Wicked!

In the 60’s and early 70’s wicked was a good thing. A car could be wicked fast, something could look wicked or an activity or action could be wicked, in a good way. Used in this way today would be a faux pas on a par with using groovy in any way except when describing the ridges and valleys in a piece of wood. A hundred years ago had you used wicked in a sentence the response from the listener would have been very different. Drift back a little further and employing wicked in regards to a person could result in their facing an inquisition, possibly even losing their lives in a very horrific manner.

Wicked: adj
1.  very bad: very wrong 
2.  mischievous: liking to tease people playfully or cause them slight trouble, but without upsetting them seriously
 3.  mean: liking to say very unpleasant things to people
 4.  very good: very impressive or very skillful (slang)
      “He plays a wicked game of tennis.”
 5.  dangerous: capable of causing harm to somebody
        “A knife with a wicked blade.”
 6.  distressing: causing discomfort, distress, or disappointment (informal)
         “I’ve got a wicked headache.”
 7.  disgusting: tasting or smelling disgusting and repulsive 
 8. (archaic) bad people: people who do very bad things (Encarta)

Wow, wicked really is a wicked #4 word. Those who have lived life in a wicked #1&3 way are going to approach life very differently from those whose lived #2 wickedly. I’m beginning to feel wicked#6. The good news is regardless of having perhaps having lived a wicked life #1,3,5 or 7, having chosen to live on a different basis, the basis of trusting and relying on God, we are now wicked #4. Though we once may have been wicked#8, through God’s love, grace, forgiveness and guidance we leave behind our wicked 1,3,5,6 & 7 ways and grow in understanding and service not only to God but also to our fellows. Wicked (#4 of course). Whew.

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

Miracles Of Recovery, The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Recovery, Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Four Agreements, Chopra, Heroin, Einstein, AA, Healing Path, Law Of Attraction

 

Salvation's Army

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

Miracles Of Recovery, The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Recovery, Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Four Agreements, Chopra, Heroin, Einstein, AA, Healing Path, Law Of Attraction

Salvation's Army

Words have a way of morphing over time. Some words once in common usage have seemingly disappeared or their meaning/application has changed. Salvation is one of those words. Few, save those in the soul saving business today use it. Many people if asked only relate to it in regards to those kettles manned by that army in the curious uniforms outside malls and stores at Christmas. To wit, four general definitions of Salvation:

Salvation
1.  act of saving from harm: the saving of somebody or something from harm, destruction, difficulty, or failure 
2.  means of saving someone or something: protecting or delivering somebody or something from harm or difficulty
3. Practiced in Christianity it means deliverance from sin through Jesus Christ.
4. In the Christian Science philosophy of life it is a belief in the supremacy of life, truth, and love, and in their destruction of such illusions as sin, illness, and death
 
Who hasn’t tried to employ the first definition with our children and those we love or the second with even strangers or new acquaintances by simply providing a phone number for a good mechanic or tax preparer or even dropping a quarter in a parking meter about to expire (I know, it is illegal, but I think it puts a smile on our Guardian Angels face every time we do). Every time you saved a lizard from the cat or stopped and waited for a mother duck and her brood to cross the road you engaged in an act of salvation. See, demonstrating salvation is not that hard. Sounds a lot more impressive when you can announce to the world you provided an act of salvation versus you lent a hand to some baby ducks and their mom. On a more serious note when we embark on the new basis of living, the Spiritual Basis, salvation in demonstration becomes the norm, the very fabric of our existence.

But what of definitions three and four? These are issues left for you and your consciousness, your relationship with God. What is required of those Living on the Spiritual Basis is to remain open minded, even when we do not completely agree with a particular approach to a relationship with God, there is still much for us to learn. At the very least, take the time to place yourself in the others shoes and, whether you agree with them or not, look through their eyes, for never lose sight of the ultimate truth that they are children of the Most High just as you are. So “Be quick to see were religious people are right. Make use of what they offer” even though you may not agree with them completely.

In truth, we have committed many acts of salvation in the course of our lives. And many have been extended to us by others. Regardless of the term we use to describe these acts, they are demonstrations of our higher self, clear indications that we are in fact connected, one to another, in Spirit and love. Rejoice!

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

Miracles Of Recovery, The Secret, Wayne Dyer, Recovery, Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Four Agreements, Chopra, Heroin, Einstein, AA, Healing Path, Law Of Attraction