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Possessed by Genius–The Gift of Life is the Most Precious Chance One Has
I have plastered it, painted it, run its new wires, sanded its floors, and laid the gloss. I learned those skills out west, and all that time I lived out there I never forgot this house, used to pass it as a little boy, never forgot it, and never dreamed of course that one day I would be the master of it (chuckle), that is, if any mortal can be the master of this house, what this house has is a mistress, or even two, and for a time, for a long time. Come, let me show you the library. Though many philosophers, such as Owen and Proudhon, Tolstoy and Bakunin, Durkheim and Marx, Einstein and Schweitzer talk about it as they express different concepts, they all find that mortals have lost their central place, that they have been made an instrument for the purposes of economic aims, that one has been estranged from, and has lost the concrete relatedness to one’s fellow mortals and to nature, that one has ceased to have a meaningful life. I have tried to express the same idea by elaborating on the concept of alienation and by sowing psychologically what the psychological results of alienation are; that mortals regress to a receptive and marketing orientation and ceases to be productive; that they lose their sense of self, become dependent on approval, hence tending to conform and spend most of their energy in the attempt to compensate for or just cover up their anxiety. #RandolphHarris 1 of 15
Human intelligence is excellent, their reason deteriorates and in view of their technical powers they are seriously endangering the existence of civilization, and even of the human race. If we turn to view about the causes for this development, we find less agreement than in the diagnosis of the illness itself. While many are still prone to see the causes of all evil in the lack of political freedom, and especially of universal suffrage, others still stress the significance of economic factors. They believed that the alienation of mortals resulted from their role as an object of exploitation and use. Still spiritual and moral impoverishment is also a precipitating cause of Western mortal’s decay; in addition to repression of one’s instinctual drives and the resulting manifestations. However, what hold true for the causes of society’s infirmary, of course, is true for the remedies by which modern mortal’s defect can be cured. If I believe that the cause of the illness is economic, or spiritual, or psychological, I necessarily believe that remedying the cause leads to sanity. On the other hand, if I see how the various aspects are interrelated, I shall arrive at the conclusion that sanity and mental health can be attained only by simultaneous changes in the sphere of industrial and political organization, of spiritual and philosophical orientation, of character structure, and of cultural activities. The concentration of effort in any of these spheres, to the exclusion or neglect of others, is destructive of all change. #RandolphHarris 2 of 15
In fact, here seems to lie one f the most important obstacles to the progress of humankind. Christianity has preached spiritual renewal, neglecting the changes in the social order without which spiritual renewal must remain ineffective for the majority of the people. The age of enlightenment has postulated as the highest norms independent judgment and reason; it preached political equality without seeing that political equality could not lead to the realization of the fraternity of mortals if it was not accompanied by a fundamental change in the socioeconomic organization. While people stress the necessity for social and economic changes, they neglect the necessity of the inner change in human beings, without which economic change can never lead to the good society. Each of these great reform movements of the last two thousand years has emphasized one sector of life to the exclusion of the others; their proposals for reform and renewal were radical—but their results were almost complete failure. The preaching of the Gospel led to the establishment of the Catholic Church; the teachings of rationalists. The result could hardly be different. #RandolphHarris 3 of 15
Mortals are a unit; their thinking, feeling, and their practice of life are inseparably connected. One cannot be free in one’s thought when one is not free emotionally; and one cannot be free emotionally if one is dependent and unfree in one’s practice of life, in one’s economic and social relations. Trying to advance radically in one sector to the exclusion of others must be necessarily lead to the results to which it did lead, namely, that the radical demands in one sphere are fulfilled only by a few individuals, while for the majority they become formulae and rituals, serving to cover up the fact that in other spheres nothing has changed. Undoubtedly one step of integrated progress in all sphere of life will have more far-reaching and more lasting results for the progress of the human race than a hundred steps preached—and even for a short while lived—in only one isolated sphere. Several thousands of years of failure in isolated progress should be a rather convincing lesson. Closely related to this problem is that of radicalism and reform, which seems to form such a dividing line between various political solutions. Yet, a closer analysis can show that this differentiation as it is usually conceived of is deceptive. There is reform and reform; reform can be radical, that is, going to the roots, or it can be superficial, trying to patch up the symptoms without touching the cases. #RandolphHarris 4 of 15
Reform which is not radical, in this sense, never accomplishes its ends and eventually ends up in the opposite direction. So-called radicalism on the other hand, which believes that we can solve problems by force, when observation, patience and continuous activity is required, is as unrealistic and fictious as reform. The revolution of the Bolsheviks led to Stalinism, the reform of the right wing Social Democrats in Germany, led to Hitler. The true criterion of reform is not its tempo but its realism, its true racialism; it is the question whether it goes to the roots and attempts to change causes—or whether it remains on the surface and attempts to deal only with symptoms. We are discussing the roads to sanity, that is, methods of cure, and we had better pause here for a moment and ask ourselves what we know about the nature of cure in cases of individual mental diseases. The cure of social pathology must follow the same principle, since it is the pathology of so many human beings, and not of an entity beyond or apart from individuals. The conditions for the cure of individual pathology are mainly the following: A development must have occurred which is contrary to the proper functioning of the psyche. In frame of reference of humanistic psychoanalysis, the cause of pathology lie in the failure to develop a productive orientation, a failure which results in the development of irrational passions, especially of incestuous, destructive and exploitative strivings. #RandolphHarris 5 of 15
The fact of suffering, whether it is conscious or unconscious, resulting from the failure of normal development, produces a dynamic striving to overcome the suffering, that is, for change in the direction of health. This striving for healthy in our physical as well as in our mental organism is the basis for any cure of sickness, and it is absent only in the most severe pathology. The first step necessary to permit this tendency for health to operate is the awareness of the suffering and of that which is shut out and disassociated from our conscious personality. In this frame of reference, it refers to the repressed irrational passions, to the repressed feeing of aloneness and futility, and to the longing for love and productivity, which is also repressed. Increasing self-awareness can become fully effective only if a next step is taken, that on changing a practice of life which was built on the basis of the neurotic structure, and which reproduces it constantly. A patient, for instance, whose neurotic character makes one want to submit to parental authorities has usually constructed a life where one has chosen dominating or sadistic father images as bosses, teachers, and so on. One will be cured only if one changes one’s realistic life situation in such a way that it does not constantly reproduce the submissive tendencies one wants to give up. #RandolphHarris 6 of 15
Furthermore, one must change one’s system of values, norms and ideals, so that they further rather than block one’s striving for health and maturity. The same condition—conflict with the requirements of human nature and resulting suffering, awareness of what is shut out, and change of the realistic situation and of values and norms—are also necessary for a cure of social pathology. To show the conflict between human needs and our social structure, and to further the awareness of our conflicts and of that which is dissociated, was the purpose of the previous discussion. However, we still need to further discuss the various possibilities of practical changes in our economic, political and cultural organization. Yet, before we start discussing the practical questions, let us consider once more what constitutes mental sanity, and what type of culture could be assumed to be conductive to mental health. The mentally healthy person is the productive and unalienated person; the person who relates oneself to the World lovingly, and who uses one’s reason to grasp reality objectively; who experiences oneself as a unique individual entity, and at the same time feels one with one’s follow mortals; who is not subject to irrational authority, and accepts willingly the rational authority of conscience and reason; who is in the process of being born as long as one is alive, and considers the gift of life the most precious chance one has. #RandolphHarris 7 of 15
Let us also remember that these goals of mental health are not ideals which have to be forced upon the person, or which mortals can attain only if one has overcome one’s nature, and sacrifices for one’s innate selfishness. On the contrary, the striving for mental health, for happiness, harmony, love, productiveness, is inherent in every human being who is not born as a mental or moral idiot. Given a chance, these strivings assert themselves forecefully, as can be seen in countless situations. In takes powerful constellations and circumstances to pervert and stifle this innate striving for sanity; and indeed, throughout the greater part of known history, the use of mortal by mortal has produced such perversion. To believe tat this perversion is inherent in mortals is like throwing seeds in the soil of the desert and claiming they were not meant to grow. What society corresponds to this aim of mental health, and what would be the structure of a sane society? First of all, a society in which no mortal is a means toward another’s end, but always and without exception an end in oneself; hence, where nobody is used, nor uses oneself, for purposes which are not those of the unfolding of one’s own human powers; where mortals are the center, and where all economic and political activities are subordinated to the aim of one’s growth. #RandolphHarris 8 of 15
A sane society is one in which qualities like greed, exploitativeness, possessiveness, narcissism, have no chance to be used for greater material gain or for the enhancement of one’s personal prestige. Where acting according to one’s conscience is looked upon a as fundamental and necessary quality and where opportunism and lack of principles is deemed to be asocial; where the individual is concerned with social matters so that they become personal matters, where one’s relation to one’s fellow mortals is not separated from one’s relationship in the private sphere. A sane society, furthermore, is one which permits mortals to operate within manageable and observable dimensions, and to be an active and responsible participant in the life of society, as well as the master of one’s own life. It is one which furthers human solidarity and not only permits, but stimulates, its members to relate themselves to each other lovingly; a sane society furthers the productive activity of everybody in one’s work, stimulates the unfolding of reason and enables mortals to give expression to one’s inner needs in collective art and rituals. #RandolphHarris 9 of 15
Another characteristic of modern people is loneliness. They describe this feeling as one being on the outside, isolated, or, if they are sophisticated, they say that they feel alienated. They emphasize how crucial it is for them to be invited to this part or that dinner, not because they especially want to go (though they generally do go) nor because they will get enjoyment, companionship, sharing of experience and human warmth in gathering (very often they do not, but are simply bored). Rather, being invited is crucial because it is a proof that they are not alone. Loneliness is such an omnipotent and painful threat to many persons that they have little conception of the beneficial values of solitude, and even at times are very frightened at the prospect of being alone. Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, and so they do not find themselves at all. The feeling of emptiness and loneliness go together. When persons, for example, are telling of a break-up in a love relationship, they will often not say they feel sorrow or humiliation over a lost conquest; but rather that they feel emptied. The loss of the other leaves an inner yawning void. #RandolphHarris 10 of 15
The reasons for the close relationship between loneliness and emptiness are not difficult to discover. For when a person does not know with any inner conviction what one wants or what one feels; when, in a period of traumatic change, one comes aware of the fact that the conventional desires and goals one has been taught to follow no longer bring one any security or give one any sense of direction, when, that is, one feels an inner void while one stands amid the outer confusion of upheaval in one’s society, one senses danger; and one’s natural reaction is to look around for other people. They, one hopes, will give one some sense of direction, or at least some comfort in the knowledge that one is not alone in one’s fright. Emptiness and loneliness are thus two phases of the same basic experience of anxiety. Some people feel like we might be the last generation to walk this Earth—but do not know in which direction to turn. And because of their, their reaction is, strangely enough, a sudden, deep, loneliness. All of mortal’s history is an endeavor to shatter one’s seclusion. Feelings of isolation occur when one feels empty and afraid not simply because one wants to be protected by the crowd. Nor is the longing for others simply an endeavor to fill the void within one’s self—though this certainly is one side of the need for human companionship when one feels empty or anxious. #RandolphHarris 11 of 15
The more basic reason is that the human being gets one’s original experience of being a self out of one’s relatedness to other persons, and when one is alone, without other persons, one is afraid one will lose this experience of being a self. Mortals, the biosocial mammal, not only is dependent on other human beings such as one’s father and mother for one’s security during a long childhood; one like wise receives one’s consciousness of oneself, which is the basis of one’s capacity to orient oneself in life, from these early relationships. Therefore, it is clear to see that mortals need relationships with other people in order to orient themselves. Angels boring? Yes—until they fall! Then the Angel takes on fascination and interest. The dichotomy between devils and Angles was carried on through the Middle Ages, and the word for the diammonic is now clearly demon. The medieval citizens were enthralled by their demons. The medieval citizens were enthralled by their demons, even in the act of condemning them; why else all these gargoyles, beasts laughing and looking sinister, animals of every sort, scampering and climbing up the sides of their cathedrals and Victorian houses, carved in stone by artisans who must have known the daimonic at first hand? However, this did not stand in the way of their using this handy method of condemnation of their enemies as the devil’s party in their wars of religion and particularly in the Albigensian uprising. #RandolphHarris 12 of 15
It seems that it is always mortal’s proclivity to define the outsider, the stranger, the one who differs from one, as the evil one and oneself as on the side of the angel. However, one who enters the sphere of faith enters the sanctuary of life. Where there is faith there is an awareness of holiness. One now becomes gifted with some supernatural power: one has had genius, or even one oneself is a genius. One’s acts do not conform to the norms of accepted behavior, but also one’s work has a superhuman quality that makes it incomparable with the work of other mortals. Therefore the usual categories of good and evil, of useful and useless, do not apply to the genius. What one does and what one suffers is one’s fate. One is not a genius because one is an extraordinary artist, but conversely, one is an artist become one is possessed by genius. Fate guides one to significant meetings and it produces great mortals. To see the experiential justification for this point we have only to recall that greatness consists of being in the right place at the right time; it is an encounter between a mortal of particular qualities and the particular needs of an age. Mortals with talent are seized by the historical situation and hurled to greatness. What concerns one ultimately becomes holy. The awareness of the holy is awareness of the presence of the divine, namely of the content of our supreme concern. #RandolphHarris 13 of 15
Faith’s presence remains mysterious in spite of its appearance. It is discovered in Nature, animate and inanimate, with soul and without soul, something which was only manifested in contradiction, and therefore cannot be grasped under one conception, still less under one word. Only in the impossible did it seem to find pleasure, and the possible it seemed to thrust from itself with contempt. The ancients become aware of something similar. Faith can manifest itself in the most remarkable way even in some animals, it primarily is connected with mortals. It represents a power which is, if not opposed to the moral order of the World, yet at cross-purposes to it; such that one could compare the one to the warp, and the other to the woof. In the most awesome form faith appears when it manifests itself in some human beings. They are not always mortals of superior mind or talents, seldom do they recommend themselves by the goodness of their heart. Yet a tremendous power emanates from them, they possess an incredible force over all other creatures and even over the elements; nobody can say how far their influence will reach. #RandolphHarris 14 of 15
The reason for these effects of the holy is obvious if we see the relation of the experience of the holy to the experience of the ultimate concern. The human hearts seeks the infinite because that is where the finite wants to rest. In the infinite it sees its own fulfillment. This is the reason for the ecstatic attraction and fascination of everything in which ultimacy is manifest. On the other hand, if ultimacy is manifest and exercises its fascinating attraction, one realizes at the same time the infinite distance of the finite from the infinite and, consequently, the negative judgment over any finite attempts to reach the infinite. The feeling of being consumed in the presence of the divine is a profound expression of mortal’s relation to the holy. It is implied in every genuine act of faith, in every state of ultimate concern. Entering the sanctuary means encountering the holy. Here the infinitely removed makes itself near and present, without losing its remoteness. For this reason, the holy has been called the entirely other, namely, other than the ordinary course of things or other than the World which is determined by the cleavage of subject and object. The holy transcends this realm; this is its mystery and its unapproachable character. There is no conditional way of reaching the unconditional; there is no finite way of reaching the infinite. #RandolphHarris 15 of 15
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I Felt a Clearing in My Mind as if My Brain Had Split—God’s Residence is Next to Mine!
The fact that mortals have reason and imagination leads not only to the necessity for having a sense of one’s own identity, but also for orienting oneself in the World intellectually. This need can be compared when the child can walk by oneself, touch and handle things, knowing what they are. However, when the ability to walk and to speak has been acquired, only the first step in the direction of orientation has been taken. Mortals find themselves surrounded by many puzzling phenomena and, having reason, one has to make sense of them, has to put them in some context which one can understand and which permits one to deal with them in one’s thoughts. The further one’s reason develops, the more adequate becomes one’s system of orientation, that is, the more it approximates reality. However, even if a person’s frame of orientation is utterly illusory, it satisfies one’s need for some picture which is meaningful to one. Whether one believes in the power of a totem animal, in a rain god, or in the superiority and destiny of one’s own race, one’s need for some frame of orientation is satisfied. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
Quite obviously, the picture of the World which one has depends on the development of one’s reason and of one’s knowledge. Although biologically the brain capacity of the human race has remained the same for thousands of generations, it takes a long evolutionary process to arrive at objectivity, that is, to acquire the faculty to see the World, nature, other persons and oneself as they are, and not distorted by desires and fears. The more mortals develop this objectivity, the more one is in touch with reality, the more one matures, the better can one can create a human World in which one is at home. Reason is mortal’s faculty for grasping the World by thought, in contradiction to intelligence, which is mortal’s ability to manipulate the World with the help of thought. Reason is mortal’s instrument for arriving at the truth, intelligence is mortal’s instrument for manipulating the World more successfully; the former is essentially human, the latter belongs to the terrestrial aspect of mortal. Reason is a faculty which must be practiced, in order to develop, and it is indivisible. By this I mean that the faculty for objectivity refers to the knowledge of nature as well as to the knowledge of mortals, of society and of oneself. If one lives in illusions about one sector of life, one’s capacity for reason is restricted or damaged, and this the use of reason is inhibited with regard to all other sectors. #RandolpHarris 2 of 8
Reason in this respect is like love. Just as love is an orientation which refers to all objects and is incompatible with the restriction to one object, so is reason a human faculty which must embrace the whole of the World with which humans are confronted. The need for a frame of orientation exists on two levels; the first and the more fundamental need is to have some frame or orientation, regardless of whether it is true or false. Unless mortal have such a subjectively satisfactory frame of orientation, one cannot live sanely. On the second level the need is to be in touch with reality by reason, to grasp the World objectively. However, the necessity to develop one’s reason is not as immediate as that to develop some frame of orientation, since what is at stake for mortals in the latter case is one’s happiness and serenity, and not one’s sanity. This become very clear if we study the function of rationalization. However unreasonable or immoral an action may be, mortals have an insuperable urge to rationalize it, this is, to prove to oneself and to others that one’s action is determined by reason, common sense, or at least conventional morality. One has little more difficulty in acting irrationally, but it is almost impossible for one not to give one’s action the appearance of reasonable motivation. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
If mortals were only a disembodied intellect, one’s aim would be achieved by a comprehensive thought system. However, since one is an entity endowed with a body as well as a mind, one has to react to the dichotomy of one’s existence not only in thinking but in the total process of living, in one’s feelings and actions. Hence any satisfying system of orientation contains not only intellectual elements but elements of feeling and sensing which are expressed in the relationship to an object of devotion. The answers given to mortal’s need for a system of orientation and an object of devotion differ widely both in content and in form. There are primitive systems such as animals and totemism in which natural objects or ancestors represent answers to mortal’s quest for meaning. There are nontheistic systems like Buddhism, which are usually called religion although in their original form there is no concept of God. There are purely philosophical systems, like Stoicism, and there are monotheistic religious systems which give an answer to mortal’s quest for meaning in reference to this concept of God. However, whatever their contents, they all respond to mortal’s need to have not only some thought system, but also an object of devotion which gives meaning to one’s existence and to one’s position in the World. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
Only the analysis of the various forms of religion can show which answers are better and which are worse solutions to mortal’s quest for meaning and devotion, better or worse always considered from the standpoint of mortal’s nature and one’s development. Th courage to be as a part is the courage to affirm one’s own being by participation. One participates in the World to which one belongs and from which one is at the same time separated. However, participating in the World becomes real through participation in those sections are actual with which one is partially identical. The more self-relatedness a being has the more it is able, according to the polar structure of reality, to participate. Mortals as the completely centered being or as a person can participate in everything, but one participates through that section of the World which makes one a person. Only in the continuous encounters with other persons does the person become and remain a person. The place of this encounter is the community. Mortal’s participation in nature is direct, insofar as one is a definite part of nature through one’s bodily existence. One’s participation in nature is indirect and mediate through the community insofar as one transcends nature by knowing and shaping it. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
Without language there are no universals; without universals no transcending of nature and no relation to it as nature. However, language is communal, not individual. The section of reality in which one participates immediately is the community to which one participates immediately is the community to which one belongs. Though it and only through it participation in the World as a whole and in all its parts is mediated. Therefore, one who has the courage to be as a part has the courage to affirm oneself as a part of the community to which one participates. One’s self-affirmation is a part of the self-affirmation of the social groups which constitute the society to which one belongs. This seems to imply that there is a collective and not only an individual self-affirmation, and that the collective self-affirmation is threatened by nonbeing, producing collective anxiety, which is met by collective courage. One could say that the subject of this anxiety and this courage is a we-self as against the egoselves who parts of it are. However, such an enlargement of the meaning of “self” must be rejected. Self-hood is self-centeredness. Yet there is no center in a group in the sense in which exists in a person. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
There may be a central power, a king, a queen, a president, an emperor, an empress, or a dictator. One may be able to impose his or her will on the group. However, it is not the group which decides if he or she decides, though the group may follow. Therefore it is neither adequate to speak of a we-self nor useful to employ the terms collective anxiety and collective courage. When describing the three periods of anxiety, we pointed out that masses of people were overtaken by a special type of anxiety-producing situation and because outbreaks of anxiety are always contagious. There is no collective anxiety save an anxiety which has been overtaken many or all members of a group and has been intensified or changed by becoming universal. The same is true of what is wrongly called collective courage. There is no entity we-self as the subject of courage. There are selves who participate in a group and whose character is partly determined by this participation. The assumed we-self is a common quality of ego-selves within a group. The courage to be as a part is like all forms of courage, a quality of individual selves. A collectivist society is one in which the existence and life of the individual are determined by the existence and institutions of the group. In collectivist societies the courage of the individua is the courage to be as a part. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
Looking at so-collective primitive societies one finds typical forms of anxiety and typical institutions in which courage expresses itself. The individual members of the group develop equal anxieties and fears. And they use the same methods of developing courage and fortitude which are prescribed by traditions and institutions. This courage is the courage which every member of the group is supposed to have. In many tribes the courage to take pain upon oneself is the test of full membership in the group, and the courage to take death upon oneself is a lasting test in the life of most groups. The courage of one who stands these tests is the courage to be as a part. One affirms oneself through the group in which one participates. The potential anxiety of losing oneself in the group is not actualizes, because the identification with the group is complete. I wish I was one of those saints. Maybe that is why I had to write this chapter. However, I am not a saint. And that did not even take five minutes for you to know it, so do not complain. It is just that I cannot forget my passion to be officially canonized. “My God hath been support; he hath led me through mine afflictions s in the wilderness; and he hath prescribed me upon the water of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even consuming my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing them to quake before me,” reports 2 Nephi. 420-23. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
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Lincoln, CA | from the low $700s
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No appointment needed! Cresleigh Havenwood features four distinct floor plans ranging from 2,293 – 3,377 square feet and offering up to five bedrooms. Each plan has been thoughtfully designed and includes great features such as single story homes, guest suites, optional offices, garage workshops, and more! Get the most out of your new home with Cresleigh’s All Ready smart home featuring all the connectivity needed to keep your house running. Best of all, each Cresleigh home comes with owned solar included!
Located off of Virginiatown Road and McCourtney Road, residents of the 83 homesites of Cresleigh Havenwood will benefit from a brand new neighborhood in the charming City of Lincoln. Palo Verde Park, is just down the street and there’s plenty of recreation to take part in all around town. https://cresleigh.com/havenwood/
One Must Still Have Chaos in the Soul to Possess the Ability to Produce a Dancing Star!
The stomach is the only part of a person which can be fully satisfied. The yearning of a human’s brain for new knowledge and experience and for more pleasant and comfortable surroundings never can be fully met. It is an appetite which cannot be appeased. Half of our mistakes in life arise from feeling when we ought to think, and thinking when we ought to feel. Our choices are reasonable to the extent that they reflect our developed habits of intelligence. Choice is the purest expression of free will—the freedom to choose allows us to shape our lives exactly how we wish (provided we have the resources to do so). Choices are made to satisfy five basic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun. Individual actors choose whichever option will maximize their interests and provide them with the greatest utility or benefit. However, if they are made on the basis of prejudice and ignorance, choices will be perverse or irrational. In this life we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices. Making perfect choices all of the time is not possible. It just does not happen. However, it is possible to make good choices we can live with and grow from them. How do we engage in this process of valuation? #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
We must analyze the situation as carefully as we can, imaginatively project possible courses of action, and scrutinize the consequences of these actions. Those ends or goods that we choose relative to a concrete situation after careful deliberation are reasonable or desirable goods. When God’s children live worthy of divine guidance they can become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon. There are always practical limitations to our deliberations, but a person trained to deliberate intelligently will be prepared to act intelligently even in those situations that so not permit extended deliberation. When we confront new situations, we must imagine and strive for new goals. As long as there are internal conflicts that demand judgment, decision, and action, sometimes we make poor choices when we yield to peer pressure. In this sense, the moral life of human beings is never completed, and the ends achieved become the means for attaining further ends. However, lest we think that human beings are always striving for something that is to be achieved in the remote future, or never, there are consummations—experiences in which the ends that we strive for are concretely realized. In our moral life, there is a great deal of emphasis placed on intelligence. Some people, objects, experiences have an attraction for us. We desire, want, need them. They attractive like the side of a magnet. Since they attract us, we tend to approach them. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Other objects, people, or situations repel, disgust, frighten, or turn us off. We view them not as attractive, but as negative and we tend to avoid them. Faith in the power of intelligence is to imagine a future which is a projection of the desirable in the present, and to invent the instrumentalities of its realization. It takes a certain kind of courage to stand back rather than leaping forward, foolishly allowing someone else to make our choices for us. When we have a clear idea of our identity as children of God, and having a bright potential for a meaningful future, we can more readily take firm stands. Valuation, like all inquiry, presupposes a community of shared experiences in which there are common norms and procedures, and intelligent valuation is also a means for making such community a concrete reality. We are always trying to understand or make sense out of our own and others’ actions. It has been said that human beings have a will to meaning. People strive to find meaning everywhere, and usually succeed. What we are doing when we interpret something, when we find meaning, is not entirely clear. There will always be conflicts, problems, and competing values within our experience, but with the continuous development of creative intelligence humans can strive for and realize new ends and goals. Unfortunately, some of our poor choices are irreversible, but many are not. Often we can change course and get back on the right track. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
Getting back on the right track may involve the principles of repentance: first, recognizing the error of our ways; second, forsaking the wrongful conduct; third, never repeating it; and, fourth, confessing and making restitution where possible. Learning by experience has value. And the source of education consisting of real World experiences, especially adverse experiences is unfortunate, but also a part of life. Progression comes faster and easier by learning from our parents, those who love us, and our professors. We can also learn from the mistakes of others, observing the consequences of their wrong choices. Some choices present good opportunities no matter which road we take—for example, when deciding which career path to follow or which University to attend, making the right decision or the best possible choice will open doors for an individual. There was a gifted young man, named T. Randolph Harris, who wanted to become a doctor, but that opportunity did not open up for him; so he chose to follow the law. After graduating from Princeton University, he then went to New York University of Law, and became a one of the city’s most powerful lawyers, at a white-shoe law firm, called McLaughlin and Stern LLP Attorneys. He is also an adjunct professor of law. God opens the right doors for us. And if you do not believe in God, you should pretend to believe, because in so doing you might come around to genuine belief in time. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
Behaviour is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. The prediction of social behaviour significantly involves the way people make decisions about resources and wealth, so the science of decision making historically was the province of economists. And the basic assumption of economists was always that, when it comes to money, people are essentially rational. It was largely inconceivable that people would make decisions that go against their own interests. Some of our important choices have a time line. If we delay a decision, the opportunity is gone forever. Sometimes our doubts keep us from making a choice that involves change. Thus, an opportunity may be missed. When we have to make a choice and do not make it, that in itself is a choice. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. Some choices have greater consequences than others. We make no greater voluntary choice in this life than the selection of a marriage partner. This decision can bring eternal happiness and joy. To find sublime fulfillment in marriage, both partners need to be fully committed to the marriage. Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them to become what they are capable of being. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius power, and magic in it. “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to say. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing,” reports Zephaniah 3.17. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
Strangely, doing the wrong thing often seems reasonable, possibly because it seems to be the easiest course. We often hear as justification for wrong behaviour, “Well, everybody is doing it.” Hasty generalizations(overgeneralizing) happens when people draw conclusions (generalizations) from too few or atypical examples. This evil distorts the truth, and its author is the adversary. The adversary will cheat your souls, and lead you away carefully down to hell. No matter how many people in our society are involved, none are justified in being dishonest, lying, cheating, using excessive profanity, especially taking the Lord’s name in vain, engaging in immoral sexual relationships, or not respecting the Lord’s day. Other people’s actions do not dictate what is right or wrong. One person having the courage to make the right choice can influence many others to choose wisely. We are responsible for the choices we make. If we choose to disobey God’s commandments, we cannot blame our circumstances, our family, nor our friends. Do not fall victim to the Talk Show Syndrome, which is when people stand up and generalize on the basis of their individual experiences. We are children of God with great strength. We have the ability to choose righteousness and happiness, no matter what our circumstances are. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
We also have to be careful when making our decisions because right now the fake news media is trying really have to confuse people by using manufactured or questionable statistics. They are also practicing a misuse of authority by hiring experts to provide testimony, which is usually useful for supporting material for claims because experts draw on a larger data and knowledge base than do nonexperts. However, experts are not always correct, but they generally are more reliable than someone who is uninformed or only marginally knowledgeable, especially about a highly technical subject. There are also examples of incomplete citation when reference to the authority is neither specific nor complete. Sometimes the fake news media uses biased sources—special-interest groups or individuals who stand to gain money, prestige, power, or influence simply be taking a certain position on an issue or crusaders for a cause are all biased even though they may have expertise. In other cases, the media has been providing us with authorities quoted or of his or her field—expertise is not generic. We have also seen cases of false analogies (which they like to call comparing apples to oranges) where two items, events, or phenomena with similarities are viewed as identical. What is true of one is or should be true for the other, so goes the claim, even when a significant point or points of difference exist between the two things compared. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
There are also false dichotomies employed by the media when a false choice between only two opposites is allowed when there are other choices that fall between the extremes exist. Also, the media is not presenting the public with issues that we need to know about. For example, when wild fires or explosions happen in communities, just because there are powerlines or gasolines in the area, the utility company is blamed for the catastrophe, even when it may not be their fault, just because their powerlines or gasolines are in the area. This is costing corporations who provide us with energy or fuel billions of dollars and bankrupting them. In the process thousands of jobs are being terminated, and these are jobs that teach people skills and have allowed 45,000 people to become promoted to middle and upper management, where they can afford to live middle-class and upper-class live styles because of the training and experience they have received. Furthermore, the local fake news media is especially guilty of only reporting crime reports, but never any scientific information or research, and they are not even educating communities on ballots that can impact our future. For example, we have not heard anything about Senate Bill 10 (SB10), which would eliminate bail in California for the accused waiting trial, and it would be replace cash bail with a risk assessment of an individual and nonmonetary conditions of release, which some report could lead to mass incarceration. #RandolphHarris 8 of 9
How do we make correct choices? A choice involves making a conscious decision. To make an intelligent decision, we need to evaluate all available facts on both sides of an issue. However, that is not enough. Making correct decisions involves prayer and inspiration. We must study things in our mind, and then ask God if it is right, and if it is right, God will let us know, and when we make a decision we will know it is right. As we look into the future, we are going to need to be stronger and more responsible for our choices in a World where people call evil good, and good evil. If we do not use our agency and check with God, we do not choose wisely. Tomorrow’s blessings and opportunities depend on the choices we make today. Collectively, we have the responsibility to set the example of righteousness to all of the World. The power of choice is ours. May we all use our God-given agency wisely as we make these eternal choices. Let the Sun, blue Sky and could wake up the hidden memory. Each of us has come to this Earth with all the tools necessary to make correct choices. We cannot be neutral; there is no middle ground. Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal journey without providing the means whereby we could receive from him God-given guidance to assist in our safe return at the end of mortal life. Modest, let us walk among it, with our faces veiled, as they say polite Archangels do, in meeting God. With love and affection, we will build an impeccably happy life. #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
The Winchester Mystery House
As Mrs. Winchester discovered, sometimes the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Made at a Great Expense—A Precious Map of the World!
We must believe that we are born for the service of humankind, and set ourselves to consider what service we are best fitted to perform. Now if a human should succeed, not in striking out some new invention, but in kindling a light in nature—a light that should eventually disclose and bring into sight all that is most hidden and secret in the Universe—that person would be benefactor indeed of the human race. Some of us are fitted for nothing so well as the study of truth, as having minds nimble and versatile enough to catch the resemblances of things (which is the chief point) and at the same time steady enough to fix and distinguish their subtler differences; as being gifted by nature with desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to meditate, slowness to asset, readiness to reconsider, carefulness to dispose and set in order; and as being individuals that neither affect what is new nor admiring what is antiquated, and strongly disliking every kind of imposture. So, it seems people like this have a mind with the intellectual framework and a kind of familiarity and relationship with the truth. We are most impressed by the truth’s vision of a universal science, which is of great practical import and includes all the secrets of nature. The unified science, revealed by God is concealed in figurative enigmatic language, but might be rediscovered by one morally worthy and mentally qualified to receive it. “The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin,” reports Proverbs 10.8. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
There are barriers blocking the road to truth: submission to unworthy authority (for example, crediting living theologians with a prestige due only to the Church Fathers or the Scriptures), the influence of custom, popular prejudice, and concealment of one’s ignorance are all contributing factors. The study of wisdom emphasizes the search for the continued optimization and the cultural evolution of the human condition. Wisdom is the ability to make correct judgments and decisions; it is the skill or gift from God to judge correctly. A person gains wisdom through experience and study and by following God’s counsel. Without God’s help, people would not have true wisdom. It is an intangible quality gained through God’s grace. Wisdom exemplifies the collaboration of cognitive, and emotional, and motivational processes. We associate the development of wisdom in a person with the emergence in later adulthood of a meditative attitude, philosophic calmness, impartiality, and the desire to draw moral lessons. Wisdom has such a rich ideational history and carried so may religious and philosophical associations that it almost seems to have a supernatural foundation, which is part of our soul. Wisdom concerns a body of insights, heuristics, and skills that can manifest themselves in many different ways, only one of which is the wise person. “Transgressors withdraw themselves from the Spirit, that it has no place to guide them in wisdom’s path,” Mosiah 2.36. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Wisdom embraces these contradictions of life and draws insights from them. It further develops heuristics about when and under which circumstance are essential for grasping human existence. The conceptions of wisdom have been investigated in more depth than is the case for other constructs, such as intelligence, because it includes its rich cultural history and loftiness as an ideal state of being. It becomes manifest, often times, in social situations such as advice-giving and guidance. When it comes to issues of wisdom, there is no easily retrievable answer to the question of what is right or wrong. However, based on the fundamental precondition that the well-being of the individual and that of the community need to be balanced, a consensus can be reached within a community of practice as to what constitutes wise advice or even a wise person. In other words, wisdom follows a consensual rather than an objective criterion of truth. The cognitive-ability component combines crystallized and fluid aspects of intelligence. Both an experience-based body of broad and deep life knowledge and the ability to reason well and think logically about novel problems. “Angels appear unto wise people,” reports Helaman 12.5. Due to the fact that wisdom also searches for insight, bridges cognition and motivation: Wise individuals are willing and able to understand complex issues deeply rather than superficially. “Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you,” reports Proverbs 5-7. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
If enlightened individuals are lacking sufficient information, they will search for that information rather than form a premature judgement. There is also a motivational-emotional component for wise people. They tend to have a reflective attitude, rather than making quick judgments or being guided by strong emotions, they prefer to think deeply about people, the World, and themselves. It is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the superiority of being enlightened. Blessed is the one who seeks wisdom, and the many Bible verses about wisdom teaches us that it is more valuable than gold. Wisdom is the key to unlocking everlasting and eternal abundant life. Wisdom is nothing but a preparation of the soul, a capacity, a secret art of thinking, feeling and breathing thoughts of unity at every moment of life. Wisdom is a virtue that is valued highly by most, and is integrated of one’s own perspective and self-interests with that of others, compassion concern for the welfare of others, and equanimity. Their attitude of looking at all sides of an issues also implies a willingness to be critical of themselves, a balanced manner of regulating their own emotions rather than getting carried away by strong feelings, and an unobtrusive self-presentation. Wise people also tend to engage in civic activities to help solve real World like the lack of electricity, water, housing, and health issues. Thus, wisdom is transmitted across generations. It is generational blessing. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Wisdom can also be acquired in youth with the fluctuations of life’s cycle of prosperity and hardship. However, even though the human development is vastly universal, wisdom many differ across cultures, and they change with history. Personal wisdom refers to the individuals’ insight into their selves, and their own lives. General wisdom is concerned with individuals’ insights into life in general, from an observer’s point of view, that is, when they are not personally concerned. The two types of wisdom do not necessarily have to coincide in a person. A person can be wise with regards to the life and problems of other people and can be sought out for advice from others because of one’s wisdom, but the very same person does not necessarily have to be wise about one’s own life and one’s own problems. Wisdom is a complex and content-rich phenomenon, and many scholars have claimed that it defies attempts at scientific information. Because of people’s sins, God’s scientific revelations were obscured by errors—which is one reason for testing empirically what the ancient sages say. All knowledge can be found in the Scriptures and secrets books, whose full meaning God reveals by interior illumination only to those whose lives are pure. Praise God for teaching us how to live the abundant life and for blessing us with the wise promises of Scripture. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding,” reports Proverbs 2.6. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
As we meditate on these verses in the Bible, we will receive flashes of brilliance and scientific lord. Wisdom that comes only from God and leads to a peaceful, plentiful, and everlasting life. “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are the Lord’s,” reports Job 12.13. Wisdom and knowledge are not the same things. knowledge is acquired through experiences. If one does not experience something, one will not have knowledge about it. Normally, a senior would be considered wise. However, a youth could potentially be just as wise. It all depends on their lives and ho w many times they have experienced different things. Knowledge: facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience and/or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience (scientia experimentalis). Knowledge is information of which someone is aware. Knowledge is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject, potentially with the ability to use it for a specific purpose. However, someone with wisdom could potentially have a lot of knowledge. If knowledge is acquired through experiences, and with experience comes wisdom, then knowledge must come with wisdom. “To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge,” reports Doctrines and Covenants 46.18. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Nothing can be learned without experience. One aspect of experience is based on sense perception and it called human or philosophical; the other aspect is interior and is derived from an illumination of the mind by God. Thus, although sense perception is necessary to knowledge, certainty cannot be attained without divine illumination. Interior experience admits of seven degrees, beginning with that required for certitude in mathematics or the natural sciences and culminating in such mystical or ecstatic states as Sating Paul’s vision of Heaven. However, we should devote our time to what we can know about the wonders of nature by sense perception and the first degree of illumination. Consider the tides of the ocean, heat, and double refraction, light (and all physical force generally) is transmitted in pulses like sound waves. Since this multiplication of species requires a medium, the transmission cannot be instantaneous, even though the time interval is imperceptible. In seeking knowledge of God, we need to remember that the things of God knows no person, but the Spirit of God. The Spirit offers a witness and knowledge that cannot be found elsewhere. Learning by faith engages the spirit. “Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that you may not shrink with awful fear; that you may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness,” 2 Nephi 9.46. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Liberty to Those Who Have the Spirit to Preserve it
Our Heavenly Father has a plan for us, a plan of happiness. God’s work is to being pass the immortality and eternal life of humans. Many people reject the doctrine of original sin, holding that humans are inherently good and that the sin of Adam was not transmitted to posterity. Sin appears to be universal among people because of Adam’s bad example, but humans never were tainted by original sin. Further implications are drawn that it is false that humankind suffered spiritual death through sin of Adam and that the redemption of humanity is not due to the grace given by Christ but to the values of Christ’s moral teachings. Through sanctifying grace humans achieve a spiritual rebirth, not merely a remission of original sin and its effects. Human beings are created again in the divine likeness and finds his or her nature perfected so that one may share in the divine supernatural life. Grace gives humans the power or freedom (libertas) to choose the good and to effect good works. Freedom of the will is real and active under grace, and it is accommodated to the divine sovereignty. Freedom is sufficient for evil; for good it is not enough unless it be empowered by the Omnipotent who is good. Actual grace is first active in faith and conversation and is necessary to final perseverance, or the continuation of the virtuous life. The autonomy of ethics follows from the autonomy of human beings. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
While slavery was common throughout the original Thirteen Colonies, moral acceptance of the trade was not universal. A few founding fathers found the conscience to speak out against slavery. In 1764, James Otis declared, “Colonists are by the law of nature free born, as indeed all men, White of Black.” Another patriot and firebrand, Sam Adams, stated that “No slave shall live under my roof,” and freed the two he inherited from marrying his second wife. The Sons of Liberty was an organization that was created in the Thirteen American Colonies. The secret society was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and fight taxation by the British government. William Campbell had become a leading member of the Sons of Liberty in Wilmington, North Carolina USA. He talked excitedly about inalienable rights. Thomas Peters was kidnaped from the Yoruba tribe in what is now Nigeria and brought to North America by a French slave trader. Thomas Peters had been purchased in Louisiana about 1760, and he resisted enslavement so fiercely that his master sold him into the English colonies. By 1770, Thomas Peters was enslaved by William Campbell, and he had plans for his own declaration of independence, which was enhanced by William Campbell’s spirit of equality and human rights. Eventually Thomas Peters took the moment to redefine himself as a man and escaped. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Many other Africans who had been enslaved took advantage of the war’s confusion to gain their freedom and start a new life. Some sought refuge among the Indians in the interior. The Seminoles of Georgia and Florida generally welcomed Black runaways and through intermarriage absorbed them into tribal society. The Blacks’ reception by the Cherokee and Creek, however, was more uncertain. Some were taken in, but others were returned to slaveholders in return for bounties, and still others were held in slavelike conditions by new Indian slave masters. Of the Blacks who had the opportunity to serve the Patriot cause, many received the freedom they were promised. The patriotism of countless others, however, went unrewarded. “Of more worth is one honest person to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived,” reports Thomas Paine. The only thing that can stop a person from acting on his or her judgment is physical force, the establishment and maintenance of liberty requires a government dedicated to banning physical force—including indirect force-including indirect force, such as fraud—from social relationships; and using force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. Under liberty, no one, including the government, may stop a person from acting on his or her own judgment, producing the wealth, or keeping the product of one’s own efforts. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
The story of Thomas Peters carries revolutionary significance for human history for it is the story of how a man without official position of any sort took the side of people, like himself, who had been denied liberty, and set an example which denounced injustice. The normal pattern of the times would have called him to be stuck down on the spot. However, he was speaking for an authority and others accepted this verdict of the moral conscience as divine and hence ultimate and demanded freedom and liberty. The revolutionary and unprecedented fact is the way people challenged the status quo. The only proviso of liberty is that we may not violate the rights of others, which means, one cannot force others to act against their own judgment. Under liberty—genuine liberty, the kind under which property rights are recognized and protected—people are free to be free to earn as much money as they are willing and able to earn and buy property, invest in a business, buy health insurance, groceries or even a yacht. Freedom is an inescapable fact of our experience, and freedom means that people have the power to choose the good or the evil. It is true that God may help a person by endowing his or her nature with the possibility of sinlessness and the ability to accomplish good works, but no special grace from God is needed to attain the virtuous life. The initiation of ethical activity lies with in each person. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
God’s revulsion against injustices are less personal because they were embedded in the entire social order. Time was shot through with inequities, special privileges, and injustice of the most flagrant sort. Wealth was concentrated in the hands of rich grandess, the poor were branded like cattle and sold as slaves, persons in debt were traded for a pair of shoes. It was a World in which masters punished and tortured their slaves as they pleased; in which women were subjugated to men and unwanted children were abandoned in lonely places to die. It is believed that God intended revolutionary America as the place of Christ’s Second Coming and that independence foretold that glorious day. Others of a less millennialist persuasion thought of America as a New Israel, a covenanted people specially chosen by God to preserve liberty in a threatening World. Americans were urged to rededicate themselves to God’s law by fighting for American freedom. It was language that people nurtured in Puritan piety and the Great Awakening instinctively understood. The belief that God sanctioned their Revolution strengthened Americans’ resolve. It also encouraged them to identify national interest with divine intent, and thus offered convenient justification for whatever they believed necessary to do. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
People are by nature good, and through moral strength and freedom of one’s will one can attain the highest good, and even supernatural salvation. The Revolution was seen as God’s warning to clean up their national life, to establish justice throughout the land, or be destroyed. The prerequisite to political stability is social justice; it is ingrained in the nature of things that injustice breeds it own demise. In theological terms, God’s standards are high; he will not put up forever with exploitation, corruption, and mediocrity. God’s balancing tenderness figures fully as prominently. Some here God roaring like a lion, other hear him in the ghostly stillness that precedes the storm. Yet, one thing is common to them all; the conviction that being, a child of God, has rights that even kings cannot erase. The prophets come upon the stage of history like a strange, elemental, explosive force. They live in a vaster World than those about them, a World in which pomp and kings seem small and the power of the mighty is as nothing compared with purity, justice, and mercy. So it is that whenever people have gone to history for encouragement and inspiration in the age-ling struggle for justice they have found it, more than anywhere else in the prophets. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Having prophets is a sign of God’s love for his children. They make known the promises and the true nature of God. The prophets found meaning in their predicament by seeing it as God’s way of underscoring his demand for righteousness. God was engaged in a great controversy with his people, a controversy involving moral issues not evident to the secular observer. To correct a wayward child a parent may coax and cajole, but if the words fail he will eventually be forced to act. Similarly, in the face of the American Revolution, indifference to his commands and pleadings, God had no alternative but to let his people know who is God—whose will must be done! We are not left alone. God has given us the necessary gifts to help us in our mortal experience. What a comfort is its to know that we are not alone sailing uncharted waters as we go through life’s experiences. Our choices have the undeniable power of transforming our lives. This gift is an extraordinary sign of trust in us simultaneously a cherished personal responsibility to use wisely. Our Father in Heaven respect our freedom to choose and will never force us to do what is right. God’s invitation concerning this important and vital gift of choice is clearly expressed in the scriptures. To do good continually depicts well the standard we need to apply as we use our agency. Everything that invites and entices us to do good is inspired of God. “The single most important thing is to believe in yourself regardless of what everyone else says,” reports Hikaru Nakamura. #RandolphHaris 7 of 7
The Winchester Mystery House
In a town where one Victorian mansion was more sumptuous and ornate than the rest The Winchester Mystery House has always been the pinnacle of elaborate, gracious excess. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Understanding Double Truth–Our Potential to Benefit Society is Limitless
Good judgment is needed not only in understanding people, but also in facing decisions that often lead us to or away from our Heavenly Father. We live in a World in which many situations require us to make judgments that are often difficult. Yet the Savior gave the commandment to judge not our fellow people How can we do this and still exercise good judgment in a World full of deception and corruption? We must judge well when making critical decisions in each phase of our life, such as choosing friends, careers, finding an eternal compassion, or choosing an occupation that will allow us to care for our family and serve the Lord. Although the Savior asked us not to judge others, he still expects us to use excellent judgment. We may often find ourselves making quick judgments about people, which can change or redefine our relationships with them. Often incorrect judgments are made because of limited information or because we do not see beyond that which is immediately in front of us. Our World is in trouble, but it welcomes us home in an era of great opportunity. The same technology that has highlighted many of the problems in our World also allows us to be the first generation in history to be able to share our newfound bounties of mind, heart, and spirit with the entire planet. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
As we return to the Kingdom of Heaven triumphantly, those who knows us best will rejoice with us. Our fellow travelers can benefit from the wisdom of our experience. The World itself will surely be better for having gained a responsible citizen who listens to its needs and responds with compassion. Yet, to make the most of our homecoming, we need to take on the mantle of leadership. The distinction between the spheres of faith and of reason has commonly been interpreted as though there were a disharmony, or even a contradiction, between them. Indeed, the doctrine of double truth—that is, that a proposition may be true in theology, but false in philosophy. Properly speaking, double truth seems never to have been a consciously adopted doctrine in the Middle Ages, but rather an accusation leveled against theological opponents. A doctrine of double truth means that the same thing is not true in different disciplines. Despite appearances, there really can be different things in mind. What we are trying to defend might better be called a theory of multiple meaning. Neither twofold nor truth quite pinpoints the thesis, and perhaps even manifold truth is still misleading. Homo loquens reflects and communicates, not by means of a single, universally valid language, but by means of several languages, which are relative to particular disciplines or areas of experience. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
Hence the meaning of a term or proposition is determined by the area of discourse: if transferred from one area of discourse to another, a term may acquire a different meaning, or have no meaning at all. For example, it makes no sense to ask the weight of a line from the length of a pound. Whether correct or not, this argument bears a close resemblance to ideas which have played an important role in the twenty-first-century linguistic philosophy, and is therefore not likely to be dismissed as obscurantism or anti-intellectualism. The basic thesis—that the same form of words may have different meanings in different disciplines—underlies many ideas about the relations of ethics to theology. For instance, the proposition that fallen man can do no good is fundamental to teachings on justification because this is only true in a theological, not in an ethical context, for in each context the word good means something different. This is, perhaps, a statement of double truth, but only because it rests on a theory of multiple meaning. Thus interpreted, double truth does not imply contradiction, but excludes it, since real contradiction is possible only within a single realm of discourse. Although we must hold to the saying that one truth agrees with another, nevertheless the same thing is not true in different disciplines. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Rejection of traditional political ideas emerge most clearly between discussions of the relation between morals and politics. For instance, a prince in the ancient World of the Middle Ages, is supposed to be the embodiment of human virtues; he was expected to be just, magnanimous, merciful, and faithful to his obligations, and to do everything which might make him loved by his subjects. However, when double truth is considered, a prince must not mind incurring the scandal of those vices without which it would, if followed, lead to one’s ruin and that some others which appear vices result in one’s greater security and well-being. This has been frequently understood as meaning that instead of being loyal, treacherous; instead of aiming to be loved, he should aim to be feared. However, this is a misunderstanding. Some admonish a prince to disregard the question of whether his actions would be called virtuous or vicious. A ruler ought to do whatever is appropriate to the situation in which he finds himself and may lead most quickly and efficiently to success. Sometimes cruelty, sometimes leniency, sometimes loyalty, sometimes villainy might be the right course. The choice depends on circumstances. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
These views have frequently been interpreted as a meaning that wickedness is more effective than goodness. This distortion is incorrect because it is not concerned with good or evil; it is concerned only with political efficiency. In the World, it is an Earthly judge who condemns a person and locks him or her into prison. In contrast, we are taught that when we willfully sin, we become our own judges and consign ourselves to spiritual prison. The rejection of the communis opinio—whether in the special area of military affairs or in the general field of ethics—was a reflection of a new and comprehensive vision of politics. The prevailing view is that the task of government is distribution and maintenance of justice. The law of life under which every political organization exists is a growth and expansion. Thus, force is an integral, and a most essential, element in politics. Interest in military affairs has its basis in the conviction that possession of a powerful and disciplined military force is a requisite for the preservation of political independence. Moreover, because political life is a struggle, the conduct of life according to Christian virtues could endanger political effectiveness; Christianity, by preaching meekness and selflessness, might soften people and weaken a political society. And that is why there are laws for the Earthly Kingdom and laws for the Heavenly Kingdom. We now have a territory in our global village much larger which houses, family, friends and matters of local concerns. Our potential to benefit society is limitless. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
The Winchester Mystery House
Anyone who is interested in the paranormal including ghosts, demons, orbs and hauntings will enjoy The Winchester Mystery House. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Remember, God can Repair Our Flaws and Failings that Otherwise are Not Repairable!
A vibrant beauty from within marks not only our accomplishments in life, but the inner enlightenment we call wisdom. Many of us, at time, try to resolve life’s challenges ourselves, without seeking the intervention of the Lord in our lives. We try to carry the burden alone. As some are faced with trials and afflictions, they say, “Why will not God help me?” Some have even struggles with doubts about their prayers and their personal worthiness and say, “Perhaps prayer does not work.” Others who have suffered with infirmary, discouragement, financial crisis, rejection, disappointment, and even loss of loved ones may say, “Why will the Lord not heal me or help me with my son? Does life have to be this unhappy?” Yes, one might even cry out, “God, where art thou? How long shall thy hand be overruled?” However, through his grace, the Lord can and does continually assist us in our daily lives and in our physical and psychological distress, pain, transgression, and even in all of our infirmities. In order to pass successfully through the trials we encounter, we must keep our eyes and heart centered on God. Even with your vision firmly in place, we will not achieve the results we desire unless we put ourselves in a creative frame of mind. We should have great hope in knowing, however, unworthy we may feel or weak we may be, that if we will do all we can, God will come to our assistance and provide for us whatever we may lack. That is what grace is. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Grace is a divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of God. It is an enabling power. Most research on activating the creative process suggests that changing the way we think is more important than any other factor in determining our ability to be creative. It we can obtain the grace of God, that divine enabling power to assists us, we will triumph in this life and be exalted in the life to come. The proof of any creative endeavor is its outcome. At some point we must decide which combination of ideas will yield the best results. Too often we dismiss ripe ideas too quickly; sometime a good but seemingly unworkable idea needs nothing more than to have the idea of faith applied to its implementation. This is especially true when two attractive ideas seem impossible to pursue at the same time. Many ideas that seem mutually exclusive at first can yield superior results if we bring to idea selection and implementation the same faith we brought to idea generation. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God by whom also we have access by faith into this grace. Paradoxes seduce us into thinking the only resolution to a problem is win-lose. It takes practice to break out of this mental trap and see that there are unlimited opportunities to bled the strength of the two opposites. Whenever you find yourself trapped into pursuing one idea at the expense of another, be enticed to pause. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
How many times as we have prayed for assistance or help with our problems, have we severed ourselves from the power of God because of doubt of fear, and thus could not obtain this enabling power of God? Confidence in the creative process is, for many of us, the most difficult aspect of inviting God. For too many people grow up receiving recurring messages that they lack the faith. Recall some of the negative messages you may have received from others or yourself in the past: “You cannot even draw a straight line!” “You have never had an original idea.” “There is no God in your body.” “When God was passing out talent you must have been absent.” If you want to supplant those messages, you must learn to build faith and encourage your creative potential. Repentance is the key. The grace of God through the Atonement can both cleanse us of sin and assist us in perfecting ourselves through trials, infirmary, and even character defects. We are both sanctified and justified though the grace of the Lord. Remember, God can repair our flaws and failings that otherwise are not repairable. Select a time in your recent past when you had the triumph upon discovering something. This triumph may have come from solving complex problem especially quickly or clearly. It might have been an unexpected insight into a relationship dilemma, a business challenge, or even a golf match, or backgammon game. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
Give yourself and God credit. Write a short story that describes the steps you went through to deal with the situation. Report on your state of mind just before you solved the problem. How did you feel? What factors kept you engaged in trying to solve the problems? Were you using faith and logic? Did your imagination also help? Review the actual moment you had your insight. What conditions support God’s grace helping you? Conclude the report with a rousing description of how your solution spawned benefits for you and others. That great truth out to fill us all with hope, a long as we are quick to remember that the effect of grace in our lives is conditioned upon repenting of our sins. Therefore, blessed are they who will repent. And may God grant that people might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works. A repentant heart and good works are the very conditions required to have grace restored to us. When someone pleads fervently in prayer for answer, the answer may be more conditioned on repentance of personal sins than any other factors. Jamie Reagan, 33, was laid off from his job as a lawyer last year. Reagan faced all the usual concerns of a man out of work: How will I pay my bills if I do not get a job right away? I do good work; why did I get fired? However, Reagan has another worry: How would he keep the respect of his son? #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Reagan’s breakthrough came when he realized that adversity was a face of life. “It came to me that how a man coped with adversity was the measure of that man,” relates Reagan. “I might have lost my job, but I am still a good role model. A good father. I asked my son to come into the den for a heart-to-heart discussion and told him just how I felt. That one of my goals while I looked for a new job was to make him proud of how I coped.” Reagan’s son took the role of student with gusto. He would ask his father questions about how he felt. “I wanted to be sure he kept his energy and spirits up,” said Tyler. Before long Reagan admitted to himself that his family’s love and support would be the most important factor in his getting a new job. “I will never forget the day I finally found a new position,” smiled Reagan. “Tyler came into the den and shook my hand. Man to man. And he said thanks. I felt like a million buck—and it had nothing to do with the new job!” There are many ways to honor the wisdom of God and recognize our new status in life and empower our future. “And if people come unto me I will show them their weakness. I give unto people weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all people that humble themselves before me,” reports Ether 12.27. The mind is the many different ways in which one can explore and expand this faith, using it to help one decide what one wants in life and how to get it. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
By building faith in God on a regular basis, one will develop concrete mental skills that have an obvious application to daily life. More important, one’s work will actually promote neurological change, which can increase the rate and depth of one’s growth. Faith in God facilitates our understanding of complex issues in our personal life. In pursuing faith in God, we are laying the foundation for other areas of growth. If one’s mind is sharp, one will have an easier time understanding the paradoxes of spirituality, or the fundamentals of interpersonal effectiveness. Express your gratitude to the Universe. Allow yourself to be proud. Channel your energies into a formulaic magazine that might offer some opportunities to expand your visions. Doing all we can in our own power, and knowing what defines us and what our values are, means that any upgrade of the story of our life requires a change in our work focus. Yes, works alone cannot bring that divine gift, but they are a key condition upon which the gift is received. “For we know that it is truly by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” reports 2 Nephi 25.23. Thus, unless one has done all in one’s own power, one cannot expect the grace of God to be manifest. What a glorious principle to understand the Lord’s assistance to us. A soul-oriented spirituality begins in a reevaluation of the qualities of soul: subtlety, complexity, ripening, Worldliness, incompleteness, ambiguity, wonder. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Once we have given all we can, then God assists us through his grace. To obtain grace, one does not have to be perfect, but one does have to be trying to keep the commandments the best that we can. Then the Lord will allow us to receive that power. If we deny ourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all our might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for us, that by his grace we may be perfect in God. What glorious gospel news in understanding this doctrine of grace, which persuades us to more fully center our faith and hope upon God. We will grow in grace and knowledge of the truth. For our labor, we will receive the grace of God, that we might wax strong in the spirit, that we might teach with power and authority from God. We will not fall from grace. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Educator, be gracious to thy children. Educator, Father, Guide of Heaven, give to us, who follow thy command, to fulfill the likeness of thy image, and to see, according to the strength, the God who is both a good God ad a Judge who is not harsh. Do thou thyself bestow all things on us who dwell in peace, who have been placed in thy city, who sail the sea of sin unruffled, that we may be made tranquil and supported by the Holy Spirit, the unutterable Wisdom, by night and day, unto the perfect day, to sing eternal thanksgiving to the one only Father, the Educator and Teacher with the Holy Spirit. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
Open a Savings Account and Put on a Happy Face
Smiles are mostly thought of as good omens. It is suggested that if people learn to smile through pain, they will eventually become happier because it allows us to receive protection, strength, and peace in unsettling times. Our interest in religion goes beyond mere curiosity about its complex motivation. In the mid-1970s, a Bay Area church in the state of California, USA devised a plan to redeem the neighborhood from people under the influence of controlled substances. The leaders of the church engaged a button factory in San Francisco, California USA to produce a batch of cheerful smiley pins, accompanied by the brisk motto, “Have a nice day, and stay off drugs.” We regard this as a forlorn venture, anticipating First Lady Nancy Reagan’s witty slogan, “Just say no,” which was an anti-drug crusade. The fact that the smiley should have been sent into the World on a Godly mission to redeem and enlighten demonstrates how successfully it had crept into the visual language of the moment. When it comes to religion, people do indeed take there to be evidence of some kind of specific paranormal power, whether there might seem to be primary evidence of telepathy, mediumship, haunting, reincarnation, or whatever. Their ultimate goal has been to discover a set of present facts that not merely confirm the existence of the human soul, but confirm it in a way that specifically holds promise for the future. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
Whether your holy places are geographic or moments in time, they are equally sacred and have incredible strengthening power. The soul is not physical, it is spiritual. Psychokinetic phenomena can be broadly defined as cases where it appears that the mind or the soul is inducing material changes at remote location in the outside World, without the mediation of any force or process known to science. In general, it can be assumed that the state of mind responsible is some kind of wish or request—a mental picture of a desired goal—and that the material change that occurs is in is the direction of this goal. It is perhaps an open question whether the effect is produced directly by the mind acting at a distance from its home base in the body, or whether it involves the mind leaving the body and visiting the remote location, or even whether it involves the mind relaying the request to an independent supernatural agency. Most people would believe that there is a direct causal link. However, whatever the means, the effect involves a miraculous transfer of information and of energy and in many cases the creation of matter. The scriptures speak of souls in three ways: as spirit beings, both premortal and postmortal, a spirit and a body united in mortality; and immortal, resurrected person whose spirit and body have become inseparably connected. #RandolphHarros 2 of 5
We feel our Heavenly Father’s love, or moments when we receive an answer to our prayers. The cases of most practical concern and human interest are those where the mental state responsible belongs to a living person: as when someone is able—merely by wishing it or praying it—to bring about rain, to levitate, to remove a tumour, to influence the throw of a die, to encourage seeds to grow, to start a car, to make someone turn round merely by staring at their back, excreta. However, there are also causes where the mental state can be assumed to belong to the spirit of a person who has passed away: as when a poltergeist or ghost is able to move the furniture, to clank chains, to direct the movements of a Ouija board, to produce rapping sounds and answer questions (one rap for “Yes”, and two for “No”), to appear as a luminescent spectral form, excreta. And there are cases too where the mental state belong neither to the non-living nor to the living person but to some kind of deity: as when a God or an Angel is able to cause a flood, to make a statue weep, to interceded in a battle, to project the image of the Virgin Mary on to a church wall, and so on. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
We are one with life, and understand that life itself is perfect, complete; there is a spiritual presence and a divine unity running through everything. We can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of our lives, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition we have ever faces. We can create and stand in holy places even in the hardest times we have ever experienced. God does notice us, and he watches over us, but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. We understand how it is that this divine unity personifies itself through all people and we see clearly how it is that this divine unity operates from and animates every event. It is important to be conscious of this divine presence at the very center of our own soul. The reality is strong, beneficial, certain, confident, and whole. Our testimonies are becoming stronger because we are standing for truth and righteousness in glorious ways. We are noble and our Heavenly Father’s have incredible love for us. And when we will reconcile ourselves to God, and we will become friends to God. There is no fear, no sense of inferiority. We are conscious of our ability to meet every situation. We are conscious of our ability to meet every person with perfect frankness, perfect openness, and in complete understanding. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
As we fulfill our covenant responsibilities and participate in building the Kingdom of God, blessings will flow into our lives and we will discover the deep and lasting joy of discipleship. We are amazing and have talents, unlimited enthusiasm, and energy, and we are compassionate and caring. Every situation which we experience tends to promote our well-being, to increase our happiness, and self-expression and all the good that there is, is our good today. Our faith in God is complete, our union with life is perfect, and we shall always meet appreciation, helpfulness, encouragement, and certainty. This is the law manifesting itself in our experiences today, tomorrow, and always. Our Heavenly Father is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of his children. May we cut all bonds that are going to us, or from us, that are attached to any person, place, or thing, or situation, that no longer serves our highest good. We cut these bonds with unconditional love, compassion, gentleness, and ease. Surround us in a net of light. Pull in through our field and remove all negativity, please. “Behold, I would exhort you that when you shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that you should read them, that you would remember how merciful the Lord has been unto the children of people, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that you shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. Having faith in God, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost,” reports Moroni 9:3-4. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Are You Going to Realize Good Instead of Evil?
We have the power to produce happiness and success, joy, love, and friendship, rather than their opposites. To feel and imagine may not sound like much. However, in the care of the soul there is trust that nature heals, that much can be accomplished as we exercise our faith in the Savior. God will lift us up and carry us through all of our trials and, ultimately, save us in the celestial kingdom. The God that is within you is truth, beauty, harmony, and unity. Whatever we mentally see and spiritually comprehend we may objectively experience, for God within us is not limited to any one experience. It is the Creator of all experience. God invites us to respond with faith to our own unique afflictions in order that we may reap blessings and gain knowledge that can be learned no other way. We are instructed to keep the commandments of God in every condition and circumstance. If we are faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of Heaven. And if we are sorrowful, call on God with supplication, our souls may be joyful. God is at the center of our beings. This mind which is God permeates every atom of our being. As we teach our intellect to believe in the free circulation of spirit through us, our thoughts become a law of elimination to congestion; it purifies stagnation. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
Our consciousness of the divine presence within us, like the light, dissipates the darkness. This is the eternal and true self at the center of our being. It is the mind of God manifesting itself in us, as us. Our light of affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. We can know in the midst of our conditions that God has provided an eternal compensating reward. As we get to know God, revealed is the incredible truth of what God is doing because of his love. God has bestowed on us, that we shall be called the children of God. God’s purpose for creating humankind is that he wants a family—children. God’s plan and purpose for human salvation is to offer all humanity the opportunity to become his own family, on his level of life. God is love. Love is the fundamental essence of his nature and character—his very being. God is perfect in love. God’s love is manifested by his absolute pure desire to care for, share and give. The divine and infinite mind is always desiring self-expression through us is an insistent urge compelling us to move forward. Many of us have pleaded with God to remove the cause of our suffering, and when the relief we seek has not come, we have been tempted to think he is not listening. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
However, even in those moments when we have been tempted to think God is not listening, he hears our prayers, has a reason for allowing our affliction to continue, and will help us bear them. God’s grace is sufficient for us, for God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. We must believe in our infirmities that the power of God rests upon us. In the course of such a situation, the soul become more complex and spacious. As we acquire this eternal perspective in our lives, our capacity to endure grows, and we come to appreciate and even express gratitude for the experiences God allows us to have as tutors in the path to eternal life. “And moreover, I would desire that we should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into Heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. Oh, remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God has spoken (Mosiah 2.41).” Since the mind within us is the mind of God, and since the mind of God not only created everything that has ever existed but will create everything that is ever going to be, we already have within us the ability to project new ideas, new thoughts, and new inventions. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Therefore, whatsoever ideas we desire, when we pray—when we listen to this inner mind—we must know that we are going to receive these ideas, for we are dealing with that mind which is the conceiver of all ideas. When we call upon the mind of God for an answer to our problems, it at once knows the answer because there are no problems to it. In this way, the answer to every problem already is in the mind which we possess. Beloved now, we are the children of God. As we open ourselves to see what our soul is made of and who we really are, we always find some material that is a profound challenge. Care of the soul asks us to pen our hearts wider than they have ever been before, softening the judging and moralism that may have characterized our attitudes and behaviors for years. Moralism is one of the most effective shields against the soul, protecting us from its intricacy. There is nothing more revealing, and maybe nothing more healing, than to reconsider our moralistic attitudes and find how much soul has been hidden behind its doors. People seem to be afraid that is they reflect on their moral principles they might have to lose their ethical sensitivity altogether. However, it is a defensive approach to morality. As we deal with the soul’s complexity, morality can deepen and drop its simplicity, becoming at the same time both more demanding and more flexible. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
As we get to know the soul and fearlessly consider its unique methods and the many different ways it shows itself among individuals, we may develop a taste for life, truth, and wisdom. One who cares for the soul becomes someone at ease with idiosyncrasies and the unexpected. There is a major difference between care and cure. Cure implies the end of trouble. If we are cured, we do not have to worry about whatever was bothering us any longer. However, care has a sense of ongoing attention. There is no end. Conflicts may never be fully resolved. Our character will never change radically, although it may go through some interesting transformations. Awareness can change, of course, but problems may persist, and we may have to learn to adjust so we can manage them. Are you going to use your authority in the law to create beauty, peace, and joy? No greater good can come to us than to know that the power already within us is the power to live, and the power to create. Not only to create for ourselves but for others—the power to do good, the power to heal, the power to prosper. We are to realize that the power within us is divine authority. It is a dispenser of the divine gifts. It is a giver of life, of joy. It proclaims the Kingdom of Heaven, the harmony of the soul, and the unity of all being. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
The Winchester Mystery House
Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
The Universe is God’s Thought Made Manifest
We can receive eternal life and salvation from knowing the only true God. God is the supreme being, divine presence in the Universe permeating everything; God is the animating force in everything, as love, and the source of all inspiration and power. We must keep our mind clear and focus on Heavenly messages. It takes time to plan and install in the human heart and mind a connection to receive the spiritual revelation and inspiration from God. It we are out of tune, we are out of harmony, and static and wrong impressions come from the adversary and Worldly sources. That is why it is important that we avoid bad company because their orbit is negative and depressing. God is the source of guidance and divine protection. The Lord has indicated that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against revelation from him to any one of his children who desires to know the living God. God has been called by a thousand different names throughout the ages. The time has now come to cast aside any points of disagreement and to realize that we are all worshipping one and the same God. God is under commitment and the gates of Hell cannot prevail against that commitment; and it will be revealed through the power and principle of revelation direct from God to the one desiring to receive that information. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
All the marvels of nature are glimpses of God’s divine power and expression of his love. For those who believe in God is the fountain of life; in the light we shall see light. God is light and in him is so darkness at all. The righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and the law of God is the truth. God is a power that nothing can surpass, a power with which no one can make comparison of any human thing at all. Knowing God does not solve life’s problems, but gives purpose and strength to master them. God is absolute and self-existent cause. Therefore, the divine spirit contains within itself infinite imagination, complete volition and absolute power. We think of God not as some power, but as all power. The light of life is divine light that permeates and radiates in the human soul and brings out the Godlike qualities and attributes of Godliness. The light of life has within it the glorious promises from God of eternal life in his Heavenly Kingdom. The light of life will bring divine truth and happiness and peace into a troubled heart. The light of life brings divine light into the problems and troubles of this life and helps to turn life’s problems into steppingstones to eternal progression and to developing Godlike character. What God thinks, he energizes. The Universe is God’s thought made manifest. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
The ideas of God take innumerable forms. The manifest Universe springs from the mind of God. The Lord by wisdom has founded the Earth: by understandings has he established the Heavens. To know God, we must walk in the light of life. To know God as a living child of God, we should know our relationship to him, our divine potential, and we should know that in knowing God there is great responsibility to respect and love and follow his counsel and his doctrines and his commandments and to grow as a child to become more Godlike. God is holy and righteous being. God is love. We are encouraged to have purity of heart, perseverance in acquiring wisdom and self-discipline. If we are an incretion of God, then our spirit is God individualizes, and as such it must be eternal. Since it is impossible to exhaust the limitless nature of God, our expansion must be an eternal process unfolding from a limitless center, and God has promised us eternal life. We are promised an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and does not fade away, reserved in Heaven for us. We believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is within human beings and that we experience this Kingdom to the degree that we become conscious of it. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
The Kingdom of Heaven means the kingdom of Harmony, peace, joy, and wholeness. Cosmonauts viewing the Earth from space have stated how incredibly beautiful it is and how alive it appears. It is impossible to describe the beauty of the Earth. It is a breathtaking, awe-inspiring, spiritual experience to view the Earth from space while traveling at twenty-five times the speed of sound. One could also look into the blackness of the vacuum of space and see billions of stars and galaxies millions of lightyears away. The Universe is so vast as to be impossible to comprehend. And in the process, one will comprehend the presence of God in all things. Consciousness of the Kingdom of God within acts like yeast, permeating mortal thought and lifting the weight of life’s burdens. When we look to see the evidence of creation all around us, from a grain of sand to the majestic planets, we begin to realize that we are the greatest of all God’s creations; we are created in his image. Many people are reminded of that fact when a baby is born, and they are filled with wonder and love to hold the precious infant in their arms. As we contemplate the miracle of birth, and see a child born into the World, it is so amazing because they have recently come from the presence of our Father in Heaven. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
God created the Earth in al its magnificent glory, not as an end in itself, but for us, his children. Indeed, we are his children, his offspring, and he is the Father of our spirits. Seek for the great and the little shall be added unto you. Seek for the Heavenly and the Earthly shall be added unto you. We believe the ultimate goal of life is to experience a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all. Unity is a symbol of the soul’s oneness with the higher nature, implying complete freedom from bondage to anything less than itself. The supreme end of humanity is a union of the soul with God. God expresses his love for us by providing the guidance we need to progress and reach our potential. Through intuition, we perceive and directly reveal God. We do not have to borrow our light from another. Nothing could be more intimate than the personal relationship between the individual and tat divine presence which is both the center and the source of the human’s being. To truly reverence the creator, we must appreciate his creations. We need to plan to take time to observe the marvels of nature, and share with miracles with others. The greatest of all miracles awaits us. True reverence will bring peace, joy, and happiness to us all. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
The Winchester Mystery House
Eventually you can really feel them. Demon Haunting is real. The Winchester Mystery House will bring a chill regardless of the heat outside. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Randolph Harris II International Institute 