Tag: gratitude

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God Is Out Playing Golf

A Passage In A Book

I first read this passage in a book over thirty years ago. At the time, the words made an impression on me. They have continued to stick with me through the years. Unconventional words about God for sure. And yet, while not really understanding the passage at the time, I felt that the words were indicative of an inner truth.

The passage was in a book written in 1988 by an author named Stuart Wilde. Here is the passage I am referring to – “Universal Law is impartial. It will give you anything that you believe. It will throw you garbage or roses depending on the energy that you put in. You are the one in charge and you must accept that and stand alone. If you think God is coming down to fix things for you, forget it. God is out playing golf.”

You may be familiar with the image of the painting by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. It is the one titled “The Creation of Man”. In it, God is portrayed as an older gent in a robe with white hair and a long white beard. He is reaching out and his finger is touching Adam’s finger.

I believe the passage in the book does not presume to see Michelangelo’s image of God wearing Dockers, a polo shirt and golf shoes. The passage of course is a metaphor.

The Heavenly Switchboard

Let’s play with the passage and conjure up an imaginary scene. The heavenly switchboard is especially busy with urgent calls for help coming in from all over the globe. Inhabitants of the earth are dialing up hundreds of millions, even perhaps billions of calls to God through prayer. They are pleading with God to come down and make a service call.

Someone is in ill health. A person just got fired from their job. The toilet keeps backing up. And every other possible type of adversity that you can imagine. The receptionists keep saying the same thing – “God is not in the office today. He is out on the golf course.” Eventually, totally frazzled, the head receptionist calls God on his cell phone. The receptionist tells God “The calls are coming in especially heavy today. Do you think maybe you should come in to the office?”

Gods answers, ” Why do they refuse to listen to the words of Jesus? He has already told them in plain English that the Kingdom of God is within them. My prophet Joshua could not have made it any clearer when he told them that the Lord your God is with you wherever you are. I have created the humans of the earth in a manner that allows them to connect with me at any time, wherever they are, by going within. I am with them always. And yet they still continue to look outward for rescue. Oh well, I am patient. They will eventually learn. OK, I have to go now. I still have another nine holes to go.”

He Said What?

Where should you immediately go when you encounter any type of trouble? To God, of course. But where is God? He is within you. Listen to verses 20 and 21 from the gospel of Luke, chapter 17:

And having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ” The Kingdom will not come with observable signs, nor will they say ‘Behold here or Behold there’ for behold the Kingdom of God is within you”.

I have used the Bible translation known as the Literal Standard Version. It is the most literal translation of the Holy Bible. It provides significant improvement over previous literal translations. The Literal Standard Version uses as a textual basis the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Textus Receptus, Majority Text and other New Testament manuscripts.

I have observed clergymen take Luke 17:20-21 and state “Oh Jesus did not really mean what he said. He actually meant …………”. Then they give their own spin that matches up with their church denomination stance. Really?? The words sound very clear to me.

Step On In

When you are engaged in a process of conscious manifestation praying, be aware of everything going on around you. Stay alert. Pay attention. Spend every day, as much as your state of consciousness will allow, experiencing the Presence of God. Stay focused on God but walk with an open mind. God may elect to bring you the object of your desire in a way that you are totally not expecting. And when that door of opportunity opens up specifically for you, for crying out loud, don’t just stand there, step on in. The parable, Two Boats and A Helicopter, serves nicely to illustrate this.

A storm descends rapidly upon a small town. The torrential downpour soon turns into a full scale flood. The local clergyman kneels in fervent prayer in the church vestibule. A few townspeople come up to the church in a rowboat. Knowing the preacher is inside, they shout “Better get in our boat now Preacher, the flood waters just keep rising”

“No, I have full faith in the Lord. He will save me.”

The flood waters do continue to rise. They force the clergyman up into the church choir loft which has a big window. A man zips up the the window in a motorboat. “Come on out Pastor. You need to get out now! Things just keep getting worse”.

Once again, the clergyman stands his ground stating, “I trust the Lord. He will save me.”

Sure enough, the levee breaks. The flood waters continue to rise to the point where only the church steeple is above water. The clergyman has moved to the steeple and is clinging to the cross.

A helicopter descends from the clouds. A state trooper lets down a rope ladder. By bullhorn he urges the clergyman to climb on the ladder.

Once again, in full faith, the clergyman stands fast, insisting the the Lord will save him.

Ultimately, the clergyman drowns.

Being a truly pious man, the clergyman goes to Heaven. He ultimately gets an interview with God. He plaintively asks, “Why God, why? Why didn’t you save me from the flood?”

God gives a deep sigh and says, “What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter!”

Where Do You Live ?

Where are you living these days? I do not mean a geographic location such as a town or a street. I don’t care about that. I mean where are you living deep down inside yourself. Are you spending any of your limited time on the planet living within the Kingdom of God? If yes, good. Very good. Just keep doing that (as if I had to tell you). If no, honestly ask yourself, why not? Do not be in a rush to answer that question. A snap answer will not serve you well. After you have answered that question, then stop for a moment. Center yourself into a totally relaxed state of quiet stillness. Then ask again with laser penetration. Peel back all the layers of societal conditioning and get to the heart of the matter.

As I have said to you many times within this blog, consciously manifesting your desired reality requires work on your part. The disciplining of your thoughts. It is necessary for you to make thought work for you instead of you allowing your thoughts to “run the show”. Drop the chains restricting your beliefs. Once your mind forms the vision of your desire, believe that vision is real. Not real in some future time but real right now. Make your home within the Kingdom of God. If you do this, your mind will open up like the petals of a flower. Indeed, your mind will get out the way to allow Ultimate Intelligence to reach you. You will understand the eternal laws at play in conscious manifestation. I am sorry that I am not able to better explain it. You will just have to experience it for yourself.

The concept is simple. Conceive. Believe. Receive. The work you will have to put in is real. But so are the beautiful rewards. Just let go. Let God’s thoughts be your thoughts. Be subsumed by the Presence of God. Lose your outer constructed self in order to discover your true self. You will discover with delight that your true self fits you perfectly like a custom tailored suit.

The Young Pope

Did you ever watch an HBO TV series called “The Young Pope”? I have never watched a full episode but have viewed several clips on You Tube. Briefly, the premise of the series revolves around the installation of a young Pope (an American) played by the actor, Jude Law.

One of those scenes that I have viewed involves the Pope having a conversation with a female Vatican official. She is the Curator of the Image of the Holy Father. She explains to the new Pope that it is necessary to have a photo session to record his image for papal merchandise sold by the Vatican. Merchandise with the image of the Holy Father such as coffee mugs, postcards, key chains, framed prints and posters, t-shirts and commemorative plates. The curator goes on to explain that there will be two types of plates. The first will be mass produced and sell for five euros. The second will be hand crafted and will sell for forty-five euros.

Upon hearing this, the Pope excuses himself and briefly leaves the room. When he returns he is holding a white dinner plate. As he stands in front of the curator, the conversation goes as follows:

Young Pope: Do you see this plate m’am? (Note: He is holding a plain white dinner plate).

Curator: Yes, of course Holy Father, I see it.

Young Pope: This is the type of merchandise I am prepared to authorize.

Curator: But it doesn’t have your image on it.

Young Pope: I do not have an image my good lady because I am no one. You understand? No one. Only Christ exists. Only Christ. And I am not worth 45 euros or even 5 euros. I am worth nothing.

Where is your true focus? On the world or on the Divine within you. With the former, circumstances create you. With the latter, you create circumstances.

Josh Nailed It

The Presence of God, the source of your power to manifest, is with you always, everywhere that you happen to be. From the first breath of your life unto your last. It is up to you however, to recognize that truth and live in it.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, one of my favorite verses to meditate on is in the book of Joshua. The prophet Joshua understood the truth. Read and absorb the full meaning of this sublime verse, Chapter 1, Verse 9:

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.

The Lord your God, will be with you wherever you go.

Wherever you go. The love of God, the peace, the power, the truth, the joy, the presence – wherever you go.

I am sitting in a Starbucks writing this at a table that is against the wall. Reflecting on the full implications of this verse is causing me right now to well up inside. I must turn my head towards the wall so that I am not observed silently crying in joy.

Josh nailed it. He understood completely. BE strength. BE courage. The Kingdom of God is within you. Be free of all your fears. You really can, you know, if you so desire. There is no earthly experience of any type that you will ever experience that will give you the feeling of living in the Kingdom of God.

Three

In this blog, I have given you several “recipes” to manifest your desire. These “recipes” are actually techniques of prayer. After forming the vision of your desire, the prayer technique that you choose is the first step in the process.

The second step is to develop the creative mindset. Imaginative belief. What the Bible calls faith. In your mind, claim your prayers as answered, regardless of any and all circumstances. They do not matter. It is called “living in the end”. You are living in the world but your faith is not of the world. It comes from the Kingdom of God. Your continued faith is the rock solid evidence that you have what you hope for. Your faith is your true reality.

The third step in manifesting is to receive with gratitude. When your faith, your belief, has gotten you to the point, where in your mind you have received your desire, when you are “living in the end”, then, rejoice, be thankful. Feel gratitude. Relief and gratitude because your manifestation is complete. It is you know. It just takes physical reality some time to sync up with your inner belief.

Go forth. Be God’s agent here on earth. Manifest all manner of good things. Why do you think God blessed humanity with that power? To not use it?? Certainly not. Go forth. Manifest with joy as you live in the Kingdom of God within.

Conceive, Believe, Receive – the trinity of conscious manifesting.

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Thanksgiving – Every Day Of The Year – For Real

The Fourth Thursday

Today is November 24, the national holiday of Thanksgiving. The present form of this holiday of gratitude was signed into law in 1885. It stemmed from a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the Civil War. The proclamation called for a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated the final Thursday of November. In 1941 the date was fixed by law as the fourth Thursday in November.

In the midst of the calamity of the Civil War, death and destruction was a daily consequence of war. President Lincoln intuitively felt it necessary to designate one day for everyone to re-set their minds. Re-set their minds for one day away from the grieving and relentless horrors of war. Re-set their minds for one day on gratitude for any and all blessings received as well as on the coming day when the war would eventually end.

And so, today in America, the fourth Thursday of the month of November is celebrated as Thanksgiving Day. It is traditionally a day of family members gathering together for a dinner of turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, string beans, cranberry sauce and all manner of good things to eat. Apple pie or pumpkin pie with ice cream for dessert. A thanksgiving prayer is said before the meal. After the meal is the time for conversation. Football games are on the television. And the secret of the true explosive power of gratitude gets scant attention.

Yeah It Really Does Say That

On this Thanksgiving Day of the year 2022, you are now being issued a direct challenge. If you prove to be successful in meeting this challenge, your life is guaranteed to dramatically change – for the better. Why should I care if your life changes for the better? I am not really sure. I believe that it may have something to do with the interconnectedness of humanity as well as the “productive intercession” part of my life mission, my grand manifestation.

Here is your challenge – live and feel and breathe thanksgiving every single day between November 24, 2022 and November 23, 2023. All 365 days. After you are done rolling your eyes and saying “not that count your blessings stuff again”, further on in this post, I will explain why it is that you should do this. Hint: It is for your benefit.

In First Thessalonians 5:18, it states the following: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”(NIV). Yeah, it really does say that – “in all circumstances”.

Now a response by many reasonable people might be as follows: “That’s total bullshit. Why should I be thankful when the shit is hitting the fan in my life or in the life of someone I love?” Fair enough. Part of the widespread error in belief about thanksgiving however is how society misperceives the process of giving thanks. Read on.

Dance Minions, Dance

As you grew up, you were primarily told by your parents to say thank you when someone gives you something or does something for you. This may have been reinforced by religious leaders, teachers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, friends, etc. You were told that people like it when they are thanked. So as time goes on you angle your thank you’s to game the system. A quick “thank you, appreciate it” and then be on your way.

You may have been told to be thankful because “it’s good manners”. You may have been told by Uncle Charlie that if you don’t get your ass over there and thank Aunt Gertrude for that sweater, Aunt Gertrude is going to be pissed off and take it out on Uncle Charlie when they get home.

The member of the clergy of your particular religion may imperiously state, “It is the will of God for you to be thankful so just do it”. The unspoken rest of the statement is “or else”. It tends to present an image of an old guy with a long white beard wearing a flowing robe. The imposing geezer has a stern look on his face. He looks over his entourage and commands from his throne, “Dance, my minions, dance”. Then if he sees someone not be thankful, he frowns and reaches for his divine taser. Then next thing you hear from the crowd is “Yeowww! That hurt!”

The Law Is The Law Is The Law

Universal Law is divinely impartial. It is no respecter of persons. It works no matter who employs it. Your life reality merely reflects back to you your awareness of being, as a mirror reflects your image. If you are truly feeling (not just mouthing) thanksgiving, you are actively transmitting. You are transmitting neural electro-magnetic impulses to Universal Law which then always responds accordingly. Your neural thought impulses, accompanied by your feeling of it, are received. This sets off a fateful chain reaction for something good to happen in your reality. It is a scientific certainty. This is equivalent to a television signal sent out from a broadcasting tower.

A specific wave frequency dials you into the television channel that you have chosen to watch. Change the chosen frequency, you get a different channel. In the case of your life, change your inner frequency and you change your reality. It’s just that simple. Universal Law responds in a positive manner to the frequency of gratitude. Maintain that frequency and you will receive something for which to be thankful. Turn off the flow and you then block the connection. The Law is the Law is the Law. That is the hidden reason why, even in the midst of adverse circumstances, scripture counsels you to be thankful in all circumstances. It is your way out. It is your way out of your troubles.

A Real Life Example

Let me give you an actual minor example of pursuing gratitude in an adverse situation. At a job that I worked at for many years, I found myself in the situation of working with a troublesome employee. The employee was just plain annoying, to me as well as others. I think the crux of the problem was that the employee was insecure inside. This then projected outward into irritating behavior.

I observed how there was constant bickering and tension between this employee and another co-worker. The employee even tried to get me in trouble one time but I was one step ahead of her and her attempt was fruitless. Intuitively, I felt that confrontation was not the solution to the problem. “In everything be thankful” came into my mind. I made the decision to steadfastly remain in gratitude mode rather than place my focus on the fact that I really disliked this person.

Thankful for what? you might say. For whatever lesson life was presenting to me. Thankful for Ultimate Intelligence being available for guidance. Thankful for the indisputable fact that I am the only person who gets to decide how I feel inside. Thankful that I was given an opportunity to prove this in concrete terms. Thankful that I am a sovereign thinking being.

As you might guess, in a very short amount of time, I was unexpectedly transferred to another facility within the installation where I did not come in contact with the annoying person. Furthermore, in a short while after that, that employee left that job completely and found employment elsewhere. I thought to myself afterward, “Wow, this stuff really works”.

The Dynamic Duo

Two mystics, seven hundred years apart, were on the same wavelength when it comes to the critical importance in your life of thanksgiving.

The thirteenth century theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart, summed it up concisely. He wrote “If the only prayer that you ever uttered during your entire life was “thank you”, it would be enough”.

Some seven hundred years later, in the twentieth century, the latter day mystic, author and lecturer, Neville Goddard, wrote “…(a) way of praying is simply to feel thankful. If I want something, either for myself or for another, I immobilize the physical body, then I produce the state akin to sleep and in that drowsy state, just feel happy, feel thankful, which thankfulness implies realization of what I want.”

Feel It. Feel It. Feel It.

And there it is. Therein lies the hidden secret of the power of thanksgiving. The Law is the Law is the Law. That is the precise reason that you should be thankful in all circumstances. If the circumstances are good, you desire them to continue in that manner. Thanksgiving. If the circumstances are neutral, you want to “kick start” things in the desired direction. Thanksgiving. Further, if the circumstances are bad, you want to engage in an action that is going to turn things around to the good side somehow. Thanksgiving.

If you feel thanksgiving, you live in a manner that will make your life worth living. You will then desire to do something that expresses the gratitude you feel. This then always empowers you. You walk the divine path. The divine path of creating. Creating something that did not exist before. When you keep the faith no matter what, you have the privilege of expressing the power and majesty of Universal Mind during your brief stay here on planet Earth.

Thanksgiving is eternal. Thanksgiving is magical. Set your mind on it every day of the year. You will reap the golden harvest.

Conceive. Believe. Receive.

One response to “Thanksgiving – Every Day Of The Year – For Real”

  1. Andre

    An interesting post. Thank you

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Infused Believing: It Has A Taste You’ll Really Enjoy

Infused Believing: Try It, You’ll Like It

Nowadays there are many infused products available to the public for purchase. Infused waters are now very popular giving water a huge variety of interesting flavors. There is infused honey, infused olive oil, infused coffees and teas, infused dried fruits and vegetables. More recently we have the addition of CBD and cannabis infused products. Let’s take a look at the dictionary to review a definition of infused – to cause an item to be permeated with another item with the additional item altering the original item for the better.

The very core, the center if you will, of manifesting your reality is belief. Even though your five senses cannot perceive “the desire fulfilled”, your imaginal sense not only clearly perceives it but likewise believes it as real. What creates the finishing touch to your manifesting efforts is gratitude. When you infuse your assured belief in the unseen with gratitude, infused believing I call it, you are co-creating with God. You are creating an energy based power vortex that comes straight out of the Kingdom of God within you. Your only job from then on is to stay true and constant to this infused belief and maintain your faith in the unseen reality.

Plasma, as seen in the image above, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. It contains a significant portion of charged particles – ions and/or electrons. Lightning is a commonplace generator of plasma. When you infuse your desired manifestation belief with true gratitude, you are creating a virtual plasma energy bomb that releases explosive power – power to fulfill your life’s desires.

And The Great Thing About It Is—–It Feels Really Good

Let’s say that your car appears to be on its last legs. You have about $37.00 in your bank account and a $3.00 in your wallet. Your basic fear is that you car will conk out on you and you won’t have the money to fix it. When you leave for work you are wondering will the car last you another year or even another month. You think that if it breaks down, how the hell will you be able to get to work. And so on. Listen, if that does happen, you’ll figure it out somehow. By dwelling on it however, you dangerously create an energy vortex that actually serves to draw that scenario to your reality.

Try this instead. Create in your mind’s eye the vision of a car make and model, car mileage, car condition that you could live with, a car that is mechanically sound and cosmetically acceptable to you. Forget about how much it might cost you. Forget about credit reports. Forget about other bills you may have. Forget about down payments. Just concentrate on your car, you driving the car, you driving others in the car, pulling up to the gas pump and filling your car’s tank with gas, parking your car at your residence after finishing work, getting into your car to go to work, giving a ride to someone else who may not have a car. In a drowsy state, either immediately upon waking or just before drifting off to sleep, feel it. Just feel that it has really happened to you. It is real. Then INFUSE your belief, your feeling, with how thankful, how effing thankful that you are that everything came together for you. You have it. You did it. Then either fully wake up and start your day or drift off to sleep for the night.

A quote from Neville Goddard – (note: capitalization has been added by me) – “(a) way of praying is simply to FEEL thankful. If I want something, either for myself, or another, I immobilize the physical body, then I produce the state akin to sleep and in that state just feel happy, feel thankful, which thankfulness implies realization of what I want. I assume the FEELING of the wish fulfilled and with my mind dominated by this single sensation, I go to sleep. I need do nothing to make it so, because it IS so. My FEELING of the wish FULFILLED implies that it is done.”

If you successfully feel gratitude for your wish fulfilled, remember this – the human mind, the human heart cannot feel grateful for that which you have not been given. Your subconscious mind takes its marching orders from what you believe as true and your feeling of gratitude that what you desire is yours.

Do not be surprised if you practice infused believing and you begin crying out of what I call “primal gratitude”. It is akin to those game show contestants who start bawling when they win the grand showcase prize. Primal gratitude is gratitude that has penetrated down to your very core, the center of your being. The feeling is different for different people. Some may feel a perfect calm and peace. Others may taste a brief sample of the feeling of ecstasy. Yet others may feel the benevolent power of a state of being purely centered. Whatever way you feel, if you are doing it right, it feels good.

Some may respond to this with disdain and say, ” Yeah right, I got problems hitting me from every which way and you want me to be thankful for that?!” Absolutely not. Not for whatever misfortune that you or a loved one may be suffering. I want you to imagine, to create an outcome that you desire, then believe, utterly believe that is your true reality and not what you eyes are seeing. Believe with your “inner eyes”, the eyes you use when dwelling in the Kingdom of God. When your belief is full, infuse that belief of “that which is unseen” with thankfulness, simple thankfulness, true thankfulness. Stay consistent. Stay true to your feeling. If you do, at some point your desire will come to fruition. It has to, it has no choice but to manifest. It may be a day, a week, a month, a year but it will arrive on your lap, many times when you least expect it. Even in the act of procreation there is a nine month lag between conception and birth.

Give It Everything That You Have To Give

This infused believing manifestation method is a true delight to use. There is something about true gratitude that is extremely powerful. Outer adverse circumstances may attempt to hang in there but ultimately, if you remain focused and committed to the process, they will have no choice but to back away. It is necessary to totally surrender to the idea. At first, you may find it too hard to do. Keep at it. If it was “a walk in the park” everyone, everywhere would be doing it. But everyone is not doing it because you have to do it when you do not feel like doing it. You have to do it when you are angry. You have to do it when you are tired. You have to do it when a part of you is telling you that you are a fool for doing it.

Like most manifesting techniques, the more that you give to the process, the more you will get. A quote from Stuart Wilde, ” Universal Law is impartial. It will give you anything you believe. It will throw you garbage or roses depending on the energy you put in. You are the one in charge, and you must accept that and stand alone. If you think God is coming down to fix things for you, forget it. God is out playing golf.” To stand alone is to be responsible for the results emanating from your thoughts, words, actions, feelings, beliefs.

One of my favorite singers is the jazz vocalist, Dianne Reeves. If you want a short visual example of someone experiencing gratitude, go on You Tube and watch her performance of the song “Testify” from August 12, 2000 at the Newport Jazz Festival. Near the end of the song, part of the lyrics are the words, “thank you”. She generates amazing energy as she repeats the words over and over again. She is not merely singing the words, she is experiencing those words.

Believe, Gratitude, Receive. Referencing that famous line from the editorial in the New York Sun newspaper, “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”, through infused believing, that Santa Claus is you.

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Hey, Wake Up – Here’s Your Key – Now Enter Your Dream

You Have Been Given The Power – The Power To See The Unseen

Let’s get right to it, time is precious. In scripture in Hebrews 11:1 is that eternal, beautiful truth as follows: Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen (Holman Christian Standard Bible). Every human being ever born, even those with mental or physical challenges, has been gifted at birth with an amazing power. This power is called faith. Let’s go to a secular source, the Oxford Language dictionary, with regard to the definition of faith. Faith is defined as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something”. Thus, faith in God can be defined as complete trust or confidence in God. Continuing on in this vein, the word “complete” means one hundred percent, not even so much as a fraction of a percent missing. For example, you have complete confidence that the breath coming out of your mouth or nose is your breath and not the breath of your neighbor. That is not something that you believe. It is something that you know. Even though you cannot see or feel it yet, you have faith, you absolutely know that the next breath that comes out of your mouth or nose will be your breath and not your neighbor’s breath. You have faith that the breath coming out of your body is from your lungs. It is your breath.

So now let’s explore the words “faith in God”. Although God – Ultimate Intelligence, Original Source, I AM that I AM – is undefinable, we can identify a manifestation of the Divine in this dimension. The demonstration of the Divine is your awareness of being. What are you currently aware of being? Who are you currently aware of being? Are you aware of being poor, rich or somewhere in between? Are you aware of expressing good health or poor health or somewhere in between? And so on. What is real to you? What is natural to you? What can you see, feel, hear as real in your current life expression. Not in the outer circumstances or people around you but what can can see, feel, hear in your God-given Image-ination? What can you see, feel, hear on the inside. This is where you were gifted with the power to co-create with the Creator. Deep down, right down to your inner core, what is your current awareness of being? This is where you experience connection with Ultimate Intelligence and this is where you completely let go and allow Ultimate Intelligence to direct how and when your manifestation arrives. The skeptic will say, “Nonsense, if you cannot see it, it does not exist, it’s snake oil. Atheists manifest things in their lives all the time without a belief in any type of god.” To respectfully respond, I would say that deep down, the atheist has confidence in being able to accomplish what they set out to achieve. This, in fact, is an awareness of being and is the way all humans connect with God whether they are conscious of it or not.

Galatians 6:7 – God Is Not Mocked

What is blasphemy? From Wikipedia comes this – an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity or something holy or sacred. Blasphemy is a word that has been used by religious authorities down through the ages to identify and punish those with opposing views to the designated religious powers that be. In the European religious wars of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, the Protestants called the Catholics blasphemers and the Catholics called the Protestants blasphemers. Over thirty countries today have anti-blasphemy laws on the books where blasphemy is punishable by death.

In the movie, “Kingdom of Heaven”, the bishop of Jerusalem is portrayed as a particularly greasy and oily personality who is particularly interested in protecting his tookus. During a meeting of all the bigwigs at the king’s castle, a statement is made that totally contradicts the stated position of the bishop. Yeah, you guessed it. The first word out of the bishop’s mouth in response is “Blasphemy”. My son and I always get a chuckle out of it because it is so patently self-serving.

I don’t know about you but I think those who feel the need for anti-blasphemy laws are way off base. Is God some petulant gang leader wearing a dew rag who needs retribution when someone “disses” Him? I think not.

Going to scripture, in Galatians 6:7 it states, “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (New International Version). And there it is. It is impossible to mock God. You simply cannot do it. In this dimension of existence that you live in called Earth, you are a sower and then subsequently you are a reaper. It is a very simple equation. To sow means to plant. To reap means to harvest. Every thought that you plant in your imagination leads to an act. The act leads to a habit. The habit leads to a character. A character leads to a destiny.

Every physical effect has a spiritual cause. I will repeat that – everything that happens in your world comes into being because of a spiritual cause. By the words spiritual cause, I don’t mean you have to say some prescribed prayer sanctioned by church authorities. A spiritual act can be something as simple as just sitting quietly and activating your Imagination. God cannot possibly be mocked. You will harvest whatever it is that you plant. Every time – all the time. If you plant corn, you are going to harvest corn, not tomatoes. Every physical event from start to finish comes about due to a spiritual cause.

The Only Thing Holding You Back Is ———- Y-O-U

Let’s play a fast game of Jeopardy.

Answer: Let go, just let go.

Question: If faith is the key that unlocks the door to a beautiful life, how do I get faith?

The key is already in your hands but you have to place it in the keyhole and turn the latch in order to unlock the door. Just let go of all the countless “yeah buts” and let events play out as directed by Divine Source. Dwell on God, who works through your awareness of being. There is either God or mammon, There is no sense in trying to keep one foot in each. It just doesn’t work. Do your part. Plant the seeds. Nurture them with your Imagination. Every single day, maybe twice a day, sit quietly and fully engage your Imagination to already be what you desire to be, to already have what you desire to have. There are several ways to do this. Scripting is one. Creating a “spiritual glow” with gratitude is another. Find the way that feels best to you and then bar the door against the inevitable arrival of the “excuses gang”.

OK, you have experienced some tough breaks and some rough times. You can believe me when I say so have I. You’ve been dealt some incredibly bad cards during the game of life. Every single minute of your life that you spend of your limited allotment of time feeling sorry for yourself is a horribly wasted minute of life. By feeling sorry for yourself, you succeed in holding yourself back. You have actually planted a rotten seed that you will subsequently harvest in the time ahead as rotten fruit. You will cry, “Why does everything always happen to me?” Refuse to allow the feeling sorry for yourself stuff to enter the living room of your house (your mind). Always be busy entertaining beautiful guests (your Imaginal desires) so that the “feeling sorry crowd” (of thoughts) cannot get past the velvet rope. Refuse to allow you to continue holding you back.

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Gratitude: Magic Magnet For The Good Stuff

Today Is Thanksgiving Day 2021

Today is November 25…….Thanksgiving Day. The present form of this federal holiday of gratitude was enacted into law by Congress in 1885. It originally stemmed from a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 in the midst of the Civil War. The proclamation called for a national day of thanksgiving, to be celebrated on the final Thursday of November. This proclamation set the precedent for America’s Thanksgiving Day. The date for the holiday was fixed by federal law in 1941 as the fourth Thursday in November.

In the midst of the calamity of the Civil War, with the unrelenting violence, death and destruction threatening to rip apart the nation, Lincoln instinctively felt it was necessary for everyone to just take a day off from dwelling on the negative effects and events of the war and simply dwell on those gifts received that would generate true gratitude to the Almighty.

In the manner of synchronicities, Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74 year old magazine editor wrote a letter that Lincoln received on September 28, 1863 urging him to have a national day of thanksgiving to permanently become an American custom and institution. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale’s letter immediately and issued the proclamation of a Day of Thanksgiving to be held on the last Thursday of November 1863.

Of course, over the years, the societal controllers and manipulators of consumption have made every attempt to contort this holiday into an ode to eating food and buying stuff (think Black Friday sales). As is always the case, they only succeed to the extent that you allow them to succeed. OK, you say, what is so bad about having a good dinner with family and then saving some money on the purchase of Christmans gifts? Nothing, absolutely nothing at all, they are good things unless they distract you away from deeply experiencing the eternal magic of gratitude.

Filler Up With High Octane

Gratitude is the fuel that powers the engine of the cosmic delivery truck that delivers “the good stuff” to you. Just as your car won’t go anywhere if it does not have any fuel, the universe patiently waits for your gratitude fillup before the delivery truck of goodies can start on its way to you.

It all filters down to your current (as in right now) awareness of being. If you are truly feeling gratitude for something, you are simultaneously transmitting neural electro-magnetic impulses to the universe. The neural impulses of gratitude are received by Universal Intelligence. In alignment with how the universe was created by God, your electrical signal of giving thanks sets off a chain reaction that in turn starts sending “good stuff” your way in order to match the “feeling wave length” that you are transmitting. This is equivalent to a television signal that is sent out from the broadcasting tower.

When you direct the tv remote to the designated channel that you want to watch, your receive the program that is on that channel. That channel represents a specific wave frequency. That is why it is of paramount importance to you to always be thankful. Otherwise you turn off the flow. I will repeat that — if you turn off the gratitude, you turn off the flow. The flow is not turned off by God, or your spouse or girlfriend or your boss or co-workers. Not even Joe the barber. You do it, as in y-o-u.

Yeah, It Really Is a 7/24 Thing

You do not have to be thankful all the time, only when you are actively breathing. In First Thessalonians 5:18 it states, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (KJV). This verse is a toughie when something bad has happened in your life. How do you give thanks for a negative event and more importantly, why would you?

In the midst of some minor or major negative event, that is the time when it is all the more important to find a way to generate thanksgiving for something…..anything. The reason being is that it sets into immediate motion the ongoing electrical impulses that will subsequently return to you in the form of something good happening for you as long as you keep the electric current turned on. Very easy in good times. Very hard in bad times but you have to find a way to do it.

I understand, better than you may think, that you may have zero desire to be thankful when bad things happen. You have to will yourself into gratitude mode. It is your way out of trouble and hardship. Dwell in God. Don’t you see? Your awareness of being “down and out” only anchors that condition to you. Choose (and it is your free will choice) to ignore circumstances and relentlessly send out electrical impulses of thankfulness to Universal Intelligence — Original Source. By doing that, you, yes you, start the process of overcoming that trouble or hardship no matter what it is.

And then stay thankful. Stay thankful, not to be some mindless moron who merely accepts bad stuff and then says, “Thank you sir may I have another” like the fraternity pledge in the movie Animal House. Stay thankful in order to use your God-given power to create your life circumstances and fashion a reality that you truly desire.

Feeling + Action = Power

When you combine your feeling of gratitude with some type of action that reflects your gratitude, that is what is termed a synergism. It is you “upping your game”. A thanksgiving action does not have to be something that is expensive or time consuming or showy.

Just what is a thanksgiving action you say? It is something that says “I am receiving…I have received…I will receive…good stuff and I want to demonstrate my appreciation. It can be something as so simple as a smile and a kind word to someone. Perhaps it is a silent prayer for someone who you think could use a prayer (God, I claim a rich blessing for this person today. Thank you. Amen.).

It could be tolerance and patience (when you don’t want to be tolerant or patient) when somebody makes a mistake. Maybe it is just stopping for a few moments and listening to someone who wishes to say something. It could be be doing something helpful for someone without the slightest expectation that they will ever even know about what you did for them. It could be a thousand and one simple little things that you could come up with that send a signal of gratitude to Universal Source.

You can try to ignore it. You can try to deny it. That doesn’t change anything – gratitude is absolutely vital to your personal well being. The thirteenth century theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart, stated: “If the only prayer that you ever said during your entire life was ‘Thank You’, it would be enough.”

The Boil Down

When a chef “boils down” a sauce, stew, pudding or other dish, he decreases the water or other liquid in it — it evaporates in the steam rising from the pan. Cooks do this to make something thicker and more flavorful. Carrying over this phrase to outside of the cooking realm, when you boil down something, it means that you get down to its essence. When I read something, a book, an article, an essay, etc., in my mind I always try to do a “boil down” so that I will remember the essence of the book, article or essay.

I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog post. However, I hope that you do more than just read it. My hope even more is that you actively use it to make your life better. There is something inside me that desires, in these final years of my life, to spread the word about universal truths that I have learned about during my stay in this dimension. If you remember nothing else of this post, I will give you a “boil down” of just five easy words to remember — Be Thankful……..Get Good Stuff.

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A Never Ending State of “Thank You”

The Concept of Gratitude

If you enter the word “gratitude” into the search box on a google search, you will receive over two hundred million search results. Obviously then, the concept of gratitude has evoked a huge ocean of human thought and opinion over the ages. If you go to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, under the word “gratitude” you find the definition “the state of being grateful”. Not very helpful. Continuing on and going to the word “grateful” you find the definition of “appreciative of benefits received”. Ok then, a generic definition could be described as a feeling – a human feeling of being appreciative of benefits received. So here is where we run into trouble with the concept of gratitude.

That Troubling Bible Verse

In my Sunday school class when I was a child, we were studying in the Book of First Thessalonians one Sunday. when the teacher got to chapter 5, verse 18. This verse states “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. An alarm went off in my head regarding this verse. My mind went to all the people in this world who are suffering in one way or another. I hate suffering. I mean I really hate it. I have never seen anything noble about it. The very thought of suffering, whether it is my own suffering, or a loved one’s suffering, or the suffering of a total stranger, actually makes me sick to the stomach. I asked the teacher “how could you be thankful for suffering”? The general response that I remember was that (a) man’s sin was the cause of all suffering, (b) we do not have the divine perspective of God, and (c) suffering deepens one’s faith. I was about to respond with a “Yeah, ok, but…” however the last time I did that with regard to another verse, the group started giving me dirty looks. Thus, I just nodded my head, said “Ok” and kept my mouth shut. Inside however, I was definitely not satisfied with the answer.

Science Weighs In On Gratitude

In 2015, there was a scientific study of the brain neural impulses done at the University of Southern California, Department of Psychology, with regard to the human feeling of gratitude. Participants in the study underwent magnetic resonance imaging of their brains while external stimuli were used to induce the feeling of gratitude. The results revealed that the ratings of gratitude on the part of the study participants correlated with well-defined neural brain impulses observed in the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex of the brain. This study in affective neuroscience pinpointed the brain circuitry that accompanies the feeling of gratitude.

So There It Is – It Is All For You After All

You live in an outer shell that we call the human body. Within this shell resides your spirit. At some point after our birth, you ultimately shed this outer shell when it stops working. We call this event “death”. Your spirit, which is pure energy, proceeds onward. I cannot tell you exactly where or how your spirit will proceed after death because this is not learned until after death. While on this earth however, your energy, your spirit, resides within your body. It is the true you, and, being pure energy, it can project outward. You may have experienced something of this when for no rational reason whatsoever, you felt “good vibes” or “bad vibes” from another person.

Electricity is a form of energy. Neural impulses within the brain are electrical. When we activate those neural transmitters in our brain that science has identified as dealing with gratitude, these electrical impulses are picked up on by Universal Intelligence – All That Is. The universe has consciousness. As the early twentieth century author Wallace Wattles put it, ” There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought in this substance, produces the thing that is imaged by that thought.”. Matching, or like impulses are then attracted to you by your transmission of gratitude neural impulses. In other words, if you truly feel gratitude, the universe has been created in such a manner that you will then be given something (“good stuff” I call it) that matches up with the level of your gratitude. Thus, the reason we are told by Scripture to “be thankful in everything” is for your own benefit or for the benefit of the one for which you wish to favorably intercede. If you are in trouble, it is a way out. Loving Omniscience did not create human beings so that there would be an endless supply of fawning sycophants. Loving Omnipotence has graced you with a never ending way of receiving good stuff in your life and thus displaying the glory of the I Am through your never ending state of gratitude. So there it is – gratitude is all for you after all.

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Dress For Success — How You Dress Affects Your Life

As you can see from the above image, the man using the snowblower has dressed himself in a manner that will allow him to successfully achieve his objective — clearing a specific area of snow. Coat, hood, hat, goggles, ear mufflers, gloves. He has dressed himself in such a way that he can continue continuously working in a frigid environment until the area that he wishes to be cleared is done. Flip-flops, cut-off shorts and a summer Hawaiian shirt are not going to get it done for him. With that type of get-up he may suffer some type of negative physical effects due to exposure to the below-freezing cold. Or he will be back inside the house every few minutes to get warm thus making the job a never ending affair. Or after a few minutes in the freezing cold, he may decide just to forego clearing the area of snow and give up.

Dress For Success

In the world of manifesting whatever it is that you want in this world, you must likewise dress for success. Many get dressed each day in their clown suit, putting on a shirt of frustration, pants of anger, a belt made of all manner of different fears, shoes permeated with doubts and and top it off with a hat soaked in bitterness. Life just seems to be one long never-ending struggle with momentary flashes of happiness. One problem gets solved and two more show up at your door to bedevil and harass you. It doesn’t have to be that way. It doesn’t. If you dress yourself properly, your life can be good, even in the midst of having to deal with problems. The man in the image above still has to deal with the raw cold and snow. It doesn’t magically go away but he is dressed in such a manner so as to allow him to be completely successful in dealing with the snow and cold.

How You Dress Each Day Is Up To You

So just how do you dress for success? This has nothing to do with wearing expensive Armani suits or Gucci leather shoes. It has everything to do with how you attire your inner self each day, each hour, each minute. It has to do with what inner clothes you choose to put on every day. Put on the shirt of the crystal clear vision of your objective. Make it vivid, not foggy or squishy. See every part of your vision from every angle. Know it as well as you know the “proverbial back of your hand.” Next, put on the pants of your intention. Know your purpose. Once you have strongly decided on your vision, let your “pants of intention” walk only along those paths that lead you to fulfillment of your vision. Refrain from turning to the left. Refrain from turning to the right. Let those pants lead you directly to making your vision your reality. Thirdly, hold up your pants with the belt of faith — strength of belief that will keep your pants from falling to the ground. Strength of belief that you would not have this vision and intention unless it was completely fulfillable. Finally, wear the shoes of your gratitude — true gratitude that there was nothing on earth that was able to prevent you from manifesting your vision, fulfilling your intention and justifying your faith. You do not have to pay a fortune for Armani suits and Gucci shoes in order to dress for success. Getting dressed with true power clothes — vision, intention, faith, gratitude — is totally free. You do not have to spend so much as a penny but you do have to put in some hard work. You can choose to dress for failure or you can choose to dress for success. How you dress each day is totally up to you. What type of clothes are you choosing to put on today?

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Give Thanks — You Really Will Love The Results

November 26 ………. Thanksgiving Day. Much will be said today about giving thanks and being grateful for blessings. Good feelings will abound. By November 27, the holiday will be officially over. For many it will be back to “business as usual” — carping and complaining.

Having a consistent attitude of thanksgiving has been well documented in a number of published scientific medical studies to actually improve both your physical and your mental health. Perhaps most important of all, it strengthens your spiritual health enabling you to get a glimpse past the surface of your life experiences into the deeper spiritual truths that are at the core of your very existence and are the basis of improving that life of yours.

Why is it important for you to feel gratitude for blessings received? There is another perspective besides the traditional ones. Usually you are told to be thankful because it is what is commanded of you by the religious precepts in which you were brought up. You are told that it is the will of God for you to be thankful. You are told growing up that you should always say thank you when you get something from someone. You are told people like to be thanked for their efforts. You were told by your Uncle Charlie that if you don’t say thank you to Aunt Gertrude for that sweater she gave you (that you don’t even like) that Aunt Gertrude is going to be pissed off and probably take it out on Uncle Charlie when they get home. You are told a lot of things about being thankful. What you may never have been told however is that the way that the universe is constructed, the more that you are honestly thankful, the more good things the universe is going to lay on you. Give…..Get.

What does an attitude of gratitude actually mean? Does it mean just saying the words, “thank you, appreciate it” and that’s it? Does it mean that you must come up with a way to actually demonstrate your gratitude in some way? Answers: (1) Action … (2) No … (3) Yes. For you to set into motion the Universal Law of Thanksgiving, you must actually live it. In doing so, you keep the force in play that sends you more to be thankful for. You might even say that being honestly thankful and demonstrating it by doing something to reflect that thankfulness, is something that is primarily for your benefit.

When the member of the clergy tells congregants that God commands them to be thankful, it tends to present an image of an old guy with a robe and long beard sitting on a throne looking down and saying, “Dance, my minions, dance”. Then he sees someone not thankful, frowns and orders St. Peter to bring him his zapper. Our Creator, the one true God, Universal Force of Unlimited Love and Unrestrainable Power, directs you to be thankful and then follow through with some action reflecting that gratitude because of the one hundred percent certainty that your gratitude in action will bring additional good to you, His beloved created being.

A thanksgiving action can be a silent prayer of blessing for someone, a kind smile, listening to someone who has something to say, a hug, tolerance when someone makes a mistake, an offer to help someone who is struggling, doing something for someone without the slightest expectation that they will ever even know about it or a thousand and one other actions that you can come up with.

There is no way to get around it. Thanksgiving is important. The thirteenth century theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart, said, “If the only prayer that you ever said during your entire life was ‘thank you’, it would be enough”.

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To Get Your Desire……….Feel……….”As If”

The answer to your question is fourfold: vision, intent, faith, gratitude. I thought I would head you off at the pass on this one. I will get to the question later in this post.

Today’s post is about the one thing that should be at the top of your list as to what to learn about manifesting. It is the concept of feeling as if you already have that which you desire. I am going to give an overview of the concept in this post but if you wish to study it in depth, I refer you to the writings of the sage Neville Goddard.

You are soverign. That means that despite whatever circumstances or events are occuring now in your life, you and only you get to choose how you feel inside. Despite whoever you are regularly interacting with in your daily activities, you and only you get to choose how you feel inside. Despite the time of day or night, despite sunshine or rain, despite any driver on the road, despite any loss or any gain, you and only you get to choose how you feel inside. There is no such thing as “he made me so mad” or “she really knows how to push my buttons”. You choose…..every time…..all the time. Just how you choose to feel makes up the very content of your life.

When you initiate a thought of desiring something, being a child of God, the Universal Mind immediately sends the object of your desire on its way to you. The subconscious mind, which is your connection to God, goes to work at once to create what you desire in keeping with what is seen as your true belief. By “true belief” is meant how do you really, and I mean really, feel inside about your chosen desire. Doubt immediately sends the object of your desire on a detour. Is your desire merely a daydream or “a wish and a sigh”. Do you feel you want it but that it is out of reach based on past happenings in your life or what you have observed in the lives of others or what others have told you. Do you feel that it is within reach but you are not there yet. Do you feel that it is a possibility for you and you will get it someday. Or…..do you choose to feel…..inside of your self….that it is yours now…..right now. If you chose the last option, then you have entered the doorway of the room of life’s treasures. Help yourself to whatever you want.

Holy scripture states, “And all things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Can it get any clearer than that?! It does not say all things you beg for or whine for or hope for but don’t want to be disappointed if things don’t pan out for you. Scripture says in no uncertain terms, “whatsoever”, which means everything and anything. There is a very crucial catch however to the equation. You have to believe inside that you already have it. That is the tragic stumbling block for the vast majority of human beings.

Now, to get to the question associated with the answer denoted in the first paragraph, it is quite simply, “How can I get myself to that point where I feel inside as if I already have that which I desire? Four facets to engage are: (1) create a crystal clear vision of your desire; (2) fire up within you a ferocious intent as far as having it; (3) completely trust that Universal Intelligence has lovingly provided it for you in the best way; (4) express and demonstrate gratitude for your desire being fulfilled. In future posts, we will discuss this concept further.

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Want Something?……….Go Take A Bath

Photo for Go Take a Bath post on the Manifest Cookbook website

You want to improve your reality. I want to improve my reality. All God’s children want to improve their reality. One course of action on your part that can add power to any manifesting technique or techniques is for you to take a daily bath…..a gratitude bath that is. Start with your body, gratitude for everything that is working right with it. Then move to everything else, anything else, your shelter, means of transportation, food, water, electric power, your toothbrush, whatever. Spend a good ten minutes a day bathing yourself in gratitude. It raises your energy vibration which in turn raises your personal power to manifest. Plus, it feels good.

You may say “yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that bs before. Count your blessings and all that crap.” Well, if you work past an initial negative response on your part, you will discover, to your delight, that an earnest feeling of thankfulness for whatever it is that you do have, will yield you concrete benefit, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. Gratitude will, in turn, attract something else for you to be grateful for and so on. Think of it as a sort of nuclear chain reaction.

You may ask about those that are suffering, in pain, infirm, homeless, grieving, etc. How can you be thankful when bad things happen? That is a very valid point. You would have to have a divine perspective to know precise reasons why the world has so much negative stuff going on and why the innocent suffer. I hate suffering anywhere. Nevertheless, the power of gratitude is a universal law. It is immutable and eternal whether we subscibe to it or not.

Regarding gratitude from those that have suffered misfortune, two things come to mind…..Helen Keller and Sachsenhausen. Helen Keller, one of the most amazing human beings of the twentieth century, at the age of nineteen months became blind, deaf and without the ability to speak as a result of illness. Can’t see…Can’t hear…Can’t talk. You are only a kid. Not a good combination. Without going into the full life story of Helen Keller, she became known worldwide as an author, lecturer (yes, she taught herself to speak) and advocate for the blind and downtrodden. Helen Keller herself once gave the following statement, ” I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I found my true self, my life’s work and my God”.

The second thing that comes to mind is an anecdote related by a Holocaust survivor of the dreaded Sachsenhausen nazi concentration camp. An inmate was observed praying. Another inmate asked him afterward as to what he was praying about. The first inmate said he was giving thanks to God. Dumbfounded, the second inmate exclaimed what the hell could he possibly be thanking God for in this “God-forsaken hellhole.” The first inmate calmly explained that he was thanking God that he did not become like his tormentors.

What did he mean? Even though Jews were being starved, brutalized and murdered at the hands of the Germans, the nazi thugs had not taken away his inner self. He found thankfulness in knowing that he still retained his humanity inside and was in fact, the one who was truly free while his deparaved captors were the ones actually enslaved in darkness. Even in such horrific circumstances, he found gratitude that the brutal surroundings did not succeed in taking away who he was inside as a human being.

Go take a bath.