Last night, I sat outside the cottage, watching the moon rise, notebook and pencil on my lap. The garden smelled like foxglove and honeysuckle, with, of course, the tangy scent of the sea. It was even cool enough that I was not bothered much by the midges. My son brought me out a thermos flask of tea before he went to bed. I stayed out all night. I had my hot tea and my notebook. Who could want for anything more? The night seemed so alive, so poignant, one of those Scottish nights that make you understand why some still believe in spirits and wee folk. The whole Universe is spiritual in character, the phenomenal World of physics being merely the external manifestation of this spiritual reality. That which to itself is psychical (relating to the human soul or mind; mental) is to others physical. Physics requires us to regard atoms only as centers of force or energy; it is not necessary to suppose them to be material or extended. These atoms are only the simplest elements in a spiritual hierarchy leading up to God. When God planned out your life, He lined up the right people, the right breaks, and the right opportunities. He said yes to that clean bill of health and yes to that promotion. #RyanPhillippe 1 of 7

However, keep in mind, you have to sometimes experienced denial of opportunities before you find that right situation for you.  Each level of this hierarchy includes all those levels beneath it, so that God contains the totality of spirits. Consciousness is an essential feature of all that exists, but this assertion does not mean that every physical entity or phenomenon has its own soul. When my father came out to do the milking in the morning, he found me fast asleep on the bench beside the house, “all covered in dew like a fairy,” he said. Now you can see where I get my poetry! Only certain systems, namely, organic wholes, give evidence of soul are the systematic coherence and conformity to law exhibited in the behavior of organic wholes. The Earth is our mother, as such an organic besouled whole. The stars and the physical Universe as a whole are also bodies of this kind. God is the soul of the Universe; He is to the system of nature as that system is to itself. Entities which exhibit the sort of order that our own bodies do may therefore be assumed to be alive and inwardly spiritual as we are. Get up every morning knowing you are anointed. You are equipped. You are empowered. You have everything you need to fulfill your destiny. #RyanPhillippe 2 of 7

I have your picture propped up on my desk as I am writing this, and I am trying to imagine you reading my articles after they are published. Your photographs do not do you justice. I do not think I need to tell you how lovely you look to me. Immortality is based on the observation that many individual experiences which are forgotten or unnoticed may later be recalled into consciousness. If the soul as a whole is treated on the analogy of its individual experiences, then, since these do not vanish utterly but often return in the form of memory, the soul itself may likewise continue to exist in God’s memory. Mind and body are not parallel aspects of some third substance, they are identical. The persistence of mind is therefore no more difficult to entertain than the persistence of the material Universe itself, which is only the outward manifestation of an all-inclusive soul. Right now, God is breathing on your dreams. He is will increase your talent, your resources, and your creativity. This is not the time to shrink back in fear. This is the time to be moved forward in faith. #RyanPhillippe 3 of 7

God knows what He is doing in your life. Maybe a relationship ended, or you were passed over for a promotion, or you lost a loved one. I will never give up on my dream. I know favor is coming. Healing is coming. Promotion is coming. I postponed my wedding and Lara was furious. I told her that it was not fitting to go ahead with the festivities, not with Harry so sick. I do not think she believed it was my only reason. Truth is, I do not either. Mrs. Wendy always said, “if you have a long engagement, it means you have something to think about. An engagement is not the same as marriage.” I did not expect her to be content with they. Do they not say that bad luck comes in threes? If Harry’s illness is the first, and my canceled wedding the second, the third has to be that I was asked to not come back to my teaching position next year. They were very polite about it, but, essentially I was canned. It seems the parents took issue with some atrocities happening in my personal life. Mommy and Daddy did not want their precious darlings to know what a horrible place the World really is. Here I am, trying to educate, and I get sacked for doing it too well. “Stick to the periodic table,” I was told. #RyanPhillippe 4 of 7

Harry rented an apartment after coming back to the States, and I have moved in with him. It is like being in England with him all over again. The other good thing in my life is you. I did not realize the stores of my antics and asinine exploits were so important to you—my Albatross is afloat in a White Squall. I never hoped I could achieve more than a hearty chuckle or round of applause for the stunts I pull. I feel I have a lot to live up to now, but, as always, I am up to the challenge. If you believe—a stimulus must acquire a certain intensity before it can produce pleasure or pain. The effect will then gradually increase until it reaches a maximum point, whereupon it will decrease to the point of indifference. In the case of pleasure but not in that of pain, the effect may, after the maximum is reached, change to its opposite. Since writings to you, something has happened. Harry let Lara into my room to surprise me and she spotted the letter on my desk. She snatched it and read it before I realized what was happening. Lara’s called the engagement off for good, in fact tossed the engagement ring in my wastebasket. She says she fancies I am in love with you and she cannot compete with someone who has been winning all along. #RyanPhillippe 5 of 7

You know, for a girl studying German Literature, who did not yet graduate from graduate school, she is quite smart. Vagueness and ambiguity are aesthetically displeasing, as the principle of clarity announces. The recollection of an event portrayed in some aesthetic object my bring pleasure or displeasure, depending on whether the event reminds us of something pleasant or unpleasant. We have to reconcile an idealistic view of reality with the methodology of modern science and, in so doing, providing some of the groundwork for further developments in a number of areas of experimental psychology. My work has disclosed a mind of poetic sensitivity, and my visions, however, are being subjected to scientific scrutiny. If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down fifty-four or fifty-six times and get up off the floor will lead to the achievement of success. Colin Kaepernick may want to take a knee, but I am going for that winning touchdown! #RyanPhillippe 6 of 7

Father, thank you that you know what you are doing in my life. You put a dream in my heart, you have given me a promise on the inside, and deep down I know that I will succeed. There are blessings in my future, and by faith I am looking for them. I will keep looking to you, keep expecting, keep dreaming. My mind is made-up, and I am in it to win it. People will not talk me out of it. I will not give up because it does not happen on my timetable. I will not settle for second best because I have missed a few opportunities. I believe that you will bring me though to my ultimate goal. This is all part of God’s plan to prepare me. I will keep moving forward, being my best, honoring God, being determined and persistent, and God promises me that I will be rewarded in my future. God is going before us to fight our battles and make crooked places straight. Wars of aggression fought in the name of national prestige, territorial aggrandizement and extravagant luxury at court are condemned, not only for the misery they cause for impoverished subjects, but also as evils in themselves. A good king is one whose people enjoy prosperity based on industry and commerce and who accepts the duty of ensuring not only their material but also, through his example, their more welfare. #RyanPhillippe 7 of 7