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The Only Absolute Rule is: Never Lose Control of the Show!
Energy is beauty—a Ferrari with an empty tank does not run. Most people find it comforting to follow set routines when they carry out every day activities, and, in fact, 40 percent become irritated if they are forced to depart from their routines. Obsessions are not the same as pervasive worries about real problems, and compulsions are not repetitive actions that feel voluntary and seem harmless to the people who perform them. Obsessions are thoughts that feel both intrusive (“ego dystonic”) and foreign (“ego alien”) to the people who experience them. Attempts to ignore or resist these thoughts may arouse even more anxiety, and before long they come back more strongly than ever. People with obsessions are quite aware that their thoughts are excessive and inappropriate. Many experience them as repugnant and painful. Obsessions often take the form of obsessive wishes (for example, repeated wishes that one’s spouse would die), impulses (repeated urges to yell out obscenities at work or in church), images (fleeting visions of forbidden scenes involving pleasures of the flesh), ideas (notions that germs are lurking everywhere), or doubts (concerns that one had made or will make a wrong decisions). Certain basic themes run through the thoughts of most people troubled by obsessive thinking. According to surveys, almost half of adults double back after leaving home to make sure they have turned off an appliance. Other common ones are violence and aggression, orderliness, religion, and pleasures of the flesh. Although compulsive behaviours are technically under voluntary control, the people who feel they must do them have little sense of choice in the matter. #RandolphHarris 1 of 17
Most of these individuals recognize that their behaviour is unreasonable, but they believe at the same time something terrible will happen if they do not perform the compulsions. Beethoven is said to have habitually dipped his head in cold water before trying to compose music. After performing a compulsive act, people usually feel less anxious for a short while. Some people develop the act into a detailed and often elaborate compulsive ritual. They must go through the ritual in exactly the same way every time, according to certain rules. Like obsessions, compulsions take various forms. Cleaning compulsions are very common. People with these compulsions feel compelled to keep cleaning themselves, their clothing, or their homes. The cleaning may follow ritualist rules and be repeated dozens or hundreds of times a day. People with checking compulsions check the same items over and over—doors lock, gaps taps, ashtrays, important papers—to make sure that all is as it should be. Another common compulsion is the constant striving for symmetry, order, or balance in one’s actions and surroundings. People with this compulsion must place certain items (clothing, books, food) in perfect order in accordance with strict rules. Ted is a 13-year-old referred to a Midwestern inpatient psychiatric research ward because of senseless rituals and attention to minutiae.” He can spend 3 hours centering the toilet paper roll on its holder or rearranging his bed and other objects in his room. When placing objects down, such as books or shoelaces after trying them, he picks them up and replaces them several times until they seem “straight.” #RandolphHarris 2 of 17
Although usually placid, Ted becomes abusive with family members who try to enter his room for fear they will move or break his objects. When he is at school, he worries that people may disturb his room. Ted sometimes has to be forced to interrupt his routine to attend meals. Last year he hid pieces of his clothing around the house because they would not lie straight in his draws. Moreover, Ted often repeats to himself, “This is perfect; you are perfect.” Touching, verbal, and counting compulsions are also common. People with touching compulsions repeatedly touch or avoid touching certain items whenever they see them. Individuals with verbal rituals feel compelled to repeat expressions, phrases, or chants. And those with counting compulsions constantly count things. Although some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder experience obsession only or compulsions only, most of them experience both. In fact, compulsive acts are often a response to obsessive thoughts. One investigation found that in most cases, compulsions seemed to represent a yielding to obsessive doubts, ideas, or urges. A woman who keeps doubting that her house is secure may yield to that obsessive doubt by repeatedly checking locks and gas jets. Or a man who obsessively fears contamination may yield to that fear by performing cleaning rituals. The investigation also found that compulsions sometimes serve to help control obsessions. However, and obsession changed the World. The experiments that led Louis Pasteur to the pasteurization process may have been driven in part by his obsession with contamination and infection. Apparently he would not shake hands and regularly wiped his glass and plate before dining. #RandolphHarris 3 of 17
People who try to avoid all contamination and rid themselves and their World of all germs are fighting a losing battle. While talking, the average person sprays 300 microscopic saliva droplets per minute, or 2.5 per word. Many people with obsessive-compulsive disorder worry that they will act out their obsessions. A man with obsessive images of wounded loved ones may worry that he is but a step away from committing a heinous crime; or a woman with obsessive urges to yell out in church may worry that she will one day give in to them and embarrass herself. Most such concerns are unfounded. Although many obsessions lead to compulsive acts—particularly to cleaning and checking compulsions—they do not usually lead to violence or immoral conduct. Obsessive-compulsive disorder was once among the least understood of the psychological disorders. In recent years, however, researchers have begun to learn more about it. That most influential explanations and treatments come from the psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, and biological modes. There is a tendency to think of young people who are involved in drug and alcohol use as poorly socialized, interpersonally disconnected, and behaviourally lethargic. Is this an accurate characterization? The answer is not entirely straightforward. The multiple interpersonal factors that lead to and maintain substance use/misuse per se may also affect the social/interpersonal development of the individual. Among adolescents, substance use is associated with aggressiveness, low assertiveness, and poor social skills. Deficits in social skills create a sense of low self-efficacy, which in turn promotes involvement in substance use. When the social skills for coping with stress are not available, substance use is more likely to occur as a means of reducing stress. #RandolphHarris 4 of 17
In addition, people with poor social skills do not have a strong sense of self-efficacy for the ability to control or resist drug and alcohol use. Therefore, social skills deficits may be said to have an indirect effect on adolescent substance use, through diminished self-efficacy. Although adolescents who use drugs may present some interpersonal problems, the extent to which these substances are causal agents deserves careful attention and consideration. Substance use can cause a deterioration of social skills and competence over time. At least some of the interpersonal problems that may be evident among adolescents experienced in drug use may be the result of drug use. At the same time, social maladjustment generally predates drug use in young people. In a 15-year longitudinal study, index cases of heavy drug use can at age 18 could be traced back to a profile alienation, emotional distress, failure to develop close relationships, and an inability to get along with friends as early as age 7. Consequently, it was concluded that problem drug use is a symptom, not a cause, of personal and social maladjustment. The relationship between interpersonal deficiencies and drug use is complex: Such deficiencies predispose young people to get involved with drugs, but at the same time, heavy drug use has deleterious effects on interpersonal competencies. As if to complicate matters further, the relationship between social maladjustment and drug use is not linear. In the longitudinal study, compared were three groups referred to as “abstainers,” “experimenters,” and “frequent users.” In terms of the quality of the interpersonal relations, experimenters scored highest, followed by abstainers and then frequent users. #RandolphHarris 5 of 17
Visually, the pattern of association between drug use and quality of interpersonal relations in this sample as a whole took the form on an inverted U. Looking back to their childhood, eventual abstainers appeared unresponsive to humour, shy, reserved, obedient and compliant, nontalkative, and dependent on adults for direction. Many of these interpersonal qualities preserved through their late teens. This study shows that while the frequent use of drugs in adolescence is associated with poor social competence, so too is complete abstinence from drugs, although to a lesser extent. Why do those who abstain from drugs have lower-quality interpersonal relations than those who experiment with them? First, those in the former group may be globally overcautious. The same anxious cognitions and emotions that may keep an adolescent from every trying drugs may also prevent one from approaching classmates who are relative strangers and attempting to develop interpersonal relationships with them, or from asking people out on dates. These interpersonal processes require a certain degree of adventurousness and risk taking; the adolescent who abstains from drugs is ordinarily a social phenomenon; adolescent will often engage in the behaviour at the urging of, or with the assistance of demonstrations by, peers. People with interpersonal skill deficits may simply be less likely to find themselves in such contexts, and therefore may be less likely to experiment with drugs, since the social facilitation is generally lacking in their lives. Interpersonal problems are widely recognized as risk factors for initiation of adolescent substance use. It is equally well accepted that once a pattern of drug use/misuse is underway, the biological and psychological characteristics of addition may be largely responsible for its maintenance. #RandolphHarris 6 of 17
For this reason there has been very little research attention paid to interpersonal mechanisms that might perpetuate substance misuse, despite the fact that systems oriented therapists who teat alcohol and drug dependence routinely address the interpersonal milieu surrounding the problem behaviour. Recently, a theory was developed and tested for substance misuse and maintenance, based on the notion of inconsistent nurturing. In short, the inconsistent-nurturing-as-control theory predicts that the significant others of those who misuse substance may actually play a role in maintaining the substance abusing behaviour. Significant others tend to oscillate between punishing their partners for drug-related behaviour (exempli gratia, conflict, fights, withdrawal), and rewarding them for it (exempli gratia, cleaning up after them, taking care of them). The rewarding behaviour allows a significant other to feel needed and included in such a relationship. However, this same behaviour is what perpetuates the substance misuse of the partner. According to this theory, the competing goals of nurturing the partner and controlling the drug-misusing behaviour result in a schedule of intermittent reward and punishment, which has the paradoxical effect of strengthening the drug abusing behaviour. Empirical tests of inconsistent-nurturing-as-control theory have yielded generally supportive results. Research indicates that the course of substance misuse may be influenced by the nature of interactions with significant others. Individuals who misuse substances, and who find themselves in relationships with partners who have the codependent tendency to nurture and control them, may inadvertently and paradoxically be reinforced for their drug-misusing behaviour. #RandolphHarris 7 of 17
This theory is a departure from traditional models of substance misuse maintenance, which are sharply focused on biological and psychological factors. Our circumstances in life may occasionally knock us down or force us to sit down for a while, but we must not stay down. Even when we are down on the outside, we must see ourselves as getting up on the inside. One may have received a bad report from the doctor. Maybe one lost one’s largest client at work. Perhaps one just found out that one’s child is in trouble. One may be facing some other serious setback, and one feels as though life have caved in on top of one, knocking one off one’s feet and pushing one into the pits. However, the good news is, one does not have to stay down. Even if one cannot get up on the outside, get up on the inside! In other words, have that successful attitude and mentality. Stay in an attitude of faith. Do not allow oneself to lapse into negative thinking, complaining, or blaming God. Say, “Dear Lord in Heave, I may not understand this, but I know You are still in control. And You said all things would work together for my good. You said You would take this evil and turn it around and use it to my advantage. So Father, I thank You that You are going to bring me through this!” No matter what one is facing in life, if one knows how to get up on the inside, no adversity can keep one down. The Scripture says, “When one has done everything one knows how to do, just keep on standing firm,” reports Ephesians 6.13. One may be in a situation today where one has done one’s best. One has prayed and believed. One has placed one’s faith firmly on the truth of God’s Word. However, it just does not look like anything good is happening. Now one is tempted to say, “What is the use? It is never going to change.” #RandolphHarris 8 of 17
However, do not give up! Keep standing. Keep praying; keep believing; keep hoping in faith. “Do not cast away your confidence,” the Bible teaches, “for payday is coming,” reports Hebrews 10.35. Devout, if one will keep standing up on the inside, God will reward one. One may be in the hospital or lying flat on one’s back at home. However, even if one cannot stand up physically, nothing can keep one from standing up on the inside. That sickness may have one down physically, but one does not have to be down spiritually or emotionally. One can keep on getting up in one’s heart, mind, and will. Maybe one works or lives around people who are always putting one down, mistreating one, trying to make one feel badly about oneself. Let that trash go in one ear and out the other. They may try to knock one down on the outside, but they cannot knock one down on the inside. Do not let those people steal one’s joy. Do not let that problem or adversity cause one to become discouraged or depressed. Just keep standing up on the inside. I talked to a man who had recently lost his job. He had been making a good salary working in a prestigious position, but then was suddenly let go. When he first told me what had happened, I was certain that he was going to be distraught. However, when he came to see me, he had a big smile on his face and said, “I just lost my job, but I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me next!” He had been knocked down by circumstances outside of his control, but he was still standing up on the inside. He had a successful mentality. His attitude was: “This thing is not going to defeat me. This thing is not going to steal my joy. I know I am successful and not the victim. I know when one door closes, God will open up a larger and better door.” #RandolphHarris 9 of 17
Today, one can say, “Even if the enemy hits me with one’s best shot, one’s best will never be good enough. One may knock me down, but one cannot knock me out. When it is all said and done, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, I am still going to be standing strong.” The Bible says no human can take your joy. That means no person can make one live with a negative attitude. No circumstance, no adversity can force one to live in despair. No matter what one is going through or how difficult it may seem, you can stay standing up on the inside. It will take courage; it will definitely take determination, but one can do it as long as one sets one’s heart and mind to it. Dear Lord in Heaven, I will refuse to stay down for long. I may get knocked down, or I may fall down, but I will get back up and keep trusting You for a great future. “The LORD sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down,” reports Psalm 145.14. The Author of Purity has passed through this way so many times already that many have learned how clean their hands ought to be, how pure their moths, how holy their bodies, and how immaculate their hearts! From the mouth of so many is nothing but the Holy Word, nothing but the honest and useful word, and it comes forth because that very mouth has so often itself received the Sacramento of Life. One’s eyes should be simple and modest, for they are accustomed to loo into the Eyes of Christ. One’s hands should be pure and raised in prayer—that was First Timothy’s prescription (2.8)—for they are accustomed to handle the Creator of Heaven and Earth. There is this saying about self-actualized Christians in Leviticus (19.2), “By holy because I am holy; I, Your Lord and God.” #RandolphHarris 10 of 17
A priestly prayer. Omnipotent God, may Your grace help us to undertake the sacerdotal office, and may we serve You worthily and devotedly in all purity and in good conscience; First Timothy again (1.5). And if we cannot carry on in such innocence of life as we ought, then grant that we may weep worthily over the bad deeds we have done, and in the spirit of humility and with the resolve to do good, serve You more fervently in the future. There are many in the Church as well as out of it who need to learn that Christianity is neither a creed nor a ceremonial, but a life vitally connected with a loving Christ. We believe that the primary teaching of Jesus Christ was not a fear-motivated message. Rather, Jesus moved people when He spoke of love, gentleness, and blessedness. We feel that the alternative to fear-oriented religion is a religion based on free will and love. Emphasis on love stresses that Christ must be freely chosen. Too often, Christ is presented in the context of damnation and hell, and the convert becomes the object of fearful coercion. Psychology has shown time and again that fear is not a permanent motivator. The example of Adolph Hitler and of other dictators has shown that people are temporarily motivated by fear, but in the long run, motivation based on love is much more trustworthy and permanent. Furthermore, the constriction that fear causes keeps us from living freely in the here and now. All expression of the polarities is reduced and constricted when one stays in fear at the center of one’s being. When fear is diminished or absent, one can contact a pure place within, where one can truly experience the love of Christ. #RandolphHarris 11 of 17
As Paul wrote, “There is therefore now on condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” reports Romans 8.1. We described this pure place as the core, and this our emphasis on the importance of learning to contact it. One who seeks entry into the divine presence may possibly succeed in doing so. For a while one’s state is completely changed, transcended, heightened. However, after all one is not God; one is human still and one falls back to the old awareness. The glimpse goes: one is once again what one was, yet with a difference. The experience can be, is, remembered, and may even possibly return. Moreover some kind of residue is left behind, subtle, not easy to measure or describe, yet appearing in briefly felt and beautifully scented moments. Is this glimpse the highest anyone may dare to hope for? Let it be said that frankly in one’s present condition and situation a greater attainment for the human being is uncommon—yet it happens. Neither deep meditation nor the experience can give more than a temporary glimpse. The full and permanent enlightenment, which is to stay with a human and never leave one, can only come after one has clear insight into the nature of Overself. It is not only possible to attain these brief glimpses of the Overself, but also to attain a durable lasting consciousness of it. No change of this state can then happen. The adept discovers that its future is no different from but quite the same as its past. This is the sacred Eternal Now. Only by this abiding light is it possible to see how mixed and imperfect are all earlier and transient experiences. These flashes of light, peace, bliss, and understanding are brief but they have the intended effect. #RandolphHarris 12 of 17
The short glimpses encourage the aspirant to continue one’s quest and they implant in one a deep yearning to gain entry into the World to which they belong. They will be brief because the ordinary condition of thought and feeling is still far below the exalted condition revealed during these flashes. In other words, one has still to toil away at self-improvement so as to deserve the treasures which have been momentarily shown one. Between the seeker and the Overself, between one’s mind and Truth, there is a thick layer of desires, egoisms, passions, opinions, and imaginings. Until one cuts through it—which means until one denies and resists oneself in these matters—one mat not expect more than Glimpses which fade away. The belief that one can do nothing to hold this glimpse or keep this mood settles on one through repeated experience. However, it is not quite correct. Philosophy points out that one can thin down or remove altogether the causes of such evanescence. If it is to be a continuous light that stays with one and not a fitful flash, one will need first, to cast all negative tendencies, thoughts, and feelings entirely out of one’s character; second, to make good the insufficiencies in one’s development; third, to achieve a state of balance between one’s faculties. The glimpse comes spontaneously and outside of one’s control, but to the master it comes at will and by command. We Christians see the journey as marked by two phases: first, the initial decision, and then the long journey that lasts the rest of one’s life. The initial experience does not make one perfect. It is just the beginning. As someone has said, “We have to walk the walk, but simply talk the talk.” The rest of one’s life becomes a process by which one becomes more and more perfectly loving as Christ Himself is loving. #RandolphHarris 13 of 17
One becomes an actualizing Christian by living within the guidelines of Christ’s perfect love and not by fearfully trying to please God or others. The dove is one of the biblical symbols for the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit reveals His wisdom and love through gentleness like that of the dove. If we approach growth in a tense, legalistic, and tight-jawed way, it does not facilitate the quiet and gradual work of the Spirit in our lives. The psychological equivalent of this is introspectionism. When an integration of principles of psychology is attempted for a fuller understanding of religious life, the temptation is to make the psychology a new law, a new burden to be borne by the Christian. The point of the Christian life is to live fully and joyfully, not to dwell in a self-absorbed and overcritical way on our perceived faults or virtues. As Irenaeus said in the second century, “The Glory of God is a huma being who is fully alive!” The power of the gospel is that Christ has come and the kingdom of God had burst un upon us. The powers of the kingdom of God are being released from the core depths of our being. Even now, the Spirit is at work within our core, guiding us in daily transformation to ever greater approximations of Christlikeness. It remains a work of grace, not a reflection of strife and effort on our part. We are empty vessels to be filled by the Lord. To be filled with the life of Jesus in accordance with who we deeply are is the Christian definition of self-fulfillment. We will see in eternal gratefulness how the inner spring of grace made our deepest self similar to Jesus Christ. We will see how the spring inside us leaps with dazzling splendour for all eternity. The Bible calls the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives an earnest, or pledge or down payment, on the full unrestrained Presence of God that we will eventually know. #RandolphHarris 14 of 17
In Ephesians, Paul speaks of this earnest: “You…were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory,” 1.13-14. Substantial fruit will be born from our consistent rust in the Holy Spirit in this life. And in Galatians, Paul develops a description of the fruit of the Spirit that can be seen emerging from fertile union of the believer with Christ: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law,” 5.22-23. So the actualizing Christian is saved from the heavy burdens of both fear and self-conscious introspection by the large context in which one understands life. One feels grounded in God’s unshakeable and enduring love. We know that our faults, sins, and rigidities do not make us less acceptable to God, who only wants us to shed the things that would oppress us and take up the things that will bless us. Many people have lost contact with the spiritual core of their being. They no longer trust the inspired impulses from within. Instead, the take orders from their surroundings—from the media, from the authority figures, from peers, from economic pressures, from fads, or from gurus. There are instances, of course, when tradition, authority, society, or an enlightened teacher can assist the individual in beneficial ways. However, following the mentality of the crowd and the ways of the World often leads to spiritual deadness and deterioration of the personality. In coming home to the core, one gives up one’s defensive style of living, which has been based on fear, manipulation, and pretenses. #RandolphHarris 15 of 17
One adopts instead a growth-oriented life style based on love, trust, and genuineness. Perfect love replaces fear as the motivating dynamic of one’s life. As we have already pointed out, this process is often slow and gradual, for fear is a tenacious gust who is reluctant to be ousted. However, given time, even in harsh conditions, the God-inspired personality will still bring forth its blood in due season. This is a tribute to both the resourcefulness of God and the openness of the person. The challenge of genuine religious commitment in the Hebrew-Christian sense is to be transformed to be made whole, to “tase and see that the Lord is good,” reports Psalm 34.8. The process of being moved toward wholeness and authenticity by the inner power of the Holy Spirit is a lifelong adventure. Actualizing, for both the devoted Christian and the modern secular person, involves learning to rediscover, affirm, and trust the sacred ground of Being within. It is a coming home to one’s Origin. It is slipping into the tailor-made clothing of one’s original spiritual calling. In our words, it is accepting God’s gracious invitation to actualize one’s full potential. Praise the Lord in your infinite variety all creatures, minute and enormous in your verity whose particular and unique features are the context of His glory and His fecundity Praise the Lord nebulae like grains of dust silhouetted and fixed on photographic plates. Sirius, that dog star and his confederates Arcturus, Antares, Aldebaran, the red bull God’s cup brimming over and ever full, thank the Lord. Praise the Lord you His meteorites and comets in your elliptical orbits and made planets. Praise the Lord atoms and molecules, protons and electrons, and all the stars the minute protozoa, in their liquid, the Radiolaria. #RandolphHarris 16 of 17
Praise the Lord cetaceans and atomic submarines for you are of God’s mind in your particulars. Birds, the eagle and wren, the aeroplanes and prisms in emerald copper sulphate in the electronic microscope infinite; coloured flowers blooming at the bottom of the sea, diatoms and the diadems of the Antilles like a rose of diamonds, let all these and the unended maritime fauna praise the Lord. And the Tropic of Cancer, storms of the North Atlantic and the Humboldt current, the dark, sweating forests of the Amazon, the shining island jewels of the South Ocean, volcanoes and lagoons, and the Caribbean behind the silhouettes of the infinite palm, democratic republics, the United Nations, praise the Lord as even for police is appropriate. The students, the young, the beautiful, His glory surpasses the Heavens, it is bountiful. Telescope and microscope seeing nearing and far, it is He who has made the people plentiful, who would not yield to the Lord the word hosanna? Blessed be the Lord who is to be praised. Praised be the Lord who is blessed for all eternity. Praised be Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who with Thy word bringest on the evening twilight, and with Thy wisdom openest the gates of the Heavens. With understanding Thou does order the cycles of time and variest the seasons, setting the stars in their courses in the sky, according to Thy will. Thou creates day and night, rolling away the light before the darkness and the darkness before the light. By Thy will the day passes into night; the Lord of Heavenly hosts is Thy name. O ever living God, mayest Thou rule over us forever. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who bringest on ethe evening twilight. With everlasting love hast Thou loved the house of America, teaching us Thy Torah and commandments, Thy statutes and judgments. Therefore, O Lord our God, when we lie down and when we rise up, we will meditate on Thy teachings and rejoice forever in the words of Thy Torah and in its commandments, for they are our life and the length of our days. Day and night will mediate upon them. O may Thy love never depart from us. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who lovest Thy people America. #RandolphHarris 17 of 17
CRESLEIGH HAVENWOOD
Lincoln, CA | from the mid $600s
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Castle in the Snow–Look to Him for His Goodness Instead of Requesting His Goodies!
The stressful demands placed on people by their culture or social group may set the stage for psychophysiological disorders. The stress may be wide-ranging, such as that produced by wars or natural disasters. As followers of Jesus Christ, we condemn abuse in any form. Abuse is a serious public health concern and is against the law in many countries. It is also forbidden by the commandments of God. No one should abuse another, and no one should have to endure abuse. Protecting and caring for others was a priority for Jesus Christ in His life, and it is a priority in His Church today. Abuse is a matter the Church takes very seriously. When we learn of abuse, our first priority is to help the victim and stop the abuse. People who have been abused, victimized, or terrorized often experience lingering stress symptoms. More than one-quarter of all cases of posttraumatic stress disorder are the result of physical or sexual assault. Indeed, research suggests that more than one-third of all victims of assault develop posttraumatic stress disorder. Similarly, as many as half of all civilians who are directly exposed to terrorism or torture may develop this disorder. Sexual assault is a common form of victimization in our society. Rape is forced sexual intercourse or another sexual act committed against a nonconsenting person or intercourse with an underage person. Surveys suggest that in the United States of America, more than 876,000 persons are victims of rape each year. The psychological impact of rape on a victim is immediate and may last a long time. Rape victim is immediate and may last a long time. Rape victims typically experience enormous distress during the weeks, maintains a peak level for another month or so, and then starts to improve. In one study, 94 percent of rape victims fully qualified for a clinical diagnosis of acute stress disorder when they were observed an average of 12 days after the assault. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20
Although most rape victims improve psychologically within 3 or 4 months, the effects may persist for up to 18 months or longer. Victims typically continue to have higher than average levels of anxiety, suspiciousness, depression, self-esteem problems, self-blame, flashbacks, sleep problems, and sexual dysfunction. Although many rape victims are injured by their attacker or experience other physical problems as a result of their assault, only half receive the kind of formal medical care they need. Interviews with 390 subjects revealed that such victims had poorer physical well-being for at least five years after the crime and made twice as many visits to physicians. It is not clear why rape and other assaults lead to these long-term health problems. Ongoing victimization and abuse in the family—specifically child and spouse abuse—may also lead to psychological stress disorders. Because these forms of abuse may occur over the long term and violate family roles and trust, many victims develop other symptoms of disorders as well. People who are victims of terrorism or who live under the threat of terrorism often experience posttraumatic stress symptoms. Unfortunately, this source of traumatic stress is on the rise in our society. Few will ever forget the events of September 11, 2001, when hijacked airplanes crashed into and brought down the World Trade Center in New York City and partially destroyed the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing thousands of victims and rescue workers and forcing thousands more to desperately run, crawl, and even dig their way to safety. One of the many legacies of this infamous event is the lingering psychological effect that it has had on those people who were immediately affected and their family members, and on tens of millions of others who were traumatized simply by watching images of the disaster on their television sets as the day unfolded. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20
A number of recent studies clarify that acute stress reactions were common indeed among victims and observers following the terrorist attacks, that thousands more experienced posttraumatic stress symptoms in the months that followed, and that these symptoms and disorders will, in many cases, linger for years. Clearly, extraordinary trauma can cause a stress disorder. The stressful event alone, however, may not be the entire explanation. Certainly, anyone who experiences an unusual trauma will be affected by it, but only some people develop a disorder. Before the 1970s, clinicians believed that only a limited number of illnesses were psychophysiological. The best known and most common of these disorders were ulcers, asthma, insomnia, chronic headaches, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease. Recent research, however, has shown that many other physical illnesses—including bacterial and viral infections—may be caused by an interaction of psychosocial and physical factors. Ulcers are lesions (holes) that form in the wall of the stomach, occasional vomiting, and stomach bleeding. This disorder is experienced by up to 10 percent of all people in the United States of America and is responsible for more than 6,000 deaths each year. Ulcers are often caused by an interaction of stress factors, such as environmental pressure or intense feelings of anger or anxiety, and physiological factors, such as bacterial infections. Asthma causes the body’s airways (the trachea and bronchi) to narrow periodically, making it hard for air to pass to and from the lungs. The resulting symptoms are shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and a terrifying choking sensation. Seventy person of all cases appear to be caused by an interaction of stress factors, such as environmental pressures, troubled family relationships, or anxiety, and psychological factors, such as allergies to specific substances, a slow-acting sympathetic nervous system, or a weakened respiratory system traceable to respiratory infections or genetic inheritance. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20
Insomnia, difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep, plagues 35 percent of the population each year. Although many of us have temporary bouts of insomnia that lasts a few nights or so, a large number of people experience insomnia that lasts months or years. They feel as though they are almost constantly awake. Chronic insomnias are often very sleepy during the say and may have difficulty functioning effectively. Their problem may be caused by a combination of physiological problems, such as an overactive arousal system or certain medical ailments. Chronic headaches are frequent intense aches of the head or neck that are not caused by another physical disorder. There are two types. Muscle contraction, or tension, headaches are identified by pain at the back or front of the head or the back of the neck. These occur when the muscles surrounding the skull tighten, narrowing the blood vessels. Approximately 40 million Americans suffer from such headaches. Migraine headaches are extremely severe, often near-paralyzing aches located on one side of the head. They are often preceded by a warning sensation called an aura and are sometimes accompanied by dizziness, nausea, or vomiting. Migraine headaches are thought by some medical theorists to develop in two phases: blood vessels in the brain narrow, so that the flow of blood to parts of the brain is reduced, and the same blood vessels later expand, so that blood flows through them rapidly, stimulating many neuron endings and causing pain. Migraines are suffered by 23 million people in the United States of America. Research indicates that chronic headaches are caused by an interaction of stress factors, such as environmental pressures or general feelings of helplessness, anger, anxiety, or depression, and physiological factors, such as abnormal activity of the neurotransmitter serotonin, vascular problems, or muscle weakness. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20
Hypertension is a state of chronic high blood pressure. That is, the blood pumped through the body’s arteries by the heart produces too much pressure against the artery walls. Hypertension has few outward symptoms, but it interferes with the proper functioning of the entire cardiovascular system, greatly increasing the likelihood of stroke, coronary heart disease, and kidney problems. It is estimated that 40 million people in the United States of American have hypertension, 14,000 die directly from it annually, and millions more perish because of illness caused by it. Around 10 percent of all cases are caused by physiological abnormalities alone; the rest result from a combination of psychosocial and physiological factors and are called essential hypertension. Some of the leading psychosocial causes of essential hypertension are constant environmental danger and general feelings of anger or depression. Phycological causes include faulty baroreceptors—sensitive nerves in the blood vessels responsible for signaling the brain that blood pressure is becoming too high. Coronary heart disease is caused by a blocking of the coronary arteries—the blood vessels that surround the heart and are responsible for carrying oxygen to the heart muscle. The term actually refers to several problems, including angina pectoris, extreme chest pain caused by the partial blockage of the coronary arteries; coronary occlusion, a complete blockage of a coronary artery that halts the flow of blood to various parts of the heart muscle; and myocardial infraction (a “heart attack). Together such problems are the leading cause of death of men over the age of 35 and of women over 40 in the United States of America, accounting for over 700,000 deaths each year, almost one-third of all deaths in the nation. The majority of all cases of coronary heart disease are related to an interaction of psychosocial factors, such as job stress or high levels of anger or depression, and physiological factors, such as a high level of cholesterol, obesity, hypertension, the effects of smoking, or lack of exercise. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20
Over the year, clinicians have identified a number of variables that may contribute to the development of psychophysiological disorders. Given the close link between psychological and physical functioning, it should not surprise us that several of these variables are the same as those that contribute to the onset of acute and posttraumatic stress disorders. The variables may be grouped as sociocultural, psychological, and biological factors. Aside from the effects of parental modeling, certain negative family dynamics and atmospheres may predispose adolescents toward substance use. The families of teens who use substances tend to be less cohesive, to be less adaptable, and to exhibit less togetherness than families of teens who do not use. Negativity and conflict in the family are also positively correlated with adolescent drug use. These results notwithstanding, some of these family dynamics may actually be related to parental drug use. Researchers, for example, found that after they controlled for parental monitoring and family drug use, the association between family cohesion and adolescent drug use was not significant. The family may also influence adolescent substance use through problematic or ineffective parenting. For example, inconsistent parental discipline and skewed parenting, in which one parent is overinvolved and the other is overly permissive, are risk factors for initial drug use in adolescents. A combination of low parental support and high parental control has proven to be a particularly noxious combination of parenting behaviours that is also predictive of adolescent substance use. In addition, excessive maternal expressed emotion (criticism) is associated with a threefold increase in the risk for at least one of the following childhood problems: depression, substance abuse, or conduct disorder. The effects of paternal hostility on adolescent alcohol use are equally proven. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20
Some noteworthy longitudinal studies indicate that defective parenting behaviour may precede offspring’s substance misuse by many years. A landmark study found that mothers of children who were frequent users of marijuana at age 18 were overresponsive to their children and gave them little encouragement during an observation at age 5. Similarly, parents who exhibited less directive control and assertiveness while interacting with their 4-year-old children were more likely to have adolescents who used marijuana heavily some years later. These parenting behaviours and family environments may push an adolescent away from the family—causing one to reject traditional family beliefs and values such as religion, work, and education, and to move toward socialization with deviant peers. Parents of at-risk adolescents hold beliefs and values similar to those of other parents, but their children do not share these values. This suggests a breakdown in the process of parenting and/or an overwhelming influence of deviant peers. As with so many other mental health problems, a history of interpersonal maltreatment (including physical and sexual abuse) is predictive of later substance misuse. Although this phenomenon may be an extension of the aversive family-or-origin environments descried above, such maltreatment need not be perpetrated by family members in order to increase risk for substance abuse. In addition, the assessment of childhood maltreatment in this report does not always identify the relationship between the perpetrator and the child. Therefore, this set of social stressors is discussed separately from family-of-origin environment issues, although it is acknowledged that there may be a considerable interrelation between family-of-origin environment and these stressors. (It is also acknowledged that other social stressors, such as rejection by peers, may play a role in adolescent substance use/misuses; however, the present discussion focuses on physical and sexual abuse.) #RandolphHarris 7 of 20
In a study of prisoners in treatment for substance misuse, 67 percent had a history of physical abuse, and 37 percent had a history of sexual abuse. A large national probability sample of adolescents revealed that a history of sexual assault increased adolescents’ odds of alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug abuse/dependence by factors of 3.93, 3.80, and 8.59, respectively. In this study, adolescents with a history of sexual assault were over eight times more likely to have a drug use problem than were those without a history of sexual assault. Moreover, among the adolescents with substance use in this study, those who were sexually abused started using at a younger age than those who were not. A large national survey of adult women also indicated that a history of childhood sexual abuse increased the odds of using illicit drugs by a factor of 2.52. The research findings on childhood physical and sexual abuse cast the parental modeling hypothesis and findings in a different light. In addition to modeling drug use and misuse, parents who use drugs are also more likely to abuse their children physically and sexually than are parents with no history of substance use. Thus parental substance use may affect adolescent substance use/misuse both directly, through modeling, and indirectly through the effects of maltreatment. A number of hypotheses have been developed to explain the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adolescent substance use. The self-medication hypothesis holds that survivours of physical or sexual abuse engage in substance use to cope with the emotional trauma of the abuse. This may take the form of sedating or dulling the senses with depressants, or maintaining a state of hypervigilance and watchfulness with stimulants. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20
The self-esteem hypothesis suggests that people turn to substance use to combat the effects of the damaged self-esteem resulting from maltreatment. For some people, drug use may bring a temporary feeling of acceptance from peers, and a ready means of socializing without developing any real intimacy. An additional and related explanation for the association between physical or sexual abuse and substance misuse could be characterized as a hypothesis of perceived non-risk. People with a history of such abuse sometimes feel damaged and worthless. To such individuals there may be fewer deterrents to drug initiation, since they feel that they have less to lose. Unfortunately, adolescent substance use in response to prior maltreatment may create a vicious cycle. Substance use of misuse can itself increase the risk of subsequent maltreatment, due to impaired judgment, socializing with deviant peers, and inhabitation of dangerous environments. Therefore, many young people may find themselves in a cycle of maltreatment, substance use, more maltreatment, further substance use, and so on. This intergenerational model of substance misuse and family abuse/neglect provides a useful connection between findings indicating that parents who misuse substances are more likely to maltreat their children, and that survivours of childhood maltreatment are more likely to get involved with substance use. According to this model, substance misuse may be passed on intergenerationally, in part, through child maltreatment. Parental substance misuse (substance abuse in the figure) has negative effects on overall family competence (exempli gratia, cohesion, parenting quality, respect for boundaries) and positive effects on the likelihood of child abuse/neglect. The poor family competence and abuse/neglect are expected to predispose the offspring to adult abuse/neglect, due to their learned “victim” roles and developing excessive dependency needs. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20
The continuation of this abuse and neglect into late adolescence or adulthood then leads to offspring substance misuse, perhaps for reasons such as self-medication and coping. As adults, these offspring then become parents themselves, and the whole cycle starts anew. The origins of substance use appear to be largely interpersonal. Modeling, family-of-origin discord, and the social stressors constituting childhood maltreatment, are all interpersonal processes and mechanism associated with substance use in adolescents. It is apparent that drug use (and its initiation, in particular) is associated with family and peer influences, but that drug misuse may be related more to biological and psychological processes. Nevertheless, it would be naïve to overlook family-of-origin environments and other chronic stressors as contributory factors in drug misuse. Unlike problems such as depression of schizophrenia, which are in some cases characterized as “endogenous,” substance misuse is a phenomenon that almost always originates in interactions with other people. These people demonstrate the problematic behaviour. A predisposition to engage in the behaviour, and its maintenance may be activated by a tumultuous family-of-origin environment and interpersonal maltreatment. One may not realize it, but we are living in the good old days. I am convinced twenty or thirty years from now most of us will look back and say, “Those were some great times.” We are not always going to be here together as a family. Make sure you are enjoying your family and special people in your life. They may not always be there. Every morning you wake up, gaze in appreciation at your children. Go outside and admire your yard. Take time to pick a flower and just stare at it. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20
Few of us would say that the greatest day of our lives was waking up and being able to see. However, oh, how things change when we find out we may lose something as precious as our sight or the ability to walk. If you can see and hear, if you are healthy, if you have a family and friends, if you have a job, food, and a place to live, learn to appreciate those things. Do not go around complaining about what is wrong. Change your attitude and thank God for what you do have. You may be facing some formidable obstacles in your path. However, if you look hard enough you can find some reason to be grateful. The Scripture says, “In everything gives thanks,” reports 1 Thessalonians 5.18. Notice, it does not say, “For everything gives thanks.” You do not necessarily thank God for your problems; you thank God in spite of your problems, looking for the good in every situation. Many of us have almost lost our lives, and that is why it is a great idea to work up ad find some reason to be grateful, find some reason to give God thanks. Let His praise continually be in your mouth. Even when I pray, most of my praying these says is simply giving God thanks. I believe we should spend more time thanking God than we do asking Him for things. Some people give God their “to do” list: “God, give me this. God, fix this. God, change Aunt Greta. God, give me more money. Amen.” The Scripture says, “We enter into God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving,” (see Psalm 100.4). If you are just giving God your orders, you are not even getting through the front door, much less entering God’s presence. I like to start off my day by thanking God for the basics: “Father, thank You for my health. Thank You for my children. Thank You for my family. Thank You for my home. Father, thank You for all that You have done for me.” Friend, God already knows your needs. He already knows what you are going to say before you say it. There is nothing wrong with asking God for things—the Scripture clearly instructs us to look to Him for His goodness than requesting His goodies. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20
We should spend more time giving God thanks for what He has already done than we do asking Him to do new things. I have discovered the more I thank God for what I have, the more God gives me what I do not have. Try it and see. You do not have to beg God; He wants to help you. Begin today to thank God for who He is and all that He has done for you. Dear Lord in Heaven, I thank You for supplying all of my needs. Father, You have done it in the past, and I thank You that You are going to do it again. “I will come in the strength and with the mighty acts of the Lord God; I will mention and praise Your righteousness, even Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared Your wondrous works. Yes, even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, [but keep me alive] until I have declared Your mighty strength to [this] generation, and Your might and power to all that are to come. Your righteousness also, O God, is very high [reaching to the Heavens], You Who have done great things; O God, who is like You, or who is Your equal? You Who have shown us [all] troubles great and sore will quicken us again and will being us up again from the depths of the Earth. Increase my greatness (my honour), and turn and comfort me. I will l also praise You with the harp, even Your truth and faithfulness, O my God; unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of America,” reports Psalm 71.16-22. Some (perhaps too many) believe that the glimpse has permanently changed them, made “the new man” out of the old Adam. However, what is to outlast time itself takes time. A pathetic self-deception may delight the ego, but breaks down in the end. That with one breakthrough in awareness, all would be known and comprehended, all questions answered, all personal shortcomings obliterated, is the usual conception of this experience. However, there is some wishful thinking there. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20
The misinterpretation of one’s experience, the belief that one’s glimpse is the full transcendence of ordinary humanity, often follows it. In no way has one attained perfection, whether of knowledge, consciousness, character, or wisdom. One’s condition does not vanish because of the experience: it returns and remains with one as one’s usual one. Only swollen megalomaniacs assert otherwise. It is true that illumination of itself exalts character and ennobles feeling, purifies thought and spiritualizes action. However, if there has been insufficient effort along these lines, then the illumination will only be temporary. Too soon one will find that the rebirth was not a durable spiritual event but a temporary one. It offered a picture of something for which, from then one, one must start working in earnest. It was a glimpse only but it provided testimony, evidence, confirmation. Enlightenment may come suddenly to a human, but then it is usually a temporary glimpse. Only rarely does it stay and never leave one. The normal way is a gradual one. This is a rare fated exception, and can only be looked for at the risk of frustration. Glimpses will come to one now and then; they will cheer one’s heart and enlighten one’s mind; but a constant level of serene perception will be quite beyond the orbit of one’s experience. There are two things lacking in these glimpses. They are not full and total nor are they stable and lasting. In the meantime, walk in faith, as the Great Paul has said in Second Corinthians (5.7), comforted to know that one is following the footsteps of the Saints. Also have with one, as one’s vade mecum, the Holy Books as a consolation—a sentiment expressed by the First Maccabist (12.9)—as well as a mirror to life; and above all these things, Your Most Holy Body as a singular remedy and refuge. My body is a prison, and the view from my cell is grim. I survive, but barely. I do without things in this wretched state, but two things I just cannot live without. Food and Light. And You, Deal Lord, You bring them to me in the middle of the night. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20
Food? Your Sacred body, which revives my sagging mind and body. Light? Your Divine Word. As the Psalmist has sung in similar circumstances, it is a lamp for my shackled feet (119.105). Without the Food and without the Light, I wither. Without the Bread and without the Bible, I wander. Without the Sacrament of Life and the Book of Life, I perish. From my cell I see—or think I see—an altar. A Holy Table from which rises Holy Church in all her splendour. On one side is the Holy Bread; that is to say, the precious Body of Christ. On the other, the Holy Bible; that is to say, the Divine Law that contains Holy Doctrine, teaches right faith, leads even the imprisoned soul through the veil of veils to the Holy of Holies, as the Letter to the Hebrews has led us to expect (6.19). I thank You, Lord Jesus, “Light of Eternal Life”—that is the title the Wisdom of Solomon assigned to Sophia (7.26)—for the Holy Doctrine, which You have administered through the ages to the Prophets, the Apostles, the Disciples, all who have come after. Thanks to You also, Creator and Redeemer of Humankind, for displaying Your charity to the whole World. That is to say, You prepared a great banquet, the centerpiece of which was not the requisite lamb, but rather Your Most Holy Body and Blood. All the faithful are jumping for joy at the Holy Meal, dipping the Bread of Life time and time again into the Chalice of Salvation, brimming with all the paradisal vintages. The Holy Angels dine with us; we, quite humdrum with knife and fork; they, quite fascinating without limbs or implements. It is difficult for us to imagine the actual breakup, of say, the United States of America, as the dissident historian Andrei Amalrik once forecast. However, a Chinese think tank has published a report that criticizes American democracy. The paper entitled “Ten Questions for American Democracy” was released by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China on Monday, 2021 December 6. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20
The research report raises questions about the American democracy, including whether it will promote unity of lead to division. Instead of prompting unity, the paper says democracy is leading to social disorder within the United States of America, while inciting chaos in other nations where the US “exports” democracy. Lui Yuanchun, vice president of Renmin University, criticized the United States of America for fostering division around the World through its ideologies at a time when humankind is in need of unity. He added many nations are frustrated by the United States of America. A day earlier, the Chinese government released a similar report called “The State of Democracy in the United States.” It invited participants from more than 120 countries and regions to a forum held on the theme of democracy in which China created its own model of democracy. The moves come head of the two-day online “Summit for Democracy” to be hosted by US President Joe Biden that starts on 2010 December 9. Invitations have been extended to some 110 countries and territories but not to China. It is impossible to gauge the full intensity of separatist sentiments in various parts of the United States of America. However, the nightmare or multiple secession movements must haunt the authorities. If war were to break out with China, or a series of uprisings suddenly exploded in the United States of America, other nations might well face open secessionist or autonomist revolts in many of its republics. Most Americans can hardly conceive of circumstances that would tear the United States of America apart. (Neither could most Canadians as recently as a decade ago.) However, sectionalist pressures are steeply on the rise. Some economist fear that the Northwest plans to secede from America and will use their own COVID restrictions as their justification for this secession. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20
Other secession scenarios also make the sounds. A report prepared for the national security adviser discussed the possible breakaway of California and the Southwest to form Spanish speaking or bilingual geographical entities—“Chicano Quebecs.” Letters to the editor speak of re-attaching Texas to Mexico to form a mighty oil power called Texico. At a hotel newsstand in Austin not long ago, I bought a copy of Texas Monthly which sharply criticized Washington’s “gringo” policy toward Mexico, adding, “In recent months it seems we have had more in common with our old enemies in Mexico City than with our leaders in Washington and California….The Yankees have been stealing our oil since Spindletop and sending their cash strapped Californians refugees to steal our land, jobs, and drive up real estate prices making it hard for our natives to live, while simultaneously replacing their own population with refugees from Mexico and the Middle East…so Texans should be least surprised by Mexico’s attempt to avoid the same kind of economic imperialism.” On that same newsstand, I also purchased a prominently displayed bumper sticker. It consisted of the Texas star and a single word: Secede. There were still also red MAGA hats for sale, which tells you the state is seeing red in 2024. Such talk, however, may be quite farfetched, yet the plain fact is that throughout the United States of America, as in other high-technology countries, national authority is being tested and sectional pressures are mounting. Leaving aside the rising potential for separatism in Puerto Rico and Alaska; Oakland, San Jose and Southern California, or the demands of Native Americans for recognition as a sovereign nation, African Americans for Constitutional Rights, and the disabled, veterans, and retirees for a living wage, we can trace widening cleavages among the continental states themselves. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “there is a second civil war taking place in America. The conflicts pits cities in California against the state of California, the Midwest, Northeast, and the sunbelt states of the South and South West against California and Washington. California used to be the darling of the World, now it is becoming one of the most hated regions in the World.” Infuriated by White House energy proposals, many feel are being instigated by California and impacting the entire World, these officials have “pledged everything short of secession from the Union to save oil, natural gas supplies and coal for the region’s growing industrial base.” Widening cleavages also divide the Western states themselves. Western states see themselves increasingly as energy colonies of states like California. Then there are the much-publicized bumper stickers that are reemerging in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana during the spiking gas prices and shortages: “Let the Bastards Freeze in the Dark.” The thinly veiled implication of secession could also be found by the state of Louisiana due to the way George Bush handled hurricane Katrina and California’s preference for non-Americans over their own citizens. A recent article urged the reader to “Consider an America without Louisiana.” Midwestern’s today are being advised to stop “chasing smokestacks,” to move to more advanced industry, and to start thinking like regionalists, while Northeastern governors are organizing themselves to defend that region’s interests. The public mood was hinted at in a full-page ad placed by the Coalition to say New York. The charge that “New York Is Being Raped” by federal policies and that “New Yorkers can fight back.” What does all this belligerent talk around the World, not to mention the protest and violence, add up to? The answer is unmistakable: potentially explosive internal stresses within the nations spawned by the green revolution and Constitutional Rights. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20
Some of these stresses obviously arise from the energy crisis and the need to shift to Green Energy. Others can be traced to political conflicts, the American news media’s propaganda and lies, human rights violations in America, stagnant wages, lack of affordable housing, and corrupt American politicians. In many places we are also witnessing the growth of subnational or regional economies that are as large, complex, and internally differentiated as national economies were a generation ago. These form the economic launching pad for separatist movements or drives for autonomy. However, whether taking the form of open secessionism, of regionalism, bilingualism, home-rulism, or decentralism, these centrifugal forces also gain support because national governments are unable to respond flexibly to the rapid de-massification of society. As the mass society of the industrial era disintegrates under the impact of the Third Wave, regional, local, ethnic, social, and religious groups grow less uniform. Conditions and needs diverge. Individuals, too, discover or reassert their differences. Corporations typically meet this problem by introducing more variety into their product lines and by a policy of aggressive “market segmentation.” National governments, by contrast, find it difficult to customize their policies, they find it impossible to treat each region or city, each contending racial, religious, social, sexual, or ethnic group differently, let alone to treat each citizen as an individual. As conditions diversify, national decision-makers remain ignorant of fast changing local requirements. If they try to identify these highly localized or specialized needs, they wind up deluged with overdetailed, indigestible data. Pierre Trudeau, once caught in the struggle against Canadian secessionism, declared: “You can’t have an operative, operating system of federal government if one part of it, province or state, is in a very important special status, if it has a different set of relationships toward the central government than then other provinces.” #RandolphHarris 18 of 20
In consequence, national governments in Washington, London, Paris, or Moscow continue, by and large, to impose uniform, standardized policies designed for a mass society on increasingly divergent and segmented public. But like a bad child, California is disobeying its parents by allowing the recreational use of marijuana, not enforcing boarder security, and ignoring the suffering of some low-income, disabled, veterans, and retirees during the pandemic. And also increasing restrictions, fees, fines, and taxes on the wealth and corporations. Local and individual needs are forgotten or ignored, causing flares of resentment to reach white heat. As de-massification progress, we can expect separatist or centrifugal forces to intensity dramatically and threaten the unity of many nation-states. The Third Wave is placing enormous pressures on the nation-state from below. The history’s course is predetermined: the capitalistic phase of society cannot avoid being followed by the chaotic phase of its own dissolution, and that, in turn, cannot avoid being followed by the Communistic form of a rigid reorganization. This is a materialistic caricature of the doctrine of fatalism, which in its true form as a Universal law has so far entered only into the spiritual thinking of the New World. This Marxian view, that is to say, the short-sighted view, is too simple to be true. Life is more complex than that. It is true that Demos is astir and seeks at the least to better his lot and at the most a paradise on Earth. When a man passes through a long period of unemployment or earns too little for adequate support of his family, he begins to feel despairingly that society has no use for him. This bitterness weakens his ethical sense and renders him liable to fall into the illusion that any social change, even a violent one, is necessarily a change for the better. If, instead of making proper efforts to remove the deficiencies and eliminate shortcomings, we merely seek for plausible pretexts to justify them, then we ought not to be astonished when disaster comes. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars, and the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren, and the tree-toad is a chef-d’oeuvre for the highest, and the running blackberry would adorn the parlours of Heaven, and the narrowest hinge in my hands puts to scorn all machinery, and the cow crunching with depressed head surpasses any statue, and a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels. Please rescue me, and deliver me out of the hand of those whose mouth speaks falsehood, and whose right hand contrives deceit. May our sons be as saplings growing strong in their youth; our daughters like carved cornices of a palace; may our garners be full, abundant with all manner of produce, our sheep increasing by thousands and ten thousands in our fields; may our oxen be well laden; may we neither be attacked nor enslaved, and no cry of distress be heard in our broad places. Happy is the people that enjoys such security; happy the people whose God is the Lord. God, please be gracious unto us and bless us; cause Thy spirit to shine upon us, that Thy way may be known upon Earth, Thy saving power among all nation. Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, O Lord; let the people gives thanks unto Thee, of all them. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou judgest the peoples with equity, and guidest the nations upon the Earth. Let the peoples gives thanks unto Thee, O god; let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, all of them. The Earth has yielded her produce, may God, or God, bless us. May God bless us; and let all the ends of the Earth revere Him. And God being merciful, forgiveth iniquity and destoryeth not; yea, often He turneth His anger away, and doth not stir up all His indignation. O Lord, save us. O King, answer us on the day when we call. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20
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Making the Unobservable Observable—Wide Unclasp the Tables of their Thoughts!
Do not pretend to be what you do not intend to be. The power to hold on in spite of everything, the power to endure—this is the winner’s quality. Clinical researchers have repeatedly found that exposure treatments help with specific phobias. The key to success in all these therapies appears to be actual contact with the feared object or situation. In vivo desensitization is more effective than covert desensitization, in vivo flooding more effective than covert flooding, and participant modeling more helpful than strictly observational modeling. Many behavioural therapists now combine features of each of the exposure approaches. You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere. Clinicians have only recently begun to have much success in treating social phobias. This progress is due in part to the growing recognition that social phobias have two distinct features that may feed upon each other: people with the phobias may have overwhelming social fears, and they may lack skill at initiating conversations, communicating their needs, or meeting the needs of others. Armed with this insight, clinicians now treat social phobias by trying to reduce social fears, by providing training in social skills, or both. How can social fears be reduced? Unlike specific phobias, which do not typically respond to psychotropic drugs, social fears are often reduced through medication. Somewhat surprisingly, it is antidepressant medications that seem to be most helpful for this disorder, often more helpful than benzodiazepines or other kinds of antianxiety drugs. At the same time, several types of psychotherapy have proved at least as effective as medication at reducing social fears. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20
Moreover, people helped by these psychological treatments are apparently less likely to relapse than people treated with drugs alone. This finding suggests to some clinicians that the psychological approaches should always be included in the treatment of social fears. One psychological approach is exposure therapy, the behavioural intervention so effective with specific phobias. Exposure therapists guide, encourage, and persuade clients with social fears to expose themselves to the dreaded social situations and to remain until their fears subside. Usually the exposure is gradual, and it is often coupled with homework assignments in which the clients begin facing social situations and to remain until their fears subside. Usually the exposure is gradual, and it is often coupled with homework assignment in which the clients begin facing social situations on their own. Group therapy provides an ideal setting for exposure treatments by allowing people to confront the social situations they fear in an atmosphere of support and concern. In one group, for example, a man who was afraid that his hands would tremble in the presence of other people had to write on a blackboard in front of the group and serve tea to the other members. Cognitive therapies have also been widely used to treat social fears, often in combination with behavioral techniques. Missing out on thousands of dollars each year because many persons are afraid of riding on roller coasters, some amusement parks offer behavioural programs to help customers overcome their fears. After “treatment,” some clients are able to ride the rails with the best of them. For others, it is back to the relative calm of the Ferris wheel. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20
Studies indicate that rational-emotive therapy and similar cognitive approaches do indeed help reduce social fears. And these reductions may persist for years. At the same time, research also suggests that cognitive therapy, like drug therapy and exposure therapy, does not typically overcome social phobias fully. It reduces social fear, but it does not consistently help people perform effectively in the social realm. This is where social skills training has come to the forefront. How can social skills be improved? In social skills training, therapists combine several behavioural techniques in order to help people improve their social skills. They usually model appropriate social behaviours for clients and encourage the individuals to try them out. The clients then role-play with the therapists, rehearsing their new behaviours until they become more effective. Throughout the process, therapists provide frank feedback and reinforce (praise) the clients for effective performances. Social reinforcement from others with similar social difficulties is often more powerful than reinforcement from a therapist alone. In social skills training groups and assertiveness training groups, members try out and rehearse new social behaviour with or in front of other group members. The group can also provide guidance on what is socially appropriate. Social skills training helps many people perform better in social situations. Some people, however, continue to experience uncomfortable levels of fear despite such treatments. No single approach—drug therapy, exposure treatment, cognitive therapy, or social skills training—consistently causes social phobias to disappear, and none is clearly superior to the others. Yet each is helpful, and when the approaches are combined, the results have been especially encouraging. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20
The bulk of research on the development and maintenance of drug use problems among adolescents has focused on family-of-origin experiences. Parental modeling, family-of-origin discord, and physical and sexual abuse within the family may all play roles in the development of adolescent substance misuse. However, factors in the other three major domains considered in this report may also be important: general personal relationships (peer modeling and maltreatment perpetrated by nonrelatives as paths to substance use), interpersonal communication (social skills deficits in adolescents themselves as either causes or effects of substance misuse), and eventual family-of-orientation experiences (inconsistent nurturing by significant others as a factor maintaining substance misuse). Few people stumble into drug use by accident. Considering the elaborate and varied steps involved in the procurement, preparation, and ingestion of different drugs, the likelihood that people acquire these behaviours on their own is extremely low. Rather, most people learn about drugs, and learn how to take drugs, by observing other people. In fact, most adolescents who begin to use drugs and alcohol do so after first observing their behaviour in their peers. Substance misuse may thus be a unique mental health problem, in that it can literally be learned from others. Consistent with this idea, research findings show that drug and alcohol use by peers and parents is one of the most powerful predicators of adolescent drug and alcohol involvement. For this reason, the most compelling account of drug use initiation can be found in social learning theory. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20
In connection with eating disorders, social learning theory posits that one mechanism by which people acquire behaviours is observational learning, or modeling. Modeling works because it gives people a template or guide for their own behaviour. This is referred to as making the unobservable observable. People cannot observe their own behaviour; however, the observation of others’ behaviour gives people a mental picture of how a behaviour can and should be performed. When people see others rewarded for performing a behaviour, they are more likely to enact that behaviour. People learn if-then relationships by observing others. For example, an adolescent may learn that “if I smoke marijuana, then I will look cool and feel great.” This could be learned by observing the how the state of California allows recreational use of marijuana, and seeing peers who use the drug with the support and camaraderie of other friends, and who extol its positive effects (although the drug can be dangerous and is still illegal according to federal laws). Social learning theory is currently one of the major theories of adolescent substance us initiation. As predicted by the theory, association with peers and/or parents who use substances has a powerful impact on adolescents’ own substance use behaviour. For example, a study of high school students revealed a correlation of approximately r =.50 between students’ substance use and that of their parents. (A correlation coefficient of .10 is thought to represent a weak or small association; a correlation coefficient of .30 is considered a moderate correlation; and a correlation coefficient of .50 or larger is though to represent a strong or large correlation. In another study of prisoners enrolled in substance misuse treatment programs, 54 percent indicated a family history of parental alcohol or other drug problems. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20
A national household probability sample of over 4,000 adolescents showed that a history of family drug use increased the odds of adolescents’ abuse or dependence on alcohol, marijuana, or “hard” drugs by factors of 1.89, 4.14, and 7.89, respectively. In other words, adolescents whose family members use drugs are anywhere from two to eight times more likely to be abusing and/or dependent on drugs themselves than are adolescents in families without a history of drug use. In addition to the family, association with peers who use drugs may also provide a source of further observational learning of substance use. Spending time with such pers, and developing friendships with them, as associated with greater likelihood of drug use. However, this finding is complicated by the fact that adolescents who use drugs tend to select peers who use drugs as friends. Similarity is a major determinant of interpersonal attraction, so it stands to reason that such friendships will develop. The varied findings on associations with peers who use drugs have provoked equivocal conclusions about their impact on the development of adolescent substance use. For instance, some investigators state that peer use of substances has consistently been found to be among the strongest predicators of substance use among youth, while other assert that peer influence appears to be less significant than previously thought in predicting either drug use or abuse. However, if your friends are consistently drinking and doing drugs in your presence, there is a 90 percent chance you will, too. Longitudinal studies indicate that perceived drug use in peers and perceived favourable attitudes toward drug use among peers are both precursors to adolescent substance use. These phenomena may normalize substance use in an adolescent’s mind. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20
If a young person feels that one’s friends are taking drugs, and that one’s friends think it is cool to take drugs, it follows that drug use will be viewed as normative conduct. This cognitive and attitudinal socialization into drug use makes it difficult to rule out the peer influence hypothesis. Both of these processes (the influence of peers who use drugs, and the selection of such peers) may be simultaneously operative. Contentment starts in your attitude. It is all in how you choose to see thing. One can complain about one’s boss, or one can thank God that one has a job. One can complain about mowing the emerald green lawn, or one can thank God that one has a yard. One can complain about the price of gasoline, or one can save up for a hybrid vehicle. It is all in how one chooses to see it. Friends, choose to have a grateful attitude. One may be thinking, “My life is so routine. I just get up, go to work, and come home. I do the same thing day after day. I do not have anything exciting happening to be especially thankful for.” Many times we do not realize how great we have it until something is taken away. There was a young couple who had two children. The father had a great career and they did not have any problems to speak of. However, then one day the father said he was not feeling well. When he went to the doctor, they discovered that he had a very serious illness. This family spent weeks going to various hospitals in different locations for test after test. Now their time was consumed by medical matters. The doctors finally found a way to treat the father, so for the next several mothers, he had to go to the hospital every other day to receive treatment. It was a long, drawn-out ordeal, and it totally interrupted the family members’ lives. The truth is much of life is routine. It is easy to think, “I cannot be grateful. I cannot be happy. I do not have anything exciting going on,” until something goes wrong. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20
We hold Jesus Christ up and adore Him, whom the Angels adore in Heaven. He admires us for doing so. However, at least up to this point in our existence, we have been kept every much in the dark; remember Paul says very much the same in his Second Letter to the Corinthians (5.7). Faith has been the only sconce. The Angels, on the other hand, have chandeliers; indeed they are chandeliers; that is to say, they see Jesus in person, face to face, without veil, temperamental or sacramental. We are quite content with the little illumination Jesus allows us. Faith sheds more than enough light to believe by and to walk in. That is not to say we do not look forward to the dawn of the Day of Eternal Clarity when the shadows of the night will leave all our figures revealed fully and forever. We hope it is all right for a self-actualized Christian to read the Song of Solomon (2.17). Be grateful for what God has done in your life. Choose to enjoy this day. Do not take every day, “normal” life for granted. If you are healthy, have a roof over your head, and have a family, you have so much to be thankful for. Do not wait until something is lost or take away before you really appreciate what you have. Learn to enjoy what God has given you. Take time for the people you love. Take time for your family. Quit working all the time. When you come to the end of your life, you will never regret having spent time with your family. Nobody ever says on their deathbed, “If I had to do it again, I would spend more time at the office. I would just work a little harder.” No, they always say, “I wish I had spent more time with my family. If I had a chance to live my life again, I would take more vacations. I would slow down and smell the roses. I would not live so stressed out.” However, we need to realize that in a moment, we could be gone. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20
We have no guarantee that we will be here at this time next year. We need to learn to live each day to the fullest, as though it could be our last. Dear Lord in Heaven, please help me to appreciate every day of life that You give me, and to make every day count. Please show me Your priorities for my life—the things that matter most to You—and please help me to align my priorities with Yours. Many Christians who are afraid to verbalize their feelings of anger fear that is any form of anger is let out, it will result in destructive behaviour. However, the person who can give honest vent early to one’s angry feelings need not fear violence. One the contrary, the “nice guys” who never let themselves get angry are the ones who many end up harming others. All Christians need occasional “hostilectomies.” In associating the expression of anger only with the most intense expression of roughness, explosiveness, or physical violence, we may have never considered how to express our anger in more gracious and considerate ways. The expression of anger in a relationship does not have to lead to a permanent breach or to a bitter rejection. Rather, it can lead toward greater mutual respect and sensitivity to one another. Communicating our anger in an actualizing way can also clear the air of phoniness. Priest-psychologist Adrian van Kaam has suggested that when we feel angry we must not smile sweetly or freeze sullenly. We need to learn instead to be humble and courageous enough before God to let our feelings come out—straight, honest, and simple, yet wisely and not destructively. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20
We might simply say: “I am feeling angry (or hurt) about what you just said (or did). Here is the meaning it has for me…” Then we let the other person express one’s feelings and perceptions. In this way we remain open to each other, yet preserve our spiritual situation, then we might discharge the feeling with full awareness at a later time and place. For instance we might: talk to a trusted friend about the incident, write down our feelings on a piece of paper, run around the block, beat up a pillow, find a safe place and scream, go for a vigorous swim, tell God how angry we are, as the psalmist David often did. However, if one is having a medical or psychiatric emergency, hang up the phone and dial 911, or go to your nearest hospital. Nonetheless, what is often important in this process, is that we convert the energy behind the feeling into a verbal or muscular activity. Anger, when given full and satisfying actualization expression, is followed by a sense of relief, peace, and muscular relaxation. We are now open to a variety of other feelings. One of the first is often a feeling of warmth and love for the very person with whom we have been angry. In studying the life of Jesus Christ, we find several occasions when He expressed His anger toward His own disciples. When they misunderstood Him, quarreled with one another, kept children away from Him, or tempted Him to go against the will of the Father, Jesus Christ showed how He felt. By the same token, He never left them in doubt about His lasting gentle care. Jesus Christ expressed more intense levels of anger and rage against the Pharisees and those who were adept at manipulative devices and phoniness. Yet His prayer at His death demonstrated that forgiving love, not accumulated bitterness, had nourished the roots of His personality throughout life: “Father, forgive them…” #RandolphHarris 10 of 20
Anger, rightly expressed, serves the ends of love and justice in our lives. Why confession works? The Greek word in the Christian Bible translated confess means “to say or speak the same thing.” Just as plainly as if I heard it with my ears, the Spirit of God spoke this into my spirit. I had heard some teaching concerning this on one occasion, but I did not grasp it then. As the Spirit began to fill in the gaps for me, I could see it. He said: The Word says the Angels are ministering spirits. These ministering spirits stand beside you daily and listen to the words that you speak. They are created beings, designed of God to minister for you, but you are the one who tells them what to do. The Angels are ministering spirits sent to minister for you and they listen to the words you speak. You do not pray to Angels but they listen to the words you speak. They cause or allow to come to pass the things that you say. However, you furnish the words of the assignment. He directed me to Hebrews 1.14, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? The Holy Spirit said, God’s Word is His will for man. Man is created in the image of God and since God created man in His own image, then man’s word should be one’s will toward God. Then for the first time I really understood why it was so necessary for us to speak what we desire. We are giving orders. If God’s Word is His will, your word should be your will. You should never speak words that are not your will. They are not your words. Your will and your words are one. Do not let Satan speak through you. If God said one thing and willed something else, would it not be silly? Of if He willed one thing, then said something else? That would cause confusion. One would not know what was true. God says what He will. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20
The Holy Spirit said, Humans’ words should be one’s will toward God. The Angels were designed as created beings to minister for you and they know that. They listen to the words that you speak. Every word that you speak the Angels hear, for they are always beside you, waiting to hear what you choose to bind or loose. Then they are busy to perform or cause to come to pass the things you speak if they are in agreement with the Word of God. By authority of your words, they will maneuver you into a position where these things will come to pass. However, if you speak sickness and disease, if you speak contrary to the Word of God, they will not perform it or cause it to come to pass. They will back off, fold their hands, and bow their heads for you have bound them by the words of your mouth. Your words will either being them or loose them. If your words bind the Angels, you have bound God’s messengers and, in so doing, you have bound God. Jesus said, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and whatever you shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatever you shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven. All Heaven will stand behind your right to be healed. Now that will jerk the kinks out of your conversation! You can loose sickness in your own body by inaccurate prayer or you can loose healing by accurate prayer. Release God’s ability by praying His words. Let us take a look at Revelation 22.8-9: And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I feel down to worship before the feet of the Angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20
The Angel is a servant to those who keep the sayings of this book. He listens to what you say. The Angel said, “Worship God! Do not worship me! I am just doing God’s bidding.” The word used in Hebrews 1.14 for ministering spirits really means angelic apostles. The ministering spirits are angelic apostles, sent to minister for us who are heirs of salvation. Now let us look at Psalm 103.19. This verse of scripture will open your eyes of understanding in a greater measure to the things we have been talking about: The Lord hath prepare His throne in the Heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all. There is definitely a dual meaning here and I know this meaning is included. God’s throne is in Heaven, but His kingdom ruleth over all. Where is His kingdom? The kingdom is in us and it rules over all. The words you speak into your heart will rule. The Earth was spawned from the spirit World. It was created to be the likeness of the spiritual World which spawned it. Man was created by God to be in the likeness of God: to have dominion, to control, and to rule. His kingdom ruleth over all, and He set up His kingdom inside us. You feed good seed into the kingdom and it will produce the things desired. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1.1). Today your word is god over your circumstances. Your word is the beginning of things. The word that you continually say will be god over the circumstances you face in life. Eventually, they will come to pass. Notice Psalm 103.20, Bless the Lord, ye His Angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. The Angels do His commandments. We are to let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouths. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20
That is what He commanded us to do, but what are the Angels to do? They do those things that are in line with God’s Word. That is what God has assigned them to do. They are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for us in this Earth. God’s Word says that man shall have whatsoever he saith, if one believes and doubts not in one’s heart. Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe ye receive them. It seems then as though the Angels have something to do with those prayers being answered. Now, you do not pray to Angels, but they listen to what you say. They are ministering for you. Their job is to see that it comes to pass. If you speak God’s Word, they will work day and night in your behalf. He said they excel in strength and do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. What is the voice of God’s Word? The Holy Bible is His Word (and the Book of Mormon), but how do we give voice to it? By speaking His words. Then when I speak His Word, my words become the voice of God’s Word. Let us say one wants wisdom. The Word says, If any human lack wisdom, let one ask of God who giveth to all humans liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given. So if I put God’s Word into voice, then the Angels hearken unto my words. They will go about to cause the words that God spoke in my behalf to come to pass. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy (Psalms 107.2). Give voice to the Word by saying: The spirit of truth abides in me and teaches me all things and guides me into all truths. Therefore, I confess I have perfect knowledge of every situation and every circumstance of life. The wisdom of God is formed within me. I trust in the Lord with all of my heart, and I lean not unto my own understanding. I let the Word of Christ dwell in me richly in all wisdom. I do follow the Good Shepherd; I know His voice and the voice of a stranger I will not follow. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20
So my Angels are loosed and begin to work to cause the confusion to stop and see that I have the wisdom of God. They find ways to get it to me so I will not be deceived by the evil one. They make sure that I hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. Faith-filled words release God and bring Him on the scene in your behalf. There was a lady that stood up in church and said, “Pray for me. I am taking the flu.” There was no need to pray; she was taking it. She did not even wait for Satan to give it to her! Nobody prayed for her, but I imagine most people said, “Oh, poor thing, she is taking the flu.” So she had about fifty people believing she was taking the flu. Jesus said that is two of you agree, it will be done. Do you see the spiritual law that is set in motion by words? This Earth is under God’s word system.Be careful about talking your problems because most people will agree with you. Learn to speak the answer to the problems. Find the answer, then feed it to the problem. Learn to use God’s system. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, together with a number of elders, were instructed to leave as soon as possible and to go to Missouri. They were promised that if they were faithful the Lord would make it known to them what they should do there. Definite instructions concerning this journey were given. Let them journey from thence, preaching the word by the way…Let them go two by two, and thus let them preach by the way in every congregation, baptizing by water, and the laying on of the hands by the water’s side. To keep Satan from deceiving the people, the Lord gave a pattern so the Saints could know who represented God: One that prayeth whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me, if one obey mine ordinances. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20
One that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek, and edifieth, the same is God, if one obey mine ordinances. And again, one that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise, and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you. And again, one that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me; wherefore by this pattern ye shall know the spirits in all cases, under the whole Heavens. The Lord gave instructions to those who were to travel to Missouri: Let all these take their journey unto one play, in the several courses, and one human shall not…journey in another’s track. One that is faithful, the same shall be kept and blessed with much fruit. If ye are faithful, ye shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land of Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance. I the Lord, will hasten the city in its time, and will crown the faithful with joy and with rejoicing. Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God, and I will lift them up at the last day. As the elders made their preparation to go to Missouri, Joseph prayed to the Lord to know the work of several men. God revealed to him what they should do. Sidney Gilbert was told he should go to Missouri and that he should: Take upon you mine ordinances, even that of an elder, to preach faith and repentance, and remission of sins, according to my word, and the reception of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. And also to be an agent unto the church in the plae which shall be appointed by the bishop. Newell Knight was told: Take your journey into the regions westward, and unto the land of Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites. And after you have done journeying, behold, I say unto you, Seek ye a living like unto humans, until I prepare a place for you. And again, be patient in tribulation. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20
William W. Phelps was told: You shall be ordained to assist my servant Oliver Cowdery, to do the work of printing, and of selecting, and writing books for schools, in this church, that little children also may receive instruction before me as is pleasing unto me. Ezra Thayre was a wealthy man who would not willingly share with others. By revelation through Joseph Smith, the Lord warned him that he must repent of his pride and selfishness or he would be cut off from the church: Woe unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls. Woe unto you poor humans, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other humans’ goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, who will not labour with their own hands! However, blessed are the poor, who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory. For, behold, the Lord shall come, and His recompense shall be with one, and He shall reward every human, and the poor shall rejoice. In less than two weeks after the Lord gave His command, twenty-two of the elders who had been commissioned for this work began their long journey to Missouri, going two by two and preaching along the way. Most glimpses got through meditation are followed by the surfacing of egoistic tendencies and weaknesses. This is only that their existence may be more clearly seen and an attempt made to get rid of them. Whatever happens to oneself or to others, whether one rises of falls, whether they hurt or help one, let one keep the hope that the glimpse have one and continue to love the highest, remote though it may seem. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20
Sometimes the glimpse may pass unrecognized for what it really is, but in later years this is usually rectified. One can make one’s little World reflect something of the goodness and beauty one has glimpsed. Some among us must seek a higher quality of thought and being, a better way of life and action, in obedience to this call which is heard most clearly during the period of a glimpse. Now and then if the glimpse is granted in response to one’s patient endeavours, one’s trust will be strengthened and one will know that one is neither crazy nor wrong to follow this quest. One feels a personal obligation to carry into everyday living what one has deduced from these golden moments. When a glimpse comes to a human, from whatever cause and in whatever way, its effects show themselves variously. One very important effect is that whether one wants to or not, and despite negative passing moods of frustration or depression, if the human to whom it has come has consciously entered on the Quest one cannot desert it but must sooner or later enter upon it again. It is possible for a human who knows of the Quest only through emotional faith or intellectual conviction to turn aside from it for the remainder of one’s incarnation, but it is not possible for a human who has enjoyed this Glimpse to do so. One may try—and some do—but each day of such alienation will be a haunted day. The ghost will not leave one alone until one returns. These glimpses are only occasional. They take us unawares and depart from us unexpectedly. However, the joy they bring with them, the insight they bestow, make us yearn for a permanent and unbroken attainment of the state they tell us about. If the person is not consciously on the quest, it is important to remember that such experiences may be expected only rarely in most cases, perhaps once or twice in a lifetime. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20
It is natural to hope that it will be repeated. The first glimpse is given to show the way, to throw light on the path ahead, to give direction and goal to the person. However, if the glimpse is only temporary and rare, the metaphysical understanding to be derived from it is the permanent benefit. So seek to get and clarify the understanding. “When the Time of times comes,” as Paul wrote in First Corinthians (13.10), the Sacraments will have done their job. That is because the Blessed in Heavenly Glory will no longer have any need for a medicament, let alone a sacrament. They will rejoice without end in the presence of God, face to face, their glory mirroring His; Paul has said something similar in Second Corinthians (3.18). Back to the sconces. As I have said above, they had been transformed into chandeliers. Our perspective on Earth was abysmal; now it is abyssal, and the Deity Himself is visibly at home in Heaven. And the Blessed taste the word of God made flesh, as it was in the beginning and remains forever. Whenever I am mindful of these wonderful things, a deep gloom descends. Even spiritual consolation cannot cut through the fog. And there appears to be a good reason for it. As long as I could not see Jesus, my Godly Friend, openly and in His full glory without blinking, I counted as nothing everything I saw or heard around the World. You, Dear Jesus, are my witness, if I may borrow a word from Romans (1.9). Nothing can console me, no creature quiet me. Only You, my Lord God, whom I desire to contemplate to the end of time and beyond. However, of course, at the present time, this is not possible, at least while I have to endure this mortal coil. So, as You say, I have to aim for greater patience and submit my every desire to you. The Saints who are jamming the Kingdom of Heaven now, O Lord, once lived a life of expectation on Earth, waiting for the advent of Your glory, as the Letter of Titus described it (2.13). #RandolphHarris 19 of 20
Faith and Patience played a large part in their survival; the Letter to the Hebrews would certainly second that (6.12). They believed it then; I believe it now. What they hoped for then, I hope for now. That is to say, where they have arrived already, I trust I will one day come through to Your grace. I will sing of the well-founded Earth, Mother of all, eldest of all beings. She feeds all creatures that are in the World, all that go upon the goodly land, all that are in the paths of the seas, and all that fly; all these are fed of her store. Through you, O Queen, we are blessed in our children, and in our harvest and to you we own our lives. Happy are we, who you delight to honour! We have all things abundantly: our houses are filled with good things, our cities are orderly, our sons exult with everfresh delight and our daughters with flower laden hands play and skip merrily over the soft flowers of the field. Thus it is for those whom you honour, O holy Goddess, Bountiful spirit! Hail Earth, mother of the gods, freely bestowe upon me for this is my song that cheers the heart! May it be Thy will, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, to grant our portion in Thy Torah, and may the Temple be rebuilt in our day. There we will serve Thee with awe as in the days of old. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, Who traineth my hands for combat, and my fingers for battle. Thou art my lovingkindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer; my shield art Thou, in Thee I take refuge; Thou subdues the enemy under me. Lord, what is man that Thou takes knowledge of him? Or the son of man that Thou does regard him? Man is like a breath; his days are as a passing shadow. O Lord, bow Thy Heavens and descend, touch the mountains that they may smoke. Flash forth lightning and scatter the evil-doer, send out Thine arrows and rout the foe. Stretch forth Thy hands from on high; rescue me, and deliver me from mighty waters, redeem me from the hand of hostile strangers, whose mouth speaks falsehood, and whose right contrives deceit. O God, I will sing a new song unto Thee, upon a harp of ten strings will I sing praises unto Thee, Who givest victory unto kings, Who rescuest David Thy servant, from the evil sword. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20
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Evil Spirits are Able to Exert a Great Deal of Influence Upon Humans!
The Christian Bible teaches us that acceptance of this World system which is dominated by erroneous principles, selfish desires, improper motives, and unworthy standards of value that draws humans away from God and makes them “measure of all things,” is influenced so strongly by Satan and his army of evil spirits, which caused humans to adopt attitudes and to perform deeds which hinder God’s work and harm His people is done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy), and slander of every kind and evil speaking of every kind. This should make us crave like newborn babies the pure spiritual milk that by it one may be nurtured and grow unto salvation. Society in every age is characterized by such iniquities as selfishness, pride, immorality, and dishonesty, in spite of the efforts of sincere people to make it a better World. Twenty-first century humans, with more technical skills and knowledge than any previous generation, is unable to solve the problems of poverty, crime, racial hatred, and war. An increasing number of people go to bed hungry every night, crime is on the rise, racial hatred has never been more intense, and wars continue to be fought all over the World. Why? Because humankind has accepted a self-centered philosophy of life, and Earth’s citizens in general are motivated by the three evils of which John speaks in his first epistle—“the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” reports 1 John 2.16. The “lust of the flesh” is the desire for possession. It is the gratification of self by participation. Careful study of the word “flesh” indicates that this evil propensity of humankind involves more than just sins of impurity. The term, as used by John in this passage, does not have reference to the body but to the sinful Adamic nature. The individual sinner is born with a nature that is selfish, and one is part of a social structure which operates on grasping, egocentric, and selfish principles. #RandolphHarris 1 of 13
A vast majority of men and women are materialistic, live to gratify the senses, and are self-centered even in the good things they do. Nations, too, seek only what is best for themselves. Leaders in industry, education, and even religion are primarily concerned about their own welfare, often neglecting the needs of those they serve. The “lust of the flesh” drives humans to desire and obtain material possessions, and to satisfy their physical appetites and passions at the expense of spiritual values. This basic selfishness and craving for the Earthly tangible pleasures of life leads people to misuse the physical and material blessings God has given all humans to enjoy. On a Worldwide scope, it has brought about a situation in which thousands live in unparalleled luxury while millions starve. When we stop to think about it, much of the World’s unrest and unhappiness today can be traced to the “lust of the flesh.” The “lust of the eyes,” the second characteristic of this World system, is sometimes defined as “gratification by contemplation.” The use of our eyes has vast potential for either great blessing of for degradation. For example, we are able to look upon the endless beauty of creation and sing praises to the Lord. Reading God’s Word, we can meditate upon the riches of glory in joyous expectation. However, Satan and his evil partners have perverted the use of the eye, inducing wicked humans to display scenes by which lustful thoughts are incited. They capitalize upon humans’ sinfulness and natural tendency to immorality. Down through the ages, immodest dress, impure books and pictures, and unholy theatrical productions have been used to degrade and degenerate both young and old. In addition, the eye affords an opportunity to enjoy by contemplation certain evils which one cannot or dare not actually perform. #RandolphHarris 2 of 13
Therefore, people from all classes of society and every age bracket are influenced by the allurement that comes through the gift of sight. Discerning people who glance at the newsstands, read the advertisements in the theater page of the newspaper, or watch the programs and commercials presented on television, know full well that “lust of the eyes” has been exploited by the powers of evil. The evidence certainly indicates that Satan and his followers are truly the “leaders of the darkness of this World.” The “pride of life,” the third characteristic of this World system, refers to vanity and ostentation. Men and women put great stock in “being somebody.” To make a name for themselves they throw impressive parties, purchase expensive automobiles, and live in luxurious homes. Their only measure of success is by these standards. Others may acquire academic degrees to display their intellectual prowess, while athletes may exert maximum effort, not principally out of team spirit, but for money and applause. The struggle for power, prestige, and even glory is at the heart of almost every human endeavour. However, through all of this, humankind has been unable to discover true happiness and satisfaction. Most people confess they are not finding pleasures they expected, but nonetheless continue on their way, ever pursuing new baubles. The invisible forces of Satan so blind humans that they do not see true values, nor recognize the folly of their vain quest for this elusive will-o’-the wisp, “the pride of life.” According to the Bible the whole social structure of this World is controlled by a pervading principle of life that is foreign to God and leads humans away from Him. True every human is a sinner by nature and alienated from God, but this inherent human selfishness, under the direction of intelligent and powerful wicked spirits, compounds this basic sinfulness by brining out the very worst in humans. Evil spirits cruelly blind and deceive fallen humanity through the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. #RandolphHarris 3 of 13
These fallen creatures actively try to manipulate the political rulers of the World. Satan’s organized army operates quietly and invisibly in the minds and the wills of Earthly sovereigns to achieve their evil purposes. The Bible indicates the nature and course of their activity in several references. Daniel 10 teaches that specific evil spirits are assigned the task of influencing human rulers. The chapter opens with a picture of Daniel in earnest prayer. He entreats the Lord for a period of three weeks, seeking God’s favour upon the Jewish people who have returned to Jerusalem from captivity. He learned that they were experiencing difficulty in rebuilding the temple. Ezra 4, which gives the history of these former exiles, indicates that the work of restoration was interrupted by adversaries almost immediately after the foundation of the temple had been laid. Finally, three weeks after Daniel began to pray, God sent him a most amazing experience. An angel came to Daniel and said, “Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia,” reports Daniel 10.12-13. The angel declared that he had left Heaven immediately after Daniel’s first prayer, but that on his way to Earth he had encountered opposition from “the prince of the kingdom of Persia.” The Heavenly messenger went on to say that it was not until Michael came to help him that he was able to overcome this opposing “prince.” #RandolphHarris 4 of 13
The struggle was obviously between angelic beings, for the one speaking to Daniel was an angel, and Michael is well known as the angelic protector of Israel. (See Daniel 10.21; 12.1; Jude 9; Revelation 12.7). This “prince of the kingdom of Persia” was obviously a wicked spirit of high rank. He had been delegated by the arch-enemy of God, the devil himself, for the task of influencing the Persian government to obstruct the Israelites in their rebuilding program. Thus success of this evil spirit’s attempt was apparent upon Earth. Even while the battle between the angelic beings was taking place in the air, the rulers of Persia were hindering the Jews in the task of rebuilding their temple. The people in Jerusalem could see only the treachery of their human enemies, not knowing that invisible spirits had been exerting pressure against them behind the scenes. The leaders of Persia were not aware that their decision to oppose Israel was the result of the working of evil spirits in their minds. These human rulers were actually mere puppets, carrying out the wishes of the invisible powers who were manipulating them. Even today humans who hold high political office may be the unwitting tools of evil spirits. Many humans lust for power. National groups vie for supremacy in the economic World. In this prevailing atmosphere of selfishness, evil spirits are able to exert a great deal of influence upon humans. Opportunistic politicians become ideal underlines of these evil spirits. In addition, the followers of Satan, in dominating the godless World rulers, are able to incite beastly behaviour in them. Many living today have witnessed the indescribable brutality of Nazism and theistic Communism. Highly civilized people find great pleasure in the development of more effective weapons with which to kills members of other nations. Humans tell lies, oppress others, and commit mass murders with no hint of shame or remorse. #RandolphHarris 5 of 13
In fact, it is amazing that this modern age of civilization and refinement has been characterized by an inhumanity far worse than that of the ancient barbaric times. We believe this pathological condition can be traced to the fact that many highly educated humans of influence and power have rejected God. In so doing, they have opened themselves to the activity of evil spirits. Therefore, we have a confirmation of Paul’s declaration that the real World rulers of this darkness (Ephesians 6.12) are not the humans who have positions of leadership, but the evil spirits who rule their hearts and influence their thoughts and decisions. From the commencement of the seventeenth century to the Restoration of Charles II, be barren of witchcraft proper, it must at least be admitted that it is prodigal in regard to the marvellous under various shapes and forms, from which the hysterical state of the public mind can be fairly accurately gauged. During 1642, O’Daly in his History of the Geraldines relates that during the siege of Limerick three portents appeared. The first was a luminous globe, brighter than the moon and little inferior to the sun, which for two leagues and a half shed a vertical light on the city, and then faded into darkness over the enemy’s camp; the second was the apparition of the Virgin, accompanied by several of the Saints; and the third was a lusus nature of the Saimese-twins type: all three of which O’Daly interprets to his own satisfaction. The first of these was some from of the northern lights, and is also recorded in the diary of certain Puritan officers. That learned, but somewhat too credulous English antiquary, John Aubrey, relates in his Miscellanies that before the last battle between the contending parties “a woman of uncommon Statue all in white appearing to the Bishop [Heber McMahon, who Aubrey terms Veneras] admonished him not to cross the River first to assault the Enemy, but suffer them to do it, whereby he should obtain the Victory. #RandolphHarris 6 of 13
“That if the Irish took the water first to move towards the English they should be put to a total Rout, which came to pass. Ocahan and Sir Henry O’Neal, who were both killed there, saw severally the same apparition, and dissuaded the Bishop from giving him the first onset, but could not prevail upon him.” N instance of an Irishman suffering from the effects of witchcraft outside Ireland is afforded us in a pathetic petition sent up to the English Parliament between the years 1649 and 1653. The petitioner, John Campbell, stated that twelve years since he lost his sight in Co. Antrim, where he was born, by which he was reduced to such extremity that he was forced to come over to England to seek some means of livelihood for himself in craving the charity of well-disposed people, but contrary to his expectation he has been often troubled there with dreams and fearful visions in his sleep, and has been twice bewitched, insomuch that he can find no quietness or rest here, and so prays for a pass to return to Ireland. The saintly James Usher, Archbishop of Armagh, was a Prelate who, if he had happed to live at an earlier period would certainly have been numbered amongst those whose wide and profound learning won for themselves the title of magician—as it was, he was popularly credited with prophetical powers. Most of the prophecies attributed to him may be found in a little pamphlet of eight pages, entitled “Strange and Remarkable Prophecies and Predictions of the Holy, Learned, and Excellent James Usher, &c…Written by the person who heard it from this Excellent person’s own Mouth,” and apparently published in 1656. According to it, he foretold the rebellion of 1641 in a sermon on Ezekiel iv. 6, preached in Dublin in 1601. “And of this Sermon the Bishop reserved the Notes, and put a note thereof in the Margent of his Bible, and for twenty years before he still lived in the expectation of the fulfilling thereof, and the nearer the time was the more confident he was that it was nearer accomplishment, though there was no visible appearance of any such thing.” #RandolphHarris 7 of 13
He also foretold the death of Charles I, and his own coming poverty and loss of property, which last he actually experienced for many years before his death. The Rev. William Turner in his Compleat History of Remarkable Providences (London, 1697) gives a premonition of approaching death that the Archbishop received. A lady who was dead appeared to him in his sleep, and invited him to sup (eat supper) with her the next night. He accepted the invitation, and died the following afternoon, 21st March 1656. There is another story from Glanvill’s Relations. One Mr. John Browne of Durley in Ireland was made by this neighbour, John Mallett of Enmore, trustee for his children in minority. In 1654 Mr. Browne lay a-dying: at the foot of his bed stood a great iron chest fitted with three locks, in which were the trustees’ papers. Some of his people and friends were sitting by him, when to their horror they suddenly saw the locked chest begin to open, lock by lock, without the assistance of any visible hand, until at length the lid stood upright. The dying man, who had not spoken for twenty-four hours, sat up in the bed, looked at the chest, and said: “You say true, you say true, you are in the right (a favourite expression of his), I’ll be with you by and by,” and then lay down again, and never spoke after. The chest slowly locked itself in exactly the same manner as it had opened, and shortly after this Mr. Browne died. In the mid-1880s, during a Connecticut thunder storm, Mrs. Winchester’s husband and baby lost their lives in a tragic fire. The distracted widow turned to spiritualism and was advised to take a trip around the World. This she did, visiting mediums, spiritualists and yogis in Europe and India. Fortelling her future, one seer warned her of all the countless thousands of departed souls slain by her husband’s rifles; she must protect herself and atone for such mass murder. #RandolphHarris 8 of 13
Mrs. Winchester was told to plan a castle and continue its building indefinitely because as long as it was under construction, she would live; cessation would prove immediately fatal. The head of a celebrated firm of Victorian restorers and decorators took a keen interest in Mrs. Winchester’s mansion. She constructed it for 38 years until she passed away in 1922. It is currently, approximately 24,000 square feet, and four stories tall, but at one time reached a height of 9 stories and may have been more than 50,000 square feet, but the 9-story tower and much of the 4th floor was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. Back then, two thirds of Mrs. Winchester’s estate was dark, unbroke forests, through whose tangled paths the mysterious winter wind groaned and shrieked and howled with weird noises and unaccountable clamors. The aged told their stories to the young—tales of early life; tales of war and adventure, of forest days, of Indian captives and escapes, of bears and wildcats and panthers, of rattlesnakes, of witches and wizards, and strange and wonderful dreams and appearances and providences at the Winchester mansion. Along the iron bound gates, the stormful skies of Llanada Villa raved and thundered, and wind dashed its moaning turrets, as if to deaden and deafen any voice that might tell of the settled life of the old civilized World, and shut the estate into wilderness. In 1923, there was work being done on the Winchester mansion. It was one of special interest to many antiquarians, and they wanted to restore it. However, in the basement, a large tomb was unearthed, and needed to be moved. The workers were very loth to disturb the tomb, but it was necessary to ensure the safety of the mansion. The tomb belonged to Sarah Winchester. She mostly lived alone in the castle. Her reputation was one of mystery, the supernatural and untold wealth. It was popularly supposed that she could never be killed. #RandolphHarris 9 of 13
The restorer made an especial study of old legends or family histories that came under his observation He was necessarily very well read and thoroughly well posted in all questions of folklore and medieval legend. Mrs. Winchester kept a careful record of every case she investigated involving a haunting. The manuscripts she left at her death were a special interest. From amongst them, were some particularly bizarre and extraordinary experiences. Now, the fact was, that ghost stories had been told so often about the Winchester mansion, that they were all arranged and ticketed into the minds of the movers. Still, they shivered, and clung to their knees at the mysterious tomb, and felt gentle, cold chills run down their spines. If the tomb be moved, it would have to be done in two pieces, the covering slab first and then the tomb proper. The movers decided to remove the covering slab first. Everything was ready for lifting off the covering stone, and after the men’s dinner, they started the jacks and pulleys. The slab lifted easily enough, though if fitted closely into its seat and was further secured by some sort of mortar or putty, which must have kept the interior perfectly air-tight. And it was one of those thundering stormy nights, when the winds appeared to be holding a perfect mad carnival over the mansion. They yelled and squealed round the corners; they collected in troops, and came tumbling and roaring down the chimney; and they shook and rattled the buttery door and the sink room door and the cellar door and the chamber door, with a constant undertone of squeak and clatter, as if at every door were a cold, discontented spirit, tried to warn them not to touch the tomb. People used to say Mrs. Winchester was set apart, when she was a child, to the service o’ the Devil, but many say she could never be made nothin’ but a Christian. Perhaps that was the appeal. #RandolphHarris 10 of 13
She used to come to meeting with her husband, praying for the Indians. None of them were prepare for what they discovered under the cover lid of the tomb. There lay the fully dressed body of a woman, who had not aged nor decayed, but was ghastly pale, as if from starvation. The body was extraordinary fresh. Except for the appearance of starvation, life might have been only just extinct. The flesh was soft and white, the eyes were wide open and seemed to stare at them with a fearful understanding in them. The body itself was a young woman. For several moments, the movers gazed with horrible curiosity, and then it became too much for the workmen, who implored their boss to replace the covering slab. That, of course, they could not do; but he set the carpenters to work at once to make a temporary cover while they moved the tomb to its new position. This was a long job, and would take two of tree days. At sunset the next evening, they were startled by the howling of, seemingly, every dog in the village. It lasted for thirteen minutes, and then ceased as suddenly as it began This, and a curious mist that had risen round the mansion, make them feel rather anxious about Mrs. Winchester. According to the best-established traditions of the Vampire-haunted countries the disturbance of dogs or wolves at sunset is supposed to indicate the presence of one of these creatures, and local fog was always considered to be a certain sign. The Vampire has the power of producing it for the purpose of concealing its movements near its hiding-place at any time. Just before midnight, there was another outburst of hideous howling. It was commenced most distinctly by a particularly horrible and blood-curdling wail from the vicinity of the churchyard. The chorus lasted only a few minutes, however, and at the end of it, they crew say a large dark shape, like a huge dog, emerge from the fog and lope away at a rapid canter toward the open country. #RandolphHarris 11 of 13
At 1.13 a.m., they saw another beast returning. It stopped at the spot where the fog seemed to commence, and lifting up its head, gave tongue to that particularly horrible long-drawn wail that the movers had noticed as preceding the outburst earlier in the evening. The boss got so frightened, you could faintly hear his teeth chatter. The next day it was discovered that some neighbouring sheepfold had been raided by a nocturnal marauder. The workmen that morning were much disturbed in mind about the howling of dogs. “We don’t like it, sir,” one of them said to the boss—“we don’t like it; there was somethin’ abroad last night that was unholy.” They were still more uncomfortable when the news came round that a large dog had made a rapid upon a flock of sheep, scattering them far and wide, and leaving thee of them dead with torn throats in the field. The boss and the crew were determined to catch the wild dog. During the afternoon, the men were lifting the temporary cover that was on the tomb, giving as an excuse the reason that they wished to obtain a portion of the curious mortar with which it had been sealed. After a slight demur, the raised the lid. If the sight that met their eyes gave them a shock. The woman was alive. And so it seemed for a moment. The corpse had lost much of its straved appearance and looked generously fresh and alive. They all believed that Mrs. Winchester was a Vampire and that is why she was so well preserved in her tomb. However, she had not yet come to full strength. It was just after midnight that the crew of movers noticed the fog creeping in again in the still of the night. Their first move was to try to penetrate the sense fog round the mansion, but there was something so chilly about it that their nerves nor stomachs were proof against it. Instead, they stationed themselves in the dark shadow of a cypress tree that commanded a good view of the jeweled front doors to the estate. #RandolphHarris 12 of 13
The howling of the dogs began again, and in a few minutes, there was a large grey shape, with green eyes shining like lamps, shambling swiftly down the path towards them. The both stood very still and watched as the great beast cantered swiftly by. It was real enough, for they could hear the clicking of its nails on the stone flags. It passed within a few yards of the movers, and seemed to be nothing more nor less than a great grey wolf, thin and gaunt, with bristling hair and dripping jaws. It stopped where the mist commenced, and turned round. It was truly a horrible sight, and made their blood run cold. The eyes burnt like fires, the upper lip was snarling and raised, showing a great canine teeth, while round mouth clung and dripped a dark-coloured froth. It raised its head and gave tongue to its long wailing howl, which was answered from afar by the village dogs. After standing for a few moments it turned and disappeared into the thickest part of the fog. The boss said, “When the Devil drives: and in the face of what I have seen I must believe that some unholy forces are at work Yet, how can they work in this beautiful estate?” They set their teeth, however, and hardened their hearts. Then they went inside and replaced the cover on the tomb, took what they had collected from the estate and left. Never to return. Some believe that the movers were too afraid to return to the estate and that is why it was not completely looted and some valuables were left behind. It also why much of the damage was not repaired. I guess the estate has a way of protecting itself from those with bad intentions. Mrs. Winchester’s tomb was eventually moved to her home town New Haven, Connecticut to rest with her husband and daughter. Legend has it that it took movers six weeks, six trucks a day, to remove most of the furniture because they kept getting lost in the catacomb. #RandolphHarris 13 of 13
Winchester Mystery House
“Wide Unclasp the Tables of Their Thoughts.” (From Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare.) What do you think this quote meant to Sarah Winchester? 🧐 winchestermysteryhouse.com
A 160-room mansion built to appease the spirits who died at the hands of the Winchester Rifle 👻
Perhaps they are Driven by the “Misery Loves Company” Effect?
Conflict is probably as old as life itself and some would say that it is just as right. Our understanding of human behaviour should enable us to make some distinctions between those kinds of natural phenomena that are necessary and those that we have outgrown as human beings. Conflict, in the sense of fighting and warfare within the species of man, is an outdated and certainly dysfunctional social process. Dysfunctional means “not serving the survival needs of the organism or the structure.” Even with trustworthy assessment data and reliable and valid classification categories, clinicians will sometimes arrive at a wrong conclusion. Like all human beings, they are flawed information processors. Studies show that they are influenced disproportionately by information gathered early in the assessment process. They sometimes pay too much attention to certain sources of information, such as a parent’s report about a child, and too little to others, such as the child’s point of view. They can also be unduly influenced by their expectations about the client. They may assume, for example, that any person who consults them professionally must have some disorder. And, finally, their judgments can be distorted by any number of personal biases—gender, age, race, and socioeconomic status, to name just a few. Given the limitations of both assessment tools and assessors, it is small wonder that studies sometimes uncover shocking errors in diagnosis, especially in hospitals. In one study a clinical team was asked to reevaluate the records of 131 patients at a mental hospital in New York, conduct interviews with many of these persons, and arrive at a diagnosis for each one. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20
The researchers then compared the team’s diagnoses with the original diagnoses for which the patients were hospitalized. Although 89 of the patients had originally received a diagnosis of schizophrenia, only 16 received it upon reevaluation. And whereas 15 patients originally had been given a diagnosis of mood disorder, 50 received it now. It is obviously important for clinicians to be aware that such a huge disagreement can occur, and could ruin someone’s life. However, unfortunately, that is the goal of some professionals. Beyond the potential for misdiagnosis, the very act of classifying people can lead to unintended results. Many sociocultural theorists believe that diagnostic labels can become self-fulfilling prophecies. When people are diagnosed as mentally disturbed, they may be viewed and reacted to correspondingly. If others expect them to take on a sick role, they may begin to consider themselves sick as well and act tht way. Furthermore, our society attaches a stigma to abnormality. People labeled mentally ill may find it difficult to get a job, especially a position of responsibility, or to be welcomed into social relationships. Once a label has been applied, it may stick for a long time. Because of these problems, some clinicians would like to do away with diagnoses. Others disagree. They believe we must simply work to increase what is known about psychological disorders and improve diagnostic techniques. They hold that classifications and diagnosis are critical to understanding and treating people in distress. While we come into the World ready to enter into a very deep and involved dependency relationship, one of the major tasks in the socialization process of each individual is has to be that of learning independence. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20
The World’s population is approaching eight billion. The number of people making demands on you and your resources is increasing at alarming proportions. Formerly, a man stood tall and alone, partly out of choice, partly out of necessity. Today, time to be alone is at a premium. Throughout history governments have applied the label of mental illness as a way of controlling or changing people whose views threaten the social order. This was a common practice in the former Soviet Union. There, political dissent was considered a symptom of abnormal mental functioning, and many dissidents were committed to mental hospitals. In a more subtle process, a country’s cultural values often influence the clinical assessments made by its practitioners. For example, the widespread clinical belief in the nineteenth-century United States of America that freedom would drive such “primitive” people as Native Americans insane. Medical experts of that time went so far as to claim that the forcible movement of tribal groups onto reservations was in their best interest because it would save them in free society. The medical officer who supervised the “removal” of the Cherokees from their homeland to Oklahoma was later pleased to report that during the whole time he oversaw the migration of 20,000 Cherokees (over 4,000 of whom died), he had not observed a single case of insanity. Slave owners, too, liked to believe that slaves were psychologically comfortable with their subservience and that those who tried to escape either were or would soon become insane. Secretary of State John Calhoun of South Carolina pointed to the 1840 census, conducted by his office, as evidence: it identified almost no insanity among slaves living in the North. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20
Secretary of State John Calhoun asserted: “The data on insanity revealed in this census is unimpeachable. From it our nation must conclude that the abolition of slavery would be to the African a curse instead of a blessing.” The work of clinicians at the time lent support to this belief. One specialist claimed that several kinds of mental disorders were unique to African Americans, including drapetomania (from the Latin drapeta, “fugitive”)—an obsessive desire for freedom that drove some slaves to try to flee. Any slave who tried to run away more than twice was considered insane. Drapetomania is long forgotten, but cultural views continue to influence psychological assessments and categories. Many clinicians have argued that categories such as “homosexual,” “sexual frigidity,” and “masochistic personality”—each an established clinical category during much of the twenty-first century—shows all too well the impact of cultural beliefs on clinical categorizations and diagnoses. Alcoholism has a powerful and unavoidable impact on marital communication and relationships. In a pioneering study of marital relations and alcoholism, clinicians placed married couples in a game situation in which they could win money individually through competitive moves or collectively through cooperative moves. Also included was the possibility in which partners could “secretly” compete with each other without making their competitive moves known. The men with alcoholism in this study made more secretly competitive moves than either their wives or any of the men without alcoholism did. This finding is thought to be characteristic of attempts by people with alcoholism to avoid taking responsibility for their behaviour in close relationships, where alcohol provides an external, uncontrollable attribution. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20
Examination of the material interactions of those with different subtypes of alcoholism has been profitable. For instance, men with episodic alcoholism engage in less problem solving, and their wives exhibit more negativity, than men with steady alcoholism and their wives do. It is interesting to note that these group differences were only evident on occasions during which the men were drinking. Also of interest is the fact that steady drinking was associated with more problem-solving communication on drinking nights, indicating that alcohol may actually activate conflict resolution skills in those with this drinking subtype. This, of course, could reinforce the alcohol consumption. An interesting possibility is that the drinking brings about more problem-solving behaviour because it motivates spouses to present complaints to their partners with alcoholism. In other words, the drinking could be a reminder of, or could prime the spouses for presenting, complaints about drinking-related problems. So long as the partners respond to these complaints, one would see elevated problem solving coincidental to drinking occasions. Another useful distinction in the alcoholism literature concerns typical drinking locations, characterized as in-home and out-of-home. Marital relations appear most strained in couples where husbands engage in out-of-home drinking. In such couples, the husbands’ alcohol consumption is negatively associated with wives’ marital satisfaction. It was also found that the alcohol consumption pattern during in-home drinking was reinforced and associated with more beneficial outcomes. One might speculate that those who drink outside the home may be seeking an escape from that they perceive to be bad marriages. On the other hand, spouses of those who drink at home may find the drinking behaviour to be more predictable, less stressful, and associated with less suspicion about the behaviour. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20
Negative marital interactions are especially prevalent when a husband with alcoholism is physically aggressive. When couples affected by husbands’ alcoholism were discussing a martial problem, those with aggressive husbands showed a higher base rate of negative communication behaviours (exempli gratia, blaming, criticizing, putdowns) and more negative reciprocity in their communication than did the coupes with nonaggressive husbands. This suggests that some of the negativity in marital interactions when a husband has alcoholism may be the result of aggressiveness, which covaries to some extent with alcoholism, as opposed to the alcoholism per se. Negativity in marital interactions is also pronounced when a wife has alcoholism. In a rare comparison of couples affected by female versus male alcoholism, the female-alcoholism couples were found to be more negative in their conversations than either the male-alcoholism or no-alcoholism couples when no drinking too place. When drinking occurred, differences from male-alcoholism couples disappeared. For concordant couples (in which both husbands and wives had alcoholism), negativity in communication behaviours escalated when the spouses were allowed to drink. This latter finding suggests that at least one spouse without alcoholism may be a prerequisite for adaptive outcomes associated with drinking. However, marital differences in female- versus male-alcoholism couples remain mixed; some studies show that wives with alcoholism express more beneficial communication with their husbands, and that husbands with alcoholism express more negative communication with their wives, relative to controls. Because wives with alcoholism are very likely to have been divorced or deserted by their husbands, such couples who find their way into research studies with their marriages still intact may represent particularly well-functioning marriages. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20
The spouses of those with alcoholism tend to suffer ill effects from the social and physical consequences of their partners’ drinking. Researcher found a strong relationship between psychiatric symptomatology in a spouse with alcoholism and the social and physical consequences of the other spouse’s drinking. Spouses of those with alcoholism have also been shown to be low in extraversion and high in neuroticism. These same spouses were significantly more inhibited and withdraw in interpersonal relationships than were spouses of those without alcoholism. An obvious inference is that the phenomenon of alcoholism and its associated features (exempli gratia, trouble with the law, moodiness, missed work, deterioration of physical health) cases psychosocial distress for the spouses of the affected individuals. However, the cross-sectional nature of the data on which this conclusion is based cannot rule out an alternative interpretation: Perhaps individuals with alcoholism increase their drinking, with the attendant consequences, in response to their spouses’ increased distress. Considering that this is a population prone to maladaptive use of alcohol for coping purposes, this hypothesis deserves at least some exploration and consideration. Research findings on the spouses of those with alcoholism warrant consideration of at least one additional hypothesis. In the depression literature, there is some evidence to favour an assortative mating effect. Some depressed people appear to seek relationships with others who have depressive tendencies. Similarly, people who engage in problem drinking, or are prone to alcoholism, may be attracted to other people who are introverted and at least mildly distressed themselves. Perhaps the potential assortative mating effect in alcoholism is driven by something as simple as the “misery loves company” effect. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20
Another phenomenon indicative of interpersonal friction is the failure of those with alcoholism and their spouses to come to mutual agreement about personal and family issues. In one investigation, subjects with alcoholism described themselves as more loving, affectionate, and understanding than subjects without alcoholism described themselves. However, the spouses of the subjects with alcoholism sharply disagreed with their partners’ self-perceptions, perceiving them as less loving and more aggressive. In the areas of affective involvement (exempli gratia, “We are too self-centered”) and behaviour control (exempli gratia, “Anything goes in our family”), persons with alcoholism and their spouses showed very low agreement, although they did exhibit higher agreement on descriptions of family problem solving and general functioning. These differing perceptions among intimates are a potent recipe for distress. The literature on alcoholism and marital and family relations clearly indicates that for at least some families, alcohol brings stability and temporary benefits. These outcomes contribute to a family maintenance of the alcoholism. At the same time, other research evidence indicates that increased negativity in family relations is also quite possible as a result of drinking, although it is not always reciprocated between spouses. Certain subtypes of alcoholism, such as the out-of-home drinking pattern, physically aggressive alcoholism in males, and concordant alcoholism in marriages, are particularly associated with negative communicative exchanges. Those with alcoholism appear to hold beliefs about themselves and their families that their spouses sharply disagree with. These spouses also appear to exhibit psychosocial problems and distress of their own. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20
An intriguing issue in need of further clarification is the extent to which distressed family relations contribute to problem drinking, as well as the extent to which problem drinking can cause deterioration in family relationships. Currently, there appear to be no data that directly disconfirm either of these causal routes. Have you ever considered that perhaps you are not getting your prayers answered because you are not grateful foe what God has already done for you? Think of it as a parent. If your child is grateful and one sincerely thanks you for what you have done, you want to do more for one. On the other hand, if your children are not grateful, and all one does is beg you for more, one is not apt to help that child very much. However, we are given this gift of free will and that may confuse many people, and also some have more luck than others. See, with free will, people are able to be independent and they believe that the things they have, they got with their independence. They do not understand that God blessed them with the ability to obtain those things. As we build faith, we learn to thank God and appreciate our blessings. Also, others, even in America, have freedoms that some do not. And there are people who have worked much harder than many people you know and have had a lot take away from them and have not achieved the level of success they actually deserve. So it is a humbling lesson for those individuals and they have to also build faith and learn to thank God. The Scripture teaches us that we should continually give God thanks; we should live with an attitude of gratitude. You may day, “I have been through so many disappointments. I lost my business last year. My marriage did not work out. I have lost so much. How do you expect me to be grateful?” However, if it had not been for God’s goodness, you could have lost it all. If it was not for God’s mercy, you might not even be here today. Stop looking at what you have lost and start thanking God for what you have. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20
Make a decision today that you are going to live a life of grace. Be thankful for what you have. You are going to find some reason to give God thanks. Do not focus on what is wrong, focus on what is right. Do not blame God, nor feel sorry for yourself. Learn the principle that in everything we are to give God thanks. Perhaps you have lost your joy. You have lost your enthusiasm. You have lost your victory. If you would start being more grateful, you will get it back. When you are tempted to become discouraged, recognize that the root cause can often be traced to having an ungrateful attitude. If you can give thanks, no matter what comes against you, you can overcome any situation. Granted, you may have suffered some losses, but thank God that you are still here. You are alive. Make a decision that you are going to be a grateful person. Find some reason to give God thanks. If you will do that, there is no limit to what God will do in your life. O Lord, I begin this prayer by acknowledging that everything is Yours—Heaven Earth and everything in between. That is a sentiment from First Chronicles (29.11). I sincerely desire to offer myself as a spontaneous oblation to You, and for You to offer Yourself to me as a Fast Friend forever! Mine is a simple heart, O Lord, but I offer it to You today in perpetual servitude of friendship, worship, and sacrifice of perpetual praise. Take me together with Your holy oblation of Your precious Body, which I offer to You today in the feathery presence of Your Angels, invisibly assisting. This I do not only for the salvation of myself, but for all Your people. Here is another prayer, one suitable, I hope, for offering my sins at the alter. O Lord, I offer to You all my sins and near sins, which I have committed in Your presence and the presence of Your feathery choir—that is to say, the ones I first committed right down to the ones I have just committed—on this placeable altar of Yours. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20
May this offering burn with even flame, and Your charity turn it to ash. May You scrub out every sinful stain from my conscience; that is what the Letter to the Hebrews would urge (9.14). May You restore all that grace of Yours that I lost by sinning. May You make a clean sweep of Chatsworth—that is to say, my inner digs—and may You welcome me with the merciful kiss of peace. Here is an act of contrition of sorts. With regard to my sins, what else can I do but confess them humbly and pray unceasingly for Your forgiveness? I pray You, my Deft if sometimes Deaf Lord. Turn the Divine Ear Trumpet in my direction, and let me pour my Worldly whispers therein. All my sins displease me—I do not want to perpetrate, let alone perpetuate, them every again. However, I grieve over them and will continue to we start missing Communion without actually missing it. Finally, we relinquish the practice of Communion altogether. Apparently there is no real antidote for the Devil’s crafty fantasies, just as there are no counters to a really bad case of the Torpors or the Horrides. However, one thing is certain. A phantasma springs from the Devil; it must be sent packing back to its source before it turns into a stigma. That Miserable and Derisible Creature must be denounced. Despite the hackles he raises and the emotions he arouses, Holy Communion must never be omitted. Another important thing, scrupulosity and anxiety about making Confession can get in the way of cultivating devotion. What to do in a situation like this? Follow the wisdom of the ages and take the wind of it. Scrupulosity hinders the grace of God and destroys the devotion of the mind. Even when beset with serious peccadillos, do not pass up Holy Communion. Go to confession, and do it more often than has been your custom. Do not take offense so easily at the actions of others. And in the very likely event that you are offending just about everybody in sight, pray forgiveness humbly, and God will forgive you freely. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20
What do you get out of putting Confession off for a long time or deferring Holy Communion for as long as you can? Purge your souls of the fetid spurge as soon as possible. Swiftly such out the venom. Hasten to accept the antidote, no matter how vile it tastes. Do these, and you will feel better, quicker, than if you just put the whole thing off indefinitely. There are a host of reasons and excuses that will try to convince you not to receive the Host. Indeed, there is no end to them, and their merriness, if you let it, will carry you away from the One True Host for ever. Do not receive the Host today, for whatever reason good or bad, and you will do the same thing tomorrow. That is to say, there is no end to finding good reasons for not receiving the Host. Eventually, you will stop going to Holy communion altogether. Finally, you will no longer remember what the Sacrament was like. Is that what you truly want? Just as soon as you can drag your carcass off your cot. Why? There is no great virtue in living the anxious life, tracking with confusion, sequestering yourself from the divine things just because of some daily obstacles. Moreover, it causes a great deal of spiritual harm when you fight Communion off for a long time, for that generally induces the sort of lethargy from which one rarely reclaims one’s original fevour. What a paint it is! There are some tepid and dissolute souls, I know, who are only too willing to find ways of postponing Confession, and there is always an excuse for putting Holy Communion off. Why? They fear that they will have to put their rascally rabbits—that is to say, their rapidly increasing bad habits—under severer discipline. Alas, you who so easily postpone Holy Communion seriously compromise your charity and devotion! #RandolphHarris 12 of 20
How happy you would be if you regularly patrolled your own consciences; then you would be prepared to communicate on any given day, whenever it was scheduled, without having to give the impression that you were Holier-Than-Thou’s. In the meantime, humility about one’s self or charity toward another may be a legitimate reason for not approaching the Sacrament, and there may be others. If you have to resort to such an excuse, you are still to be praised for your reverence. However, if Old Torpor has overcome you, you ought to rouse yourself out of it. At the faintest sniff of reform in this regard, the Lord will bound to your assistance. As we have come to learn, recovery has become one of the Hound of Heaven’s specialties. When one has a truly good excuse for not communicating, one still retains the goodwill and pious intention of communicating. And so one does not go lacking the fruit of the Sacrament. Indeed, you can, every day and every hour, receive Christ in Spiritual Communion without any prohibition and with all spiritual nutrition. Nevertheless, on certain days and at times set aside, you ought to receive, sacramentally, the Body of the Redeemer Himself, with reverence frothing over with affection. That way you will be tendering praise and honour to God rather than just seeking your own consolation. Every time you communicate in these mystical ways and are refreshed in this invisible way, you continue to rekindle the mystery and passion of the Incarnation of Christ and rise in His love. However, whoever loses track of time and thereby is surprised by a feast day or a day of obligation coming fast upon one will often find oneself unprepared for Holy Communion. Blessed are you who offer yourselves to God in holocaust—you are the ones who celebrate and communicate. When it comes to celebrating Mass, do not be a tortoise and do not be a hare. No need to set a record in either direction. Just accommodate the devotion of those with whom you live. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20
Te Deum laudamus, not tedium for the ages—that is what you should cause in others. Rather, you should serve the common good as it is laid down in the Institution of your Founders. And when it comes to a choice, look to the needs and wants of others before looking to your own devotion and affection. “Give heed to me, Lord; listen to [what] my adversaries [are plotting to do to me—and intercede]. Shall evil be recompensed for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. [Earnestly] remember that I stood before You to speak good for them, to turn away Your anger from them.” Reports Jeremiah 18.19-20. The problem of partial portrayals is not an easy one to solve, but a few people, unwilling to continue masquerades of complacency, satisfaction with tokens or crumbs, or tamely being what others expect of them, are showing us how they are handling it. The future promises to be an exciting time and place in which to live! General laws should always be distinguished from the particular causes that can modify their effect. Even if the entre south were covered with republics and the entire north with despotic states, it would still be no less true that the effect of climate makes despotism suited to hot countries, barbarism to cold countries, and good polity to intermediate regions. I also realize that, while granting the principle, disputes may arise over its application. It could be said that there are cold countries that are very fertile and southern ones that are quite often barren. However, this poses a difficulty only for those who have not examined the thing in all its relationships. As I have said, it is necessary to take into account those of labour, force, consumption, and so on. Let us suppose that there are two parcels of land of equal size, one of which yields five units and the other yields ten. If the inhabitants of the first parcel consume four units and the inhabitants of the second consumer nine, the excess of the first will be one-fifth and that of the other will be one-tenth. Since the ratio of these two excesses if therefore the inverse of that of the product, the parcel of land that produces only five units will yield a surplus that is double that of the parcel of land that produces ten. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20
However, it is not a question of a double product, and I do not believe that anyone dares, as a general rule, to place the fertility of a cold country even on an equal footing with that of hot countries. Nevertheless, let us assume that his equality does obtain. Let us, if you will, reckon England to be the equal of Sicily, and Poland the equal of Egypt. Further south we have Africa and the Indies; further north we have nothing at all. To achieve this equality of product, what difference must there be in agricultural techniques? In Sicily one needs merely to scratch the soil; in England what efforts it demands to work it! Now where more hands are needed to obtain the same product, the surplus ought necessarily to be lees. Consider too that the same number of humans consumes much less in hot countries. The climate demands that a person keep sober in order to be in good health. Europeans wanting to live there just as they do at home would all die of dysentery and indigestion. We are, says Chardin, carnivorous beats, wolves, in comparison with the Asians. Some attribute the sobriety of the Persians to the fact that their land is less cultivated. On the contrary, I believe that this country is less abundant in commodities because the inhabitants need less. If their frugality, he continues, were an effect on the country’s scarcity, only the poor would eat little; however, the same sobriety is found throughout the kingdom. They take great pride in their lifestyle, saying that one has only to look at their complexion to recognize how far it excels that of the Christians. In fact, the complexion of the Persians is clear. They have fair skin, fine and polished, whereas the complexion of their American subjects, who live in the European style, is coarse and blotchy, and their bodies are above fat and heavy. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20
The closer you come to the equator, the less people live on. They rarely eat meat; rice, maize, couscous, millet and cassava are their usual diet. In the Indies there are millions of men whose sustenance costs less than a penny a day. In Europe itself we see noticeable differences in appetite between the peoples of the north and the south. A Spaniard will live for eight days on a German’s dinner. In counties where humans are the most voracious, luxury too turns toward things edible. In England, luxury is shown in a table loaded with meats; in Italy you are regaled on sugars and flowers. Luxury in clothing also offers similar differences. In the climate where the seasonal changes are sudden and violent, people have better and simpler clothing. In climates where people clothe themselves merely for ornamental purposes, flashiness is more sought after than utility. The clothes themselves are a luxury there. In Naples you see humans strolling everyday along the Posilippo decked out in gold-embroidered coats and bare legged. It is the same with buildings; magnificence is the sole consideration when there is nothing to fear from the weather. In Paris or London, people want to be housed warmly and comfortably. In Madrid, there are superb salons, but no windows that close, and people sleep in rat holes. In hot countries foodstuffs are considerably more substantial and succulent. This is a third difference which cannot help but influence the second. Why do people at so many vegetables in Italy? Because there they are good, nourishing, and have an excellent flavour. In France, where they are fed nothing but water, they are not nourishing at all, and are nearly counted for nothing at table. Be that as it may, they occupy no less land and cost at least as much effort to cultivate. It is a known fact that the wheat of Barbary, in other respects inferior to those of France, yield far more flour, and that those of France, for their part, yield more wheats than those of the north. It can be inferred from this that a similar gradation in the same direction is generally observed from the equator to the pole. Now is it not a distinct disadvantage to have a smaller quantity of food in an equal amount of produce? #RandolphHarris 16 of 20
To all these different considerations, I can ad one which depends on and strengthens them. It is that hot countries have less of a need for inhabitants than do cold countries, and yet could feed more of them. This produces a double surplus, always to the advantage of despotism. The greater the area occupied by the same number of inhabitants, the more difficult it becomes to revolt, since concerted action cannot be taken promptly and secretly; and it is always easy for the government to discover plots and cut off communications. However, those closer together a numerous people is drawn, the less the government can usurp from the sovereign. The leaders deliberate s safely in their rooms as the prince does in his council; and the crowd assembles as quickly in public squares as do troops in their quarters. In this regard, the advantage of a tyrannical government, therefore, is that of acting over great distances. With the help of the points of support it establishes, its force increases with distance like that of levers. On the other hand, the strength of the people acts only when concentrated; it evaporates and is lost as it spreads, like the effect of gunpowder scattered on the ground, which catches fire only one grain at a time. The least populated countries are thus the best suited for tyranny. Ferocious animals reign only in deserts. The responsibility for degeneration does not lie with those who still believe in the ideals of freedom and truth, but with those who reject these ideals. The guilt does not lie with those who seek to defend themselves against the aggressions of an evil doctrine, it lies with those who spread this doctrine by every means, including the most criminal means. It is better, indeed, that the face of Communism should be seen for what it is, with all its malignant cruelty and materialistic criminality, than that the World should continue in complacent blindness to the danger in which it stands. Ever since the 9/11, we have tried to make peace or effect compromise with the dark force, but to no avail. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20
Communism does not want peace because it does not believe in peace. It is committed to the doctrine that it must fight for the soul of humanity—which soul it seeks to enslave for its own evil purposes. The frightful shape which the next war would necessarily take may make us wonder whether it would be better for humanity to save its body at least, by appeasing the powers of evil or by surrendering to them. However, is it only for the body’s sake that we are upon this Earth? If there were no higher purpose to life than preserving the body, such appeasement and such surrender might be worthwhile. However, we know that there is such a purpose, that we are here for soul development even more than for any other kind. If appeasement and surrender are the only price at which we can purchase peace, then the still small voice within answers, “War is still better—even if costlier.” The effort is one thing, whilst its effect is another. We must estimate the Bolshevik achievement by its practical results rather than by its theoretical claims. We must keep close to Earth in these matters and test the printed page by the human scene. And if we do this without paying uncritical homage to the dynamism it has shown, we find that Bolshevism has dragged men’s souls in mire and their bodies in prisons—for Russian became nothing else—and the economic lot of the peasant and the workman is no better, and generally is far worse, than it is in most capitalistic countries. Russian suffered the painful consequences of her own barbarities and fanaticisms, and she has pruned her communistic ideas of some of their extremism. She found by her experience that it was an error to withdraw the profit motive entirely. Human nature being psychologically what it is, sufficient financial inducement had to be given to evolve personal efficiency and enterprise and to encourage new inventions. She found that any economic order which ignored the inequalities of capacity and qualifications, talents, and minds among its members, could only be a half-success and must be a half failure. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20
Humans require the energizing motive of more pay for more work or higher pay for higher type of work. Human must have rewards for extra labour or extra talent, which means they must own possessions and get privileges in unequal degrees. Any economic scheme must frankly face and accept this psychological fact, otherwise it would set up a perpetual friction between the individual and the state. Russian Communism was compelled, by initial failures in obtaining adequate production, to give more remuneration to skilled workers and to institute hierarchic organization in factories. Moreover, the ever-present need of stimulating general human evolution requires the offering of rewards to draw out the varied possibilities lying latent within humans, the holding-up of baits to make one realize the fuller stature of one’s being. The crude kind of socialism which would erect the state into a tyrannous dictator, create an order of bureaucratic parasites, and organize every detail of the mental and physical existence of its unfortunate victims, is intolerable to intelligent people who rightly wish to exercise their personal initiative, to develop their creative abilities, to attain self-responsibility, to achieve economic independence, and to think for themselves. Only those who possess slave-mentalities can fail to be opposed by temperament to any totalitarian form which would compel every human to walk in standardized step with all other humans, which would dictate how one should think, live, talk, work, rest, and marry, and which would reduce all society to a dead monotony of uniformity. Such a system is the kind which can suit only people which has made materialism its religion. On the other hand, a system which would allow room for diverse forms of living, which would encourage and not stifle individual initiative, and which would lead human to liberation and not to enslavement is the kind which is based on the right comprehension of existence. Humans cannot live by Marxism alone. A system which deprived its citizens of their personal initiative and individual enterprise would thereby deprive society of valuable gifts. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20
Father, please forgive me for complaining about what I do not have and cannot do. From this day forward, please help me to be thankful for what I do have. I thank You and praise You for Your kindness toward me. O our Mother the Earth, blessed is your name. Blessed are your fields and forests, your rocks and mountains, your grasses and trees and flowers, and every green and growing thing. Blessed are your streams and lakes and rivers, the oceans where our life began, and all your water that sustain our bodies and refresh our souls. Blessed is the air we breathe, your atmosphere, that surrounds use and binds us to every living thing. Blessed are all creatures who walk along your surface or swim in your water or fly through your air, for they are all our relatives. Blessed are all people who share this planet, for we are all one family, and the same spirit moves through us all. Blessed is the sun, our day star, bringer of morning and the heat of summer, giver of light and life. Blessed is the moon, our night lamps, ruler of the tides, protector of all women, and guardian of our dreams. Blessed are the stars and planets, the time-keepers, who fill our nights with beauty and our hearts with awe. O Great Spirit whose voice we hear in the wind and whose face we see in the morning sun, blessed is your name. Please help us to remember that you are everywhere, and please teach us the way of peace. Prayer is a sense of belonging. Belonging is the basic truth of our existence. We belong here. Life belongs here. Likewise, at the heart of gratefulness, in its deepest sense, we also find an expression of belonging. When we say, “Thank you,” we are really saying, “We belong together.” That is why we sometimes find it so difficult to say, “Thank you,”—because we do not want to acknowledge our interdependence. We do not want to be obliged. However, in a healthy society that is exactly what we seek: mutual obligations. Grant lasting peace unto America Thy people, for Thou art the Sovereign Lord of peace; and may it be good in Thy sight to bless Thy people America at all times with Thy peace. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who blessest Thy people America with peace. In the book of life, blessings, peace, and ample sustenance, may we, together with all Thy people the house of America, be remembered and inscribed before Thee for a happy life and for peace. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who establishest peace. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20
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If You Do Not Ask the Right Questions, You Do Not Get the Right Answers!
I am a citizen of the American Dream, and the revolutionary struggles of which I am a part, is a struggle against the American Nightmare. When it comes to mental health, assessment is simply the collecting of relevant information in an effort to reach a conclusion. It goes on in ever realm of life. We make assessments when we decide what Cresleigh Home to buy, or which colour we want our Ultimate Driving Machine to buy. College admissions officers, who have to select the “best” of the students applying to their college, depend on academic records, recommendations, achievement test scores, interviews, and application form to help them decided. Employers, who have to predict which applicants are more likely to be effective workers, collect information from resumes, interviews, references, and perhaps on-the-job observations. Clinical assessment is used to determine how and why a person is behaving abnormally and how that person may be helped. It also enables clinicians to evaluate people’s progress after they have been in treatment for a while and decide whether the treatment should be changed. The specific tools that are used to do an assessment depend on the clinician’s theoretical orientation. Psychodynamic clinicians, for example, use methods that assess a client’s personality and probe for any unconscious conflicts one may be experiencing. This kind of assessment, called a personality assessment, enables them to piece together a clinical picture in accordance with the principles of their model. Behavioural and cognitive clinicians are more likely to use assessment methods that reveal specific dysfunctional behaviours and cognitions. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20
The goal of this kind of assessment called a behavioural assessment, is to produce a functional analysis of the person’s behaviours—an analysis of how the behaviours are learned and reinforced. The hundreds of clinical assessment techniques and tools that have been developed fall into three categories: Clinical interviews, tests, and observations. To be useful, these tools must be standardized and have clear reliability and validity. A given assessment tool may appear to be valid simply because it makes sense and seems reasonable. However, this sort of validity, called face validity, does not by itself mean that the instrument is trustworthy. A test for depression, for example, might include questions about how often a person cries. Because it makes sense that depressed people would cry, these test questions would have face validity. It turns out, however, that many people cry a great deal for reasons other than depression, and some extremely depressed people fail to cry at all. Thus an assessment tool should not be used unless it meets more exacting criteria of validity, such as high predictive or concurrent validity. Vincent van Gogh led a tortured and unhappy life. In a legendary incident the artist cut off one of his ears. Later he was admitted to a mental institution, and ultimately he committed suicide at the age of 37. Van Gogh wrote a great deal about his pain and anguish, describing mental and physical torment and hallucinations. Indeed, he observed, “There is quite definitely something or other deranged in my brain.” For years clinicians have typically agreed with van Gogh and have speculated that the artists suffered from mood disorder, schizophrenia, or both. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20
However, approximately twenty years ago, these assessments were challenged. A Harvard neurologist, for example, has suggested that van Gogh in fact suffered from Geschwind’s syndrome, technically known as interictal personality disorder, caused by brain seizure disorder, or epilepsy. Van Gogh displayed many of its symptoms, including excessive drawing (hypergraphia), hyperreligiosity, and aggression. In contrast, medica specialists in Colorado have concluded that van Gogh suffered from an extreme form of Meniere’s syndrome, a disorder marked by an excessive buildup of fluid in the inner ear. The enormous pressure may produce nausea, dizziness, poor balance, pain, deafness and constant buzzing or ringing sensations. Perhaps van Gogh cut off his ear in an effort to reduce the pain. And perhaps his other problems and pains arose from severe secondary psychological problems that can accompany. Perhaps nowhere in the mental health literature has family systems theory had more of an impact than in the area of alcoholism. Family systems theory is a conceptual model, rather than a true theory, that locates causes and consequences of problematic behaviour in the larger family system in which it is embedded. Family behaviour is thought to be responsive to regulatory mechanisms that maintain the status quo, as well as a tendency to grow and change in response to dynamic qualities within and outside the family. Viewing a family as a system suggests that a disturbance in one part of the system will have an impact on other parts of the system. Applying family systems concepts to alcoholism, has uncovered that some families organize their lives around the alcoholism of an adult member, just as other families might organize their lives around children or work. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20
In an early investigation of adults with alcoholism and their family members, the expression of previously inhibited positive affect between family members became extremely pronounced during drinking periods. This and later studies revealed that interactions in such families were actually more patterned, organized, and predictable while the adults with alcoholism were intoxicated. Thus alcohol ingestion serves an adaptive function in family relationships through a stabilizing phenomenon. This prompted a suggestion that there is an alcoholic system in some families, in which drinking is an integral part of the family structure that actually maintains and stabilizes the family. Similar positive effects on the family were evident in a study where family members viewed and rated video tapes (recordings with audio and visual information on them, which can be played back) of their own interactions, in the absence of actual drinking. Both mothers and adolescent children in families with paternal alcoholism rated family members as less anxious and their interactions as more friendly than those of families without alcoholism. Unfortunately, drinking and intoxication may provide only a temporary “solution” to a family’s problems, at the cost of what may ne more serious long-term ill effects. Although drinking can temporarily inject positivity into some family relationships, several laboratory investigations have also documented negative effects associated with drinking. For example, families with an alcoholic father discuss items from various questionnaire inventories while the fathers were drinking or not drinking. During their discussions, the families expressed more negative affect during the drinking versus the no-drinking condition. The nature of interactions in families without paternal alcoholism was not affected by the drinking conditions. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20
The ill effects of parental alcoholism on family interactions and child rearing may begin to have an impact on family members as early as 1 year of age. In this study, families with alcoholism in at least one patent were observed interacting with their 12-month-old infants for 5 minutes in a room filled with toys. Observations of the parents’ behaviour indicated that the parents with alcoholism were less sensitive to their infants during the free play; such fathers in particular made fewer verbalizations, expressed more negative affect, and were less responsive to their infants. Self-report measures further indicate that the parents with alcoholism were more aggressive toward their spouses than those without alcoholism were. The family observation study was unique in showing that parents with alcoholism were far more depressed than those without, and that this depression mediated the relationship between parental alcoholism and sensitivity to the infants during interaction. So for many adults with alcoholism, effective parenting may be disrupted directly by the alcoholism, or by comorbid problems such as depression that in and of themselves have a negative impact on parenting behaviour. Different subtypes of alcoholism have been identified to explain the variable effects of alcohol consumption and alcoholism on family interactions and relations. In one such instance, researchers were able to characterize subtypes of alcoholism as episodic or steady drinking. Another useful distinction in alcoholism is that between high-antisociality and low-antisociality subtypes. These subtypes are defined on the basis of a measure that taps into negative social consequences of drinking, feeling of alienation, interpersonal disruption, and negative attitudes toward authority (higher scores = higher antisociality). #RandolphHarris 5 of 20
Home observations of family dinner conversations revealed that wives, husbands, and children in families with high-antisociality alcoholism were all less positive, and less inclined to communicate disagreement, than were control family members. Although family interactions in the high-antisociality condition were characterized by diminished optimism, they appeared to have a cautious appearance as well, in that family members were careful to avoid open disagreement with each other. This pattern of interaction could have interesting implications for the genesis of alcoholism. For the person who develops alcoholism, the tendency to avoid communicating disagreement may lead to the internalization of problems with other family members. Instead of airing complaints, the individual is left to ruminate over them on one’s own—perhaps without seeing any change in the offensive behaviour by other family member, since they may be unaware of the problem. For this individual’s family members, the tendency to be cautious and avoid disagreement may inadvertently cause one’s problem drinking behaviour to go unchecked. In some cases, families have some ability to regulate problem drinking through punishing responses in reaction to the behaviour. However, in a family system affected by high-antisociality alcoholism, this regulatory function may be inoperative. Recognizing considerable diversity in alcoholism’s effects on family interactions, there is a proposed family alcohol phase model. According to this perspective, a family moves through various phases that correspond to the drinking behaviour of the member with alcoholism. The stable-wet phase is marked by consistent drinking, whereas the stable-dry phase is marked by general abstinence. The family is in a transitional phase either when a period of abstinence begins, or when a period of abstinence ends with episodes of drinking. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20
It has been found that content variability (the range of affect and decision-making behaviour in verbal interaction) in family interactions, as well as distance regulation (use of space and rate of movement in the home), varied as a function of phase. In the stable-wet phase, families maintained the greatest distance, interacting only for purposeful reasons, while exhibiting midrange variability in their interactions. Families in the stable-dry phase exhibited a great deal of content variability in their interactions, with midrange distance regulation. Finally, those families in the transitional phase exhibited a great deal of content variability in their interactions, with midrange distance regulations. Finally, those families in the transitional phase showed a decrease in distance regulation, manifesting physical closeness, with a slight decrease in the content variability of their interactions. A 2-year longitudinal study suggested that families in the stable-wet phase were the most likely of the three to dissolve their marriages. In particular, those families in the stable-wet phase that exhibited the least intrafamily engagement during home observations of family interaction were more likely to break up over the course of the study. It has been noted that in families of alcoholics’ relationships change when parental drinking occurs. However, sometimes these changes are beneficial and sometimes they are negative. Where there are beneficial changes or adaptive outcomes, these may be somewhat short-lived. Researchers have been working to identify different subtypes of alcoholism that are associated with more negative family consequences. The poorest family processes and outcomes appear to be associated with the episodic (vs. steady), high-antisociality (vs. low-antisociality), and stable-wet (vs. stable-dry or transitional) alcoholism. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20
Perhaps you are in a trial today, and you are praying for God to deliver you out of that adverse situation. That is a legitimate prayer, but maybe you are missing the point of why you are being allowed to go through that trying time in the first place. Recognize that God is moulding you and refining you. God often allows one to go through difficult situations to draw out those impurities in one’s character. One can pray one can resist, one can bind, one can loose, one can sing and shout, one can do it all, but it is not going to do any good. God is more interested in changing you than He is in changing the circumstances. And the sober one learns to cooperate with God, the sooner one will get out of that devil’s web. The quicker one learns one’s lesson and starts dealing with those bad attitudes and starts ruling over one’s emotions, the quicker one will go to the next level in one’s spiritual journey. We must recognize the refining purpose of trials. We cannot run from everything that is hard in our lives. Perhaps one gets worried and fearful when important things do not go one’s way. Have you ever thought that God may be allowing those events to teach you to trust Him and to see if one will stay peaceful and clam in the midst of the storm? Has one ever considered that God may be allowing some of that to teach one how to rule over one’s emotions? He may be trying to toughen one up, to help one develop some courage. For our sins—that is why Jesus Christ wanted to do it, and that is why He did it. And what did they do? They ripped off His clothes and hammered His hands to the cross. It was a sacrifice the old-fashioned way. Perhaps that is why God the Father seemed so pleased. In the same way, you, My beloved Devout, ought to be willing to offer yourself to Jesus Christ—He asks us the way His Father asked Him—in pure holy oblation, everyday in the Mass, with all strength and affection, until the day one drops. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20
However, we often pay, “God, if You will change my circumstances, then I will change.” No, it works the other way around. We have to be willing to change our attitudes and deal with the issues God brings up; then God will change those circumstances. Surrender. Unconditional surrender. That is all Jesus requires of us. Not our possession—He could take those things anytime and scatter them over the landscape; one will find this in Philippians (4.17). Just you—that is all Jesus Christ wants. Of course, Jesus could take us as a prisoner of war and do with one as he wanted. However, what He really wants is for us to give ourselves to Him as a gift. Of course, the same is true for us. If we have all the baggage in the World, but did not have Jesus Christ, would we be any better off? One would have a full cart, maybe, but also an empty heart. And the other way around is also true. It is not our silly stuff Jesus Christ wants—it is our silly selves! Offer yourself to Jesus Christ. Make that the only package, and it will be an oblation that will be welcomed. Look at Jesus! He offered Hus whole self to the Father for us; He also put His whole Body and Blood into food and drink that He might be totally ours and that we might be totally Him. If, however, we hold something of ourselves back or are slow to give our all, it will be a pretty poor offering made not by any friend of His, but by a pretty poor acquaintance. To prevent that and to acquire illumination and liberation of spirit, one ought to make a spontaneous oblation of one’s self into the hand of God. When? Before each and every thing one does. Such an attractive proposition, Jesus thinks, but He must ask, “Why are there so few Illuminati and Liberati today? That is because so many do not know how to denude themselves of imperfections. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20
Jesus Christ’s firm opinion is this, and it appears in the Gospel of Luke (14.33): “Unless a person renounces everything that one had and everything that one is, one cannot be His Disciple.” Therefore, if one wants to be His Disciple, offer one’s whole self to Jesus; that includes one’s scruffy affections. God will often permit pressure to be applied in our life to test us, and only as we pas those tests will we advance. He will put people and circumstances in our path that grate on us like sandpaper, but He will use them to rub off our rough edges. One may not always like it; one may want to run from it; one may even resist it, but God is going to keep brining up the issues again and again, until one passes the test. Remember, the Bible says, “We are [God’s] workmanship,” reports Ephesians 2.10. That means we are a work in progress, not a finished product. Be willing to deal with any issues that God brings up. Work with God in the refining process rather than fighting against Him. Scripture says that God is the potter and we are the clay. Clay works best when it is pliable, malleable, and mouldable. However, if we are hard, crusty, and set in our ways, God will have to pound away on that old, hard clay to get out the lumps. Certainly, none of us enjoy going through struggles, but one has to understand that one’s struggle may be an opportunity for advancement and promotions. The very thing one is fighting against so tenaciously may be the springboard that catapults one to a new level of excellence. One’s challenges may become one’s greatest assets. Without the resistance of air, an eagle cannot soar. Without the resistance of water, a ship cannot float. Without the resistance of gravity, we would not be able to walk. Without opposition or resistance, there is no potential for progress. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20
Yet our human tendency is to want everything easily. “God, cannot You teach me patience without having to go through the traffic jam? God, cannot You teach me how to love and trust You without ever having a problem?” Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts; there is no easy way to mature physically, emotionally, or spiritually. One may remain determined and work with God. The Bible says, “Work out your own salvation,” reports Philippians 2.12. Salvation is more than a onetime prayer. It is constantly cooperating with God, dealing with the issues He brings up, keeping a good attitude, and allowing Him to change one as He sees fit. Dear Lord in Heaven, I realize that You never promised I would not have trials and adversities. However, I also recognize that nothing can touch my life without going through You first, so I will dare to praise You in the midst of my trails. I know You will bring me out stronger, better, faster, and more prepared for the good things You have for me. “Be truly glad! These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure…So if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day of His return,” reports 1 Peter 1.6-7. James said that you put bits in a horse’s mouth to turn its whole body and you put a rudder on a ship to tun the whole ship; so is the tongue so situated among our members that it defiles the whole body. (James 3.3,4.) If you control the tongue, the body will respond to your words. If you talk sickness, it becomes impossible to live in health. The more you believe it, the less you believe in healing. The thing you continually talk will consume you. Faith will only come by hearing the Word of God and it will come more quickly when you hear yourself quoting and speaking God’s Word after Him. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20
The seed of truth in why many Christians have not wanted to express their anger is valid: expressing one’s anger manipulatively as blaming or attacking is destructive. As Paul says, “Let all bitterness and wrath…be put away from you, with all malice,” reports Ephesians 4.31. One needs to learn to express anger constructively. A basic guideline is to assert and express oneself rather than to blame and attack the other person. For instance, when a Critical Christian says, “Why are you so stupid?” The individual has already made an assumption that the other person is stupid. This results in an attacking form of anger. A healthier way of dealing with this anger would be for one first to recognize that one feels angry that one’s friend is “stupid.” One moves now to one’s feeling, not the fact, that one’s friend is stupid. Now if the Critical Christian listens, one can have a dialogue with one’s core. (This is the principle Dr. Maslow meant when he referred to one’s “inner Supreme Court.”) Simply by asking oneself inwardly, the Critical Christian may get the answer from one’s core that “you are angry because the bank teller this morning treated you as if you were stupid.” The Critical Christian can the realize that because he did not deal with his anger then, he is now projecting his anger on to his friend—calling him stupid, when in reality he is angry at the bank teller. Or, the Critical Christian may get the answer from his core that he is upset because the project he and his friend are working on together is more important to the Critical Christian than he had realized and now his friend is not fulfilling his share of the work. In this case, the Critical Christian needs to take the time to examine whether he thinks his friend is capable. If he is callable, the Critical Christian may now decide that he needs to express to his friend that his not fulfilling his share of the work is delaying the project. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20
If the Critical Christian realized that his friend cannot do the job, he may let him go and bring in someone else. Blaming his friend for his inability at this point would not be actualizing; but, expressing to him that he is not showing the needed skills, and that that is why he is being let go, would be actualizing. Many answers come quickly from the core—the preceding possibilities could surface in seconds. The more we listen to our cores, the more we hear—and know how to listen. Sometimes, though, we ask and do not hear an answer. Or we get what we think is an answer and then proceed to act on it—and make things worse. Remember that becoming actualizing is a process. If we were perfectly actualized now, the answers would always be there, crystal clear, and our behaviour would be “perfect.” As we are in the process of becoming actualizing, sometimes we do the most effective thing and sometimes we make mistakes. Mistakes are just that—“miss-takes.” Our lives become most meaningful when we live from our own core, finding our own truest answers. So it is a process worth living—and the mistakes are worth making. The real key here is not to blame and attack ourselves for those miss-takes, but to keep learning with more “takes.” Having patience with ourselves often makes it easier to become more patient and forgiving of others. It can sometimes relieve our anger just to remember that other people are in the growing process, too, and not always taking what to us would seem the most effective action. As actualizing Christians, we seek to do the will of God. Doing His will involves having good will toward others and ourselves. We do this by listening to our anger, taking it to out core, and then responding from our core. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20
If one deals with it by expressing and asserting it, rather than blaming and attacking someone, only then can anger become actualizing. Blaming and attacking are simply manipulative, whereas expressing and asserting include a quality of genuine respect for everyone involved. In communicating our anger honestly, we get it off our chests, and the rhythm of life is reestablished. We finish with it and move on to experience a new and different feeling. The range of feelings in the anger polarity includes irritation, annoyance, resentment, and anger. The intensity of the feeling increases as one passes from irritation to anger. Recognizing irritation, boredom, or annoyance at the lower levels of intensity within the anger spectrum enables us to avoid unwittingly building up to levels of resentment, hostility, and hatred. In handling these feelings, it is important to learn to acknowledge the mild forms and deal with them on a “cash and carry” basis. That way we do not save them up like coupons to be redeemed in one sudden, destructive explosion. While our anger may sometimes reach intensities approaching hatred, we need never go so far as to write a person off completely. It is really possible to have compassion for and pray for our enemies—that God in His mercy might help them through their own dilemmas, frustrations, and pains. Yet, we can be honest about the effects on us of their behaviour. “Turn again, we beseech You, O God of hosts! Look down from Heaven and see, visit, and have regard for this vine! [Protect and maintain] the stock which Your right hand planted, and the branch (the son) that You have reared and made strong for Yourself. They have burned it with fire, it is cut down; may they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be upon the human of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You have made strong for Yourself. Then will we not depart from You; revive us (give us life) and we will call upon Your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face to shine [in pleasure, approval, and favour on us] and we shall be saved!” reports Psalm 80.14-19. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20
Dr. Ilya Prigogine and his teams of coworkers at the Free University of Brussels and the University of Texas at Austin have struck directly at Second Wave assumptions by showing how chemical and other structures leap to higher stages of differentiation and complexity through a combination of chance and necessity. It is for this work the Dr. Prigogine was awarded the Nobel Prize. Brown in Moscow, brought to Belgium as a child, and fascinated since youth by the problems of time, Dr. Prigogine was puzzled by a seeming contradiction. On the one hand, there was the physicist’s belief in entropy—that the Universe is running down and that all organized patterns must eventually decay. On the other, there was the biologist’s recognition that life itself is organization and that we are continually giving rise to higher and higher, more and more complex organization. Entropy pointed in one direction, evolution in another. This led Dr. Prigogine to ask how higher forms of organization come into being, and to years of research in chemistry and physics in pursuit of the answer. Today Dr. Prigogine points out that in any complex system, from the molecules in a liquid to the neurons in a brain or the traffic in a city, the parts of the system are always undergoing small-scale change: they are in constant flux. The interior of any system is quivering with fluctuation. Sometimes, when negative feedback comes into play, these fluctuations are damped out or suppressed and the equilibrium of the system maintained. However, where amplifying or positive feedback is at work, some of these fluctuations may be tremendously magnified—to the point at which the equilibrium of the entire system is threated. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20
Fluctuations arising in the outside environment may hit at this moment and further amplify the mounting vibration—until the equilibrium of the whole is destroyed and the existing structure is smashed. It is illuminating to think of the economy in these terms. Supply and demand are maintained in equilibrium by various feedback process. Unemployment, if intensified by positive feedback and not offset by negative feedback elsewhere in the system, can threaten the stability of the whole. Outside fluctuations—such as oil price hikes—may converge to make the internal swings and fluctuations wilder, until the equilibrium of the whole system is shattered. Whether the result of runaway internal fluctuations or of external forces, or both, this breakup of the old equilibrium often results not in chaos or breakdown, but in the creation of a wholly new structure at a higher level. This new structure may be more differentiated, internally interactive, and complex than the old one, and needs more energy and matter (and perhaps information and other resources) to sustain itself. Speaking mainly about physical and chemical reactions, but occasionally calling attention to social analogues, Dr. Prigogine calls these new, more complex systems “dissipative structures.” He suggests that evolution itself may be seen as a process leading toward increasingly complex and diversified biological and social organisms, through the emergence of new, higher-order dissipative structures. Thus, according to Dr. Prigogine, whose ideas have political and philosophical resonance as well as purely scientific meaning, we develop “order out of fluctuation” or, as the title of one of his lectures expresses it, “Order out of Chaos.” #RandolphHarris 16 of 20
This evolution, however, cannot be planned or predetermined in a mechanistic fashion Until quantum theory came along, many leading Second Wave thinkers believed that chance played little or no role in change. The starting conditions of a process predetermined its outcome. Today in subatomic physics, for example, it is widely believed that chance dominates change. In recent years many scientists, like Jacques Monod in biology, Walter Buckley in sociology, or Maruyama in epistemology and cybernetics, have begun to fuse these opposites. Dr. Prigogine’s work not only combines chance and necessity but actually stipulates their relationship to one another. In brief, he strongly suggests that at the precise point at which a structure “leaps” to a new stage of complexity, it is impossible, in practice and even in principle, to predict which of many forms it will take. This presumably goes for the leap from Second Wave to Third Wave civilization as well as for chemical reactions. However, once a pathway has been chosen, once the new structure comes into being, determinism dominates once more. In one colorful example he describes how termites create their highly structured nests out of apparently unstructured activity. They begin by crawling about a surface in random fashion, stopping here and there to deposit a bit of “goo.” These deposits are distributed by chance, but the substance contains a chemical attractant so that other termites are drawn to it. In this way, the good begins to collect in a few places, gradually building up into a pillar or wall. If these buildups are isolated, work stops. However, if by chance they are near one another, an arch results that then becomes the basis for the complex architecture of the nest. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20
Much like the Winchester mansion, what begins with random activity turns into highly elaborate nonrandom structures. We see, as Dr. Prigogine puts it, “the spontaneous formation of coherent structures.” Order out of chaos. All this strikes hard at the old causality. Dr. Prigogine sums it up: “The laws of strict causality appear to us today as limiting situations, applicable to highly idealized cases, nearly as caricatures of the description of change. The science of complexity leads to a completely different view.” Instead of being locked into a closed Universe that functioned like a mechanical clock, we find ourselves in a far more flexible system in which, as he says, “there is always the possibility of some instability leading to some new mechanism. We really have an ‘open Universe.’” As we move beyond Second Wave causal thinking, as we begin to think in terms of mutual influence, of amplifiers and reducers, of system breaks and sudden revolutionary leaps, of dissipative structures and the fusion of chance and necessity—in short, as we take off our Second Wave blinders—we emerge blinking into a wholly new culture, the culture of the Third Wave. This new culture—oriented to change and growing diversity—attempts to integrate the new view of nature, of evolution and progress, the new, richer conceptions of time and space, and the fusion of reductionism and wholism, with a new causality. Indust-reality which once seemed so powerful and complete, so all-encompassing an explanation of how the Universe and its components fitted together, turns out now to have been immensely useful. However, its claims to universality are shattered. The super-ideology of the Second Wave will be seen, from the vantage point of tomorrow, to have been as provincial as it was self-serving. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20
The decay of the Second Wave thought system leaves millions of people grasping desperately for something to hold on to—anything, from Victorian Americana and Texas Taoism to Swedish Sufism and Welsh witchcraft. Instead of constructing a new culture appropriate to the new World, they attempt to important and implant old ideas appropriate to other times and places or to revive the fanatic faiths of their own ancestors who lived under radically different conditions. It is precisely the collapse of the industrial era mind-structure, its growing irrelevance in the face of the new technological, social, and political realities, that gives rise to today’s facile search for old answers, and to the continual stream of pseudo-intellectual fads that pop up, flash, and consume themselves at high speed. In the very midst of this spiritual supermarket, with its depressing razzmatazz and religious fakery, an optimistic new culture is being seeded—one appropriate to our time and place. Powerful new integrative insights are beginning to emerge, new mataphours for understanding reality. It is possible to glimpse the earliest beginnings of a new coherence and elegance as the cultural debris of industrialism is swept away by history’s Third Wave change. The super-ideology of Second Wave civilization that is now crumbling was reflected in the way industrialism organized the World. An image of nature based on discrete particles was mirrored in the idea of discrete, sovereign nation-states. Today, as our image of nature and matter change, the nation-state itself is being transformed—another step on the path toward a Third Wave civilization. May your trails be righteous, winding, joyful, peaceful, leading to the most amazing views. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20
May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poet’s towers into bright enchanted forests where the fruit glows like emeralds, rubies, sapphires, orange spessartite, and hessonite. Where bars of sun blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go, as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you—beyond that next turning of the deep and vast ancient unknown canyon walls. Dear Lord in Heave, we thank Thee also for the miraculous and mighty deeds of liberation wrought by Thee, and for Thy victories in the battles our forefathers fought in days of old, at this season of the year. In the days of the High Priest Mattathias, son of Johanan, of the Hasmonean family, a tyrannical power rose up against Thy people America to compel them to forsake Thy flag, and to force them to transgress Thy commandments. In Thine abundant mercy Thou didst stand by them in time of distress. Thou didst rise to their defense and didst vindicate their cause. Thou didst bring retribution upon the evil doers, delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the wicked into the hands of the just, and the arrogant into the hands of those devoted to Thy flag. Thou didst thus make Thy greatness and holiness known in Thy World, and didst bring great deliverance to America. Then Thy children came into Thy dwelling place, cleansed the Temple purified the Sanctuary, kindled lights in Thy sacred courts, and they designated these eight days of Hanukkah for giving thanks and praise unto Thy great name. For all this, Thy name, O our King, shall be blessed and exalted for ever and ever. O inscribe all the child of Thy covenant for a happy life. May all the living do homage unto Thee forever and praise Thy name in truth, O God, who are our salvation and our help. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, Beneficent One, unto whom our thanks are due. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20
Cresleigh Homes
With a gorgeous home like this, it’s never too early to get the holidays started! 🥳 You’ll love hosting dinners and gift exchanges in the covered California Room – perfect for entertaining and letting the sunshine in! ☀️
Not to mention, there’s plenty of space for guests during the holidays. The open concept design includes approximately 2,700 square feet, exactly four bedrooms, three and one half bathrooms, and even a two car garage plus workshop! https://cresleigh.com/mills-station/new-home-rancho-cordova-homesite-40/
Bless our house as we come and go. Bless our home as the children grow. Bless our families as they gather in. Bless our home with love and friends.
Traded in the Church for Lies, Free Love, a Stripper Pole and Massage Parlor!
In work, love, and the movies, everything is a challenge. Nutritionists tell us we are what we eat. Similarly, the quality and character of our spirit is a reflection of what we feast upon—including the books and magazines we read and the motion pictures, television shows, plays and other public entertainments we witness. Unfortunately, much of what is available is not conducive to building healthy spirituality. The television news media and other forms of media have a great potential to teach, inspire, inform, and entertain, but they may also corrupt, degrade, and pervert. They have the power to influence profoundly for good or evil all aspects of our values and feelings, as well as our behaviour. We are affected by what we choose to expose ourselves to. Evil is presented as attractive and good. Destructive behaviours are marketed as exciting and rewarding. Often humour is used to make obscenity entertaining and palatable. However, what starts out as a spectator sport introduces into one’s brain a vast library of antisocial fantasies. These have the potential, much research suggests, of eventually being acted out—to the destruction of the individual and others around one. Many become desensitized to the abnormality of the behaviour portrayed. In time, they accept and embrace what at first had shocked and offended them. Eventually, there is a tendency and temptation to act out what they have witnessed. Appetite has been whetted and conscience anesthetized. And everyone is vulnerable—even good people. Following sociocultural principles, community mental health treatment programs allow clients, particularly those with severe psychological difficulties, to receive treatment in familiar surroundings as they try to recover. #RandolphHarris 1 of 11
In 1963, President Kennedy called for such a “bold new approach” to the treatment of mental disorders—a community approach that would enable most people with psychological problems to receive services from nearby agencies rather than distant facilities or institutions. Congress passed the Community Mental Health Act soon after, launching the community mental health movement across the United States of America. A number of other countries launched similar movements. A key principle of community treatment is prevention. Here clinicians actively reach out to clients rather than wait for them to seek treatment. Research suggests that such efforts are often very successful. Community workers recognize three types of prevention, which they call primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary prevention consists of efforts to improve community attitudes and policies. Its goal is to prevent psychological disorders altogether. Community workers may lobby for better community recreational programs or child-care facilities, consult with a local school board to help develop a curriculum, or offer health fairs or public workshops on stress reduction. Secondary prevention consists f identifying and treating psychological disorders in the early stages, before they become serious. Community workers may work with schoolteachers, ministers, or police to help them recognize the early signs of psychological dysfunction and teach them hoe to help people find treatment. The goal of tertiary prevention is to provide effective treatment as soon as it is needed so that moderate or severe disorders do not become long-term problems. #RandolphHarris 2 of 11
Today community agencies across the United States of America do successfully offer tertiary care for millions of people with moderate psychological problems, but they often fail to provide the services needed by hundreds of thousands with severe disturbances. Why has the community mental health approach fallen short for so many people with severe disturbances? One of the major reasons is lack of funding. In 1981, when only 750 of the 2,000 community mental health centers were in place across the United States of America, almost all federal funding was withdrawn and replaced with smaller financial grants to the states. As of 2019, there were 12,472 registered mental health treatment facilities in the United States of American. Within those, 9,766 were less than 24-hour outpatient facilities while 1,892 facilities were 24-hour inpatient facilities. So, although funding it limited, the picture is not grim. Those who need help are likely to find it. According to the American Psychological Association, 38 percent of people said their stress increased during the holiday season, which can lead to physical illness, depression, anxiety, and substance misuse. The reasons given: lack of time, financial pressure, gift-giving, and family gatherings. For someone struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, the holidays can be an especially difficult time trying to maintain sobriety. Interpersonal difficulties tend to be prolific in the lives of people with substance use problems. Research on interpersonal communication indicates that many such individuals also have problems with social skills. This may make them unable to resist peer pressure to initiate substance use, and/or may cause them to seek consolation in substance use when they have trouble resolving issues with other people. #RandolphHarris 3 of 11
A distinct literature has emerged on alcoholism and family-of-orientation experiences. Problems such as poor distance regulations, parenting problems, interpersonal conflict, and marital distress are clearly evident in families affected by an adult member’s alcoholism (sometimes referred to as “alcoholic families”). Paradoxically, for some such families, alcohol consumption may actually bring temporary stability to their interactions. The interpersonal conflict that is evident in family interactions also spills over into general personal relationships, such as those with peers and coworkers. Another distinct literature exists on adolescent substance use. This literature is dominated by a focus on family-of-origin experiences (although factors in the other three domains may play roles as well). Many young people who use and misuse drugs come from families with low cohesion and excessive adaptability; histories of maltreatment and parental modeling of the substance use behaviour are also evident in their family backgrounds. Interpersonal problems associated with substance use disorders may be complicated by comorbidity with other psychological problems that are disruptive to interpersonal communication and relationships, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, and personality disorders. Most of the research reviewed in this report focuses on substance or alcohol dependence or abuse. Substance use studies are only considered for adolescent populations, as these are thought to identify the mechanisms that lead to abuse and/or dependence. This distinction between substance use and misuse is a social construction, and one that our society is still struggling with. #RandolphHarris 4 of 11
American society permits (and in some cases sanctions) the use of certain drugs, such as caffeine, nicotine, marijuana, and alcohol. However, some people believe that when children or adolescents are involved, the use of any drug is problematic and takes on the quality of a drug “problem.” Regardless of the veracity of this assumption, this is part of the reason why there has been considerable research attention paid to substance use in adolescents. Similarly, some feel that the use of any illegal drug by adults or children is problematic, again blurring the use and abuse distinction. Also, the diagnostic criteria for substance abuse (exempli gratia, failure to fulfill important occupational, social, or domestic roles as a result of substance use) may not be valid when applied to adolescents. A distinct body of literature exists on interpersonal concomitants of alcoholism, and this research is examined separately from that on other substance use problems. As noted above, alcohol is for the most part a socially accepted substance, so long as its use falls within certain parameters. There is reason to suspect a priori that the interpersonal consequences of alcohol abuse/dependence may differ from those of other substance abuse/dependence, due to the greater social stigma and lesser social tolerance of such substances as cocaine, heroin, and amphetamine. However, it is again important to remember that the different interpersonal reactions to people who are dependent on alcohol versus other drugs are not due to inherent differences in the nature of the substance, but rather are the results of social convention. Like other mental health problems, alcoholism has been associated with poor social skills in some studies. However, unlike the literature on other mental health problems, social skills deficits in this population have received only limited scientific attention, and the associated findings are more equivocal. #RandolphHarris 5 of 11
Contact with inpatients in an alcohol treatment program led researcher to note that many of these inpatients reported having interpersonal problems. In particular, they appeared to have deficiencies in social skills in the context of interactions with coworkers and bosses (exempli gratia, being underassertive, engaging in “explosive” verbal behaviour). For many patients, work-related problems led to problem drinking. Another study of inpatients with alcoholism found that they performed poorly on a facial expression decoding task. This unique investigation of social decoding skills found that these inpatients exhibited a general bias to overestimate the intensity of emotion conveyed by various facial expressions, and to interpret happy facial expressions as indicative of negative mood. Finally, it was also found that those with alcoholism are more likely than those without to experience anxiety over communication with other people. In a rare study of adolescents with problem drinking, it there was discovered a fairly linear association between 13- to 16-year-olds’ social skill and their drinking behaviour. A group of teens who did not drink had the highest social skills scores, followed by those who drank to some extent, and then those with problem drinking. In this study, 11 percent of those who drank and 50 percent of those with problem drinking were in the “incompetent” range on the social skills measure. Although some people with alcoholism may exhibit social skills deficits, it is also evident that some are quite functional socially. For example, researchers conducted an extensive assessment of social skills in inpatients with alcoholism through a series of role plays that called for such responses as alcohol refusal, assertion, and expressing positive sentiments. #RandolphHarris 6 of 11
Compared to a group of firefighters who served as a control group, the inpatients were rated as being less skillful in the alcohol refusal situations, but not in other social contexts. Furthermore, the inpatients actually performed better than the control group on an index of speech dysfluencies during their role plays. In a similar study, subjects with alcoholism performed better than psychiatric controls on role-play tests of social skills. When alcoholic subjects were asked to give their “typical” response in role-play social skills tests, they performed worse than controls, but when admonished to “give the very best response,” they were indistinguishable from controls. Research on social skills and alcoholism shows that poor social skills may be a problem in some cases of alcoholism. However, there is good reason to suspect that these skills deficits are not global or pervasive. Rather, they may be limited to social contexts such as negative assertion and refusal of alcohol when offered. In addition, when those with alcoholism do have problems with social skills, the problems may be due more to poor execution of the skills than to a lack of capacity for such skills. It is also possible that in such cases, prolonged problem drinking may deteriorate people’s motivation and energy for producing interpersonally skilled behaviour. When adversity comes knocking on the door or calamities occur, some people immediately think they have done something wrong, that God surely must be punishing them. They do not understand that God has a divine purpose for every challenge that comes into our lives. He does not send problems, but sometimes He allows us to go through them. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you,” reports 1 Peter 4.12. #RandolphHarris 7 of 11
Notice, the trial is intended to test your character, to test your faith. In other words, “Do not think it is a big deal when you go through these touch times.” If you will learn to cooperate with God and be quick to change and correct the areas He brings to light, then you will pass that test and you will be promoted to a new level. I have discovered that God is more interested in changing me than He is in changing my circumstances. I am not saying that God will not deliver us from our struggles by changing the circumstances. Certainly, He can and often does. However, most of the time, we are tested in the areas where we are the weakest. The Priest of God should approach the celebration of this Sacrament, the touching and consuming of this Sacrament, with humility and reverence, with full faith and pious intention to the honours of God. As for our conscience, give it a thorough going-over. Clean it up and clarify it with True Contrition and Humble Confession. Jesus Christ knows there is no such thing as the perfect Confession; just do the best one can, however imperfect it may seem at the time. The result is to rid ourselves of mortal sin; that is to say, anything that would bar our access to the Holy Table. One can never be truly happy because one is a sinful creature from the start, and one should be particularly sad about one’s daily excesses. Whenever time allows, one should confess to God in secret how one’s passions run wild, one’s concupiscence hoot and holler. Well, one asked for it, and here it is. A veritable litany of venial sins derived from a so-so spiritual life. So enslaved by one’s external senses, and yet so often enthralled in one’s airy fantasies. So deeply involved in the outer life, and yet so uninvolved about the inner life. #RandolphHarris 8 of 11
God often uses adversities to bring to light impurities in our characters, or areas in which we need to improve. God deliberately uses some situations as a mirror, so we can recognize the problem in ourselves and learn to deal with it. He is working something out of us so we can rise to a new level and be the people He really want us to be. God may use people and situations in one’s life to help one better see oneself. One’s own husband or wife, one’s in-laws, or one’s own children may be the unwitting mirrors that God uses to reveal areas where one needs to change. Just because you do not like your boss and he irritates you to no end, and you do not know why you have to work with him all day long, does not mean it is him who needs to change. Have you considered that God may want to change you? God may have purposely arranged for you to be in close proximity to that person who grates against you. He may be trying to teach you how to love your enemies. Or, He may be trying to toughen you up a little and teach you to have some endurance, to not run from everything that is hard, uncomfortable, or inconvenient. God is not going to change anyone you are dealing with until He first changes you. However, if you will quit complaining about everybody around you and, instead, start taking a good look inside and working with God to change you, God will change those other people. Begin today to examine your own heart and see if there are attitudes and motives that you need to change. So lithe to weep tears of laughter, and yet so loath to shed tears of sorrow. So quick to languor and torpor, and yet so slow to rigour and fervour. So conversant with the lively and the lovely, and yet so confounded by the sickly and the lowly. #RandolphHarris 9 of 11
So desirous when it comes to having, and yet so parsimonious when it comes to giving, and yet so tenacious when it comes to what you already have. So inconsiderate when talking, and yet so restless when listening. So disorderly when it comes to manners, and yet so reckless when it comes to actions. So overwhelming when it comes to the food on the table, and yet so underwhelming when it comes to the Word of God. So quick to quiet, and yet so slow to labour. So alert for courtly stories, and yet so drowsy when it comes to nightly vigils. So swift off the mark, and yet so rambling when it comes to the tape. So negligent in reciting the Holy Office, so tepid in celebrating the Mass, so arid in communicating the Host. SO easily distracted, and yet so rarely recollected. So quick to pleasure oneself, and yet so quick to displeasure others. So prone to quick decision and yet so supine when it comes to calm discussion. So exhilarated in prosperity, and yet so debilitated in adversity. So able to draw up a long agenda, and yet so unable to make a short list. So much for the No-No’s as derived from the lives of the So-So’s! Confess these and your other defects. Express great pain and displeasure at your continuing self-infirmity. Make a firm purpose to amend your life. Promise to do better. Then, with full resignation and yet wholeness of will, offer yourself, in honour of Jesus Christ’s name, as a perpetual holocaust on the altar of your heart. Faithfully commit your body and soul to Jesus Christ. Then and only then will you worthily deserve to approach the Holy Table to offer sacrifice to God and receive the Sacrament of Jesus Christ’s Body to salubrious effect. #RandolphHarris 10 of 11
No oblation is worthier and no satisfaction for getting rid of sins is greater than to offer oneself to God, pure and whole, when the bread and wine are offered up as Jesus’ Body and Blood, both in Mass and Communion. If one looks into oneself and is truly sorry for one’s sins, then one can come to Jesus as often as is necessary for forgiveness and grace. “I live, says the Lord; so why would I want the sinner to die? I just want one to reform one’s ways and live’; that is the Prophet Ezekiel to the captives of Babylon (33.11). “One’s sins I will stop recording, and one’s punishments I will see excused’; that is the Prophet Isaiah putting words into the Lord’s mouth (43.35). Dear Lord in Heaven, I want to be quick to change when You show me areas in which I need to improve. Please give me the courage, strength, and will to make the changes, and the patience to allow Your transforming process to do the complete work in me. O bless this people, Lord, who seek their own face under the mask and can hardly recognize it. O bless this people that breaks its bond and with them, all the peoples of Europe, all the peoples of Asia, all the peoples of Africa, all the peoples of America, who sweat blood and sufferings. And see, in the midst of these millions of waves the sea swell of the heads of my people. And grant to their warm hands that they may clasp the Earth in a girdle of brotherly hands, beneath the rainbow of peace. We thankfully acknowledge that Thou art the Lord our God and God of our fathers, the God of all that lives, our Creator and Creator of the Universe. We offer blessings and thanksgiving to Thy great and holy name because Thou hast kept us in life and sustained us; so mayest Thou continue to keep us in life and sustain us. O gather our exiles into the courts of Thy holy sanctuary to observe Thy statutes, to do Thy will, and to serve Thee with a perfect heart. We give thanks unto Thee. Blessed be God to whom we are ever grateful. #RandolphHarris 11 of 11
Cresleigh Homes
Something we love even more about Residence One at Mills Station during the holidays? The fully-equipped kitchen! 🍽
Gotta love features like the large eat-in island, white Shaker cabinetry with under-cabinet lighting, stainless steel appliances, and quartz countertops. Oh, and don’t forget about the upgraded flooring! 😍 https://cresleigh.com/mills-station/residence-1/
Residence One at Mills Station holds 1,932 square feet of single story living. The open concept design includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two car garage.
Each home includes a Home Hub located at the front of the home which can be used as a study, playroom or sitting room.
The Original Unresolved Situation with the Boss Will Not Change Magically!
The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children. Sociocultural theories have helped spur the growth of several treatment approaches. In culture-sensitive therapy, therapists seek to fully understand the cultural background of their clients and address cultural issues that may be linked to the individuals’ problems. In group therapy, therapists meet with a group of clients who all share similar problems. In family and couple therapy, the therapist and clients are joined by other family members. And in community treatment, the meetings take place in or near the client’s everyday environment. Therapists of any orientation may work with clients in these various formats, applying the techniques and principles of their preferred models. In cultural sensitive therapy, for example, a psychodynamic therapist may continue to view a client’s problems as manifestations of underlying conflict yet also pay attention to the individual’s cultural background and its impact on current functioning. Similarly, group therapists may follow the principles of psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, or humanistic therapy in their work with group members. In such instances the therapy approach is not purely sociocultural. However, more and more of the clinicians who use these formats believe that psychological problems emerge in a social setting and are best treated in such a setting and they include special sociocultural strategies in their work. A number of recent studies have found that people from ethnic and marginalized racial groups improve less in clinical treatment than members of the majority group. #RandolphHarris 1 of 21
Studies have been conducted throughout the World and have found that marginalized clients use mental health services less often than members of majority groups. Several factors may contribute to this underuse of services, as we have already discussed. However, in some cases, cultural beliefs, a language barrier, or lack of information about available services presents marginalized individuals from seeking help. In other cases, members of marginalized groups to not have the establishment, relying instead on traditional remedies that are available in their immediate social environment. Research also indicates that members of marginalized groups stop therapy sooner than persons from majority groups. This is perhaps because marginalized racial and ethnic groups may experience oppression and racism that they are not able to resolve because the government, nor those in leadership possession care and refuse to enforce the law, which causes mental distress for individual, which therapy and medication cannot sure since it is an external problem not a mental manifestation. And one can talk about it and medicate an individual until the end of days, but unless the true catalyst causing this distress is dealt with, nothing will change. In the United States of American, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americas all have higher therapy dropout rates than European Americans. Members of such groups may stop treatment because they do not feel they are benefiting from it or because ethnic and racial differences prevent the development of a strong rapport with their therapist. #RandolphHarris 2 of 21
When the Lord revealed to Moses the great purpose of life, He expressed Himself in these words: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,” reports Moses 1.39. Therefore, the Lord’s work is to bring about the resurrection (immortality of all of His Father’s children and make it possible for them to receive exaltation or godhood (eternal life). When one comes to understand these purposes, one’s heart rejoices in the knowledge that the greatest blessing available to man—godhood—may be received by those who desire it with all their hearts. In a glorious sermon preached by the Prophet Joseph Smith, this same fundamental purpose of Earth life was expressed—except that this time the other side of the matter, humankind’s responsibility, was emphasized: “You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kinds and priests to God.” Fundamental to our understanding of the reason for existence in mortality is our knowledge that men and women were born as spirit children of the Eternal Father and that Jesus Christ is our elder brother in the spirit. Because their status is transcendently greater than ours, we stand in awe at the thought of one day becoming as they. Nevertheless, we are begotten spirit children of the Eternal Father—born in the lineage of the gods—and we have within us the power, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, to rise to the heights of godhood. Earth life, a necessary part of eternal progression, is the proving ground for the exalted-to-be, a state in which we are undergoing a period of testing and proving to see if we will do the Lord’s will. “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all the things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them,” reports Doctrine and Covenants 132.20. #RandolphHarris 3 of 21
How can clinicians be more helpful to people from marginalized groups? A number of studies suggest that two features of treatment can increase a therapist’s effectiveness with marginalized clients: greater therapist sensitivity to cultural issues, and inclusion of cultural morals and models in treatment, especially in therapies for children and adolescents. Given such findings, clinicians have developed culture-sensitive therapies, approaches that seek to address the unique issues faces by members of marginalized groups. These approaches often include such feature as raising the consciousness of marginalized-group clients about the impact of the dominant culture and of their own culture on their self-views and behaviours, helping clients to express suppressed anger and pain, and helping clients to make choices that work for them and to achieve a bicultural balance that feels right for them. Therapies geared to the special pressures of being a woman in the New World society, called for gender-sensitive or feminists’ therapies, following similar principles. Victims of hate—the ongoing memorial services for Mr. Matthew Shepard, brutally beaten to death in 1998 because of his homosexual orientation, is a powerful reminder of the prejudice, discrimination, and even danger that members of marginalized groups can confront in our society. Culture-sensitives therapies seek to address the special impact of such stressors upon individuals, as well as other psychological issues. When a family member is addicted to alcohol or drugs, the whole family must deal with the situation. Family members may feel embarrassed or ashamed that their loved one is struggling with an addiction, and they may think they should handle the problem privately. However, outside help may be needed. A family should use any appropriate resources that are available to them, such as professional resources where necessary. #RnadolphHarris 4 of 21
Family members will find that love is more effective than shame or control in motivating addicts to change. If addicts feel shame—in other words, if they feel that they are inherently bad or unworthy because of their addiction—they may turn to alcohol or drugs to help dull the pain associated with tht shame. Christlike love, on the other hand, can give an addict hope and can help change the most desperate situation. However, love does not mean acceptance of sinful behaviour. Substance use disorders are divided into two groups: Substance dependence and substance abuse. Substance dependence involves a maladaptive pattern of substance use, associated with symptoms such as tolerance (the need for increased amounts to achieve the desired effect); withdrawal (physical and psychological distress associated with cessation); taking more of the substance, or taking the substance for longer periods of time, than intended; a persistent desire to ingest the substance; spending a great deal of time securing the substance for use; disruption of social, occupational, or recreational activities as a result of the substance use; and continuation despite awareness of problems associated with the substance use. As evident from these diagnostic criteria, interpersonal impairment (in the form of reduced or abandoned social, occupational, and recreational activities) is a fundamental symptom of substance dependence, although it is not necessary for a diagnosis. The primary feature of substance abuse is a maladaptive pattern of substance use that is associated with adverse effects. These adverse effects include, for example, failure to fulfill important occupational, social, or domestic roles; using the substance in such a way as to create physical hazards (such as driving an Ultimate Driving Machines (vehicle) while intoxicated. #RandolphHarris 5 of 21
Legal problems associated with the use of the substance are also adverse effects; along with continued use of the substance despite interpersonal problems that are caused or exacerbated by its use. Here again, interpersonal problems figure in the symptoms of substance abuse. Alcoholism is a specific class of the more general diagnosis of substance use disorders. The term alcoholism is generally used to refer to alcohol dependence and/or alcohol abuse. The defining features of alcohol dependence are the same as those of substance dependence more generally. What distinguishes alcohol dependence from alcohol abuse is the presence of tolerance, withdrawal, and alcohol-related compulsive behaviour in the person who is dependent on alcohol. In both cases, however, the substance is used in ways that culminate in physical, occupational, and interpersonal impairment. In many cases, these impairments may be evident before the onset of symptoms, leading to the observation that some people may use alcohol and/or drugs to cope with the very problems that their heavy use exacerbates. Results from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study indicate that among people over 18 years of age in any given year, 7.4 percent will experience some form of alcohol use disorder, and 9.5 percent will experience some form of substance use disorder, alcoholism included. Lifetime prevalence estimates from National Comorbidity Survey are 14.1 percent for alcohol dependence and 9.4 percent for alcohol abuse. The lifetime prevalence for any substance abuse or dependence is nearly 27 percent. Among 17-year-olds, the point prevalence of substance abuse or dependence is just over 10 percent, and surveys of American high school students show that drug use has been on the rise since the early 1990s. Substance use disorders are about twice as common in men as in women. For men, the lifetime prevalence for any substance abuse or dependence is a staggering 35.4 percent. #RandolphHarris 6 of 21
There is an interesting relationship among gender, depression, and alcohol abuse/dependence. When men become depressed, they often seek solace in alcohol. Consequently, when their distress brings them to the attention of government authorities or health care professionals, they are prone to be diagnosed as having alcoholism rather than depression. This may, in part, account for the 2.1 ratio of female to male diagnoses for major depression. In a unique study of mood disorders among the Amish, an American subculture in which alcohol use in prohibited, the rates of such disorders were found to be one-half of what they were in the general population, and virtually identical in males and females. An obvious conclusion is that in the general population, alcoholism may mask depression in males. Living a successful life now is not always easy; sometimes it is downright difficult. For instance, you may be experiencing some sort of adversity in your daily life; you may not be exactly where you want t be physically, emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually. Someone close to you may be hard to get along with. Or maybe you have other obstacles in your path. Regardless of what is going on in our life, do not use that as an excuse to live in discouragement and despair. Understand, the tough times of life cause us to grow; that is when our faith is stretched. That is when God is doing a work in us. It may be uncomfortable. We may not like it, but if we can keep the right attitude, God has promised to use that difficulty for our good. He will use it for our advantage. If God were to remove that adversity, you would not be prepared for what He ahs in store for you. I know that can be hard to understand. We think, “God, why am I still in this situation?” “God, why do I have to work around these people I do not like?” Or, “Why am I still having these difficulties?” #RandolphHarris 7 of 21
That is the wrong approach. Our attitude should be, “God, I understand You are in complete control of my life, and You have got me exactly where You want me to be, so I am going to stay filled with faith. I am going to stay full of joy and keep pressing on, knowing that You care for me and will use these difficulties to my advantage.” Your faith is similar to a muscle. It grows stronger through resistance. It is exercised when it is being stretched, when it is being pushed to the limits. That is why God does not usually deliver us from adversity overnight. He does not remove us from every uncomfortable situation in a split second. God uses those times to build our spiritual bank accounts. Some people live in despair and disappointment, all because their circumstances are not exactly what they desire them to be. People like that are not going to be happy unless everything is going their way, everybody is treating them right, and they are immune from experiencing discomfort. In other words, they probably never will be happy! Besides, that is a very shallow way to life. If you lose your joy every time something negative happens to you, then the enemy will continue to attack. He will make sure you always have somebody in your life who irritates you, or some situation that is going to keep you sour. However, do not make that mistake. Our Scripture says that, “the steps of a good human are ordered by the LORD,” reports Psalm 37.23. If God is directing our steps, we can be confident that He is aware of our circumstances. If one does not learn to be happy where one is, one will never get to where one wants to be. One may be dealing with difficult circumstances and may have a thousand reasons why one could be unhappy, but do not slip into that trap. #RandolphHarris 8 of 21
Choose to enjoy each day in spite of one’s circumstances. Every day that one lives with a negative attitude, dominated by one’s discouragements, is a day one has wasted. And what a shame to waste what God has given us! Understand, adversities are simply a test of one’s faith. Perhaps God wants to see how one will treat other people when one is not being treated well. God may want to see how one is going to respond if one does not get the promotion one was hoping for. If one’s prayers are not answered as quickly as one would like, what kind of attitude is one going to have? In tough times, our characters develop. Something happens on the inside; God is causing us to grow up. If He delivered us instantaneously from every problem, we would never need any faith. Moreover, we would never develop into the persons God really wants us to be. The Scripture says, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,” reports Romans 8.28. One may be in a difficult situation today. One may be in a hard place in one’s finances. Friend, God will not allow a difficulty to come into one’s life unless He has a purpose for it. Granted, there are times when we cannot understand what we are going through or why, but we must learn to trust God and believe that He is going to being some kind of good out of it. Dear Lord in Heaven, I may not understand this situation, this World, these same people, but wide unclasp the tables of my thoughts. This situation may not be good, but I know You will work it for my good. It is stretching me. I know I am growing, and I am building up my spiritual bank account, and am going to come out of this stronger, happier, healthier, and better off than I was previously. #RandolphHarris 9 of 21
All one has to do now is offer sacrifice to God at the appropriate times and places and see that one’s behaviour is above reproach. However, when all the dignities of the Priesthood newly heaped upon one, one might expect that one could slough one’s other burdens, lighten one’s lead, that sort of thing. Yes, one could think that, but just the opposite is true. Now one is bound with a tighter chain of discipline, and one is held to a higher level of holiness. The Priest’s conduct should show off all the virtues to their best advantage; that is what the Letter of Titus urged (2.7). That is to say, in one’s daily round the Priest should show that the good and virtuous life can indeed be lived on this Earth. As for one’s conversation, one should shy away from the things people like to gossip about. Rather, one should save one’s own talk for the Angels in Heaven—an echo of Philippians (3.20)—and the other humans on this Earth who are seeking perfection. The Priest clothed in sacred vestments carries on what Jesus Christ began. In Christ’s stead, yet as a humble suppliant, representing not only oneself, but all the rest of the populace, one speaks in our behalf to God the Father; sounds like Hebrews (5.3). On the front and back of one’s vestment, to make one mindful of the Passion of Christ, one wears the sign of the cross. The one on the front of the chasuble reminds one to look for the footprints of Christ and to follow them fervently; Jesus is making a passing reference here to First Peter (2.21). The one on the back of the chasuble, to bear up under whatever the mob will toss at one. The cross in front reminds one to mourn for clemency for one’s own sins. The one in the back, to lament through compassion the sins of others and know that one oneself is an intermediary between God and sinner. May the priest not lose one’s interest in prayer and offering the Holy Sacrifice. Rather, one should hammer these home until one deserves, somehow, to receive Grace and Mercy. #RandolphHarris 10 of 21
When the Priest celebrates Mass, one honours God, cheers up the Angels, strengthens the fabric of the Church, helps the living, and gives rest to the dead. And one makes oneself partaker of all good things between God and Humankind. “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earther, shall be loosed in Heaven,” reports Matthew 16.19. The authority of binding and loosing is on Earth. One has that authority. One translation says, “You have authority to bind what is bound in Heaven and to loose what is loosed in Heaven.” Ask yourself, “What is bound in Heaven?” The curse is bound in Heaven. There is no poverty there, no sickness, no sorrow, no pain. Jesus said we have authority to bind those things here on Earth. Prayer is one of the ways to bind and loose. “Pray ye…Thy will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven,” reports Matthew 6.10. How is it in Heaven? What is loosed there? Abundance, life, happiness, health, joy, peace, and Jesus Christ gave you authority to loose those things here on Earth. Words bind and loose. Your words are your bond. Your words are you authority in the Earth. Whoever shall say and shall not doubt in one’s heart, but shall believe that those things which one saith shall come to pass; one shall have whatsoever one saith. The things you say are the things you will eventually believe. The things you believe are the things you will eventually receiver. What will you say—poverty or wealth? What will you bind—sickness or health? What will you loose—fear or faith? One can release the ability of God through the words of one’s mouth—or one can talk one’s problem, pray one’s problem, hold fast to one’s problem, and one’s problem will become greater. If one talks one’s problem until one’s neighbour’s start believing it, they will tell someone else about it. Soon one will have a whole group of people believing that one has a problem. Then one does have a problem! For Jesus said, “if two of you shall agree on Earth,” reports Matthew 18.19. #RandolphHarris 11 of 21
Does one seek what speaking one’s problem will do? Do not ever talk one’s problem before people that believe in problems. Find someone that believes in answers from the Word, someone that will agree that the problem is removed. “Let go of the problem and cast the whole of your care over on the Lord,” reports 1 Peter 5.7. Take hold of the answer. Hold fast to the answer until that is all one can see. The story is told of a lady that looked out her back door and saw her three children playing with three little skunks. She shouted, “Run, kids, run!” And they did. Each one grabbed up their little skunk and took off running! That reminds me so much of Christians who bring their problems to the alter and say, “Here is the problem, Lord,” but when they get up, they take their stinky problem with them! They go home and worry about it all night. If they are worrying over it, they still have it. They have not left it with God. For example, let us suppose one has an antique Civil War watch from the Battle of Monocacy that does not run. One takes it to a jeweler and asks one to fix it for one. As one is holding it in one’s hand, one keeps asking one when One is going to fix it. One replies, “When you give it to Me.” If one has the watch (problem), God cannot fix it. However, when God has the problem, one does not have it any more. It is foolish to worry over something one does not have. When one is holding onto the problem, God’s hands are bound. When one turns it loose, then God can do something about it. “Casting all your care upom Him; for He careth for you,” reports 1 Peter 5.7. One did not say to pray that God will take your cares. God will not take them from one. One instructs one to get rid of them by casting all one’s cares upon God. He will not take them, but He will receive them. We are to hold fast to the confession and not to the problem. Hold fast to the confession, I believe that I receive when I pray. #RandolphHarris 12 of 21
When someone says, “Things sure do not look too good,” just reply, “I am not moved by how things look, or how I feel. I am moved by what I believe and I believe that it was settled when I prayed.” Jesus said, “When ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them,” reports Mark 11.24. “One that believeth…hath,” reports John 6.47. “One shall have whatsoever one saith,” reports Mark 11.23. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” reports Matthew 12.34. “A good human out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things,” reports Matthew 12.35. Anger in a relationship is like salt in a meal. Too little leaves things drab and tasteless. Too much poisons. However, a pinch now and then makes for a savory friendship All people feel angry from time to time. It is a natural and important feeling. However, many Christians have been conditioned to see anger as an undesirable response. And it is true that anger can be expressed in manipulative ways. The Critical Christian uses anger to manipulate self and others. One is stuck on the anger polarity. What the Critical Christian and all of us need to learn is how to deal with our anger in actualizing ways. One can choose to eexpress oneself angrily most of the time or one may choose never to express one’s anger, but it usually comes out in some manner. Anger that is not sufficiently acknowledged or expressed creates an unfinished situation within. The repressed anger then comes out in indirect and unconscious ways. For instance, then man who gets mad at his boss, but keeps smiling in order not to make waves, may go home and yell at his spouse over some trivial event. The spouse then displaces her anger onto the children, who may in their turn kick the Nacho (the dog). All this displacement causes confusion, hurt feelings, and no constructive gain of awareness for anyone. #RandolphHarris 13 of 21
Besides this, the original unresolved situation with the boss will not change magically. Rather it will fester like a painful sore. In feeling angry toward another person, one should first seek within oneself for the source of the irritation and communicate honestly with oneself about the cause. Then, if it would be constructive, one can find some way to honestly let the other person know so that the person can take the feeling into account. Otherwise, the other person is left in the dark, and the relationship may turn sour It is or this reason that Paul writes: “If you are angry, do not sin by burnings your grudge. Do not let the sun go down with you still angry—get it over quickly,” reports Ephesians 4.26. Paul encourages the Christians to learn how to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4.15). For the actualizing Christian, anger is expressed as responsible assertion. It reflects sensitivity to oneself and others. It involves learning to stand on one’s own feet and take up for oneself or others when it is appropriate to do so. The point most people miss regarding anger is that our anger is a part of us. It does not belong to the other person in the sense that the other person created our anger. Our anger is our response to that person’s behaviour. If people remembered this and did not blame others, the expression of anger would be much more constructive. Second Wave civilization gave us the comfortable assurance that we knew (or at least could know) what caused things to happen. It told us that every phenomenon occupied a unique, determinable location in space and time. It told us that the same condition always produced the same results. It told us that the entire Universe consisted, so to speak, of cue sticks, and billiard balls—causes and effect. #RandolphHarris 14 of 21
This mechanistic view of causality was—and still is—extremely useful. It helps us cure disease, build giant skyscrapers, design ingenious machines, and assemble huge organizations. Yet, powerful as it is in explaining phenomena that work like simple machines, it has proved far less satisfactory in explaining phenomena like growth, decay, sudden breakthroughs to new levels of complexity, big changes that suddenly fizzle out or, conversely, those tiny—often chance—events that occasionally mushroom into giant, explosive forces. Today the Newtonian pool table is being shoved into a corner of the cosmic playroom. Mechanistic causality is seen as a special case applying to some but not al phenomena, and scholars and scientists all over the World are piecing together a new view of change and causation more in keeping with our rapidly changing view of nature, evolution, and progress, of time, space, and matter. The Japanese-born epistemologist Magoroh Maruyama, the French sociologist Edgar Morin, information theorists like Stafford Beer and Henri Laborit, and many others are providing clues to how causation works in nonmechanical systems that live, die, grow, and undergo both evolution and revolution. The Belgian Nobel Prize-winner, Ilya Prigogine, offers us a staggering synthesis of the ideas of order and chaos, chance and necessity, and how these relate to causation. In part, the emerging Third Wave causality arises from a key concept of systems theory: the idea of feedback. A classic example used to illustrate this notion is the home thermostat that maintains room temperature at an even level. The thermostat turns on the furnace, the monitors the resulting temperature rise. When the room is warm enough, it turns the furnace off. When the temperature falls, it senses this change in its environment and flicks the furnace on again. #RandolphHarris 15 of 21
What we see here is a feedback process that preserves equilibrium, damping down or suppressing change when it threatens to exceed a given level. Called “negative feedback,” its function is to maintain stability. Once negative feedback was defined and explored by information theorists and systems thinkers in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, scientists began looking for examples or analogues of it. And with rising excitement, they found similar stability-protecting systems in every field from physiology (for example, the process by which the body maintains its temperature) to politics (as in the way an “establishment” damps out dissent when it goes beyond an acceptable level). Negative feedback seemed to be at work all around us, causing things to retain their equilibrium or stability. By the early 1960’s, however, critics like Professor Maruyama began to note that too much attention was being paid to stability and not enough to change. What was needed, he argued, was more research on “positive feedback”—processes that do not suppress change but amplify it, do not maintain stability but challenge it, sometimes even overwhelming it. Positive feedback, Professor Maruyama emphasized, can take a small deviation or “kick” in the system and magnify it into a giant structure-threatening shudder. If the first kind of feedback was change-reducing or “negative,” here was a whole class of processes that were change-amplifying or “positive,” and both needed equal attention. Positive feedback could illuminate causation in many previously puzzling processes. Because positive feedback breaks stability and feeds on itself, it helps explain vicious circles—and virtuous ones. Imagine the thermostat again, but with its sensor or its trigger mechanism reversed. Every time the room got warm, the thermostat, instead of shutting off the furnace, would click in on, forcing the temperature to hotter ad hotter levels. #RandolphHarris 16 of 21
Or imagine the game of Monopoly (or, for that matter, the game of real-life economics) in which the more money a player has, the more property one can buy, which means more rental income and therefore more money with which to buy property. Both are examples of positive feedback at work. Positive feedback helps explain any process that is self-excitatory—like arms race, for example, in which ever time China builds a new weapon the United States of American builds a bigger one, which then motivates China to not only build yet another one, but recruit more troops to the point of global insanity. And when we put negative and positive feedback together and see how richly these two different processes interplay in complex organisms, from the human brain to an economy, startling insights emerge. Indeed, once we as a culture recognize that any truly complex system—whether a biological organism, a city, or the international political order—is likely to have within it both change amplifiers and change reducers, positive as well as negative feedback loops interacting with one another, we begin to glimpse a whole new level of complexity in the World with which we are dealing. Our understandings of causation is advanced. Yet another leap in understanding occurs when we further recognize that these change reducers and amplifiers are not necessarily built into biological or social systems from the beginning; they may be absent at first, then grow into place, as it were, sometimes as a result of what amounts to chance. A stray event can thus trigger a fantastic chain of unexpected consequences. This tells us why change is so often so hard to track and extrapolate, so filled with surprise. #RandolphHarris 17 of 21
It is why a slow, steady process can suddenly convert into an explosive change, or vice versa. And this in turn explains why similar starting conditions may lead to sharply dissimilar outcomes—an idea alien to the Second Wave mentality. The Third Wave causality that is gradually taking shape pictures a complex World of mutually interacting forces, a World filled with astonishment, with change amplifiers as well as reducers and many other elements as well—not just billiard balls clacking predictably and endlessly against one another on the cosmic pool table. It is a World far stranger than simple Second Wave mechanism suggested. Is everything predictable in principle, as Second Wave mechanical causality implied? Or are things inherently, unavoidably unpredictable, as critics of mechanism have insisted? Are we governed by chance or necessity? Third Wave causality has exciting new things to say about this ancient contradiction as well. In fact, it helps us escape at last from the either/or trap that for so long has pitted determinists against antideterminists—necessity against chance. And this may be its most important philosophical breakthrough. Since liberty is not a fruit of every climate, it is not within the reach of all peoples. The more one meditates on this principle established by Montesquieu, the more one is aware of its truth. The more one contests it, the more occasions there are for establishing it by means of new proofs. In all the governments in the World, the public person consumes, but produces nothing. Whence therefore does it get the substance it consumes? It is from the labour of its members. It is the surplus of private individuals that produces what is needed by the public. Whence it follows that the civil state can subsist only so long as men’s labours produces more than they need. #RandolphHarris 18 of 21
On the other hand, not all governments are of the same nature. They are more or less voracious; and the differences are founded on this added principle that the greater the distance the public contributions are from their source, the more onerous they are. It is not on the basis of the amount of the taxes that this burden is to be measured, but on the basis of the path they have to travel in order to return to the hands from which they came. When this circulation is prompt and well established, it is unimportant whether one pays little or a great deal. The populace is always rich and the finances are always in good shape. One the contrary, however little populace gives, when this small amount does not return, it is soon wiped out by continual giving. The state is never rich and the populace is always destitute. It follows from this that the greater the distance between the people and the government, the more onerous the taxes become. Thus in a democracy the populace is the least burdened; in an aristocracy it is more so; in a monarchy it bears the heaviest weight. Monarchy, therefore, is suited only to wealthy nations; aristocracy to states of moderate wealth and size; democracy to the states that are small and poor. In fact, the more one reflects on it, the more one finds in it the difference between free and monarchial state. In the former, everything is used for the common utility. In the latter, the public and private forces are reciprocal, the one being augmented by the weakening of the other. Finally, instead of governing subjects in order to make them happy, despotism makes them miserable in order to govern them. Thus in each climate there are natural causes on the basis of which one can assign the form of government that the force of the climate requires, and can even say what kind of inhabitants is should have. #RandolphHarris 19 of 21
Barren and unproductive lands, where the product is not worth the labour, ought to remain uncultivated and deserted, or people only by people who do not care for civilization. Places where men’s labour yields only what is necessary ought to be inhabited by barbarous peoples; in places such as these all polity would be impossible. Places where the surplus of products over labour is moderate are suited to free peoples. Those where an abundant and fertile soil produces a great deal in return for a small amount of labour require a monarchical form of government, in order that the subject’s excess of surplus of products over labour is moderate are suited free peoples. Those where an abundant and fertile soil produces a great deal in return for a small amount of labour require a monarchial form of government than dissipated by private individuals. I realize that there are exceptions; but these exceptions themselves prove the rule, in that sooner or later they produce revolutions that restore things to the order us nature. Nevertheless the presence of an evil tyranny ought not blind. In Russia, Stalin’s dictatorial control was expounded and accepted theoretically as a purely temporary measure on the road to full democratic freedom, and so was Hilter’s dictatorial control expounded and accepted as a temporary, but ultimate ideal in itself. The dangers to which tyrants expose the human race are immeasurably larger than those to which Capitalism exposes it. For no matter how materialistic, selfish, and greedy Capitalists become, they always remain in theory an anguished and desperate attempt to win justice for the underprivileged and to compel the social whole to accept responsibility for their unavoidable sufferings. However, the ultimate trend of tyrants is only the animalization of all human capital. All that gives dignity and worth to human beings, all their ethics and rationality, all their art and idealism will disappear under tyrants within a generation or two. #RandolphHarris 20 of 21
The disfigured form of humans would thenceforth bear a close resemblance to the worst kind of beast, albeit a cunning one, whose God is Hatred. However, Capitalism has its superiority at most, in that it took America out of Communism (slavery), and arose by allowing the inspiration of great hope. Slavery forces the World unwillingly into a struggle to the death, and the leaders of Communism are now forcing the World into that same kind of struggle. The human race is being made to chalk out a boundary line and to take sides in preparation for the inevitable. The responsibility for this degeneration does not lie with those who still believe in the ideals of freedom and truth, but with those who reject these ideals. The guilt does not let with those who seek to defend themselves against the aggressions of an evil doctrine, it lies with those who spread this doctrine by every means, including the most criminal means. Now with my hands but with my heart I bless you: may peace forever dwell within your breast! May Truth’s white light move with you and possess you—and may your thoughts and words wear her bright crest! May Time move down its endless path of beauty conscious of you and better for your being! Spring after Spring array itself in splendour seeking the favour of your sentient seeing! May hills lean toward you hills and windswept mountains, and trees be happy that have seen you pass—your eyes dark kinsmen to the stars above you—your feet remembered by the blades of grass! We thankfully acknowledge Thee, O Lord our God, our fathers’ God to all eternity. Our Rock art Thou, our Shield that saves through every generation. We give Thee thanks and we declare Thy praise for all Thy tender care. Our lives we trust into Thy loving hand. Our souls are ever in Thy charge; Thy wonders and Thy miracles are daily with us, evening, morn and noon. O Thou who art all-good, whose mercies never fail us, Compassionate One, whose lovingkindnessess never cease, we ever hope in Thee. #RandolphHarris 21 of 21
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The Genius of Impeachment is it Can Punish the Person without Punishing the Office!
The past two years have not been the most actives times for many of us. As you are aware, we have been somewhat restricted due to a condition know as growing older. I believe I now understand a bit more clearly what is meant by enduring to the end. It is difficult and frustrating not to be able to do all that we would like to do. Nevertheless, many of us still do several things. We are richly blessed and have so much to be thankful for. As we meditate upon these things, remember the words of the Lord, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of one much shall be required,” reports Luke 12.48. The Lord expects of us righteousness and obedience to His commandments in return for the bounties of life He has so richly bestowed upon us. It seems that iniquity abounds on all sides, with the Adversary taking full advantage of the time remaining to him in this day of his power. The leaders of the Church continually cry out against that which is intolerable in the sight of the Lord: against pollution of mind and body and our surroundings; against vulgarity, stealing, lying, cheating, false witness, boastful pride, blasphemy, and drunkenness; against fornication, adultery, risky lifestyles, and all other abuses of the sacred power to create; against murder and all that is like unto it; against all manner of degradation and sin. Culture refers to the set of values, attitudes, and beliefs, history, and behaviour shared by a group of people and communicated from one generation to the next. Culture often influences which behaviours are considered abnormal and how other people react to such behaviours. If, for example, a person’s friends and family value and encourage drinking large quantities of alcoholic beverage, the individual may be more inclined to turn to alcohol at times of stress and to drift into a pattern of problem drinking; and interventions for such a pattern may be avoided. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20
During the past four decades, sociocultural researchers have greatly increased their focus on possible ties between culture and abnormal behaviour. They have learned that some of the disorders we see—anorexia nervosa, agoraphobia, borderline personality disorder—are much less common in non-Western countries. It may be that key Western values—such as the importance of thin appearance, emphasis on high mobility, and endorsement of emotional expression—help set the stage for such disorders. Sociocultural theorists are also concerned with the social networks in which people operate, including their social and professional relationships. How well do they communicate with others? What kind of signals do they send to or receiver from others? Researchers have often found ties between deficiencies in social networks and a person’s functioning. They have noted, for example, that people who are isolated and lack social support or intimacy in their lives are more likely to become depressed when under stress and to remain depressed longer than people with supportive spouses or warm friendships. Wide-ranging societal conditions may create special stresses and increase the likelihood of abnormal functioning in some members. Researchers have learned, for example, that psychological abnormality, especially severe psychological abnormality, is more common in the lower socioeconomic classes than in the higher ones. Perhaps the special pressures of the lower-class life explain this relationship. That is, the higher rates of crime, unemployment, overcrowding, and homelessness; the inferior medical care; and the limited educational opportunities of lower-class life may place great stress on members of these groups. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20
Conversely, it may be that people who suffer from severe mental disturbances are less effective at work and earn less money and, as a result, drift downward to a lower socioeconomic class. Sociocultural researchers have noted that racial and sexual prejudice and discrimination may also contribute to certain forms of abnormal functioning. Women in Western society receive diagnoses of anxiety and depressive disorders at least twice as often as men. Similarly, African America experience unusually high rates of anxiety disorders. Hispanic persons, particularly young men, have higher rates of alcoholism than members of most other ethnic groups. And Native Americas display exceptionally high alcoholism and suicide rates. Although many factors may combine to produce these differences, racial and sexual prejudice and the problems they pose may contribute to abnormal patterns of tension, unhappiness, low self-esteem, and escape. The pressures and uncertainty of living in a war-torn environment, which many people believe the United States of America has become with all the violence, rioting, looting, fake news, pandemic, and traffic fatalities, may contribute to the development of psychological problems. The environment’s ongoing violence may leave some individuals feeling numb and confused. Also, more people are frequently moving away from the church and being taught that it is okay to be dysfunctional. Sociocultural theorists also believe that abnormal functioning is influenced greatly by the labels and role assigned to troubled people. When people stray from the norms of their society, the society call them deviant and, in many cases, “mentally ill.” Such labels tend to stick. Moreover, when people are viewed in particular ways, reacted to as “crazy,” and perhaps even encouraged to act sick, they gradually learn to accept and play the assigned role. Ultimately the label seems appropriate. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20
A famous study by the clinical investigator David Rosenhan (1973) supports this position. Eight normal people presented themselves at various mental hospitals, complaining that they have been hearing voices say the words “empty,” “hollow,” and “thud.” On the basis of the complaint alone, each was diagnosed as having schizophrenia and admitted. As the sociocultural model would predict, the “pseudopatients” had a hard time convincing others that they were well once they had been given the diagnostic label. With that being known, some corrupt politicians and lawyers frame people from crimes, have them declared incompetent to stand trial, and then they are basically able to convict individuals without a trial, even if they are innocent. The people in this study, their hospitalizations ranged from 7 to 52 days, even the label kept influencing the way the staff viewed and dealt with them. For example, one pseudopatient who paced the corridor out of boredom was, in clinical notes, described as “nervous.” Finally, the pseudoppatients reported that the staff’s behaviour toward them and other patients was often authoritarian, limited, and counterproductive. Overall, the pseduopatients came to feel powerless, invisible, and bored. As Christians we must ever be vigilant. The way for each person and each family to guard against the slings and arrows of the Adversary and to prepare for the great Lord is to hold fast to the iron rod, to exercise greater faith, to repent of our sins, and shortcomings, and to be anxiously engaged in the work of God’s Kingdom on Earth. We must not falter nor weary in well-doing. We must lengthen our stride. Not only is out own eternal welfare at stake, but also the eternal welfare of money of our brothers and sisters. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20
Given the often disturbed parent-child relationships associated with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, it is not surprising that a number of other mental health problems tend to covary with these disorders. Chief among these are depressed, substance use disorders, and anxiety disorders. It is important to note that these related mental health problems may in some cases be secondary to the eating disorder, and more strongly associated with poor family relationships than with the eating disorder. The elevated incidence of BPD (borderline personality disorder) among patients with eating disorders (running at high as 40 percent) is also notable, in that symptoms of this disorder include difficulties with personal relationships, poor anger control, impulsivity, and affective instability. Also notable is the fact that childhood sexual abuse has been implicated in both BPD and bulimia nervosa. There is some evidence to suggest that the eating disorder-personality disorder comorbidity is different for different types of eating disorders. In particular, bulimia nervosa is associated with a high rate of BPD, whereas anorexia nervosa is associated with a relatively high rate of avoidant personality disorder. These differing rates of personality disorders may reflect different interpersonal mechanisms in bulimia nervosa (exempli gratia, approach-avoidance conflicts) versus anorexia nervosa (exempli gratia, concern with social evaluation). Rates of anxiety disorders also run very high among those with eating disorders. Among probands diagnosed with bulimia nervosa in one large-scale study, the comorbidity with anxiety disorders was 42 percent for phobias, 11 percent for generalized anxiety disorder, and 9 percent for panic disorder. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20
In most cases, the anxiety comes first and is followed by the eating disorder. A particular type of self-conscious social anxiety—one that causes people to be ultraconcered with appearance and thinness—many strongly contribute to the development of an eating disorder. In this case, again, a concern with interpersonal or social relations appears to be the common link between the anxiety and the eating disorder. The comorbidity of eating disorders with other interpersonally oriented mental health problems suggests that eating disorders reside in a nomological network that also holds problematic interpersonal relationships and functioning in close proximity. There is an undeniable association between eating disorders and past (id est, childhood) as well as concurrent interpersonal relationship problems. Distressed and dysfunctional family-of-origin interactions are common antecedents to both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Families of people with these problems have difficulty setting and respecting appropriate boundaries, adapting to change, and containing their criticism of each other. In extreme cases, boundary violations in these families may take the form of childhood sexual abuse, particularly in the case of those who go on to develop bulimia nervosa. Parents in these families also sometimes exert inappropriate and excessive pressure to achieve on their children. Sadly, interpersonal problems do not always end when offspring with eating disorders leave their families of origin. These young adults depart from their families with dysfunctional attitudes and beliefs about close relationships with other people. They may eschew physical intimacy with others, partly out of their dissatisfaction with their own bodies, and partly out of anxiety about sexuality. Unfortunately, other people do not appear particularly eager to develop romantic or other relationships with those who have an eating disorder. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20
When people with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa do get married, they are likely to find themselves in dissatisfying marriages. Still evident at this advanced stage of interpersonal development and experience are avoidance of physical intimacy and poor conflict-handling skills. Not surprisingly, the spouse of people with eating disorders are also unhappy with the state of their marriages. The pervasiveness and seriousness of interpersonal problems associated with eating disorders may explain why family and interpersonal therapies are so effective for their treatment. Therapies that focus on understanding and improving the interpersonal landscape of patients with eating disorders, even though they do not focus on the disorders per se, tend to be more effective for treating such disorders than traditional cognitive or behavioural therapies are. If some sense of order can be brought to these patients’ interpersonal and family relations, symptoms of eating disorders may dissipate without any specific attention being paid to them. A number of very useful interpersonal theories have been developed to explain and describe eating disorders. These include the modeling of inappropriate dieting and eating behaviors by a parent; the psychodynamic explanation of food’s symbolic significance in the battle for separation—individuation between the mother and daughter; attempts to “desexualize” the self, either in reaction to sexual abuse or as a means of avoiding upcoming sexual maturity; and a diathesis—stress model, which indicates that certain preexisting temperamental patterns may combine with the experience of stressors (perhaps from the family of origin) to promote eating disorders. Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa tend to coexist with several other psychological problems, including depression, BPD, and anxiety disorders. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20
Even a brief perusal of the literature associated with these disorders will reveal a number of common interpersonal antecedents and concomitants. Among these are rejection from others, childhood abuse and trauma, and uncaring family relations. Finally, it is important to note that not all people with eating disorders have grossly disturbed interpersonal and family relations. Like any mental health problem, eating disorders may be caused by a variety of factors, only some of which are interpersonal. However, a full appreciation of the experience of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa demands a careful consideration of the social/interpersonal context in which these problems are deeply embedded. However, we have hope in Jesus Christ here and now. He died for our sins. Because of Him and His gospel, our sins are washed away in the waters of baptism; sin and iniquity are burned out of our souls as though by fire; and we become clean, we have a clear conscience, and we gain that peace which passeth understanding. We believe, and it is our testimony, and we proclaim it to the World, “that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord Omnipotent,” reports Mosiah 3.17. Many individuals spend their lives looking in their rearview mirrors thinking about what could have been, what should have been; always dwelling on the pains of the past so much so that they may lose what they have today because they are so full of hostility, bitterness, resentment and anger. This negativity fuels with the rage to commit crimes to get revenge on innocent victims, which may result in the lose of their homes, cars, jobs, and even their retirement. However, the prospect of sinking that venom into someone else is so strong that they are blind. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20
Carrying around a victim mentality like that will develop such a strong vortex that you will interfere with God’s plan and block out the blessing in your life because your tornado of evil is so strong. The Scripture says that God wants to give us beauty for our ashes, joy for our mourning, rejoicing for our heaviness. However, here is the key: You have to get rid of that venom before you can taste the honey. Venom is what is left over after something has been burned up and one seeks revenge. We all have our share of pain, broken dreams, disappointments, hurts, and failures. However, God wants to give of compassion, mercy, grace, and love in exchange for them. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted…to console those who mourn in America, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,” reports Isaiah 61.1-3. You cannot hold on to doom and gloom and have the beauty at the same time. If you want God to give you fresh, new dreams, then you must let go of your shattered dreams. Stop dwelling on your disappointments. Forgive the people who you feel have hurt you. Stop being evil and ghetto and jealous and bitter. Release that dysfunctional behaviour and God will give you a new beginning. If you do not let go of the old, God will not do the new and that is a heavy price to pay. Truth is, you may never understand why. Just let go of the venom. Learn to trust God. He has a new beginning for you, but you dare not make the mistake of being trapped in the hood, carrying around that some old bag, living with the victim mentality. I know a man who lost his wife in a tragic plane crash more than twenty years ago. She was a very beautiful and outgoing woman. Now, it is normal to go through a period of grieving. That is the way God made us. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20
If you have lost a job, a marriage, or most certainly a loved one, I am not saying that you should never feel discouragement or sorrow. However, this man was still grieving twenty years later! He allowed a season of mourning to turn into a lifetime of mourning. I tried to encourage him, reminding him that there are good days ahead. However, he would never receive that. He was trapped in the past. He was constantly making excuses, blaming God, blaming other people. Now, I do not mean to sound harsh, but over time, I began to realize that the grieving man did not really want to get well. He licked wallowing in self-pity. He liked the attention that it got him. He became known as “the man who lost his beloved.” Sadly, he let his tragedy become his identity. To this day, he is living a depressed and defeated life, almost as if he feels guilty because he knows he did something wrong to cause the accident. He is holding on to pain. God wants to give him a new beginning, but he will not let go of the old, he interfering with God’s plan to do something fresh and new in his life. When you are tempted to sit around feeling sorry for yourself, complaining about how unfair life is, ask yourself a tough question: “Do I really want to get well, or have I gotten comfortable with where I am in life?” Do not ever let your setback become your identity. To put in bluntly, if you were mistreated as you were growing up, you have got to get over that. Quit mourning about something that you cannot change. Maybe your business partner cheated you out of some money, or you missed out on a big promotion at work. Okay, quit dwelling on it; refrain from talking about it; stop brining it up to your friends all the time. God wants to being beauty in exchange for that venom. We need to avoid dwelling on anything that reminds of the pains of the past. Get rid of anything that evokes a negative, hurtful memory. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20
The man I mentioned preciously had several newspaper articles about that accident lying on his coffee table at home. Every time he walked by there, he was reminded of the pains of the past. I told him, “Get rid of those things. Put some happy pictures of your wife up. Put some things up that bring back good memories, not all this junk. If you want a new state, you have got to get rid of anything that reminds you of the old.” If you are still mourning over what you have lost, thinking about how badly you miss that person, and it is opening up all those old, festering, infected wounds, you are only hurting yourself. That is not healthy. If it is not doing anything beneficial in your life, do not do it. Friend, God always has a new beginning. The real question is: Are you willing to move on with your life with a good attitude, know that God has a bright future in store? What Devout happening upon a fountain of sweetness in the wood would not hurry back to report on one’s good fortune! As proof, one would wave the aromatic branch one dipped into the pool. What Devout hogging the fireplace does not feel one’s bottom growing warm! You are the Fount, the splish, and the splash! You are the Flame, the cackle, and the crackle. The Great Augustine himself did not put it better in his Confessions (10.29). You are the Pipe of wine that flows freely; that is to say, the Heavenly Cask containing the graces and consolations. If not for me, at least for other. However, if I am not allowed to drink from the end, I will die of thirst. Perhaps the tap is in the off position. There would still be some drippage, some droppage. I could survive on that. Anything to slake my thirst, make my fever subside. I am not a total Cherub or Seraph yet, flitting about like a celestial firefly, but I do experience a flicker of Divine Fire that comes from the humble reception of the Life-Making Sacrament. Whatever I need but do not have, Good Jesus, Holy Savior, do supply me from the Divine Bin, and do it so it does not hurt. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20
After all You are the One who deigned to halloo the crowd. “Come to Me, all you carters and haulers, tremblers and trundlers, I can lighten your loads,” reports Matthew again 11.28. I labour by the sweat of my brow, as Genesis put it (3.19); I am tortured with the pain in my heart, I am burdened by sins, I am disquieted by temptations, I am implicated and compromised by my many evil passions. “There just does not seem to be anybody to help”—and the Psalmist was not the first, and certainly will not be the last, to tame this cry (20.12). Is there no one who can free up, make me feel safe again. Alas, no one else but You, Lord God, my Saviour, to whom I commit myself and all my cartage and haulage, that You may guard me and guide me through to Eternal Life. Receive me in the praise and glory of Your name, You who prepared Your Body and Blood as food and drink. I feel a prayer coming on…Grant, O Lord God, my Salvation, that the affection of my devotion may increase with the frequency of Your Mystery. Yes, Father, I want to leave the past in the past and move into the faith-filled future that You have for me. Thank You for the good memories I have, and thank You that the best days are still ahead! “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” Romans 10.17. It does not say it comes by reading or by having heard, but it says faith comes by hearing (present tense). It comes by hearing the Word of God. The Greek says, “Faith cometh by report and the report by the declaration of God.” So faith cometh by hearing the rhema (spoken word) of God. When we hear ourselves speaking, saying what God said, it will produce faith in us more quickly than if we hear someone else saying it. Hearing your own voice speak God’s Word will excite your heart to action. For example, you do not always obey what someone else says, but you do obey your words. They govern you. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20
The Word says that the gospel did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. They were hearers only of the Word, not doers. They did not do what God told them. There are many people today that say “Yes, I believe in prayer,” but they are not obedient to what God has said to do when you pray. To describe the principle that love can only be kept by being given away, we use the following analogy. In Palestine there are two bodies of water connected by the Jordan River: the Lake of Galilee and the Dead Sea. There is a vast difference between the two. The Lake of Galilee and the Dead Sea. There is a vast difference between the two. The Lake of Galilee is rich in its supply of fish. In New Testaments times, it was the scene of Christ’s calling of several of the disciples who were fishermen by trade. The Lake of Galilee both receives its suppl of water from, and returns water to, the Jordan River. Therefore, the water is always fresh and clean, and the lake not only supports marine life but also provides food for human life outside its boundaries. After the Jordan River leaves the Lake of Galilee, it enters the Dead Sea some sixty miles southward. However, the Dead Sea is so far below sea level that it has no outlet; the water evaporates, leaving a high concentration of salts, which kills all fish in its depths and makes it unfit for human consumption. Its waters, by being constantly held within its boundaries, become bitter, stagnant, and brackish. And so it is with the person who only receives from others and from life, and refuses to give freely out of what one has received. One of the things that most blocks the flowing of love back and forth in relationships is one-upmanship. By this, we mean that one or both persons have a need to win or always be right. This is especially prevalent in marriage relationships, where it takes a high toll in casualties. However, it also occurs in all other relationships. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20
Most of us have heard the manipulative guidelines for establishing controlling relationships with others: “If you want to keep them interested, never show your real feelings to others”; “Play hard to get”; “Use put-downs to keep the other person in place”; “Always keep the other person guessing”; or “Try to wrap them around your finger.” These messages reflect a profound lack of awareness about what makes for healthy, enjoyable, mutually enriching relationships. If these messages have played a part in moulding out personality, then they will probably still be contaminating our present relationships with spouses, children, friends, or fellow workers. Thus, we may continue to exploit and manipulating others to satisfy our unconscious drive for power, security, and control. We will use others in a way that reveals loveless power, not the power of love, to be the root of our existence. What is needed is the ability and insight to change relationships from a power struggle to a mutually beneficial exchange. Such love is a delight in the presence of the other person and an affirming of one’s value and development as much as one’s own. Paul emphasizes similar qualities in his famous passage on love found in I Corinthians 13. He writes that “love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude…It…rejoices in the right.” Love has the rare ability to be pleased rather than threatened by the talents, achievements, and triumphs of others. An important principle for people, especially married couples, to realize is that God often moves through their closet relationships to teach them more and more about themselves and about life. Therefore, the wise person learns to value the honest and loving feedback that those closet to one are able to provide. This changes the format of a relationship from a power struggle for power to an opportunity for growth and enrichment. The person becomes partners, each committed both to one’s own deepest fulfillment and to the highest good of the other. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20
The experience of companionship and the expression of caring are essential ingredients for living fully. Abraham Lincoln said that “the better part of one’s life consists of one’s friendships.” When someone cares, it is easier to find meaning in life. If we can develop friendships based on honesty, trust, and love, it will help us greatly along the journey towards wholeness. Friendship is the comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring all—right out—just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and, with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away. The relationship of love is the most effective way of bridging the unbridgeable gap between two separate human beings. To feel truly loved—that is, deeply accepted and understood by another person or by God—is liberating. It enables one to be seen in the context of one’s weaknesses, faults, and psychological or physical shortcomings. Such behaviours as pretending to be what one is not, defending oneself, or striving to attract or impress the other person gradually fall away. They are replaced by a growing honesty and spontaneity in self-expression and a greater feeling of being natural in the relationship. This leads to the paradox that the more one surrenders in a genuinely loving relationship, the more one becomes one’s true self. The more one gives to the other, the more one receives. Jesus expressed this principle when he taught people to develop a giving attitude: “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give [to others] will be the measure you het back,” reports Luke 6.38. The Christian lifestyle can be summed up in the one word—“love.” Outgoing love that results in concrete deeds of service is the fruit of one who is being led by the Holy Spirit. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20
Touching other people’s lives in a caring way can take many forms. One may develop the awareness to often compliment, praise, and admire one’s spouses and children. One may learn to be gracious in relating to colleagues, employer, or employees. One may offer service to a stranger in need. One may practice being considerate in daily transaction with others in such diverse activities as shopping, handling business, or driving on the freeway. As growing persons, we can give ourselves permission to try out new behaviour. We can experiment in daily transactions with others by expressing a simple, a warm greeting, a pleasant compliment, or a gentle touch. Before long, there will be greater coordination of our feelings, thoughts, and bodily actions. As a feeling of compassion stirs us, we can caringly touch people and tell them of our concern. When a feeling of admiration emerges, we can tell people how much we appreciate them and perhaps touch their hands or shoulders as we do so. If we feel joy with others, we might hug them or claps their hands. If we feel playful, we might want to joke with them. These options and many more can become sincere, effective ways to communicate or positive feelings to others. Of course, any of these channels can be reduced to the level of manipulative tactics. That is why the actualizing Christian develops the paradoxical qualities of prudent openness, discriminating trust, and disciplined spontaneity in the expression of one’s love to others. The Scriptures teach that compassion and caring ought to be extended to all human beings, above and beyond our normal sphere of relationships. The Christian is called to experience an ever-widening sphere of meaningful personal relationships throughout life. There is no age limit to this. However, courage is required at any age to reach out to others and to risk sharing their joys and their sorrows. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20
This does not mean that we ought to distress ourselves terribly about other people’s misfortunes. However, it does indicate that we ought to nurture an attitude of profound respect for the well-being of others and tht we should give sincerely what we can in terms of time, energy, and financial and material resources to meet some of the needs of a suffering humanity. Jesus expresses his profound identification with the suffering of humankind when he says: “I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me,” reports Matthew 25.36. And James adds that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction,” reports James 1.27. As actualizing Christians, we do not insulate ourselves from suffering in the World. We instead become vessels through which the love of God can flow to bring comfort to the brokenhearted, impart courage to those who are losing hope, and creatively seek to meet needs as they arise in people’s lives. Loving involves a choice and therefore may be rightly understood as being an act of will. This implies a sense of duty in the loving relationship, “in sickness and in health, for better or for worse.” A truly loving relationship is not a flighty or transitory affair. It is a trustworthy commitment that endures even in the face of hardship or sacrifice. It is a faithful caring that actively seeks the well-being and fulfillment of the beloved. In loving, we are most like Jesus and most truly ourselves. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the Heavens, Jesus Christ the Son of God, let us hold fast out profession, or our confession,” reports Hebrews 4.14. Here is where so many have missed it. Most people hold fast to the problem. They hold fast to the sickness. We are to hold fast to our confession of faith. Our confession should agree with the Word of God. If it does not, it is a confession of unbelief because it agrees with the devil. The confession of your mouth, even after you have prayed correctly, will determine whether or not you receive. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20
If you have prayed and asked God for something, and then say, “I just do not know what I am going to do, it is just not working out,” you blew it! You cancelled your prayer. That prayer will not work for you. Hold fast to the confession of your faith. “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the Heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus,” reports Hebrews 3.1. Actually in Greek the word for profession means “confession.” So we are to consider Jesus Christ, the Word, as the High Priest f the confession of our faith. I do not know what that means to you, but here is what it means to me: When I pray speaking faith-filled words concerning the things I desire, I can see Jesus, seated at the right hand of God the Father, nudging the Father and saying, “He is holding fast to the Word, saying the same things You said; He is returning Your Word to You. Now let us perform it just the way he said it.” Jesus confesses to the Father what I say if it agrees with the Word of God. However, if I say, “Lord, I have prayed and it is not working out,” He cannot say, “Father, he has prayed, but it is not working out.” The Father would say, “Those are not My words—who said that? Does not one know that I said one could have whatever one says, even in prayer?” Your confession is so vital to prayer. Your confession after prayer will either bind you to your problem or release you from it. The problem is yours and if you want it, God will let you have it back. You are the one to determine the outcome and proclaim it. Ever relation is based either on quantity, as double and half; or on action and passion, as the doer and the deed, the father and the son, the master and the servant, and the like. Now as there is no quantity in God, for He is great without quantity, as Augustine says, it follows that a real relation in God can be based only on action. Such relations are not based on the actions of God according to any extrinsic procession, forasmuch as the relations of God to creatures are not real in Him. Hence, it follows that real relations in God can be understood only in regard to those actions according to which there are internal, and no external, processions in God. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20
These processions are two only, as above explained one derived from the action of the intellect, the procession of the Word; and the other from the action of the will, the procession of love. In respect of each of these processions two opposite relations arise; one of which is the relation of the person proceeding from the principle; the other is the relation of the principle Himself. The procession of the Word is called generation in the proper sense of the term, whereby it is applied to living things. Now the relation of the principle of generation in perfect living beings is called paternity; and the relation of the one proceeding from the principle is called filiation. However, the procession of Love has no proper name of its own; and so neither have the ensuing relations a proper name of their own. The relation of the principle of this procession is called spiration; and the relation of the person proceeding is called procession: although these two names belong to the procession or origins themselves, and not to the relations. Even if you had the purity of the Angels and Archangels or the sanctity of John the Baptist, you still would not be worthy enough to receive this Sacrament, let alone handle it with your fingers. Worthiness has got nothing to do with it; that is to say, worthiness as Humankind defines it. There are just not enough human merits to go around when it comes to consecrating and handling the Sacrament of Christ. Consuming the Bread of Angels the way one eats a loaf—it is a Grand Mystery and a Great Dignity for the Priests. That is to say, this priestly power could have been given to Angels, but it was not. It was given only to Priests ordained in the rite of the Church. Only they have the power of celebrating the Mass and consecrating the Body of Christ. The Priest is a minister of God, using the Word of God the way God set it up. God is the Principal Initiator and the Invisible Operator of all things. Furthermore, you ought to put more faith in Omnipotent God, as He appears in this most excellent Sacramento, than in your own sensible yet silly World. To make this major readjustment, you must tiptoe through the tulips, that is to say, walk with fear and reverence. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20
Blessed be the works of your hand, O Holy One. Blessed be these hands that have touched life. Blessed by these hands that have nurtured creativity. Blessed be these hands that have held pain. Blessed be these hands that have embraced with passion. Blessed be these hands that have tended gardens. Blessed be these hands that have closed in anger. Blessed be these hands that have planted new seeds. Blessed be these hands that have harvested ripe fields. Blessed be these hands that have cleaned, washed, mopped, scrubbed. Blessed be these hands that have become knotty with age. Blessed be these hands that are wrinkled and scarred from doing justice. Blessed be these hands that have reached out and been received. Blessed be these hands that hold the promise of the future. Blessed be the works of your hands, O Holy One. O Lord our God, be gracious unto Thy people America and accept their prayer. Please restore the worship to Thy sanctuary and receive in loving favour the supplication of America. May the worship of Thy people be every acceptable unto Thee. Our God and God of our fathers, may our remembrance and the remembrance of our forefathers come before Thee. Remember the Messiah of the house of David, Thy servant, and America, Thy holy city, and all Thy people, the house of America. Please grant us deliverance and wellbeing, lovingkindness, life and peace on this day of the New Moon, the Feast of Unleavened bread, the Fest of Tabernacles. Please remember us this day, O Lord our God, for our good, and be mindful of us for a life of blessing. With Thy promise of salvation and mercy, deliver us and be gracious unto us, have compassion upon us and save us. Unto Thee do we lift our eyes for Thou art a gracious and merciful God and King. O may our eyes witness Thy return to America. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who restorest Thy divine presence unto America. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20
Cresleigh Homes
Your first #Thanksgiving in your new Brighton Station home? Time to make those turkey-filled memories!
Crack open the sparkling apple cider, bring out the cranberry cheese dip, and get on your aprons – it’s sure to be a fantastic holiday.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Cresleigh Homes!
I am More Important than My Problems!
Because behaviour is shaped by social forces, sociocultural theorists hold, we must examine a person’s social and cultural surroundings if we are to understand normal behaviour. Sociocultural explanations focus on family structure and communication, cultural influence, social networks, societal conditions, and societal labels and roles. According to family systems theory, the family is a system of interacting parts—the family members—who interact with one another in consistent ways and conform to rules unique to each family. The parts interact in ways that enable the systems to maintain itself and survive—a state known as homeostasis. Family system theorists believe that the structure and communication patterns of some families actually force individual members to behave in a way that otherwise seems abnormal. If the members were to behave normally, they would severely stain the family’s homeostasis and usual manner of operation and would actually increase their own and their family’s turmoil. The natural responses by other family member would in fact defend against such “normal” behaviour. Family systems theory holds that certain family systems are particularly likely to produce abnormal functioning in individual members. Some families, for example, have enmeshed structure in which the members are grossly overinvolved in each other’s activities, thoughts, and feelings. Children from this kind of family may have great difficulty becoming independent in life. Some families display disengagement, which is marked by very rigid boundaries between members. Children from these families may find it hard to function in a group or to give or request support. #RandolphHarris 1 of 18
In the sociocultural model, an angry and impulsive personal style of an individual may be seen as the product of a disturbed family structure. According to family systems theorists, the whole family—mother, father, and children—relate in such a way as to maintain the individual’s dysfunctional behaviour. Family theorists might be particularly interested in the conflict between the dysfunctional child’s mother and father and the imbalance between their parental roles. They might see the dysfunctional child’s behaviour as both a reaction to and stimulus for one’s parents’ behaviour. With the dysfunctional child acting out the role of the misbehaving child, or scapegoat, one’s parents may have little need or time to question their own relationship. Family systems theorists would also seek to clarify the precise nature of the dysfunctional child’s relationship with each parent. Is the child enmeshed with one’s mother and/or disengaged from one’s father? They would look too at the rules governing the sibling relationship in the family, the relationship between the parents and the dysfunctional child’s sibling, and the nature of parent-child relationships in previous generations of the family. The process of modeling has been identified as a potential causal mechanism in eating disorders. Maternal modeling in particular has been implicated in the etiology of eating disorders by a number of writers. Social learning theory indicates that people can learn behaviours through imitation of a model. This process of learning is enhanced when, among other features, the model is perceived to hold high status and is similar to the target. Each of these conditions is intact in the typical mother-daughter relationship. #RandolphHarris 2 of 18
Findings reviewed earlier indicate that daughters’ concerns with dieting and body image are strongly associated with those of their mothers. Mothers of daughters with eating disorders often themselves have symptoms of eating disorders. According to social learning theory, girls may observe their mothers’ restrictive eating behaviours and imitate them, perhaps because they perceive that their mothers were rewarded for such dieting. No student of communication could ever rightfully overlook the possibility that the mass media also play a powerful role in this process of social learning: Unusually thin and attractive models are commonly depicted as the recipients of social rewards. Psychodynamically oriented theories (including object relations and attachment theories) continue to occupy a conspicuous presence in the literature on eating disorders and family-of-origin relations. These accounts emphasize the symbolic significance of food in the adolescent girl’s struggle for control in her relationship with her mother. Abuse of food is seen as a means of covertly expressing dissatisfaction with the mother-daughter relationships. Refusing to eat food may represent a rejection of the mother’s overprotectiveness and over-involvement in the child’s life. The adolescent girl with an eating disorder may be struggling with a second separation-individuation process, similar to that which infants are hypothesized to experience in their relationships with their mothers. There is supportive data indicting that women with eating disorders had higher levels of separation anxiety and lower healthy separation scores, while simultaneously experiencing greater maternal overprotectiveness, than their counterparts. #RandolphHarris 3 of 18
Bulimic behaviors and a pursuit of thinness can also be predicted by dependency conflicts and a diminished sense of individuality, further highlighting the importance of separation-individuation. Observations of what appear to be elevated rates of childhood sexual abuse among those with eating disorders, in both research and clinical contexts, have led to what could be characterized as a desexualization theory of eating disorders. Some individuals develop eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa, as a means of avoiding pleasures of the flesh contacts and repelling would-be perpetrators. According to this perspective, anorexia nervosa becomes a means to make the self unappealing to others for pleasures of the flesh. In this sense, it may be understood as serving some greater interpersonal function (id est, protection from sexual abuse), despite its personal destructiveness. Some intriguing support for this position can be found in a study of so-called “sexual barrier weight,” where it was discovered that patients with eating disorders tended to avoid weights that they associated with certain traumatic events. For instance, if a woman had been sexually abused at a time that she weighed 110 pounds, that weight would trigger memories of past traumatic events. This appeared to motivate compulsive or restrictive eating to avoid the weight. There is compelling data that is indicative of radical changes in weight coincidental to sexually traumatic events. On its face, the desexualization approach is a more adequate account of anorexia nervosa than of bulimia nervosa, as those with the latter disorder generally maintain a normal body weight. #RandolphHarris 4 of 18
Bulimia nervosa can be activated by anger, presumably against a perpetrator and against those who fail to provide protection, and may also be tied to a desire to make the self look unappealing. The difficulty handling emotions such as anger and depression is common among people with bulimia nervosa. This leads to disturbed eating behaviour as a mechanism for coping with posttraumatic distress. A second version of the desexualization approach suggests that it is pursuant to a fear of denial of sexual maturation and upcoming sexuality, rather than a reaction to sexual trauma. Accordingly, eating disorders are thought to be triggered by anxiety associated with the meaning of and uncertainty about physical changes that occur during adolescence. Functionally, anorexia nervosa in particular becomes a way to preserve the preadolescent form and avoiding having to address the self as a self being. As such, it is viewed as a psychological regression from sexual maturity. Like the “reactive” version of the desexualization hypothesis, this approach assumes a powerful concern over sexual relationships with other people—to the extent that concerned individuals physically damage their own bodies through disordered eating to cope with these concerns. Among current approaches to understanding the role of the family in eating disorders, perhaps the most widely accepted is a variant of the diathesis-stress model. This position draws heavily on the literature that documents disturbances in personality traits and temperaments associated with bulimia nervosa and/or anorexia nervosa. These pathological traits may be passed on from parent to child and create a predisposition or vulnerability to an eating disorder. #RandolphHarris 5 of 18
The ultimate manifestation of the eating disorder is thought to be triggered by, among other things, disturbed family-of-origin relations. Thus the interaction of predisposing traits and temperaments with problematic family and social relationships is thought to be what ultimately brings about the eating disorder. Although the diathesis-stress model predicts the development of an eating disorder as the result of stress brought on by family interaction, the nature of the predisposition, or diathesis, to develop an eating disorder when stressed is not well understood. After all, one can find problematic family-of-origin interactions in the backgrounds of people with many other forms of psychological problems, and even among some people who have no psychological problems. Some might argue that the predisposition to develop an eating disorder is part of one’s genetically determined temperament. However, there may be some unique qualities of stressors (exempli gratia, dysfunctional family relations) that pull more for eating disorders than for other psychosocial problems. When parents are overly involved and overcontrolling with a child, this creates an obvious battle for control. When the parents are emphatic about achievement and perfectionism, this often motivates the child to engage in extraordinary behaviours. When these conditions are put on a developing adolescent, in the context of a society where thinness is still glamourized and portrayed as something of an ideal, the development of an eating disorder in particular—as opposed to other problems, such as depression, social anxiety, or alcoholism—becomes more understandable. Food intake is one thing the child can usually control. #RandolphHarris 6 of 18
Maintaining a thing body form can create a sense of “achievement” in the restrictive eater. In this sense, restrictive eating may be a “functional” response to the particular nature of the family stress. Although I have been disappointed by other people and events in the past, Father, I am going to keep expecting blessings and good things in the future, because of You. “Thus says the LORD, ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded,’ declares the LORD, ‘and they will return from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,’ declares the LORD,” reports Jeremiah 31.16-17. Sometimes, no matter how hard we pray or how long we stand in faith, things do not turn out as we had hoped. Some are praying to lose weight, for their marriages to be restored, to be spared from the pandemic, for a financial bless, for a new home in Cresleigh Ranch; others are asking God to heal a business situation or a rift between coworkers. I encourage people to persevere, to continue praying and believing for good things to happen. However, we must also understand that God will not change another person’s will. He had given every human being free will to choose which way one will go, whether to do right or wrong. One may be heartbroken over not ending up on America’s Next Top Model, or over a failed relationship, or a bankrupt business, but one does not need to stay heartbroken. Do not carry around all that hurt and pain year after year. Do not let rejection fester inside you. God has something new in store for you. #RandolphHarris 7 of 18
When God allows one door to close, He will open another door for you, revealing something bigger and better. The Christian Bible says that God will take the evil the enemy brings into our lives, and if we will keep the right attitude, He will turn it around and use it for our good. “As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant if for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day,” reports Genesis 50.20. God wants to take those disappointments and turn them into reappointments. However, understand, whether you will experience all those good things in your future depends to a large extent on your willingness to let go of the past. Never put a question mark where God has put a period. Avoid the tendency to dwell on what you could have done, which career you should have pursued, or that person you wish you would have married. Quit living in a negative frame of mind, stewing about something that is over and done. Focus on what you can change, rather than what you cannot. Do not let the regrets of yesterday destroy the hopes and dreams of tomorrow. You cannot do anything about what is gone, but you can do a great deal about what remains. You may have made some poor choices that have caused you awful heartache and pain. Perhaps you feel that you have blown it, that your life is in shambles and beyond repair. You may feel disqualified from God’s best, convinced that you must settle for leftover the rest of your life because of poor decisions you made or because of the family you were born into. Sometimes, even worse, you may not have been the person who made the bad choices, but somebody’s foolish decision caused you to experience wrenching heartache and pain. #RandolphHarris 8 of 18
Regardless, you must stop dwelling on what went wrong. Let the past be in the past. Forgive the person who caused you heartache and pain and start with a fresh slate right where you are today. If you continue to harp on those past disappointments, you will block God’s blessings in your life today. It is simply not worth it. Beyond that, God desires your restoration even more than you do! Live in obedience to God, and God eventually will help you to level up. It is not game over. Maybe you have invested a lot of time, effort, money, emotion, and energy in a relationship; you did your best to make it work out. However, for some reason, things got off course, and now you feel as though you have been robbed. You must feel devastated, heartbroken, disappointed. How long are you going to mourn over that failed relationship? How long are you going to grief over your broken dreams? How long are you going to cry about your dream house being sold at auction? That is the problem with excessive mourning. When we focus on our disappointments, we stop God from bringing fresh new blessings in our lives. If you will quit mourning and get going, God will show you new, and better things. When you have a fresh new attitude, and put a smile on your face, God can always come up with a more superior plan. Get that spring back in your step, that bounce back in your hair, and that charismatic light back in your eyes and be on your way. If we wallow in the mud and focus on our disappointments, we risk missing out on the new things God wants to do in our lives. It is time to get up and get going. It is time to be successful. God has another plan for you. And it is better than you can imagine! #RandolphHarris 9 of 18
Do what you can, My dear friend, to find out what the trouble is. If you go about it in an honest way, you will make two discoveries: how much infirmity has wormed its way into your soul and how much goodness and grace you can get out of Jesus Christ. On their own, the Anxious are often frigid, dense, not all that devout. With Jesus Christ as Companion and Friend, they are becoming fervent, responsive and the devotion returns. I once taught a class in human values. One of the deepest values that kept cropping up was love. One day when we were talking about love, I sensed a peculiar tension and uneasiness in Jensen. I asked him if he would like to add anything to what we had been saying. He was flushed and replied that, although he had been a Christian ever since he could remember, he had never felt lovable. Somehow he had gotten the idea that he was a depraved, unattractive, and unlovable person. He reported that he knew in his head that God and others loved him, but he had managed to insulate himself from ever experiencing directly his “lovability” and “loveliness.” In fact, he had developed a habit of discounting people’s compliments and erasing from his mind the good feedback that he received. I invited Jensen to sit in the middle of the circle the class formed. Then I looked him straight in the eye and told he that I felt love for him. Gradually, other members of the class began to share their good feedback and caring feelings for him. Some even got up from their seats and walked over to hug him. He felt overwhelmed—at first with embarrassment, then with joy. Tears streamed down his face. I sensed that there was another way of expanding the awareness that was dawning on him. #RandolphHarris 10 of 18
I had him stand up on his chair and say: “I am lovable.” At first he said it very timidly, and the class got after him for discounting himself again. Again and again he tried saying it. Then somehow he began to experience firsthand the real meaning of what he was saying. He stood up straighter, took a deep breath, and shouted: “I am lovable!” Again and again he shouted it with tears welling down his face. When he got back down, the whole class cheered and applauded. Many in the class reported that they, too, had never felt as much in touch with the power of being loved as they had in those moments. Many weeks later Jensen told that class that his “lovability” experience had been a turning point for him. Now he was becoming more aware of his worthy, his right, and his potential for a fulfilling life. We must have security in being ourselves and in feeling significant and worthwhile before we will dare to reach and touch the World in a caring way. This has the effect of providing us with a sense of power out of which we can choose to love. This, we can put away the childish manipulations of pleasing and placating and take up the more actualizing forms of love: affirming and caring. When we begin to learn how to love ourselves, we discover that we have new energy and courage to reach out in love to others. And, paradoxically, love can only be kept when it is given freely to others. The glimpse is a memorable experience, but it is not enough. It shows one a possible future, gives one a new World-view, but one must henceforth bring all that into one’s everyday life and into one’s whole being. These needs time. practice, patience, vigilance, self-training, and more sensitivity. #RandolphHarris 11 of 18
Wisdom does not come overnight. It needs time to ripen. However, Relvelation can come in that way. However, its recipient will still need time to adjust to it, and to integrate with it. What one has learned from the glimpse must be applied to life, to action, and attitude. It is not enough merely to enjoy its memory, as if it made no difference. The deep changes in our views of nature, evolution, progress, time, and space begin coming together as our Third Wave culture emphasizes contexts, relationships, and wholes. We now focus on total, rather than fragmentary, look at problems. Emphasizing the feedback relationships among subsystems and the larger wholes formed by these units, systems thinking has had a pervasive cultural impact. Its language and concepts have been employed by social scientists and psychologists, by philosophers and foreign policy analysts, by logicians and linguists, by engineers and administrators. However, the advocates of systems theory are not the only ones in the past few decades who have urged a more integrative way of looking at problems. The revolt against narrow overspecialization also received a boost from the environmental campaigns of the 2000’s, as ecologists increasingly rediscovered the “web” of nature, the interrelatedness of species, and the wholeness of ecosystems. Non-environmentalists tend to want to separate things into components and to solve one thing at a time. By contrast, Environmentalists tend to see things quite differently. Their instinct is to balance the whole, not to solve a single part. The ecological approach and the systems approach overlap and share the same thrust toward synthesis and the integration of knowledge. #RandolphHarris 12 of 18
In universities, meanwhile, more and more calls are heard for interdisciplinary thinking. While departmental barriers still block the cross-fertilization of ideas and the integration of information in most universities, this demand for inter- or multi-disciplinary work is now so widespread it has an almost ritual quality. These changes in intellectual life are mirrored elsewhere in the culture as well. Eastern religions, for example, have long had a tiny fringe following among the European middle classes, but it was not until the disintegration of industrial society began in earnest that thousands of Western young people started lionizing Indian swamis, jamming the Astrodome to hear a 16-year-old guru, listening to ragas, opening Hindu-style vegetarian restaurants, and dancing down Fifth Avenue. The World, they suddenly chanted, was not broke into Cartesian chips: it has a “oneness.” In the field of mental health, psychotherapists have been searching for ways to cure the “whole person” by employing gestalt therapy. A gestalt explosion is erupting as the establishment of gestalt therapists and institutions are springing up in the Untied States of America. Enlightened people do not want to be angry and broken and always unhappy. The goal of this activity is to increase human potential through the process of integration of the individual’s sensory awareness, perceptions, and relationships with the outside World. In medicine, a “holistic health” movement has sprung up based on the notion that the well-being of the individual depends on an integration of the physical, the spiritual, and the mental. Mixing quackery with serious medical innovation, the movement has regained enormous strength in this first quarter century. #RandolphHarris 13 of 18
A few decades ago, it would have been unthinkable for the federal government to lend its sponsorship to a conference on health that featured such topics as faith healing, religion, iridology, acupressure, cupping, meditation, and electromedicine. Since then there has been a virtual explosion of interest in alternative healing methods and systems, all of which go under the name of holistic healing. With so much activity, on so many different levels, it is hardly surprising that the terms “wholism” or “holism” should have crept into the popular vocabulary. Today they are used almost indiscriminately. A World Bank expert calls for “a holistic understanding of urban shelter.” A research group in the United States of Congress demands a long-range holistic” studies. A curriculum expert claims to employ “holistic reading and scoring” in teaching school children to write. And several Beverly Hills gyms offer “holistic exercise.” Each of these movements, fads, and cultural currents are different. However, their common element is clear. All of them represent an attack on the assumption that the whole can be understood by studying the parts in isolation. Their thrust is summed up in the words of philosopher Ervin Laszlo, a leading systems theorist: we are “part of interconnection, or short-rage projects and limited controllabilities may lead us to our own destruction.” This attack on the fragmentary, on the partial and analytic has grown so fierce, in fact, that many fanatic “holists” blithely forget the parts in their pursuit of the ineffable whole. The result is not wholism at all but yet another fragmentation. Their wholism is halfism. #RandolphHarris 14 of 18
More thoughtful critics, however, seek to balance the old Second Wave analytic skills with a much greater emphasis on synthesis. This idea is perhaps most clearly expressed by ecologist Eugene P. Odum in urging his colleagues to combine wholism with reductionism—to look at whole systems as well as their parts. “As components are combined to produce larger functional wholes,” he declared when he and his more famous brother, Howard, jointly won the Prix de l’Institut de la Vie, “new properties emerge that were not present or not evident at the next level below. This is not to say that we abandon reductionist science, since a great deal of good has resulted for humankind from this approach,” but that the time has come to give equal backing to studies of “large-scale integrated systems.” Taken together, systems theory, ecology, and the generalized emphasis on wholistic thinking—like our changing conceptions of time and space—are part of the cultural attack on the intellectual premises of Second Wave civilization. That attack reaches its culmination, however, in the emerging new view of why things happen as they do: the new causality. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a simple form of government. A single leader must have subordinate magistrates; a popular government must always have a leader. Thus in the distribution of the executive power there is always a gradation from the greater to lesser number, with the difference that sometimes the greater number depends on the few, and sometimes the few depend on the greater number. At times the distribution is equal, either when the constitutive parts are in a state of mutual dependence, as in the government of England; or when authority of each part is independent but imperfect, as in Poland. This latter form is bad, since there is no unity in government and the state lacks a bond of unity. #RandolphHarris 15 of 18
Which one is better, a simple or a mixed form of government? A question much debated among political theorists, to which the same reply must be given that I gave above regarding every form of government. In itself the simple form of government is the best, precisely because it is simple. However, when the executive power is not sufficiently dependent upon the legislative power, that is to say, when there is more of a ratio between the prince and the sovereign than between the people and the prince, this defect in the proportion must be remedied by diving the government; for then all of its parts have no less authority over the subjects, and their division makes all of them together less forceful against the sovereign. The same disadvantage can also be prevented through the establishment of intermediate magistrates, who, by being utterly separate from the government, serve merely to balance the two powers and to maintain their respective rights. In that case, the government is not mixed; it is tempered. The opposite difficulty can be remedied by similar means. And when the government is too slack, tribunals can be set up to give it a concentrated focus. This is done in all democracies. In the first case the government is divided in order to weaken it, and in the second to strengthen it. For the maximum of force and weakness are found equally in the simple forms of government, while the mixed forms of government provide an intermediate amount of strength. Communism has a fanatic hostility to all spiritual enlightenment and is inspired by the same dark forces that inspired the fanatic hostility of Nazism. This inner war between good and evil goes on at all times; the military World war was but a dramatic outward representation of it. The dangers to which humanity was exposed to did not vanish. #RandolphHarris 16 of 18
Those unseen powers still exist. What they could not achieve through a straightforward conflict, they will desperately try to achieve through a confused one. This indeed is the next phase of experience through which we are going though an which we have to endure. Fear came because of the evil report. Fear is belief in the enemy. When one is afraid something will happen, that means one believes it will happen. If one is afraid something bad will happen, that means one has more faith in the adversary’s ability to hinder one than one has in God’s ability to put one over. “Let us therefore fear. We can insert the word believe here. Let us therefore believe, lest, a promise being left us of entering into one’s rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it,” reports Hebrew 4.1-2. The Word preached did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. They did not mix faith with what they heard. When we pray, we must mix faith with our words. Just saying words is not prayer. Mix faith with your words. In Mark 11.24 Jesus tells us to believe that we receive our desires when we pray. One translation says, “Believe that you received them.” If I do that when I pray, I must mix faith with my words: Father, I thank You for You have heard me and I believe that I have received. Someone says, “Why do you not just believe it and not say anything?” Here are five reasons. One shall have whatsoever one saith (Mark 11.23). Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12.34). We also believe, and therefore speak (2 Corinthians 4.13). So then faith come by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10.17). For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without work is dead also (James 2.26). Your words are the spirit of your faith. #RandolphHarris 17 of 18
May the blessing of light be on you, light without and light within. May the blessed sunshine shine on you and warm your heart till it glows like a great peat fire so that the stranger may come and warm oneself at it, and also a friend. And may the light shine out of the two eyes of you, like a candle set in the two windows of a house, budding the wanderer come in out of the storm; and may the blessings of the rain be on you—the soft, sweet rain. May it fall upon your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up and shed their sweetness on the air. And may the blessings of the Great Rains be so on you, may the beat upon your spirit and wash it fair and clean, and leave there many a shining pool where the blue of Heaven shines, and sometimes a star. And may the blessing of the Earth be on you—the great round Earth; may you ever have a kindly greeting for those you pass as you are going along the roads. May the Earth be soft under you when you rest upon it, tired at the end of a day, and may it rest easy over you when at the last, you lay under it; may it rest so lightly over you that your soul may be off from under it quickly and up and off, and on its way to God. And now may the Lord bless you all and bless you kindly. Return in mercy to America, Thy city, and dwell therein as Thou hast promised. Rebuild it in our own day as an enduring habitation, and speedily set up therein the throne of the king. Blessed art Thou, who rebuilds America. Cause the dynast of America soon to flourish and may it be exalted through Thy saving power, for we daily await Thy deliverance. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who causes salvation to come forth. Hear our voice, O Lord our God, have compassion upon us and receive our prayers in loving favour for Thou, O God, hearkenest unto prayers and supplications. Turn us not from Thy presence without Thy blessing, O our King, for Thou hearest the prayers of Thy people America with compassion. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who hearkenest unto prayer. #RandolphHarrus 18 of 18
Cresleigh Homes
With 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, Mills Station Residence 4 is the largest home in the community…
But sometimes you just need a tiny guest house for the smallest visitors. 👶 But don’t worry; we’re keeping a watchful eye from the porch!
Estimated Completion for this Home: December 2021
4051 Audris Way, Rancho Cordova, 95742
Homesite 40 at Mills Station is a Residence Four, boasting 2,692 square feet as the largest home in the community. The open concept design includes four bedrooms, three and one half bathrooms, two car garage plus workshop, and a covered California Room perfect for outdoor entertaining. https://cresleigh.com/mills-station/new-home-rancho-cordova-homesite-40/
Randolph Harris II International Institute 