I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack

Namaste

It Is Well With My Soul ~ Hugh Bonneville Christmas Concert Narration ~ The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

Renegade Child Bullies Grow Into Adult Bullies When They Are Never Held Accountable ~ How To Deal With A Bully Unless You Want A Generation of Bullies And People Who Cower To Bullies

People are not born bullies. They are usually first bullied by others, ingraining them with the perversion to bully to get their own way, as a means of payback, strong arming others into doing their bidding, to avoid getting into trouble themselves, or to push their dark sinister plots. Their tell-tale mantra is, “Might is right.” Unless you stand up to a bully in your personal, professional, or public life, they will continue to bully. If no one has the integrity and moral fortitude to stand up for that which is right, a generation of cowards is born from inaction.

Silence is agreement.

This is the way of the lawless who bark out that they want law and order to prevail, but only for others, not themselves. The habit for this kind of thought process and renegade behavior traditionally begins at young and impressionable ages of children.

Children of all ages will try and/or undergo the most outrageous things as they attempt to learn to stand up for themselves.

This happens to the most innocent among us. Once when I was in first grade, I bit a friend. Oh my God, I actually bit a friend in the classroom. To this day I do not remember why I did that. My mother was called in and I had to go out and stand in the hall, the punishment of my day. My mother was called into the school to speak with the teacher then and there. I found this to be humiliating. I’m sure the friend who I bit was not impressed by my out-of-control reaction also. The point here is that I received an immediate and just-deserved punishment.

There was no waiting, the innocent friend who I bit did not also have to be punished in the hall, nor have her parent also called in. We both did not receive the same punishment. My mother did not sue the school, nor the teacher. I was the one who had wronged another. This was not the teacher’s fault, nor the school’s fault. It was my own fault. There was instant cause and effect, instant Karma.

Years later, as a mother, I called the elementary school teacher after school one day because in her classroom and under her watchful eye, some of her students were picking up one of my daughters, spinning her around against her will. She was the smallest one in the class and was humiliated by this. They all thought this was so funny. My daughter did not and was coming home crying day after day. I tried to empower her with my words, but when that failed, I called this teacher to say that my daughter was being bullied in her classroom, right under her nose.

To my surprise, the teacher told me that there was nothing she could do, that my daughter herself had to set her own boundaries. Notice the difference in teacher authority of the behavior that would be tolerated in the classroom of the first teacher as opposed to the second teacher. Obviously, my daughter’s “friends” were not listening to her when she told them her boundaries. The bullying continued until I called the parents of the girls.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all people being bullied could tell people to stop, and they would. This teacher allowed the bullying to continue. I made it stop. But without my intervention, this daughter’s self-esteem would have taken a major hit at an impressionable time in her life.

That is how it is with bullies. They continue until someone makes them stop. It is not right to punish the offender and the person who was already wronged, which would victimize them twice. That is cruel punishment in my book.

This is how we have home-grown bullies now at the helm of powerful positions, thinking they can do what they want, whenever they want, without penalty. This is also why we now have a generation of people who cower to bullies, most of whom get away with lying, cheating and worse depending on who they have connections with, or how much money they can pay off.

Recent extreme actions are taking place in full view of the public by those who think they can get away with anything because until now, they always have.

George Floyd died at the knee of police and by police agreement with the crime.

How do you counteract the undercurrent of systemic racism and bully mentality that is permeating the country and the world, such as the shocking thoughts of, “I don’t agree with your politics so I can break into your house, shoot you while you sleep, beat you up, or kneel on your neck for nine minutes until you die?”

Right after the death of George Floyd, I was in the local gym and overheard one guy tell another guy that people ought to keep their politics out of sports, since Colin Kaepernick had just taken a knee during the National Anthem at the previous football game, using his freedom of speech to quietly and honorably take a stand against racism. It was impossible for me not to tell my personal trainer within the earshot of these two men, that the next time I heard the National Anthem that I was going to take a knee. The two men became silent.

We see renegade Republicans thinking that they are above the law, twisting laws as if they were pretzels made just for them, stoking lies and conspiracies, because the bully traits never change. These bullies never learned to be fully human, only fully animals, blinded by greed, materialism, sexism, among other distracting things. All humans are part of the animal kingdom, but it is our humanity, complete with empathy and compassion that is the difference between a bully animal and a mature person with a fully developed character. Most recently these bullies did not agree with lawfully obtained search warrants and committed the crime of breaking and entering as if wrong is the same thing as right.

What are people to do when faced with evil, dark and sinister evil gone out of control?

PRAYER is the only answer for most of us not with legal, political, or financial means to do anything else.

Archangel Michael uses his fiery Christ-blue sword of lightening to transform the darkness of the world into Light, Love, and the Abundance of All Good Things. The world will be a better place in which to live if we all choose PRAYER, TRUTH, WISDOM, PEACEFUL POWER, INTEGRITY, and PERSONAL STRENGTH OF CHARACTER, not bully power.

The earth has lived through other ice ages, political corruption, and religious wars before. Once the fires of greed, materialism, consumerism, egoism, get billowed by the unabated windstorm of pride, the scales tip in the direction of the wind. Presently, we do have choices.

All is not lost, yet. We can peacefully, and legally stand up to the bullies of today by PRAYER, just as Archangel Michael did in the course of right. He stood up to the bully Souls of the Fallen Angels and their Nephilim Sons. He still stands up to these same bully dark Souls who never stopped influencing and, in some cases, inhabiting the weak minds of humanity, since these Souls could not return to heaven, remaining here to this day. We see their results. So, when those of us who are not in the positions of political, religious, nor financial authority to help in those ways, we can PRAY for the Divine Assistance of Archangel Michael and Divine Love and Light, which is the only known help against the darkness and evil in this world.

Namaste

“I Am The Angel of Peace”

ANGEL OF PEACE

The three children of Fatima: Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia who saw and interacted with the Angel of Peace, and the Blessed Mother Mary.

While the apparitions of Mother Mary of Fatima are considered to be a private revelation, there is more than meets the eye here in the historical accounts of what took place, defying natural order. As the three children, Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia take the family’s sheep out to pasture in the neighboring hills, the trio gradually developed a close friendship, and witness several supernatural, unexplainable events which they could not deny. The following quotes are taken from the book, FATIMA THE GREAT SIGN by Francis Johnston.

“One morning as they were grazing the sheep at a favorite spot known as Cabeco, a rocky knoll not far from the summit of a large prominence near their home, a strong wind suddenly sprang up which made them stop playing abruptly. Looking out across the distant valley, they were astonished to see a dazzling globe of light like a miniature sun, gliding slowly and majestically towards them.

“As it approached, the children could see the ball of light gradually resolve itself into the shape of a transparent young man of about fourteen, ‘more brilliant than crystal pierced by the rays of the sun,’ as Lucia later described him.

“Standing before them in supernatural radiance he said in a voice of grave beauty, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.’

“Then kneeling down and bowing so low that his forehead touched the ground, he recited the following prayer three times in a voice that quivered with fervor: ‘My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, nor hope, nor love Thee.’

Then rising he said, ‘Pray like that. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.” Having said this, he gradually faded in the sunlit air.”

This begins the first of many apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout the world. Her message is to pray the rosary for peace in families, world peace, and for the conversion of sinners, as well as for the conversion of Russia.

The children learned little by little how to focus on prayer, how to pray, and the value of offering up the sacrifices of each day working in communion with divine order for the good of humanity.

The angel returned one day as they were resting from the heat of the day under the shade of some fig trees by a well in Lucia’s garden. The angel asked, “What are you doing? You must pray. You must pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer up prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.”

“Lucia asked him how they were to make sacrifices and the angel answered: Make everything you do a sacrifice and offer it to God in reparation for the countless sins by which He is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. In this way, you will bring peace to your country. I Am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings which the Lord may send you.”

“The words of the angel illuminated the souls of the three children ‘like a light which made us understand who and what God really is, how much He loves us and wishes to be loved,’ as Lucinda wrote many years later.

“The value of sacrifice now, for the first time, became clear to us. Suddenly we knew the appeal to God and its power to convert sinners. From that day on we began to offer to offer to God all that mortified us, all that was difficult or unpleasant. And we also spent hour after hour prostrate upon the ground, repeating the angel’s prayer over and over again.

“Some three months later, while the children were grazing their sheep at the Cabeco again, the angel suddenly appeared to them a third time. Through the white radiance of his presence the children could see that he held a chalice with a Host above it, from which drops of Blood feel into the cup. Leaving these suspended in mid-air, he prostrated himself on the ground before them and repeated the following sublime prayer of reparation three times in the same tone of trembling fervor.

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, really and truly present in every tabernacle of the world in reparation for the countless outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg Thee to convert poor sinners.”

Today, the need for prayer, the rosary, and offering up the trials and tribulations of life are still beneficial in affecting and turning the hearts of nations and individuals toward Peace, Love, and Harmony, and putting an end to unbridled selfishness, ego, and aggression.

While the world deals with the dysfunctions within the borders of many lands, those of us at home and at work in our everyday lives can take a moment to transform those energies through meditation and prayer. Even if you are alone in your home, your prayers matter. You matter. Your neighbor matters. Every person in every country in the world matters.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

Be A Vanguard of Light To The Rest of The World

I am calling all people who work with the Light, Love, and Wisdom of Universal Life Energy to continue in a more focused way, uniting hearts, minds, and souls for the mental, emotional, and spiritual uplift of your area in the world, for the benefit of peaceful unity, harmony, health, and the abundance of all good things. Take a moment out of each day to focus on the peaceful solutions to the problems that you see whether you are driving, going for a walk, shoveling snow, meditating or praying in a concentrated way, or thinking healing mantras throughout the day.

Whatever you focus on grows. Focusing on the dysfunction of politics, religion, gender, wealth, and race inequalities only furthers more of what you do not want. If only saying what we do not want would bring to us that what we do want. But that is not how the law of attraction works.

If you focus on dysfunction, you will get more dysfunction. Focusing on positive alternatives in the direction of that which you want to manifest will bring the good you seek to do more quickly to you and the projects you wish to promote.

This is how to build anything you want, relationships, a house, or employment in the medical, technological, and space programs, for example. While it can be beneficial to note a failure of the past you do not wish to repeat, taking that sage advice is different from wallowing in the quicksand trap of addictive drumbeat of negativity, dysfunction, and self-sabotage.

Make a firm decision to stop all gossip, slander, and grand standing. In its place, make another decision to only work for the good you wish to promote. Truth matters. Build on integrity, moral courage, empathy, and compassion.

Empathy has become the missing ingredient of this generation, coupled with lack of compassion for all people. Sometimes life is like feast or famine. We can become so engrossed in finally taking care of ourselves, that the scales tip in some cases to only taking care of ourselves, materially speaking.

I find it helps not to put labels on people, categorizing people by age, ability, color, creed, gender, or any other way. Humanity is humanity. Each one of us, while unique in our own ways, all need to give and receive love, empathy, compassion. We can build a better society with liberty, justice, and understanding for all people, in every situation by acknowledging and sharing all of our gifts.

Now is the time each one of us can make our own lives better with a holistic outlook, caring as much for the driver in the other car as we do for ourselves; taking care of the employees under our watch as we do for ourselves; making phone calls to others to make sure they are okay; just to name a few ideas of going beyond our own selves, our own needs, and our own concerns.

People need people.

Namaste

Be The Love ~ Peace ~ Joy Of The Christmas Season

When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray for God’s kingdom. In Luke 17:20-21, Jesus also told us where the Kingdom of God is, “The Kingdom of God isn’t ushered in with visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘It has begun here in this place or there in that part of the country.’ For the Kingdom of God is within you.” The Catholic Living Bible, Tyndale House Publishers

The Kingdom of God is part of our spiritual DNA, which is also echoed in 1 Corinthians 3:16,“Don’t you realize that you are the Temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells within you?”

The kingdom of God we are to pray for is not brought on by ego, pride, guns, nor strife. Those are the dark tools of sinister forces whose insatiable appetites for power, money, and domination blind the brains of would-be good people, even Christians, who through deluded allegiance to God find themselves obeying man instead.

We are not to mix the counterfeit kingdom of humans with the Kingdom of God. That is not how this works. We already had the battle of Jericho. Calls sent out before January 6, to reenact the battle of Jericho at the United States Capitol, as well as all other state Capitol buildings were pure evil with lack of empathy, compassion, and love, not the will of God.

STAND DOWN.

Do you feel called to act in good faith? Then pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your heart. Jesus told us all how to think, speak and act. You will find none of his words incite any of us to violence.

If, when you pray, you feel intense anger, frustration, and hatred, then you are listening to and following the wrong god.

One of the reasons Jesus was crucified was that he taught that the Kingdom of God dwelt in him, as well as within each of us. He equated himself with God. Jesus taught us that we can do the things he did, “and even greater besides” in John 14:12. He was teaching you and me about the personal power we have within ourselves, the power of our thoughts, words, and actions. Our bodies are animated by our souls, enlivened by our I AM Presence, GOD DWELLING IN ALL OF US, according to Jesus the Christ.

This is the time for forgiveness, humility, and trust of God, not the arrogant boast and folly of humans. This is a time of introspection, considering the roles we are living in our lives, based on the choices we make. Are we living in the love, hope, peace, and truth that the kingdom of God promises? If not, you are promoting the illusion that lies, conspiracies, evil, death and destruction are good. They are not.

Jesus said, “Because of the increasing lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold.”

That is what we are seeing today in the belligerent manipulation of man usurping the will of God in individuals.

The kingdom of God is already here. The profound peace and love of the kingdom of God is already within us, as Jesus told us in Luke 17:21. We experience this when we pray, gather together in song, and meditate together for the common good of all. We touch on this brotherhood of humankind during the Christmas season, focusing on the peace, joy, and giving rather than receiving.

How do you know if the kingdom of God is within you?

The fruits of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit will be abundant in your life. If these fruits are missing from your life, you will know you have chosen the wrong road to follow.

If gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, meekness, peace, joy, love, kindness, patience, goodness, temperance, and faith are missing in your life, stop whatever you are doing and pray. Pray for the love of God, Father of Jesus Christ, to enter your heart.

Watch out for political parties or other groups once known for integrity, truth and honor, which have been hijacked by so many hate groups that many fear standing up for the right thing for losing their members. Watch out for those who attempt voter suppression tactics in major cities to silence democracy. Now, more than ever before, all citizens of the United States of America need to stand up for facts, not fiction; truth, not conspiracy; and honor and integrity over selling out the country. Truth matters.

There are so many other gods out there today, masking as the One, True God. You will know which god (God) you are following by the fruits of your labor.

Namaste

National Shrine of Divine Mercy ~ The Chaplet of Divine Mercy in Song ~ Prayer Jesus Gave to St. Faustina

Before the days of COVID-19 … Let’s join in prayer:

The Biography of St. Maria Faustina

(August 25, 1905 – October 5, 1938)

An excerpt from Apostle of Divine Mercy, a biography published by the Vatican.

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, an apostle of Divine Mercy, belongs today to the group of the most popular and well-known saints of the Church.

Through her, the Lord Jesus communicates to the world the great message of God’s mercy and reveals the pattern of Christian perfection based on trust in God and on the attitude of mercy toward one’s neighbors.

Sister Faustina was born on August 25, 1905 in Glogowiec, Poland of a poor and religious family of peasants, the third of 10 children. She was baptized with the name Helena in the parish church of Swinice Warckie. From a very tender age she stood out because of her love of prayer, work, obedience, and also her sensitivity to the poor. At the age of seven she had already felt the first stirrings of a religious vocation. Helen made her first Holy Communion at the age of nine, which was very profound moment in her awareness of the presence of the Divine Guest within her soul. She attended school for three years. After finishing school, she wanted to enter the convent, but her parents would not give her permission. Being of age at 16, Helen left home and went to work as a housekeeper in Aleksandrów, Lodi, and Ostrówek in order to find the means of supporting herself and of helping her parents.

Helen joins Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy

Helen never lost her desire for a religious vocation. After being called during a vision of the Suffering Christ, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy on August 1, 1925, and took the name Sr. Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament. She lived in the Congregation for thirteen years in several religious houses. She spent time at Krakow, Plock and Vilnius, where she worked as a cook, gardener, and porter.

Externally nothing revealed her rich mystical interior life. She zealously performed her tasks and faithfully observed the rule of religious life. She was recollected and at the same time very natural, serene, and full of kindness and disinterested love for her neighbor. Although her life was apparently insignificant, monotonous and dull, she hid within herself an extraordinary union with God.

It is the mystery of the Mercy of God which she contemplated in the word of God as well as in the everyday activities of her life that forms the basis of her spirituality. The process of contemplating and getting to know the mystery of God’s mercy helped develop within Sr. Maria Faustina the attitude of child-like trust in God as well as mercy toward her neighbors.

Sister Faustina was a faithful daughter of the Church which she loved like a Mother and the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. Conscious of her role in the Church, she cooperated with God’s mercy in the task of saving lost souls. At the specific request of and following the example of the Lord Jesus, she made a sacrifice of her own life for this very goal. In her spiritual life she also distinguished herself with a love of the Eucharist and a deep devotion to the Mother of Mercy.

The Secretary of God’s Mercy

The Lord Jesus chose Sr. Maria Faustina as the Apostle and “Secretary” of His Mercy, so that she could tell the world about His great message, which Sr. Faustina recorded in a diary she titled Divine Mercy in My Soul. In the Old Covenant He said to her: 

“I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart.” (Diary, 1588)

In an extraordinary way, Sr. Maria Faustina’s work sheds light on the mystery of the Divine Mercy. It delights not only the simple and uneducated people, but also scholars who look upon it as an additional source of theological research. The Diary has been translated into more than 20 languages, including, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Castilian, Brazilian, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Swedish, Ukrainian, Dutch and Japanese.

Jesus asked Sister Marie Faustina to paint him with the red and white rays with the words, “Jesus I Trust In You” at the bottom.

With the help of Fr. Sopocko, St. Faustina found a painter to fulfill the request Jesus had made to her in one of the visions – to “paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You” – and in 1934 the painter Eugene Kazimierowski created the original Divine Mercy painting under St. Faustina’s direction.

The image shows Christ with his right hand raised as if giving a blessing, and the left touching his chest. Two rays, one pale, one red – which Jesus said are to signify water and blood – are descending from his heart.

Sister Maria Faustina, consumed by tuberculosis and by innumerable sufferings which she accepted as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners, died in Krakow at the age of just 33 on October 5, 1938, with a reputation for spiritual maturity and a mystical union with God. The reputation of the holiness of her life grew as did the cult to the Divine Mercy and the graces she obtained from God through her intercession. In the years 1965-67, the Investigative Process into her life and heroic virtues was undertaken in Krakow and in the year 1968, the Beatification Process was initiated in Rome. The latter came to an end in December 1992.

On April 18, 1993 our Holy Father, John Paul II raised St. Faustina to the glory of the altars. She was canonized on April 30, 2000. St. Maria Faustina’s remains rest at the Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Krakow-Lagiewniki.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

Warnings From Heaven by http://pedroregis.com/en-us/mensagens/

5,075 – Message from Our Lady, Queen of Peace, transmitted in 1/21/2021 (apelosurgentes.com.br)

Suppose you happen to hear somebody saying; “Men have prepared the virus of death and my poor children will experience great sufferings. There will be no barriers to contain its advance”, what would be your immediate response? I am asking this question in the present context of coronavirus spreading like wildfire. I am not going deep into the question of where the virus originated from. Whatever be the true reason behind the outbreak of the pandemic, one thing is sure, the spread of virus was a manmade disaster. Geographical barriers cannot stop its spread.

After seeing the relentless advance of COVID-19 and all its variants, most of you will agree that the initial statement was surely a warning message from heaven. What you guessed is correct. It was a warning from heaven about the outbreak of a deadly disease in the world. But I need to add something more. The message was given to a man in Brazil by Our Lady Queen of Peace 17 years ago. To be precise, it was message number 2594 given by Mother Mary to Pedro Regis of Brazil on October 25, 2005. Perhaps some among us has read about it somewhere, sometime earlier but forgot it over time.

When we see the doors of churches shut all over the world, online services, priests finding it difficult to offer Mass, and the faithful lamenting about not getting the Blessed Sacrament, we may wonder how unexpectedly these things happened. It was not in our wildest dreams that we would not be allowed to enter our parish church and attend Mass. But it happened. When we were sitting complacent, thinking that everything was going well, it fell like a bolt from the blue. There was no warning, it was so unexpected, you may think. Now read the following:

“An order will be given and the doors will be shut. Those who are consecrated will not be permitted to fulfill their duties and the faithful will weep and lament.” It is not from the newspapers of the past week. It was a message given to Pedro Regis (message no 2990) on 04/29/2008.

When COVID-19 and its newer variations spread from one nation to another, remember this message of Mother Mary. “Now is the time of the great tribulations. An epidemic will spread to various nations and my poor children will experience a heavy cross” (message no 2626 dated 10, 1, 2006).

When we see China, Italy, England, the United States of America, and the entire world struggling with COVID-19 and the death toll on January 10, 2022 crossing 5,500,000, remember Our Lady’s message no 3807 of April 16, 2013; “Death will pass through Italia and my poor children will carry a heavy cross. Similar events will occur in Lima.”

When I skimmed through the messages for preparing this article, one thing that caught my attention was that certain messages were repeated multiple times. They were messages about the importance of sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession. Every message was a call for holding on to sacraments so as to get the strength to tide over the period of trials. And the second most repeated messages were related to the impending time of trials. Our Lady has been giving us warnings for the past many years.

Not everyone in the world is Catholic. But humanity can take these words of wisdom and apply them to our lives. Confessing the thoughts, words, and actions we have done wrong, the hurts we have caused to ourselves and others, all these can be rectified by acknowledging our mistakes and asking for forgiveness, both from ourselves and others.

Then make time for spiritual communions, those moments we carve out of the day to commune with Christ deep inside our hearts. Life is more than the daily tasks and more than the mundane minutes of each day. Spiritual communions can take place while driving, going for walks in nature, and taking that moment over a cup of tea in a quiet room or even in a busy coffee shop.

The third most repeated messages are about the need to be faithful to the true magisterium of the Church. Our Lady has warned that efforts are on to change the teachings of the Church with an ulterior motive. Everything will be done in the guise of good intentions.

The problem arises when the magisterium of the Church prohibits all the teachings of Jesus Christ, which are locked away in the vaults of the Vatican Library, including the travels of Jesus to the monasteries in India and in the mountains of Tibet. Important information has been hidden from everyone in the world for thousands of years, since 364 AD. The closest thing we have to understand is all the excluded words of Jesus from modern-day scripture. It is vital to discover and allow yourself to read the scriptures found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt; as well as the Books of Enoch, which Jesus quoted from over 100 times in today’s bibles.

One thing special about the messages given to Pedro Regis by Our Lady of Peace at Anguera was that specific places were mentioned on many occasions. For example; difficult times for Kenya (2594), Great suffering from Karachi (2602), Columbia stumbling and drinking the cup of pain (2602), Kosovo to be in ruins (2605), Naples living the anguish of a prisoner (2614), Cyprus going into suffering ( 2617), Malta shedding tears for its children (2617), Rome losing glory and fame (2622), throne of Peter to fall (2622), screams of help from Bethlehem (4829), messages about Bologna in Italy (4871) etc.

The reason Rome will be losing its glory and fame, and the throne of Peter predicted to fall, is because they have not adhered to all the teachings of Jesus Christ. When you pick and choose, then omit the words you do not wish to follow, then you weaken the message of Christ. All the world can see this.

Believe me, I have picked around a hundred messages only at random from a total of more than 5,075. If I could catch the names of the above places when I rushed through these hundred odd messages, imagine how elaborate are the messages Our Lady gives us.

Details about Pedro Regis and the messages he received from Our Lady are available in apelosurgentes.com.br. While going through the messages, what struck me most was the similarity or rather repetition of the messages Our Lady gave to humankind in La Salette ( 1846), Lourdes (1858), Fathima (1917), Amsterdam (1945), Monte Chiari ( 1947), Garabandhal ( 1961), Akitha ( 1973) and Medjugorje(1981) with those given to Pedro Regis.

Our Lady is the Virgin of the Revelation. She opens the secrets of prophecies for her children. This is to enable them to wage relentless war against the devil and his minions in the end times. That is exactly the reason why the devil is so angry with us. ‘Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus’ ( Rev. 12;17).

Satan – that ancient dragon – knows what is going to happen in the immediate future. He also knows that Mary’s children have got the gift of discernment from the Holy Spirit. It is difficult for him to ensnare them like other gullible and credulous men and women.

That is why we need our Mother’s help now. She will reveal the inner meanings of every signs of the times so that her children are not caught unawares.

SEAT OF WISDOM, PRAY FOR US

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

“Thy Kingdom Come …” ~ The Mixing of Kingdoms ~ This Is Not Jericho ~ Stand Down

When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to pray for God’s kingdom, not a physical, man-made kingdom on earth. The kingdom of God we are to pray for is not brought on by ego, pride, guns, nor strife. Those are the dark tools of sinister forces whose insatiable appetites for power, money, and domination blind the brains of would-be good people, even Christians, who through misguided allegiance to God find themselves obeying man.

We are not to mix the kingdom of man with the kingdom of God. That is not how this works. We already had the battle of Jericho. Calls sent out today to reenact the battle of Jericho at the United States Capital, as well as all other state Capitol buildings is pure evil, not the will of God.

STAND DOWN.

Do you feel called to act in good faith? Then pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your heart. Jesus told us all how to think, speak and act. You will find none of his words incite any of us to violence.

If, when you pray, you feel intense anger, frustration, and hatred, then you are listening to and following the wrong god.

This is the time for repentance, humility, and trust of God, not the arrogant boast and folly of humans. This is a time of introspection, considering the roles we are living in our lives, based on the choices we make. Are we living in the love, hope, peace, and truth that the kingdom of God promises? If not, you are promoting the illusion that lies, conspiracies, evil, death and destruction are good.

Jesus said, “Because of the increasing lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold.”

That is what we are seeing today in the belligerent manipulation of man usurping the will of God in place of his own.

The kingdom of God is coming, in fact is already here. The profound peace and love of the kingdom of God is already within us, as Jesus told us in Luke 17:21.

How do you know if the kingdom of God is within you?

The fruits of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit will be abundant in your life. If these fruits are missing from your life, you will know you have chosen the wrong road to follow.

If gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, meekness, peace, joy, love, kindness, patience, goodness, temperance, and faith are missing in your life, stop whatever you are doing and pray. Pray for the love of God, Father of Jesus Christ, to enter your heart.

It seems the Republican political party in the USA has been hijacked by so many hate groups that they fear standing up for the right thing for losing their voters. But now, more than ever before, all citizens of the United States of America need to stand up for facts, not fiction; truth, not conspiracy; and honor and integrity over selling out the country. Truth matters.

There are so many other gods out there today, masking as the One, True God. You will know which god (God) you are following by the fruits of your labor.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

George Washington’s Vision ~ 3 Perils Befall The USA

George Washington’s Vision of the 3 perils to happen to the United States of America.

This is a tribute to George Washington, who died 201 years ago today. I wondered why I felt led to write this article today when I usually write about Christmas at this time. George Washington died December 14, 1799.

– 1777/1778.  A vision received by George Washington.

The father of our country, George Washington, was a man of prayer.  Many of us have read of how he went to the thicket many times to pray during the winter his army was at Valley Forge.  However, little publicity has been given to the vision and prophecy he received at that time.

The account of this vision was given in 1859 by an old soldier.  He gave it to a writer, Wesley Bradshaw, who published it.  In the vision God revealed to George Washington that three great perils would come upon the Republic.  He was given to know that America was going through the first peril at that time.  The old soldier who told the story of the vision said the nation would soon see the account verified by the second peril descending upon the land.

Here is the account as printed in the U.S. war veterans paper The National Tribune, in December 1880.  The National Tribune became, “The Stars and Stripes”, and this article was reprinted in that publication December 21, 1850.

~ Preface

“I do not know whether it is owing to the anxiety of my mind, or what, but this afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaging in preparing a dispatch, something in the apartment seemed to disturb me.  Looking up, I beheld standing opposite to me a singularly beautiful being.  So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed that it was some moments before I found language to inquire the cause of the visit.  A second, a third, and even a fourth time did I repeat my question but received no answer from my mysterious visitor except a slight raising of the eyes.

By this time, I felt strange sensations spreading through me.  I would have risen but the riveted gaze of the being before me rendered volition impossible.  I assayed once more to speak, but my tongue became useless, as if paralyzed.  A new influence, mysterious, potent, irresistible, took possession of me.  All I could do was to gaze steadily, vacantly at my unknown visitor.

Gradually the surrounded atmosphere seemed to fill with sensations and grew luminous.  Everything about me seemed to rarefy, the mysterious visitor also becoming more airy and yet more distinct to my sight than before.  I began to feel as one dying, or rather to experience the sensations I sometimes imagine accompanying death.  I did not think, I did not reason, I did not move.  All were alike impossible.  I was only conscious of gazing fixedly, vacantly on my companion.

~ The introductory part of the Vision

Presently I heard a voice say, “Son of the Republic, look and learn,‘ while at the same time my visitor extended an arm eastward .  I now beheld a heavy white vapor at some distance rising fold upon fold.  This gradually dissipated, and I looked upon the strange scene.  Before me lay, out in one vast plain all the countries of the world — Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.  I saw rolling and tossing between Europe and America lay billows of the Atlantic, and between Asia and America lay the Pacific.  ‘Son of the Republic’, said the same mysterious voice as before, ‘look and learn.’

~ The First Peril:  The Revolutionary War.

At that moment I beheld a dark shadowy being, like an angel, standing, or rather floating in mid-air, between Europe and America.  Dipping water out of the ocean in the hollow of each hand, he sprinkled some upon America with his right hand, while with his left he cast some over Europe.  Immediately a cloud arose from these countries and joined in mid-ocean.  For a while it remained stationary, and then it moved slowly westward, until it enveloped America in its murky folds.  Sharp flashes of lightning gleamed through at intervals, and I heard the smothered groans and cries of the American People. 

A second time the angel dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it out as before.  The dark cloud drew back to the ocean, in whose heaving billows it sank from view.

~ Westward expansion in America

A third time I heard the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’  I cast my eyes upon America and beheld villages and town cities spring up one right after another until the whole land from the Atlantic to the Pacific was dotted with them.  Again, I heard the mysterious voice say, ‘Son of the Republic, the end of the century cometh, look and learn.’

~ The Second Peril:  Slave trade from Africa is used to instigate the Civil War.

And this time a dark shadowy angel turned his face southward.  From Africa I saw an ill-omened specter approach our land.  It flitted slowly and heavily over every town and city of the latter.  The inhabitants presently set themselves in battle array against each other.  As I continued to look, I saw a bright angel on whose brow was traced the word ‘Union.‘  He was bearing the American flag.  He placed the flag between the divided nation and said, ‘Remember, ye are brethren.‘

Instantly the inhabitants, casting down their weapons became friends once more, and united around the National Standard.

Again, I heard a mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’  At this the dark, shadowy angel placed a trumpet to his mouth, and blew three distinct blasts; and taking water from the ocean, he sprinkled it upon Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Then my eyes beheld a fearful scene.  From each of these continents arose thick black clouds that were soon joined into one .  And throughout this mass there gleamed a dark read light by which I saw hordes of armed men.  These men, moving with the cloud marched by land and sailed by sea to America, which country was enveloped in the volume of the cloud.

And I dimly saw these vast armies devastate the whole country and burn the villages, towns, and cities, which I had seen spring up. 

As my ears listened to the thundering of the cannon, clashing of swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, …

As my ears listened to the thundering of the cannon, clashing of swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat, I again heard the mysterious voice saying, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’  When the voice had ceased, the dark shadowy angel placed his trumpet once more to his mouth and blew a long and fearful blast.

Instantly a light, as of a thousand suns shone down from above me and pierced and broke into fragments of the dark cloud which enveloped America.  At the same moment, the angel upon whose head still shown the word ‘Union,’ and who bore our national flag in one hand and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of white spirits.  These immediately joined the inhabitants of America, who I perceived were well-nigh overcome, but who immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks, and renewed battle.

 
~ The Third Peril, Phase 3, USA is victorious ~

Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict I heard the mysterious voice say, ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’  As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel for the last time dipped the water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America.  Instantly the dark clouds rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious.

Then once more I beheld the villages, towns and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard cried with a loud voice: ‘While the stars remain, and the heavens send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the Union last.’  And taking from his brow the crown which blazoned the word ‘Union,’ he placed it down upon the standard while the people, kneeling down said, ‘Amen.‘

~ Summary of the Vision’s 3 Perils.

The scene instantly began to fade and dissolve, and I at last saw nothing but the rising, curling vapor, I at first beheld.  This also disappeared, and I found myself once more gazing upon the mysterious visitor who, in the same voice I heard before said, ‘Son of the Republic, what you have seen is thus interpreted: Three great perils will come upon the Republic.  The most fearful for her is the third.  But the whole world united shall not prevail against her.  Let every child of the Republic learn to live for his God, his land and Union.

With these words the vision vanished, and I started from my seat and felt that I had seen a vision wherein had been showed me the birth, progress, and destiny of the United States.“

God Bless Everyone Everywhere.

Healing Broken Relationships at Christmas ~ 14 Signs of Psychological and Emotional Manipulation ~ Psychology Today

The wind forms all kinds of interesting textures in the sand dunes of Maspalomas in the Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain.

I happen to be a mother whose first child, a daughter, stopped speaking with her over 20 years ago. Obviously I do not have all the answers on solving this situation. But I have studied healing relationships for most of my adult life as a holistic health counselor, and have helped many others on their journeys to healthy relationships after falling into some common pitfalls. An open heart and willingness to heal is the missing ingredient in all cases.

I have found the key to healing begins with both parties, in this case mothers and daughters, wanting to heal. Here are some of the pitfalls to watch out for that will sink any relationship like quicksand if they are not addressed.

Most of us know when we are being manipulated by others using the all familiar tactics of fear, obligation and guilt (aka FOG). But at other times, we can be entangled in the web of other people’s preconceived control-freak game before we are consciously aware it is taking place. This is when others will set up or spin situations to their benefit, much to the infringement of our own free will and immediate knowledge. This is bullying. This is abuse.

1. What is the tell tale sign this is happening to us?
2. How do we make it stop?
3. How do we get control of our life back without threats by others?

If you are being bullied, tell someone. Seek counseling.
If you are being abused, tell someone. Seek counseling.

Has anyone ever said to you, “You need to do this, that or the other thing, or else I won’t speak to you anymore,’ or, ‘If you speak to that person, I will never talk to you again,’ or, ‘Stop it, or else I won’t love you, speak to you, or have you in my life anymore.’?” If so, AND YOU GO ALONG WITH IT, you have been or are being manipulated.

Sadly, this is even used as a weapon in divorces. If you go along with the manipulator’s whims, you will only be able to speak with or associate with only the people manipulators say can be in your life, or any other conditions they wish to control. Sometimes the manipulation abuser uses other threats, but there is always a threat involving the relationship you and the abuser share. It’s a control-freak game.

Manipulation and guilt are forms of psychological and emotional abuse. Once it is recognized by the victim, health only returns to the person who has been bullied by manipulation tactics when the situation is addressed. It requires a one-on-one communication with the manipulator, no middle man or referee. Once anyone has stepped between the manipulator and the person being manipulated, no healing can take place until or if the manipulator and the person being manipulated address the situation personally.

Once the manipulation abuser becomes aware that they themselves were often first manipulated by this bullying technique, their mental state can only become healthy when they recognize how manipulation first restricted them, and fully acknowledge that fact. It is quite an eye opener.

At first it is a hard pill to swallow because manipulation abusers want to justify in their past actions. It hurts when the manipulator first comes to the realization that they themselves were first victims of the bullying, manipulating game by those they loved, or included in their lives through work, social and all other human interaction circles.

Families, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and other family relations, work relations, and all other human interactions have been split up by these hurtful words lasting a lifetime. Sometimes it is over a one-way situation, leaving one person in the two-step manipulation dance of avoidance totally in the dark. For non-family manipulation and bullying situations, we simply walk away. But when it comes to family, it is good to know that these situations can heal if both sides care to work on it.

Manipulating in order to get ones way is a childish act, something two-years-old children discover to be very effective. In the maturing process, sometimes we forget to be better people.

Once someone has been the victim earlier in their life in the manipulation game, they have also learned how to be manipulators themselves, continuing the control-freak downward spiral. If they are smart, and many are, and recognize that they do not want to pass on the terrible bullying and manipulation tendencies to continue the victimization cycle, they stop, seek restitution to the relationship, opening the door to forgiveness. This takes inner fortitude. It can be difficult, but it is not impossible.

The victimization cycle can be broken. People can emotionally and psychologically grow up. But it requires brutal honesty with ones self. It also requires a forgiving heart, not just for those we have victimized, but also for the manipulator her/himself. We can be the world’s worst critics of ourselves. We need to learn how to forgive ourselves so we can then forgive those we have hurt by our own thoughts, words and actions. Healing is possible.

Sometimes it is harder for those of us who were or still are victims to forgive their emotional and psychological manipulation and bullying transgressors. But this also can happen, even if the manipulation abuser and bully has deceased. It is the forgiving intention and action that heals the heart.

Most often these situations brew over time. It is less rare that they just pop up over night. It happens in families. It happens in work, social, religious, educational, financial, governments and all human interaction circles. Manipulation caused by intentional fear is at the root of the guilt and obligation we feel.

Sometimes the manipulator succeeds in twisting the truth so much that we are led to assume that we are the ones who are at fault and need to get the blame for the broken relationship. At other times innocent characters get slandered when truth twisting gets neatly spun into a web of convenient lies, as if manipulating and bullying aren’t devious enough.

This is part of the intended victimization process. But once light dawns and we see things clearly for what is actually taking place, we can take a deep breath and begin to do what we can to heal the situation when such opportunities arise. If the possibility for healing does not present itself, WE DO NOT STAY IN THE VICTIM ROLE. We do what we can and move on and live our lives peacefully with faith, hope and love. Those are the only answers.

If emotional and psychological healing is what we want for both sides, then we should first pray. Prayer cannot be underrated, and is the only thing that can work when all else fails.

Healing involves a decision. To move past unbelievable hurt in broken relationships, we need to be ready for reconciliation when it becomes possible and desired, if ever it happens, even when we think this opportunity might never present itself.

This post is addressing emotional abuse, not physical abuse, which include other guidelines and counsel.

It is never too late to mend a broken relationship while people are still alive.

Preston Ni, a professor, presenter, private coach and author of Communication Success With Four Personality Types and How To Communicate Effectively And Handle Difficult People, authored the article in Psychology Today entitled, 14 Signs Of Psychological And Emotional Manipulation. His 14 signs of psychological and emotional manipulation are listed below.

Relationships can be confusing. To help clarify what we are going through and to decide the best way to proceed to a healthier state, it is good to look at the 14 Signs Of Psychological And Emotional Manipulation. It will help to recognize manipulative signs in order to put a stop to them, either by us being the manipulator or by us being the abused victim of the manipulator.

“Psychological manipulation can be defined as the exercise of undue influence through mental distortion and emotional exploitation, with the intention to seize power, control, benefits and/or privileges at the victim’s expense.

“It is important to distinguish healthy social influence from psychological manipulation. Healthy social influence occurs between most people, and is part of the give and take of constructive relationships. In psychological manipulation, one person is used for the benefit of another. The manipulator deliberately creates an imbalance of power, and exploits the victim to serve his or her agenda,” Ni says.

Ni lists 14 tell-tail signs to watch out for:

1. A manipulative individual may insist on you meeting and interacting in a physical space where he or she can exercise more dominance and control. This can be the manipulator’s office, home, car, or other spaces where he feels ownership and familiarity (and where you lack them).

2. Many sales people do this when they prospect you. By asking you general and probing questions, they establish a baseline about your thinking and behavior, from which they can then evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. This type of questioning with hidden agenda can also occur at the workplace or in personal relationships.

3. Manipulation of facts is another sign to watch out for. Examples of this include: lying, excuse making, being two faced, blaming the victim for causing their own victimization, deformation of the truth, strategic disclosure or withholding of key information, exaggeration, understatement, and have a one-sided bias of issue.

4. Some individuals enjoy “intellectual bullying” by presuming to be the expert and most knowledgeable in certain areas. They take advantage of you by imposing alleged facts, statistics, and other data you may know little about. This can happen in sales and financial situations, in professional discussions and negotiations, as well as in social and relational arguments. By presuming expert power over you, the manipulator hopes to push through her or his agenda more convincingly. Some people use this technique for no other reason than to feel a sense of intellectual superiority.

5. Certain people use bureaucracy – paperwork, procedures, laws and by-laws, committees, and other roadblocks to maintain their position and power, while making your life more difficult. This technique can also be used to delay fact finding and truth seeking, hide flaws and weaknesses, and evade scrutiny.

6. Some individuals raise their voice during discussions as a form of aggressive manipulation. The assumption may be that if they project their voice loudly enough, or display negative emotions, you’ll submit to their coercion and give them what they want. The aggressive voice is frequently combined with strong body language such as standing or excited gestures to increase impact.

7. Some people use negative surprises to put you off balance and gain a psychological advantage. This can range from low balling in a negotiation situation, to a sudden profession that she or he will not be able to come through and deliver in some way. Typically, the unexpected negative information comes without warning, so you have little time to prepare and counter their move. The manipulator may ask for additional concessions from you in order to continue working with you.

8. This is a common sales and negotiation tactic, where the manipulator puts pressure on you to make a decision before you’re ready. By applying tension and control onto you, it is hoped that you will “crack” and give in to the aggressor’s demands.

9. Some manipulators like to make critical remarks, often disguised as humor or sarcasm, to make you seem inferior and less secure. Examples can include any variety of comments ranging from your appearance, to your older model smart phone, to your background and credentials, to the fact that you walked in two minutes late and out of breath. By making you look bad, and getting you to feel bad, the aggressor hopes to impose psychological superiority over you.

10. Distinct from the previous behavior where negative humor is used as a cover, here the manipulator outright picks on you. By constantly marginalizing, ridiculing, and dismissing you, she or he keeps you off-balance and maintains her superiority. The aggressor deliberately fosters the impression that there’s always something wrong with you, and that no matter how hard you try, you are inadequate and will never be good enough. Significantly, the manipulator focuses on the negative without providing genuine and constructive solutions, or offering meaningful ways to help.

11. By deliberately not responding to your reasonable calls, text messages, emails, or other inquiries, the manipulator presumes power by making you wait, and intends to place doubt and uncertainty in your mind. The silent treatment is a head game where silence is used as a form of leverage.

12. Pretending ignorance is the classic “playing dumb” tactic. By pretending, she or he doesn’t understand what you want, or what you want her to do. The manipulation/passive aggressive person makes you take on what is her responsibility, and gets you to break a sweat. Some children use this tactic in order to delay, stall, and manipulate adults into doing for them what they don’t want to do. Some grownups use this tactic as well when they have something to hide, or obligation they wish to avoid.

13. Guilt baiting and unreasonable blaming is used, targeting the recipient’s soft spot, holding another responsible for the manipulator’s happiness and success, or unhappiness and failure.

14. Examples of victimhood include exaggerated or imagined personal issues, exaggerated or imagined health issues, dependency, co-dependency, deliberate frailty to elicit sympathy and favor, playing weak, powerless or pretending to be a martyr. The purpose of manipulative victimhood is often to exploit the recipient’s good will, guilty conscience, sense of duty, obligation, or protective and nurturing instinct, in order to extract unreasonable benefits and concessions.

Yes, we have a right to our feelings. Feelings are not right or wrong, they just are. But it is also true that whatever we focus on grows. So, if we focus on how hurt we are and how justified we are at being hurt, poor us, then no healing is possible when we cling to the division that separates us. This is a decision we consciously make.

It is just as possible to reach out and consciously make the decision to heal broken relationships, no matter what has happened. Forgiveness is humanly possible, no matter what our insane, puffed-up ego says. The ego wants to be right, but our mental and psychological health needs the healing of the relationship(s) in order to be whole.

We can mature beyond past hurts. This is part of human character development. To remain in unforgiveness, one way or the other, is to remain in a child-like state mentally and psychologically. No one says we have to mature, but what a sad state of affairs it is for adults to remain as children.

We may all see ourselves in one role or another as we look back on our lives. Growth in character and psychological and emotional development is always possible. We can always choose to be better people.

Let us take this opportunity of the Christmas Season, one of new hope, new love, new forgiveness of our shortcomings, to reach out to one another, and heal what is broken.

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

Harmonious Manifestation of Life ~ Liberty ~ Freedom ~ Justice For All

“Close-up shot of the Liberty Bell with Independence Hall in the background at dusk. Located in downtown Philadelphia, this monument to liberty continues to draw crowds on a daily basis.”

The Liberty Bell has struck a cord in the hearts of most citizens in the United States of America as well as worldwide. Church bells and fireworks in many countries across the globe join us in celebration, that sensibility and human dignity for all life have returned to this land. With the news of President-Elect Joe Biden, even the Dow is up by 1,100 points.

Wherever we see discord, sow seeds of peace in our thoughts words and actions. The obvious dark seeds of crtitcism, condemnation and judgment only serve to create more of the same. That is the origin of almost all of the distress of mankind. These three things alone are what really deprive humanity of a flood of every good thing. It is time to lift ourselves out of the minutiae of what no longer serves us.

Don’t forget, what you think about you bring about. Focus on the good you want to do as opposed to focusing on the dark energies and manifestations before you that hideously and insideously capture your attention. The way to change things for the better is to concentrate on bringing in the love, light and life as the remedy.

It’s hard to sing a happy song while continuing to beat the dirge drum of dysfunction. Imagine planning your next vacation once this pandamic is over. You review over and over the places you have already been and do not wish to repeat. It’s one thing to take an assessment of where you have already been. It’s a totally other thing to stay stuck in assessment, going over and over in your mind where you do not want to go. Until the moment you decide to stop living in the past will you decide to make the best decisions for your future.

Speaking of the pandemic, let us unify, combining the best advise from science, medicine and technology to solve the current COVID crisis, which has a positive recommendation proven to protect all of us all around the globe: wear a mask and stay socially distanced by at least 6 feet from each other.

Focus on continuing to build on the firm foundation already laid for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Obviously we do not build up democracy while we are tearing it down. There has been so much attack on democracy, freedom and justice for all people during these last four years in the United States of America. The chaos brought on by such energies of unconscionable tragedies deflecting truth, dehumanizing actions, and self-serving agendas capturing our attention, diverting us from the good we can now do.

We have found ourselves in survival mode these past four years, in the fight or flight of daily living amid losing jobs and our homes, and in some cases lives by the loss of our loved ones in the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping unabated though our nation.

Today is a new day. The breath of light, hope, inspiration, and positive solution is again dawning in all areas of possibility. Let the problems of the past dissolve as piles of sand as the the sea and wind dissolve them in a new purifying, harmonious, radiant creation.

To all energy workers in the world, let us all take time out of each day to focus on sending healing Light and Love to all areas in the globe calling out to us. The United States of America is not the only country that can benefit from democracy, freedom, liberty and justice in order that the pursuit of happiness be gained by every human being on the planet. Also send the radiant, healing energy of Light and Love to put an end to this global pandemic that has ravaged the world.

He who is in you is God, your very own God Particle, you I AM Presence. This is what Jesus referred to when he said in Luke 21:17 that the kingdom of God is within you. This is your Silver Cord of Eccelesiastes 12:6. You’ve got this.

Pray, meditate, reflect, ponder, and wonder about your spot in this world, and why you are here. Why are you still here? If you are still here and reading this, there is more for you to do. With God there is no space or time. Love is instantanious, so is positive affirmation, hope, peace, joy, integrity, magnanimous spirit, and a host of other wonderful traits we can use for the abundance of all good things.

The secret and motivating force behind meditation and prayer, and getting any positive thing done, is your feelings. This part cannot be overstated enough. It is not enough to simply meditate or pray as a begger. No. It is necessary to meditate and pray as the child of God that you are. You are the very heartbeat of God on earth. What you think about, you bring about. Remember that.

God Bless

Prejudice Is A Mental Disease ~ War Is Not The Answer

How many people have said, “This is just my opinion. I have a right to my opinion. That’s just the way I am.”? Everyone has a right to their own opinion. However, prejudice is not an opinion, nor is it “just they way I am.” Prejudice is a mental disease, a value of hate that is taught through families, friends, and society.

Prejudice is taught. Prejudice is an ignorant teaching. No one is born with a prejudiced mindset. It is also part of the poverty “rich vs poor” mentality, which includes the “us vs them.” It also infiltrates to the “we are better than them,” no matter which side of belief we are on.

The problem occurs when we atttempt to make prejudice be normal, or just another thought or value system someone has. Society never does well when we pretend any form of mental illness is normal.

How close to mental illness do you choose to get? Prejudice is a choice. No matter what our parents, friends or people in our circle of life believe, we always have the choice in what we believe as an individual.

I have had people tell me they have a right to be prejudiced, that the only crime is to act out in harmful or criminal ways. This is faulty reasoning. What you think about, you bring about.

Another person told me that they carry a gun and could shoot a black person with no problem. This is the form this kind of mental disease takes. It shows the beginning of acting out in hate, not simply “believing what I want to believe.”

I could be bipolar, which used to be called manic-depressive, and say, “I was born like this. It is in my DNA.” That would be an accurate statement. But since prejudice is not in our DNA, it is a mindset that shapes how we choose to lives our lives, to say “I was born like this” is not a true statement.

Prejudice is an ignorant, deformed mental concept. It serves no one. This mental illness has been with humanity since people populated the earth. But prejudice has not been recognized for what it truly is, a mental disease.

Some of us fall into the weakness of prejudice by becoming victims of it, or by becoming bullies by it. Neither side is healthy. Both sides can heal, but only with the truth that all human beings work together, regardless of race, color, creed, gender, age and any other difference which makes us human. Our variety as human beings is what makes us unique and lovable, not deplorable.

If we only look at the crimes and outrage taking over cities in the United States these days, while not looking at what sparked this in the first place, we would be willfully ignorant of the facts. Facts are not opinions.

Changes obviously need to be made. Staying relatively quiet since the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. has not stopped the sinister wave of hate prumulgated through the United States and the world under the subculture of white supremacy including prejudice in all its hideous forms.

We need to take off the blinders to the reality of how we treat all people in all situations, stop red-lining districts, stop political and willful conniving to scam the system, and stop pretending mental illness is normal, and stop putting prejudiced lawmakers and judges, all of whom are examples of the mental illness of prejudice in public office.

The solution to the mental disease of prejudice is to call it what it is, mental illness. Mental illness is treatable. We as a country as well as the world can heal from every form of prejudice. Some people are prejudiced against the mentally handicapped, or people from other lands or beliefs, not just against people who are not exactly the same color of skin that we have. Still, all prejudice is a mental shortcoming, a defect that ought not to be treated as normal.

While systemic racisim has blinded many people, it is not a disease that is incurable. We need to deal with the core issue of racisim, which is prejudice, which erroneously thinks that one brand of people is better than another.

We are all the same in the eyes of God.

There is only one race of people, the human race.

It is time we mentally heal, and educate ourselves to all the goodness diversity has to offer.

It is time we mentally heal, and choose empathy and compassion over mental illness and narcisism.

It is possible to heal with our very next thought. Reach out to help others. Use words of kindness.

It is possible to heal mental illness through prayer, counseling and support.

It is just as easy to build each other up as to tear each other down.

If we start with a positive solution today, we can live in a better world tomorrow.

Because You Deserve To Feel Better

Warnings From Heaven by VCatholic.com

Suppose you happen to hear somebody saying; “Men have prepared the virus of death and my poor children will experience great sufferings. There will be no barriers to contain its advance”, what would be your immediate response? I am asking this question in the present context of coronavirus spreading like wildfire. I am not going deep into the question of where the virus originated from. Whatever be the true reason behind the outbreak of the pandemic, one thing is sure, the spread of virus was a manmade disaster. Geographical barriers cannot stop its spread.

After seeing the relentless advance of COVID-19, most of you will agree that the initial statement was surely a warning message from heaven. What you guessed is correct. It was a warning from heaven about the outbreak of a deadly disease in the world. But I need to add something more. The message was given to a man in Brazil by Our Lady Queen of Peace 15 years ago. To be precise, it was message number 2594 given by Mother Mary to Pedro Regis of Brazil on October 25, 2005! Perhaps some among us has read about it somewhere, sometime earlier but forgot it over time.

When we see the doors of churches shut all over the world and priests finding it difficult to offer Holy Mass and the faithful lamenting about not getting the Blessed Sacrament, we may wonder how unexpectedly these things happened. It was not in our wildest dreams that we would not be allowed to enter our parish church and attend Holy Mass. But it happened. When we were sitting complacent, thinking that everything was going well, it fell like a bolt from the blue. There was no warning, it was so unexpected, you may think. Now read the following:

“An order will be given and the doors will be shut. Those who are consecrated will not be permitted to fulfill their duties and the faithful will weep and lament.” It is not from the newspapers of the past week. It was a message given to Pedro Regis (message no 2990) on 04/29/2008!

When COVID-19 spread from one nation to another, remember this message of our Mother. “Now is the time of the great tribulations. An epidemic will spread to various nations and my poor children will experience a heavy cross” (message no 2626 dated 10, 1, 2006).

When we see Italy struggling with COVID-19 and the death toll crossing 16,000, remember Our Lady’s message no 3807 of April 16, 2013; “Death will pass through Italia and my poor children will carry a heavy cross. Similar events will occur in Lima.”

When I skimmed through the messages for preparing this article, one thing that caught my attention was that certain messages were repeated multiple times. They were messages about the importance of sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession. Every message was a call for holding on to sacraments so as to get the strength to tide over the period of trials. And the second most repeated messages were related to the impending time of trials. Our Lady has been giving us warnings for the past many years.

The third most repeated messages are about the need to be faithful to the true magisterium of the Church. Our Lady has warned that efforts are on to change the teachings of the Church with an ulterior motive. Everything will be done in the guise of good intentions. Beware, we should not fall prey to such gimmicks.

One thing special about the messages given to Pedro Regis by Our Lady of Peace at Anguera was that specific places were mentioned on many occasions. For example; difficult times for Kenya (2594), Great suffering from Karachi (2602), Columbia stumbling and drinking the cup of pain (2602), Kosovo to be in ruins (2605), Naples living the anguish of a prisoner (2614), Cyprus going into suffering ( 2617), Malta shedding tears for its children (2617), Rome losing glory and fame (2622), throne of Peter to fall (2622), screams of help from Bethlehem (4829), messages about Bologna in Italy (4871) etc.

Believe me, I have picked around a hundred messages only at random from a total of more than 4800. If I could catch the names of the above places when I rushed through these hundred odd messages, imagine how elaborate are the messages Our Lady gives us.

Details about Pedro Regis and the messages he received from Our Lady are available in apelosurgentes.com.br. While going through the messages, what struck me most was the similarity or rather repetition of the messages Our Lady gave to humankind in La Salette ( 1846), Lourdes (1858), Fathima (1917), Amsterdam (1945), Monte Chiari ( 1947), Garabandhal ( 1961), Akitha ( 1973) and Medjugorje(1981) with those given to Pedro Regis.

Our Lady is the Virgin of the Revelation. She opens the secrets of prophecies for her children. This is to enable them to wage relentless war against the devil and his minions in the end times. That is exactly the reason why the devil is so angry with us. ‘Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus’ ( Rev. 12;17).

Satan – that ancient dragon – knows what is going to happen in the immediate future. He also knows that Mary’s children have got the gift of discernment from the Holy Spirit. It is difficult for him to ensnare them like other gullible and credulous men and women.

That is why we need our Mother’s help now. She will reveal the inner meanings of every signs of the times so that her children are not caught unawares.

SEAT OF WISDOM, PRAY FOR US

God Bless

Holy Triduum Commemorations at Home During COVID-19 Self-Quarentine Advice

For those of us who love our faith and love to worship together, these days amid the COVID-19 pandemic make it difficult if not impossible to get out and mingle when we are advised to stay home, for the sake and love of others, even ourselves. How are we with obedience? We can get into an ego-driven power struggle, tempting God, because we believe in God, that nothing bad will happen to us. We do know, that even though we believe in God and deliberately walk in front of a moving 18-wheel truck coming towards us fast, praying all the while that God will save us, if we do not move, we will get hit and possibly die. That will have nothing to do with our belief in God. It will have to do with our lack of God-given common sense. COVID-19 is this fast moving truck seeking to destroy everyone in its path. Please do not think this truck will not hit you because you believe in God. Bad things do happen to good people.

During the holiest of weeks of the year, starting Holy Thursday evening this week, here are some alternative Holy Week suggestions. This is also known as the Holy Triduum. Here are some celebration ideas we can adopt for out at home observances, for those of us who wish to follow the directions of the medical communities and civic leaders, for the public safety for all.

Famous art displays will be presented at the end of this post. You can use them as you wish. If you use the beautiful picture where John is laying on the breast of Jesus, please note the image credit belonging to Gregory A. Shemitz. You can decide what, how and when you might like to put together a prayer service, memorial and/or Easter celebration in your home with your family. If we make a plan now, it will not catch us unprepared.

With God, there is no time and space. God is infinite. It is for our benefit that we use time, hours, days, weeks, and years. Our priests, bishops and Pope Francis will all be having Holy Triduum celebrations on television we can all watch. By our hearts desire, which God can read and know, we can be mentally present at those moments, even though we may not be physically present.

Some priests, like those at St. Anne’s Shrine, at St. Anne-St. Patrick’s Church in Sturbridge (Fiskdale), Massachusetts, have had the beautiful forethought to send all their parishioners the readings and celebrations set for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday Vigil, and Easter Sunday services. I will also include them here below. The links are PDFs.

Private Masses for Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday will be at 8:15 AM at St. Anne Church. They will be live streamed on the St. Anne/St. Patrick Parish Facebook page.

file:///C:/Users/linho/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/celebratetriduumfromhome%20(1).pdf

file:///C:/Users/linho/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/holyweekathome54%20(1).pdf

On this Thursday night, we can share Bible readings with our family, each taking parts reading the Passion of our Lord. It can be as simple and humble as using our kitchen tables, or as grand as moving the living room around, just to make it special. The kids can make posters. It can be inside or outside, depending on your imagination, landscape and weather conditions.

For Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) another idea could be to get a wash basin or bucket, water and a big bath towel so your family could re-enact Jesus washing the feet of his apostles. We are the modern day apostles of our Lord and Savior. He stooped to wash the feet of his apostles to show them that he came to serve. He told us to do the same thing. We could follow His humble example.

On Friday, maybe even at 3 p.m., might there be 14 trees, or 14 rocks or other landmarks around your yard that might make a perfect substitute for the Stations of the Cross? Or perhaps there might be a fence around your yard that could have the 14 markers for each of the fourteen stations of the cross. Or the family could take turns simply walking around the block reading each station, praying one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be prayer after each station.

Perhaps we have a candle-light service in our living room, or use the small lights from our cell phones in a darkened room, or flash lights to begin the Saturday Night Vigil on this coming Saturday night. Perhaps you could print out the pictures in this post to decorate your homes, changing them for each service you do, or keep them all up together. Pictures are a wonderful way to teach our children, especially the young ones who may not yet grasp all their deeper meanings.

On Easter Sunday, we can light our candles, or keep all the lights on in the house all day in place of the big Paschal Candle in church. Just a thought. Of course the children all love the Easter candy, but if we could keep the reason why we celebrate Easter, not the just the Easter bunny and celebrating spring as the pagans also do, but keep the attention for just a bit longer on Jesus who came to live and die and rose again to new life so that we can all experience that new life with Him as well, we will have done a very good thing.

Now for the art display:

 

 

 

God Bless

The Divine Mercy Chaplet in Song and Prayers~ Given by Jesus Christ to St. Faustina

 

God Bless

Is Your Life Balanced?

How balanced is your life? Are you balanced between home, work, school, relationships and everything else? What are the signs to watch out for that you are out of balance? How do we get back into balance in our minds, bodies and spirits?

Picture a seesaw with one side up, the other side down and the fulcrum, that balance point between the two in the

Lever with globe of Earth and small ball. simple machines by Archimedes. lever is a machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge or fulcrum.

middle. Jesus Christ is the fulcrum of all of our lives. We choose whether to live with Him in our lives, or without Him; or with or without God His Father in our lives. The same goes for the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and Son. We choose each day whether or not to include this Love on our lives. Without God in our lives, we are out of balance. We can remedy this situation.

We go out of balance each and every time God the Father, Jesus His Son, and Love of the Holy Spirit is not at the center of our lives. If we say we do not believe in God, or think there is no God, or God did not send Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, or think of Jesus as just another ascended master, we are ignorant of the reality that God in fact did just that.

Jesus Christ, Son of God Almighty, is the balance point in all of our lives, our true fulcrum. Each of us decides when enough is enough in our day-to-day living by the use of our God-given free will. The determining factor of who we are, what we believe, and what we will allow into our lives is all up to us in this life. But there is an unnecessary problem we create for ourselves when we exclude Jesus Christ, who came to earth to show us how to live in this world, presently ruined and ruled by Satan.

Think of this for a moment. After His baptism, Jesus was led out into the desert wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by Satan. For forty days and nights Jesus fasted. Then Satan tempted Him to get food by changing stones into loaves of bread.

Jesus answers, “No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed men’s souls; obedience to the word of God is what we need.”

Then Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem to the roof of the Temple, and said, “Jump off and prove you are the Son of God …”

Jesus responds, “It also says not to put God to a foolish test.”

Lastly, Satan took Jesus to the peak of a very high mountain, and showed Him all the nations of the world and all their glory, and said to Him, “I’ll give it all to you, if you will only kneel and worship me.”

How could this last test of Jesus been a real temptation if Satan were not the real ruler of this world?

Would the temptation of Jesus in the desert after His baptism really have been a temptation if Satan were not the present ruler of this world? (Remember Satan and one-third of the angels in heaven were cast out of heaven and sent to earth. These are the fallen angels of old still with us today.) Jesus goes into the desert where Satan tempts Him that if Jesus would bow down before him, Satan would give him all the kingdoms of the earth.

Ironically, God the Father gifted Jesus His Son , to be king of the kingdom to come, after the demise and judgment of this world. The Father promises us a new heaven and a new earth in the Book of Revelation, with Jesus Christ as judge and king. Jesus is already sitting at the right hand of God. Every day we can choose to be included in this new kingdom to come by how we live each day of our lives right now. Presently we still have time to use our God-given free will to choose virtue over sin, or good over bad.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, remained faithful amid great temptations. How hungry are you and I after only missing a meal or a day or two of no food? Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was most certainly at the point of starving, and still chose to do God’s will, not his own.

We get that same choice to make each and every day. Who’s will do we follow?

Sometimes we act as though we are not in charge of ourselves, or our government or situations like global warming or world peace. But everything we think, do and say show us if we are in, or out of balance, and what principles are important to us.

All of us in every country in the world, are at a tipping point of more people choosing bad over good, evil over good, or sin over virtue, not only in our own lives, but in the world at large. We can change this if we want to, but nothing will change unless we consciously decide to choose more good over bad, good over evil, or virtue over sin.

If money is the bottom line, as most people say these days as to what they determine to be the most important reason for decisions made, then humanity is doomed to fail, cities and states are doomed to fail, and the ecological health of the world will fail. In all cases, we can have all the money in the world and die of a disease; Flint, Michigan can have the biggest bank account to save money but unless money is spent to fix drinkable water there, the drinking water will remain toxic; and the world’s economy matters little when global warming is completed and the earth is no more.

There are many factors that affect our decisions, like greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride. We know these seven pitfalls as the seven deadly sins because they hurt us individually as well as collectively. Each of these negative, bad traits, which are sin, has a positive or good remedy, which is virtue.

Rather than be motivated by greed, we can think, speak and act generously. Perhaps money is not the bottom line after all.

Instead of envy we can practice genuine love.

To improve on sloth (laziness) we can take vitamins and invigorate our dreams, renew our goals, and begin yet again.

To combat the addiction to lust we can welcome purity and modesty in our thoughts, words and actions.

Addressing wrath and uncontrolled anger, a bad habit and often an addiction, requires taking a few deep breaths and allowing understanding, listening to others, improving communication and peaceful solutions to be possible. We may feel justified in our wrathful, renegade emotions, but unless we deal with them with integrity we may have regrets as time goes by.

The solution to gluttony is moderation in food and drink, or any other addiction we are over-indulging in.

Finally, the answer for pride is humility. Being proud of our accomplishments at a job well done is not a bad thing. The problem with pride arises when we go overboard, becoming vain, arrogant and haughty. We do not even like ourselves when we don this puffed up attitude, if we are being perfectly honest.

As strong as the negative traits, more accurately known as sins are, the positive virtues can become just as strong or stronger. It is simply a matter of focusing on good over bad, choosing good over evil, which means choosing virtue over sin. Practicing these seven virtues is one way we can make good shine in our lives.

Modern day thinkers would like us all to believe that there is no sin any more, that negative traits are merely mental, emotional and/or psychological shortcomings when in fact they are sins; calling sins “negative traits’ keeps us from addressing sins head on, complete with admission of fault, followed by forgiveness and mental, emotional and psychological relief.

What is wrong with the world starts with you and me, and the priorities we live by. You and I are each responsible for the conditions in our lives, our neighborhoods, cities and states, and in all countries in the world. Each day you and I get to decide for good, or for bad; for virtue or for sin. We each decide on this very day whether we will choose good over evil, evil over good or virtue over sin, or sin over virtue. We can build ourselves up or we can tear ourselves down. Likewise, we can tear our neighbors down or build them up; like tearing down or building up policies and actions that benefit the entire world.

Why does this matter?

It matters to you as an individual person to mature in integrity and honesty. It matters in order to create the neighborhoods we want to live in. It matters to stand up for the scientific facts that tell of how to fix broken systems in the world. Integrity and truth matter. It is not necessary to kill each other to make this happen. God the Father is Creator of it all.

Thinking of our failings only as bad habits or negative traits keeps us is a downward cycle of “that is just how I am.” But acknowledging our failures as sins, something we can repent and be forgiven for, gives us hope. We can make amends and repair the broken bridges we have broken in our relationships. Try as we might, we will sin before the night is through in our thoughts, words and actions today. We are not perfect. But we keep trying. God the Father will always forgive us, through the Love of Jesus our Savior, and the Love of the Holy Spirit. These are the gifts promised to us by Jesus. Each day we have this hope. There is always hope.

Isn’t it our own business how we live our lives?

Yes, it matters. Yes, it is our own business. The point is that we look at the world, then point fingers at what is wrong with it, when you and I are the snowball that started it all. There are things we can do to fix the problems of personal and global greed, envy, sloth (laziness), lust, wrath (anger), gluttony and pride, as mentioned above. We must start with ourselves if we want our countries to be better, for the sake of the world.

We have to start with the beginning of the problem, not just the middle or end of the problem.

Things never stay the same. Change is the only constant in life. Choosing good over bad, good over evil, or virtue over sin, however you look at it, will create a healthier, kinder, more humane world in which we all can live and thrive. This also creates a new beginning in our relationship with God, which might need our attention at this very moment.

Start right where you are.

Are you in government? Then make the most honest, best decisions you can for the life of all the people under your jurisdiction, and for the life of the planet, not just self interest. Otherwise, you can be the fulcrum that tips towards destruction not only of you personally, but the entire earth. We are very near tipping towards the point of no return. Presently this is possible to fix. Try to be part of the solution, not exacerbating the problem. Things never stay the same. You can be the instrument to save the world as opposed to demolishing it. Ask for God’s help, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, with all the Love the Holy Spirit has to give.

The same goes for the financial crisis erupting in all countries across the globe, and all other matters of importance. Remember this when things get so complicated we cannot see the forest for the trees, think PEOPLE BEFORE THINGS. To have balance, prioritize people by helping where and when you can over taking care of things. Financial matters are things. Things matter, but people matter more. Money is not always the answer for problems people have. Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.

Yes, it all matters. You matter.

Do not forget to include God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Love of the Holy Spirit in all your decisions for the best results possible.

All people matter, not only the rich, the top one percent of the wealthiest among us; not only the milky white people, but all people represented by the 203 countries including territories and protectorates of the United States of America, most of which are not milky white. God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, created Jesus His Son as His first Creation before any and everything else, in which Jesus helped to Create every other Creation known to us. We were all Created in Love, and with free will.

We live in a global society. Our friends and families live all over the world. The planes we fly land in most all countries in this one world we share.

We are one race, the human race, here on this planet.

Education matters. Are you in education? Encourage your students/children with critical thinking skills in order that they include compassion and common sense as a problem solving process they can work with, including not mindlessly following the mistakes of some of the prejudiced generations before them. Show them by example how we all can be better people. Pray again. Pray through Jesus Christ, in the Love of the Holy Spirit, to the Father of All Creation, for the minds of all of humanity to continue to grow and learn as we were intended to grow and learn.

Educators, how do you handle bullying, hungry students, students at risk, students compromised in a wide variety of situations, and students standing up for themselves? Education is a priority in every person, family, neighborhood, state and country for the success of the world. Teachers are the shining light, the good that can help so many students in need of empathy, compassion, and understanding to be better citizens of the world. Never stop praying, through the intercession of Jesus Christ, who Himself endured numerous injustices and bullying in this world.

However we think of it, and whatever we think about, we bring about. Let’s make the world a beautiful place to live, within ourselves, with our families and friends, neighborhoods, states, countries and the entire world. Let us include God our heavenly Father, Jesus Christ His Son and our brother, and the Love of the Holy Spirit in our greater families since that is truly what we are, one global family.

God Bless

People Are Not Machines

How much of ourselves do we want to give away?

You are in charge of you. You decide how you will respond.. You are not a puppet for someone else to pull your strings.

There are some self-help things we can do to relax our mental predispositions to dysfunctional habits. Individually we are only one person. Each day has only 24 hours. But sometimes we try to put too many to-do-things in too small a time frame. Sometimes we have a choice, other times we do not. When we over-work machines, the machines break down.

Currently we are treating ourselves like machines, and we are breaking.

Our pride and ego insist we must, at all cost, do the impossible, to have success, keep our job, or just get to the end of the day. What good is it to get everything done, and have nothing left for ourselves but exhaustion, body aches and pains, poor sleep, over or under eating, and ill temper?

The first sign we have taken on too much is we lose our sense of humor.

How is your energy?

There is more to life than the things that are accomplished. What do we do to rejuvenate?

Do we feel selfish for taking good care of us?

How is our self-esteem?

You matter. I matter. We all matter. It is no accident we are on the planet at this time. We have our life’s mission. However, we need to be healthy. We cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves.

When we find ourselves on an airplane getting the safety talk before the flight takes off by the flight attendant, we are told to make sure to put our oxygen mask on ourselves before we put on the oxygen mask on our children or those we are taking care of.

Why?

Because we cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves.

We are worth more than our, or someone else’s, goals and achievements. We are worth more than the machines we use.

Taking care of us includes all levels of us, mind, body and spirit.

What do you do to de-stress?

Stop making excuses why you cannot mentally take a break. Shut off social media. The world and everyone in it will still be in the same place in 15 minutes. No, you will not die if you are not plugged into social media for 15 minutes. You won’t lose your social status in 15 minutes. Take a breath.

Take a walk in nature. Go to a nearby park, the ocean, a lake, anywhere you can hear the sounds of nature. Enjoy, really enjoy a cup of coffee, tea or your favorite beverage. You know what works for you. Do not give in to the old familiar excuses why you cannot relax.

I know what I am speaking about here. I am a mother of five grown children, grandmother to 10 grandchildren, married and retired after having worked as a newspaper correspondent for many years with must-meet deadlines in the midst of the children’s doctor, dentist, school and teacher appointments, and later with other jobs including owning my own successful business specializing in holistic health. I do understand this dilemma with heavy stress seeming to be the only acceptable way to deal with life. It is not.

We make a mistake when we make everything in our lives have the same intensity as if the building we are in is on fire. If your building is on fire, stop reading this and get to safety. But if your building is not on fire at this very moment, take another deep breath.

It will help to make a list of the priorities that are important to you, something you can work on this week. Set a goal to have you run your life, not have your life run you. So many problems go away if we simply get up a bit earlier. This is not always a popular suggestion, but it is something that can work if we have a plan in place. Perhaps we need that cup of coffee before the rest of the family wakes up so that we begin our day with solitude rather than chaos.

Try this experiment out to see if it might work for you on a night when you do not have to go to work or be someplace at a certain time the next morning. Tell yourself the night before you go to bed exactly what time you want to wake up in the morning. Do not set that rude-awakening alarm. It is so nice to wake up peacefully without that obnoxious sound machine. I have done this for over 20 years now and have never once over-slept. If you happen to wake up prior to the time you want to get up, simply smile and tell yourself you still have “X” number of hours or minutes left and sink back into your pillow. This is just a peaceful suggestion that possibly might work for you to begin your day with less stress. You will never know if this is possible for you unless you try it.

Whether you are confined to a jail cell, your work cubicle, your car or your home, you can take a short mental break by relaxing, dropping shoulders down away from your ears without anyone even knowing what you are doing.

Take a deep breath. Your body does this anyway when you have had enough. You automatically take a big sigh. When you notice you are at your wits end, take three, long, slow deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. If you take 15 such breaths, it lowers blood pressure, no matter what is going on around you.

Remember, no matter what other people tell you, you are in charge of you, not the other people. God gave you this life, not other people. Yes, we have bosses at work, and family at home. But no man or woman is in charge of you, unless you are in that jail cell, but even then, you are in charge of your thoughts and how you will go about your day. Our intention is everything.

You can intend to have a good mood or bad mood. You can even intend to be stressed and not be stressed. I know, this sounds like an over-simplification of the “real problem” you are having. Think about this, even if you are stressed beyond belief; whether or not you are stressed, you will still go through the same life situation. You do have a say in how you go about your life.

Is it fun or enjoyable for you to turn everything into a drama-filled activity? Drama-filled days leave us all feeling as if all the air is let out of our balloon. We can get caught up in our own or someone else’s drama before we realize it. Once we become aware of it, that is when we can begin to take charge of our thoughts, words and actions again, rather than be a puppet to them.

We may not have a choice in what we have to do today. However, we certainly do have a choice in how we go about it. This is a very good place to start when we feel that our lives have run away with us, like a wild stallion running through the field.

Grow deeper in faith. God promises to be with us, even in the hard times. You are never alone. God is closer to you than your next breath. Those of us who pray know this for a fact. If you have never prayed to God, Father of Jesus Christ, now would be a good time to authentically ask for spiritual help. Ask for his free gift of the Holy Spirit to guide you. It is there for the asking. If you never ask, you will never know.

Remind yourself that you are in charge of you and how you will go through this day with peace, integrity and joy. It is possible.

God Bless

The Golden Rule ~ Enter Through The Narrow Gate ~ Healing The USA

Where does one turn when 20 people are killed by an allegedly publicized, home-grown terrorist known to be a White Supremacist who also injures 26 six additional human beings in El Paso, Texas; followed by another nine people killed in a Dayton, Ohio shooting less than 14 hours later; all of which was preceded by three shooting deaths in Gilroy, CA at the popular Garlic Festival just days earlier; when politicians sanction locking up asylum seekers and putting children and adults in cages under the guise of securing the Mexican-United States border; and politicians gamble with their political futures as they agree with hate crimes and crimes against humanity?

Most of the offending political party claimed to be Christian, erroneously thinking they are promoting Christian values.

What did Jesus say about how to live and how to treat others?

Matthew 7:12-14 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The United States of America, the melting pot of the world, is in need of healing. How can we possibly heal?

Begin today. Begin today to go back to practicing the Golden Rule. What is the Golden Rule?

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

This applies to people you know and those you do not know, and to everyone in your home, work, social life. This applies to children and adults in cages, and to everyone attempting to care for those children and adults in cages. This applies to everyone in our inner cities, and to those in our countryside. This applies at all times. These are the words of Jesus.

The tide of hate in the United States of America is high and the door open to it is wide leading to destruction. How easy is it to join a wave of popularity, to overlook racism because “the bottom line is money,” and “at least we made more money this year.” The twist to the sad conversation by some alludes to “Why are they afraid of people making money?” All the while, these ones ignore the cries of humanity because it is not right in front of their own eyes, or with their own family members in cages, because of a line drawn in the sand.

Rather, go through the small gate on the narrow road, leading to life. Its sign posts are mercy, empathy, compassion, forgiveness and genuine love, in all your thoughts, words and actions. This is how to travel on this road. This is how to heal the United States of America, one thought at a time, one word at a time, one loving and forgiving action at a time.

Grief is real. Our country is hurt deeply. Too many of our citizens have died needlessly within our borders by our own members, far more than immigrants have killed US citizens. Too many of our citizens have killed human beings from other countries based on the color of their skin, or the country they came from, and others have been killed because our home-grown terrorists have been mentally challenged, killing children in our schools, and others in movie theaters and places of employment. It will take time for a full recovery. But this country will never heal if we do not start the process.

Now is the time to start.

* I extend a warm invitation to the worldwide meditation and prayer effort currently underway through July and August 2019. This is an international, concerted effort specifically addressing the inhumane conditions at the southern border of the United States of America and Mexico, as well as inhumane conditions globally. I am inviting all churches in all denominations in the world to invite all their parishioners to take part; and include all people without any church affiliation to participate. Scroll down to see how meditation and prayer reduced crime in Washington, D.C. by 48 percent.

God Bless