Stop being quiet about all this. Speak up. Raise a ruckus. Raise the issues. You might even raise some collective consciousness.

On just one issue, for instance. Why not grow hemp and use it to grow paper? Do you have any idea how many trees just to supply your world with daily newspapers? To say nothing of paper cups, carry-out cartons, and paper towels?

Hemp can be grown inexpensively, and harvested easily, and used not only for making paper, but the strongest rope, and the longest lasting clothing, and some of the most effective medicines your planet can provide. In fact, cannabis can be planted so inexpensively, and harvested so easily, and has so many wonderful uses, that there is a huge lobby working against it.

Too many would lose too much to allow the world to turn to this simple plant which can be grown almost anywhere.

This is just one example of how greed replaces common sense in the conduct of human affairs.

So give this book to everyone you know. Not only so that they get this, but so that they get everything else the book has to say. And there’s still a great deal more.

Excerpt taken from Conversations with God, book 3, by Neale Donal Walsch.

It’s true! Whatever god you adhere to, your understanding of that God does not exist. There is no big ogre in heaven waiting for the next feeble human to step out of line or to disobey his utterances and to strike them dead. Such a god is dead. He just does not exist. People are like that, but not God.

There is no such god who favors one human being over another. A god who sends his chosen ones to wipe out a neighboring nation or who blesses one side more than another does not exist.

Look at your scriptures, what do they say? God rains on the wicked and the righteous. God is no respecter of persons. All men are equal in God’s sight. God is love, compassionate and forgiving. Does that represent the God you have been taught about? Too often we humans portray our weak, jealous feelings onto the Divine Entity who created our world, and we expect him/her to respond in a human way.

Fortunately for us, God is more tolerant than we are, and more patient. God to me is a Universal Intelligence who sees the big picture. He sees the beginning from the end and knows all things. God is also part of you and me. As the ultimate expression of love and light God is also expressed in all of creation, including you and me. That means I am an expression of the Divine, and you are too, as is the enemy across the frontier.

No, it is not God who is dead, but the faulty perception we have of God which is dead. God is very much alive, and alive in every human being, animal, fish and plant. Think of that. When one man kills another, he is killing God! Isn’t it easy to understand why God, no matter in which religion he is represented (or misrepresented), implores us to love our brother and sister, our neighbour and even our enemy. In doing so we are expressing the God part of our being.

What do you think? Is the god of your tradition dead? Or is He/She very much alive in all that you think, do or say?

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

Affirm the Charter http://charterforcompassion.org/

My guess is that you want to say “yes” to these questions, but you are actually answering “no”. Why is this? Because institutions are deciding these answers for us. Yes it’s true! In all four of these areas of your life you have not and do not choose. You disagree? Let us explore.

When it comes to your health are you choosing what you put into your body or are you allowing the media, the supermarkets and even your family determine what you eat, or allowing your doctor decide what medications you should be taking? How many of those choices have you truly made yourself. In most cases I am sure you would agree you have taken the common route, the path of least resistance, and allowed society to tell you what to eat and what to do when you get a headache. And most likely if you were eating healthier you would not be having any headaches in the first place.

Making your own conscious choices about what you put into your body can have a positive affect on your health. Observe your body. How does it react and feel after certain foods? Avoid those foods that leave you feeling slack and without energy and choose the food that makes you feel good an hour after you eat it.

What about your time? Are you the master of your own time? Or are you the slave of circumstances and habit? How often do we conform to what others want just to keep the peace? It’s bad enough having an employer where we give our time for the money we earn, but what about the rest of our time? How much time do you take for yourself? It is important to pursue your own desires and dreams and satisfy your own pleasures. This is not to say you ought to ignore everyone else around you, particularly those depending on you. But it is important to get a balance and have time that is only for you.

I bet you think you have control of your money. Well apart from taxes (we’ll leave that one as we all enjoy the benefits of roads, transport and trade etc.) how much of your hard earned money do you spend voluntarily on things you actually want or need? Observe again how often you will buy something because the advertisement appealed to you, or the display in the store attracted you, or even because your friend said this is a must. After you buy it you wonder why or it lies around unused. How much food do you throw away becuase you fell for the big sales and specials and ended up buying much too much food?

So are you really in control of your money? Is your money serving you as it ought to? Are you treating your money with respect, because if you do it will return to you. Setting money aside for later is a big plus and a must. Small amounts mount up and you will be grateful for that years from now. I’m not saying to spend sparingly, that could stifle the flow, but spend wisely, and most of all, make your own choices.

One more thing – have you chosen what you believe in? Now when it comes to religious belief the answer is most likely not. You have accepted the beliefs handed down to you. The same is true about how you are currently looking at life, you got educated and got a job and pay into your pension fund because that’s what you were taught and what you subsequently believe in. But these things are nothing more than belief systems passed down to us. But are they the right things and are they serving us today? We need to take a close look at why we believe things and why we do things in certain ways today. Could it be that you are not meeting with success and not fulfilling your dreams because of restricting and limiting beliefs from the past?

We need to take control of our beliefs and choose what is beneficial and profitable for life and discard all that isn’t.

So are you free? Or do you need to make a few adjustments. Remember, everyone around faces the same challenge, so be gentle.

I believe in our spiritual nature, that we are made up of body, soul and spirit, or the physical, emotional and that something other which constitutes the real you and me, what I call our spirit. It is the connection to a greater Divine Spirit at this level which I believe is the source of all of our power and capabilities.

Think of everything as energy. Ask a physicist and they’ll tell you this is true. Everything in this world, the entire universe is only energy. Matter, the stuff we call physical – the stuff we can touch and sense with our physical senses, is also only energy. Everything vibrates at different frequencies; a rock vibrates a lot slower than water, and water is slower than air, and air is slower than light and light is slower than spirit. The rock, made up of atoms and electrons, like everything else, is really in constant movement. But to us it feels like it is not moving at all, but still and hard.

Even our thoughts are energy. When we think we are in fact sending out signals at a certain frequency. Anything vibrating at or resonating with that frequency will pick up that thought-signal, or resonate with it. This is the basis of the Law of Attraction. Like attracts like. So when we think bad and fear the worst we are in fact drawing those things towards us.

When we think positive thoughts and dwell on our desires which should benefit mankind in some way, we are resonating at spiritual frequencies. We are connecting with the Divine. This is why meditation is so helpful; it gets rid of all the noise of distracting and negative thoughts and allows us to focus our intention, our spiritual frequencies, on the single idea of our desire.

What do you think? DO you have an experience with this inner, spiritual power? Comment below.

“You’re hopeless!” “You can never do anything right!” “Your brainless!” “You’ll never amount to anything!” “You’re a dead loss!” “No one can trust you to do anything right!” A child who hears these things spoken to it over and over again, being repeatedly demoralized and put down, will believe what is being said and live each day depressed.

If you are a parent and you have been speaking to your child like this, then stop now! You are razing your child, destroying their self-esteem and their future potential.

If someone you know is doing this, encourage them to speak words of encouragement. If a scolding is necessary, or even if a nasty comment slips out, let it rest with that. Do not continue to repeat the phrase. There’s no need to make the wound deeper. If a negative scolding or insult is made make an effort to lift the child up with a word of love and appreciation. Speak as you would like to be spoken to.

And this isn’t only for treatment of children, it’s good for dealing with anyone. By ending every communication with everyone you speak with with a positive word of encouragement or appreciation you are raising their self-worth. Not only will they feel better, in spite of any mistakes made, but you will feel better and they will go on to reflect that good feeling to the next person they meet.

What kind of wave do you want to spread, a wave of despair or a wave of joy?

Thoughts are a little like that. They grow old and become lifeless when the flow stops. The thinking behind old ideas becomes lifeless, powerless and out of date. They no longer serve a purpose and need to be replaced with new ideas, new thinking. In short, old ideas, old thinking, stinks.

Too many of us are still living the lives of our grandparents, or even our ancestors. The old way of doing things is what fills our lives. They get us through, just about, but they no longer meet our modern needs. Many of these ideas are religious. We live by the rules, we live by the book, and if it was good enough for grandma it’s good enough for me, my kids and grandkids too. This kind of thinking is stinking and will never improve your future. It keeps you living in the past.

It is time to let go of the past and nurture the new progressive thinking. Whatever is pure and good think on that. If it benefits humanity think on that. If it propels us into a future of peace and harmony then think on those things. Don’t be a stinker, be a thinker.

This was an challenge and exercise started on Twitter and Facebook on started 2^nd August 2009. Here is a collection of the blessings of each day and some of the comments received. Why not try it out and post your experiences?

Challenge for the next 30 days: Silently wish everyone you see or meet the best possible blessings. See what happens!

Day1:

Tracie
Do we have to do it silently?

Belinda
I think so … it shouldn’t be about ego …

Tracie
Not about ego at all…just letting people you meet know someone they may not know at all cares…making a connection

Belinda
Good point. Perhaps we can use it both ways? Not easy to make a connection with every person we encounter…

Tracie
No it isn’t easy, but it’s a great goal isn’t it!

Hakan
This is a fantastic exercise, the more you have gratitude & appreciation you give to others, whether they are aware or unaware, the more you will get in return.
While you do this exercise coming from a place of genuine intent, you will undoubtedly notice there will be changes in your body.
Could be more joyful, positive & uplifting.
By doing it for 30 days it automatically becomes a habit & you’ll find yourself doing it sub consciously.

Jim Murdoch
I started the day by wishing mentally blessing to everyone I saw, on the bus, the train, the tram, the street. Gets a bit busy. A group of school children got a sweeping blessing as I passed. Even the smelly old man who sat in front of me. It certainly beats being grumpy. You don’t have time to be grumpy, so many to bless. Yea, do it aloud too when you have the chance. Praise someone, or thank them, or just wish them a great day.
Let’s hear how it goes.

Blessing challenge: ran for tram today, door shut on my nose, wouldn’t open, tram drives off. Curse or bless? Bless him, higher awareness.
Did pretty well sending blessings out in all directions to anyone and everyone. Oh, must include wife and son

Day 2: Stay at home day – 30 day blessing. I can bless those out the window, those who come to mind. I can bless you. Have u blessed people today?

Tracie
Bless you too Jim! And everyone else who sees this post ;~)

Day 3: Who are you thinking about right now? No matter good or bad, bless them now! Wish them good things. Day3 of 30 day blessing challenge.

Laura
Wow. You got me on a hard one. It is done. I bless her.

Jim Murdoch
Good for you? Have you realized the blessings return multiplied?!

Laura
So far, an immediate blessing was a feeling of peace. I
think that it actually occurred at the moment of decision.
Haven’t yet noticed blessings multiplied but am convinced
they will. “She” will be included in my daily blessings for
awhile.

Day 4 of 30 day Blessing. I bless those who have the annoying pop-ups on their sites preventing you from closing the window

Day 5: Bless my wife for making me lunch even so she only eats fruit today. She’s a darling. @katharizo

Day 6: Bless Google Chrome programmers, my Chrome browser crashed and lost all my open tabs. Don’t you just love 2 bless rather than curse?

Here’s one for you all. Go to the mirror and say: In spite of all the crap, I love you unconditionally. I believe in you!

Day 7: I bless my Mastermind – great friends, great thinkers, great achievers and great inspiration

Day 8: Continuing to bless just whoever falls into my eyesight or my thoughts. How about: Bless the tax collectors?

Day 9: Kindness is one of your wonderful traits, but where you really shine is in your generosity. Neale Walsch – Fits well with 30 day blessing

Day 10: “Those still stuck in the mass paradigms drift along with no definite purpose, no focus, and no chosen direction.” Wings of Change

Day 11: Good morning friends Day 11 Bless your boss today! Yes even if he/she is one of those. Just bless them. Now enjoy the bliss free from anger.

Day 12: bless all those who bless you, give you joy, a smile, friendship. Often we forget they need blessing too.

Day 13: Today I bless myself for my achievements, plans , dreams. Go ahead, bless yourself today.

Day 14: Today I bless my parents. Bless yours today. Overlook all the negative – just bless them.

Day 15: Who to bless today? What about your government? Remember, blessings return to you – so do curses. So be sincere – for your own good

Day 16: I bless all those who have humbled me by their kind comments and gratitude. Let no one steal your dream!

Day 17: Are you still blessing instead of cursing, blaming, accusing, mocking? What you give out comes back to you!

Laura
Yes, indeed. Good to have reminders to make it habitual.
Bless you, Jim

Day 18: Lost your job? Been downsized? Bless the situation. Take responsibility and break the pattern.

Day 19: Bless the Italian worker at the train station who was friendly and told us when the next train was arriving. The Blessing challenge!

Day 20: How about blessing those who prepare our food, bring it to the stores, and make it available to us? Time to eat lunch.

Day 21: This fits in well for day 21 of my 30 day Blessing Challenge. Be grateful for all the good, bless and be blessed. Have fun dancing!

The Original Gratitude Dance! (www.TheGratiDudes.com)

http://www.TheGratiDudes.com We started the Gratitude Dance out of moment of celebration at a coffee shop in Victoria, BC while writing our book on Manifesting Awesomeness. Out of this little jig came the idea to film it and put it on Youtube. …

Day 22: Bless the people who did bad things to make you lose your job, your home, your money. U don’t wanna curse them! That comes back to you

Doug
Yes, Jim, you are right. What we give out comes back to us.

Tracie
By blessing them you’ll find getting around the boulder they put in your stream a bit easier…and the waters on the other side much more smooth running than the ones you were in before it happened!

Day 23: Bless the mobile phone company, even when the signal isn’t what it should be. – Are you blessing all those you meet?

Day 24: People who make fake profiles -dare we bless them too? “Father forgive them. for they Know not what they do.”

Day 25: Time to bless our friends – the joyful, the woeful, the annoying, the loving, the draining, the giving – bless them.

Day 26: Now we hit the mother in law sisters brothers cousins & all- bless them, wish them the best they can possibly have. R u feeling it?

Day 27: 30 days are almost up. Is there anyone you missed whom you know you ought to bless? Do it now! Feel the energy coming back.

Day 28: Bless those who encourage others to reach for their dreams. It’ll help you reach yours.

Day 29: Bless those who serve: hairdresser, doctor, dentist, judge, lawyer, politicians, presidents, ministers, cleaners, soldiers!

Day 30: Bless God! Yes! That too will return to you. How did go for you? Feel the blessing return? Now keep on blessing. Never stop.

Paradigms determine how we think and react in given situations. Religion is a big paradigm, a given set of ideas. Science is a collection of other paradigms. Paradigms are all over the place, in our heads affecting the way we think. They determine our habits, our reactions, our actions, our thinking and even our feelings.

We learn to react and feel in certain ways when faced with certain situations. Someone stands on my toe, I may have learned to scream and fling out with my arm. Instead I can react much differently. Some may have learned to get angry or swear when something doesn’t go as expected, like it rains at the picnic, or a job is lost. These reactions can be different.

When you look at your life and how you answer people, react to news and circumstances, you will probably see a pattern which you can identify in many of the people around you. We learn to respond instead of react.

Another example of a paradigm is that illness comes form outside into my body. It is well researched and known that illness comes from within. Katharina, my wife, has studied kinesiology, which uses the muscle test to determine what the body has to say about the cause of an illness or emotional trauma, or stress. It is a method for tapping into the subconscious mind, which is, to keep it simple, a field of spiritual energy connecting us all together. It is known that our emotions, feelings over past events can cause illness, and when this cause is known the illness dissolves.

The Law of Attraction and the teaching surrounding this understands the presence of such a field of consciousness of which we are all a part. It is this consciousness which holds the universe together and has created this physical universe. Call it God if you like, it is the same thing. We are all joined or connected to God, and God dwells in each of us. This consciousness is part of our consciousness.

This is why it is possible to change the physical. The physical is controlled and subject to God, or Universal Consciousness. If we think and feel intensely enough we can change our environment. This is what makes miracles possible and healings. It is not a miracle, really, but appling other laws that exist in the universe.

Feelings, or emotion, is the language of this consciousness. It is our feelings which make things happen and can change our physical world. Consciousness isn’t limited by physical laws, it creates them, and the paradigms say this is a very physical problem and thinking can’t change it. This may be true in the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm, in the world of Universal Consciousness, in God’s realm, all things are possible.

Think of this as a kind of prayer, except you are not asking or begging, but making a clear and specific statement. “Ask the Father what you will and believe that you have it and it will be yours.” Jesus said this and it couldn’t be clearer. To sum it up, yes, healing is possible and it is our choice. Our thoughts and feelings determine the result. So what are we thinking and feeling? Maybe we need to change that in order to get the change we desire.

What is you desire? Are your thinking and your feelings getting you there?