True wealth is spiritual wealth

" You will become as great as your dominant aspiration...If you cherish a vision, a lofty ideal in your heart, you will realize it." ~James Allen, As You Think 

While it is fine to pursue material wealth to create positive living conditions for self and others, we should not neglect the true meaning of life: spiritual ascension. 

We come into the world with a certain spiritual calibration, and our task from birth to death is to raise our vibration to more subtle levels. 

Thus, we are here to gather a different currency other than money. Money, in fact, is a separate energy that is neutral and whose value depends on how it is used. 

We come into the world based on our spiritual consent. 

We come back because we have a karmic opportunity where consciousness can range from 40 to a 1000. Chances for growth here are optimal. 

For example, a savage person is at 40 and Christ is at 1000. Most average people are at around 200. Exceptional people are at 400 or more. And people considered saintly are at 500 or more. At about 540, we step into unconditional love for all beings. 

So on this logarithmic scale, our task is to rise in our vibration. 

We do this by working on our character. 

We accumulate spiritual currency by increasing our love, our compassion, our gratitude, our generosity, our kindness, our connection to our soul, God, and the angelic kingdom, and so on. 

When we die, we then go to an astral plane that corresponds with our level of calibration. 

Thus, if we are cruel and vicious, we will go to the lower astral realms, which equate with what religions call hell. 

If we are kind and loving, we will go to the higher astral realms, which equate with what religions call heaven. 

And if we are between these polarities, then we travel to those astral realms that correspond with our level of consciousness. Religions have called this zone, purgatory. 

We rise in consciousness by meditating, contemplating, praying, and acting in a way to benefit others, always striving to find the beauty and sacredness of others. 

When we become truly compassionate, our life becomes a blessing to all, including ourselves.

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Anthroposophy is a religion that combines traditional Western Religion with Astrology and New Age Religion

In January, 2003, a group of parents sued a Sacramento Unified School District because certain teachers at their local elementary school were aggressively, and secretly, teaching anthroposophy, a religion that combines traditional Western religion with astrology and New Age religion. 

Pacific Justice Institute lawyers representing the parents indicated that many other public schools in California are now adding New Age and Eastern religions, including Islam, to their curricula. 

In classrooms throughout the country, Judeo-Christian beliefs are often cast aside or ridiculed. Multiculturalism studies, environmental propaganda, and Save-the-Earth classes now indoctrinate children with New-Age religious beliefs, often without parents’ knowledge. 

Public schools sometimes try to sneak offensive pagan or new-age religions into their curriculum without parents’ knowledge under the guise of multiculturalism studies. 

Below is only a small sample of the flood of “spiritual” sessions taking place in classrooms throughout the country

1. Altered states of consciousness: 

Teaching students to alter their consciousness through centering exercises, guided imagery, and visualizations has become standard practice in self-esteem, multicultural, and arts programs. They often encourage contact with spirit guides. 

2. Dreams and visions: 

After studying a pagan myth, students are often asked to imagine or visualize a dream or vision, then describe it in a journal or lesson assignment. 

3. Astrology: 

Countless teachers across the country require students to document their daily horoscopes. Others help students discover their powers and personalities through Aztec calendars and Chinese. 

4. Other forms of divination: 

Through palmistry, I Ching, tarot cards and horoscopes, students learn to experience other cultures and tap into secret sources of wisdom. Students in Texas were told to create a vision in their minds and “describe in your best soothsayer tones the details of your vision.” 

5. Spiritism: 

While pagan myths and crafts show students how to contact ancestral, nature, and other spirits, classroom rituals actually invoke their presence. California third-graders had to alter their consciousness through guided imagery, invoke or “see” their personal animal spirits, write about their experience . . . and create their own magical medicine shields to represent their spirit helper. 

6. Magic, spells, and sorcery: 

Many parents consider magic and spell-casting too bizarre and alien to pose a threat, yet gullible students from coast to coast are learning the ancient formulas and occult techniques. 

Parents, is this what you want your children taught in public schools, the same public schools that are now forbidden from teaching kids the Ten Commandments?

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Where I would find happy people!

Happiness is found in each and every moment when you really live! And you’ll find one by looking in the mirror and smiling at yourself with love and gratitude. Whether you see them or not, they’re there. Waiting for you to get out and enjoy life. 

So get out there now and face a new challenge. Experience something new and daring. Re-ignite those childhood dreams. You have been given the miracle of life. Use it to its fullest potential.

Happy people are found taking their children or grandchildren to the park. You’ll see them pushing the kids on the swings, and kicking a football back and forward. 

You’ll find happy people with their family, preparing a picnic lunch by the lake, and throwing bread to the ducks and geese. 

You’ll see happy people every day working in their garden, enjoying the satisfaction of creating a miracle of colour and fragrance. 

You will find happy people playing a violin. You’ll find them performing at their piano recital. You’ll find them playing a guitar or belting on the drums, in their garage with their friends, dreaming of the day their band is the greatest in the world. 

You’ll find happy people learning tai-chi in the park before work each morning. 

You’ll find happy people signing in the choir. And even in the shower, singing their favourite tunes. Anywhere you find singing, you’ll find happy people. 

You’ll find happy people at the beach learning to surf. You’ll find them building sand castles, or working on their tan. 

You’ll find happy people riding their bikes to work, rather than taking the car. 

You’ll find them joining a knitting club, or taking up cross-stich, or scrap-booking. 

Happy people can be seen every week arriving at the cricket, baseball, basketball, or football game, in anticipation of a great win for their team. 

You’ll find happy people enjoying the solitude of meditation. 

You’ll find happy people sitting to watch the sun set over the ocean, or waking early for a chicken and champagne breakfast as the sun rises to welcome another glorious day. 

You will find happy people reading a book, or watching a movie or play. 

You will find happy people writing their own life story, to share the joy of their life with the whole world. 

You’ll find happy people sharing their lunch with someone who can’t afford any. 

You will find happy people stopping their car to enjoy the sight of a field full of flowers. 

You will find happy people helping others across the street, or giving their seat on the bus or train to someone else who needs it more. You’ll find happy people bending down to pick up something that someone else dropped, and returning it with a smile. 

You will find happy people painting. Or sculpting! You’ll find them taking photographs. 

You will find them sitting down at a new restaurant, and trying something they’ve never had before. 

You will find happy people learning how to sail a yacht, or fly a plane. You’ll find them racing cars. 

and You will find happy people rising early in the morning, at the first alarm, jumping out of bed in anticipation of a new day full of excitement and challenges. Full of life! 

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Perfection of love

The book of life, I contend, is the story of Light and Love. Since death is not real, the Soul being eternal. I like to imagine that he means the end of the process of suffering unlovingness. For to be unloved is a kind of death. The Light and Love are one and the same. In fact, it is the Light that is loving through us when we feel love. 

Once a soul gets that it is the Allness, lovingness happens spontaneously, because the Beloved is expressing Itself. 

Human love is conditioned by want. The soul, mistaking itself for the ego, the mind, and the body, seeks to possess and to own the object of desire. It seeks almost to want to absorb it into itself so that it can be greater. 

In romantic love, for example, the lover seeks approval, safety, and control. Wealth and beauty and charm increase the attributes of the lover because the ego of the other wants it for itself. 

Parental love is purer, although now there is a desire for the child to exemplify the qualities and values of the parent. 

Animal love for its owner is almost completely spontaneous. When a dog delights in his master's presence, or when cat purrs at the touch of your hand, this is probably as pure a love you can find in everyday life. There is no cunning in this love, no projection of future gain, no thought about manipulating the lover. The love is spontaneous, pure, and a simple appreciation of the moment. 

Finally, the ultimate love is when one can love for the other what the other wants for him or herself. This now starts to blend into transcendental love, and we begin to love others the way I imagine God loves us. Love for its own sake, because that is who we are and because the grace in the other is so obvious to us. 

In the words of the famous philosopher and the cherished saint, we find a great mystery revealed. Here we touch upon the entire fabric of life, which is, in my opinion, a spiritual journey. Beyond what we think about life, there is the way of the heart, which is spontaneous and pure before it becomes sullied with too much analysis. 

What the heart wants is to return Home to the arms of the Beloved. It does this by feeling what the Beloved feels, unconditional loving. 

“It is not for the love of a husband that a husband is dear; but for the love of the Soul in the husband that is dear. 

“It is not for the love of a wife that a wife is dear; but for the love of the Soul in the wife that is dear. 

“It is not for the love of children that children are dear; but for the love of the Soul in children that is dear. 

“It is not for the love of all that all is dear; but for the love of the Soul in all that is dear.” 

It is a love story between the unmanifest and the manifest; a story about the relationship between God and Soul. And when the Soul reciprocates to the love of the Divine, the earth journey concludes with a contented sigh.

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If Buddhism is not counted as a religion then what is it?

If Buddhism is not counted as a religion then what is it? Buddhism can be thought of as a way of life, a philosophy, a psychology, a way of thinking through which we can take responsibility for our present life and lives. To explore whether Buddhism can in fact be counted as a religion we must acknowledge that the main problems arise when looking for a definition of what a religion is. 

Either, definitions have proved too narrow excluding many belief systems which people believe are religious, or they become too broad which means that any structure can be counted. 

When applying varying definitions of religion to Buddhism we come up with some very contradictory answers; some which say that Buddhism is simply a philosophy or teaching, whilst others will prove that it is in fact, a religion in practice.

To determine whether Buddhism is a religion or not, we must also note that we, as Westerners will have different views and concepts of religion to those practicing in the East. We must ask the question, is it even possible for Westerners to understand the religious life of Asia? 

What we view as Asian religion and religious activity is for most of the people practicing it a natural part of daily life; our ideas and concepts vary so greatly that perhaps someone observing Buddhism from a Western perspective may never truly grasp the religiosity of the group.

For one attempting to provide a definition of religion these practices would need to be described in a manner which did not exclude one religion from the definition. There needs to be one thing that is attributed to all religions, a common factor. 

For many, the common factor is God. However, if we conclude that God is the focus of all religion then much of the material found in Asia must be excluded because there is no God here, and occasionally not even Gods. 

From the perspective that religion entails belief in a God, Buddhism is excluded from having the title of religion. Many outsiders to the Buddhist tradition may claim that the Buddha held some divinity and is elevated to a Godly position, but the Buddha himself refused to be regarded as divine.

For the Buddha, humanity is here to improve ourselves and achieve liberation rather than worrying about ultimate questions. Buddhists would argue that knowledge of a God or the afterlife does not matter as neither help in the quest for nirvana.

Like all major religions Buddhism contains a morality, rituals and behaviours, certain ethical values and an origin of existence, yet because Buddhists do not believe in an all knowing creator God some claim that Buddhism fails to be a religion. 

The large variety of definitions of religion shows that we can never give a solid, one answer description of what it is that religion is and does.

We must remember that previously Buddhism has many names such as the Buddha’s teaching or message, or the Buddha’s way or the path of attainment. Although the religious status of Buddhism has come under constant attack, we could argue that the questioning is in fact, not necessary. If we were able to ask the Buddha if Buddhism was in fact a religion or not he would probably answer with the response that it does not matter. 

To the Buddhist, their beliefs are essentially a philosophy by which individuals can attain release from the world of karma and rebirth. Knowing whether or not Buddhism is a religion or not cannot lead to salvation, only through practice and understanding can one be led to a happiness which is not transient.

Buddhism is a teaching which has spread worldwide absorbing the culture of each country it arrived in, which has resulted in many expressions of Buddhism. Each strand, no matter how varied in nature and practice, holds a common emphasis on the impermanence of human life. The worldwide spread of Buddhism means that it is now practiced by over three hundred million people worldwide, and thus, is generally considered to be a world religion.

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Every human being whether consciously or unconsciously will admit there is other force outside himself

One day in the late 1980's, Michael Gorbachev (then President of the Soviet Union) once prayed, "May God giving me strength and this nation." The President was going through the most difficult moments. He had just rolled out a massive change in the country. The changes, he called it glasnost (political openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring).

Trough Glasnost and perestroika, he intended to change the Soviet Union from the rigid and close communist system into a more open system. The system gave a greater role for the public to participate in economic and political fields. The hope was, of course, to create the acceleration of economic development (uskoreniye).

However, something that he did not expect, in fact the people of the land of Red Bear were not ready to implement the system. Glasnost and perestroika turned to be a backfired for him. These two programs directly or indirectly has triggered the dissolution of the Soviet Union and later followed by the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The latter was a symbol of competition the Eastern Bloc (led by the Soviet Union) with the Western Bloc (led by the United States), known as the Cold War.

In August 1991, a group of hard-line communists in Moscow attempted a coup against his rule. They were angry over plan to change the shape of the country. Five months later Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president.

Though no longer served as president, Gorbachev still attracted to be reviewed by experts for years to come. Not just about his glasnost and perestroika, but also about what he said, including his confession that there is a power beyond himself in 'Up There'.

For the communists, religion -which is based on the belief in God- is only an addiction considered to poison people. Communists are atheists. Communists do not acknowledge the existence of God. Therefore, the recognition of a Gorbachev over a force in the 'Up There' regarded as a sign of the collapse of communism, since he was then the supreme leader of the communist nations, the strongest in the world.

Moreover, it had been proved later, the Russian Federation, formed after the breakup of the Soviet Union, freed its citizens to have religion or without religion. It freed people to believe in God or to be unbeliever. So did communists in China. In the most populous country in the world, communist ideology is to be more as a political system. Communist is no longer an ideology to be atheists.

Communist as an ideology - and not as a political system- does not seem able to survive or be maintained. Therefore, intuitively, every human being - whether consciously or unconsciously - will admit there is other force outside himself. A strength that is more powerful beyond human power.

Who has that superpower? It's a power that capable of lifting and lowering the degree of a person, a power that can bring catastrophe and luck, a power that can bring flash floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, a power capable of devastating magnificent buildings and its contents, a power that is able to undermine the glory of a nation and the old state and the future?

So, where does a terrible accident comes from even though people had been to be careful? Also is there any man can take refuge against the advancing age of the baby, then a teenager, youth, adults, old, and then die? Who is the Creator of all that superpower?

Humans, measured from any side, are very small. Human is just a point. Even a very minor point when compared to the old age of the world lives for thousands, millions, or even billions of years. Man, even if he was poor or the rich, super rich, it is just a point.

Man, weather a common people or rabble ruler; he was also just a point. Wealth will come to an end when he died. The power will also be a limit when the time came. Thus even with Mikhail Gorbachev. Also Vladimir Putin or whoever is holding the power and wealth, for whatever its power and wealth. Everything will have its own end.

Not just a point. Humans are also weak in the face of the Superpower. That's why, Gorbachev and Putin aka formerly communist godless atheist still need prayer. They need to remember (dhikir) the Almighty who has powers beyond human reason. So did world football player is still in need of prayer before going to the field. They do not feel confident with their strategy, technical capabilities, as well as physical fitness. They still need luck.

Yes, every man, every one of us, obviously in need of luck. The luck which is came from outside of our capabilities and maximum effort. In the language of religion (Islam), luck or good fortune is obviously comes from Allah [SWT], the Superpower capable of anything. Kun fayakun.

To obtain the kun fayakun of God (Allah SWT), we would need preparation. Like someone who will jump away, he needs to take a running start. The running start could be in the form of certain moments. Say, before the turn of the year as it is now (yesterday), for example, self reflection and evaluation. Looking back on what we have done and looking to the future with a spirit of optimism, realizing that we are just a small point in life. And, as a minor point, we look forward to the Supreme Governing Life for a luck and good fortune. Hopefully anyway good luck and good fortune always overshadow our lives. Kullu 'aamin wa antum bikhoirin.

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