More and more people are turning to spirituality and religion, both for comfort and knowledge. Perhaps the state of the world has something to do with this trend, but statistically, there's a greater interest in matters of the soul and our Creator.
Christianity is one of the world's great religions, with a great many followers. Even if you're already a Christian, you may be surprised at the number of Christian books that are available. Christian bookstores have increased in number over the past several years and can provide books covering aspects of Christianity you never even heard of in Sunday School.
Christian books offer opportunities to readers to enrich their knowledge of their faith.
The breadth of topics is astounding. There are Christian books for all age groups and levels of knowledge. For example, there are many Children's Bibles containing particular Bible stories intended for the young reader, giving them an introduction to the life of Jesus and some of the important principles of Christianity. For home schoolers, you'll find Christian books for both religious studies and academic textbooks. There are Christian magazines for kids which promote the Christian ethics of love, kindness, generosity towards your neighbors and a peaceful life.
Christian books for teens cater to the needs of this age group, addressing problems they may face in today's society, with solutions and insights based on Christian teachings. Christian books of this “self help” type can be valuable to this vulnerable age group in growing and coming to terms with the everyday problems of today.
For adults, Christian books offer a beautiful way to enrich your faith. For example, there are dozens of books devoted to the lives of Saints. If you've wondered why an individual has been designated a Saint, this category of Christian books can be inspiring and educational reading. There are books detailing the lives of Saints we've all heard of, such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Patrick and St. Padre Pio. There are also books which are anthologies of Saints who were ordinary individuals, living in the “outside” world rather than cloistered in a convent. Reading one of these can open your eyes to how these almost unknown Saints conducted their lives in humble and difficult circumstances, giving to others throughout their lives through love, charity and hope.
There are Christian books in audio and e-book formats as well. There are several excellent and comprehensive books on the History of Christianity, which will surely enlighten you in your understanding of Christianity and its place in world history. There are Concordances, which are indexes of the Bible, which allow you to look up names, topics and phrases, giving you the book and verse covering your inquiry.
If you're a Christian or just curious about this religion, read up and gain a fascinating perspective on your own spirituality.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Bible history
Let me ask you this; are you religious? There is certainly no shortage of creeds available for you to choose from. Myself, I was raised as a Lutheran. Yes indeed, another branch of Christianity. It was what my parents were raised as, and therefore they naturally exposed me to it. Probably hoping that I would adopt the beliefs and pass them onto my children. We encountered the usual routines in church each Sunday. It was mostly about worshipping, listening to a sermon, and learning bible history. I assume most of Middle America is subjected to the same rituals. Not that it's a bad thing! I actually think it's wise to learn as much as you can about various religions. This way you can decide for yourself whether or not you choose to practice one. It pays to investigate on your own.
Any religious official will rant off bible history like it's fact. The word parable doesn't mean much to them. As far as they know, all things told in the bible really happened as written. Hmm, I can't be so accepting when it comes to bible history. Could biblical tales have played out just as they're depicted in the holy book? Sure, I suppose so, but that doesn't mean I believe so. When I read the bible, I feel as though I'm reading life lessons. Stories that were created by man in order to persuade individuals to follow a certain path or live a particular way. Now, I can't help but ponder the world before religion was introduced. There is certainly a contradiction somewhere in there. We know that people lived prior to what the bible depicts. Well, at least if you've studied history to that extent.
When all is said and done, I can't help but come to the conclusion that bible history is not all it's made out to be. In fact, I believe people invented many religions simply to deal with the hardships of life. All of us want to believe/know that there's someone watching out for us and that there is a better and greater place we go after this physical realm. Religions help us focus on this notion and believe more. On the other hand, religion tends to cause plenty of death and destruction as well. There is certainly a balance that must be found when it comes to spiritual beliefs and dedication.
Any religious official will rant off bible history like it's fact. The word parable doesn't mean much to them. As far as they know, all things told in the bible really happened as written. Hmm, I can't be so accepting when it comes to bible history. Could biblical tales have played out just as they're depicted in the holy book? Sure, I suppose so, but that doesn't mean I believe so. When I read the bible, I feel as though I'm reading life lessons. Stories that were created by man in order to persuade individuals to follow a certain path or live a particular way. Now, I can't help but ponder the world before religion was introduced. There is certainly a contradiction somewhere in there. We know that people lived prior to what the bible depicts. Well, at least if you've studied history to that extent.
When all is said and done, I can't help but come to the conclusion that bible history is not all it's made out to be. In fact, I believe people invented many religions simply to deal with the hardships of life. All of us want to believe/know that there's someone watching out for us and that there is a better and greater place we go after this physical realm. Religions help us focus on this notion and believe more. On the other hand, religion tends to cause plenty of death and destruction as well. There is certainly a balance that must be found when it comes to spiritual beliefs and dedication.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Success In Life By Spiritual Thoughts And Deeds Of People
I don't recall one school lesson that taught money management skills. My guess is that your experience is quite similar.
The lure of money pulled me out of sixth form early. I'd found a job and the thought of stacking money up in the bank had a massive appeal to me at seventeen.
I worked hard and soon became the best sales person I could be. With the commission I was soon able to buy myself a car. I found a girlfriend and later began to enjoy things like beer and clubbing. When the appeal of all that died away I settled down: got married, got a monthly repayment - commonly known as a mortgage - and had my first child. All fairly typical up to this point.
I bought a mortgage because I'd heard that a house was an asset. As no one had ever shown me what an asset looked like on a financial balance sheet I fell for it, hook line and sinker, because the truth is a mortgage is not an asset to me. But it is to my bank. My mortgage was in truth a liability.
What's an Asset?
Good question. An asset is something that earns you money. How much does your mortgage earn you? Most likely your mortgage costs you. For example an £80,000 mortgage over a normal period at a usual kind of rate will mean repayments of around £ £around £210,000.
Does that sound like an asset?
Sure you can argue that your home will rise in value. But does that earn you money? Probably not. Here's why.
Your bank knows that you won't complete the term. They know that in 6-8 years you're going to move on and take out another loan, usually a bigger debt and a bigger loan.
A Mortgage is 'For Life'
The word mortgage is derived from the French word 'Mortif' which literally means 'For life.' And this is most likely where your bank has you… for life.
Why the Rich Get Richer…
The rich get richer because they understand more about money than most people do. They got educated. They know that working for a living means you get taxed and pay your NI contribution before you get your hands on the money. So they go into business. This means that they take their legitimate expenses off pre-tax, pay less tax and end up with more disposable income from the profits.
Why Become Self-Employed?
When I became self-employed - and this may be true for you too - it wasn't for tax breaks, but to get out of the rat-race and do something I loved, while at the same time creating freedom of time. The tax breaks are a bonus, well they are if you can earn enough.
The problem for many self-employed people is that they know how to do their task, say massage therapy or homeopathy, but don't have the marketing skills to drive a stamped of customers through the door. That's why so many businesses end up closing within three years.
I’ve put together my top tips for spiritual people on earning money. These are below. They cover business as well as personal expenses.
1. If you pay money out on loans, a mortgage or a credit cards, you do not have assets, but liabilities. You are therefore the banks asset.
2. Begin to educate yourself financially. Is it your wish to see your money be put to uses you approve of. There are some excellent books on making money from money. Start to read them and edge towards financial freedom rather than financial control.
3. Reduce your expenses to a minimum. Find 10% of your income and use it to reduce your loans. Wealthy, financially fr>ee people, know to always clear their debts as early as possible. Once your debts are paid you can invest in the kind of good, ethical business you believe in.
The lure of money pulled me out of sixth form early. I'd found a job and the thought of stacking money up in the bank had a massive appeal to me at seventeen.
I worked hard and soon became the best sales person I could be. With the commission I was soon able to buy myself a car. I found a girlfriend and later began to enjoy things like beer and clubbing. When the appeal of all that died away I settled down: got married, got a monthly repayment - commonly known as a mortgage - and had my first child. All fairly typical up to this point.
I bought a mortgage because I'd heard that a house was an asset. As no one had ever shown me what an asset looked like on a financial balance sheet I fell for it, hook line and sinker, because the truth is a mortgage is not an asset to me. But it is to my bank. My mortgage was in truth a liability.
What's an Asset?
Good question. An asset is something that earns you money. How much does your mortgage earn you? Most likely your mortgage costs you. For example an £80,000 mortgage over a normal period at a usual kind of rate will mean repayments of around £ £around £210,000.
Does that sound like an asset?
Sure you can argue that your home will rise in value. But does that earn you money? Probably not. Here's why.
Your bank knows that you won't complete the term. They know that in 6-8 years you're going to move on and take out another loan, usually a bigger debt and a bigger loan.
A Mortgage is 'For Life'
The word mortgage is derived from the French word 'Mortif' which literally means 'For life.' And this is most likely where your bank has you… for life.
Why the Rich Get Richer…
The rich get richer because they understand more about money than most people do. They got educated. They know that working for a living means you get taxed and pay your NI contribution before you get your hands on the money. So they go into business. This means that they take their legitimate expenses off pre-tax, pay less tax and end up with more disposable income from the profits.
Why Become Self-Employed?
When I became self-employed - and this may be true for you too - it wasn't for tax breaks, but to get out of the rat-race and do something I loved, while at the same time creating freedom of time. The tax breaks are a bonus, well they are if you can earn enough.
The problem for many self-employed people is that they know how to do their task, say massage therapy or homeopathy, but don't have the marketing skills to drive a stamped of customers through the door. That's why so many businesses end up closing within three years.
I’ve put together my top tips for spiritual people on earning money. These are below. They cover business as well as personal expenses.
1. If you pay money out on loans, a mortgage or a credit cards, you do not have assets, but liabilities. You are therefore the banks asset.
2. Begin to educate yourself financially. Is it your wish to see your money be put to uses you approve of. There are some excellent books on making money from money. Start to read them and edge towards financial freedom rather than financial control.
3. Reduce your expenses to a minimum. Find 10% of your income and use it to reduce your loans. Wealthy, financially fr>ee people, know to always clear their debts as early as possible. Once your debts are paid you can invest in the kind of good, ethical business you believe in.
Self Improvement Through People's Spirituality
Did you ever see something go wrong around you and suddenly burst out, “How on Earth did I create that?”
Really, how can bad things happen, even to the sweetest, kindest, most spiritual people on the planet? Where’s the fairness in that?
The root of the question lies partly in the fact that we live in a state of polarity consciousness. This is a point of view where life is seen as a contrast between opposing forces, and that events are either good or bad. Good or bad is a judgment issue. Judgment belongs in third-density, physical consciousness. Yes, in physical consciousness, bad things do exist, and they appear that way because they’re designed to.
Life is like a stage, or a movie set where scripts are acted out for the experience that they will bring. The ‘props’ upon the stage of life consist of good ones and bad ones because we are here to experience duality consciousness. But, when you rise above judgment to a higher vista of consciousness, you begin to view the arrival of an unpleasant occurrence in your life as the challenge that it was intended to be.
Challenges are designed, at a soul level, to give rise to change. Change then opens the door to the opportunity for transformation, and transformation is our main purpose in life.
Your soul thinks very much in terms of service to others, so your purpose in life is to transform, not only yourself, but all of humanity to a higher level of consciousness. As a member of the group mind of humanity on Earth, everything that you do is reflected within the whole. Many challenges are undertaken, more for the transformation that they will bring to others, than for the change they will bring to you.
Transformation itself – the natural progress of the spirit - can be effortless. But when a blockage to that transformation exists, pain may be the price necessary to dissolve that blockage. People often take on pain in their lives, not because they need to transform themselves, but because their souls see that society needs to work through certain major issues and they volunteer to be a part of that transformation.
In some people’s lives, challenges come thick and fast. In others, they do not, at least for that lifetime. When a person completes a particularly challenging lifetime, they may follow it up with a quiet, pleasant and restful incarnation, one where nothing outstanding happens at all.
Challenges are the tools of transformation
Without that tension in life, nothing moves, nothing progresses. Huge issues are worked through by millions of people at a time. Take any issue - equality of the sexes, equality of race, control issues, abuse, violence, equal access for the handicapped - and there are millions of people working through each issue at any one time in history.
Sometimes people make obvious progress in helping shift the paradigm. Sometimes they pass away before their time, a seeming victim of the old reality, having made no apparent progress. However, whatever they do in their lives, the experience of just being alive in their situation is added to the massive paradigm shift in consciousness which is occurring at that time. No effort is wasted. No one fails. Everyone contributes to the experiences which follow each challenge.
What about the December 2004 Indonesian tsunami, the largest natural disaster in recorded history? What exactly did more than 170,000 souls join together to achieve? Did they soften the psyche of a world fixated upon terrorism and war? At a conscious level, we don’t know exactly why they agreed to such a monumental sacrifice. At their all-knowing soul level, however, they did plan to be a part of this massive event, because that is how life works.
Souls do not experience accidents, they create realities
When you reach the deepest level of sleep at night, you move into your fully-aware, soul consciousness. When you reach this level of consciousness you may then join with your extended soul family and with all of the other soul families on this planet to plan, quite literally, what tomorrow will bring. Even if the focus of your attention does not reach this inner level on a particular night, your soul level of consciousness is still fully aware and functional in its own right. You then, as part of the whole of humanity, create that tomorrow. To your conscious mind the next day, some of these plans may even appear as surprises and wake-up calls as they unfold before your daily, waking consciousness.
It is not by chance that, when your time comes to leave your physical body and pass on to the spirit world, your guides will be there to meet you. Your guides, along with friends and relatives who have passed on before you, will meet you at the exact moment of your passing. They will be there because, as the event draws near, they know exactly when to expect you. This is because souls do not experience accidents, they create realities.
Not all challenges in life are a part of massive societal shifts. A challenge may just as easily be personal. Something that is, perhaps, chosen as a tool to break up a long-standing blockage within a person’s psyche. It is almost surreal to hear a cancer survivor reflect on their new-found health and say, “Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me.” What they mean is that the challenge transformed them by releasing old blockages which were cheating them of a fuller life.
We may never know all of the reasons why bad events happen. What we do know is that, in a world which habitually contrasts light and dark, the events which appear bad can often be the greatest opportunities for transformation within ourselves, for those around us and for humanity as a whole.
Who is to say that, at a soul level, we didn’t volunteer to carry a heavy load purely for the love of others? Certainly the most spiritual people can, and do, carry the heaviest loads, and they do so in such a way that their service fills the world with the light of their love.
Really, how can bad things happen, even to the sweetest, kindest, most spiritual people on the planet? Where’s the fairness in that?
The root of the question lies partly in the fact that we live in a state of polarity consciousness. This is a point of view where life is seen as a contrast between opposing forces, and that events are either good or bad. Good or bad is a judgment issue. Judgment belongs in third-density, physical consciousness. Yes, in physical consciousness, bad things do exist, and they appear that way because they’re designed to.
Life is like a stage, or a movie set where scripts are acted out for the experience that they will bring. The ‘props’ upon the stage of life consist of good ones and bad ones because we are here to experience duality consciousness. But, when you rise above judgment to a higher vista of consciousness, you begin to view the arrival of an unpleasant occurrence in your life as the challenge that it was intended to be.
Challenges are designed, at a soul level, to give rise to change. Change then opens the door to the opportunity for transformation, and transformation is our main purpose in life.
Your soul thinks very much in terms of service to others, so your purpose in life is to transform, not only yourself, but all of humanity to a higher level of consciousness. As a member of the group mind of humanity on Earth, everything that you do is reflected within the whole. Many challenges are undertaken, more for the transformation that they will bring to others, than for the change they will bring to you.
Transformation itself – the natural progress of the spirit - can be effortless. But when a blockage to that transformation exists, pain may be the price necessary to dissolve that blockage. People often take on pain in their lives, not because they need to transform themselves, but because their souls see that society needs to work through certain major issues and they volunteer to be a part of that transformation.
In some people’s lives, challenges come thick and fast. In others, they do not, at least for that lifetime. When a person completes a particularly challenging lifetime, they may follow it up with a quiet, pleasant and restful incarnation, one where nothing outstanding happens at all.
Challenges are the tools of transformation
Without that tension in life, nothing moves, nothing progresses. Huge issues are worked through by millions of people at a time. Take any issue - equality of the sexes, equality of race, control issues, abuse, violence, equal access for the handicapped - and there are millions of people working through each issue at any one time in history.
Sometimes people make obvious progress in helping shift the paradigm. Sometimes they pass away before their time, a seeming victim of the old reality, having made no apparent progress. However, whatever they do in their lives, the experience of just being alive in their situation is added to the massive paradigm shift in consciousness which is occurring at that time. No effort is wasted. No one fails. Everyone contributes to the experiences which follow each challenge.
What about the December 2004 Indonesian tsunami, the largest natural disaster in recorded history? What exactly did more than 170,000 souls join together to achieve? Did they soften the psyche of a world fixated upon terrorism and war? At a conscious level, we don’t know exactly why they agreed to such a monumental sacrifice. At their all-knowing soul level, however, they did plan to be a part of this massive event, because that is how life works.
Souls do not experience accidents, they create realities
When you reach the deepest level of sleep at night, you move into your fully-aware, soul consciousness. When you reach this level of consciousness you may then join with your extended soul family and with all of the other soul families on this planet to plan, quite literally, what tomorrow will bring. Even if the focus of your attention does not reach this inner level on a particular night, your soul level of consciousness is still fully aware and functional in its own right. You then, as part of the whole of humanity, create that tomorrow. To your conscious mind the next day, some of these plans may even appear as surprises and wake-up calls as they unfold before your daily, waking consciousness.
It is not by chance that, when your time comes to leave your physical body and pass on to the spirit world, your guides will be there to meet you. Your guides, along with friends and relatives who have passed on before you, will meet you at the exact moment of your passing. They will be there because, as the event draws near, they know exactly when to expect you. This is because souls do not experience accidents, they create realities.
Not all challenges in life are a part of massive societal shifts. A challenge may just as easily be personal. Something that is, perhaps, chosen as a tool to break up a long-standing blockage within a person’s psyche. It is almost surreal to hear a cancer survivor reflect on their new-found health and say, “Cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me.” What they mean is that the challenge transformed them by releasing old blockages which were cheating them of a fuller life.
We may never know all of the reasons why bad events happen. What we do know is that, in a world which habitually contrasts light and dark, the events which appear bad can often be the greatest opportunities for transformation within ourselves, for those around us and for humanity as a whole.
Who is to say that, at a soul level, we didn’t volunteer to carry a heavy load purely for the love of others? Certainly the most spiritual people can, and do, carry the heaviest loads, and they do so in such a way that their service fills the world with the light of their love.
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