We must believe there is one God or supreme Monarch. We must believe that he is the father of whom are all things, and that he loves his people as his children that they may mutually love him and obey him as their father. We must believe that God is the pantocrator Lord of all things with an irresistible and boundless power and that we may expect great rewards if we do his will. Many people have believed largely in a biblical authority, but by the seventeenth century in Europe the founders of the new science were becoming so bold as to argue that, by directly cross-questioning nature as to what the present facts are, they would find out even more about God’s ways and his master plan. These first scientists, devout believers to a human, did not think they were doing anything dangerously radical, let alone subversive. They took it for granted that the World is God’s creation and that, if put to the test, it could only provide further living proof of his wisdom and munificence. Many people would rather believe in all the miracles and legends than that this Universal frame is without a mind. A little science might be a dangerous thing. However, deep science could only lead people further on the path of right and righteousness. Science itself could be a form of worship. Its purpose would always be to tell more of the sacred story, never undermine it. #RandolphHarris 1 of 8
In our quieter moments we are all dreamers. Many scientists have the energy to study the scriptures and the Universe because they are looking for something more richer than the explanation that God created the Universe. And so they delved deeper, and deeper. They should perhaps have known it was curiosity not care that killed the cat. Some mysteries are better left alone. However wonderful a child may think his or her parents are for giving one life, it is probably not wise for the child to creep into the bedroom to try and get a closer view of the creative act. The Bible itself, in the story of the Fall, contains an early warning against wanting to learn more than is good for you. Many other cautionary tales tell of what happens to people who show too much zeal for knowledge. Pandora was told not to open the box that Zeus had given her, but she did—and out flew a swarm of evil sprites, all the bodily and mental ills that have ever since tormented the human race. Oedipus was warned by Tiresias against inquiring too deeply into his origins, but he did—and we know what a shocking discovery awaited him. Given the fact of God’s foreknowledge, we have not lapsed into determinism. Although God knows infallibly what an individual will freely do, such an infallible knows in no way determines the will of the individual. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
There is a cooperation or concursus of human’s free will with the divine grace. God foreknows from all eternity what an individual would do under certain circumstances if offered his grace. God wishes all people to be saved and he extends sufficient grace to all. With a passion, many scientists still seek knowledge. They wish to understand that hearts of humans, and they want to know why the stars shine. Remember, science requires your whole life. Even if you had two lives to give it would still not be enough. Science demands of people effort and supreme passion. What a scientist’s aim might be may sometimes be obscure, but their pains, their diligence at these times of working themselves into a frenzy, makes us believe that they are aimed at something beyond the reach of human art and industry. Some argue that it would be blasphemous not to make science one’s first priority. God, like any other artist, demanded an audience for his works, and would be upset if people took them too much for granted. In contrast to an earlier statement, because God created us with amazing intellectual capabilities, there is no reason to worry. For the more we pry into, and discover God’s works, the greater and ore glorious we find them to be, the more worthy of, and the more expressly to proclaim our great Creator. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
Limitless is our potential. Magnificent is our future, if we take control of it. It is often more rewarding to look at what science does than what people say about it. True researchers are commendable. When we follow the handy work of science, when and whither it leads us, we can admire the miracles, and set them forth to others. When it comes to any project with is massive and full of unknown territory, pain and expense are unavoidable. There are indeed already martyrs in the cause of science. Archimedes had famously died at the hand of a Roman soldier, while contemplating a mathematical diagram in the sand. Galileo only just escaped with his life. Bacon himself met his end as the result of catching cold when stuffing a hen with snow in order to observe the effect of freezing on the preservation of flesh (the first—but by no means the last—experimental scientists to die in active service). Whatever the personal costs, however, it would not have occurred to any of these pioneers that their discoveries could possibly bring spiritual or even material costs to humankind as a whole. However, there is not a slightest doubt that these patterns of behavior will yield success and happiness and peace. If we follow our passions, our lives will be successful and good. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
We have to believe in the success of our endeavors. And as we grow, look back with appreciation for the manner in which we chose to live. The scientific study of human thought and action, undertaken by biologists, could have shown that there is no way of accounting for the obvious evidence for adaption and design in the structures of plants and animals without postulating a divine designer—with all that this would imply about God’s purpose in putting us on Earth. The Omega Point Theory, which is a model for an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, evolving, personal God who is both transcendent to spacetime and immanent in it, and who exists necessarily, is a spiritual belief and a scientific speculation that everything in the Universe is fated to spiral towards a final point of divine unification. The Omega Point Theory suggests a future Universal resurrection of the dead very similar to the one predicted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The notions of grace and the beatific vision appear naturally in the model. Our word will have power in such degree as we sense that it is the activity of the spirit within us, and the law unto that thing spoken of. We should have a sense of the indwelling spirit, all-present and all-powerful. There must be no despair or uncertainty, nor even supplication or reverence, for the tomb gives up its dead not to the dead, but to the living. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
Knowing the truth is a spiritual treatment. To know that there is no person external to the likeness of God is part of the treatment. We must rise higher in consciousness than the condition we expect to heal. Peace is greater than the experience of pain. Focus on peace, love, and perfection, whereas pain is not; pain is an experience which is now eliminated, now completely reversed. Fear and faith are identical mental attitudes. The energy used in one is the same energy as that used in the other, since there is but one final energy in the Universe and this final energy is the energy of spirit. Even the study of physical chemistry could have shown, as Newton himself hoped, that in order to explain certain chemical reactions it is necessary to postulate the existence of subtle spirits and assume a principle of sociability, indeed it is necessary to understand the anima, and investigate the laws which are observed in these operations of the spirit, the powers and actions of the electrical spirit which pervade all bodies—with all that this would imply about the possibility of mystical union with nature. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
There are skillful reasons to explain the effect that certain present facts such as the crystallization of salts and the nest-building habits of birds, we are required to postulate the operation of principle called morphic resonance, whereby patterns in nature get preserved and communicated across the aether. In the process of morphic resonance, organizing systems inherit a memory from previous similar systems. It its most general formulation, morphic resonance means that the laws of nature are more like habits. This also means that memory storage in the brain and biological inheritance are inherited as collective memory from past members of the species, and also contributes to the collective memory, affecting other members of the species in the future producing promising outcomes. This means that development of the Earth as a whole is essentially purposeful—with everything tending toward an evolutionary goal (whose nature, admittedly, we human beings are not yet privileged to understand). Researchers have come up with a new way to encode digital data in DNA to create the highest-density large-scale data storage ability ever invented. Capable of storing 215 petabytes (215 million gigabytes) in a single gram of DNA, the system could store every bit of datum ever recorded by humans in a container about the size and weight of a couple of pickup trucks. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
We come to this Earth to nurture and discover the seeds of divine nature that are within us. DNA has many advantages for storing digital data. It is ultracompact, and it can last hundreds of thousands of years if kept in a cool, dry place. And as long as human societies are reading and writing DNA, they will be able to decode it. DNA will not degrade over time like cassette tapes, 8-track, and CDs, and it will not become obsolete. God sent us here to prepare for a future greater than anything we can imagine. The divine nature within each one of us is refined and magnified by the effort we make to draw nearer to our Heavenly Father. We identify with our divine nature as we feel and give the love of our Father in Heaven. We have the agency to nurture it, let it flourish, and help it grow. As we understand who we are, we begin to feel those precious promises. In our future, a day at a tie, comes alive when we do more than just exist; it comes alive when we live our lives to fill the measures of our creation. This invites the Lord into our lives, and we begin to let his will become ours. Divine nature breathers into us the desire to know these eternal truths for ourselves. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come. Once we begin to see the divinity in ourselves, we can see it in others. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
The art of religion has been to offer a way of looking at the World in which explanation and assurance are part of a single integrated package. The claim made by believers, of course, is that this is not a matter of art but a matter of truth. No doubt it will take some specialist skill to reveal exactly what the World is presently like and to provide the one and only proper explanation—but, once this has been done, there will be no question about what follows (or might follow) as consequence. Life is hard. It is a challenge. At every age life presents trials to bear and difficulties to overcome. Growing up is hard. There are often the heartaches of feeling wronged or rejected. Pursuing an education can press us to financial, emotional, and intellectual limits. Serving a mission is not easy. It requires total dedication, spiritually and physically. The problems accompanying marriage, rearing a family, earning a living, or coping with infirmary, the golden years, and the thought of passing into Heaven are realities of life which we may be unprepared or unwilling to deal. We will be able to face and solve these challenges more willingly and courageously when we understand that such obstacles are encountered as a natural part of living. We can still confidently say that the very fact that we are living in this present means we have a hope of going forward to that future. #RandolphHarris 1 of 11
The attraction of supernatural belief system has a foundation in the reasonableness with which things fit together. The Lord has made available to us a power which will turn challenges into opportunities, a power which will enable us to understand the declaration that trials of our faith are indeed more precious than gold. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why religion often has such strength and staying power. Why do arches stand, while single columns fall? Because their parts mutually support each other. Why do skulls survive on the plains of Africa while diamonds disappear? Because there is no way for predators to get a hold of them, their teeth slip off. We have been referred to as a believing people. Certainly, individual faith is the foundation stone of the gospel and the quality which is most important to us as individuals. Faith is the assurance which people have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelligent beings. It is the first great governing principle. We must have perfect faith in God, or we cannot be saved in the Kingdom of God. As a principle of power and of action, and as the key to our salvation, or individual faith, then, becomes of absolute importance to us. “Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity,” reports 1 Timothy 4.12. #RandolphHarris 2 of 11
Youth is a time for growth. Our minds during these formative years are receptive to truth, but they are also receptive to error. The time that does not belong to us excites our anxiety and hopes. The need for a personal code of honor is demanded not only on a daily basis, but frequently many times in a given day. We must have a spirit of determination to do the right thing. Hence, we set up goals and try to change the facts to meet them. We decide what we want (or perhaps what we do not want), work out what would be required to deliver it (or stop its being delivered), and then attempt to find it (or prevent it). When we are hungry, for instance, and want to obtain a gourmet meal, we do whatever we can now do to procure it. When we are in love and want to bring about a consummation, we say and do whatever seems suitable now to bring it about. And so on. This kind of constructive thinking is what our brains are best at. The whole kaleidoscope of human intelligence is concerned with, and has evolved for, and inspired by our devotion to responsibility in the cause of God. Faith is the ability to recognize the Lord as all-powerful and the giver of all blessings. #RandolphHarris 3 of 11
There is a very obvious reason why not, or at least why we should be very careful about manipulating our theory of present facts to deliver the theoretical future that we hope for. If we do this, we are in danger of losing touch with reality and becoming cocooned within a circle of self-delusion. Pray always in the performance of your responsibilities, and you will never be in the position of Alice in Wonderland. Alice was following a path through a forest in Wonderland when it divided into two directions. Standing irresolute, she inquired of the Cheshire Cat, which has suddenly appeared in a nearby tree, which path she should take. “where do you want to go?” asked the cat. “I do not know,” said Alice. “Then,” said the cat,” it really does not matter, does it?” We who believe in God know where it is we wish to go. Our objective is the celestial kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Ours is the sacred duty to follow the well-defined path that leads to it. Still, cocoons are relatively comfortable places (so would-be butterflies have been reported as saying). And, whatever the risks of circularity, there is no denying that this way of construing the present in order to construct the future ay be an effective psychological technique. It can be made to work well at the level of social propaganda to invite a Wonderland and convenient myths (sometimes translated as noble lies). #RandolphHarris 4 of 11
However, after being forced to deal with the realities of life, Wonderland may become less attractive, and you may need some psychotherapy to conspire to bring yourself to a future state of health by uncovering the memories of past events and appropriate explanations to go with them. And soon, you will be ready to serve a mission. It will be wonderful when you and prepared to serve wherever the Spirit of the Lord directs. This alone is a modern miracle, considering the times in which we live. We should pray that people be lifted up together and rejoice in the beautiful things of the gospel. I have in my pocket a silver dollar. One side says, “In God we trust.” We have been taught by the prophets to truth in the Lord, to trust as did young David when facing the giant Goliath. Now, there is another side to that coin. Would that it read, “And God can trust in you.” The Lord wants us to trust in him, but he also wants to be able to trust in us. To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be liked or loved. It is sad that many people have this strategy of shamelessly writing facts and explanations into history so as to delver the prognosis that their clients want. In the USSR the joke used to be that the works of Lenin were still being written many years after his death. In fact, many succeed to such a degree that, just as with stories told in therapy, the mythical history may easily become established as the false memory of real events. #RandolphHarris 5 of 11
However, the art of truth is a self-validating argument. One of the principal purposes of this life is to find out if the Lord can trust us. We are destined to be tried, tested, and proven during our journey on Earth to see if we are trustworthy. The Lord loves all of his children, but he can trust some more than others. It is far better when he can both love and trust each one of us. The premises, once accepted, do lead to the conclusions—as so we should, since that is what we are designed to do. The Lord needs to know if he can trust us to do the right thing in every situation. And, there is art as well as truth—the art of begging the question. It is the art of a sculptor who sees the finished block of marble before one sets to work, the art of a Hollywood screenwriter whose first scene lays the ground for the happy ending…art of putting gas in the car before you drive it. A person of high character testifies and then lives in harmony with one’s testimony. “I cannot and I will not recant, for it is neither safe nor expedient to act against conscience. Here I take my stand I can do no otherwise, so help me God,” reports Martin Luther. If it is to be of any service, all observation must be for or against some view. #RandolphHarris 6 of 11
Our chief concern in life should not be the acquiring of gold, or of fame, or of material possessions. It should not be the development of physical prowess, nor of intellectual strength, but our aim, the highest in life, should be the development of divine character. Reason must approach nature in order to be taught by it. It must not, however, do so in the character of a pupil who listens to everything that the teacher chooses to say, but of an appointed judge who compels the witnesses to answer questions which he or she has formulated. Compelling a witness to answer pre-formulated questions is not the same thing as compelling a particular answer. When the Bishop asked his page, “Who is that sees and hears all we do, and before whom even I am but as a crushed worm?” he did not expect to be told “Your wife, my Lord.” When Little Red Ridinghood asks the creature in her bed, “Why do you have such big teeth, Grandmother?” she was not looking forward to the answer she actually received. When we do science we are, for sure, going to get an explanation of the present, and from this explanation we are certain to get a future. However, we are living dangerously. The explanation may not be what we were anticipating, and the future that follows from it may no longer be the one for which we hope. #RandolphHarris 7 of 11
The United States Constitution was the first written constitution in the World. It has served Americans well, enhancing freedom and prosperity during the changed conditions of more than two hundred years. Frequently copied, it has become the United States’ most important export. After two centuries, every nation in the World except six have adopted written constitutions, and the U.S. Constitution was a model for all of them. No wonder modern revelation reports that God established the United States Constitution and that it should be maintained for the rights and protections of all flesh, according to just to just and holy principles. President George Washington was perhaps the first to use the word miracle in describing the drafting of the United States of America Constitution. In a letter written in the year 1788 to Lafayette, “It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the delegates from so many different states (which states you know are also different from each other in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices) should unite in forming a system of a national Government, so little liable to well-founded objections,” reports President George Washington. Every teaching of truth is an explanation rather than a suggestion, and in drawing our line we realize that if the teaching of truth is a mental suggestion, the it is a most desirable one. #RandolphHarris 8 of 11
The only suggestions we need to avoid are the destructive ones, those which coerce the mind. Unless America could adopt a central government with sufficient authority to function as a nation, the thirteen states would have remained a group of insignificant, feuding little nations united by nothing more then geography and forever vulnerable to the impositions of aggressive foreign powers. No wonder that the first preamble of the new United States Constitution was “To form a more perfect union.” Without a constitution, economically and politically, the country would be alarmingly weak. The states would suffer a paralyzing depression. Everyone would be in debt. The national treasure would be raided by foreign governments and sit empty. Inflation would become rampant. The various currencies would be nearly worthless. We would have a staggering trade deficit, and it is possible that human capital would be the only form of currency valued by our debtors. Since we are finite I supposed we are generally exchanging one belief for greater ones, I presume we have done well. However, if we were not a United States of America, we would suffer dearly. #RandolphHarris 9 of 11
People rant and rave about how prosperous California is and defies rules imposed by the federal government. The federal government is the very entity that has allowed California to flourish. California, right now, is acting like a pissy brats listening to stylistic tuns, who live off of their parents money, land, room and board and legacy and thinks he or she is all that in a bag of chips. However, without parents, that child, much like California in the absence of a federal government, would be on the mean streets and forced to protect itself against predators it did not know existed and would have no money, no place to stay, and no friends. People only like when we you are rich and willingly to give them a little piece, but as soon as you are down on hard times, the only person that will be there for you is your family and God, unless your tore your britches so bad that you become a child only God can love. The success of America has attributable in large to God and the remarkable wisdom, intelligence, wisdom, and unselfishness of the delegates. Truly, the United States Constitution was established by the hands of wise men and women whom the Lord raised up unto this very purpose. And I include women because everyone knows that the wife is the one who makes important decisions for her husband, even if she is not given credit. #RandolphHarris 10 of 11
This word is for America: Understand that love overcomes both hate and fear. Love does not overcome hate and fear by argument or force, but by some subtle power of transformation, transmutation, sublimation, invisible in its essence but apparent through its act. As light overcomes the darkness, as the presence of heart causes the atmosphere of the room to change until it is warm and comfortable, so the radiant presence of love and peace dissipates fear, hate, and confusion. Know that you are dominated by love and appreciated in love by everyone who contact you. Fear and hate cannot motivate you, cannot operate through you, cannot do anything to you, does not belong to you, and is not apart of you. Nothing enters your consciousness but a sense of peace. You do not fight evil. There is no evil. Allow the people in your lives to cover you with love. Love is the victor in every case. Love breaks down the iron bars of thought, shatters the walls of material belief, severs the chain of bondage which thought has imposed, and sets you free from captivity. There is nothing to coerce because there is no one there to be coerced. You cannot influence anyone because there is no one in your environment to be influenced or to influence. However, you can attract new friendships into your life. You must believe it. #RandolphHarris 11 of 11
The Moon has long been thought to be 4.53 billion years old. However, after analyzing some of the small impact craters scientists believer the Moon may be older than 4.53 billion years old. With all the incredible things going on in the World, why is it are journalism is so full of gossip and lies? Could it be that the majority of people have simply not heard what science has done? There are certainly some who not only prefer to remain ignorant themselves, but they do their best to keep everyone else in the same condition too. And it is of course almost inevitable that, in our truth-will-out, information-hungry culture, interesting ideas—be they welcome or not—soon enough become everybody’s property. Each new success is trumpeted from the presses, analyzed on television. When one scans through a newspaper or magazine, all the human interest stuff is characterized by conflicting statements from opposing parties in the absence of concrete evidence. The politics and economics the same sorry cyclic dramas. Human natures does not change much; science does. No, they have heard. Few adults in the modern World can actually be unaware that there are now physicalist explanations for most if not all natural phenomena, not excluding the workings of the human mind. #RandolphHarris 1 of 10
Many people—including some of those who are themselves the messengers—continue to ignore the message. Indeed, it sometimes seems that the more that people hear, the less they want to know, and the more they want to gossip and invent vicious lies to spread around. In contemporary Russia, however, the population must be better educated in science than any other in the World, alternative beliefs—ranging from Christianity and popular culture—are flourishing to an extent that even America can hardly match. The reason is transparent. Scientific materialism is regarded by many, even by some of its own prophets, as deeply unsatisfying: scary, bewildering, insulting, demeaning, dispiriting, and confining. We have fully automated cars that supposedly do not need humans to drive them, but one has already killed an innocent person. We have computers to make accessing information easier, but people are also able to hack into our computers, steal information, and cyber stalk us. We have mobile phones to make communication easier, but with augmented reality, people have found ways to simply ignore each other and the material World in large groups. However, there are some modern marvels like the automatic machines that wash and dry your clothes and dishes. #RandolphHarris 2 of 10
This era has created the first technical civilization, but it has reached the point beyond which the abyss begins. It is still important to also focus on the cultivation of soul, individual spirituality, and above all, trust in one’s own subjectivity as one’s principal link with the World. We stand at the end of the Age of Reason. A new era of the magical explanation of the World is rising. The demonstrators for a cause cannot always choose their comrades on the barricades. Nonetheless, human beings—especially the more articulate and poetic ones should have their say about matters that are theirs. Where have we come from? What are we? Where are we going? People want explanations to these questions and they are certainly not getting answers from fake news and gossip. Many want life’s symptoms that make sense. There has to be a reasonable diagnosis of what presently exists—an explanation, especially where obvious natural explanations are lacking, of the pains and aches, flushes, starts in the eyes, strawberry rashes of the present World. There have to be an acceptable prognosis of what lies ahead—an assurance, especially where natural assurances are lacking, that life is worth living. #RandolphHarris 3 of 10
Human begins cannot stop the World, but they can always make a personal decision to get off. If, on the basis of the diagnosis, the prognosis looks too bad—the remedy is obvious. How thin the line between the will to live and the will to die. In Manhattan, New York USA, say, at the Brooklyn Bridge which has an elevation of 5,989 feet, a sign read: 4pm-8pm/ Monday, Wednesday, and Friday / Suicide Permitted. Just that. A sign. Why, surely people would jump who had hardly thought of it before. However, one must live somehow. It is by no means obvious that staying live is worth the effort. Most people have probably imagined ending it. Indeed, in the United States of America recent studies show that about 60 percent of teenagers report that they have considered suicide at sometime, 26 percent within the last year. When it comes to the elderly and disabled, considering the negative social messages concerning frailty we hear almost daily, it is not surprising that 68 percent of them have considered suicide after acquiring a disability. It may be also that these groups experience the common feeling of existential isolation. However, suicide is an error on the ground that it affords only an apparent and not a real release from the sufferings of life. Such a release is only apparent because the will as a thing-in-itself is outside of space and time, and the person committing suicide cannot destroy the will itself but only its manifestation at the place and time. #RandolphHarris 4 of 10
The rejection of suicide is an implicit belief that life is worth living. Many physicians, are now refusing to supply or administer pain-killing drugs because they realize the effects may be not only to kill the pain, but also to shorten the life. In euthanasia, there are a number of indirect evils: the difficulty of ascertaining the patient’s real consent, which least to the danger of abuse; the risk of an incorrect diagnosis; the risk of administering euthanasia to a person who could have later been cured by new medical developments; and the wedge argument (condoning euthanasia would lead to general disrespect for the sanctity of human life). When people contemplate life they have a few questions. Who put me here? By whose command and act were this time and place allotted to me? And the eternal silence of these infinite spaces terrifies some. People are bound to dream of a less threatening, less lonely and more obviously ordered World. It may be a World that in their innocence they once believed was theirs already. For it is likely that in everybody’s life there was once a time when it seemed there would always be someone ready to take care of them…to lighten the darkness, to fence off the beckoning hole. There is so much violence in the World, so many people being bullied and killed, that families fear for the lives of their loved one’s whenever they walk out the door. #RandolphHarris 5 of 10
No wonder that, in these scary circumstances, people hark back to a time when things were better: to that time in each of their lives when things were better: to that time in each of their lives when most did indeed have parents to look after them—caring adults who would, at any rate in fantasy, act as founts of both wisdom and compassion. Those same parents are supposed to be their protectors and guides, guarantors of a safe passage. No surprise, therefore, that if people have once experiences—or even imagined—this comprehensive solution to their needs, they seek again in later life a singular philosophy to live by. This is why the World’s great religions has always been, at least in part, a desire for an idealized parent figure who is all in one. God, in the Christian tradition is both wisdom and love. To know him is to have the World both explained and made secure for us. The Christian God is both the God of the means and the God of the ends. God is both our doctor and instructor. In a recent study in Europe conducted by the European Values Study Group, it was found that, of those Europeans who believed in God (70 percent of the total), and full half (35 percent of the total) agreed with the statement that “Life is meaningful only because God exists.” #RandolphHarris 6 of 10
In other words, it is suggested that about 33 percent of people would find life meaningless if they were to be robbed of their belief in God. And this general picture of the saving effect of supernatural belief has time and again been both confirmed and illuminated by the testimony of writers, poets, and philosophers. If humans had no eternal consciousness, if, at the bottom of everything, there were merely a wild, seething force producing everything, both large and trifling, in the storm of dark passions, if the bottomless void that nothing can fill underlay all things, what would life be but despair? Research on disability and depression has consistently shown that when people with disabilities report dissatisfaction with their lives they are not nearly as concerned with things such as reliance on machines or medications as they are with their relationships, financial security, or difficulties while at work. And these are also concerns that others have as well, but when one has a disability, their options may be far more limited than you realize. Much like most students and single parents suffer a form a disability, in the form of financial stability. One of the most worrisome things in the World is not knowing how one is going to provide for oneself and keep a roof over their head. #RandolphHarris 7 of 10
With prayer in our hearts for understanding, and some timidity, we should consider parents and children with special problems. These extraordinary challenges are, as the Savior himself said, “The Works of God should be made manifest.” Life is worth living even if it is not perfect. Everyone brings gifts to the World and to others who are free from those conditions in a manner that cannot come in any other way. People with limitations demonstrate in a miraculous way how they are able to adjust and compensate to life’s demands. Occasionally, other sense become more functional and substitute for the impaired sense in a remarkable way. There are two great pillars that bear us up, amid the wreck of misfortune and misery. The one is composed of the different modifications of a certain noble, stubborn something in humans, known by the names of courage, fortitude, magnanimity. The other is made up of those feelings and sentiments which connect us with and link us to, those awful obscure realities—an all power and equally beneficent God; and a World to come beyond death and the grave. The first gives the nerve of combat, while a ray of hope beams on the field: –the last pours the balm of comfort into the wounds which time can never cure. #RandolphHarris 8 of 10
Surveys show that in general the degree of belief in supernatural forces is highest amongst the most vulnerable members of society. Predictably it comes to the fore at times of personal stress, as for example, in athletes before a competition, students before examinations, women during pregnancy, people who are recently divorced or bereaved, soldiers on the battlefield, and whole nations in times of political and economic chaos such as 1930s Germany and president-day America. Several recent studies have specifically compared the mental health of religious believers with the of non-believers, and found that, as might be expected, the former show many fewer symptoms of psychological disturbances. Irreligious individuals have 45 percent more symptoms of mental disturbance than their religious counterparts. There is a remarkable effectiveness of a supernatural belief system in combating feelings of worthlessness, lifting depression and calming fears. Many have a pure faith in others and a powerful belief in God. They can give their spiritual strength to others around them. All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the World are susceptible of enlargement. #RandolphHarris 9 of 10
Special commendation belongs to parents and family members who have cared for their own children with special needs in the loving atmosphere of their own home. The real World is such that, once we have arrived at the correct understanding of what we are, we shall no longer have to worry about where we are going because we shall be able to see that what is true now pretty much guarantees that what is coming later will be alright. When we come into the field of spiritual mind treatment, we have not entered a field of chaos where nothing happens in accord with law. We have the obligation to do the best we can. The responsibility rests in the hands of God. Those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them. When we give thanks in all things, we see hardships and adversities in the context of the purpose of life. The children of God have always been commanded to give thanks. We have so much for which to give thanks. The revelations, for which we are grateful, show that we should even give thanks for our afflictions because they turn our hearts to God and give us opportunities to prepare for what God would have us become. If we understand the Lord’s teachings and promises, we will learn and grow from our adversities. #RandolphHarris 10 of 10
Peace is a prime priority that pleads for our pursuit. Peacemaking is not to be saved for the time when are so sick of war that we simply cannot take it anymore. “The Lord will convince people unto peace or deliver them to hardness of heart,” reports 1 Nephi 14.7. We do not question the physical diagnosis of the doctor or the mental diagnosis of the psychiatrist, provided they are true. We do not deny either mind or body. We do affirm the spirit as transcendent, having the ability to create new thoughts while new thoughts create new situations. The creation of peace is a part of the daily life of every citizen who seeks to improve themselves and their society. Peace can prevail only when that natural inclination to fight is superseded by self-determination to live on a loftier level. This concept of treating others as one would like to be treated is easy to understand. And it acknowledges the precious nature of each of God’s sons and daughters. We must teach people to love one another, and to serve one another. The importance of reconciliation and resolution is a gift. It is only when most citizens of the World are in the daily habit of working for peace within themselves that we have any chance at all of making lasting peace in the World. #RandolphHarris 3 of 8
The scriptures are studded with stories of contention and combat. They strongly condemn wars of aggression but sustain obligations of citizens to defend their families and their freedoms. People are called into military service of many nations. We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of humanity; and that God holds men and women accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society. Because of the long history of hostility upon the Earth, many feel that peace is beyond hope. I disagree. Peace is possible. We can learn to love our fellow human beings throughout the World. We can live together with mutual admiration and respect, without forsaking our religious convictions. Things we have in common are greater than our differences. Peace is a prime priority that pleads for our pursuit. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. God makes wars to cease unto the end of the Earth. “Blessed are peacemakers for they shall be called children of God,” reports 3 Nephi 12.9. These statements transcend not only the physical or objective conditions, but subjective or unconscious causes as well. They are transcendent of bot the cause and the effect of the negative condition, rising to a position in mind which starts new and clean and fresh. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. We must be conscious that right thought and true statements are the enforcement of this law of mind. Human being’s thoughts are the activity of the mind, for mind without thought or direct consciousness would have no real existence. There can be no existence apart from consciousness, then there is no one, no thing, and no intelligence to be aware of such existence. It is evident that without self-awareness there is not only realization of life, but no life to be realized. Hence we affirm that mind in action is law. “Spirits of righteous are received into paradise, a state of peace,” reports Alma 40.12. The person who understands this will not become discouraged. One will know that if he or she persists in declaring the truth, the pathway to reality will be cleared, obstructions will be removed, wrong forms will be dissolved. It follows that we will be both courageous and happy in our work. We will be happy because we are sure; doubts no longer assail us, fears do not possess us, negation no longer obsesses our thoughts. We continue to make our declarations with clam confidence and with divine assurance. “May peace of God rest upon you,” reports Alma 7.27. Ours is God’s supernal cause. Ours is the cause of eternal glory for all humankind. And as peacemakers, we shall be called the children of God. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. That which is felt cannot be taught, while that which is taught may be felt. This is one of the most vital things in mental and spiritual science. A treatment has no power unless it has meaning to the one who gives it, just as we know that a public speaker cannot convey messages which he himself does not understand. We cannot alter the circumstances that shaped us, but we can affect the way we may grown into aspects of who are, but some aspects may predominate over others. Our destiny, therefore, depends on which part of our character we allow to govern our destiny. As we practice our daily arts, if only in the composing of a heart-felt letter, we are unearthing the eternal from within ordinary time, engaging in the special qualities, themes, and circumstances of the soul. Soul thrives as we compose a thought in our diary or write a letter about a dream, craft a song, or enjoy the beauty of the day, and our expressions give body to a slight inflex of eternity. Our journals then truly become our own private gospels and sutras, our sacred chronicles, and our simple paintings truly serve as icons, every bit as significant in the work of our own soul as the wonderful architecture of the churches and castles and lovely houses are for the people. #RanolphHarris 1 of 7
Soul is its own purpose and end. If we wish to convey a message we must feel it, just as the musician feels the atmosphere of harmony back of one’s technique. Yet technique is equally necessary in order that one may give definite form to one’s feeling. We care for the soul solely by honoring its expressions, by giving it time and opportunity to reveal itself, and by living in a way that fosters the depth, interiority, and quality in which it flourishes. In doing so, an individual reveals the eternal harmony back of the negative appearance. The straightening out of thought is technique. It may be taught, analyzed, taken apart, and put together again. It consists of words, phrases, thoughts, ideas, all of which are understandable, teachable, and learnable. To the soul, memory is more important than planning, art more compelling than reason, and love more fulfilling than understanding. We know we are well on the way toward soul when we feel attachment to the World and the people around us and when we live as much from the heart as from the head. By using right words, statements, and phrases, and dwelling upon their subtle meaning, one may come to feel the meaning back of the words. We know the soul is being cared for when our pleasures feel deeper than usual, when we can let go of the need to be free of complexity and confusion, and when compassion takes the place of distrust and fear. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Soul is interested in the differences among cultures and individuals, and within ourselves it wants to be expressed in uniqueness and compassion. A woman in her thirties once told me why she was devoting every Saturday morning to doing chores for an elderly neighbor who has no family: Look, this could easily be me someday, living alone in a tiny apartment, trying to make ends meet (make her check be able to pay the bills, buy food and last until the next one comes in) with my social security check. All it takes is something to go wrong with your heart or your shoulder, and you cannot carry your groceries any more nor handle a vacuum cleaner. This gives me hope that someone like me will be around when it is my turn. The belief that there will be people around to assist us during our time of need is the conviction that we create by our own example. “If thou will call on God’s name in faith, thou shalt receive hope thou desirest,” reports Alma 22.16. Acting in a right manner reassures us, as if every act of goodness we perform goes into the human pool. We see first hand that individual efforts can indeed reduce suffering and that not all hardships are beyond human control. And it is clear that no material substitutes—no simple thing—can fill the human need for companionship and dialogue. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
Imagine that you are reading the scriptures one morning and the Spirit softly whispers to you that what you are reading is true. Can you recognize that Spirit and be happy that you felt his love and were worthy to receive? Knowledge about dialogue is, by itself, no guarantee that a person will be able to communicate with others or help them out of their loneliness. Indeed, knowledge about dialogue may even keep people at a distance. What often are sold in our society as guidelines for communication—rules on how one should engage one’s friends, how one should act toward one’s lover, or how one should speak to one’s child—seem to be the very way to disrupt dialogue. Many of the cookbook-objective rules instructing people on how to communicate with one another only seem to serve to keep people more isolated and lonely. What it is that must be felt are feelings beyond words, statements, and phrases. One must sense the essence of life, the spirit of the thing from which the mind automatically draws an intellectual conclusion. There must be chemistry. These feelings result in words which are an activity of the feeling, the enforcement of the principle back of it. In this way the word becomes spirit and life. Ultimately, care of the soul results in letting our full genius emerge. Soul coalesces into the mysterious philosophers’ stone, that rich, solid core of personality that alchemists sought. It opens the kaleidoscope of life to a revelation of the soul’s colours and displays it dappled brilliance. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
The expectation that we will be able to count on kindness, warmth and peace during our time of need becomes one of life’s most sustained convictions. We hope that if we become incapacitated, our friends and relatives will stand by us. We pray that their help will arise out of affection rather than out of pity, and that we will bear our difficulties gracefully enough to keep on inspiring their loyalty. We suspect that the measure of a good life is how we are treated at the end. However, we must know that the doorway of opportunity is never closed. We are always receptive to divine ideas. It is never too late for us to manifest opportunity; it is never withheld from one for a single moment; there is no sense of limited nor restricted opportunity. Everywhere we go anew and better opportunity for self-expression opens before us; we are compelled to recognize this opportunity and to act intelligently upon it. Our imagination is continuously increasing, new ideas come to us every day, and we know to execute these ideas. We can frequently savor the sweet whisperings of the Holy Ghost verifying the truth of our spiritual worth when our consciousness accepts the verdict as final and perfect. God is your Father. He loves you. He and your mother in Heaven value you beyond any measure. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
You are unique. One of a kind, made of the eternal intelligence which gives you claim upon eternal life. Let there be no question in your mind about your value as an individual. The whole intent of God’s plan is to provide an opportunity for each of us to reach our fullest potential, which is eternal progression and the possibility of godhood. Know that right thoughts continually poured into consciousness will heal. Prayer is the best medicine and keep on until the case is met. God, or spirit is the life of the real body and the essence of it. However, do not condemn the human body; certainly never deny its reality or the reality of any of our organs or functions. Spiritual worth means that we must treasure ourselves the way Heavenly Father dignifies us, not how the World views of as a commodity or human capital (money). Our worth was determined before we ever came to this Earth. Every organ and every function of the human body has a Universal prototype behind it. It is an idea in the mind of God, and a perfect idea. God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever. The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the Earth is worth Worlds. No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. We can stop comparing our worst to someone else’s best. Comparison is the thief of joy. Also, to constantly and morbidly focus on disability, fragility, age, or any organ function of the body is to condemn it, to delay its action, to congest its movement, to impede the circulation through it, and, of course, wherever the circulation is impeded the elimination is also impaired. We must know that there is Divine circulation, perfect assimilation, and right elimination. The function of the body is not something apart from God but is something within God. We must learn to love all of these functions as being attributes of Spirit, and to sense the Divine Universal Harmony underlying all. We must petition God to please heal us and others who are suffering physically or mentally. The Lord assures us that when we have virtuous thoughts, he will bless us with confidence, even the confidence to know who we really are. There has never been a more crucial time to heed his words. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, and then shall thy confidence was strong in the presence of God; and the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion,” God said. When we feel the Spirit, we recognize that what we feel comes from our Heavenly Father. We acknowledge him and praise him for blessing us. We then rejoice that we are counted worthy to receive. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
The heart is the center of our feelings. The eye of the soul perceives the eternal realities so important to the heart. In the modern World, in which we live mainly for the moment, it is easy to overlook the taste of the soul for a greater sense of time and a profound community. We tend to give superficial explanation for our actions, to speak in literal terms instead of focusing on the reasons of the heart. A man explaining why he was getting a divorce went on and on with minor complaints about his wife. What he did not say was what was obvious from other conversations, that his heart was going through a major change. He wanted a new life, but tried to justify all the accompanying pain with superficial reasons. Because he did not speak deeply about what was going on with him, he was cutting himself off from the soul of his divorce. Many people wonder what they can do earlier in life to prepare for their eventual frailty. They scrutinize those who cope gracefully with infirmary and disability, trying to find out what distinguishes them from those who collapse in on themselves. We have to find a passionate search for expression and language adequate to the pleasures and pains of life. We can learn from them the importance to everyone of the effort to translate experience into words and photographs. The point of the heart is not simply to express ourselves, but to create an external, concrete from in which the soul of our lives can be evoked and contained. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
As we look into our hearts, we screen ourselves. Many conclude that our personality traits have a greater influence on our fate than do the particular situations we endure. For if people are sensible and good-tempered, old age is easy enough to bear: if not, youth as well as age is a burden. According to this reasoning, we are doomed or blessed by the accident of our natures. We can predict from our earlier manner of coping with life how we will react to our later changes. Children paint every day and love to show their works on walls and refrigerator doors. However, as we become adults, we abandon this important soul task of childhood. We assume, that children are just learning motor coordination and alphabets. However, maybe they are doing something more fundamental: finding forms that reflect what is going on in their souls. When we grow up and begin to think of the art gallery as much more advanced than the refrigerator door, we lose an important ritual of childhood, giving it away to the professional artist. We are then left with mere rational reasons for our lives, feelings of emptiness and confusion, expensive visits to a psychotherapist, and a compulsive attachment to unreality, such as shallow television programs. When our own images no longer have a home, a personal museum, we drown our sense of loss in pale substitutes, kitsch novels, fake news, or formulaic movies. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Successful cooping in our attitudes, or the degree to which we make up our minds to overcome obstacles, depends on the strength of our conviction that life is worth living no matter what complications are imposed on it. As the poets and painters of centuries have tried to tells us, art and passions are not about the expression of talent or making of pretty things. It is about the preservation and containment of soul. It is about resting life and making it available for contemplation. Art captures the eternal in the everyday, and it is the eternal that feeds soul—the World in a grain of sand. How we react is more important than is the fact that life can be hard or fraught with peril. How aversive or damaging an event is depends on how we choose to take it—which means that we can control its effects on our bodies and health by our attitudes and beliefs. Some people are subjected to harsher circumstances than others are, such as through war, racism, poverty, unemployment or age. However, even under extreme conditions, it is possible not only to survive but to retain some sense of health and well-being. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
In waking life, most of us only see with our physical eyes, even though we could, with some effort of imagination, glimpse fragments of eternity in the most ordinary passing events. There is also a way to judge if our hearts are broken. Dreams teach us to look with that other eyes, the eye that in waking life belongs to the artist, to each of us as an artist. Our hardships are shaped in childhood. Parents who do not help their children cope with suffering leave them as adults with the immature defenses of denying their problems, distorting their role in them, or projecting the cause onto others. In contrast, parents who stay with their children when they are upset help them learn the capacity to bear and plan for pain. While our personality style and beliefs certainly influence our response to difficulties, it is not irrevocably. Additionally, our experiences from childhood affect our later coping styles, it is not necessarily in a linear fashion. Some people raised under neglectful circumstances manage to garner enough strength to lead satisfying lives, and some raised under supportive conditions waste years through addictions and other detours away from their original aims. However, people that have a history of generous exchanges with others tend to carry these inclinations with them to the end of their lives. Wherever they live, whatever they do, they readily make connections with other people and derive satisfaction from doing so. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
People who are able to build strong bonds in their lives, when frailty encroaches they tend to be surrounded by loyal helpers. There can be no certain formula for security, but kindness is rarely wasted and the habit of generosity almost always serves as a strength. However, until a person has demonstrated the truth so completely that one can never again be shaken in one’s conviction about it, one should not talk much to others about one’s belief. For the conscious and subjective reaction of their doubt might confuse one unless one’s own mind is already so firmly planted in understanding and faith that it remains calm in the midst of confusion and doubt. Remember, the intellect argues, but the spirit knows. The intellect examines; the spirit has no opinions. It is the nature of the creative mind to respond to us, to give us what we ask when we ask it, and in the way in which we ask. We must let go of the mental images which we dislike, and cling to only those which are more nearly after our heart’s desire. Feel that all the power there is in the Universe is flowing into your word. It is impossible to feel this way if you think that you are dealing with will power, mental coercion, or even mental suggestion. Realize that you are dealing with an eternal presence which when called upon responds to you. “Works of justice could not be destroyed,” reports Alma 12.32. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
When awake, why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination? God the Father is merciful and has infinite love for you despite your faults. When you feel worthless, remember the worth of souls is greater in the sight of God. Refrain from repeatedly thinking or saying negative words about yourself—there is a clear difference between humility and humiliation. Identify and use your unique talents rather than dwelling on your weaknesses. When you feel overwhelmed by expectations and challenges, do not fight the battle alone. Follow the example of small children, and drop to your knees in prayer. The mind which states a problem is the mind which knows the answer. We know our motives and desires. When we engage in sincere, honest reflection, we do not rationalize nor deceive ourselves. Throw the problem into mind for solution and the answer will rise to consciousness. In actual practice one does this by stating that one already knows the answer to one’s problem. The intelligence within one knows, and this intelligence within one which knows causes one to consciously know. A soul-centered understanding of God sees the interpenetration of love in ordinary life. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
Seeking and receiving the acceptance of the Lord will lead to the knowledge that we are chosen and blessed by him. It is not enough mere to state that intelligence knows. We must combine our statement that there is an intelligence which knows, with a conscious acceptance that this intelligence is now functioning in our conscious thought, causing us to know. When a spring breeze blows through an open window as we sit reading in a rare half-hour of quiet, we might recall one of the hundreds of annunciations painters have given us, reminding us that it is the habit of angels to visit in moments of silent reading. We are directed not by a blind force, but by an infinite intelligence which is not only willing, but whose very nature compels it to give us guidance. The feeling of being accepted by someone we love is a basic human need. Being accepted by good people motivates us. It increases our sense of self-worth and self-confidence. See that you look to God and live. The ultimate source of empowerment and lasting acceptance is our Heavenly Father. He knows us. He loves us. God does not accept us because of our title or position. God does not look at our status. God looks into our hearts. He accepts us for who we are and what we are striving to become. Seek and receiving acceptance from God will always lift and encourage us. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
The great peacemaker, the restorer of unity, is the one who finds a way to help people see the truth they share. In many respects, kindness does not make sense. At first glance, it seems an unnatural act, a violation of nature, to give away one’s life, or even one’s possessions. And yet, in the face of improbability, examples of altruism abound. I maintain, despite the moment’s evidence against the claim, that we are born to grow up with a fondness of each other, and we have genes for that. We can be talked out of it, for the genetic message is like a distinct music and some of us are hard-of-hearing. Societies are noisy affairs, drowning out the sound of ourselves and our connection. Nonetheless, the music is there, waiting for more listeners. Let us examine our lives and determine to follow the Savior’s example by being kind, loving, and charitable. Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness permeate all of our words and actions at work, at school, at church, and especially in our homes. Care of the soul may take the form of living in a fully embodied imagination, being an artist at home and at the care of your soul; anyone can have an art studio at home, for instance. We can decorate our homes with images from our dreams and waking fantasy, which give voice to our emotions, without explanations and rational interpretations. #RandolphHarris 1 of 9
Many people have difficulty believing in kindness as a human possibility. Past experience has taught them that other people are not to be trusted and that to accept help from someone is to open the door to exploitation. They avoid putting themselves in the vulnerable position of receiving throughout adulthood, building their identity around a corner of aloneness. There are people who take pride in being self-reliant; independent men and women whose confidence and self-esteem derive largely from being able to say to themselves: “I ask for no special favours; if need be, I can make it on my own.” Such individuals are especially threatened when the sudden need to depend on another undermines the very foundations of their personal identity. The stuff of the World is there to be made into images that become for us tabernacles of spirituality and containers of mystery. If we do not allow soul its place in our lives, we are forced to encounter these mysteries in fetishes and symptoms, which in a sense are pathological art forms, the gods in our ailments. Every day we can transform ordinary experience into the material of soul—in diaries, poems, drawings, music, letters, and watercolours. People choose to have their hearts changed by God. That is the only way God can grant the blessing of being of one heart. #RandolphHarris 2 of 9
Before we can fully believe in kindness, we have to experience it personally. A person’s conception of humanity’s moral and ethical disposition is influenced by his or her specific encounters with other individuals. The power of specific encounters is both the grounding of morality and the basis for hope later in life. The scriptures teach us that the righteous exercise of morals values are dependent upon our living the principles of kindness, charity, and love. No power nor influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of one’s vocation, only by persuasion, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile. As we read our experiences and learn to express them artfully, we are making life more soulful. Our homely arts arrest the flow of life momentarily so that events can be submitted to the alchemy of reflection. We can deepen the impressions of experience and settle them in the heart where they can become the foundation for soul. Our great museum of art are simply a grand model for the more modest museum that is our home. There is no reason not to imagine our homes as a place where the Muses can do their work of inspiration daily. #RandolphHarris 3 of 9
One will immediately recognize the omnipresence of God, and to such degree as one’s recognition of the omnipresence of good signifies to one’s own thought the annihilation of the negative physical condition, the condition will cease to be. There are examples of solitary, irascible people, who have become soft and receptive in response to particularly tender members of the community. Later, these individuals have said that someone taking a genuine and caring interest in them gave them the impetus to make a better life for themselves. Some gave up self-destructive habits in direct response to the caring they received. You need an experience with at least one person who truly cares about you. If you did not have a close relationship when younger, and you now have one close person in your life, that makes up for the early deficiency. That person can appear at any time in the life cycle, even on the day of passing into Heaven. One does not need to make up for lost time. We live in many different circumstances. We will come from every nation and many ethnic backgrounds into the kingdom of God. And that prophesied gathering will accelerate. Another advantage to the soul of practicing the ordinary arts is the gift they leave for future generations. #RandolphHarris 4 of 9
Tradition says that the soul thrives in a sense of time much greater than that of consciousness. To the soul the past is alive and valuable, and so is the future. As we perform the alchemy of praying, or writing on our daily experience, we are preserving our thoughts for those who follow us. The community made by spirit transcends the limits of a personal lifetime, so that we can be instructed in our own soul work by the Lord who will return to live with those who have become his people and we will be united, of one heart, unified with God, our Heavenly Father. As impulses, kindness and goodness may not be explainable in rational terms. While it is not dangerous under normal circumstances, kindness is almost inconvenient. The word derives from the Old English cynd, pertaining to race, family, or kin. Within our families, we may willingly go out of our way to be helpful, while outside this boundary we may think twice about expending any effort. There may seem to be nothing to gain from being generous with our time or talents beyond our immediate circle. Yet kindness is most moving and meaningful precisely when it is rendered by those who are not kin, or in the absence of something to gain. What distinguished rescuers from persecutors is the stronger sense of attachment to others and their feeling of responsibility for the welfare of others, including those outside their immediate familial or communal circles. #RandolphHarris 5 of 9
The Lord’s people have always called for unity. The need for that gift to be granted to us and the challenge to maintain it will grow greater in the days ahead, in which we will be prepared as a people for our glorious destiny. “If you will not partake of goodness of God, I bid you everlasting farewell,” reports 1 Nephi 33.14. What is most striking in accounts of kindness is its simplicity. One person notices the difficulty of another and acts accordingly. It is a question not of compassion but of simply connecting, in order to see what one’s attitudes commit one to, Recognition of the other person’s reality, and the possibility of empathy, is essential. Anticipatory alertness to the reactions, feelings, and speculations of others is the essence of kindness. It would be impossible to do this unless facts could be reduced to states of consciousness. That which needs to be externally changed is not a thing in itself but a physical state of consciousness. Heightened sensitivity toward the feelings of others is exactly the change we have observed in people who have benefitted from sensitivity. When it is most fruitful, kindness, is passed on in the form of generosity toward others. Jaded people who have lived only for themselves begin to take an interest in those around them, having discovered the worth of mercy through their own vulnerability. #RandolphHarris 6 of 9
Bitter people begin to experiment with nurturance, having tasted something of its satisfaction when they were suffering. In spiritual mind healing it is necessary to establish a consciousness of this foundation of truth. Our hearts will be knit together in unity. God has promised that blessing to his faithful Satins whatever their differences in background and whatever conflict rages around them. The reason that we pray and ask for that blessing is the same reason the Heavenly Father is granting it. We know from experience that joy comes when we are blessed with unity. We yearn, as spirit children of our Heavenly Father, for that joy which we once had with him in the life before this one. His desire is to grant us that sacred wish for unity out of his love for us. This is called spiritual realization. Truth based upon the reality that God is all there is. This realization is a realization of the presence and the perfection of God. We seek to arrive at a realization and recognition of the allness of God, the omnipresence of good. We must be thoroughly and sincerely convinced that there is a spiritual being and that this spiritual being is perfect; that the Kingdom of Heaven is now, and the statement of truth has actual power. “Every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall be blessed,” reports 1 Nephi 19.17. #RandolphHarris 7 of 9
Human agency, including the role of individuals, leaders, and institutions is important and influences outcomes. This collective capacity to manage resilience determines whether thresholds can be successfully avoided. The rule of law requires that people should be governed by accepted rules, rather than by the arbitrary decisions of rulers. These rules should be general and abstract, known and certain, and apply equally to all individuals. The purpose is to keep certain classes of people or individuals from being terrorized and having their freedom encroached upon indefinitely and without cause. Constitutional governments are based on a previous commitment to freedom under the rule of law. The essential attribute of constitutionalism is a legal limitation on government. Under constitutionalism, rulers are not above the law, government power is divided with laws enacted by one body and administered by another, and an independent judiciary exits to ensure the laws are administered objectively. An efficient and effective constitution allows government to function to protect the lives and liberties of citizens without violating the rights of some to provide gains to others. “Justice of God will fall upon those who work wickedness,” reports 1 Nephi 14.4, #RandolphHarris 9 of 9
In every human being there is an optimum of what one could become, there are things one could never become. So many people waste their lives by trying to become what they could not be and by neglecting to be what they could become. A person, in the first place, should have a certain image of what one could and what one could not become, what are the limitations and what are the possibilities. Whoever examines oneself thoroughly will find one’s own daimon, which is a guardian with us from the beginning. Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows. The soul wants to be in touch with that deep place from which life flows, without translating its offerings into familiar concepts. The best way to full fill this desire is to give attention to the images that arise as independent beings from the springs of day-to-day imagination. People have been warned against living in conflict with the daimon as one will succumb to the worst kind of soul sickness. It is like deciding where to live without taking into full consideration the demands of the soul, which may appear as an intuitive attraction or inhibition. The source from which life flows is so deep that it is experienced as something beyond human creation and intention. To live our ordinary life artfully is to have this sensibility about the things of daily life, to live more intuitively and to be willing to make use of our gifts from the soul. #RandolphHarris 2 of 8
When a friend or relative becomes ill or suffer an injury, we have the choice of participating in the care or backing away. Taking the time to give assistance may run counter to the pace or the ostensible purpose of our lives. The organizing principle of modern life has become almost wholly economic. We have almost succeeded in leveling all human activities to the common denominator of securing the necessities of life and providing for their abundance. Whatever we do, we are supposed to do for the sake of making a living; such is the verdict of society. There is a pervasive devotion, in middle-class families, to individual purposes and a wariness toward getting involved in the lives of others. Individualism has marched inexorably through our history and it may have grown cancerous. Only by opposition to letting our hearts wax cold can we make life and frailty less frightening. Earlier in our lives, we must stop clinging to independence as if it were the only meaning of strength. The ongoing process of attachment is what creates and sustains human community. Make it your guiding principle to do your best for others and to be trustworthy in what you say. Do not accept as friend anyone who is not as good as you. When you make a mistake, do not be afraid of mending your ways. #RandolphHarris 4 of 8
The person of wisdom is never in two minds; the individual of benevolence never worries; the one of courage is never afraid. We either face the truth of our fragility directly, or we immerse ourselves still more intently in other priorities. There is no middle course, because spending time beside a person who is suffering puts us into contact with the dire underside of life. There is terror and relief in allowing the awareness that we will all someday pass away and suffer pain to rear its full impact. We may begin to live in terms of, rather than in flight from, the approach of our ending. We are spirit children of Heavenly parents. When we come to this Earth life, our spirit is united with our body. We experience all the joys and challenges associated with mortal life. When a person passes into Heaven, their spirit is separated from their body. Resurrection makes it possible for a person’s spirit and body to be united again, only this time that body will be immortal and perfect—not subject to pain, disease, nor other problems. The drive to question allows the human being to life one’s eyes from the sequence of daily routines to perceive the law of one’s own death, and to struggle for ways of life that assuage death’s bitterness. After such experiences, change may emerge in the way we spend our time, conduct our relationships, and look at the future. #RandolphHarris 5 of 8
The experience of nursing someone who is sick, dying, or disabled strips away, for most people, the mystery, horror, and disgust. It is not surprising, therefore, that people who are deeply experienced in caring for sick parents or a disabled child, in the latter’s old age, tend to take their own sickness and disability in stride. They have known before in an intimate manner the difficulties they might encounter later in their own lives. Prior to getting sick or reaching advanced age, we can choose to grant ourselves a close acquaintance with physical suffering and its alleviation. We can draw near to the sickbeds of friends and relatives and involve ourselves in the experience of helplessness, hoping that this foreknowledge will help us to age well. However, after resurrection, the spirit will never again be separated from the body because the Savior’s Resurrection brought total victory over death. In order to obtain our eternal destiny, we need to have this immortal soul—a spirit and body—united forever. With spirit and immortal body inseparably connected, we can receive a fullness of joy. In fact, without the Resurrection we could never receive a fullness of joy, but would be miserable forever. #RandolphHarris 6 of 8
Even faithful, righteous people view the separation of their bodies from their spirits as captivity. We are released from this captivity through the Resurrection, which is redemption from the bands or chains of death. There is no salvation without both our spirit and our body. Each of us has physical, mental, and emotional limitations and weaknesses. These challenges, some of which seem so intractable now, will eventually be resolved. None of these problems will plague us after we are resurrected. The miracle of resurrection, the ultimate cure, is beyond the power of modern medicine. However, it is not beyond the power of God. We know it can be done because the Savior is resurrected and will bring to pass the Resurrection of each of us, too. And each of us can be part of a cloud of witnesses who know through the power of the Holy Ghost that what we celebrate on Easter actually happened—that the Resurrection is real. Life through God is so much hope. Always. Through everything. We love Easter to remind us. The entire basis for spiritual mind healing rests in the assumption that we are now living in a spiritual and psychological Universe; that law is mind in action; that thinking and action are the same. And if thinking and action equal the same thing, certain kinds of thinking must constitute certain kinds of action. #RandolphHarris 7 of 8
It logically follows that if one kind of thought produces a certain effect, then an opposite thought must produce an opposite effect. For all who had laid a child in a grave or wept over the casket of a parent or someone they loved, the Resurrection is a source of great hope. What a powerful experience it will be to see them again—not just as spirits but with resurrected bodies. Our ship’s destination is the full blessing of the gospel, the kingdom of Heaven, the celestial glory, and the presence of God! God’s plan is in place. He is at the helm, and his great and powerful ship flows toward salvation and exaltation. Remember that we cannot get there by jumping off the boat and trying to swim there by ourselves. The process of reasoning in treatment must be one which establishes human beings upon a spiritual basis, which enthrones God in a kingdom of good, and gives him dominion over all apparent evil. We must understand our relationship to being itself, to God, to the Universe, and to Reality. There must be an interior awareness, a realization that God is all the power there is. As a matter of fact our state of consciousness is what we are, and if we happen to be in business and wish to treat for right action we must realize that right action means being busy in the thing that we are doing. “God himself shall come down and bring to pass Resurrection,” reports Mosiah 13.34-35. #RandolphHarris 8 of 8
The loss of complexity and mystery in our everyday response to life entails a loss of soul as well, because soul always manifests itself in mystery and multiplicity. It is important to trust your intuitions, which are not the same as intellectual interpretations. Much of life consists of shedding all that interferes with the expression of our uniqueness. Our individual voice is always distinctive; the difficulty is in finding what we are, free of artifice. Usually, the main problem with life conundrums is that we do not bring to them enough imagination. We understand our difficulties literally and look for literal solutions, which rarely work precisely because they are part of the problem—lack of imagination. Life reveals itself to us slowly, gradually. Having patience with life is extremely important, and it is more effective in the long run than any exercise of knowledge, techniques, and tricks. Life reveals itself on its own time, but it does reveal itself. Take time to enjoy the beauty around you and be mindful of precious moments. The light that transforms us is the radiance of being blissfully alive in the moment. Finding a distinctive style in life is no less significant for its being delayed. Pressures to measure ourselves against others never completely cease, but many of us strengthen our liberation the closer we get to understanding our truth. Perhaps the most evicting facet of aging is that heady sense of emancipation, of having arrived at full identity. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
We want to replace divine mystery with human rationality, but it is important to leave room for the unexpected. Many of us feel we are kind of in a linear race with life and time. There are landmarks placed by other generations, and we feel that we have to arrive on time or fail in the whole journey. However, even if we face delays in life, it does not mean that time is lost. Many people possess talents that they hold in reserve until their obligations to others have been fulfilled or until life quiets down enough to allow them finally to heed their own inclinations. The ending of a job or career, the maturation of children, and newly gained time may permit the expression of a true personality and interest, allowing one to act in new and inventive ways. When we experience the freedom and fully develop who we are it can be like being born again into another body and it allows individuals to feel good about being who they are, a unique, interesting person with some talent of their own. We will always be learning, growing, and evolving into our real person. Some people find that they are happiest when they are in any kind of learning experience, be it a classroom, lecture, or just reading and writing. Time passes swiftly when we are productive, even if we start later in life. It is so great that human beings continue to grow. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
There are rich, multilayered natures in life of all kinds, and the experiences are important to us because they are rich with imagination and soul. At any age, recovering and discovering ourselves require the same willingness to heed our quiet yearnings. People, because of their careers and families, often neglect or abandon pursuits and interests which, at an earlier point in time, gave life zest and meaning. If an individual is encouraged to recall what made life meaning to him or her in adolescence, one will begin to discover neglected sides of oneself, and perhaps turn once again to music, or to painting, or to some other cultural or intellectual pursuit which once enthralled him or her, but which the pressure of life’s business had made the individual abandon. Taking back our earlier yearnings, or daring to develop them for the first time, is one of the key privileges of having time on our hands. When you think that it takes nine months to grow a baby, it is no surprise that it can take a lifetime to grow a soul. Many people say it is fun to be alive and to be contributing something, however little, but still something. Dreams give us a great deal of insight into our habits and our nature, but also insight into the past, our current situations and problems, and the culture in a larger sense. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Obedience leads to true freedom. The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated. Consider the Earth itself. It was formed out of matter and in the beginning was empty, desolate, and dark. Then came order as God commanded that the light should be divided from the darkness. God’s command was obeyed, and the Earth had its first day, followed by its first night. Then God ordered the creation of the atmosphere. He organized the Sun, Moon, and Stars to shine in their appropriate times and seasons. After a series of commands, the Earth not only became habitable, but it became beautiful. We are all children of God and the Earth operates in obedience to God’s laws. We should be gradually lifted up mentally to the place of thought where we feel at ease. Imagines of doubt should no longer assail us. Calm and peace should accumulate in out thought. Our work is not done properly unless something happens as a result of it. Treatment is not for the purpose of helping us either avoid reality or to endure unhappy situations. It is for the express purpose of changing situations, and unless situation or conditions are changed as a result of the treatment, we have missed the mark. Words of doubt have no affirmative power. We must know that our covenant with God is good and we are certain to accomplish our goals. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
Every word we speak is the presence, the power, and the activity of law within us. It is the law unto the things whereof we speak of. It cannot and will not return to us void but will accomplish the purpose we have in mind. It can and will heal and demonstrate; it can and will produce the desired result. “Words of truth are hard against all uncleanness,” reports 2 Nephi 9.40. There must be a persistent belief in the power of your own word. We must know that the law of God is all powerful, and that no evil is ordained nor intended. Our knowledge of God’s law dissipates all evil and all manifestations of evil. Know that the right thought will always find an objective form and will always externalize itself. Believe that the will of God is always towards goodness, truth, and beauty. Goodness, truth, and beauty cannot be revered because they have no opposites, but our knowledge of the truth can reverse every so-called evil. God has given you knowledge and made you free. The conscious mind chooses what it wishes the subjective law to act upon. It gives direction to a power which is infinite compared to its own conscious capacity. We shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasure. By obedience, we also gain knowledge. Obedience brings peace in decision making and spiritual safety. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Randolph Harris II International Institute 