Japan's Nuclear Disaster: Part of the Sad History of Humans Used

http://www.wanttoknow.info/humanguineapigs

Sacred Sexuality

Sacred Sexuality

Image by Carol Schoenleber

Sexuality can be a vehicle into spirituality
rather than an obstacle to it.  ~  Peter Rengel

Though it is one of the most vital aspects of life, we are given very little healthy information about how to deal with sexuality in a sexually obsessed culture. For many people, sex is even more seductive than money. Our media, advertising, and entertainment industries are filled with subtle and not-so-subtle messages about sex. The underlying thrust is all about beauty, desire, and buying the products or operations which will make us popular, more attractive, and better lovers.

And even though advertising and entertainment are filled with sexual innuendo, it is rare that you will find anything other than tabloids and women's magazines talking openly about both the joys and challenges of sex. In many communities, homes, and workplaces, serious discussion of sexuality continues to be a taboo subject.

It is also extremely rare that any of society's many sexual messages even hints at the spiritual dimensions of sex. To those who have succumbed to all of these subliminal and overt messages, sacred sexuality might even seem like a contradiction in terms. Considering all of this, how can we transform sexual energy in our lives and in our world to better support the good of all of us?

Almost the opposite of societal conditioning, many of the world's religions imprint negative beliefs of sexuality in their followers. For thousands of years, these religions have considered sex to be a base and vulgar act.

Sexuality gets little mention in the sacred texts of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. When it is mentioned, the suggestion is often to avoid it if possible in order to reach greater spiritual heights. Many monks and gurus also teach that we must refrain from sex in order to reach enlightenment. Yet none of us would be here without sex. There is virtually no spiritual instruction in how to deal with sexual urges other than to abstain. As a result, many people experience a split between sexuality and spirituality in their lives.

For a powerful, yet deeply personal exploration of the sexual-spiritual split by a wonderful workshop facilitator who was willing to explore his own wounds with workshop participants, please read the engaging six-page story below.

www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories/picucci...

The exciting news is that, as shown in the above essay, old paradigm beliefs and attitudes around sexuality are clearly changing. Homosexuality, bisexuality, and other sexual persuasions are gradually gaining more acceptance and support, even in the media. Yet common misperceptions around all forms of sexuality continue to exist in many people and places, and very few have even considered the possibility that sexuality can be used to enhance spiritual growth.

While fully honoring and supporting those who choose to abstain from sex for spiritual reasons, for those who choose to include sexuality in their spiritual path, it is important to be open and real in discussing this powerful force and how it can be used to change our lives and world. The term sacred sexuality is now being heard with increasing frequency in certain circles. Please read the below eye-opening article showing how old attitudes are gradually changing.

www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=931 - Sacred Sex

Sacred sexuality is often associated with tantra – a spiritual practice in which sexuality is used to achieve higher spiritual states. Though tantric sexuality was developed in India thousands of years ago, it is recently becoming popular in certain pioneering groups in this modern age. The below article, while acknowledging those who choose a spiritual path of celibacy, describes some of the inspiring aspects of tantra or the art of spiritual lovemaking.

www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories/ren... - What is Spiritual Sex?

And for a couple short, inspiring essays on fostering spiritual intimacy in relationships, follow these links:

www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories/brennan... - Intimate Relationships 
www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories/cousens.intimacy - On Intimacy

Remember that in matters of sacred sexuality, the energy or essence of the people involved is more important than the physical bodies they inhabit. The seven-minute video below beautifully demonstrates this:

www.personalgrowthcourses.net/video/susan_boyle_i_have_a_dream

  Sacred Cows

Sacred Cows © Spyder Webb of sacredcowsonline.com

In mushrooms and ciliated protozoans there are many tens of different genders. Some slime molds have 13 fusion sexes. 
  ~  Christine Fielder and Chris King in Sexual Paradox

Taking Responsibility for Our Lives

Taking Responsibility for Our Lives

It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do with it. 
W. Mitchell, Inspirational Speaker

Welcome to lesson two of the Inspiration Course. In order to open to more love and deeper connections with ourselves and those around us, taking responsibility for our lives is an essential quality. As a first step to exploring this key topic, the below two-page article discusses the roles of victim and creator, and how when the going gets tough, we have choice as to which role we play.

http://www.momentoflove.org/qualityoflife

Next, W Mitchell is a man who speaks from rich experience. The below inspiring, 15-minute video reminds us that it's not what happens to us that matters, but rather what we do about it. In spite of tremendous adversity in his life, W Mitchell chooses again and again not to be a victim, but rather to be a powerful creative force in life, and an inspiration to all who know him.

http://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/video/what_matters_w_mitchell_pgc

It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do with it! After watching this inspiring video clip, think of all the ways you may have blamed yourself or others for shortcomings in yourself or your life.

Does it really serve you to blame anyone or anything? What if we choose to accept our circumstances, to accept our lives, and to accept our world just as they are? Aren't we then freer to move powerfully forward and transform into a more effective, inspiring presence for ourselves and for those around us?

For a thought-provoking three-page essay by a renowned relationship counselor giving more valuable ideas on this potent topic, please see the link below.

http://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories/hendricks.chemistryofblame1

So would you rather be right or be happy? The two short, inspiring stories of father and son healing below beautifully demonstrate how one person alone letting go of the need to be right and then taking personal responsibility can dramatically change a significant relationship for the better.

http://www.inspiringcommunity.org/inspiring... - Scott's story (two pages) 
http://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories... - Fred's story (two pages)

  Sacred Cows

Sacred Cows © Spyder Webb of sacredcowsonline.com

Healing and mastery come as we embrace all that is exactly as it is, while taking complete responsibility for our relationship with it.   ~  Dane Colby

Raymon Grace...more wisdom from him!

April 3: 9:00 am EST; April 10 at 10:00 am EST

Raymon Grace, a native of the mountains of Virginia, has spent the past 35 years empowering folks to gain more control of their lives. His work reaches people on wide social and economic levels. With a unique and down-to-earth manner, he teaches in a style that characterizes his life. He is known as a dowser, consultant, author and Mountain Man. His work and teaching have been used to reduce violence in schools, eliminate abuse of women and children as well as physical and mental benefits for individuals. He has worked with law enforcement officers in both U.S. and Canada to successfully reduce violent crime. Join him May 13-15 in Virginia Beach for a Dowsing Training Intensive: Attuning to the Source. Learn more at RaymonGrace.com

Shock Doctrine, U.S.A.

February 24, 2011, New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/opinion/25krugman.html

The story of the privatization-obsessed Coalition Provisional Authority [created by Bush in Iraq in 2003] was the centerpiece of Naomi Klein’s best-selling book “The Shock Doctrine,” which argued that it was part of a broader pattern. From Chile in the 1970s onward, she suggested, right-wing ideologues have exploited crises to push through an agenda that has nothing to do with resolving those crises, and everything to do with imposing their vision of a harsher, more unequal, less democratic society. Which brings us to Wisconsin 2011, where the shock doctrine is on full display. In recent weeks, Madison has been the scene of large demonstrations against the governor’s budget bill, which would deny collective-bargaining rights to public-sector workers. Gov. Scott Walker claims that he needs to pass his bill to deal with the state’s fiscal problems. But his attack on unions has nothing to do with the budget. What’s happening in Wisconsin is, instead, a power grab — an attempt to exploit the fiscal crisis to destroy the last major counterweight to the political power of corporations and the wealthy. And the power grab goes beyond union-busting. The bill in question is 144 pages long, and there are some extraordinary things hidden deep inside. For example, the bill includes language that would allow officials appointed by the governor to make sweeping cuts in health coverage for low-income families without having to go through the normal legislative process. The state of Wisconsin owns a number of plants supplying heating, cooling, and electricity to state-run facilities. The language in the budget bill would ... let the governor privatize any or all of these facilities. Not only that, he could sell them, without taking bids, to anyone he chooses. And note that any such sale would, by definition, be “considered to be in the public interest.”

Note: For an abundance of major media articles revealing rampant government corruption, click here.

IMPORTANT! REAL INFO ABOUT $5 / GALLON FOR GAS!!!!

$5 a gallon!!!!

Be  sure to read the U.S. Geological Survey page -- the link is at the  bottom 
of this e-mail
     
You  "will" pay $5 a gallon + again and you won't complain loud enough  to make a difference, RIGHT!  
Here's an astonishing read.  

Important and verifiable information :

About 6 months ago, the  writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes  Bros. was the guest. The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask  you a direct question and I would like a direct answer; how much  oil does the 
U.S. have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat,  he said, "more than all the Middle East put together." 

Please read  below.

The U.  S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only  scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big. It was  a revised report (hadn't been updated since 1995) on how much oil  was in this area of the 
western 2/3 of North Dakota, western South  Dakota, and extreme eastern Montana 
...... check THIS  out:

The Bakken is the largest  domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe Bay , and has the  potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The  Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503  billion barrels. 

Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at  $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than  $5...3 trillion.

"When I first briefed  legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the  floor. They had no idea.." says Terry Johnson, the Montana  
Legislature's financial analyst.

"This sizable find is now  the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56  years," reportsThe Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a  formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly  referred to as the 'Bakken.' It 
stretches from Northern Montana ,  through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S. oil  exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil'  
companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago.  However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the  Bakken's massive reserves..... and we now have access of up to 500  billion barrels. 

And because this is light, 
sweet oil, those  billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER  BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully  fuel the American economy for 2041 years straight. And if THAT  didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because  
it's from 2006!


U.. S. Oil Discovery-  Largest Reserve in the World


Stansberry Report Online -  4/20/2006


Hidden 1,000 feet beneath  the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil  reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On  August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. In three  and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With  this motherload of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore  drilling?


They reported this stunning  news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other  proven reserves on earth.. Here are the official  estimates:

- 8-times as much oil as  Saudi Arabia 
- 18-times as much oil as  Iraq 

- 21-times as much oil as  Kuwait

- 22-times as much oil as  Iran

- 500-times as much oil as  Yemen

- and it's all  right here in the Western United States  .

HOW can this BE? HOW can we  NOT BE extracting this? Because the environmentalists and others  have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of  foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate  our lives and our economy.....WHY?

James Bartis, lead  researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very  compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION  barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of  crude oil in the 
world today, reports The  Denver Post.  Don't think 'OPEC'  will  drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It's all about  the competitive marketplace, - it has  to. Think OPEC just might be funding the  environmentalists?

IMITATION IS NOT CHEATING

IMITATION IS NOT CHEATING

By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.

       I was not very surprised or shocked by the events that occurred last
month in Tucson, Arizona.  However, I was deeply saddened.  Perhaps I
have become jaded.  I know I have become desensitized to violence in
our society.  In protecting and defending my awareness from all the
violence to which I am exposed on a daily basis, I have become almost
emotionally numb to it.  Most children do not yet have that protective
skill.  In fact, children (up to age of emotional maturity), are not
only exposed to violence every day, they engage in violent video
games, watch violent television programs and watch violence on the
national and international "news."

       We all know that children learn best by first observing what they
experience.  Then they imitate what they observe.  They practice what
they have observed or experienced.  Imitation is the natural way we
learn.  The smarter we are, the quicker we practice what we see.  The
more we practice, the quicker we develop habits.  When habits are in
place, the behavior becomes automatic (unconscious).

       What many young children see daily are innumerable acts of violence,
either on television or in real life.  They participate in such
violence and even seek to "win" at many computer games, by killing or
violently beating an opponent.  They observe, imitate and practice
what they experience.  Violent environments breed violent
children/adolescents/young adults.

       In school, we learn that imitating others is cheating.  Being a
"copy cat" is discouraged, even punished.  Practicing what we see
others do is frowned upon by teachers.  Yet, children are expected to
accurately reproduce on a test, what they have read or heard, not
necessarily what they have seen their peers, parents or teachers do.
Individual creativity or experimentation is often discouraged as well.
 "Failure" to reproduce information accurately is down-graded.  What a
bind!  Children can't imitate what others do on one hand.  On the
other hand, they aren't allowed to invent or express their own ideas,
perceptions or behavior.  What is a frustrated child to do?  They most
likely do what they have observed others do when frustrated.  How do
most of us handle frustration?  Violence seems to be the prevalent
method.

       The smartest way to learn any new skill is to find someone who has
mastered that skill, watch what he does, and then do exactly the same
thing.  This is called "practice."  Success at achieving anything
begins with imitating the successful master.  Are we imitating a
master at violent behavior?  We most certainly imitate masters of
competition.  We usually compete (often violently) in most all aspects
of life.

       J. Krishnamurti once wrote: "Real learning comes about when the
competitive spirit has ceased."  I agree.  What do we imitate and
practice in order to replace our well-learned habits of violence and
competition?  Perhaps we can observe the parents of the non-violent
offspring.  I observe in them at least three elements: kindness,
compassion and cooperation.  I believe it's not "cheating" to copy
them.

       Do we expose our children to an environment reflecting kindness,
compassion, cooperation, success at problem-solving and non-violence?
Are we the role-models for such behavior? Children learn best by
observation, imitation and practice.  That is how we survive as a
species.  Will our children observe the compassionate attitudes and
behaviors of the parents of the victims of violence?  Or will they
focus on the murderous attitude and behavior of the young perpetrator?
 They most likely will do what they observe their role-models doing.
What role will you choose?

       Perhaps I have become jaded to violence.  Perhaps I have become numb
to it.  I hope I would develop and express in my own attitude and
behavior the psychologically healthier actions of kindness,
compassion, cooperation, success and non-violence.  I invite you to
join me in the practice of such actions.  Through practice, such
attitudes and behavior just might become automatic in our children.

Properties and Symbolism of the Number 7

Properties of the number 7

(It is believed that any year (birthday) of our life which is able to be divided by seven, is an extremely important year where spiritual development is exponentially available to us.  You will see many references also in the post  below this one ~ about Soul Families.)
There are so many references to the number severn, be they Biblical, historical, general, etc.  Originally I had the list here, but it was very lengthy.


Initially, I posted it to better understand the next post.  However, it was simply to lengthy...you can see the list at this link:

http://www.ridingthebeast.com/numbers/nu7.php

"Mates and Soul Families" - John L. Payne

Mates & Soul Families

by John L. Payne

There is much conjecture and misunderstanding concerning this subject. When most of you speak of a soul mate, you are thinking of that one special individual that you will fall in love with and with whom you will live happily ever after. You may even feel as if this one special love has always been your lover through many, many lifetimes and that you are simply awaiting his or her appearance in this lifetime.

Many souls do encounter one another in lifetime after lifetime after lifetime, for they have become friends. This friendship is based in the non-physical world, and the friendship, which in essence is co-operation, is based upon their past success in achieving the growth they are seeking. You see, you are growth-seeking beings, and all encounters, both physical and non-physical, provide opportunities for growth. Therefore, if there is a certain soul with whom you have had great success in achieving your goals, you are likely to agree to work with that one again.

It is important to understand how souls are organized. Your journeys here into the physical world are deliberate journeys. You have already mastered life on many other planes of existence, and your purpose for coming to Earth is simply so that you may broaden your experience of yourself through the Earth existence. The ultimate goal is to experience unconditional love, that which is acceptance and allowing. For as you totally accept Earth life and accept all the aspects of it and all that exists within it, you have reached your goal. Some have called this enlightenment. You see, you didn't come here to get better or to prove yourself worthy; you came here for the fun of it, for the game, for the challenge.

Before such journeys are undertaken, souls organize themselves into groups. You could see these as support groups. Souls organize themselves into Families, Groups, Clans, Nations, and Grand Nations. There are seven souls in a Soul Family and seven families in a Soul Group, and seven groups in a Soul Clan, and so on. Eventually, you will work with most members of your Soul Clan, that is 343 individual souls. However, for those of you who are teachers, you will more than likely reach your Soul Nation or Grand Nation, which totals almost 17,000 souls.

The majority of your relationships, close friendships, and associations will be with souls who are from your Group of 49 souls. However, this is not always the case. The more you advance in terms of acceptance (love), the more skilled you will become at working with individuals who have a different energy signature than yourselves. What we mean by energy signature is the following: each Soul Group will be working towards a particular goal.

For example, many members of one Soul Group could be concerned with communication and teaching, another with healing, another with courage, another with self-acceptance. This does not mean that each of you will manifest in the same way and lead identical lives, but it does mean that the essence of your lives will be very similar. You will have similar ideals, aspirations, likes, and dislikes. The people you are most drawn to are almost always members of your Soul Family, Group, Clan or Nation, but as with everything, there are exceptions to the rule.

A Soul Family will work together for many, many lifetimes. Sometimes a Soul Family will regroup and different alliances will be made. This is rare, but it happens. In addition, the entire Soul Family will be involved in decision making regarding future lifetimes and will assist you in assessing your achievements in a lifetime just past. Your Soul Family is always there for you. For the most part, not all members of a Soul Family are incarnate at the same time. Those members who are not incarnate act as spirit guides during the physical life of the one who is incarnate. They can visit you in dreams, inspire you with thoughts, or in some cases, speak to you directly during meditation. Many of the spirit guides that have presented themselves to humans are indeed discarnate souls who are members of the individual's Soul Family. However, many of the Master Teachers that present themselves to humans are either members of the individual's Nation or Grand Nation and are souls whose Earth experience is complete. At times these Master Teachers can be souls that are even broader and vaster than this.

A soul mate is any soul that is a member of this broader group and anyone that touches your life. The net effect of a soul mate on your life will always be positive, even if you cannot see it at the time. For example, many have the notion that a soul mate relationship will be the ideal relationship, full of harmony and love. However, a relationship with a soul mate is likely to be challenging!

The whole point of a soul mate turning up in your life is to show you to yourself. That is the purpose of all human relationships. You learn through viewing in the mirror. The Law of Attraction works in every aspect of your life, and therefore each person drawn into your life is there through vibration, and nothing else. They are present because your vibration and their vibration are matched in some way.

As we have said before, you are growth-seeking beings. So many of you get confused when you meet the person of your dreams, fall happily in love, declare, "This is my soul mate," and then have to pick up the pieces a few years down the road when the relationship breaks up or the person you loved turns out to have some problems or personality traits you do not care for. However, this was your soul mate, and you have many!

As you re-enter each lifetime, you make agreements with many different souls, perhaps as many as 20. You agree on what you will offer one another. These souls can be your children, your best friend, your grand child, husband, wife, worst enemy, boss, business partner, any number of possibilities, and even the schoolteacher that encouraged you with patience and kindness. However, as you, the personality, have free will, you may create a path that takes you in a different direction, and this is why you have to make possible agreements with so many. The Universe works on the principle of vibration.

Let us give you an example: There is Joe who is a fine soul indeed. However Joe, for quite a few lifetimes now, has been struggling with powerlessness in the physical realm. His struggle has led him into violence and even to developing addictions to alcohol. Mary, on the other hand, for some time now has had difficulties in valuing herself, always choosing second best, and always giving her power away. So Joe and Mary coordinate their lives and set up a strong probability to meet. Their intention is that Mary and Joe will fall in love and work towards resolving their respective issues. In her relationship with the alcoholic Mary will learn that she must begin to make choices that reflect her self-worth. Joe, on the other hand, wants to learn that he cannot possess or control anyone, for power must come from within. However, Mary finds herself often challenged during the course of her life, and at college the establishment challenges her ideas and values. Instead of capitulating, as was her custom in previous lives, she stands up for herself and chooses to value herself. At that moment her vibration changes and therefore Joe is no longer necessary.

It could happen that she may meet Joe, but it would more than likely be a passing meeting and one in which she could share with him what she had learned. She may indeed end up being the counselor at an alcohol rehabilitation center, for example, but Mary no longer requires an intimate relationship with Joe. At this stage both Joe and Mary set up new vibrations so that they connect with their other possible soul mates.

When you look back at your life, you will see there are many people who have had an impact on it. All of these people are your soul mates, and whether they know it or not on the personality level, they love you dearly for you are all working together towards one singular goal, and that is the goal of love.

"When we meet someone and an instant friendship or attraction occurs, does that mean that this is a soul mate and that we have been together in past lives?"

What it means is that there is compatibility in vibration, and this generally means that there is a connection of sorts. Whether that soul be from your Soul Family, Group, Clan, or Nation, there is a connection, a similarity of goal, purpose, experience, and therefore vibration. However, this connection on the soul level does not automatically indicate that you have met before. You may never have met on the Earth plane, but the soul may be known to you in the non-physical world. You do spend rather more time in the non-physical than you do in the physical, for the non-physical world is your natural home. In the non-physical world you have friends in very much the same way that you have friends on Earth. Some friends are close to you, others are intimately acquainted with you, and still others are acquaintances. Friendship in the non-physical world has nothing to do with liking or not liking one another; it has to do with compatibility of goals and aspirations. Your non-physical friends also change, and they change according to your goals.

For example, you may have teamed up with a particular small group of souls to work on survival issues. Each of you have had a few lives together in inhospitable environments. You may have chosen to live in primitive cultures in very cold climates or in desert regions. Such inhospitable environments help you to become resourceful, inventive, creative, and self-sufficient. You may however, choose to return to this adventure at a later stage and not complete all of your 'learning' in one go. Or, you may progress at a faster pace than your group members and decide to move on. Another choice could be to remain with the group and become a leader or teacher amongst them, assisting them to progress, which in turn assists you to progress even further for there is much learning to be done whilst teaching. The possibilities are endless and the choice is yours. If you decide to move on, you will join another group, or perhaps work with one or two other souls. Your work with other souls may last one Earth day, an entire lifetime, or several hundred lifetimes. You choose all of these relationships, and each relationship is based on cooperation and the desire to progress as quickly as possible.

"Are our parents and children Soul Mates and are they part of our Soul Family?"

They are soul mates inasmuch as you not only know them, but you have chosen to work with them for the specific purpose of achieving growth. No birth is an accident, for all souls enter this world by agreement with both parents, even if both parents are not present in childhood.

Your parents and siblings may very well all be members of your Soul Family, but this is extremely rare. Normally, one, perhaps two, members of your biological family will be from your Soul Family, but the rest will generally be from your Group, Clan, Nation, or Grand Nation.

For the creation of a physical family the younger, less experienced souls will tend to team up with souls that are very closely related to them. These souls will often swap roles with one another from lifetime to lifetime, sometimes being the child, at other times the parent, at one time the female, at another time the male mate. The familiarity of the souls, one with another, helps each individual soul to progress more quickly. When souls first enter the physical plane, it seems to them to be a hostile place indeed. They are confused and wary of the physical body and are very susceptible to the biological impulse to survive. They are often caught up in fight or flight choices. The Universe is loving and supportive, and therefore it creates feelings of security to be surrounded by souls with whom you are very familiar. However, as with everything in the Universe, this is only general. It is not a hard and fast rule, for older souls can and do enter into these kinds of arrangements.

Many older souls choose to be born into families where perhaps only one member is well known to them, and perhaps this soul is from their Soul Group or Clan, not as closely related as a Soul Family member. They will make this choice because older souls are really concerned with introspection more than anything else. They may be preparing to teach or to become a leader in one field or another, and the experience of feeling 'the odd one out' will lead them towards self-examination. Instead of getting caught up with the function and duty of 'family' these souls will often be seen to be the 'black sheep' or viewed as different or eccentric by other members of the biological family.

Although these circumstances may lead to difficult personal challenges, the lessons are almost always internal rather than external. This means that there will be an emphasis on self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is an integral part of soul development. If we were to liken the Earth experience to education, mastering self-acceptance is equivalent to studying for your doctorate. Once you have self-acceptance under your belt, you are pretty much on the home run!

"Why do so many of us search endlessly for the 'one true love' in the hope of finding our soul mate?"

What you are looking for is acceptance. You believe that this 'one true love' will accept you without conditions. Your search for that one is in fact the search for self-acceptance. Each relationship is there to provide you with a new opportunity to know yourself. It is through knowing yourself that you can then grow to accept yourself and to love yourself. The one true love is self-love; there is no other love.

The greatest secret of all, discovered by the Christ and the Buddha and many others, was the secret of falling in love with the self. When you love the self, you are in a state of acceptance, total acceptance. As you accept, you cease resisting the world and all that is in it. As you give up resistance, you allow everything to be as it is. As you allow everything to be as it is, God can work through you. It is at this point that you can say, "I and the Father are one," for you will be at one with the source of all life. You will be at one with love!