believe this:
Isn’t that one of the underlying reasons Jesus died on the Cross?
To give all of humanity a second chance?

If Jesus could give us another opportunity to redeem ourselves than don’t you think its a bit petty of us who hold onto a grudge, hold onto a hurt, hold onto anger?

I certainly understand when someone has wronged us that we want to lash out as we were lashed out at, but don’t you see that when you do so, you’re only adding to the negative energy around you.  Seems to me, the better thing to do is to throw positive.  A negative simply has no means of surviving when positive is released. I’ve said it here before:
Let’s say darkness is negative and light is positive.  What happens when light is turned on darkness?  The dark disappears, correct?

Well the same can happen when you throw positive energy on negative energy.  The negative simply dissipates.

It can take some time to understand this and put into practice.  However, if you want to live a joyful life I found the only way to do so is to practice forgiveness, practice giving second chances every day.  I wouldn’t want to live any other way.  I know people who can’t do so and I’m grateful everyday that I’m not one of them anymore.

The lesson was challenging for me to learn.  It took me almost half of my latest incarnation to understand the only way to change someone else was to change myself.  And now that I learned that valuable lesson, it opened up my entire life to the knowledge that loving someone else requires second chances and forgiveness.

Can you love someone enough to forgive?
Can you love someone enough to give a second chance?

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

A short snippet of a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace, I saw it originally in my stream shared my Martin Holmes. 

The video speaks for itself so I will only add that David Foster Wallace does a superb job of outlining what is truly important in this our latest incarnation here.

EVERYTHING he speaks of is what I write about here and I what I believe.

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
chris

Abraham-Hicks

As I’ve said here on too many occasions to count, children are far more advanced than adults give them credit for.

–Children understand what’s important.
–Children understand how to get what they want.
–Children see things adults do not.

It is extremely important to listen to your child if they tell you something spiritual that you as an adult find challenging to believe.  Chances are what they tell is true; for they are unencumbered.  They have yet to be corrupted by the world.

Clarity, you say?  How can children have clarity?

Read the above in bold again.

Law of Attraction says:
–Ask for what you want
–Believe you already have it.

Children and those in the animal kingdom lack for nothing.

They receive everything they need.  It’s only when our children become teens and adults that the magic of belief is drummed out of them, that they forget that we can have everything we need.  That’s the biggest reason children are the guides we need.  They can remind us of the very facts that we choose to forget.  It is unfortunate that we become blind to the simple.  We need to find a way to listen to our children.  If we begin listening some of the magic may return.

It’s somewhat like my theory on reincarnation:
We’re going to face the same situations over and over until we get it right. As with  the movie Groundhog Day.  Bill Murray’s character kept repeating the same events during that ONE day until he got it right.

Our children will keep returning and keep teaching us unbeknownst to them of course of the true true magic that exists.  Our task is to keep as much of the magic in our lives as possible.

If you are ever faced with a child telling you something that you find beyond belief, my advice is:
Don’t shut them out.
Don’t stop listening when they tell you their story.

The children ARE the guides to the future.
Are strong enough to follow them?
Can you listen to their admonitions?

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

Image from:
Uncyclopedia

I clearly understand that I throw around quotes here at Wisdom and Life often and I return to some of those quotes often.  The reason is that I feel so strongly about them.  I never put anything here unless what I write holds deep meaning for me.  With that said, and this being “Saints Monday” today I’ll be discussing Saint Thomas Aquinas.  I’ve written about him before mostly in relation to one of my favorite quotes he is attributed with:
To one who has faith

Saint Thomas is so much more than that quote however.  He was a priest and a doctor and surprisingly, something I didn’t know, Saint Thomas was the Patron Saint of universities.  He knew from an early age that he wanted to devote his life to the church.  Some members of his own family were so opposed to the profession he chose that they “sent an impure woman to tempt him.”
Catholic.org

All for naught however.  I’ve seen determination work in my own life as well.  When someone sets their mind at something, typically any meddling one does in changing the course of a life ends in disappointment for the meddler.  In fact meddling sometimes causes a doubling down on the desired end.  That’s what happened in my own life.  When I was faced with discourse over my own goals and was told:
You can’t do that.

I was more determined than ever to prove that I could do that.  Telling anyone no is typically a biggest motivator anyone can give.  Sometimes, simply out of anger of being told you can’’t do something you will do it.  I wonder if Saint Thomas doubled down himself when faced with opposition from his family.  After studying  Saint Thomas for this column, I found that he and I share some similar traits.

–He was kind of quiet, letting the written word speak for him.
–His faith was very strong as can be seen from one of my favorite quotes that his referenced above:

To one who has faith…

That’s where I was first introduced to him.  Once I realized Saint Thomas was responsible for that quote, I did a bit more research about him.  I’m a huge research buff, especially when I find one thing that I resonate with, be it about a person or a subject.  If something turns me on, I’ll be off and running digging up everything I can find about the topic.

Saint Thomas seems to have had the same thirst for knowledge as he was appointed to teach in the city of Cologne.  Being a doctor as well, requires a continuing “thirst for knowledge.”  One of the things I discovered about him was that he was unable to finish a project he’d been working The Summa Theologica is Saint Thomas at his best.  In the work, he has shown the way find God.  Written in three parts, he was unable to finish the last part as he passed before completion, leaving the project unfinished.

My first thought upon reading that he left it unfinished before realizing the reason was the story of Persian Rugs, that the weavers left a blemish in each rug they created because nothing can be perfect in the earthly realm.  There is ONLY one who is perfect.

When I discovered that Saint Thomas passed before completing the work, a whole other set of events were set in motion and I understood that it wasn’t purposeful that the work was left unfinished.

Miracles of Saint Thomas:
The most famous miracle of Thomas’ life happened while he was kneeling before a crucifix (a statue of Jesus Christ on the cross). As Thomas prayed and stared at the crucifix, it glowed with light and Jesus came alive on it, Thomas later reported. Then Jesus said to Thomas: “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you desire?” and Thomas replied: “Nothing, Lord. I’m just doing it for You.”

When Thomas’ brothers in his religious order came into the chapel, they witnessed Thomas levitating — miraculously suspended in the air while caught up in an intense spiritual experience. Thomas returned to the ground when it was over and told the brothers about what had happened.
About.Com

My reason for choosing Saint Thomas today is because I feel so deeply that his famous quote that I will write here in full has made such a lasting impact on me that I have it embedded in my memory:
“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”

This so describes my worldview.  For myself, no explanation IS necessary.

–I believe; because there is no choice.
I believe; because I’ve seen too much.
I believe; because no explanation is needed.

Do you believe?

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris

Today, bless the people you want to curse. You can’t fight darkness with darkness. You have to fight it with Light.

Spiritual Random Message
iPhone/iPad app

Instead of cursing him, wouldn’t it be easier to bless him so that he’ll be able only to see the Light?

It takes a strong person to realize this.  Some of us are just not that enlightened yet.  That’s not a bad thing as we eventually all cross that line.  It takes many incarnations for us to reach that level.  Some of us get there sooner than others. The object is to arrive at that point at some time.  Darkness is a negative force, but one tiny light can fill that void instantly.

It only takes one light and you can see through any darkness.  As it is with any person who appears dark, evil.  Maybe they are just seeking the only outlet they know.  If one brave enough, strong enough, reaches out to them, shows them the light, maybe they too will break through the darkness.

Do you know someone who is throwing darkness? Have you tried throwing light onto them instead of reflecting their behavior back to them?  If you have then you know what happens.  They become so flustered they have no recourse.  They have no clue how to react. Generally, they will simply walk away because they didn’t acheive what they were seeking.

Throwing light has two actions then:
–It keeps the discourse civil.
–It creates a better atmosphere where darkness can’t survive.

In all instances, the righteous man is correct.

Can you become that righteous man?
I bet you can!

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
–
Chris