Dear George Washington

As we head into the 4th week of Easter, we continue to see what Jesus's path takes us to -- that is to the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit).  I want to direct this blog as a letter to George Washington, the founding father of America.

Dear George:

When you and your allies got together at the round table, you established basic rules and authority to take into the account of the future, not knowing how we would evolve or how the dynamics would change. It occurred to me, you made sure there were no one absolute power. You also made sure there was a system in place to ensure these powers were not abused (aka bureaurcacy).  Bureau-CRAZY? Yes. Some days it drives me nuts. But there was a reason for everything.  And though we know not what they are, we believe all actions--past, present and future, stem from the Holy Ghost.  Amen.

George, today because of strong spirited people, fighters, warriors, and people of integrity; We are made up of more than just a type the world a accepted at your time.  We are made up of strong men and women (gender), people of various ethnicity (race), and people who don't fit gender as society defines it (LGBTQ), time on the physical body (age) and finally but not in the least, people who choose to believe in their higher power(s) that governs our universe (religion).

Life was so simple in your days. I bet everyone was less stressed! But there were more hardships than we can ever imagine that in your days were NOT available; clean water (but you adapted to it). Motor vehicles (did you say run for fun??) or computers to make us smarter  (PS -- that was facetious).

George, I thank you for what you put in place for us.  Now we as a society must adapt to our ever changing environment for purpose of the survival of the human race.  Heck if you could do it, so can we.

Which one will it be for now?  Survive?  Or Jesus rescues?

A difficult Subject

I completed my first practice speech on Moralistic Therapeutic Deism at yesterday's toastmasters.  I researched it for a while and finally was able to write the speech.  I practiced it over the weekend, and I knew what I had to do, to make it convincing.  In the end, how did my speech go?  I definitely improved in many areas - I varied my tone of voice. I didn't use my notes verbatim.  I made eye contact with the audience and I even walked the floor. I used body language.  These are things I had to do!!  In the end, when it came to judgement, my speech did not win any prize.  Not even "most improved."  The person who who won both first place and most improved, dressed up as Charlie Chaplin and had a big smile on his face.

This is to say, that my speech was not worse.  I believed I had more content.  My subject was about God. Who likes the subject?  Not the majority of my audience apparently.  Did he do a better job with delivery? His speech was about using visual aids, which he did great.  However 4 of those 7 minutes was spent showing his work on YouTube as Charlie Chaplin. Everyone loved his gear.  Furthermore, he couldn't get his laptop to work.  But he had a smile on his face..AND the topic was not about God.

We were both unprepared?  Absolutely. He spent 15-20 min fixing a problem to get his laptop to work.  I did not memorize my speech and actually apologized at the beginning by trying to use the word "acumen" to help add count to the word of the day. I was very nervous, my mouth was dry and so I missed many points I wanted to tell the audience because I wasn't fully prepared.  In the end though, I think I delivered what I felt God wanted me to deliver.  Maybe my writing was just a guideline.

Point of being -- I myself grew up as one of the MTD - Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.  I went to church, I did the motions, but I did not have a relationship with the Lord. I thought He was someone in heaven watching me from above. I didn't see God in other people.  I went to a church in Belgium..one of those that look like Notre Dame.  The walls echoed. The readers and the priest did not articulate well to me.  I felt like I wasn't being fed. Then I left the Catholic church.  Fast forward some ten years later, after joining other Christians, diving deeper into the bible and fellowship, I've come to learn of God as the trinity.  He lives in all of us.  Our brethren has the spirit of God in him. Jesus says, "whatever you do to the least... you do it for me."  In the Catholic Church, I felt judged. And I judged. One time I visited a church outside my home as a little girl.  The priest (I believe) maybe he was a Eucharistic minister was giving me communion. He looked at me strangely like someone he never saw before.  It is one look I will never forget.

I was in my own church and I did not feel authenticity from the people among me. It made me question, who are these "spiritual" people? They look no different than the people at the gym or outside the church. 

Lessons learned:  Everyone's spiritual level will always be different. I became a better Christian through relationship with His people, His followers by deeply delving into the bible.  Sure, the Eucharist is among the most important thing of the Catholic Church.  But so is the word and living the gospel daily, not just going to church weekly. Its simply not enough.  And I hope that the future of our faith will not turn into a water-down version of Christianity as Damon Link says author of "Theology has its Consequences."  We need to act now.  It's a difficult subject, but an important one.

The Ego vs. ID

“You don’t serve me anymore, therefore I don’t need you.” Do we really live such egocentric lives? Is it always “about us.” Let’s dig into this a little further.

Several weeks ago I spoke with a wise Father. I did not know him. But I believed him. You could say I saw through his exterior all the way to his interior. He mentioned to me some very important elements I would not forget. He told me that he was not a PHD in psychology but considers himself a soul doctor. He told me that what differentiates us between animals is that we have the conscience to chooose what is right and wrong — we don’t let our animal instincts guide our behavior. He said that people walk around wearing masks and that beauty was skin deep. Most importantly he told me that no one on earth, even the most perfect and Godliest of all Godly people is not perfect.

Back to the science of “it’s about me.” If we go by our automatic egocentric behavior, we revert into living creatures without a soul. Or if I use the term “animal” (i.e., he is an animal) in this context, it is negative. Why?? Because we know that animals in general don’t have a conscience and though they live and survive based on the ID, they are not trusting God for their survival. Please comment if you would like to defend for your furry friend here. Some dogs appear to have egos!!

When we turn to God, we let go of serving our egos and pride and do the “right thing.” We May have to suffer as a result, but at this point our interest is no longer in us, but in the other person we are sacrificing for.  That is love.

I often confuse the meaning of love with behavior that serves me. I confuse love with excited feelings that make me want to procreate. This is what the media teaches us. Love is a physical passion, and emotion. 

Actually, love is not that. So this Father tells me that love is not actually an emotion. He gave me a prime example. He said love is Jesus dying on the cross for us. Think about it. Even most movies I saw depicted Jesus is a very kind, calm but not “emotional” or zealous to say the least.

Here, I conclude with this piece from the below website. “The soul desire is the integral part of oneself that wants to be in touch with their highest purpose. This is the desire which feeds your spiritual center and provides you with a contentedness, as well as a sense of fulfillment that is pervasive and permanent.”

So let us deny ourselves and our ego, in pursuit of our higher self — the soul.  I will be praying about it.

Reference 

http://insightfulinnovations.com/zykrblog/ego-versus-soul-desire