Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. That which is felt cannot be taught, while that which is taught may be felt. This is one of the most vital things in mental and spiritual science. A treatment has no power unless it has meaning to the one who gives it, just as we know that a public speaker cannot convey messages which he himself does not understand. We cannot alter the circumstances that shaped us, but we can affect the way we may grown into aspects of who are, but some aspects may predominate over others. Our destiny, therefore, depends on which part of our character we allow to govern our destiny. As we practice our daily arts, if only in the composing of a heart-felt letter, we are unearthing the eternal from within ordinary time, engaging in the special qualities, themes, and circumstances of the soul. Soul thrives as we compose a thought in our diary or write a letter about a dream, craft a song, or enjoy the beauty of the day, and our expressions give body to a slight inflex of eternity. Our journals then truly become our own private gospels and sutras, our sacred chronicles, and our simple paintings truly serve as icons, every bit as significant in the work of our own soul as the wonderful architecture of the churches and castles and lovely houses are for the people. #RanolphHarris 1 of 7

Soul is its own purpose and end. If we wish to convey a message we must feel it, just as the musician feels the atmosphere of harmony back of one’s technique. Yet technique is equally necessary in order that one may give definite form to one’s feeling. We care for the soul solely by honoring its expressions, by giving it time and opportunity to reveal itself, and by living in a way that fosters the depth, interiority, and quality in which it flourishes. In doing so, an individual reveals the eternal harmony back of the negative appearance. The straightening out of thought is technique. It may be taught, analyzed, taken apart, and put together again. It consists of words, phrases, thoughts, ideas, all of which are understandable, teachable, and learnable. To the soul, memory is more important than planning, art more compelling than reason, and love more fulfilling than understanding. We know we are well on the way toward soul when we feel attachment to the World and the people around us and when we live as much from the heart as from the head. By using right words, statements, and phrases, and dwelling upon their subtle meaning, one may come to feel the meaning back of the words. We know the soul is being cared for when our pleasures feel deeper than usual, when we can let go of the need to be free of complexity and confusion, and when compassion takes the place of distrust and fear. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7

Soul is interested in the differences among cultures and individuals, and within ourselves it wants to be expressed in uniqueness and compassion. A woman in her thirties once told me why she was devoting every Saturday morning to doing chores for an elderly neighbor who has no family: Look, this could easily be me someday, living alone in a tiny apartment, trying to make ends meet (make her check be able to pay the bills, buy food and last until the next one comes in) with my social security check. All it takes is something to go wrong with your heart or your shoulder, and you cannot carry your groceries any more nor handle a vacuum cleaner. This gives me hope that someone like me will be around when it is my turn. The belief that there will be people around to assist us during our time of need is the conviction that we create by our own example. “If thou will call on God’s name in faith, thou shalt receive hope thou desirest,” reports Alma 22.16. Acting in a right manner reassures us, as if every act of goodness we perform goes into the human pool. We see first hand that individual efforts can indeed reduce suffering and that not all hardships are beyond human control. And it is clear that no material substitutes—no simple thing—can fill the human need for companionship and dialogue. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7

Imagine that you are reading the scriptures one morning and the Spirit softly whispers to you that what you are reading is true. Can you recognize that Spirit and be happy that you felt his love and were worthy to receive? Knowledge about dialogue is, by itself, no guarantee that a person will be able to communicate with others or help them out of their loneliness. Indeed, knowledge about dialogue may even keep people at a distance. What often are sold in our society as guidelines for communication—rules on how one should engage one’s friends, how one should act toward one’s lover, or how one should speak to one’s child—seem to be the very way to disrupt dialogue. Many of the cookbook-objective rules instructing people on how to communicate with one another only seem to serve to keep people more isolated and lonely. What it is that must be felt are feelings beyond words, statements, and phrases. One must sense the essence of life, the spirit of the thing from which the mind automatically draws an intellectual conclusion. There must be chemistry. These feelings result in words which are an activity of the feeling, the enforcement of the principle back of it. In this way the word becomes spirit and life. Ultimately, care of the soul results in letting our full genius emerge. Soul coalesces into the mysterious philosophers’ stone, that rich, solid core of personality that alchemists sought. It opens the kaleidoscope of life to a revelation of the soul’s colours and displays it dappled brilliance. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7

The expectation that we will be able to count on kindness, warmth and peace during our time of need becomes one of life’s most sustained convictions. We hope that if we become incapacitated, our friends and relatives will stand by us. We pray that their help will arise out of affection rather than out of pity, and that we will bear our difficulties gracefully enough to keep on inspiring their loyalty. We suspect that the measure of a good life is how we are treated at the end. However, we must know that the doorway of opportunity is never closed. We are always receptive to divine ideas. It is never too late for us to manifest opportunity; it is never withheld from one for a single moment; there is no sense of limited nor restricted opportunity. Everywhere we go anew and better opportunity for self-expression opens before us; we are compelled to recognize this opportunity and to act intelligently upon it. Our imagination is continuously increasing, new ideas come to us every day, and we know to execute these ideas. We can frequently savor the sweet whisperings of the Holy Ghost verifying the truth of our spiritual worth when our consciousness accepts the verdict as final and perfect. God is your Father. He loves you. He and your mother in Heaven value you beyond any measure.  #RandolphHarris 5 of 7

You are unique. One of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives you claim upon eternal life. Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual. The whole intent of God’s plan is to provide an opportunity for each of us to reach our fullest potential, which is eternal progression and the possibility of godhood. Know that right thoughts continually poured into consciousness will heal. Prayer is the best medicine and keep on until the case is met. God, or spirit is the life of the real body and the essence of it. However, do not condemn the human body; certainly never deny its reality or the reality of any of our organs or functions. Spiritual worth means that we must treasure ourselves the way Heavenly Father dignifies us, not how the World views of as a commodity or human capital (money). Our worth was determined before we ever came to this Earth. Every organ and every function of the human body has a Universal prototype behind it. It is an idea in the mind of God, and a perfect idea. God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever. The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the Earth is worth Worlds. No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. We can stop comparing our worst to someone else’s best. Comparison is the thief of joy. Also, to constantly and morbidly focus on disability, fragility, age, or any organ function of the body is to condemn it, to delay its action, to congest its movement, to impede the circulation through it, and, of course, wherever the circulation is impeded the elimination is also impaired. We must know that there is Divine circulation, perfect assimilation, and right elimination. The function of the body is not something apart from God but is something within God. We must learn to love all of these functions as being attributes of Spirit, and to sense the Divine Universal Harmony underlying all. We must petition God to please heal us and others who are suffering physically or mentally. The Lord assures us that when we have virtuous thoughts, he will bless us with confidence, even the confidence to know who we really are. There has never been a more crucial time to heed his words. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, and then shall thy confidence was strong in the presence of God; and the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion,” God said. When we feel the Spirit, we recognize that what we feel comes from our Heavenly Father. We acknowledge him and praise him for blessing us. We then rejoice that we are counted worthy to receive. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7