Sometimes When Our Prayers Seem Unanswered...

I'm watching a sermon by Pastor Dale and had to take a moment to blog this. This sermon is about what to do when our prayers seem unanswered. We've all had times when we felt we weren't being heard.

This is also the #1 time when faith can begin to slip and we question the existence of God. In reality, we may just not "understand" prayer properly!

Reason #2 Pastor Dale gives is: "When we pray for the right things but for the wrong reasons."

Pastor Dale refers to James 4:3 (NIV):

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

He explains that when we pray, God doesn't just care about the CONTENT of our prayers, but the REASONS for our prayers. He looks not only at the content, but your heart.

Many times we pray for personal gain, for materialism, for self-promotion or even out of anger and spite. In those circumstances, your prayers are unanswered NOT because God does not exist, but because you are not following his Word.

Take a moment now to think about a prayer you feel is unanswered. Now, honestly, evaluate your "motive." Personally, I find that almost every prayer I've had unanswered was because my heart was not aligned with the Word of God.

Heed this now as you go on praying - just because what you pray for is right, does not make the prayer right.

Praying For Others - I Can't Believe This...

Just a quick blog post. Roughly 10 days ago or so, I added something new to my prayers...

...Other people.

I have no idea why. I have no idea from where. It's not that I had not prayed for others before, but about 10 days ago I made it a priority. As a matter of fact, many times I found myself praying for others before even myself.

I did find it strange at the time - I had NEVER prayed this way. I was making specific requests for others and much more. There were even nights I forgot to pray for myself, I'd fall asleep before I finished.

Now, today, I sit and read this book - "Prison To Praise" recommended by a Friend. My jaw is literally on the ground, the UNDERLYING message of this book is essentially the power of prayer.

...but NOT just the power of prayer. The power of praying for OTHERS. It almost feels as if I was directed in one way and since it confused me, God delivered this book to define what was happening to my "logical" mind.

By the way, I'll tell more of these prayers in a later post, but yes, MANY are coming true in amazing ways. Again, ways that are so "weird" that at times my "logical" mind (or Satan) even wants me to label them as a "coincidence." But, I've always known since I was a child - "There's just no such thing as a coincidence in this world..."

WHY Is Rama Considered a God?

I found an interesting animated Documentary on YouTube (1.5 hours) called - Sita Sings The Blues, you can watch it below!



Firstly, the movie is definitely an interesting "DIRECTION" and creative, but way too long. It's too "Bollywood" with too many unnecessary "songs" and other unnecessary scenes. None the less, it was fun to watch.
I never knew the story of Rama, now I do. As a matter of fact, this movie was likely made for children, it's pretty easy to understand. However, it raises one BIG question - HUGE question.
Why In The World is Rama Considered a God?
I actually walked away from the movie UPSET with Rama. I was quite shocked. He seemed to exemplify the very type of person God would warn against! The way he treats his wife is absolutely horrendous. Let's examine...
1. Rama is exiled from the Kingdom that is rightfully his because of a conniving step-mother.
Ok fine, he leaves in peace and honors his Father - Godly behavior (checkmark)
2. Rama spends time in the Forest protecting people from Demons and taking care of his Wife.
Great, more heavenly behavior. He's protecting and caring and being righteous.
3. Rama's wife Sita is kidnapped by "Ravan" and Rama goes to kick some butt and save her. Here he even receives help from God (a form of Vishnu comes down).
Ok awesome! Like any man should, he protects his woman.
...But now is when the story takes a twist that brings many questions.
4. After rescuing Sita, he immediately "disowns" her - he questions her fidelity!  She spent the entire time praying to him, crying for him and being pure. He won't believe it.
Hmm...so, if he's God, he doesn't know his own wife? If he's God, he doesn't understand her position?Let's just say for a moment she WAS unfaithful (which she wasn't) - he's GOD, doesn't he FORGIVE knowing she was there fully against her will and captured?
Un-Godly Behavior #1: EGO, Pride...
Rama didn't rescue Sita because she's his wife or that was the right thing. He knew from the moment she was gone that he would question her fidelity and leave her. So then why? He rescued her because of EGO and PRIDE.  

"I'm Rama...how dare someone kidnap my wife?! What will people say about me?"

Un-Godly Behavior #2: Unforgiving

He proceeds to make Sita walk through FIRE to prove her purity. He's making her PROVE it by throwing his own wife into FIRE?

Are you kidding me?

....to be continue....

Fear Clouds The Answer

I had a great talk recently with someone very close about FEAR. More importantly, the impact FEAR has on PRAYING. Remember my post where I mentioned the STEPS to praying? Click here to go read it real quick...

Here's the steps:

It's STEP #2 that I get worried about when it comes to FEAR. See, God can only speak to us if we're listening. FEAR is a VERY loud voice inside your head that is SUPER irrational.

Actually this voice, personally, I feel is the Devil working in you. It's so stubborn, it just feels like it won't go away many times. There are many Scriptures even in the Bible that talk down on "fear." The Bible consistently preaches that FEAR should be replaced with LOVE.

So, if you wrap yourself up in FEAR, you'll never be able to hear God. OR, the answer you hear will actually be the Devil or Satan tricking you. Think about it...it makes sense.

Fear is the #1 weapon that Satan can use - it's one of the most overwhelming emotions. I even find sometimes that FEAR can overwhelm LOVE. Be careful of that.

So, please, please, please. CALM DOWN. Stop always thinking about what can go WRONG and take 2 minutes to think about what can go RIGHT. Show LOVE, pray in peace and tell that voice in your head to "Go back to hell."

But if you're going to Pray, doing so with a mind full of fear is not going to work. Step #2 will fail - you have to let God in, if you don't open the door, he can't come in!

Bible (New Testament) - Romans Overview

The 6th book. Personally, I found the beginning of it very repetitive regarding the message of "sin."

However, the last half of this Book swept me off my feet. There were parts and pieces that I really loved. This message was mostly written for Israelites at the time, however, there are certainly golden nuggets inside!

Again, if you want to follow my notes and bookmarks, check out my YouVersion.com page:

http://www.youversion.com/users/asingal

Here's my favorite scriptures from The Book of Romans.

1. Romans 5:1-5 - One of my favorites out of the entire Bible right now...

Talks about God's #1 gift to us! Peace...

2. Romans 8:12-13

Never live through the flesh...

3. Romans 8:26

I love this one as well. I always feared if I'm not praying right. This scripture puts me at ease!

4. Romans 12:9-21

Also a MAJOR favorite so far from the Bible. This is amazingly stated. It talks about how you should leave all judgement and "revenge" to God. Do nothing but love and serve others, even your enemies.

5. Romans 14:1-4 

Another major favorite. Basic message - don't judge others, what they believe is what they believe. They are still a child of God. Leave it to God to judge if anything. It's not your place.

6. Romans 14:15

It's a sin to do something that weakens another's faith in your presence. Don't work against the work of Christ.

Again, you can visit my page for more commentary and even talk back with me!

http://www.youversion.com/users/asingal

How Dare You Question My Faith?

** I have no idea why I'm writing the following, nothing has happened to "me" really, this is just something I was thinking about when I was reading some forums on Religion..."


Just a "rant" for those who are BORN into certain religions. I'll pick on "Christianity" for a moment since it's on my mind (why? Because I firmly believe that I, myself, am now a follower of Christ). By the way, the below works with ANY faith or belief. The key focus is on the difference in those who are BORN into a faith versus one who FINDS the faith.

Anyways...meet 2 people I'm making up. Matt and Ashish.

Matt = Born into Christianity - Knows nothing else, always believed, was taught that way.
Ashish = Born into Hinduism - Starts researching and finds the path of Jesus

Out of these 2 peoplw, I've discovered people like MATT are likely to make a DANGEROUS mistake. Here's what I'm seeing what "people like Matt" may do.

"Somehow, they expect people like Ashish to 'prove' themselves..."

If Ashish comes to Matt and says...

I've researched it all and I believe, I can't believe all these things are happening to me." 

 Matt has a tendency to look at him and say...

"Oh yea? How come all of a sudden? Prove it. Are you sure? You probably don't know..."

You know "Matt" - I'd be willing to bet money that Ashish may even know MORE than YOU. Ashish in this situation has come "into" the faith - meaning he discovered it by learning about other things. He was born into one thing but has gone through a revelation (and a hard one most likely) to arrive at his current beliefs.

Whereas in MOST cases, Matt was born into it and knows nothing else. His faith has 'meshed' in with his life. In reality 'meshing' can be dangerous for your service to God. Why? Because Ashish is more likely to distinguish, Matt is more likely to take for granted...

Relax Matt...I'm not questioning YOUR faith - just giving a balanced perspective.

If Ashish Hesitates - Here's Why...

The reason most "Matts" in the world question the "Ashish" is because Ashish tends to hesitate. He may have moments of doubt. His eyes may seem lost initially. He may come off as aloof. He may even sound like he's stumbling...

Does this mean he doesn't fully believe? No!

Think about it logically. He spent DECADES of his life thinking one way (whether he believe in another God or no God). The point is, his ENTIRE life he thought one way. 

His entire life he grew up in a particular community that practiced a particular way. Now, all of a sudden (may times OVER NIGHT), he is experiencing feelings and knowledge that questions his very being at the core?

Can you imagine what would happen to YOU, Matt?  Do you not think you'd walk around a bit "glass eye" or scared. Do you not think you'd have moments where you say "uhh..is this for real?" 

In any religion, God says that we are human and because of that we make mistakes. It's only natural for us to be afraid of that we do not know. It's only natural for us to be anxious of change. Matt, believe it or not, you do all this too in every other area of your life.

So, Matt, EMBRACE Ashish. Don't challenge him at every step of the way. Don't ask him to PROVE himself in ways you would not ask of anyone who was "born" into your faith. Don't question and push him.

If anything, be there to support and encourage him. Answer his questions and welcome him. At least in the terms of Christianity, I'm certain that is what Jesus would do.

Bible (New Testament) - John Overview

The 4th book of the New Testament - this is where most Christians agree that one should begin his Journey to discover Jesus. Especially after reading other books from Old Testament first, I could not agree more with everyone's opinion.

The shortest way I can describe my experience with John was:

"It serves almost like a Cliff Notes to Jesus's life, his walk, his preachings - you get an overall, yet detailed view."

A lot of the other Books are either written for a target (such as Romans for the Jews) or have a specific "area" they focus on. John doesn't do that. Honestly, if someone wants to read a summary of the New Testament, John is where you start!

I have already been through John TWICE (once audio, once reading). I plan on going through it a third time soon. If you want to follow my personal BOOKMARKS, go to my YouVersion.com account.

http://www.youversion.com/users/asingal

If I started writing down EACH scripture here, it will take forever!

I found a great summary of John here - http://www.scribd.com/doc/15951237/Summary-of-John  - I took pictures of the notes below for you to read!

My 3rd Visit To Church Service - Went Alone! :-O

This morning, I got word that my friend couldn't come today, so I had a decision on my hands. Go alone or watch the service online (live streaming). Something compelled me to go, so I chose to "bite the uneasy bullet." As you can see, I survived (haha, no idea why I get so anxious, they're probably the nicest people at this Church).

I chose to turn the "networker" on and spent some time meeting people. I even sat next to a very nice girl who invited me to a "Young Adult" program. Can't make it, as I'll travel soon, but I'll definitely peek when I get back.

Pastor Dale was being more humorous than usual today. Apparently in 2011 he had made a mission to make this Church the "Friendliest" in the County. Today he declared the 2012 challenge - make the Church the 'Singiest." There was a huge chorus up-front and and even larger band.

Going to service here is nothing short of going to a rock concert I feel...

Today's Topic: What To Do When Life Gets Hard

This is the topic for the month. He started with the story of Joseph and how he came to lead Egypt against all odds after his brother sold him into slavery. He spoke of the "good times" that came to the Israelites under a certain King (who revered Joseph). Then his focus shifted to the sudden change when a new King of Egypt came.

The Israelites were persecuted and pushed into slavery. Pastor Dale spoke mostly of 'Exodus' (means the road out or way out) being an excellent book to show you "What to do when times get hard." He provided evidence of how God was at work even when the times were toughest. He provided evidence of how God heard the "groans" and cries of his people.

Although many thought he was not listening, he was busy preparing the one man to answer their prayers - Moses. He was waiting for the right time, the right union amongst the Israelites and other things. Having read Exodus already, his message made a lot of sense. Although I can't help questions such as "Why did God wait over 400 years before he helped" certainly pop up.

Finally he gave 6 "areas of focus" when life gets hard:

1. Look Up - Trust
2. Look In - Grow
3. Look Around - See
4. Cry Out - Pray
5. Reach Out - Connect
6. Hold On - Hope

Some other notes:

Re: #1 - He said that when life gets hard, we get "pressed down." We are more likely to walk with our heads down. It's that very moment we need to look UP to fight the "pressure." We need to trust in God and have faith.

Re: #5 - He made humorous jokes about how humans have a tendency to want to have a "pity party" that only has 3 guests when they are sad: Me, Myself and I. We're prone to crave isolation. "Isolation is actually a tool of Satan" is what Pastor Dale explained. He WANTS us to be alone. It is this very time that you should be reaching out to others and surrounding yourself with ENTHUSIASM and SUPPORT.

There are certainly a LOT of scriptures in the Bible that confirm how God reaches out to those who cry out to him - the only thing you have to do is extend your hand out to him!

I've taken pictures of my note sheets for you - hope you can read them!

 

Bible (Old Testament) - Numbers Overview

I just finished reading and reviewing the Numbers Book of the Old Testament and here were my first thoughts:

1. Wow, God can really kick butt if he gets mad. His punishments are not even painful, they were terrifying. He sentenced people to 40 years of torture and would wait till all the non-believers simply died off and let their children have his Gift of the land.

All because they didn't believe him and murmured against him. Yikes. 

2. Moses made ONE mistake (all be it, it's argued that mistake changed the entire way Jesus's 2nd coming would be), but still he was human. He made one mistake of not listening to an instruction from God (instead of striking a rock for water, he was supposed to speak to it). He was banned from the very land he spent his entire LIFE getting the Israelites to.

I found two EXCELLENT summaries.

1. Wikipedia - This is a SUPERB summary. Better than the entire "Bible in 24 Hours" summary.
2. The video embedded below.

Straight from Wikipedia:

"God orders Moses, in the wilderness of Sinai, to number those able to bear arms—of all the men "from twenty years old and upward," and to appoint princes over each tribe. 603,550 Israelites are found to be fit for military service. In chapter 26, a generation later and after approximately forty years of wandering the desert, the Lord orders a second census. 601,730 men are counted.

The tribe of Levi is exempted from military service and therefore not included in the census totals. Moses consecrates the Levites for the service of the Tabernacle in the place of the first-born sons, who hitherto had performed that service. The Levites are divided into three families, the Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites, each under a chief, and all headed by one prince, Eleazar, son of Aaron. Preparations are then made for resuming the march to the Promised Land. Various ordinances and laws are decreed.

The first journey of the Israelites after the Tabernacle had been constructed is commenced. The people murmur against God and are punished by fire; Moses complains of the stubbornness of the Israelites and is ordered to choose seventy elders to assist him in the government of the people. Miriam and Aaron insult Moses at Hazeroth, which angers God; Miriam is punished with leprosy and is shut out of camp for seven days, at the end of which the Israelites proceed to the desert of Paran. Twelve spies are sent out into Canaan and come back to report to Moses. Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, tell that the land is abundant and is "flowing with milk and honey"; the other spies say that it is inhabited by giants, and the Israelites refuse to enter the land. Yahweh decrees that the Israelites will be punished for their loss offaith by having to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Moses is ordered to make plates to cover the altar with the two hundred fifty censers left after the destruction of Korah's band. The children of Israel murmur against Moses and Aaron on account of the death of Korah's men and are stricken with the plague, with 14,700 perishing.

Aaron and his family are declared by God to be responsible for any iniquity committed in connection with the sanctuary. The Levites are again appointed to help in the keeping of the Tabernacle. The Levites are ordered to surrender to the priests a part of the tithes taken to them.

Miriam dies at Kadesh Barnea and the Israelites set out for Moab, on Canaan's western border. The Israelites blame Moses for the lack of water. Moses is ordered by God to speak to a rock but disobeys, and is punished by the announcement that he shall not enter Canaan. The king of Edom refuses permission to the Israelites to pass through his land and they go round it. Aaron dies on Mount Hor. The Israelites are bitten by Fiery flying serpents for speaking against God and Moses. A brazen serpent is made to ward off these serpents.

The Israelites arrive on the plains of Moab. A new census gives the total number of males from twenty years and upward as 601,730, and the number of the Levites from a month old and upward as 23,000. The land shall be divided by lot. The daughters of Zelophehad, their father having no sons, are to share in the allotment. Moses is ordered to appoint Joshua as his successor. Prescriptions for the observance of the feasts, and the offerings for different occasions are enumerated.

Moses orders the Israelites to massacre the people of Midian. The Reubenites and the Gadites request Moses to assign them the land east of the Jordan. Moses grants their request after they promise to help in the conquest of the land west of the Jordan. The land east of the Jordan is divided among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Moses recalls the stations at which the Israelites halted during their forty years' wanderings and instructs the Israelites to exterminate the Canaanites and destroy their idols. The boundaries of the land are spelled out; the land is to be divided under the supervision of Eleazar, Joshua, and twelve princes, one of each tribe. 

Also check out the video below:

Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 is titled: Contemplating The Goal

The overall purpose of chapter 5 is to outline that we are to do what we do with almost no specific Goal. Humans are not to rejoice and not to grieve. Our actions are done purely for the Divine and only with God in mind.

We do everything we do as a part of our DUTY assigned to us by God. Hence, the results of it are of no importance to us.

Personally, I feel this Chapter almost made it seem like we should be some kind of ROBOTS. I can't remember the last thing I've ever done where the result of it didn't inspire atleast SOME personal emotion out of it.

This sounds so good to SAY but so hard to actually DO.

Here are some key quotes I grabbed:

"Knowing this, you come to the place where all paths meet, and you achieve lasting peace of mind."

Krisna means knowing that there are no results and you are working ONLY for the Divine at all times...

"Purity of action, mind and heart is absolutely essential for further spiritual growth. To a karma-yogi who has turned his or her whole life toward Divinity, the body, senses and intellect are just instruments for self-purification. Any work this Karma-yogi performs is done dispassionately and this enhances spiritual unfolding."

This particular verse really explains deeper the concept of our body and all sense just being an "illusion." They have nothing to do with our relationship with God. If anything, they get in the way.

We are to perform all actions without worrying about the Physical things we can see, feel.

 "They are neither elated by good fortune nor depressed by what is painful; they nether rejoice nor grieve. They know that the sensation called pleasure appears and disappears like a flash of lighting, and know that the cost of pleasure is inevitable misery and pain, which is indeed a dear price."

This is the best quote to summarize the entire chapter. It states what Krisna is saying pretty clearly.

CHANGE TO THIS BLOG: Religion Does NOT Exist - Only God Does...

You will see that the Title (the BIG letters up top this blog) has changed. It is now:

"My Journey To Find God..."

It used to be: "My Journey To Find Religion." Yesterday I had a revelation, one of many (almost exactly 24 hours ago). I had a feeling of enlightenment spread over me. All of a sudden I felt I had no more questions, I was at peace.

The #1 answer thing I affirmed is that (and excuse the passion and foul language here)...

"RELIGION is all Bulls***!"

"Religion" is man-made and actually works directly "against" the true mission - Finding God. We as humans have a innate desire to "associate," to "belong," to "segregate" and to "mark." All things that frankly...God could care less about.

You know what God cares about?

"Your RELATIONSHIP with him..."

When we focus on "religion" we get wrapped up in the "traditions," the "rituals," and what "others think." We end up missing the entire point. (Sigh...) Even today, "religious wars" account for the most lives taken of any atrocity in the world.

Are we really fighting for "God?" How silly. Of course not. We're fighting only for our own "ego and pride." Ironically the very things that God (in ANY spiritual path of ANY name) directly warns against.

So be careful. Study about "religion" only as a guide to understanding the CORE of different beliefs. But, focus less on trying to "belong" to a certain group of HUMANS and focus on "belonging" to GOD.


So...religion...I bid you farewell sir :)  I feel I can finally see God now without all the curtains.

God and Google Join Hands?

Haha. Ok I'm just being funny. But, remember how I said prayers can be answered in any way? I was so used to prayers being answered in a dream, but the last 2 days I didn't have any dreams.

All be it that the last few days I haven't had many questions either - more a sense of peace. However, yesterday a question came and hit me in the face. A question I realized I have had for over a week but didn't realize it.

I spent all day thinking about it. Stressing about it. You know what? I never even had the chance to pray on it. Apparently God can also hears you when you are not "praying" (go figure). Well, last night JUST before bed at about 3 AM, I had a random desire to turn to Google.

I took my question to Google and there-in lay my scholarly answer! I checked 7 sites which discussed the very question on my mind - 6 of them had a very analytical answer and agreed one way. 1 of the sites had a more emotional and biased answer the other way.

For me, that was enough - my question had (in many ways) been answered!

Not yet, had I ever turned to Google for a spiritual answer. In many ways it still makes no sense to me to ever do that. Actually for many questions, Google is the worst place to go. However, in this sense it made sense and God showed me that.

He (God) understands how I learn. He knows the arguments my mind would place. He understands what factors carry weight in my mind. Perhaps he figured an appearance through a dream for this question would not be enough, so he gave me a more analytical answer through Google?

An answer the "scholar" within can not argue. I have zero arguments or doubts now regarding the answer. I'll admit now that when my answer comes through a dream, I have a tendency to doubt it. I question my own motives, my own sub-conscious.

God saw that and chose a different path for this question. Truly amazing. It's like I said before, God answers in any way and many ways. The key is not whether he is answering, the key is whether you're HEARING his answer.

What I learned yesterday was, you need not always have to PRAY for an answer. After all, he lives within us, he knows what troubles us. If you're listening, he may answer you before you even get the chance to pray.

Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 4

This chapter was interesting. Krisna clarifies that karma is not equal to all. This means that something that may be good Karma for YOU is not necessarily for me. To each our own based on our responsibilities, talents, etc...

He starts by quoting:

"Whatever path a person travels to Me is My path...All paths lead to me."

He also quotes:

"I return like for like. If they treate Me as a father or mother, I treat them as my children. If they serve Me as master, I accept their services as their Lord. If they worship Me as a child, I approach them as a child. Those who pine for Me, I pine for. To those who see Me as friend, I am friend. Even for those who perceive Me as enemy, I approach as an enemy. All paths lead to Me, Divinity."

This was an interesting quote. It basically promotes the same thing Christianity promotes about a "personal relationship with God." Whatever you see him as, he accepts.  However, the last line of "see me as enemy, so you are my enemy" got me. I would relate this in Christianity to the concept of "if you don't embrace me, you are not saved."

"Expecting nothing, hoping for nothing, abandoning everything, they keep the mind and senses under control."

I found this an interesting line - it's very Buddhist in nature!

There is next a quote that spoke to me regarding finding Mentors and Gurus...

"Another good attitude that aids the development of spiritual knowledge is to wholeheartedly revere someone who has genuinely achieved it. When one sincerely strives for spiritual enlightenment Divinity in some way puts one in contact with an enlightened teacher. Sincerely question that teacher. As a burning candle can light many others, an illuminated soul can bring light to many a competent inquirer."

Again, he makes it a point to say that we humans are not the ones to decide how or what to act - it is not our job. Here's a quote where he calms Arjuna...

"O Prince, your ignorance of your Ture SelfWithin is the cause of your present reluctance to act, just as the opposite of ignorance, Self-knowledge, would bring fearless action. So with the sword of wisdom, sever the doubts in your heart. Arise,  best of men, take your stand. Be a warrior!"

I think I need to read closer though as so far the message I'm still hearing is much the same as prior chapters...

WOW! Another Biblic Proof of "Law of Attraction"

Wouldn't you know it. The SECOND video I clicked after posting about the FIRST one. READ THIS POST. I found a sermon that is even more DIRECTLY linking "law of attraction" to God, Faith.

In this one even words like "energy" are used. Also a new scripture reference is made:

"The thing I feared came upon me." JOB 3:25

The basic teaching here is to NOT focus on the negative and worry but to replace it with HOPE, FAITH and GOD's love. Start watching this at 2:17

Please fast forward the video to 2:17 to start the message:

Joel Osteen Found "Law of Attraction" In The Bible!

OK, I cannot hold my joy back so I'm posting. Firstly, weird or not, I've been a HUGE Joel Osteen fan for years. Yes, before I cared for religion, God or any spiritual matter. I don't know what it is about this man, but he speaks to me.

I admire the way he speaks. I admire his message. I admire his insight of the human psyche. I admire his vision. I admire his goals. I admire him.

Now that I've built a shrine for him here :P let's get to the point. Below there is a video (10 minutes), you MUST watch it (after you read below).

For at least the last 10 years, I have been an avid believer in the "Law of Attraction." What is it? Well Wikipedia says the following:

"...a metaphysical belief that "like attracts like", that positive and negative thinking bring about positive and negative physical results, respectively."

Essentially - thinking good puts out good energy to Universe, Universe gives you good and vice versa. In my life, I have honestly seen the law of attraction do wonders. I remain a firm believer.

However, I always felt RELIGION or GOD was "ANTI-law of attraction" since you are to turn all things over to God. Well, today I know I was wrong thanks to Joel Osteen.

In 10 minutes he explains how even God and his word through the Bible practices law of attraction. He quotes a verse here:

"According to your faith be it done unto you." Matthew 9:29

Interesting. In "traditional" law of attraction they use a word "energy" and "Universe." In GOD "speak" we use the words "faith" and "god" interchangeably! This is a PROFOUND concept for me, I could literally do a back flip right now.

Joel says that we should expect good things from God. Think good thoughts and look for the good. We shouldn't be afraid of it. We shouldn't think that we don't deserve it. We should know that God will do good for us and it's OK to "expect" that.

Now, Joel gets hammered in the comments by (excuse me for my opinion) IDIOTS. They are criticizing him for preaching that one should have "expectations from God." This is ridiculous! It is also proof that they did not watch the entire 10 minutes. At exactly 6:40, Joel himself clarifies that he does not mean you "expect from God." No one is asking you to be supernatural yourself.

Those of you writing negative comments. Stop your whining and go watch it again, the man even QUOTES the Bible!

Yet another quote is to reference those who are AFRAID of good things. As soon as something good happens they begin to think "Oh wow, I wonder how long this will last, I wonder when it will end." This is not good faith, it's a failure in faith, for God himself said:

"His favor is for a lifetime." PSALM 30:5

Thanks Joel. You rock. I highly recommend everyone watch this video below.

1 Fundamental of Hinduism Hindus MUST Accept

The more and more I study, I've learned the following. Many say that Hinduism is the most accepting and open religion. In many ways this is true, however, in a few ways this is also not true.

I recently wrote of an argument of could someone be a "Hindu Christian" - I'm now seeing that one cannot. As much freedom as Hinduism allows, there is one strict rule that has no room for negotiation - they are the CORE beliefs of Hinduism.

Re-Incarnation. I wrote a post about the definition of this here. Basically the cycle of being re-born based on the actions of your prior life. The better you are, the higher up in the "totem pole" you go. The worse you were, the lower you go.

This is all based on your "Karma" - your actions.

This is probably one of the most defining elements of Hinduism.

If you're wondering what my personal opinion on this is?

I'm not sure yet. But I never truly understood re-incarnation until now. I realize now that my entire life, since childhood I have firmly believed in Heaven and Hell. Im not sure if that was just "Western Influence" through the TV or what.


However, even as a child I knew - if you do bad, you go to hell. If you do good, you go to heaven. So, essentially, all my life I have NOT believed in re-incarnation (even though I called myself a Hindu).


Let's just put it this way, I have spent FAR more time wondering if I'm going to heaven or hell than I have wondering what animal I was in my past life or will be in my future life.


Hmm...

The Buddha - Story Continues (Part 5) - His Final Years

This is the last 30 minutes of the movie "The Buddha - The Story of Siddhartha." This is the fifth post, please reference post #1, #2, #3 and #4 before reading this one.

Post #1 - Click Here...
Post #2 - Click Here...
Post #3 - Click Here...
Post #4 - Click Here...

This last part is short to summarize. This is where Buddha's teachings really become a waive. He sends out his Monks to all corners of the continent to teach under vows.

He later dies with his final words of advice in a very peaceful manner.

Here are my detailed notes:

1. The Buddha sent out his monks into the communities to teach. They were sworn to poverty and dedication only to teaching.

2. The monks existed by begging, they could not even beg for the next day - only for that particular upcoming meal.  In exchange for the meal, you would give a lecture, unless they said they do not want to hear it.

3. The only way you could be fed was to service them by preaching to them. 

4. The Buddha himself also wandered across India, teaching and gaining more disciples as he went. He didn't require anything from you, he taught everyone.

5. The 3 Poisons - Anger, Greed and Ignorance. He taught not to IGNORE them but to turn them around. 

6. As he gathered more followers, the stories of his miracles spread through the communities.

Stories of miracles such as:

1. 500 pieces of wood stacked up on each other, split in half on his command.
2. A wild elephant was charging down a street, while all fleed, only the Buddha remained and the elephant knelt before him allowing the Buddha to pat his trunk.
3. The Buddha walked in mid-air while streams of water and flames shot out of his body shooting out to the edge of the Universe.

4. Kings and Great warriors used to seek his council, but he could not help them. He was powerless against war. His only teaching was that violence leads only to more violence.

Even men and women of his own Temple were killed by these wars that waged day in and day out during the time of Buddha.

5. His quote "Violence in the world comes from Violence in the mind." Again, he taught only to control one's mind - that was always his solution.

6. He grew old and was taken well care of.

7. He was offered food, but it was bad food. He knew it was bad food but said he took it anyways as he did not want to refuse an offering. He just figured it was his time. It turned out to be the meal that led to his death.

Mara, "Lord of Desire" = Satan (In Buddhism)

As you study more about Buddha and Buddhism, you'll learn that Mara, the Lord of Desire attacks the Buddha many times in his journey but Buddha prevails.

Mara is afraid that if Buddha achieves ultimate knowledge and finds the solution to end suffering, he will end all Desire hence destroying Mara.  Especially the last night when Siddhartha is inches away from attaining his answer, Mara attacks him with EVERY pleasure that can be done.

However, Siddhartha remains unmoved and falls for nothing.

If you were to look at this with Christian eyes, it's basically as SATAN or the Anti-Christ was attacking Jesus over and over and Jesus prevailed and never fell for his trickery.  Just an interesting analogy to help you understand. It helped me understand.

The Buddha - Story Continues (Part 4) - The Beginning of Him Teaching People...

This is minute 60 to 80 of the movie "The Buddha - The Story of Siddhartha" - This is the fourth post. Please reference post #1, #2 and #3 first.

Post #1 - Click here...
Post #2 - Click here...

Post #3 - Click here...
In this part, Buddha beings to teach his findings and quickly gains many disciples. He sets up the first "Temple" and even embraces women as equals, a feat never done at that time.

Although influenced heavily by Hinduism, The Buddha never believes in the Caste System or priestly rituals. As he proves, Buddhists have no interest in creationism, or who the Creator is. Their only concern is human suffering and how to end it. Anything around and beyond that is irrelevant.

He says that anyone of any caste can become Noble by following his teachings and looking within for the right answer. He also sets up for "4 Pillars of Noble Truth" that come with a "recipe" of how to acheive this state of Peace.

His basic message becomes training the mind through meditation on understanding and taming desires.

Here are my detailed notes:

1. On Buddha's first attempt to teach he fails because the pupil sees nothing special about him - he looked so ordinary. But that is exactly what Buddhism is about - being normal and nothing more or less.

2. He makes his way back to old companions who were still practicing punishing their bodies. But they made a pact not to listen to him because they were so disgusted with him that he had "given in."

3. His first teaching would later be called "Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma" because it brought the Buddha's message into the World for the first time.

4. Buddhists don't have a "creation story" - there is no Creator. It's not really of interest to them.

What's interest is just the problem of human suffering and the solution to it. Everything else is really just treated as "besides the point."

5. When the Buddha spoke of "suffering" - he meant more "disappointment." More the feeling of never being satisfied or feeling like we have enough.

6. What came later was known as the "4 Pillars of Truth"

1. There is suffering (dukkha)

2. There is a cause of suffering (craving)

3. There is the cessation of suffering

4. There is eightfold path leading to the cessation of suffering

(a set of recipes to essentially try on your own life to see which releases your suffering the fastest).

7. Buddha taught the main problem is "DESIRE" - He didn't mean to "wipe out desire." He knew that desire must be there, but he was saying that "Be SMART about your desire."

8. The first 5 quickly became his disciples and from there, hundreds came to see him and they also became his disciples.

9. Caste and priestly rituals done by Hindus were of NO interest at all to the Buddha. He said it didn't matter what caste you came from to become Noble - it took just the understanding he was teaching.

10. The Buddha ordained women as nuns and accepted them into his initial Temple (the Sanga). This was very different at that time as women were not given freedoms and treated with much suspicion. They were abused, mis-treated and always left out. But, not with The Buddha.

11. The Buddha taught how to handle desires through meditation by placing their minds on those very desires and thoughts.

The Buddha - Story Continues (Part 3) - His Last Battle with The Demons...

This is minute 40 to 60 of the movie "The Buddha - The Story of Siddhartha" - This is the third post. Please reference post #1 and #2 first.

Post #1 - Click here...
Post #2 - Click here...

In this part, Buddha stops trying to find mentors or "ways" to find his answers. He finally sits down under a tree and decides to look within - to find the answer within himself. It is now that he meets a great "battle" with the Lord of Desire (basically Satan).

He fights off this "Lord" and his Demons without so much as moving, shortly there after, he finds the answers to all his questions. By the end of this, he is now 35 years old and decides (through a tough decision) to share his teachings with the world.

Here are my more detailed notes:

1. During this time of recovering from almost having killed himself, a little girl offers him some rice after seeing him starving. He accepts and this is when he comes to realize what Christians call "Grace."

Except in Christianity, "Grace" comes from the Divine, in the story of Buddha it came from a little girl or any ordinary man with a kind heart.

2. This is when all of a sudden he experienced the feeling of "missing" - he was missing his family, his son, his wife, his step-mother's rice pudding.

3. When he took the food, he returned back to his original question and he was on his way to physical recovery, but his spiritual question remained.

He left the people who taught him to abuse his body after being abused by them for eating, for embracing "pleasures."

4. He now realized that he would no longer seek Masters or seek practices to find his answers, but for the first time - he would look WITHIN to himself to seek his answers.

5. He sat in one spot under a tree and proclaimed that he would not move from that spot at that time until he had received his answer.

6. Almost instantly the same "Lord of Desire" rose to challenge him yet again, with an army of Demons he attacked Siddhartha, but he did not move. 

Their weapons all turned into flowers.

The Lord is afraid that if the Buddha attains his answer, he will do away with Desire all together hence ruining the World.

The Demon even sent his 3 daughters to seduce Siddhartha, however, he remained still and unmoved.

Now the Demon was very frustrated, so he gave one final test. He demanded to know "who would testify that Siddhartha was worthy of obtaining ultimate knowledge."

Siddhartha said nothing, but touched the ground and the earth shuttered and the demons all fled. Siddhartha was basically saying that the earth was his witness.

7. He then meditated throughout the night and all his previous lives passed before him, he remembered all of them and everything. 

He had just gained the power to SEE the process of reincarnation and now had a vision and understanding of the workings of the entire Universe.

8. By morning he said "my mind is at peace" and now he had officially become the "Awakened One" - the Buddha.

9. He then said that we're all enlightened, the capacity, the ability all exists within us - our ability to achieve Nirvana.

10. There is nothing to aim for in the after life - just pay attention to the PRESENT, because that is all that is. 

11. "Pay special attention to your entire surroundings, everything around you"

12. After this moment, he wanted to retire into solitude, rather than going around teaching it. He had his doubts as to whether people would understand him or just call him nuts.

He debated whether he should go out and teach this or not. He admits to being afraid to teach the people.

13. The myth is that a God comes to Buddha, a Brahma, and asks Buddha to please share what he has learned that the Earth and it's People needed his teachings.

He then decided to go teach it.

14. He was now 35 and he would now devote the rest of his life to bringing his teachings into the world.

15. But as he had feared it would not be easy. 

The Buddha - Story Continues - How He Almost Killed Himself!

This continues on from THIS blog post. It's his first few adventures outside the Palace trying to seek his answers. In his search, he tried everything. Literally everything. He even almost killed himself. The following takes place between 20 minutes and 41 minutes of the Movie...

Once he leaves the Palace and is out on his own.

1. He puts on the orange robe, cuts his hair and is now homeless with no possessions or money.

2. At his time, there were THOUSANDS of people who had done the same - gave up all possessions and all belongings to seek spiritual enlightenment.

They were trying to exit the re-incarnation cycle.

3. His time believed in dying and being re-born according to your previous life, your Karma.

4. It is said that Siddhartha had lived many lives before this one as animals, humans and even Gods or Sages. He had experienced life in many different forms.

5. The Buddha himself had a Guru that he lived with early on to learn meditation and to learn how to free his spirit.  Interesting, even the Buddha had a Guru early on! 

Of course, it is said, that soon he himself surpassed even his Guru's knowledge.

6. Yoga is involved in this tradition - it's been around for centuries. This was how the spiritual leaders used their bodies to tame their minds. To meditate.

7. Buddha practiced all these practices and excelled, however, he kept finding himself still stuck in these pains and the suffering. He was not getting his answers. He found them as only a temporary escape from the problems, but not a solution.

8. Siddhartha moved himself to another Guru, but his results were the same.

9. He eventually concluded that "these practices do not lead to what I seek…" - he left this Master as well and continued his search, drifting further South.

10. His question remained "Why do human beings suffer? Is there any escape?"

11. The next practice he took on was punishing his body to hardships and pains - there were believers at that time that felt this would lead to ultimate wisdom and truth.  Siddhartha joined them as well. 

12. He punished himself for 6 years, literally tortured himself trying to destroy anything inside himself that he saw as "bad." 

He was eating one grain of rice a day, he was drinking his own urine, he was sleeping on nails - he tried it all. He was on the verge of death...

13. That's when he remembered something…a day when he was young and sat by the river with his Father (at a Spring planting festival). He remembered seeing the ground and thinking about the ants and their eggs that were destroyed when the field was planted - he remembered feeling great sadness and compassion.

What Is Re-Incarnation?

It's the attempt to gain more and more wisdom with every life to have a day where you finally reach spiritual enlightenment to receive freedom from the re-birth cycle.

It's said that many egos can be so strong that they will just keep being re-born and could do this for a billion life-cycles.

As one scholar put it:

"It's almost as if you're going through Junior High School with every life you live. Over and over again."

"Ooof…sounds trying!"

The Buddha - Story of Siddhartha Before Age 29

I'm watching this documentary movie called: "The Buddha - Story of Siddhartha" and the first 20 minutes focus on his life BEFORE he left his palace (at the age of 29). I learned quite a bit.

For example:

- Did you know he left a wife and new-born son behind?
- Did you know he was a bit of a play-boy in the mansion before marriage?
- Did you know that when he was born it was said he was destined to be a great King OR a very enlightened being?
- Did you even know he left when he was 29 - I thought it was much younger.

** Interesting, even Jesus started his preaching at 30. What's with this age, I almost wonder if there is some significance to it?

Anyways, here are my notes from the movie (the first 20 minutes only so far):

1. Before the birth of Buddha, his mother had a dream (interesting, so did Mother Mary).

2. When experts were asked in that time to analyze her dream, they said she would give birth to a son who was either destined to become a great ruler or a great holy man.

3. The Queen died only 7 days after giving birth to the Buddha.

4. Interesting - Dale Lama says… "You are your own master, the future it depends on you and rests on your shoulders. The Buddha can only show you the path." 

Interesting, this would fall in line with most religions. Even in Christianity, Christ can only show you a path, you have to follow it.

5. Born 500 years before the birth of Jesus.

6. The Buddha's name was "Siddhartha" - he was the son of a King born in a palace with every imaginable luxury. He was a Prince among a clan of warriors.

7. He was brought up very delicately as a child, protected at all times from even the Sun and dust.  

8. His father wanted him to be a great King and be the ruler of India. At that time India had 16 rulers, but his father felt that he could become king of all Kings.

9. His father never wanted him to know that anything was wrong with the world because he wanted him to be a great King, and feared that his son may go the other path (as predicted at his birth) as a enlightened being. 

10. His father married him to his cousin and he fell deeply in love with her. 

11. He indulged himself for 29 years before the bubble of pleasure finally burst. One day he went outside as he traveled through the Kingdom and had his first foreign encounter.  He saw an old man and wanted to know what that was. His attendant explained that men get old.  He eventually saw a sick man and attendant said "oh everyone gets sick - even you will one day."

Now he goes out multiple times, seeing more horror. On his 3rd trip, he sees a corpse and he immediately he sees the suffering, the death - the real world he had been kept from.

He was shocked and he realized that this is my fate, I will become old, ill and I will also die - how do I deal with these things. These are Universal questions in almost all beings.

12. His 4th trip outside, he sees a spiritual seeker, someone who has decided to live a life other than his to escape suffering and all. 

13. At 29 he resolved to leave the palace and seek the answer to suffering.  His wife had just given birth to a son.

14. When he tried to leave the God of Desire tried to get him to go back by telling him that he would one day rule a great Empire. Siddhartha refused. 

** The desire of God almost resembles some kind of DEMON in this story. Once I finish watching this movie I really want to draw some parallels between this story and the story of Jesus. There seem to be uncanny matches.

God Is Not Your Personal Genie - REAL Praying

The more I pray, the more I'm learning how to. Here's the #1 mistake I found I used to make. I thought of God as my personal Genie all along. I used to make specific prayers...

"God help me get this...help me get that.  God make me successful. God bring me wealth. God make me healthy. God make me fit and strong. etc..."

What I missed all along is that I need to stop imposing MY will on God and actually submit to HIS will. God knows best, not me. When I ask him for something specific, I'm essentially saying that "I" know best.

Don't pray then because it's not from the right place.

Instead now, I simply ask God questions and ask him for a PATH. I ask him to do what's best for me and for HIM. I ask that he put me on the path that makes it most likely I can carry out the purpose he has chosen for me.

Try changing the way you pray. The sense of inner peace you acheive is amazing.