We all need guidance through life. The human soul is not meant to be understood. Rather, we may want to consider taking a more relaxed position and reflect on the way our lives have taken shape. The Earth was once thought to be the center of the Universe: above us was Heaven, and below us was Hell. It is true that various sorts of Angels were supposed to exist and be in some ways superior to human beings, but humans were considered the lord of the material World. Humans were made in the image of God, and God became the incarnate in the flesh of humans. Many people travel through life without good guidance, lacking knowledge of a desired destination or how to get there. The ultimate objective in our mortal journey has been revealed by our Creator, who said, “If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the favors of God.” God’s gift of eternal life is subject to conditions established by him. Those conditions constitute a plan, a spiritual road map. And when trouble comes, guidance is needed most. Whatever the approach, the aim will be health or happiness achieved by the removal of these central problems. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
Care of the soul is a fundamentally different way of regarding daily life and the quest for happiness. The emphasis is not on problems at all. One person might care for the soul by buying or renting their dreamhouse, another by selecting an appropriate career, and another by buying a care they like. Care of the soul is a continuous process that concerns itself not so much with fixing perceived imperfections of everyday life. To reach our objective of eternal life, we follow teachings in the standard works and other revelations received from God. Our loving Heavenly Father foresaw our need for guidance. Scriptural guidance helps us to recognize error and make the necessary correction. We stop going in the wrong direction. We carefully study the scriptural road map and then we proceed with repentance and restitution required to get on the correct path which leads to eternal life. Tending to the things around us and becoming sensitive to the importance of home, daily schedule, and maybe even the clothes we wear, are ways of caring for the soul. Some people place careful emphasis on colors, spices, oils, places to walk, countries to visit—all very concrete decision of everyday life that day by day either support or disturb the soul. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Many people are poor and unhappy with their lives because they do not value time and are too busy paying attention to the lives of others, instead of focusing on themselves. Time poverty is a problem partly of perception and partly of distribution. Once hours are financially quantified, people worry more about wasting, saving or using them profitably. When economies grow and incomes rise, everyone’s time becomes more valuable. And the more valuable something becomes, the scarcer it seems. Individualistic cultures, which emphasis achievement over affiliation, help cultivate this time-is-money mindset. This creates an urgency to make every moment count. Larger, wealthy cities, with their high wages and soaring costs of living, raise the value of people’s time further still. People who live in Manhattan, New York USA are more economical about how they use their minutes—and generally are more in a rush to get things accomplished and errands and goals taken care of. They tend to be swifter than people in small towns. The tempo of life in rich cities is faster than that of developing cities. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
When people see their time in terms of money, they tend to grow more conservative with the ways to maximize their days. People who are goal oriented do not like to be given the runaround or spend countless hours and days resolving unnecessary problems. All resources are viewed in terms of money and even each sheet of paper is considered a valuable resource. Many corporations are always looking for ways to cut costs and maximize profits and will get upset about pointless memos being printed on expensive paper. Once my boss got really upset with me, at the time I was sixteen and did not feel like look for the clear plastic tape to seal off my register tape and used one of the gold labels, and got reprimanded for it. I did not understand at the time, but it was a valuable lesson to learn. It does not make sense to use something that was special made and expensive unnecessarily, especially when there is an alternative material that is less expensive. When you have to maximize profits, and have to pay shareholders, every quarter they expect more money and if your costs are constantly going up and profits down, due to inefficiency, then more than likely you will lose your job. People who are investing their hard earn money want a return on their investments. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
It can be a challenge to make the best out of our time, and we have to do it in ways that are honest. Some people like to waste time and to make up for the loss of profits, they take bribes or try to cheat people out of money and other resources, but that is no way to life because then you have to worry about being reported to law enforcement and hiring a law and facing criminal charges. Criminal organizations are a group of three or more people, formed for an extended period of time and acting in concert, with the objective of intentionally perpetrating criminal offenses. Acting in concert means that the members of the criminal organization share tasks related to criminal activities, which obviously presumes prior planning, and a certain degree of direction and organization. So, you do not want to work at a criminal organization because you can be considered to be mutually reinforcing effects of those acting in it; however, the existence of acting in concert does not follow from being in direct contact with actors in a criminal organization, nor specific knowledge of other actions nor the identity of the actors; behavior as a member of a criminal organization formed by a division of functions, and in a manner based on superiors and subordinates, with full knowledge of the organization, and collaborated while in constant contact with its members. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
The existing provisions of the Criminal Code do not distinguish among the hierarchy of actions within the criminal organization in terms of their activity or intensity, as these conditions are only considered during the sentencing phase. If there is evidence that a criminal offense was linked to the operations of an actual criminal organization, or committed within the context of such, then due to the conditions it was carried out—particularly due to the nature of specific behavior presuming the prior or later linked actions of others, and due to events that are necessary and therefore likely to occur, it can be concluded that the action of the occasional perpetrator (participant) is recognized at the time it was carried out as being committed within a criminal organization. The mandatory criteria of a criminal organization are: collaboration of three or more people for a prolonged or indefinite period of time, and suspected or convicted of committing serious criminal offenses with the objective of pursuing profit and/or power. Optional criteria being involved in a criminal organization is having a specific task or role for each participant, using some form of internal discipline and control. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
We care what happens to our people. They are precious to our Heavenly Father, and they are our hope for bringing about good in the World. However, false gods can lead to dead ends. More optional criteria in being a criminal organization includes using violence or other coercive means suitable for intimidation, exerting influence on politics, the media, public administration, law enforcement, the administration of justice, or the economy by corruption or any other means. Using commercial or business-like structures, engaged in money laundering, and operating on an international level. Therefore, in our busy lives, we are forced to focus on things we do from day to day. However, the development of character comes only as we focus on who we really are. To establish and accomplish those greater goals, we do need Heavenly help. Inner peace comes only as we maintain the integrity of truth in all aspects of our lives. When we covenant to follow God and obey his commandments, we accept his standards in every thought, action, and deed. We want to enable our people to recognize error and to take action. We must help people seek for and love truth and choose to act independently, to act according to it. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
If the truth cannot change, if it is permanent, if it is ever-present, then it is always reliable. There is nothing, but stability and nothing but security. The truth is faithful. Truth has no birth, evolution, or decay. God is eternal, immortal, deathless, and an ever lasting being. We must stand as witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places. It many not always be easy, convenient, or politically correct to stand for truth and right, but it is always the right thing to do. Every day our neighborhoods and communities are in desperate need of our support and our commitment to safety and law and order. Crime, in all its pervasive manifestations, is a serious Worldwide evil and moral problem about which we have great concern. The social, economic, and moral costs of crime are incalculable. It is no respecter of race, religion, nationality, age, culture, or socioeconomic status. There are secret combinations engaged in crime and they present a serious challenge, not just to individuals and families but to entire civilizations. Among today’s secret combinations are gangs, drug cartels, and organized crime families. They have secret signs and code words and participate in clandestine rites and initiation ceremonies. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
We cannot fall out of this World. Among the purposes of these criminal organizations is to murder, plunder, steal, and commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness, contrary to the laws of their country and also the laws of the adversary. Although this outset and these purposes sounds so strange and fits in so badly with the fabric of our psychology, if we are not careful, today’s secret combinations can obtain power and influence. The secret combinations begin among the more wicked part of society, but eventually seduce the more part of the righteous until the whole society is polluted. There is considerable interest in healing this split, but if it is going to be bridged, our very idea of what we are doing in psychology has to be radically re-imagined. Psychology and spirituality need to be seen as one. We are in grave need of a renaissance of our own, a rebirth of ancient wisdom and practice accommodated to our own situation. We are dealing with the same issues in Medieval times, except that we are farther in time from the days of magic and mythology, and for us, technology has become a burden as well as an enormous achievement. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
The emotional complaints of our time include emptiness, meaninglessness, vague depression, disillusionment about marriage, family, and relationship, a loss of values, yearning for personal fulfillment, and a hunger for spirituality. All of these symptoms reflect a loss of soul and let us know what the soul craves. We yearn excessively for entertainment, power, intimacy, emotional fulfillment, and material things, and we think we can find these things if we discover the right relationship or job, the right church or therapy. However, without soul, whatever we find will be unsatisfying, for what we truly long for is the soul in each of these areas. Lacking soulfulness, we attempt to gather these alluring satisfactions to us in great masses, thinking apparently that quantity will make up for lack of quality. We have all heard the tragic stories of unsuspecting individuals who have been victimized by gangs simply because they were wearing a particular color in a community that does not allow people to choose what color their clothes are. That is why it is so important for us to take a firm stand for truth and right by doing what we can to help keep our communities safe. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
Care of the soul speaks to the longings we feel and to the symptoms that drive us mad, but it is not a path away from shadow or death. “The Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of humans, if it so be that they exercise faith in him. Wherefore, let us be faithful to God. And if it so be that we are faithful to God, we shall obtain land of promise (2 Nephi 7.12).” Humans awake to life, turn toward the light, and triumph over limitation. A soulful personality is complicated, multifaceted, and shaped by both pain and pleasure, success and failure. Life lived soulfully is not without its moments of darkness and periods of imprudence. However, “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all people from the foundation of the World, if it so be that we repent and come unto God (1 Nephi 10.18).” Care of the soul requires a special crafting of life itself, with a spiritual sensitivity to the way things are done. Soul does not pour into life automatically. It requires our skill and attention. All truth affirms that God is all there is. God never changes. God is in us. God is within the Universe. God is the Universe. God is peace, joy, love, wisdom, beauty, and power. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
In 400 BC, therapy actually referred to service to God. A therapist used to be a sacristan, an officer charged with the care of vestry, the church, and their contents. Someone who takes care of the practical elements in religious worship. Somehow, we have to understand that we cannot solve our emotional issues until we grasp the mystery that honor the divine and the departed as part of the basic care that as human beings we have to bring to life. Everyone should know that we cannot live in any other way than by cultivating the soul. The objective of the soul is to become healthy individuals. Our goal is a richly elaborated life, connected to society and nature, woven into the culture of family, nation, and globe. We have to learn to be profoundly connected in the heart to ancestors and to our living family in the many communities that claim our hearts. As we catch a divine inspiration and begin to think about God as being the truth and our savior, a great wave of peace will flow through our whole being, a feeling of trust and confidence will manifest as our soul will start to sing within us. God loves us and is kind. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
It is never too early nor too late to care for the well-being of the soul. God is a loving presence, guiding, guarding, and keeping us so that we have a sense of being cared for, a feeling of security. When we let the Lord of all creation take care of us we are following divine laws. God knows his children and loves us. We can cultivate, tend, enjoy, and participate in the things of the soul. Care of the soul is inspiring. Some people believe that it is theology of the soul worked out so painstakingly and so concretely in Renaissance Italy and the American Victorian era that gave rise to the extraordinary art and architecture of those times. The act of entering into the mysteries of the soul encourages life to blossom forth according to the Lord. God will open to us the windows of Heaven, and pour out blessings, that there should be enough room to receive. We shall pray unto God and he will be favorable unto us. For everyone that asks shall receive, and those who seek shall find. All things, whatsoever that we shall ask in prayer, believing, we shall receive. Care of the soul is not solving the puzzle of life; it is an appreciation of the paradoxical mysteries that blend light and darkness into the grandeur of what human life and culture can be. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
Good plots possess unity—a unity of action, not of the hero and not of time and place. It is self-evident that we live. An axiom of reason is a truth so self-evident, so universally experienced, so immediately known to the mind that reason cannot deny its existence. We wish to establish our identity in the Universe, the limitless possibility of self-expression, and the certainty of eternal enforcement. We wish to establish identity, individuality, unity, and completion. “Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if you do, you will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken (2 Nephi 9.40).” Our first self-evident proposition is that the truth is that which is. We are using truth in the sense of its absolute meaning—not some truth or a truth, but the truth, the ultimate reality. The truth being that which is, there can be noting unlike it, different from it, or opposed to it. Nonetheless, it is true that our present finite comprehension does not grasp such an infinity because we all have apparent horizons attached to our experience. However, we must postulate an absolute, unconditioned truth somewhere. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
We have learned that God can see all of time in one eternal glance, and that God is inside of all of us, so there is purity and truth in all beings. Truth is a synonym for God. Nonetheless, it is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurement—that they sometimes seek power, success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, and many may underestimate what is of true value in life. And yet, in making any general judgement of this sort, we are in danger of forgetting how variegated the human World and its mental life are. There are a few people from whom their contemporaries do not withhold admiration, although their greatness rests on attributes and achievements which are completely foreign to the aims and ideals of the multitude. However, things are not as simple as that due to the discrepancies between people’s thoughts and their actions, and to the diversity of their wishful impulses. In life, when we look at the sky, ocean, the moon, and the sun, many of us get a sense of eternity, a feeling as of something infinite, free. God, the genius of the intellect has never explained his own existence, but it is a miracle we get to experience it. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
The unfolding of God’s work often proceeds quietly. We know intuitively that soul has something to do with geniuses and depth, as when we say certain music, like We Need a Resolution, by Aaliyah, has soul or a remarkable person, like Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon, is soulful. When we look closely at the image of soulfulness, we see that it is tied to life in all its particulars—good food, satisfying conversation, genuine friends, and experiences that stay in the memory and touch the hearts. Soul is revealed in attachment, love, and community, as well as in retreat on behalf of inner communing and intimacy. We really must choose to care for the life of the soul. Even when life is full of conflict and challenges, quietly caring for the life of the soul is still what matters most. Even if hostilities break our here and there, we still need not break our covenants with God. Uncertainty as to World conditions does not justify moral vacantness, and distracting churn will not cover our sins nor dim God’s all-seeing eyes. Nor do the raging human hatreds lessen God’s perfect and redeeming love for all of his children. Our own intellectual shortfalls and perplexities do not alter the fact of God’s astonishing foreknowledge, which takes into account our choices for which we are responsible. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Amid the mortal and fragmentary communiques and the breaking news of the day concerning various human conflicts, God lives in an eternal now where the past, present, and future are constantly before him. God’s divine determinations are guaranteed, since whatever he takes in his heart to do, he will surely do it. God knows the end from the beginning! God is fully able to do his work and to bring all his purposes to reach completion. If the truth is all there is and if there is nothing unlike it, then there is no division between God and his children. Such omnipotence announces independence. That which we call the attributes of truth are not attributes of something which projects such alleged qualities, but are activities of that which constitutes the life of the soul. It helps to strive for our good ground with an honest and caring heart. Within all people and within everything that lives there is an impulsion toward self-expression. A spiritual life of some kind is absolutely necessary for psychological health. However, keep in mind, no one can tell you how to live your life. No one knows the secrets of the heart sufficiently to tell others about them authoritatively. Fulfilling work, rewarding relationships, personal power, and relief from symptoms are all gifts of the soul. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
Sometimes people wonder why we get down time in life, a period where nothing seems to go exactly as we planned, and we literally have to sit down and contemplate how we are going to dig ourselves out of a hole. Of course, we also know that we cannot truly measure another person’s suffering, and most people may not understand what we are going through. Well, God could be using this time to show us our true character. Hard times are not character building moments, they bring out who we really are. Materialistic life can be so absorbing that we get caught in it and forget about spirituality. What we need is the soul in the middle, holding together mind and body, ideas and life, spirituality and the World. The idea of a soul-centered World goes back to the earliest days of our culture. Our down time reminds us to think about our souls and reminds us that we have much to learn about it. This responsibility is so that we can truly become part of the critical mass which may evoke God’s much-needed blessings on all humanity. Truly converted disciples, though still imperfect, will pursue the life of the soul on any day, in any decade, amid any decadence and destruction. This process constitutes being about our Father’s business, and we can imagine the responsibility we each have to our own soul. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Because we are part of God, we have the power to think and create. Until now, we have not known that the power which has created physical infirmities may heal. God is eternal and can do all these things. We grow closer to the Savior as we, out of pure love, serve him. Our loving Heavenly Father hears us. The feeling of greatest importance is love. However, sometimes because we believe that which one is experiencing to be necessary, the experience is perpetuated. We all face situations that seem impossible and it is easy to become discouraged and think that things will never work out. However, God is going before us and correcting our difficulties. We may not have the connections at this very moment to accomplish our dreams, but we do not have to worry. God is going before us and lining up the right people. God is arranging the right breaks, and opportunities. We will find that the Lord puts helpers by our side—on our right, one our left, and all around us. “Lord God Omnipotent may seal us his, that we may be brought to Heaven, that we may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice and mercy of him who created all things, in Heaven and in Earth, who is God above all (Mosiah 5.15).” #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
By some divine intuition, by some inner whispering of our soul, by some light upon our path, we have progressed. God is our light, that urge, that whisper, and that voice. We need to receive this word from God in our spirit, and that will allow us to come out of the trouble quicker than we think. God is fighting our battles for us. We will get there quicker than we think. God will allow us to accomplish our dream much quicker than we think. Supernatural breaks are coming our way because God is crossing ahead of us. Besides God there is no other presence, no other animating principle. Wherever we look we will see God, and we will find God wherever we go. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there by any virtue, and if there be any praise, think of these things (Philippians 4:8).” One who lets the World choose one’s plan of life for one has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. One who chooses one’s plan for oneself employs all one’s faculties. One must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when we have decided, firmness and self-control to hold our deliberate decision. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
When we use the word God we mean the great reality, the infinity unity, the final truth back of all manifest life, the absolute or causeless cause, the one unconditioned, complete and perfect being—indivisible, changeless, and whole. All of these descriptive terms are synonymous with the word God. Moral knowledge necessary for virtue takes over 50 years of psychological and intellectual training. Our rational powers that are required for good moral character is not something that we can achieve on our own. The development and preservation of good moral character requires political institutions that promote the conditions under which self-love and friendship flourish. Character is shaped by the institutions of political, economic, and family life, then becoming good will require access to the appropriate institutions. However, this is not to suggest that becoming good is out of reach. The pleasing word of God shows the need for continuous repentance in our lives so we can keep the influence of the Holy Ghost. God will give us strength so we will not have to suffer any manner of affliction. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
If the nature of God or reality were unhappiness, then the will of God would be toward unhappiness. The pleasing word of God fills us with hope, because we know that those who are faithful in tribulation will have the greater reward in the kingdom of Heaven and that after much tribulation come the blessings. Our divine inheritance is self-sufficiency, perfection, peace, wholeness, and this includes abundance, self-expression, accomplishment, and happiness. If the will of God is the will of abundance, it follows that God cannot will lack, want, or limitation. It follows that all bondage is of the human. All bondage is a result of a circumscribed viewpoint of reality. All affliction is the result of ignorance. Because of our psychological nature and because that which we think about tends to take place in our experience, it follows that if we believe God’s will is toward unhappiness and limitation we shall experience limitation resulting from such a belief. That is why it is so important that our consciousness be clear; that we should know what we really believe about God. Inevitably, what we believe about God influences our entire experience in life. “Receive the grace of God, wax strong in the spirit, having the knowledge of God, that we are taught with the power and authority from God (Mosiah 18.25).” #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
The will of God is never toward suffering. In the midst of all perplexities the cry for deliverance has risen. The intuition senses that deliverance is at hand, but the intellect does not comprehend the manner in which it may become manifest. Hence, the intuition proclaims that which the intellect does not understand, and human beings must constantly reaffirm our belief in the infinite goodness if we expect to exclude the idea of evil from our thought. God’s will for every person is happiness, peace, and joy. It also gives us the security that, after we have lived a faithful life, we will not lose any blessing for not having done certain things if we were never given the opportunity to do them. If we have lived faithfully until the time of our death, we will have all the blessings, exaltation, and glory that any man or woman (who has had that opportunity) will have. The ceaseless struggle for liberty manifest through the ages, the constant reaching out toward reality which has inspired all people to more noble efforts, are expressions of that which is largely an unconscious sense, that hope, which springs eternal in the human heart. God’s will is always toward life and more life. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
How can the principle of life and harmony produce discord? We must believe that the will of God is happiness, healthiness, and eternal life. Then we shall have a strong spiritual and psychological background for our conviction that we too should experience God’s will. In the quest of the soul for its greatest Good, which is an inner contentment, we know that the will of God is serenity, security, and certainty. We must patiently, persistently, and insistently show people that the will of God cannot be toward anything other than that which is good; the will of God and the nature of God are identical and must forever remain so; there is nothing in the Universe which opposes their good except their misuse of the law which of itself is good. It is important that our daily activities do not distract us from listening to the spirit. God’s will most certainly is toward abundance. If we enjoy life, God is that much more completely expressed; the World is to that extent a happier place in which to live. One must be ever mentally and physically clean and have purity of intent so that the Lord can inspire. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
People cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible. Years of happiness can be lost in foolish gratification of a momentary desire for pleasure. Failure to communicate is one of the chief problems concerning psychologists—and human beings in general—today. We know many of the problems come about because communications are blocked by expectations and assumptions, prejudices, fears, refusal to let meaning through or to actually hear what the other person is trying to say. There are thousands of other interferences as well. Sometimes a person’s attempt to understand something in the World outside of the individual is clouded by the way one’s brain or nervous system picks up the impressions one gets from one’s own eyes and ears. The humanitarianism that will soon be called for, if it is not already demanded today, is at once both broader and more discriminating. The excessive horror of pain is out of place when we realize that pain is an essential part of all growing life, and that it is only unessential and unprofitable pain that we should seek to prevent. The destruction of life, similarly, has been a part of all life from the beginning. It was rooted in Nature long before humans appeared, and humans cannot with impunity escape it, though we may exercise control over it. That control is most wisely exercised by ensuring, so far as possible, that the finest specimens of our race are not destroyed. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
God is the power and the source of all strength. We desire everything in this World for you that is right and good. To foster wars, in order to kill our heroes, as we regard them, while taking so much care to safeguard the lives of our criminals is not the course of wisdom. We cannot expect, and we cannot desire, that the army of person who become maimed or diseased through no fault of their own should be killed off. Future ages may well look back with horror at the days when everything in life was planned except death, and men and women were meekly content to let their exit from the World be ordered by the chances of disease. We can at least ensure that those who find life an intolerable burden should have social support in the courageous resolve to throw off that burden and accept what is termed God. Our rules are the commandments of God, and we make points when we sever our mission, draw close to the Lord, live the word of wisdom, stay morally clean, and live a life of righteousness. You are one of the Lord’s children, and he is depending on you to do your very best. There are forces of evil in the World. You represent the Lord as a force of good, and have come to Earth at this time for a special purpose. God has a mission for you to accomplish, a lifetime mission. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
The peace which is God belongs to us and is some part of his spiritual nature. The Lord will speak to you through the words of the scriptures. Draw close to the Lord through the scriptures. Take time out to pray each morning and night and as often in between as needed. That is one of the wonderful gifts God has given us—he is accessible by prayer anytime, and any place. God is always there for us, and he wants us to succeed. The nature of God is incarnated in every living soul. The peace of God is always nestled at the center of our beings, ready to reveal its perfection and harmony. Peace stands at the door of our consciousness and awaits our acceptance of it, and it waiting to be expressed in everything we do. Since can stun the conscience as a blow to the head can stun the physical senses. We must avoid anything that causes us to lose control of ourselves or to lose concern for the welfare of other people. Sharing affection can be a very pleasant, pleasing experience that is given to us by the Lord to strengthen our bonds with others. The feelings generated can be very strong, but if they are not controlled, they will control you. The Kingdom of Heaven is within you, which is the Kingdom of God, and God is peace. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
The Holy Ghost communicates with the spirit through the mind more than through the physical sense. A conscious knowledge of peace, coupled with a definite use of the law of mind, gives to each the possibility of freedom from the bondage of doubt, fear, and uncertainty. To be prepared for our life’s mission, we must purify our thoughts and feelings. Each individual has the power to decide, deliberately and intentionally, what images one entertains in our minds and what emotions are felt in the heart. The peace the passes all human comprehension is there. The peace that is at the very heart of the Universe is within our souls. Act as though peace already emanates from your spirit and it will emanate from it. Speak peace into confusion, and your peace will heal that confusion. If we do not acknowledge our emotional side, learn ow to cultivate and appreciate it, then we lose out on a great part of life. I entertain the hope that in our venturing we shall get addicted to wonder and now the joy of constantly feeling something a little new. God is dwelling at the center of every soul. The dawn has come. The Sun of truth rises over the horizon of ignorance. The light dissipates the darkness. Live a morally clean life. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
The scriptures teach us that we may feel the words of spiritual communication more than hear them, and see with spiritual rather than mortal eyes. Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. If you have experienced inspiration, you understand. Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit. In that marvelous revelation, the word of wisdom, we are told how to keep our bodies free from impurities which might dull, even destroy, those delicate physical sense which have to do with spiritual communication. The word of wisdom is a key to individual revelation. It was given as a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weakest of all saints. The promise is that those who obey will receive great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. God has come to awaken us from the sense of limitation, and proclaim the eternal days of our abundance. Our minds will be acquainted with the truth. Revelation comes in an orderly way. Revelation continues with us today. The promptings of the spirit, the dreams, and the visions and the visitations, and the ministering of Angels are all with us now. There is no darkness which God’s light does not dissipate. There is no knowledge which God does not possess, for God is wisdom, the source of all knowledge, and the source of all illumination. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
If we do not succeed in keeping alive a vision of mature life, then indeed we are confronted with the probability that our whole cultural tradition will breakdown. The God who is within us has already created this marvelous mechanism which we call our human body. The intelligence which designed and projected this body must have a perfect knowledge of all its parts, has a perfect understanding of all its needs, and it is able to rebuild those parts and supply their needs. The creative agency within us knows how to re-create, but this healing presence, being the very essence of our own nature, must flow out into action through our consciousness of who and what we are. Hence, we must recognize God as the greater healer, and the divine emancipator from physical bondage and pain, as our true spirit. I remember, as a child, the stories about the generosity of the American people as they were told by my grandfather over a slice of cheese cake and milk. With a strong and powerful voice, he explained how our people were saved from the starvation at the end of the World War I. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6
As a teenager, reflecting on the sacrifices of the American people, as I walked through the historic cemetery, I looked at all the thousands of graves of the people who gave their lives so that we could live in freedom. If the coming generations will not see these traits of endurance, sacrifice, love, and strength, a five-thousand-year-old culture will crease to exist. The achievement of love is the overcoming of one’s narcissism. The narcissistic orientation is one in which one experiences as real only that which exists within oneself, while the phenomena in the outside World have no reality in themselves, but are experienced only from the viewpoint of their being useful or dangerous to one. The opposite pole to narcissism is objectivity; it is the faculty to see people and things as they are, accurately and to be able to separate this comprehensive picture from a conception which is formed by one’s desires and fears. All forms of psychosis show the inability to be objective, to an extreme degree. For the insane person the only reality that exists is that within one, that of one’s qualms and wishes. They see the World outside as symbols of their inner World, as their creation. All of us do the same when we dream. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6
In our dreams, we often stage drama, which are the expressions of our wishes and fears (although sometime also of insights and judgment), and while we are asleep we are convinced that the product of our dreams is as real as the reality which we perceive in our waking state. The insane person or the dreamer fails completely in having an objective view of the World outside. The homestead of the libido is the ego; in the child the whole libido is centered in the ego, and we designate it as ego libido. The child may be said to be purely egoistic at first; but as one grows older and reaches the narcissistic stage of development, we speak of narcissistic libido, because the former ego libido has now become erotically tinged. Still later, when the child has successfully passed through the early phases of development and can transfer their libido to objects outside oneself, that is, when one is genitally pubescent, we speak of object libido. Libido thus can be directed to outside objects or can be withdrawn back to the ego. A great many normal and pathological states depend on the resulting interchanges between these two forces. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6
The transference of neuroses, hysteria and compulsion neuroses, are determined by some disturbance in the give-and-take of object libido, and hence are curable by psychoanalytic therapy, whereas the narcissistic neuroses, or the psychoses which are mainly controlled by narcissistic libido, can be studied and helped, but cannot as yet be cured by analysis. The psychotic is, as a rule, inaccessible to this treatment because one is unable to transfer sufficient libido to the analyst. The psychotic is either too suspicious or too interested in one’s own inner World to pay any attention to the physician. The term for sex can be broadened by calling it love or libido. Also, it should be noted that a child can be transformed into a schizophrenic by approving of their behavior, but because you are in a bad mood, you later disapprove of that same behavior, and if you continue to do it continuously. Today is already the past for many, and tomorrow wears a mask of fear. Today can still change tomorrow, but what kind of society are we building? What kind of a country will we have if we, as one people, do not defend ourselves against the assaults of evil? The lack of objectivity, as far as foreign nations are concerned, is notorious. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6
From one day to another, other nations are made out to be utterly depraved and fiendish, while one’s own nation stands for everything that is good and noble. Every action of the enemy is judged by one standard—every action of oneself by another. Even good deeds by the perceived enemy is considered a sign of particular devilishness, meant to deceive us and the World, while our bad deeds are necessary and justified by our noble goals which they serve. Indeed, if one examines the relationship between nations, as well as between individuals, one comes to the conclusion that objectivity is the exception, and a greater or lesser degree of narcissistic decision is the rule. We must believe in the healing presence within us and encompassed in all people, and then we must speak our word in such a way that this healing presence may, as it flows through that word, perform the miracle of life which is the giving form to the invisible. Our word must be definite, conscious, and concrete. It is imperative to know that the God within us as a healing presence is now the law of perfect life in our physical body and mind. “And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land (Alma 62.51).” #RandolphHarris 5 of 6
The only way that the healing presence of God can create for us is through the images of our thought, through the beliefs which we entertain, whether these beliefs be hope, fear, doubt, faith, failure, or happiness, love, success, joy, and greatness. Therefore, we must correct all beliefs which deny this healing presence. If we succeed in healing our thought, then the healing power of God will heal our body, mind, and life as it flows through the new thought patter. For every denial of physical wholeness, we must supply an affirmation of our faith and confidence that the spirit within us, being perfect, acts as a law of wholeness to our being. What are the feelings that will determine this daily choice? Love, passion, fear, courage, pride, laziness, or will? Are these feelings in accordance with our faith and testimony? The healing power of God within our bodies focuses on right ideas and makes every organ perfect, every function, every action and reaction. We can have harmony in our physical beings. It removes doubt and fear from our consciousness, and with this disappearance of doubt and fear there will be a corresponding disappearance of their manifestation. God is peace. This peace which is God belongs to us and is part of our spiritual nature. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6
God is sheer goodness, whereas other things are credited with the sort of virtue appropriate to their natures. And God’s existence can be proved. Nothing greater can be conceived; God is a being the exists and is greater than a being that does not exist; therefore, God exists. Divine personality wholly transcends its finite counterpart. The power that is within you is the power of your word operated upon the law. This power is not so much a will as it is a willingness. We will never have to will things to happen, as we will merely know that they are happening. Thus, we become aware of God as eternal through the contingency of finite things and as holy through the demands of the moral law. The supernatural character of revelation cannot be denied. There is also a purely spiritual experience called mystical. It is possible to have a direct knowledge of divine reality because God is transcendent as well as immanent. Some regard it as the highest activity of ordinary mental powers; others assign it to a special faculty of the soul. Some describe it intellectually as an insight or intuition; others stress its volitional character by calling it a confrontation or encounter. God as a personal being, the Lord of the Universe, whose grace requires the loving devotion of his worshippers is especially significant. #RandolphHarris 1 of 7
The identity of the Absolute God, who is fully personal, both in himself and in dealings with humankind, is a Father, King, and Friend mediated by a knowledge that cannot be surpassed by abstract speculation. There is satisfaction of knowing that we are free mental agents in a spiritual Universe which holds nothing against us, but always desires us to reflect and experience good. No greater good can come to us than knowing that the power is already within us to live, we have the power to create. Not only to create for ourselves, but for others. We have the power to do good, the power to heal, the power to prosper. In addition to a natural knowledge of God, there is a supernatural knowledge revealed by God and received through faith. We are to realize that the power within us is a divine authority, which is answering our every need, supplying our every want, fulfilling our every wish; and we must believe that God does this immediately, right now—not tomorrow but today, because the law of God’s power within us knows no time. God can see all of eternity with one eternal glance. Mind, soul, and the material World flow from God (as rays flow from the Sun) without impairing it self-sufficiency. The World is God (the only substance) under his attributes of thought and extension. Everything follows from his essence by a logical necessity. #RandolphHarris 2 of 7
Things could not have been produced by God in any other manner or order than that in which they were fashioned. All things must have followed of necessity from the given nature of God, and they are determined for existence or action in a certain way by the necessity of the divine nature. In American, we have allowed a class of undocumented people to come here and have so much power that they have immunity from criminal prosecution, they are able to collect financial, education, and medical privileges from taxpayers, they have the power to shutdown our government. Meanwhile, while Americans are obsessed with getting the latest mobile phones, which make corporations rich, we are indirectly killing people in Africa and forcing them into slave labor. People in the Democratic Republic of Congo have face extreme violence, especially over the past 20 years that has killed more than 6 million people. There is in excess of $24 trillion of untapped deposits of raw minerals on this particular 950,000 square miles of land in the Congo, with a population of 63 million. The fighting that is going on is destroying the country, destroying infrastructure, causing physical and psychological damage to civilians, and creating human rights violations on a mass scale. #RandolphHarris 3 of 7
Rape is being used as a weapon of war. Women, men, and children are gang raped (physically forced into unwanted sexual situations by groups of people) and often left incontinent or bleeding to death. Women are kidnapped from their homes and forced to marry their enemies so that is they were to escape, they could not go back home because people would suspect them of being traitors. This is all taking place because Africa is resource rich. There is a large demand for natural resources because Africa still has large quantities of gold, copper, diamonds, silver, coltan (a mineral used in mobile phones), which many parties desire to control for monetary reasons. These Africans make pennies a day to mine the tin, copper, and zinc for our computers and mobile devices and still are malnourished and have no place to live. If they get hurt, they have to work, while being injured, or just lay there and die. The money for the sale of these resources has not reached average citizens. Education, healthcare, the legal system, and roads are left in shambles. These human beings do not even have clean drinking water, nor working toilets. 45,000 people are dying each month because of widespread disease and famine. The duty to warn is felt especially keenly by people of God, and it is a duty shared by others as well. #RandolphHarris 4 of 7
Ignorance of the law is not an excuse from crime. However, if we care about people in Africa, at the very least, what we can do is buy items that are sustainable and last for years, or decades, maybe even a lifetime. We can also buy engineered materials. If we warn the wicked of their ways to turn from it, if they do not turn from their way, they shall die in their iniquity; but you have delivered their soul. The wicked shall surely die. However, the wicked turn from their sins, and do that which is lawful and right, none of their sins they have committed shall be mentioned unto them. And, those who do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live. Far from being anxious to condemn, our Heavenly Father and our Savior seek our happiness and plead with us to repent, know full well that wickedness never was, and never will be, happiness. We must turn away from the adversary, who is the enemy of our souls, and choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all humans. Being American is a privilege. Buying a house in the suburbs and having security is not only a blessing, but it is like Heaven for many people, and that is why comprehensive immigration reform is import. Not only should we be thankful to be American, but we need a system that allows people to legally immigrate to America and enjoy our dream. #RandolphHarris 5 of 7
We who have received a knowledge of the great plan of happiness—and its implementing commandments—should feel a desire to share that knowledge since is makes all the difference here and in eternity. We have a friend within us who is closer than our shadow. We should love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We must also love our neighbor as ourselves. This is basically the reflective property of equality. If you look in a mirror, what do you see? Your refection! You are seeing an image of yourself. Reflexive means something relating to itself. And that is why we are told to love our neighbor as we love God because we are all his children. And whatever we do to others, we are also doing to ourselves. The reflexive property of equality simply states that a value is equal to itself. The motivation for raising the warning voice is love—love of God and love of humans, animals, all beings, and the Earth. Surely, love would compel parents to warn their closest neighbors—their own children. This means teaching them about the World and the word of God. God is our friend and anticipates our every desire, knows our every need, and governs our every act. God is a friend within our own soul, the animating presence projecting our personality, which is a unique individualization of the living spirit. #RandolphHarris 6 of 7
God within us is the one who units our nature with all of humanity. There is some part of us which reaches into the nature of others, irresistibly drawing them to us and drawing us to them, binding all together in one complete unity. Right now, because of the reflexive property, we are one with all persons, all places, and all events. God continuously looks after our well-being and wishes us to be happy, well, and radiant. God is our eternal guide, intellect, and the essence of understanding. We shall have new and greater experiences and triumph over every defeat because God is an unconquerable hero. God keeps silent watch within us and lifts our consciousness to the realization that you are forever protected, forever safe, and forever perfect. There is a healing presence within all of us. We must seek God, receive a remission of sins, and become converted. We must let the words of God speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, and let that sink deep into our hearts. In a guilt culture, we know we are good or bad by what our conscience feels. While we should not be overly concerned what other people think of us, we should pay attention to how we feel about the things we do. If can hurt people for fun and without concern, that is dangerous because the only thing a psychopath cannot do is feel remorse. 3.5 million people are stalked in American each year, often nothing can be done until something violent happens. #RandolphHarris 7 of 7
There is no frustration in the mind of God within us. Some day we shall all rest in his warm embrace. God brings an enriched and blessed sense with every aspect of our lives, bringing a deep, abiding, calming atmosphere of purpose and direction. As we allow our faith in God to freely flow through us, it awakens and enlivens our spiritual senses. It breathes life into our very souls. The road to God is through the self, and the pathway to an ever-increasing experience can be filled with joy. The supreme being is at the center of each one of us. To it we may come for guidance, and from it we may draw inspiration and the power to live, stand, walk, or sit. As faith slows, we become sensitively attuned to the whisperings of the spirit. Our minds are enlightened, our spiritual pulse quickens, our hearts are touched. Faith fuels hope. Our perspective changes, even or vision becomes clearer. Most certainly God is personal to everyone. As we grow closer to God, we begin to look for the best in life and in others. We gain a deeper sense of life’s purpose and meaning, and despair turns to joy. There is a presence within us which directly responds to God. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
Since the presence is peace, joy, beauty, harmony, and completion, we may be sure that these qualities seek expression through our activities, and seek manifestation in everything that we do. Faith such as this is a Heavenly gift, and it can be sought and cultivated. God is willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their hearts, and to be hidden from those who flee from him with all their hearts, God so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given signs of himself, visible to those who seek him, and not those who seek him not. God created humans as personal, always acts toward him in ways which respect and preserve human’s freedom and responsibility. Faith is nurtured as we allow ourselves to believe. Like all other virtues, faith is strengthened as we practice it, as we live and act as if our faith were already deep. Faith is the product of righteous desire, belief, and obedience. Without such a sense there would be no warmth or color in our work. Faith fills the atmosphere of helpfulness, proceeding from our realization that we are recognizing God in our lives. The life of God is within you; whatever is true of God is true of your life. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
This life within you, being God, did not begin and it cannot end; hence you are immortal and eternal. Our only safety, security, and our only hope is to hold fast to that which is good. As the mists of darkness gather around us, we are only lost if we choose to let go of God. A firm knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us is founded upon the truth of the freely given promise God revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit. There is a permanent relationship between faith and the word. The mind of God has no problems, no difficulties, and is never confused. When you know that the mind within you is God and cannot be confused, then your intellect becomes clarified. The mind of God permeates every atom of your being. It is the governing principle in every organ of your body. God is the principle of perfection within you. As you teach your intellect to believe in the free circulation of spirit through you, your thought becomes a law of elimination to congestion; it purifies stagnation. Your consciousness of the divine presence within you, like light, dissipates the darkness. For God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shine in our hearts, and to give light of the knowledge of the glory of God. #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
We need strength beyond ourselves to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us. We have within you the ability to project new ideas, new thoughts, new inventions. It is my witness that as we cultivate our faith, grow through service, and stay constant and true come what may, so we feel God’s love. Therefore, whatsoever ideas you desire, when you pray—when you listen to this inner mind—know that you are going to receive these ideas, for you are dealing with that mind which is the conceiver of all ideas. We are strengthened, cleansed, refreshed, spiritually and emotionally healed. When you call upon this mind for an answer to your problem, it at once knows the answer because there is no problem to God. In this way, the answer to every problem has been solved. Knowing why we are tested and what the test s tells us how to get help. We have to go to God. God gives us the commandments. And we will need more than our own strength to keep them. There are cases in which we may come into contact with some aspect of reality only by acting, prior to any adequate evidence, as if it existed; in these instances, our faith helps to being its object into being. There is a promise of help from God that comes with the daily practice of faith. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
The promise is sure. The power of the Holy Ghost is real. Most people not only long for joy, but also for the great freedom of being so full in ourselves we can live for others. Nothing shows the fullness and freedom of the human soul more than love. Therefore, deep down people want to love. In the realm of personal relationships faith in an individual’s good will or honesty may on occasions elicit these qualities when otherwise they would have been wanting. Precursive faith of this kind is justified by its subsequent verification rather than by prior evidence. To think is to create. We have the possibility within us to accept our freedom, announce our liberty, and proclaim our divine birthright. Know that the power within you, which is God, is the law of good establishing right action in your life. In this manner, you will gain dominion and exercise authority. We should rejoice that we are awakening to the realization that God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. The Holy Ghost comes as a companion to those who try to do the best they can. What looks hard, almost impossible under our own power, becomes a joy in the strength of the Lord. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Many of us desire a union of love and will in which the distinction between the Creator and the beings are permanently retained. We wish more than a blind acceptance of God. We need to know with scientific certainty that there is a consciousness and a power in the Universe that responds to us definitely, directly, and dynamically. Each individual must arrive at a place in one’s own consciousness where this contact is so immediate and so dynamic that if every other living soul denied it, one would know. Without this inner belief neither faith nor understanding is possible. We would be depending on a forlorn hope which might vanish in the hour of need. To be concentrated means to live fully in the present, in the here and now, and not to think of the next thing to be done, while one is doing something right now. Needless to say, that concentration must be practiced most of all by people who love each other. They must learn to be close to each other without running away in the many ways in which this is customarily done. The beginning of the practice of concentration will be difficult; it will appear as if one could never achieve the aim. Therefore, it is necessary to have patience. If one does not know that everything has its time, and wants to force things, then indeed one will never succeed in becoming concentrated—nor in the art of loving. #RandolphHarris 1 of 5
It is enough for the intelligent person to know that the entire planetary system manifests intelligence and organization; that is, it manifests intelligence plus direction, and aptitude along with focus means consciousness. It implies both will and representation; both an infinite will and an infinite manifestation. There is within each of us a deep awareness, a subjective and a spiritual consciousness which by pure intuition knows that the Universal intelligence which we call God exists. True lights every person that comes into the World. The inner consciousness of our union with God is supreme. Not only is it the highest hope and inspiration of the human mind, but it has ever been its greatest realization. Imagine if we had the patience of a baby learning to walk. The baby falls several times, but keeps on trying, improving, until one day the baby walks without falling. This is an example of how patience and concentration in our pursuits and faith are very important. We have to become sensitive to ourselves. Some people say they are too tired to sleep. And many of us know what that is like. At that point, it is probably good to go in the room, listen to music and read a book. Isolation sometimes helps the soul regenerate. It may be that your soul is tired and needs to recharge. #RandolphHarris 2 of 5
While we teach knowledge, we also must teach what is most important for human development, how to become a mature, loving person. There are many people who have never seen a loving person, or a person with integrity, or courage, or concentration. God is sensitive and responsive to our needs much like a mother is to her baby. She notices certain bodily changes, demands, and stressed even before they are overtly expressed. A mother wakes up because of her child’s crying, where another and much louder sound would not awaken her. However, when that baby has a need, the mother is immediately “woke.” Parents are sensitive to the manifestations of the child’s life, much like God is with his children, and they are in an alert equilibrium, receptive to any significant communication coming from the child. “Cry unto God for all your support; let it be in the Lord; let all your thoughts be directed unto the Lord; let the affections of your heart be placed upon the Lord forever counsel with the Lord in all your doings, and he will direct you for good; when you lie down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when you rise in the morning let your heart be full of thanks unto God; and if you do these things, you shall be lifted up at the last day (Alma 37.36-37).” #RandolphHarris 3 of 5
Omniscience is entailed by infinity. It is self-evident that we exist because we experience existence. It is undeniable that an infinite mind exists, since we can think. It is undisputable that this mind is a unity, since as individuals we recognize each other. It is obvious that we can communicate with this infinite mine, since we can commune with each other. Things will work for us according to our faith in God, “Therefore, if we have faith to believe that God could cause the spindles to point the way they should go, and it will be done; therefore, faith in God will supply us with miracles, and many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day (Alma 37.40).” We cannot disbelieve these self-evident propositions, for we must accept that which it is impossible to deny. If we are to use spiritual power effectively, we must believe in God. The consciousness of spirit, the inner realization of the presence of perfection, the willingness to meditate upon this perfection, to understand God’s operation and to sense God’s presence, is the power back of all effective physical and psychological fitness treatment. We must also use common sense, God does not contradict common sense. It is never necessary to contradict common sense in arriving at the truth, for fact and faith need never conflict. #RandolphHarris 4 of 5
God is timeless. Evil has been traced to the fall of the World Soul. Again, it is said that perhaps there is evil in the World so we can purify our souls for eternal life, and so that all of God’s children have a chance to learn the love of God. However, no explanation is fully satisfying. Many believe that God displays his omnipotence by overcoming evil through the scriptures. Our thoughts become creative not by well-wishing, prayer, supplication, or desire, but through necessity. “I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness into God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is one that endures to the end (Alma 38.2).” Since the Universe exists as a harmonious whole, the consciousness back of it must be perfect, indivisible unit. We are engaged in an endeavor to see how much joy we can take out of this Oversoul for ourselves and others. In addition to a natural knowledge of God, there is a supernatural knowledge revealed by God and received through faith. We become aware of God as eternal through the contingency of finite things and as holy through the demands of moral law. #RandolphHarris 5 of 5
Randolph Harris II International Institute 