truth - The Manifest Cookbook

The Current State Of Truth

For a moment, let’s look at the current state of “truth” in the world today. All the countries of the world have highly paid specialists devoted to spinning the events of the day. They are hired to spin as truth whatever places their country in the best possible light. When they do actually announce something that actually is what is happening, nobody believes it. Fake news is the order of the day.

Politicians, bless their little conniving hearts, are experts in saying whatever is necessary to maintain their power and status. Whatever is the actual state of events doesn’t matter. It is irrelevant to them. If actual events do not coordinate with their own position on any matter, it is labelled “fake news”. The controllers then make up what they want to feed the public. Then they relentlessly dish it out. They then call the truth of the matter “fake news”. Let’s do an “opposites Rorschach test.” Cold…..Hot. Upper…..Lower. North…..South. Politicians…..Truth.

Now let’s go to the real rulers of the world – corporations. Corporations have two appointed missions. The first is to suck every last dollar that they can out of the public. The second is to suck the very life out of all the minions under its control. When a corporate representative says that they are making a change to “better serve the public”, watch out. Hold on to your wallet because they are really saying “to better serve the corporation.” Mitt Romney says a corporation is a person. If so, a corporation is a person without a soul.

Sigh. Truth is twisted every which way in today’s world. It’s a royal mess. You may find yourself echoing the words of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, when he said, “What is truth”?

A Well Known Story

In the book of John, there is related the following well known story. Jesus was arrested by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. The charge was blasphemy. They brought him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of that area.

Pilate asked the leaders, “What are the charges against this man”? When he did not get a clear cut answer, he disgustedly told them to go away. He told them to handle the matter under their own laws.

The leaders then answered Pilate. They told him that they wanted Jesus executed. Only Pilate had the authority to allow an execution.

Pilate had the guards bring Jesus in his chambers in the palace. He asked him point blank, “Are you the King of the Jews”?

Jesus replied, “Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me”?

Pilate replied, “Am I a Jew? Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it that you have done”?

Jesus replied, ” My kingdom is not of this world. If it were my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by Jewish leaders. But now my Kingdom is from another place”.

“You are a king then”! exclaimed Pilate.

Jesus answered, ” You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into this world was to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

To which Pilate gave his famous retort, “What is truth”?

The Rest Of The Story

Ah yes. What is truth? The billion dollar question. Did Pilate say it philosophically? Jestfully? Cynically? Rhetorically? We may never know. But it sure is one helluva question.

To finish the story within the eighteenth chapter, Pilate went out again and told the leaders, “I find no fault in him at all.” Pilate continued, “You have a custom that I should release someone to you at Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the ‘King of the Jews’?

Then they all cried again saying, “No, not this man, but Barabbas.” Now Barrabbas was a robber.

The Question Of All Questions

The question “What is Truth”? is indeed the question of all questions. Scripture clearly states that knowing and living the truth will set you free. Free of what you say? Free of the dozens of personal prisons that encapsulate the overwhelming majority of human beings in the world. If it is clearly stated that the truth will set you free, then, it is of paramount importance to you to understand what truth is.

First, let’s see what the Webster dictionary says about the definition of truth. Of course, the first definition that they give is completely useless. It defines truth as, “the state of being true.” Going on to the secondary definition, we see truth being defined as “the body of those events, things and facts that are judged as real.”

Going over to Wikipedia, we find truth defined as “the property of being in accord with accepted fact or reality.”

Various themes, essays and viewpoints of truth have been vigorously debated over the centuries by scholars, philosophers and theologians. Mountains of pages of literature have been written addressing the simple question “What is truth”? Kant. Hegel. Schopenhauer. Nietzsche. Swedenborg. Heidegger. Fromm. And the list goes on and on. Just to read a concise summary of all the themes and viewpoints about the nature of truth is enough to make your head spin.

An Ever Increasing Illumination

Truth is an ever increasing illumination. All things in the world are subject to the imaginative power of mankind. Moses wanted to know what the name of God was. He is told the following (in the book of Exodus): “And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.”

In order to create the reality that you desire, you must choose. You must make the choice to walk, to live, to breathe, in the full feeling of I AM. Do you desire good health? Then feel I AM healthy. If you wish to experience success, then feel I AM successful. Want to experience what it is to be a conduit of God’s love, then feel I AM loving. How about desiring some of your God-given power, then feel I AM powerful. And so on in keeping with whatever you desire to experience. The more you feel your I AM to be true, the more natural it becomes to you.

Stay with it. Grow in it. When you get to the point where your I AM is completely natural, it is truth. Truth then materializes into external circumstances. When I say natural, here is what I mean. It is a natural belief of yours that your nose is attached to your face, your hands are attached to your arms, your feet are attached to your legs. You do not have to think or reason or wonder about these things. These beliefs are completely and totally natural to you.

One of the most mind blowing utterances of Jesus is the following” Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you have them, and you shall have them.”

Deeper Meaning To The Pontius Pilate Story

Jesus stated with crystal clarity how you can receive every good desire. Every. What he stated is truth. This truth, when absorbed into your inner being, will indeed set you free from all the various prisons of this world.

A very large majority of people on this planet cannot bear to part with what they do not want, long enough to be able to receive what they do want. It is unfortunate. Ultimately however, truth will prevail. It always does. In the book of Hebrews it states that faith (imaginative belief) is in fact the very substance (truth) of what you long for. Faith is the concrete substance of that which your senses do not see. It is the indisputable evidence of that which the five senses simply are not able to perceive.

The Jesus/Pontius Pilate story represents the level of Caesar (reason). In that level of truth, only external facts are classified as truth. Barabbas was a known robber. Barabbas represents the external facts of life. These are what the world at large primarily live by. This is what they want. Barabbas, the robber, the evidence of your senses, robs you of the substance of your true faith.

I leave you with this beautiful slice of a poem from Robert Browning, the great nineteenth century poet and playwright:

Truth is within ourselves; It takes no rise from outward things, whatever you may believe.

There is an utmost center in us all; where truth abides in fullness.

Conceive. Believe. Receive.

Conquer Fear

Back in 1934, the author and lecturer Emmet Fox wrote an essay about how to conquer fear entitled, “Be Still — A Treatment Against Fear”. It is freely available on the internet. Read it for yourself. Print out Psalm 46 from the Bible and use it to follow along as you read the entire essay. He breaks down Psalm 46 verse by verse, going underneath the surface of the words in that beautiful Psalm. In this post I will attempt to condense the gist of the essay through my own understanding of it.

Fear Is A Stalker

Mr. Fear is a debilitating stalker — always lurking and smirking in the background. He is always ready to use any set of circumstances in your life to take your attention away from God and on him. This is the way he gains control of your inner thoughts and emotions. His end game is to take control of you. It is the way he “gets off”. Through listening to the whispers of this SOB, you then go on to obediently accept restrictions, continually rehash old grievances, and focus constantly on what is wrong in your life. You dwell on the problem. Thus you generally manifest for yourself a vortex of ongoing worry and anxiety that sucks you down a rabbit hole of misery.

A Ready Solution To Fear

Within Psalm 46, you are offered an ready solution to the malevolent whispers of fear. The way to conquer Mr. Fear is revealed in Psalm 46, Verse 10 — “Be Still and Know That I Am God.” There is a lot of symbolism contained in this Psalm. A lot. Much meaning under the surface. The essay by Emmet Fox goes into detail about what it all means.

The way that it is suggested that you conquer your fears is simplicity itself. You must however, fully commit yourself to do it. You must do more than just agree with it. It is necessary to do more than just talk about it. You cannot “dance around the maypole” with it. Discipline your mind to do it every single MF day of your life.

The Solution

The object of prayer is to raise your consciousness of the Presence of God in you, through you, around you. You must believe in God as your God. Dwelling within you always. Your refuge. Your very strength. Not just with words but with a relentless belief, a knowledge. When you experience a feeling of doubt, of terror, of despair, of fear, you must make the choice then and there to tenaciously cling to the thought of God, the One True Presence. The Kingdom of God is within you. The problem or problems that you are facing, cannot withstand your constant indwelling of the Presence of God. Fear will recede like a rain puddle recedes as a result of the continuous rays of the sun. It has to because it cannot resist the Presence of All That Is.

To conquer fear, it does mean effort on your part. You CAN rid yourself of this bastard, Mr. Fear, but there is work involved on your part. You have to make the choice to just commit yourself to this method and the work that is involved. But — Oh those beautiful rewards. Those beautiful rewards that stand patiently waiting for you. They are worth your work many, many times over. Even if you have six problems coming at you at once, just make the choice. Make what you know about God, the focus of your thoughts…morning, noon and night.

Is What You Are Doing Now Working For You?

Is what you are doing now working for you? If so, good. Stay on that path. If not however, then you know that you have nothing to lose by trying this method of conquering your fears. Refuse to accept restrictions. Refuse to rehearse grievances. In your mind, refrain from dwelling on the problem. Entertain just one visitor to your mind — the omnipotence of Eternal Supreme Intelligence, God.

It is hard to stop constantly going over those problems and worries, I understand, It is hard work, especially if you are in pain. But, you can do it. You must do it. If you will just fully commit yourself to focusing on the Presence of God, The I Am That I Am, you will conquer Mr. Fear. If you persevere, no matter what, you will begin feeling within you an inner joy and peace that you never thought you could ever experience. It will probably come when you don’t expect it but it will come. An inner peace and joy that is not dependent on outside circumstances. You will be free. It is a glorious feeling.

Be Still – Know That I AM God

From Psalm 46 – “Be still and know that I am God”. What a beautiful, incredibly powerful verse. Not a passive “doing nothing” but an active and potent recipe for whatever trouble you are in, whatever fears you have. Always remember this eternal truth – the Kingdom of God is not up there or out there or over there – the Kingdom of God is within you. Within you. Can you grasp the actual meaning of those glorious words from the mouth of Jesus Christ?

An Acronym To Remember

Here is an acronym for you. Ten attributes that emanate from the Kingdom of God, the eternal I AM. The acronym is: LITE-PPPP-IC. Dwell on these wherever you happen to be. Let them flood your mind. They all perpetually exist within the Kingdom of God. When you dwell on these attributes, you are dwelling on God. Mr. Fear despises it when you do this because it means, if you persevere, he will ultimately lose his control over you.

Love – deep affection, deep devotion. The strongest energy force in the universe.

Intelligence -everything there is to know.

Truth – pure and simple, truth is what is.

Energy – the pure light of the universe

Prosperity -the universal cornucopia.

Power – relentless, unrestrainable force.

ComPassion – we are all one. what helps one, helps all, helps you.

Peace – a knowing stillness; being centered in the Presence of God.

Imagination – to see what you want to make real.

Creativity – to make real in your mind what you see

Dwell on the Presence of God within you. Don’t look to the right. Don’t look to the left. Refrain from looking at your problem. Look at the I Am That I Am that lives within you. If you are able to maintain the rays of the sun by being still, in steady faith, the waters will recede. Mr. Fear will fold up his tent and go after easier pickings elsewhere. He will have no choice. He simply cannot coexist with the power and peace of the Presence of God.

Mr. Fear Will Exit The Scene

Keep your focus on the Presence of God. Your problem or problems will in due course be overcome. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes little by little. Perhaps they will be overcome in the way that you expect. Or perhaps in a way that you never expected. If you do your part however, the problem will be successfully dealt with. You will have the ability to be still in all circumstances. And Mr. Fear will avoid you like the plague and go after the one who focuses on him. You will enjoy that beautiful peace, that success, that you deserve in your life. Try it for sixty consecutive days without fail. Experience for yourself the power of Psalm 46 – Be still and know I am God. Once you get that taste of the inner peace through practicing the Presence of the Divine Eternal, fear will have no place in your life.