AS A MAN THINKETH or Because pigs don’t wear red suspenders

Remember Jimmy Carter? When he was president he honestly answered when asked, though he had never been unfaithful he had suffered “lust” in his heart. The reaction to this ranged from “who cares, doesn’t everyone” to condemnation for being “immoral.” He recognized this was a short coming, a defect of character if you will, and I am sure he was shocked when this seemingly simple admonition generated the response that it did. Being a devout Christian he made the mistake of thinking his comment would be received in the light he was presenting it, that anyone, even a president, has negative or harmful thoughts but actions matter. Whether we approve of Jimmy Carter as a president or a “good” Christian matters not. He does deserve applause for being honest, even to his detriment. Many times I have had a new student posit that they can or have “compartmentalized” some area of their lives; typically some kind of rationalized/justified questionable behavior dealing with romance or finance, the rest of their lives untouched by it. Nonsense. Pure and utter balderdash. B.S. of the most pervasive variety. Tripe. So as not to be vague, when we attempt to do this, what we really construct is an impenetrable barrier to Living on the Spiritual Basis. Jimmy Carter was clear on this, he knew the truth that the only way to truly be free of acting on the thoughts was to expose them to the spiritual light of day. Had he asked I would have counseled him that the national stage probably wasn’t the best place to do it, but then we would not have had such a graphic example to draw from. We do not, cannot control the thoughts that flow through our mind. You are not your thoughts. We are defined by our actions, our demonstration however. When we begin Living on the Spiritual Basis, many if not most become concerned that they continue to have negative and spiritually contrary thoughts. You are powerless over the thoughts that float through your mind. The greatest spiritual leaders and teachers are subject to these same random thoughts. Where do they come from? A song plays, a whiff of a smell, a taste, a casual comment, a blue Volkswagen drives by or any of a million other triggers may launch one. This is why so many teachers remove themselves from main stream society in a misguided attempt to be insulated from triggers. It does not matter and is a waste of time and energy to try to figure out what triggered a thought, because You cannot think your way into right living, you must live your way into right thinking. Living on the Spiritual Basis we have learned that when a negative or spiritually harmful thought flashes across our mind we stop and immediately turn to God, illuminating it in spiritual light. Recognize the truth and thank God for knowing Him better, for the increased awareness. And then let it go! To dwell on it only opens the door to morbid reflection. Alright, you still need to know why? Because pigs don’t wear red suspenders. Now you know why. Doesn’t change anything does it? We still have to do the spiritual work, to be ever vigilante. Why is the booby prize.