News Article

(Luke 10:25-37)

As we researched for this article, we Googled the words “Good Samaritan” and the request brought us over 281,000 references of the Good Samaritan on the Internet. There were thousands of hospitals and medical centers named Good Samaritan, hundreds of Good Samaritan awards, scores of charitable trust funds named Good Samaritan, and a multitude of newspaper articles on Good Samaritan heroics and helpfulness. But what is the source of all these references?

Let’s take a peek at the Biblical Good Samaritan story, and then look at it metaphysically, to introduce the real main character to you. You may want to read the whole story before going with this article. When you’re finished, come on back. We’ll wait for you!

Let’s start by taking a look at a few specific verses from Luke 10:25-37, to provide some historical background.

* v27: The legal expert answers easily, reiterating the passages from the Torah (Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18). He wanted to demonstrate he was a student of the law that he was up on his Torah.

* v29: He desired Jesus’ approval to abide by the letter of the law and to restrict who he considered a neighbor. It would be like asking for permission not to help a member of a hate group who was hurt (like a neo-Nazi or a clansman.) The Greek work for neighbor is plesion which is interpreted as “the close one.” It meant people similar to you in social status, religious faith, ethnicity, etc. The lawyer hoped that’s what Jesus meant.

* v30: In this verse, the phrase “a certain man” derives from the Greek Word anthropostis, which means somebody/anyone. Jesus wasn’t going to give him a way out. The road between Jericho and Jerusalem was treacherous and notorious for bandits. Jericho was below sea level.

* v32: The law was if a person touched a dead body or came into contact with the blood of someone unclean, they would be defiled for seven days and unable to carry out their assigned religious responsibilities.

* v33: The Jews hated the Samaritans. Samaritans were the descendants of those Jews who stayed in northern Israel after it was conquered by Assyria in the 8th Century B.C. They were uncircumcised, intermarried Gentiles, and refused to acknowledge the temple in Jerusalem.

* v37: The lawyer probably paused before he responded to Jesus’ question. He, like other Jews, detested the Samaritans so much he was unable to bring himself to say the word Samaritan. He said, “He that showed mercy.” And Jesus responded, “You got that right.” We’re paraphrasing, of course.

For Jesus, there were no untouchables in the Kingdom of God. And the point He wanted to make to the lawyer - and to us - is to not let our religion to replace our spirituality or compassion. If the only point of Jesus’ parable had been simply promoting a sense of civility and goodwill, it would have been a good message. But it has a much deeper meaning. Let’s take a metaphysical view, so we can add a higher consciousness perspective to the parable.

* Lawyer = our inclination to use the letter of the law to justify our behavior

* Injured Man (the main metaphysical character) = human consciousness; the thoughts, feelings, and actions in each of us

* Jerusalem = Heart-centered consciousness of peace and spirituality

* Jericho = Materially-focused desires which spring from the ego’s fears and selfishness

* Robbers = our selfish, destructive thoughts that deplete our body of its energy and vitality

* Priest and Levite = religious tendencies that fail to see the connection between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law

* Samaritan = the Christ of us

* Oil and wine = oil is love; wine is abundant life

* Inn = pure, receptive Divine thoughts

* Innkeeper = the Holy Spirit

* 2 denarii = the cost to us for reconnecting the human personality with Spirit

* Neighbor = our physical body and emotions which are impacted by our thoughts

The metaphysical implications of this parable are straightforward. When we decide to leave the peace and serenity of our spirituality (Jerusalem) and follow the temptations of our material sense consciousness (Jericho), we rob ourselves of our strength and vitality. Our error thinking can take us over dangerous emotional and physical ground, oftentimes resulting in life-threatening illnesses.

Our wholeness will be restored when we ramp up our consciousness (the Inn) and accept the wisdom and support that comes from our inner Divinity, which provides comfort through the Holy Spirit.

So you see the parable is not about the Samaritan at all. It is about us.

* It is about our relationship with the Christ of us.

* It is about our falling in and out of a state of grace.

* It reminds us of our awesome and unfailing oneness to Spirit.

* It encourages us to have Christ thoughts in order to make Christ choices.

* And — it assures us that we shall be comforted.

This entry is about lint-free living. L I N T - free living. It is about moving beyond bothersome lint. Sometimes you need to pick it off or flick it off. You might use a lint-free roller that has sticky paper which removes the unwanted lint. Other people use Scotch Tape to lift lint off clothing. We’ve even seen people use clear packaging tape to dispose of lint.

Oftentimes one of your friends will remove a piece of lint from your clothing. (”Oh,” they say, “you’ve got a piece of lint there, I got it! It was a speck of lint.)

No one likes lint on his or her clothing. We’re even going to ask you to stop picking lint off your clothing as you are reading this article.

Seriously, though, all of this L I N T talk is brought up to make a point. The L I N T - free living we are referring to is actually an acronym which stands for Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking.

LINT is the type of thinking that spoils our consciousness and interferes with our spiritual walk. It’s the kind of thinking that negates our goodness and hides our Godness.

Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking comes from a consciousness of lack, fear, anger, and hopelessness. Individuals who have PhD’s in this kind of LINT say things like:

“I can’t do that!”

“I’m not smart enough.”

“I’m too out of shape.”

“I’ve been a disappointment all of my life.”

“I don’t have much to offer.”

“I don’t I can’t I’m not” These individuals wear their LINT like a badge.

In its simplest form, Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking expresses itself as racism, sexism, violence, gossip, envy, and jealousy. These types of LINT are caustic. They embed themselves in the fabric of our consciousness and are difficult to extract.

Difficult — but not impossible! The Hebrew Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego offers the formula for lint-free living. You may recall the story. It appears in the 3rd chapter of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

It is the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who are friends of Daniel. They refuse to worship the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar, and are thrown into a fiery furnace. In an amazing turn of events, they remain untouched by the fire, and they are joined in the furnace by a fourth individual. When the king sees they have not been destroyed by the fire, he permits them to come out and places them in high positions of authority.

From a Unity perspective, this is what the story means:

King Nebuchadnezzar represents a condescending ego

Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image signifies our egotistical, supercilious nature

Shadrach is that quality within us that represents humbleness

Meshach symbolizes an unfailing love for the truth

Abednego means a high degree of spiritual wisdom

4th person is the Indwelling Christ

Fiery furnace is the all consuming, destructive power of negative thinking which impacts our life experiences

So what does the story mean for us? When we experience an intense, consuming negative attitude (the furnace), we tend to give power to outer appearances.

However, if we remember who we really are if we remain humble to the direction of Spirit, stand firm in our unfailing love for truth, and seek a deeper understanding of principle, we will receive the guidance we need from the Christ of us, that uplifting Presence within us.

We don’t need to fear anything. We don’t need to bow to anyone or anything, or to any form of Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking. We are divine beings that have phenomenal spiritual abilities and inner capacities that can empower us over any physical situation.

‘Tourist trap’ is a well-known phrase to any vacationer. Every city, every resort, every vacation spot in the world has them. If you are not careful, you’ll spend a lot of your hard earned cash buying items that you just don’t need.

The phrase ‘tourist trap’ is any business or group of businesses specifically designed to separate tourists from their money. The quality of those products and the price one is willing to pay is in the eye of the beholder. And, I might add, based on the size of the wallet or purse of the buyer.

For example, a recent Associated Press release announced that the Moon could be the next exciting tourist trap. The company who pioneered commercial space travel by sending “tourists” to the International Space Station is planning a new expedition: rocketing people around the far side of the moon.

The price of a round-trip ticket: $100 million.

The first mission by Space Adventures could occur in the next year, and is planned as a first step to an eventual lunar landing by private citizens.

“For the first time in history, a private company is organizing a mission to the moon,” Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said, a day after the space shuttle Discovery safely returned to Earth.

Anderson reported he already has prospective “private explorers” who are interested in the trip and can afford the fee to do it.

For many of us, tourist traps are part of the vacation experience. For others, the trips themselves may become the trap.

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung had this to say:

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. They will practice yoga and all its exercises, observe a strict regime of diet, learn theosophy by heart, mechanically repeat mystic texts from the literature of the world, adopt the sayings and follow the example of the latest guru - all because they cannot get on with themselves, and have not the slightest faith that anything useful could ever come out of their own lives.”

That quote was recorded 50 years ago. We feel he is referring to a different kind of tourist trap - the trap we fall into when we buy into New Thought messages which cause hiccups on our truth walks.

Because we are higher consciousness explorers - people attracted to the deeper meaning of life - our trips into the world of New Thought can become huge traps, if we fall victim to touristy things like:

* The hot off the market snake oil sold by people who know just enough about higher consciousness stuff to be dangerous;

* Clever phrases and sound bytes which can take bites out of our spiritual growth;

* Close-minded religious dogma which ignores our God-ordained divinity;

* Negative, self-defeating thinking which blocks our good;

* And, yes, we’re going to say it - questionable and misleading literal translations of Biblical scripture which perpetuate the myth of our separation from Spirit.

These tourist traps are like the couple driving an RV, who got hopelessly bogged down in an unexpected muddy ditch along a dirt road. After a few minutes, a local farmer happened by on his tractor and offered to pull them out for $45.

After the motor home was safe on dry road, the driver said to the farmer, “At those prices, I imagine you’re pulling vehicles out of this ditch day and night.”

“Can’t,” replied the farmer. “At night I’m busy filling the hole with water.”

This is the classic business strategy of creating a need and then filling it. It’s a business philosophy grounded in purely hip pocket interest.

Remember the definition of tourist traps? They are any business or group of businesses specifically designed to separate tourists from their money. From a metaphysical perspective, a tourist trap is any misleading teaching or philosophy, attitude, or activity designed to separate truth students from their money and, even more importantly, from their spiritual growth.

On our vacations into higher consciousness, we will no doubt find ourselves doing lots of touristy things. We have gone to our share of disappointing workshops and questionable seminars. We’ve consumed our fair share of substandard books that did not live up to their hype. But we also realize tourist traps are part of the journey. Our caution is not to turn them into THE journey.

Just as there are exciting finds in the proverbial tourist trap, there are truth nuggets in commercialized New Thought as well. In Part Two of this article, you will learn how to locate them, and put them to practice in your Truth walk.

So - what fiery furnace are you experiencing in your life? What “outward appearance” is challenging your belief system? The good news is each of us has within us the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego qualities that, when developed, give us the power to stand firm in Truth in the midst of the fiery furnace, and not merely survive, but thrive!

Your next question would be how do I do that? Here’s a quick process, with a very specific “How-To” thrown in.

1. Know your Truth! Know that you know that you know the Spiritual Essence of who and what you are. We call this the Abednego quality of spiritual wisdom. It is one thing to repeat Truth rhetoric; it is a totally different thing to KNOW and understand it. One of Unity’s Truth principles is “There is only one presence and one power in the universe and in my life and affairs: God the good, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.” We say it - but do we truly understand the meaning of it? Whenever we give power to outward appearances of lack, or jealousy, or anger, or fear, or health challenges, we are creating a rift between ourselves and the Truth of what we know.

I am reminded of children reciting the Lord’s Prayer. These are things that I have actually heard! One child believed God’s name had to be Harold, because he always said, “Our Father who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name!”

Another contemporized the prayer by saying, “Leave us not in temptation, but deliver us some email!”

In our understanding of the Truth principles, we invite you to move beyond just saying Truth, and grow in your understanding so Truth becomes a part of your consciousness and manifests in your reality.

2. Recognize the LINT (Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking) and stop it as soon as possible! How important is that? Think about a beautiful black wool suit, with one little teeny piece of lint. Where do your eyes go right away?? To the lint! The same is true in our consciousness.

Allow us to share the Parable of the LINT (not from the Bible) - from the Holton household we were facilitating a Prosperity class at another church, and were staying in church member’s home. We shared a nice breakfast in the sun room before leaving for the church. When we got to the church parking lot, we realized that Bil’s suit was covered with long white cat hairs! We had not even been aware of it before!

Now let’s stretch the metaphor - we are often in the midst of LINT (Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking). When we fail to recognize the source of it, it connects to us and becomes part of our consciousness and experience.

You become aware of the LINT by the way you are feeling (agitated, irritable, frustrated, stressed); by what you are saying (negative focus, self critical); and/or by what is manifesting in your life. As soon as you spot it, do the GAP assessment (Here’s that specific “How-To” we promised at the beginning of this article):

* Guilt-free, go from where you are. * Acknowledge the separation * Pray and meditate to close the gap and reconnect with Spirit.

3. Transform the LINT: Emerge from your prayer and meditation, ready to practice Truth principles in your life. Be proactive in living the Truth as you face the world of appearances, and look for ways to see things from a new perspective.

A good example of this is Cesar Lopez, a musician and composer from Bogota, Columbia. In USA Today, 04/19/06, you can read about how he created the escopetarra: an electric guitar he designs from shotguns collected by the police from scenes of violent crimes. One quote says, “the weapon is still present, but when you strike the first chord, everything that is violent about it disappears. That’s the kind of transformation we would like to see in our country.”

So-as you recognize the LINT in your life - Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking -that separates you from the Truth of who you are, apply the GAP assessment. Then you can use your power to transform the LINT into a life of joy, prosperity, and unbelievable spiritual understanding.

If you are going to get a colour analysis, you should always seek out a trained and experienced aura imaging therapist. The colours in your aura provide you with an alternative for understanding your emotions energy processes, consciousness, and your inner self. Your colour analysis may point to potential medical problems, if this is the case you should seek trained medical help.

When you’re analysing your aura colour image, you should study these eight parts of the body;

1) The centre is what the area around your head is called, it’s what you experience now, it is normally a colour that best describes you.

2) Right Side. The right side of an aura photo is the left side of the person. This is the energy is being expressed, in a word to the energy that you are radiating into the world.

3) The Left Side. The energy that is entering a person is viewed in an aura photograph as the colours on the left side.

4) The Throat Area. The throat represents energy that is being expressed verbally, if an aura image shows that the energy is flowing well in this area, you can assume that this person finds it easy to express their thoughts and feelings.

5) The Heart Area. The colour of the aura around your heart represents the energies that you are feeling both about yourself and about others, this is your love and compassion centre and is also the centre of your connection to the universe.

6)The solar plexus, color on the solar plexus is associated with the central vibration of your being, with power and money. This is the centre of self-esteem.

7) The reproductive area, this energy centre of the body is about creativity, sociability, and sensuality. When the energy in this area is balanced, that person will probably have a healthy positive attitude towards love.

Root Area. The root area represents the energy of material reality, and the physical plane. If you would like succeed, it is advisable that you focus as much energy as possible in this part of the body. The root area is also the source of power.

There is a range of 21 different colours that you will see in each of these eight areas, these can range from ultraviolet through the spectrum to infrared. There are different meanings associated with these different colours depending on which area of the body you are looking at. These colours can be viewed through an aura colour analysis which forms a blueprint of an individuals aura.

I would advise you to meet with a professional aura image consultant if you would like your aura colour image to be analysed comprehensively.

We all have the same life purpose: We are here to fully demonstrate the Christ within.

We have all got the same decision to make: We can choose to accept our Divinity and follow the guidance that comes from our Christ Consciousness — or not.

There is only one story in the Bible: That story is about how we use more won’t power than will power when it comes to “demonstrating our divinity.”

The following illustration is an example of our on-and-off-again relationship. The story comes from the 8th Chapter of John’s Gospel, verses 2-11:

2. Early in the morning He came again to the temple: (When we are centered in Spirit, we begin every morning connected to our Christ Nature. Jesus stands for that aspect in us that understands our Christ potential and is our unfolding pattern of excellence.) All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them: (As we intentionally “practice the Presence,” the more guidance we will receive.)

3. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand before all of them: (Our judgmentalness. which many times is really hypocrisy, is represented by the Pharisees. It tries to keep us stuck in the letter of the law so we remain in the tight box of dogma and doctrine. The personality attempts to discredit our receptivity to Truth principles, represented by the woman, by signaling out our failures.)

4. They said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery: (Guarded by its self-righteousness duplicity, our ego even manufactures ways to make us feel less spiritual, while at the same time hypocritically hiding behind its own limitations.)

5. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6. They said this to test Him, so that they might have some charge to bring against Him: (Moses as an adult represents that within us that identifies more with the letter of the law than the spirit of the law. Our judgmental nature tests our spiritual growth because it wants us to stick with the status quo.)

6. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the sand. (This symbolizes our Christ Self lowering itself into our sense chakra to cleanse it. We re-awaken to the realization that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.)

7. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” (We remember that our old tapes have zero power over us.)

8. And once again He bent down and wrote on the ground: (Our ‘I Am’ Consciousness lowers Itself a second time to strengthen us and to lead us into a right relationship with our Christ Nature.)

9. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders: (When the Spirit moves, its powerful vibration dissolves even the strongest, most encrusted beliefs, assumptions and prejudices, causing them to erase their resonance and fade away.) And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him: (Once we put the noise of our judgmentalness aside we stand firm in our awareness of our true nature).

10. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”: (When we permit that still, small voice to direct us, we have power over any and all negativity).

11. She said, “No one, Sir.”: (We can say emphatically, through affirmations and denials, that nothing can separate us from our good). And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”: (Our Christ nature sees only the good in us. Once we become consciously one with our Christ nature, by going to our heart center, we will hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. All we need to do is practice more will power than won’t power so we do not miss the mark.)

This illustration is about you and us and everyone on the planet. It reminds us to remember the Truth of who we really are, so we can demonstrate and enjoy our innate Divinity, the Godness that is present at our beginning.

I can count the times I joined my dad on a fishing expedition on one hand, actually on three fingers. But those three fishing experiences were memorable indeed! I was an inquisitive seven-year-old and was ecstatic about going fishing with my dad.

Each time I threw out the line, I caught something — and my lines never even hit the water. On the first toss, I hooked my father’s favorite fishing hat, pulling it unceremoniously off his head. I remember his initial frustration turning to amusement as he helped me reel his hat in. I also recall how the wet hat looked on his head. He wouldn’t fish without it.

On our second fishing trip, I hooked the back of my shirt — twice! I did manage to catch several fish. It wasn’t many. I remember they were little, and I learned how to talk fisherman’s talk. I discovered what is meant by ‘catch and release.’ If the fish are too small, you throw them back!

I’d catch a tiny cat fish or snag a turtle and look at my dad and ask, ‘Release?’ And he’d nod his agreement. When it came to fishing, I was not giving Dad much to celebrate.

On my third and final fishing expedition with Dad, I snagged his left ear lobe. I didn’t do it on purpose! But I hooked it good! I didn’t need to ask about ‘catch and release’ that time. I remember thinking, “Holy mackerel, is he going to throw me overboard?”

When I look back on those fishing fiascos with my dad, it struck me that our time together was the valuable thing. After I ‘hooked and released’ I preferred to immerse myself in a book, take/jot down notes, and write something of my own while Dad fished. I didn’t know it then, but those initial writing projects were the start of my writing vocation.

My father enjoyed catching fish — and I enjoyed catching ideas. Later I learned they’re the same thing. I also discovered that most fishermen catch their best fish by the tale — TALE — and I learned nothing grows as fast as a fish from the time it bites until it slips away.

I have another fish story for you. It comes from the Gospel of John — John 21:1-6. But it’s more than just a fish story. It’s about how the brain works.

If you take this story at face value, seven fishermen took the advice of a person who never fished in the pond, so to speak. Obviously, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Metaphysically, this story has incredible truths to teach us:

There are seven disciples mentioned: Simon Peter (faith), John (love), Thomas (understanding), Nathaniel — who is the same as Bartholomew — (imagination), James, son of Jebedee (wisdom), and two more anonymous disciples who were most likely Simon, the Cananaean (Zeal), and James, son of Alphaeus (order). These seven disciples symbolize the spiritual qualities which assist us in manifesting ideas.

Sea of Tiberias = the spiritual insights we can gain when we put our spiritual powers to work

Fish = spiritual ideas. (In verse 11 it says the disciples caught 153 large fish — which they didn’t ‘catch and release’ — 153 represents the number of known species of fish at the time of this Gospel story. When we connect with Spirit, we have access to an inexhaustible supply of ideas)

Net = Our mind, which catches ideas

Fishing at night from the left side of the boat = literally means we are fishing in the dark if we try to comprehend spiritual principles from a left-brained material consciousness

Right Side = Always symbolizes the side of truth. It also stands for the right side of our brain, our intuitive side, our creativity.

So, when we operate out of our sense consciousness (Fish at night), we can work like crazy, but end up empty. However, when we connect with Spirit and practice truth principles (fish from the right side of the boat), we can tap into an inexhaustible supply of Divine Ideas which bring us the abundance, peace and happiness we want.

Holy mackerel! All we need to do is harmonize both sides of our brain to capture Divine Ideas. It just takes drawing on a little bit of our “net” worth.

We orchestrate our experiences by the activity of our thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thought.

The chair on which you are sitting was once a ‘Fig Newton’ in someone’s imagination. The clothes you are wearing were once a spark in someone’s imagination. This information was once a figment in my imagination.

Everything you can see and touch has its start in thought. This is the Law of Mind Action. You already have a well-grounded understanding for thought power or you wouldn’t have been attracted to this article at all.

The truth of the matter is - we are what we think and we think what we are! Proverbs 23:7 reminds us: “For as (we) think in our heart, so are (we).”

The brilliant Theosophist, Dr. Annie Besant, had this to share:

“(We) fix the normal vibration-rate of our minds. Thoughts which do not harmonize with that rate will be flung aside when they touch the mind. If (we) think truth, a lie cannot lodge itself in (our) mind; if we think love, hate cannot disturb us; if we think wisdom, ignorance cannot paralyze us. Here alone is safety and power. The mind must not be allowed to vibrate as it pleases, because that means it will answer to any passing vibration.”

Her last sentence warns us to watch what we think. “The mind,” she says, “must not be allowed to vibrate as it pleases, for that means that it will answer to any passing vibration.”

In other words, we’ve got to Feng ShuiShui our thinking.

When we fill our minds with the appropriate thoughts, arranged in the correct order, our choices and actions will be the perfect choices and actions. Our decisions will come from the right place, and the right place is from our Divine Center.

Correct thinking comes from Divine thinking. Emmet Fox tells us: “Negative thoughts and feelings are like a spark that falls on your coat sleeve. Brush it off and it will do no damage. Let it linger and it will burn a hole.”

Charles Fillmore said in his provocative book, Atom-Smashing Power of Mind: “The most important issue before (us) today is the development of (our) spiritual (mindset) and through it unity with God The taproot of all our confusion is our failure to use our mind intelligently. The gods determining our faith are our own minds working on our brain cells and on the world. This will eventually be found to be true, and the discovery of the law of Mind Action will be the greatest revelation of all time.”

If he were writing today, he could say, “We’ve got to Feng Shui our thinking!

Ask yourself what you desire out of life:

Do you want to be joyful? Healthy? Feng Shui your thinking!

Do you want to enjoy abundant prosperity? Feng Shui your thinking!

Would you like to have financial security and be incredibly giving? Feng Shui your thinking!

Can you imagine yourself contributing significantly to your favorite ministry? Feng Shui your thinking!

Can you envision yourself in the perfect work for you and expressing your incredible gifts? Feng Shui your thinking!

Have you found the perfect relationship? A person who is the perfect life partner for you? Feng Shui your thinking!

If you haven’t achieved those things right now then - Feng Shui your thinking!

Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, shared, “The most important issue before (us) today is the development of (our) spiritual (mindset) and through it unity with God The taproot of all our confusion is our failure to use our mind intelligently. The gods determining our faith are our own minds working on our brain cells and on the world. This will eventually be found to be true, and the discovery of the law of Mind Action will be the greatest revelation of all time.”

So, Feng Shui your thinking. And create the life you deserve to have.

There is a wonderful story that illustrates the advice Jesus gave His followers when He sent them out to tell people the good news - the news that the Kingdom of God is within. It’s about a struggle between the Wind and the Sun, about who was the most powerful. The Wind thought he was stronger because of his destructive might in twisters, hurricanes, sand storms, and electric storms. He pointed out his ability to turn a simple cigarette or lightning strike into a horrific forest fire which could destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of woods.

There wasn’t a day that went by without the Wind bragging of his strength. The Sun grew weary of the Wind’s arrogance and decided to settle the matter once and for all. He challenged the Wind to a contest.

“Look, you old wind bag,” bragged the Sun, “I’m going to prove you are not as powerful or influential as you think you are.”

“Oh, you are, are you? Just how do you plan to do that?” taunted the Wind.

“See that elderly Truth Student down there taking a walk?”

The Wind whirled himself around to get a closer look. The Wind smiled his pleasure and delivered a taunting gust of wind to throw the Truth Student off balance.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, I observe him. Kinda wimpy isn’t he? Surely you can find a better subject than that pathetic old Truth Seeker!”

The Sun’s voice did not change as he leveled his dare. “I dare you to blow the Student’s jacket off his back.”

“Wow! You’re making this much too easy. In a short while,” he bragged, “I shall rule Heaven and Earth.”

He began to blow, gently at first, to disorient the Truth Seeker. To his amazement, the man clung to his jacket. The Wind blew harder, sending the man ricocheting to and fro across the street - but the elderly Truth student grasped his jacket even tighter! The harder the Wind blew, the more the man resisted.

The Truth Student’s tenacity angered the Wind, so he blew huge gusts of wind, which pushed the gentleman into parked vehicles and against the sides of buildings. But the man would not let go of his jacket. One more fierce gust of wind blew the man’s hat off and knocked him down, but the man clung to his jacket even harder.

Finally, the Wind gave up and challenged the Sun to succeed where he had failed.

The Sun grinned and sent radiant rays of warmth upon the Truth Student. The gentleman stood up and brushed off his coat and slacks, grateful for the change in the weather. In a short while, he began to respond to the heat. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead and neck.

The sun continued to send radiant light and warmth upon the Truth Seeker who first unbuttoned his jacket and finally removed it.

The Sun’s “soft sell” approach was much more persuasive, wouldn’t you say? The Wind’s agenda was to blow the coat off the man against his will. The Wind had mixed up loving invitation with harsh influence.

The Sun, on the other hand, understood the essence of tactful influence and that the greatest kind of power is showing warmth, kindness, and understanding through letting its light shine - instead of intimidation, power, judgmentalness, or humiliation.

The Sun applied the same secret Jesus practiced when He warned His disciples not to force Truth principles on others. He recommended a soft metaphysical approach. The message is in three of the four Gospels, so it is a valuable teaching. It appears in Matt. 10:7;10-14; Mark 6: 7-11; and Luke 9: 1-5.

The literal translation is fairly straightforward. Reveal the Truth with those who are open to hear it. If you meet with resistance or disinterest, don’t force the issue. Shake the dust off your feet and non-judgmentally continue your Truth walk.

Metaphysically, this story is rich in timeless wisdom. I’ll explain the key words and concepts first and then offer a metaphysical interpretation:

Jesus: that within us which knows and conscientiously strives to fulfill our Christ Potential

Kingdom of Heaven: Christ Consciousness

Twelve disciples: the twelve higher consciousness powers inside us

Town or village: a group of accepted views, a belief system, a particular point of view, socially accepted behaviors

House: individual human consciousness

Shake the dust off your feet: denying the power of the superficiality of materialism or the unhealthy lure of outer appearances to cloud our spiritual discernment

Metaphysically, there are three valuable lessons with a spiritual context:

1.As we apply our growing awareness of Truth principles (the 12 powers, represented by the 12 disciples, which are strengthened by our (I Am-ness) to our current beliefs and habitual ways of thinking, we will meet with some internal resistance. It is normal to experience some inner fighting whenever we are stretching our spiritual awareness.

2.Some of our beliefs will be easy to change. Others may take a while. Be patient with yourself as you refocus your thinking to the new, greater spiritual Truth.

3.When we encounter resistant thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, we must deny the power of materialistic inclinations to distort our understanding (shake the dust from our feet) and keep walking the spiritual path on practical feet.

We enjoy the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 because it is so inspiring! It contains the formula for continuous prosperity. Jesus demonstrates it so clearly –step by step! It’s as simple as A–B–C!

Writing about prosperity always reminds us of Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon. We saw an interview with him in Fast Company magazine, where he said that his business plan was simple: to make more than I spend! Now, there’s a practical, no nonsense prosperity plan!

As you vision your prosperity plan, here’s the formula to guarantee continuous prosperity flowing in your life:

A: Acknowledge: Acknowledge your potential, not your weaknesses!

When we get into tough situations, it is so tempting to focus on limitation — on the proverbial problem. But Jesus demonstrated that it is more important to focus on the potential. The disciples were focused on the issue of feeding 5,000-25,000 people. But Jesus said, “Let’s give them something to eat!” In the Gospel of Mark, He asks: “How many loaves do you have?” He is demonstrating the need to center on what we possess. He is asking the disciples to imagine what CAN be done, rather than on what can’t be done.

Keep yourself in the frame of consciousness of always being centered on potential rather than the problem. One way is to create Attitude of Gratitude Lists, at the point of a frustrating situation. On this list, you can pinpoint specific things for which you are appreciative. This literally shifts your consciousness into a more positive frame of reference.

B: Bless: Bless what you possess.

The initial thing Jesus did was bless the loaves and fish that were offered. It was not a begging prayer — for example ‘Oh, God, make this be enough to feed all these people!’ It was a prayer of gratitude. He had no doubt there was plenty, because He understood the principle of Mind Action.

C: Claim: Claim and be generous with your prosperity!

It is important to move your feet — step out on faith, knowing our prosperity is manifesting. Jesus handed the bread and fish to the disciples and instructed them to distribute it. The small amount of bread and fish must have looked kind of puny — and perhaps the disciples thought Jesus had lost it! But they followed His instruction! And not only was everyone fed, there were twelve baskets of overflow!

So, never see mountains of limitation. Instead see peaks of potential. And don’t ever, ever, ever confuse your net worth with your self worth.