Why Are A Lot Of Famous and Wealthy People So Unhappy?

Because they finally have what they thought would make them happy. The vast majority of people, especially in Western society, are on an endless search for some thing. They want a better job, more money, a bigger house, fame, a better looking spouse --- the list is endless. If you never get what you think it is that will make you happy, you can justify your unhappiness by saying "well if I only had that." A lot of these people are angry at God because He is not giving them what they want. The thinking is that if He loved them enough, He would give them what makes them happy, or at least create those circumstances in their life for that to happen. Do you see how with that thinking the responsibility falls outside of them? They do not want to look at the possibility that happiness is their responsibility, nor do they want to look at the possibility that they already have everything which will make them happy and joyful.

Many of those who get what they want in terms of money or fame are depressed, because they have achieved what they wanted and it has not made them happy. They cannot continue a search which has already achieved the goal. This is why you see so many who have addictions, because they try to numb the depression and pain. What they are truly looking for, what we are all truly looking for, is God's Love. Being in communion with Him is what gives us joy. Regardless of the outer circumstances --- whether you are rich or poor, old or young, the president of the U.S. versus a homeless person --- you already have everything you need to be joyful. There is no search, because joy is intrinsic. Happiness in the world's terms can be defined as something "outside" of you which temporarily gets you excited. Joy does not depend on anything outside of you that is temporary and fleeting. The fame, the money, the new house, can all go away tomorrow. But joy is your birthright, and your relationship with Him, which gives you joy, is eternal.

Why Was Jesus Persecuted?

Jesus was persecuted because he was Love. He had released all falseness, all belief in separation, allowing his divinity and oneness with God to shine through. As Love with no covering, he acted as a perfect mirror for those he encountered. If the person he interacted with judged little and had love for himself and others, then that person would be very attracted to Jesus, just as a moth is attracted to the light. Jesus, as a perfect mirror, reflected God's Love, awakening a recognition in that person that this Love was also a part of them. We all want to return to that Love, but we simply have to make the recognition that we have never left it.

If Jesus encountered a person who judged himself greatly for his perceived sins, one who did not recognize the Love inside, then that person wanted to persecute and kill Jesus. Jesus' light shone brightly into their shadow areas, those places which they wanted to keep hidden so their beliefs about themselves would not come to light. When we have these false beliefs that we are sinful and unloved, we fear that the light of Truth and Love will illuminate these shadow areas, because we fear that these beliefs are true. We try to hide them from God (from Love), because we believe that He will punish us if He sees how sinful we are. A mind which believes itself to be separate from God has very illogical and illusory thoughts.

As the first person to be in this world but not of it, to be a completely clear vessel for God, Jesus was crucified so that his body would be destroyed. The belief of those who persecuted and killed him was that by destroying his body, God would not be able to "get at" them. In effect, by destroying Jesus, they were destroying and triumphing over God. A separated mind believes it must triumph over God or it will be killed by God.

Something You Really Want

How do you surrender to something you really want, something you feel is an important step on your path, something that you know will give you joy, but something that has not manifested yet? Well, first it helps to recognize that there is divine timing in everything and you will miss the sweetness and joy if you try to pick fruit before it is ripe. It is also helpful to recognize that patience is a very important part of everyone's path, as patience is a great teacher. It helps us to slow down and be in the moment. Can we be patient and be in the now even while we strongly want a certain experience or opening to occur? Yes, as this is the paradox, the balance upon which we exist in this dream. We create something in our lives by feeling the joy of having it as if it has already occurred, because when we feel and think this way, it has truly occurred. Thought is the creator, the seed, even if that seed has not broken through the earth and manifested yet. When you feel as if something has occurred, you are doing a very important thing. You are not waiting on it, and when you are not waiting on it, you are living in the now. The mistake most people make when they want something to occur is that they "want it to occur." They are not feeling and knowing that it has occurred, and they are affirming, by their thought, that it has not occurred. Thought is very powerful --- it was how the universe was created. When we affirm the lack of something, we get more of that lack.

A beautiful result of staying in the now is knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are whole and complete as you are. If you think that you are incomplete without this experience or opening occurring for you, then you are not in the now. So the key is that you stay in the present, knowing that you are complete, perfect, and whole as you are, while at the same time feeling the gratitude of knowing you have this experience or opening that you really want.

We Are All Holy Men And Saviors

Each of us is holy beyond measure, as we are the Son and holiness comes from God. Regardless of how you see yourself, that holiness is there. It can never be diminished. When the sun is covered with clouds, do you still have faith that it is still there? We are all receiving the same Truth and each of us has the potential to be a great teacher and a savior for the world. How can it be otherwise when are One? It is not how much you have. It is how much you take away, how much ego you let go of, which reveals how much Truth shines through you. When all false beliefs about yourself are dropped, only God remains. As the false falls away into the nothingness from which it came, only the Real remains. The false has no foundation under it. As you withdraw belief, which was all that was supporting the illusion, the Real becomes more evident in your daily encounters and experiences. You begin to see Unity in everyone and everything, and you increasingly realize that if Unity is all that exists, then you are also part of that Unity. You are holy, and your words are holy, because God speaks through you. We are all pieces in the puzzle that is the body of God. Every piece is integral to the whole. No piece is more important than another, because the puzzle cannot be completed without all the pieces. What I write here is not more or less important than the smile or kind word you gave to the person checking you out in the grocery line. Every act done with Love and pure intent adds to Creation. So realize how much of a savior you are to those who encounter you, and similarly, they are a savior to you. Each of us helps the other to remember who we truly are, and for that we can be very grateful.

God's Hints

God gives us hints from an infinite number of sources. He communicates with you through people (some obvious and a lot not so obvious), animals, dreams, the way the moon passes through the clouds, the awe of the Grand Canyon. There are an infinite number of sources, and He is in constant communion with you, because He is All, and you are an integral part of that Allness. When we do not follow these hints, He gives us "stronger" hints to try and get our attention. Eventually, if we don't follow the hints and we don't allow the River of Life, to take us where He and you have previously chosen to go, we hit our heads on the rocks in the River. This can manifest as severe illnesses, disasters, or tragedies. But it doesn't have to be this way. If we follow the hints when they are first given, we make that slight change in the River, avoiding the rocks and allowing us to be carried effortlessly on the current.

True Forgiveness

When most people think of forgiveness, they think of the Christian model. Under this view, the person is forgiven for what they did. "What they did" is the important term here, because it is implicit that an act happened. So basically what is being said is, "well I forgive you but I won't forget what you did, and I am being gracious/taking the moral high ground to do this for you." Who would want to be forgiven under this scenario? If you don't forget what that person did and you don't see it in a different light, that is not forgiveness. There still exists an unhealthy connection, a resentment and bitterness, an expectation, between the person who is forgiving and the person being forgiven. There is not a release for either person. The forgiver thinks he is better off because they have done the "right" thing, but the forgiver has put himself in a prison of his own making.

What is true forgiveness? True forgiveness sees from a much broader view. The above example of forgiveness is how the ego mind sees it, because it believes in separation and bodies, and it believes this world is real. When we see from a perspective of unity, there are not bodies that can "do something to us." We are One, and what is done to us, is done by us. Why would you need to forgive yourself for something you did to yourself? When we see the world and our encounters with the understanding that this is all a dream of separation, we realize that there is a purpose for everything that occurs. Further, as we are One with God, we are Love, and everything that occurs is Love, even when it has the appearance of something else. As the author of our dream, we pull everything and everyone to us that we ask for. We do this so that these experiences can help us to remember, help us to awaken from the dream. So when something happens to you that you feel is an "attack", remember that you have drawn this experience to you. YOU have asked for it to occur. Any experience, regardless of how "horrific", can be turned from one where you hold anger, resentment, and bitterness, to one where you see it as a blessing.

Randomness and the Ego

I have been communicating over email with someone who is trying to wrestle with the concept that he creates everything that happens in his world. He is the complete author of his dream, but he wants to find an exception for different things. "What about the guy who beats his wife down the street --- I can't be creating that." The ego mind looks for exceptions, because its very existence is based on seeing differences and judging them. I asked this person where do you draw the line? What if a husband yells at his wife for backing into the garage? Is that "bad" enough that you would think you can't be creating that? What if a husband just admonishes his wife in a nice way for spending too much money? You can't draw a line, because it is different for everyone, and it changes for each us, really moment by moment as our experiences change.

So when we talk about creating your own reality, we are talking about it being total or being nothing. You can't be partially pregnant. Either we are the complete authors of everything that we see, everything that happens to us, and everyone we encounter, or everything is completely random. And I would hate to live in a world that is completely random, because anything can happen to you. You don't know where the next disaster is waiting for you. That is how the ego mind lives. It lives in fear as it thinks that is separate from everything else and it is a kill or be killed scenario. This may get sugarcoated with the appearance of kindness sometimes, but what lies underneath is that fear. This is where all anger comes from. The good and bad news is that you are the complete creator of everything that happens to you. It is good, because you can create anything you want, just as Jesus did. The bad news is that you can no longer be a victim and place blame outside of yourself. You now have responsibility for what you create, whether that appears as "good" or "bad" circumstances in your life.