Eternal Tides

Death, a topic routinely avoided yet we all have/will deal with it. First the death of those we have come to know and often love and finally, and I think you would agree the most important, at least to us, our own. It is curious how differently cultures mark/celebrate a passing. Westerners typically make the event a clean straightforward affair handled almost exclusively by professionals, family and friends provided with a regimented schedule of events leading to a final “farewell” usually all taking place in a weeks time. Other cultures leave the departed in their beds for a year or longer, the family handling everything, finally throwing a huge party where the departed are honored, cremating the remains at its conclusion, again all handled by loved ones.

Regardless of ritual or rites, death is inevitable. What happens to our physical remains after we have translated from the mortal coil matters little. What matters is everything that takes place right up to the moment we somersault into eternity, the truth is: You are eternal. The spark of the divine, the connection to all that is, our consciousness, our soul has always existed. It was never born and will never die. It has always been and will always be. We are not human beings in search of the miraculous, we are spiritual beings experiencing the human condition, this flesh a mere conveyance. So we mourn the passing of those we cared for, for they have passed from our sight for a time and we miss them, but celebrate their transition as well for it comes for all and is as natural as the gentle cycle of the tides

©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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In But Not Of, Reborn

Reborn is the only term that accurately states the truth of Living on the Spiritual Basis. Day by day, step by step as we develop spiritually the old “man” dies and the new emerges. As with all births there is pain and discomfort along the way, quickly forgotten as the fresh new face emerges into the light of raised consciousness. For those blessed with children there is probably no more peaceful or powerful moment in our lives than when we first held our newborn child. This same peace is visited upon us as our awareness and conscious contact with Source builds and grows, as we move from being of the world to being in the world, moving from the finite to the infinite, becoming a light of awareness and serenity, a beacon of hope. Is there any greater miracle?

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Consciousness Building part 3

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” Wayne Dyer.

Let’s look at a different way. Many of my peers, including myself, are a little rounder than we would like. Now the weight didn’t appear over night. I didn’t go to bed with a twenty year olds twenty-eight inch waist and wake up with a fifty something’s forty. Yet when it comes to losing weight, typically if it can’t be lost in a week or two we lose interest and fall back into old habits, patterns of thinking. Diets are hard; require real long-term change and different thinking patterns, while cheeseburgers are easy, requiring only fries and maybe a shake.

We choose the path, the instruction sheet we follow. The choice is always ours.

Our spiritual development is a mental diet, we choose the directions to follow, the nourishment we ingest, and though eating healthy is important, a healthy mental diet is of infinitely more consequence than waist size. Years of fuzzy thinking, false belief and fear driven action do not disappear overnight, the process continues for our lifetime and though our consciousness is eternal, assembly is required, so what instruction sheet will you follow?

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Dr. Beheshti

Consciousness Building part 2

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” Wayne Dyer.
 

Consider those who suffer from addiction. Many who initially recover, seemingly having cast their “habit” out the window, new instructions embraced, then relapse and are often baffled as to why. They are fooled by the delusion those years of thinking and living in addiction will disappear in a twinkling because the intoxicants are out of their system. In reality the “instruction” sheet they have been following for years is all about addiction and is well memorized. It will take years of positive contrary action and consistent vigilance of motive, of following a completely new set of directions to remain free of addiction.

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Consciousness Building

When we purchase something that requires assembly, it generally comes with instructions. I purchased a teapot recently and inside were instructions, for a teapot! Now the instruction sheet for that Christmas morning bicycle years ago was considerably longer, and I still maintain wrong, both the bike and teapot instruction sheets had numbered steps, the teapot two with the additional warning that hot water is, well, hot, the bicycle four hundred and fifty seven, in Latin.

Our consciousness requires assembly as well; the question is what “instruction” sheet we follow. With the exception of some notable examples directly touched by the Divine, we build our consciousness, for good or ill, step by step by the actions we take and the thoughts we entertain, our level of awareness and understanding waxing and waning dependent on what we say, do, consider and act upon, experience building upon experience, good and bad. Habits of thinking and living do not change by simply assenting to them as needing to be changed; it requires action and perseverance on our part. To borrow from Wayne Dyer: “Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.”

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Storm Proof Foundation

The longest eighteen inches in the world lies between the head and the heart, the bridge from intellect to faith and embracing grace. Speaking about God and spirituality, practicing faith when the weather is calm is easy. Standing in faith when every fiber of the carnal mind screams in opposition isn’t. The back of every American dollar bill reads “In God We Trust” but do we, really? The Great Carpenter teaches that those who demonstrate faith in action build their spiritual house/consciousness “upon a rock” while those who are nominally Living on the Spiritual Basis build their “house” on sand “and great was the fall of it.”

We can build a structure on any ground as long as the sun is shining, the wind nothing more than a breeze, but to do so in the belief that conditions will never change is a fools errand at best, yet many do this very thing with their spiritual house and then are devastated when the rains come and the winds blow and their structure collapses, then compounding the error by blaming God for the storm, forgetting storms are part of life, rain falling on the just and unjust equally.

In truth we chose the materials our house is constructed of, the construction practices employed, how well we adhere to the blueprints, for it matters little the quality of the materials if they are poorly installed, the blueprint ignored or altered out of fear. The Good News is the Master Builder will step in at any point and set the project (our consciousness) right if we will only place our trust in His guidance and unconditional love. By this simple, but not easy reliance on a Power Greater than Ourselves our structure is solidly built able to withstand life's inevitable storms.

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The Scales Of Thought

What we think on out pictures in our lives; write this on your heart in bold capital letters. To think we can entertain certain thoughts and not have them influence us in other areas is not only foolish but spiritually deadly. The concept of “compartmentalizing” portions of our lives or thinking is patently false and leads only to destruction. What we think on becomes part of the mix, always. Thoughts of vengeance, assenting to any suffering, reveling in schadenfreude all mark us, shutting out the sunlight of the Spirit. The baker would never add something to the mixing bowl they did not want in the finished cake, but unlike the baker who has complete control over their ingredients, we have no control over the curious thoughts that float up or into our consciousness, but we do choose the path when they reach our awareness.

The price of spiritual freedom is vigilance and our consistent positive response to negative and destructive thoughts and thinking. Living on the Spiritual Basis when these thoughts reach awareness we turn immediately in prayer and meditation back to Source, for we can no longer fool ourselves as too the cost these thoughts carry with them if we choose to contemplate, to think on them. Those who appear to get away with negative thinking and actions don’t. "The mills of the gods grind slowly but exceedingly fine, next to every mill is a mountain of sand." We all reap as we sow, so we must stand vigilant, weighing the thoughts seeking purchase in our consciousness on the scales of Divine guidance and love.

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Dr. Beheshti

In Truth, Gently

Words have meaning. Sounds like a “duh” kinda thing to say but bear with me. Many speak of spirituality and God, of our connection to the “Father” and how God is everywhere, at all times, always available, wanting to and will solve all our problems if we will only trust in Him, immanent. Yet they live at odds to these genuinely voiced beliefs, instead trusting in the world and man by their actions. Belief is only theory, a nice thought or sentiment unless demonstrated in action. We cause ourselves much needless discomfort and pain when we fail to walk the way we talk.

So pray expecting to receive, banishing the idea that prayer is simply a tool employed to weather the storm, to buck up our spirits, but is in truth a direct plea to God. Understanding our good thoughts and intentions are meaningless unless we are willing to step out in faith and fly our flag as believers for all to see, losing our fear of the negative judgments that will be cast our way, for it is always easier to criticize and denigrate, for who is without blemish? than to stand in the light and be counted, so many wish to breathe free but choose to remain stifled for fear of ridicule or to curry favor.

Words have meaning, and we must mean the words we use, otherwise we suffer greatly at the hands of the adversary, fear. When we speak without conviction our being becomes lost in polite sentiment, in affirmations routinely recited with little feeling or honest belief, our prayers said with no real expectation of relief. To thine ownself be true, so pray from the heart, expect to receive a miracle for we live in an age of miracles, measure your words and strive each day to walk the way you talk. No one among us does this perfectly, and though perhaps trembling, what matters is that we do it to the best of our ability today, for isn't life really a series of  todays strung together in Spirit? 

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Dusting And Serenity

Everyone likes a clean house, but who enjoys doing the cleaning. In the physical realm a little dust on the shelves, a cobweb or two high in a corner or a carpet that could use a visit from the vacuum are one thing, but of much greater importance is our spiritual housekeeping. When we allow negatives to accumulate in our consciousness the consequences are dire. A glass breaks, an egg slips our grasp, the new kitten or puppy has an “accident" are all things we address immediately, in much the same way we get busy spiritually on the big problems of life. But just like the upper shelf that could use a dusting or the baseboard that could stand a little scrubbing, we put off addressing or entirely ignore life's little hurts and small fears and they accumulate in the quiet corners of our consciousness. Left unattended they nibble away at our serenity, our peace of mind slips allowing the adversary, fear, to gain purchase in the forefront of our consciousness coloring every aspect of our lives.

Spiritually we must keep our house clean for the adversary is relentless. Where a dusty shelf or a floor that could use a good sweeping may be distractions, small resentments and disregarded fears left to fester in our spiritual house have real power to harm. So we work to address them as soon as they crop up, as we become aware of them and do not under any circumstance or pretext put off our cleaning. By employing daily prayer, taking responsibility for our actions and admitting when we are wrong, employing daily meditation and selfless service the corners of our consciousness are liberated from the spiritually corrosive effects of the adversary and we remain free, serenity at play, peace of mind immanent. ©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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The Art Of Life

How do we progress spiritually? Is it by studying every new book or teacher that comes along, casting aside yesterday’s book or teacher in hope that the new information or teacher is superior? Perhaps never even giving a particular teaching time to work because of jumping from one to another, and there is always another. The student of mathematics progresses logically forward, as do students of all secular studies. They learn the basics, building upon this foundation as their understanding advances. In mathematics every new theorem, every breakthrough from Pythagoras to Newton to Einstein to Hawking began with understanding 1+1. They all began with the basics, thoroughly understood and employed, which then lead in time to inspired new demonstrations.

The study of metaphysics requires not only the logical progression of thought as in mathematics but the Artists Way as well. Consider: we can befriend artists, visit the finest galleries, study countless books on art and though we may have a wonderful appreciation and even love of art, we will never be an artist until we place pencil to paper, brush to canvas, chisel to stone, etc. Our peace of mind, serenity develops as we practice, demonstrate what we have learned about spiritual principles in our lives daily. Knowledge is fine but without demonstration possesses little power to change. As we practice what we know spiritually daily (the amount immaterial, remember 1+1) our heart and mind becomes more attuned with the spiritual basis, through this demonstration we grow in understanding by action, and there is no other way to truly learn how to Live on the Spiritual Basis.

Our lives are our canvas, the brush willingness, the paint our spiritual understanding, so we apply what we have learned of living spiritually and let God guide our hand. The emerging picture is truly miraculous, but requires a lifetime of diligent effort to complete. Oh, and art is messy, so don’t worry about the paint under your finger nails, on the floor, the walls or your clothes, the Great Artist understands and it puts a smile on His face.

©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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Forgotten Riches

 Ever find some forgotten cash in the pocket of a pair of pants or jacket you haven’t worn in a while? Always puts a smile on the face doesn’t it. Ever consider ignoring it or even decide it really has no value? Of course not, that would be foolish, yet many do exactly that with the found riches of faith. Students, and not only new ones, of the path will be going along swimmingly for a time and then inexplicably take the reins of their lives back and then wonder why they are struggling. Having begun to Live on the Spiritual Basis and reap the riches of the new life, for reasons yet obscure but usually rooted in some form of fear, they fall back into old ways of thinking and solutions, the pain and spiritual discomfort that brought them to the path in the first place forgotten, the new solutions of value now seemingly valueless. The way back is simple if not easy, when we become aware of old ways of thinking and action creeping back in, we stop immediately and reengage with the prayer, meditation and service that had previously worked so well. By rejecting fear and acting in faith we find our pockets always contain exactly what we need, when we need it, in perfect measure.

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Happiness And Fresh Bread

What makes you happy? We have all felt happiness in our lives, meeting him/her, wedding day, divorce day, birth of a child, landing “the” job, graduating, watching our child graduate, doing something nice for somebody and not getting caught, etc. The key here is that just as fresh bread is only fresh for a short time, these feelings of happiness fade.

So, what would provide long term, permanent happiness, permanently fresh bread if you will? Wealth? Good health? Satisfying career? Begs some consideration. Money is good, I've had money and been broke, having money is better, but happiness? Some of the most miserable, unhappy people I have known had plenty of money, so money by itself clearly isn’t the answer. Perfect health is great, but since no one gets out alive, good health ultimately is terminal. Careers are important, but intrinsically suffers the same shortcomings as wealth.

If we make our happiness contingent on outer things, including people, we will never be truly happy. In truth, happiness can only be found within. Experience demonstrates those who have a deep and abiding spirituality have a sense of true happiness at their core.  Trouble still comes, as it does for all, but they meet calamity with serenity for they have a conscious contact with Source, and through prayer, meditation and service meet all of life’s downs and ups with faith, for only by faith in demonstration do we receive the divine guidance and strength that provides lasting inner peace, paving the way of true happiness, something to consider while enjoying freshly baked bread. ©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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Stubbing Ones Toe

No one lives life perfectly. No one is at peace or serene constantly. No one is energized or at their best every minute. Just as the tides rise and fall so does our energy levels, our peace and serenity. Everyone has their moments; the question is what we do when we have them. Everyone stubs their toe, even the Pope. Granted he probably doesn’t utter an expletive (and if he did it would probably be in Latin and everything sounds better in Latin) when it happens, the point being that everyone stubs their toe, having nothing to do with our spiritual condition. Now if we blame someone for putting or moving the table there or start in on the unfairness of the universe for bringing this calamity or better yet think that for some reason we deserved to stub our toe and the pain is the universes way of reminding us of our place, it then becomes a spiritual matter. If we are constantly looking for tea leaves to read, we will always find them and amazingly the news is routinely bad, the forecast dark with more dark and a chance of scattered woe later in the week. In truth, usually a cloudy day is just a cloudy day, nothing more.

Everyone takes a turn in the barrel, you, me, the Pope, Dalai Lama, everyone. Living on the Spiritual Basis though we keep our eye on the ball, God, and by doing the work He would have us do, we meet calamity with serenity, with the occasional expletive, for God knows stubbed toes hurt.
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Now Be Here, Be Here Now

Want a daunting task; try tackling eternity and death in four to five hundred words. Let me know how I do. Consider the transition, death, typically most folks have given it some thought, but usually have kept the subject at arms length for obvious reasons. Remind you of anyone? A wise man said centuries ago that the first true step in enlightenment is when we embrace our own mortality.

Where were we before we were conceived? One moment there was no you, and then there was. In that single cell, the fertilized egg, everything about you was there: your eye color, the shape of your fingernails, hair color, final height, sex, your blueprint of freckles, everything that makes the physical you, all in a point of protoplasm so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, pretty amazing. Then you began to grow and nine months (give or take) later you made your appearance on the world stage. Fast forward a few decades and we arrive at another seminal moment in life, when the flesh fails. Where’d we go? Consider: Before we were born we were nowhere. We are born, and now we are now here. We die and we are nowhere again. Same word, just a little different spacing: no where to now here to no where again. (Tip of the hat to Wayne Dyer and Baba Ram Dass, though I may have thought it, they said it clearly and on point.)

In truth, we have always been “here”, part of, connected to Source the flesh merely a tool, a conveyance for our eternal consciousness. We didn’t arrive from anywhere and we don’t go anywhere. Our birthday and death day are points on a relatively meaningless calendar, since God and our consciousness are eternal. Living on the Spiritual Basis we spend this life applying spiritual truth and understanding to everything in our lives to the best of our awareness at the time since our awakening is an ongoing process. In so doing the answers to the eternal questions come if we are diligent. So don’t concern yourself with what is on the other side of the line, for the line really is immaterial, for death waits for all men but waits on no man.  Keep your eyes and thoughts on today’s demonstrations and the morrow will take care of its self. In living this way we will approach the transition in peace, embracing the change, bidding farewell to the limitations of flesh, going nowhere, being here now in raised consciousness.
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Renewing Energy

Without renewing energy stagnation results and there is probably no better demonstration of this than a tidal pool. The renewing energy of the waves keeps the pool fresh and supplied with renewed vigor. Consider our consciousness as a tidal pool, our renewing waves comprised of willingness, open mindedness, of turning to Source in all things, trusting in God to wash over us in forgiveness, love and guidance, in turn carrying away stagnation, our negative and fearful thoughts.

A closed mind is like a tidal pool that has been blocked off from the renewing energy of the sea. Soon the water will turn brackish, becoming unhealthy, the pools energy and life draining away. Eventually if nothing fresh flows in all life and positive energy will drain away, leaving only death and dust. Self-centered fear works to convince us that in times of trouble the waves of renewal will not return; closing our mind to truth, and faith begins to waver.

Just as the oceans level rises and falls, leaving the pool seemingly without supply for a time, so does our awareness of our connection to Source. By standing in the light through the demonstration of consistent prayer, service and meditation we know the tide will rise and the waves of renewing energy will return. So we stay willing and open minded, to learn and listen; the renewing energy of Divine Intelligence keeping us fresh and alive, ready to demonstrate the power of Creation in every area of our  life.
©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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"The Nature Of Matter"

Everything is comprised of energy. Not just energized, but comprised of it. Whatever you are sitting on. The device you are looking at or the paper you are reading this on. The air you are breathing, you, everything. In 1944 Nobel Prize winner Max Planck in a speech titled "The Nature Of Matter" said in part: “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.” In the last three decades science has observed what Max Planck postulated years ago to be true. The importance of this so profound the largest machine ever constructed by man lies underground outside of Geneva, the 17 mile long Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to investigate these particles.

Living on the Spiritual Basis, the intelligence that exists through out creation is accepted and understood by faith. Tools like the LHC for exploring the micro or the Hubble telescope the macro, perhaps will help those who doubt the existence of a Power Greater Than Themselves to have a bit more of an open mind, but that is left to them. Having found the great reality deep within, Living on the Spiritual Basis the truth in living has become operative through demonstration. In the moments of fear and doubt that come for all, we have learned to quietly turn to the Source for our salvation and answers, tapping into the power that exists all around us, within and without. Living on the Spiritual Basis we have learned through experience to apply Infinite Power, the mind that is the matrix of all matter, in our lives, guarantying freedom and success from and over all difficulties. ©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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Burning Embers And Booby Prizes

Some destructive thoughts attack us head on, the deadliest however are the thoughts that creep in, with no apparent foreshadowing. We never know what triggers these seemingly random negative thoughts, perhaps it is a smell, a taste, a song on the radio, a blue Volkswagen driving by, no one really knows and most importantly it matters little. What matters is the action we take when we become aware of discordant or negative thinking, morbid reflection ascendant. Consider the analogy of the campfire: We are sitting by a campfire and a burning ember floats up and lands on our sleeve, if we brush it off immediately no real harm is done. However if we wait a moment to contemplate it, the shirt is ruined, a welt on our arm to mark the decision. The metaphysical lesson is simple, we must stay ever vigilant for those “burning ember” thoughts and as soon as becoming aware, we turn immediately to God and ask Him to direct our thinking. The wording of our prayer is of course optional, but the timing isn’t. So many make the mistake of trying to figure out why the thought surfaced, not only failing to brush off “the ember” with Divine help, but nurturing and feeding it fuel by continuing to try to understand why it surfaced, as if knowing why will do anything to remove the discomfort and pain their ruminations are causing. Why is the booby prize. Why only prolongs the pain, intensifies it, while prayer addresses it, relieves and removes it.

boo·by prize : n  
loser’s prize: a prize given as a joke to the person or team coming last in a competition 

If a small fire started in your home would you stand by, watching the fire wondering why it started or would you act to put it out? Yet we do this very thing in the only dwelling that really matters, our consciousness. When we entertain destructive thoughts, our serenity and peace of mind burns in the fire of morbid reflection. So we must stay ever vigilant and at the first sign of an ember, we enlist God to be our fireman. ©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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Changes

What we seek we find, what we plant and nurture will grow. Seems like a simple enough lesson, yet many ignore it. Parents whose only focus is working, “providing”, are surprised when they find they really don’t know their children at all, or conversely the parent who orchestrates every aspect of their child’s life with little or no regard for the child’s preferences shocked when the child rebels when given an opportunity. The spouse who spends all their time away from the family incredulous when served divorce papers. The philandering spouse angered when they discover their partner is carrying on in the same manner. The alcoholic or addict who is going to straighten out, eventually.

So what are you planting, seeking by your actions? Do your actions mirror your words? Are you trying to impress others, perhaps believing that if they think you are okay, you are? Do you spend a lot of time “selling” your side of the story, leaving out any facts that may paint you in a bad light? Have you ever employed the concept of “guilty with an explanation?” Are you surrounded by people who are quick to co-sign whatever you’re selling, while avoiding those who may ask uncomfortable questions or point out obvious truths? Living on the Spiritual Basis we have learned that the unexamined life leads only to futility and frustration.

Having placed our feet on the path we are gentle with those around us who are still locked in the bondage of self. We never answer the unasked question but do share from the heart our struggles and the actions we have taken to progress, regardless of personal consequences. In truth those about us will be far more impressed by a quiet demonstration of spiritual principles through our actions than by anything we will say. To borrow from Wayne Dyer: (my thoughts added) “Never underestimate your ability to change yourself (through the application of spiritual principles) and never overestimate your ability to change others.” To fundamentally change the desire must come from within, and no matter how badly we may desire to help those around us, ultimately we are responsible for the crops planted, their tending and the harvest we reap. ©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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Trying To Sell It

“Handsome is as handsome does.” Sounds a bit Forrest Gump-ish but it fit’s the bill. Many wish to enjoy a certain reputation they know in their heart they don’t deserve. The ill-tempered person may indeed wish to be loved and favored but their very actions make it impossible. How often have we heard a friend or acquaintance (or even ourselves) attempt to sell the idea that even though someone is acting or has acted badly they really meant well, are basically nice people, having a heart of gold. Nonsense: Handsome is as handsome does. Living on the Spiritual Basis our serenity is measured by our actions. We must walk the way we talk or risk suffering mightily at the hands of hypocrisy. We can wish to be spiritual, we can wish for peace, we can wish to be happy, joyous and free but unless our actions match up with our wishes, we will never demonstrate our hearts desire.   ©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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The Fourth Man

There is a story in the Old Testament concerning three men who refused to worship a golden image erected by King Nebuchadnezzar. The king was so incensed by their refusal he sentenced them to die in a fiery furnace. This furnace was so hot their guards died in the process of casting them in. As the King watched, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were joined in the furnace by a fourth man. Soon the three emerged from the furnace, unharmed, delivered because they had refused to sacrifice their belief, holding fast to God, the fourth presence in the furnace. The king was so moved he converted on the spot.

We all face trials and difficulties in our lives, our “fiery furnace.” Having chosen to Live on the Spiritual Basis, by holding fast to a power greater than ourselves, the fourth man stands with us, keeping us unharmed, regardless of how intense the fire appears to be.
©Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved 

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