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  • Do you hear the call?

    If I could show you a way to transform your life in one year or less, would you be interested? How about if you could help others do the same thing at the same time?

    Intrigued?

    Read on…

    May I share a possibility with you, one that caused my life to alter so dramatically that it changed the course of my life forever. In fact, I wouldn’t be writing this to you today without it. You might be thinking by now that it was reading books like Conversations with God. Well you would be partly correct, but it wasn’t just reading CwG that made the difference for me.

    About 14 years ago, I embarked on a spiritual quest, to find my truth about God and life. I was 12 years sober at the time, but I was missing something, as my life experience was anything but happy, joyous and free. One day in a meeting, while thinking of my challenge, I looked up at the AA 12 steps and had a realization: I had no clue what my truth about God was. It said, “God, as you understand God,” but in that moment I realized I didn’t have a clue what that meant for me. Sure, I had my ideas about it, my childhood upbringing, but clearly those weren’t working, or I would have been happy.

    Later that year, after much contemplation and searching, I began a course of study which took me down the comparative religion path. All of it was really very interesting and helpful stuff as a whole new world began to open up for me. But nothing really knocked my socks off; that was, until this happened.

    I was right in the middle of studying Christian history and theology at the time. I wish I remembered the date, but I will never forget the day. CwG, Book 1, showed up, not once, not twice, but three times from three different sources. I had dismissed the first one simply because my thought was that I had a stack of books at home to read, like I really needed another book on that pile? I don’t think so. Later that day, I was sitting in a Chiropractor’s office and something caught my eye. I looked up at their lending library and, low and behold, there was CwG, Book 1, on tape. I pulled it out to look at it, but once again dismissed it thinking I was just too busy. That evening, I was watching a game show, and as if God needed to hit me with a two-by-four, there was a question in the category “New York Times Best Sellers”:  “Name the author of Conversations with God”… Okay, whatever!

    After I picked myself up off of the floor, I jumped into my car and drove down to the bookstore. I may be slower than some, but after the third time, I got it. I began reading the book that evening – big mistake.  Who needs sleep anyway? Well, probably like you, I began to make the journey with Neale, as he asked the questions and God answered.

    Yes, reading the book moved me and I had to learn more. I read all the books available, which at the time was only the first three. I had an excitement. Like a treasure hunter finding clues, I knew I was on the right path. I found out that Neale was going to be speaking in my area, so I bought a ticket. A week later, I went to Sedona, Arizona, for my very first retreat. I followed the breadcrumbs to an invitation that I knew was changing my life.

    I felt there was something for me within having this whole “Conversation with God” experience. I was led to these books and retreat by a communication from God; I just wasn’t talking back. But I was paying attention to the signs that led me all the way to Sedona. I watched and listened as this regular guy named Neale, who had a boat-load of living problems, shared his story of transformation and the invitation that God gave to him. His was to be a messenger, and his invitation was for me to consider being one, too.

    In that moment, I heard the call and I knew this would benefit me greatly. If I could really get a grasp on the concepts within the CwG message, maybe I could live them. If I could incorporate them into my life, I knew I would reap the rewards of living my life in that new way. Perhaps I could be happy, joyous and free. The breadcrumb trail had led me to a guy who had a conversation with God and who suggested that I help others as a way of helping myself. Oh, I got it, the 12th step of AA. “Having had a spiritual awakening, help others have one too.” I can do this!

    I now pass along that same invitation to you. One very simple way of helping yourself and others transform is by starting a CwG Study Group. I did so for seven years in the San Diego area and not only was a new man born out of it, so was a new career. I continued to follow the breadcrumbs, which led me all the way here, now as the Executive Director of the Conversations with God Foundation. How do you plan for something like that? Yet there was a path and there is one who knows your heart and soul. What is God saying to you? Was this invitation written directly for you?

    Here is the best part: I will help you create a Study Group if you hear that call. You must answer. I will also help you transform your life, not because there is something wrong with your life, but because like me, you wish to become a grander version of yourself. That was the call I answered — to become the next grandest version of the greatest vision ever I held of who I am. I knew within my heart that if I could be around the messages of CwG enough, that I could begin to live them. And what better way than sitting in front of the room. I heard things come out of my mouth in those meetings that were sometimes astonishing to me. I was being a vessel for wisdom to flow through and gaining that wisdom in the process.

    I promise that your life will change forever.

    Interested?

    Reach out to me:  JR@CWG.ORG

    I will be offering a conference call on Wednesday, June 19th, at noon pacific time for those interested in learning more. I will show you how easy it is to do. Does it take a year to transform?  No.  But it will take about a year just to get through Book 1 in a study group and discussion. And you will be a different person in that year.

    I was forever transformed. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the conference call info.

    Looking forward to speaking with you soon! – JR

    (J.R. Westen, D.D., C.Ad, is a Holistic Health & Spiritual Counselor who has worked and presented side-by-side with Neale Donald Walsch for over a decade. He is passionate about helping individuals move beyond their emotional and spiritual challenges, transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs. His counseling and coaching provides practical wisdom and guidance that can be immediately incorporated to shift one’s experience of life. As is true for most impactful teachers, J.R.’s own struggles and triumphs inspired him to find powerful ways of helping others. Sober since June 1, 1986, J.R.’s passion for helping individuals move through intense life challenges drove him to also specialize in Addiction and Grief Recovery. J.R. currently shares his gift of counseling & coaching with individuals from around the world through the Wellness Center, Simply Vibrant, located on Long Island N.Y. In addition, he operates “Change House” a place where people come to transform. He also works with Escondido Sobering Services and now serves as the Director for the Conversations with God Foundation. He can be contacted at JR@CWG.ORG. )

  • President Obama has decided to commit the U.S. to sending small arms to the rebels fighting a revolutionary war in Syria. Do you agree with this decision? What do you believe The New Spirituality would teach about this choice — and about the Syrian uprising itself?

  • Violence in America

    A couple months ago I put the following thought out for those on my Facebook page: “Without diminishing my belief in the importance of eliminating all assault rifles from use in our world, I think the most intelligent and caring response to violence is to change the way we bring up our sons. How many mass murders or shootings of any kind are done by women? The real question is what avenues for solving problems and finding solutions are we giving to our male versus female children? We need to improve our understanding of our feminine side and share it more fully with our sons.”

    I was delighted when all 14 of those on my Facebook page responded with thumbs up to this thought. I have been searching, just one of several avenues of thought to explore in my quiet times with God, for what we impart to our young women that we do not impart to our young men to the same degree. What is this life coping mechanism we share with women but fail to share with men? What is it that causes men to choose mass murder and gang shootings as a solution for solving problems? What is that difference in what we teach our children?

    Today I found a partial answer to my question. Women are nurturers in far greater numbers than men. We need to greatly improve what we teach our young men about nurturing if we are serious about helping them change their relationship with one another, women, and society as a whole.

    We, the moms and dads of the world are directly responsible for fostering this lack of nurturing in our young men. Yes, the difficulty of giving young men a good balance of nurturing is exacerbated by the social norms we live in, but we are responsible for those too. Social conditions and thinking in our country promote the fact that 95% of all single parent households are headed by women. That does not have to be our way of life. We have chosen it to the detriment of our young men. We moms and dads must teach or sons a different, more nurturing way to view their own parenthood.

    I think it is more difficult for women to kill others because they have a deeper respect and feeling for life than men do. This directly relates to nurturing life, which is both a family and social expectation of women. Teach your sons to do for, to care for others, and you will teach them skills and thoughts that help them find better ways to solve their problems than killing one another.

    I know this is just one aspect of what our children learn about living life that we should consider and change, but I do think it is a step in the right direction. What do you think? What would you add to this thought? Most importantly, what will you do about the problem? Government and legislation were not meant to solve this problem. But we are responsible and we should do something. Make the relevant changes in what you foster for our children and pass this on to everyone you know, giving them the opportunity to be part of the solution with us.

    (Richard A. Thayer is a 65-year-old married father of five and grandpa of four and retired carpenter. He met God while in prison because of his stand against the war in Viet Nam. Richard lives in the USA and has written a book, “Love Alive, My Relationship With The Holy Spirit Of God,” which is available for free at http://ratmanhaye535.wordpress.com.)

    (If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)

  • WHISTLEBLOWERS MOVE ‘TRANSPARENCY’
    TO TOP OF PUBLIC AGENDA

    The world will one day move to a model of Total Transparency. All highly evolved societies do. We are told this in Conversations with God. The question is how, and when?

    There are those who say that transparency will never work unless and until all elements, all segments, of society are operating on the same model. I agree that this would be the most effective implementation of the idea. Yet it is clear to me that waiting for all cultures, organizations, institutions, governments, corporations, and individuals on our planet to embrace this notion simultaneously would be a waste of time. Such a shift in global consciousness is never going to happen all at once, with the snap of a finger. How, then, will it be produced? By people, organizations, and governments demonstrating leadership through showing the way.

    This will take great courage. Masses of people do not like individual people who show the way to a new lifestyle. We like followers, not leaders.

    We accuse leaders of making us “wrong,” of putting down our current way of being, of tearing apart our society with their “new ideas” and their “new rules,” and with their exposing of our foibles and of the non-beneficial outcomes of our present behaviors.

    My favorite (and saddest) story about this is the account of Ignaz Semmelweis, described in Wikipedia as a Hungarian physician of German extraction and now known as an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures.

    According to the Wikipedia article, Dr. Semmelweis “discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. Puerperal fever was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often fatal, with mortality at 10%–35%. Semmelweis postulated the theory of washing with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital’s First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors’ wards had three times the mortality of midwives’ wards. He published a book of his findings in Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever.

    “Despite various publications of results where hand-washing reduced mortality to below 1%, Semmelweis’s observations conflicted with the established scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected by the medical community. Some doctors were offended at the suggestion that they should wash their hands and Semmelweis could offer no acceptable scientific explanation for his findings.

    “Semmelweis’s practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory and Joseph Lister, acting on the French micropbiologissst’s research, practiced and operated, using hygienic methods, with great success. In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum,  where he died at age 47 after being beaten by the guards as he tried to escape, only 14 days after he was committed.”

    Four of the latest people to show us our foibles and the non-beneficial outcomes of our behaviors have been Julian Assange, the Australian Internet activist who is created with having created WikiLeaks; Bradley Manning, a United States Army soldier arrested in May 2010 in Iraq on suspicion of having passed diplomatic cables and other classified material to WikiLeaks — much of which is said by some to have generated many of the uprisings of what has come to be called the Arab Spring; William Binney, described by Wikipedia as “a former highly placed intelligence official with the United States National Security Agency turned whistleblower,” who has repeatedly claimed that the NSA regularly engages in warrantless eavesdropping, including surveillance of email, phone records, and other data; and Edward J. Snowden, the latest whistleblower, who recently unveiled information about U.S. Government surveillance of phone records and other data from millions of Americans.

    All are considered by many to be traitors and criminals, who some believe should be punished by death or by life imprisonment for revealing the military, diplomatic, and security secrets of governments (chiefly, the U.S. Government) to the world.

    Whether these men are “traitors” or “heroes” is a matter for history to decide. But they certainly do illustrate the danger of some people practicing transparency while others do not. Lives can be at stake — as those who argue for severe punishment of these men point out. Yet it has also been argued by others that many lives have been saved as a result of their whistleblowing.

    Whatever the outcome of their cases and of their lives, there is no question that they and others have placed high on the public agenda the topic of just how open human society should be and can be. And the invitation in Conversations with God is for all of us, on an individual level, to practice complete and utter transparency in our daily lives, personal and business interactions, and intimate relationships — whether or not others are doing so also.

    In this, as in all things that produce revolutionary and evolutionary shifts in our global society, somebody has to go first.

  • Here we go again…

    It wasn’t my original intention to have a two-part or continuing series in my column about this particular topic, but after last week’s piece about the controversy surrounding the Cheerios commercial and the racially driven outbursts which took place as a result of its portrayal of a bi-racial couple who are parents to a mixed-race daughter, it appears as though another opportunity has presented itself for us to enter into a thoughtful conversation around belief systems which thrive on and promote ideas of separatism and which attempt to control and dictate other human beings based upon nationality, physicality, skin color, age, sexual orientation, etc.

    Sebastien De La Cruz, 11 years old, a former contestant on the popular television program “America’s Got Talent,” was invited by the NBA to sing the National Anthem at the opening of Game 3 during the finals in San Antonio, Texas.  This adorable and wonderfully talented young man stepped courageously out onto the basketball court in front of thousands of onlookers and performed a rendition of the National Anthem that brought people to their feet, cheering with appreciation.

    However, unfortunately, Sebastien De La Cruz was also confronted with the same backlash as General Mills experienced in response to their Cheerios commercial by people who verbally attacked young Sebastien, slinging racial barbs at him on the internet, questioning whether his Mexican heritage deemed him “worthy” of singing the National Anthem, and harshly criticizing the fact that he wore a mariachi outfit during his performance.

    The comments that are being circulated are so offensive that I have chosen not to reprint any of them here.  And they most certainly aren’t instrumental in our ability to have a discussion around why and how a young boy — who happens to be an American citizen, by the way — can find himself on the receiving end of such seething hostility and distorted thinking.  What in the world could cause anyone to think and then actually rise to the level of expressing such oppressive and hurtful words to an 11-year-old child?

    Will there be a time when we eventually stop defining ourselves by “this” or “that,” “here” or “there,” “have” or “have not,” “better than” or “less than”?

    In response to the commotion, Sebastien De La Cruz has demonstrated himself to be a powerful force of wisdom and clarity.  “For those that said something bad about me, I understand it’s your opinion,” said Sebastien to CNN. “I’m a proud American and live in a free country. It’s not hurting me. It’s just your opinion.  Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American life.”  Sebastien said today was like any other day, but he’s always grateful to wake up to yet another day able to sing. He said he owes his positive outlook to his parents, family and everyone in San Antonio.

    Contrary to the negative energy swirling around this story, there has also been an overwhelming show of appreciation and support for Sebastien.  So much so that the San Antonio Spurs invited him back for an encore performance for Game 4.  Sebastien also received encouragement in the form of a Tweet from a very special fan:

    “Barack Obama:  Don’t miss @selcharrodeoro’s encore performance of the national anthem at the #NBAFinals in San Antonio tonight.”

    In closing, I share with you this from Conversations With God, Book 3:  “The level of a society’s advancement is reflected, inevitably, in the degree of its duality thinking. Social evolution is demonstrated by movement towards unity, not separatism.”

    And the question I proffer to you is:  Which one are we moving towards?

    Please enjoy this video of Sebastien De La Cruz’s performance:

    (Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation. She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)

  • Big Brother: Did He Like Your Status?

    When I first heard about the National Security Administration’s PRISM surveillance program, I thought it only extended to under covering the records of the phone giant Verizon. But, with a bit more investigation, it was also found that the ‘Big Nine’ Internet Networks (Yahoo, Google, Youtube, Facebook, Skype, AOL, Paltalk, Microsoft, and Apple) were infiltrated by PRISM’s backdoor access. And for many teenagers, this strikes VERY close to home. With the government having direct access to our messages, contacts, and even our GPS location, how will we teens react?

    Last week, Neale brought up a very refreshing idea about the court order for Verizon to hand over their phone records to the NSA. The idea of total transparency is very uplifting, and is something that we should all aspire for in our own lives and relationships. Cultivating Trust, understanding, and total acceptance is a great way to pave our New Cultural Story.

    Unfortunately, this idyllic transparency is not the first priority on Uncle Sam’s agenda. This action by the government and the NSA shows not a fear in us, but rather a fear in one of the most prized institutions of all history: our democracy. We may want to live in an open society – but clearly, our governments still don’t want us to. In an article from BBC, dated June 7th, 2013, it states that “the PRISM program has become a major contributor to the President’s daily intelligence briefing and accounts for almost one in seven intelligence reports.” Nearly 15% of President Barack Obama’s daily agenda has been entirely concealed from the American public. And it’s all about us.  

    Granted, this information really isn’t about us. It’s about our identity – our story, but it’s the choice (or lack thereof) behind this decision that is worth focusing our awareness on. As teenagers in the fine United States of America, one of the most valuable things we have is our freedom of choice. As noted in some of the responses, there is an extremely large gap between choice and coercion. This was pointed out quite eloquently by mewabe, as “Surveillance is the mode of operation of a POLICE STATE. Transparency is the way of life of a FREE PEOPLE.” The challenge here is not for citizens to create a transparent society, but for our ruling body to create one. If government is supposed to maintain the highest morality and social ideals for our country, then they need to set examples that push it towards openness and oneness – not the other way to secrecy and duplicity. We can choose to have a free and open society, but until our highest authority makes that decision, we will continue to live in this state of fear.   

    As the times keep changing, our most valued institutions see that their own values are challenged. We saw this earlier with the Religious Institutions, in the dramatic conflict of the Church and the Boy Scouts over sexual orientation (Speaking of rigidity, the Southern Baptist Convention has now overwhelmingly voted to denounce the Boy Scouts of America). Now, the same struggle reincarnates itself with the struggle of Government and Social Media. How many times have we heard of government promises, in the name of security and welfare, that have led to nothing but more dishonesty and less freedom? Even here, we see that giving the government more and more power over our own lives has led to making our own lives powerless. With control, comes power, and with power comes a large invested ego. With the nearly limitless freedom of the internet, the government is fueled by its need of control – and its basic desire to stay in control of those freedoms.  Generally, the older the institution, the harder they will they will struggle to hold their power. Even if it means that we are a part of the wreckage.

    This fear-sponsored action does not only happen in our domestic government, but also abroad, displaying that institutions across the world fear losing their power in a time of technological leaps and bounds. A June 12, 2013 article of The Christian Science Monitor has already confirmed that Canada, Great Britain, and the world’s largest democracy, India, has used surveillance technologies similar to PRISM to monitor their own citizens. There is also much speculation occurring over government surveillance in Turkey’s Gezi Park Protests, once again showing that these institutions have decided to be inflexible. We can only image how such surveillance can and could be used against the peaceful sit-in in Gezi Park, where it was police brutality that made the peaceful sit-in escalate into an all-out riot that’s affecting everyone from lawyers to the destitute. Why have direct communication when you can wiretap?

    Maybe I’ve read George Orwell’s 1984 a few too many times for my own good. But as for Edward Snowden, the whistleblower behind the NSA’s PRISM, he did realize that he “did not want to live in a society that does these things…in a world where everything done is recorded.” But it doesn’t have to be this way. As the real use of a prism is to refract light to show the spectral colors, perhaps this PRISM’s greater purpose is to show the ‘true colors’ of our Old Cultural Story. We CAN create a society where the people do live freely – and the government is truly free of its burden for power. Will you see the light?

    (Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)

  • Introducing your child to the concept and the reality of God – Part III

    We have been talking here at length about introducing children to the idea of God. In our last post we said…”Let’s say that your daughter has heard at her friend’s house that God punishes us if we don’t do what He wants us to do. She’s heard that if we are not careful we could wind up going to “hell.” Now what do you say? “Sweetheart, that’s not true.” OR…“I certainly hope that’s not true. Let’s cross our fingers.”

    Yes…these questions about how to proceed are not small questions. So let’s back up right here and start at the beginning. The first thing you need to do as you explore how to introduce your child to the concept and the reality of God is to get clear about what YOU think about the concept and reality of God.

    So let’s take a little survey of your own thoughts and ideas…

    Let’s find out what you think about God

    Here is a little Multiple Choice quiz for you. Complete the following statements. You may select one or more than one answer from the choices given…or offer you own answer.

    1. The existence of God is:
    A. Pure myth and fiction and untrue
    B. Something I’m not sure about
    C. Not doubted by me for a moment

    ==========================================================PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU CHOSE “A” OR “B” ABOVE THERE IS NO POINT IN YOUR FINISHING THE READING OF THIS ENTRY. IT HAS NOT BEEN PREPARED FOR PARENTS WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD AND ARE SIMPLY LOOKING FOR STRATEGIES TO USE WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE SUBJECT BY THEIR CHILDREN.

    THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR PARENTS WHO HAVE READ CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD, WHO AGREE IN THE MAIN WITH ITS CONTENTS, AND WHO WISH TO SHARE ITS MESSAGE WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

    (As parents who have read these books know, CWG does not indicate that there is only one way to think about God, nor that its own message is the inviolable truth about God. Quite to the contrary, the most striking point made in the dialogue is that no outside authority should ever replace one’s own inner experience regarding who and what God is, what God wants, and God’s role (if any) in our lives. However, a belief in some kind of God or Divine Essence or Universal Energy would be required for the rest of this post to make sense.)  ==========================================================
    2. My description of God is:
    A. A big man in the sky, sitting on a throne
    B. A Super Version of a human, with the ability to be angered, saddened, upset, frustrated or disappointed just like humans, and the intention to punish any human being who disobeys Him
    C. A Super Being who looks like a human male, but who is kind, caring, compassionate, forgiving, and loving, and who would never hurt or harm anybody, much less punish them for their sins
    D. A Super Being who looks like a human female, but who is kind, caring, compassionate, forgiving, and loving, and who would never hurt or harm anybody, much less punish them for their sins
    E. A Super Being who has no gender, but who is kind, caring, compassionate, forgiving, and loving, and who would never hurt or harm anybody, much less punish them for their sins
    F. A Super Being who looks nothing like a human, but who has all of the other qualities of C, D, and E above.
    G. Not a Super Being at all, in the human sense, but rather, an Essence or an Energy that can assume any shape or form It desires, or no particular form at all.
    H. An Essence or Energy that exists in Absolute Wholeness (that is, nothing in existence is separate from It, or is “other than” It), and that embodies Unconditional Love, Supreme Intelligence, Sublime Awareness, Endless Wisdom, and Unlimited Power.
    I. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    J. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    3. God’s relationship to Life is:
    A. God created life as we know it, but exists apart and separate from it and has no control over it now that it has been created.
    B. God created life as we know it, exists apart and separate from it, and has total control over it now that it has been created.
    C. God created life as we know it, but exists apart and separate from it and exerts control over it when certain people ask God to, in a certain way.
    D. God created life as we know it, but exists apart and separate from it and has the ability to exert complete control over it now that it has been created, but nevertheless chooses not to intervene in daily life, leaving humans to their own devices.
    E. God created life as we know it, but exists apart and separate from it and has the ability to exert complete control over it now that it has been created, but nevertheless chooses not to intervene directly in daily life, preferring to give humans the power to co-create their outcomes with their fellow humans, using the power that God gave them.
    F. God created life as we know it, exists in unity with and as part of all that lives, and has the ability to exert complete control over life now that it has been created, yet nevertheless chooses not to intervene directly in daily life, preferring to give humans the ability to co-create their outcomes with their fellow humans, using the power that God gives them.
    G. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    H. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    4. God’s purpose in creating life is:
    A. To give God something to do
    B. To put in place a system of Justice and Fairness in the Universe, so that all souls which separated themselves from God would have a chance to come back to God and live with God forever if they wanted to
    C. To experience Itself in every possible way, and thus to Know Itself in Its Own Experience, through the expression of Its Essence and Its Energy in every physical form
    D. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    E. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    5. God’s function in life is:
    A. To sit around and watch things that are going on, but do nothing
    B. To sit around and watch things that are going on, and give us help when we need it.
    C. To answer our prayers
    D. To watch us closely and pass judgment on us when we die, deciding whether we go to Heaven or to Hell based on how we have lived our lives
    E. To create
    F. To express Divinity in all its aspects through the process we call Life, using as its tools of expression All Physical Things
    G. To make Its Essence and Its Energy available to us to use whenever, wherever, and however we wish
    H. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    I. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    6. God’s relationship to us is:
    A. A mystery
    B. God is our Father, who loves us and is there is help us in every difficulty
    C. God is our Creator, who made us in His image and likeness
    D. God is with us always, even unto the end of time
    E. God is the Source of our creative power, our strength, our wisdom, and our love
    F. God is One with us, united with us, the same as us, identical to us, not separate in any way from us, who lives in us, as us, through us; God is US, and we are God, in individualized expression
    G. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    H. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    7. What God wants and requires of us is:
    A. To obey His commandments, abide by His laws, do His Will, behold His righteousness, fear His judgment, pay homage to His divinity and praise His glory forever and ever
    B. To do our best in every situation, be kind to others, and not hurt anybody on purpose
    C. Nothing at all
    D. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    E. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    8. The way to interact with God is:
    A. With fear and trepidation
    B. With faith and gratitude
    C. As you would with a kind and gentle father
    D. As you would with a just and powerful monarch
    E. As you would with your best friend
    F. As you would with someone you fear
    G. As you would with someone you love
    H. As you would with someone you need
    I.  As you would with someone you do not need
    J. As you would with someone who you know is always there
    K. As you would with someone who you hope is there
    L. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    M. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    9. Life Itself is:
    A. Something that we are all living, through no choice of our own, but getting through as best as can
    B. A time of travail; a trial and a test, which has no apparent purpose or outcome.
    C. A time of travail; a trial and a test, which, if we pass, allows us to return to God, and if we fail, sends us to the everlasting fires of hell
    D. A school, with lessons to learn and a test at the end, which, if we pass, allows us to return to God, and if we fail, sends us to the everlasting fires of hell
    E. A school, with lessons to learn, but no pass/fail test at the end; simply a process of learning and growth
    F. Not a school, but a place and a way in which we are invited to demonstrate what we already know and completely understand regarding who we are, and now simply wish to express and experience
    G. A process by which a biological creature moves from birth to death, having no reality of itself before birth or after death; the simple outcome of a chemical process involving the fundamental essence and energy of life, playing itself out with neither purpose nor design, reason nor function, objective nor outcome other than the movement through the Cycle of Life Itself in its many physical forms.
    H. A journey of the soul from birth to death, with reason, purpose, and function
    I. A process by which God expresses and experiences Its Divinity
    J. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    K. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    10. The purpose of Life is:
    A. It has no purpose. It just is.
    B. If it has a purpose, it is something none of us know; it is beyond our ability to determine.
    C. Evolution; the evolution of Life Itself through the ever-expanding expression and manifestation of its many forms
    D. The evolution of the soul, through the ever-expanding expression and manifestation of its many aspects
    E. To announce and declare, express and fulfill, know and experience Who You Really Are
    F. To recreate yourself anew, in each golden moment of Now, in the next grandest version of the greatest vision ever you held about Who You Are
    G. To provide human beings with a vehicle and a means by which they might find salvation and return to God in heaven, whence they came
    H. To provide God with a vehicle and a means by which It might know Itself experientially, and not simply conceptually
    I. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    J. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    11. Who and what I am is:
    A. God’s creation
    B. A biological entity; a physical life form, not unlike other life forms on the earth, except in complexity
    C. A spiritual being having a physical body and a mind
    D. A child of God
    E. A part of God
    F. A unique and unduplicated expression of God
    G. An individualization of God
    H. Divinity Itself in physical form
    I. None of the above, but my own answer, which is: (type your answer below)
    J. None of the above; I do not know and wouldn’t hazard a guess

    These are the questions faced by parents every day—and there will be more. Life will place more questions before you if you are thinking about life’s greater aspects in any way at all. And your children will certainly place these and other questions before you, if only because of what they are hearing out there in the larger world around them, as mentioned before.

    So it is important that you come to your own conclusions and awareness about God, even if these change across the time span of your child’s upbringing. Indeed, especially if they do.

    And we will continue this series of articles in our next entry here. Do join us.

  • Be More Spiritual Through Your Food

    by Beth Anderson

    By now I am sure we all agree that we need to slow down and enjoy a more spiritual existence. We are spiritual beings after all. A great way to incorporate more spirituality into your life is to slow down and treat your food as a gift to enjoy. Honor your body with good, whole foods and show gratitude for the food you receive in any way you like.

    One of the easiest ways to make your meal more spiritual is to simply slow down. Slowing down is also very good for your health, stress level, and emotional being. Slow down and breathe, slow down and chew your food. Slow down and relax, get your rest and sleep. Is that how you live your life?

    Make sure you chew every bite of food slowly and thoroughly. Macrobiotics dictates that you must chew your food 100 times, however I have found that impossible. So let’s chew each bite 30 times. Next time you take a bite of food, count how many times you chew. Then start by being aware every time you eat, every bite you take, how many times you are chewing. The result will help with digestive issues and also lack of energy after eating. Your stomach won’t have to work as hard. You may also find that you eat a lot less food once you slow down!

    Enjoy your meals and make them a ritual! Light a candle if you like. Don’t eat around electronics such as the television, computers, phones, or anything that will distract you from simply being mindful of your meal. Some people enjoy eating in silence or even with their eyes closed.

    Share your meals with a companion when possible, someone you love. Preparing food for yourself is fine, but preparing it for someone else is even better. Chances are when you eat alone you won’t eat as healthy either. So share your food, your time, your life with someone else.

    Bring more spirituality into your life today through your food!

    (Beth Anderson is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and a Certified Natural Health Practitioner. She is the founder of Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana and author of The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life. Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. An expert in holistic and alternative health, Beth thoroughly enjoys educating and inspiring people to learn about the truths of food, consumer products, environmental issues, and life choices. She speaks nationally and publishes articles regularly on several internet wellness sites. Beth provides individual and group holistic health coaching and works with companies to provide wellness programs, workshops, and individualized coaching services for employees. You can find Beth on Facebook  or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)

  • With the Santa Monica shooting added to the list, do you think Americans are ready to have a serious discussion about ending easy access to guns — especially semi-automatic assault-style weapons, one of which was again used in this latest murderous rampage?

  • Living from your Soul

    As I listen to the podcasts of Neale Donald Walsch’s “Living from Your Soul,” I experience two feelings, that of gratitude for the course itself and anticipation for the next one, not least because it is the word experience that distinguishes this course from others I have attended, where regardless of how I had come to know my soul, its direct experience had so far eluded me.

    There was no hiding my disappointment, especially from myself, of how the years studying Philosophy had led to nothing more than a vague understanding of how certain traditions view their own version of God. In retrospect, regardless of the enthusiasm with which I engaged with the knowledge presented to me, frustration invariably set in as I found myself stuck yet again in the academic cul-de-sac, a place where the obsession with intellectualizing upon the idea of God overshadowed any possibility of experiencing a direct relationship with Her.

    So I looked toward those disciplines that acknowledge the role of experience, rather than an intellectual ‘knowing,’ at which point transpersonal psychology and shamanism became my new interest. Moving from the head and into my heart I started to believe that a direct experience of God was possible for everyone, not just the chosen few saints, martyrs and gurus whose lives of self-denial would turn even the most enthusiastic truth seeker off the prospect of a divine experience. That is not to say that such people did not achieve an experience, but to necessarily associate this type of lifestyle with a direct experience of God is narrow and limited in the extreme.

    This is where it gets confusing, but it is also where the teachings of “Living from your Soul” comes into play by challenging the idea that suffering must precede an experience of the Divine, rather we are offered the alternative, that in order to engage with God all we need to do is to express those behaviours that are Godlike. In hindsight then, it appears that there is no need for suffering at all, no denial of the fundamentals of our humanity or the need to follow a particular belief system.  For these reasons, a direct experience of the divine becomes an attractive option that is available to all of us.

    Gemma Phelan Head SHot(Gemma Phelan lives in Ireland where she works as an editor. She is also the author of “A Different Understanding,” a book which explores alternative ways of looking at the world.)

    (If you would like to contribute an article you have authored to the Guest Column, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Guest Column.”)