A Single Thought of Gratitude Raised to Heaven Is the Most  Perfect Prayer

–(Gotthold Ephraim Lessing)

As a spiritual counselor I have dealt with many people over the years and I have a lot of compassion for all human frailties – - as God knows I have my own. I never judge people’s weaknesses,  choices,  mistakes, life style or their problems. I am only here to help and encourage but never to judge.

However, I must say that I have no empathy for the “ingrates” because those people never have and never will have enough, regardless of the abundance as they are incapable of recognizing their blessings and values and refuse to be grateful. To me these are the true ‘poor’ people, even if they have money. The lack of gratitude can also produce greed as there is never enough. And it’s a bottomless basket that can never be filled.

Gratitude is one of the Buddha’s great Virtues, it is a gift that we owe.…and we only owe it to ourselves. Why?  Because when we are grateful we are admitting that we have and then more shall be given.

What Are You Programming In Your Mind?

Through our thinking process we program our subconscious mind which does not judge good from bad, real from false. It only takes in what we give it and it acts upon that programming. Our mind is a most sophisticated computer so we better learn how to program this biological computer of ours  correctly with  positive and constructive thoughts for our  highest good.

Each time that we give thanks to the Universe we are actually admitting that we have. I give thanks every morning upon awakening for a new day of life. I give thanks each day as today I have more than I need, thank you Father! Today I have more food than I can eat, more money in my wallet than I can spend;  today I have a whole new life ahead of me. I give thanks for the functions of my body, for the sun light, for the love of God, for my friends, for my family and for the gift of LIFE, itself.

Unfortunately,  many people choose to dwell on the problems of life, which we all have at one time or another, with fear instead of faith, hope and gratitude.  Life is not an easy journey for anyone, but even in the midst of turmoil there is always something to be grateful for.

Each of us, at one point or another, go through the dark night of the soul, the valley of the shadow. Life is not always easy for anyone even for those who are viewed as highly successful. They too have their challenges.

One of the  main problem with many of us humans is the inability and, only too often, the unwillingness to leave the past behind.  These people  spend most of their present life regretting, resisting and resenting the past which can never be changed for the rest of eternity.  We can only learn from the past but we cannot  live in the past.  To live in the past is to become paralized thus unablle to move forth  and live in the present moment.  Then there are many of us who constantly live in fear and worry about the future and never have time to be grateful for the now which is the only time we truly have to live.   Let go of the past….. have faith in the future…… and be grateful for the gift of Life right  now!

What Are You Grateful For?

But even in the midst of difficulties we can always find gratitude for something. Regardless of how difficult things may be, or appear to be, always remember that we are still breathing, our hearts are beating, our legs and arms are mobil and, as long as there is life and air to breathe, there is hope. Never give into despair because God will never forsake us if we just acknowledge His Presence and His Love in gratitude which is the highest form of prayer

Over a year ago I lost my precious son to cancer, the most difficult lesson of my entire life. However each and every day I would thank God for giving me the strength to care for my child for many months during his illness. I would thank God that my boy was not dying alone in an empty hospital room.  He was home with his brother and I to care and be with him. He was surrounded by love by all of our family. I thanked God daily for having given me my precious son even though his life was short. When at the end he left this Planet I was grateful that he was no longer suffering and, praise God,  I still had one son left,  my younger son Jesse, to love and to cherish.  I had two choices: I could go to pieces or I could go to Peace.

I chose the Peace of God who was always by my side to give me strength and courage and above all acceptance of that which was destined to be.

I am not saying these things to show how brave I am, Oh no! Trust me when I say that I have walked many times through rough and steep roads and it was never easy. I know only too well how difficult it is to maintain faith when everything around gives us reasons to fear and despair. The Spiritual Path is not easy and it takes courage, patience, determination and discipline to maintain faith under all circumstances.

“Narrow is the gate and straight is the way….many are called but few enter”

I am expressing these feelings in gratitude hoping to help others to find gratitude even when life’s lessons are hard.
I grew up in Italy during World War II and let me tell you that those were very difficult times for all.
Our family gave thanks every day even if we only had a few potatoes or beans to eat. We gave thanks that we were still alive in the midst of bombing and destruction.
On the top level of our home three bedrooms were destroyed by a bomb, yet we were grateful that we had a storage room on the lower level which we converted into one single bedroom for myself, my mother and my aunt. We still had a roof over our head and for that we were grateful and gave thanks. We were alive and still together and for that we thanked God profusely.

There is an old saying: “I was crying because I had no shoes…….till I saw a man without feet” Amen!!

In this Wetern World we have so much more than millions of others on earth. But we always seem to want and need more. If we are grateful for that which we already have and are, then more will come as needed. Remember that abundance is of God on all levels of our being.
Abundance in love and joy, abundance in good health, abundance in financial affairs.
So wake up each morning and give thanks for Life itself!

Do you really want to glorify God?……Be grateful!

Peace and blessings!

Dioro

Please visit www.Gratitudelog.com. Highly recommended

- Matthew 18: 21-23

Why is that we humans find it so difficult to forgive? Often times you hear people proudly saying “I forgive… but… I never forget!”.

Of course, unless you are senile or have a mental handicap, you cannot forget what happens to you, but you can let go and not dwell on the negativity of resentment, judgment or vengeance.

Forgiveness does not mean to condone wrong doings and inappropriate behavior. To forgive is to let go, cut the string, drop your rock – as no one can ever change the past and neither can our actions change anyone else. We can only change ourselves.

Of course we all have experienced some of the hurts that others have inflicted upon us. However, the reality is that each and every one of us will, sooner or later, make mistakes and say words that will hurt others. No one is perfect and it’s not always easy to be human!!

When someone offends you, hurts or abuses you do not accept nor condone such behavior. Forgiveness does not mean allowing people to repeatedly do wrongs against you.

Oh…no, not at all!

The slogan “Turn the other cheek” does not necessarily mean to get slapped on the face over and over again. Turn the other cheek literally means for you to walk away from the negative situation and to move forward in the right direction – into the path of forgiveness.

Ultimately, forgiveness is the only path to freedom for your mind and soul. It’s the path to peace.

“What is a good man …but a bad man’s teacher?  What is a bad man…..but a good man’s job?”  (Tao Te Ching)

Is forgiveness the quality of a good man…of a good teacher?

It is not a privilege to select the right congregation in our life, but rather it is our spiritual responsibility, our spiritual duty to choose whom and what we are willing to allow to “reside” in our lives.

Often time’s people hurt us not because they are evil, but rather because they don’t live up to our set expectations. They choose to walk to their own path, make their own individual choices based on their own wants and desires. Often we may not approve of their decisions and become hurt and offended. But it is their God’s given right to choose for their own selves.

If they make the right decisions they will benefit, if they make the wrong decisions they will have no one to blame and hopefully they will learn from their mistakes.
I honestly believe that there is goodness in everyone, but none of us has yet reached perfection, so we are all vulnerable. However we do not have to allow anything to enter and remain in our lives that doesn’t bring us joy, fulfillment and above all peace.

Eventually each of us will unintentionally hurt someone as we live our lives our own way. We are after all humans and still far from perfection!

Lack of forgiveness comes from self righteousness, judgment, condemnation and resentment toward those who do not live up to our own set standards and expectations.

I am very aware of the fact that there are many seriously mentally ill people, sick enough to kill, to rape, to steal and those must be put away because they need to be removed from society.

But even those must be forgiven. Should we allow crime? Oh…no!!! That’s not forgiveness; it would only be another crime. Physically ill, mentally damaged people and criminals need to be kept in hospitals or other institutions, including prisons. But, as difficult as it may be, it is essential to find a path of forgiveness for those poor lost souls through a greater understanding. “Forgive them father as they know not what they are doing”.

But most of us are not victims of crime, rather we choose to be a victim as we allow some people or circumstances to continually hurt and abuse us.

Let go!!!

Seek to let go of anything that is unpleasant or that upsets and hurts you. That’s truly how the process of forgiveness works…first letting go and then moving forward.

Unfortunately too many of us humans have a hard time in letting go of the negative thoughts and emotions because, in a negative and self destructive ways, we choose to remain attached to the past.

As long as we don’t let go we don’t forgive and neither can we move forward. Stagnation can only bring deterioration.

The lack of forgiveness only hurts us, it is a poison to our minds and spirits, and yet forgiveness is a healing balm to our bodies, minds and souls.

There are many people who tightly and dearly hold unto their victim mentality as they constantly blame others, or the world, or the system and, at times, even God Himself for not giving them what they want or feel they deserve. You’ll hear many reasons and rationale for their attitudes and the “because” behavior.
“There is no justice in this world. I have been hurt because my father was abusive, because my wife left me, because I hate my job and don’t make enough money, because I didn’t have a chance to get an education, because my family was poor, my brother is an alcoholic…and on…and on…and on…”

It is a vicious cycle and a “no end” road for so many. I do believe that these people enjoy every moment of misery in their lives and they rather be the victims instead of moving on and creating a better life for themselves and for those around them. I know this because I have worked with many individuals in my life that constantly perpetuate misery instead of putting efforts in finding joy and peace. They just cannot forgive – period. They will not let go! As long as you resent, judge and condemn you are not forgiving…thus…you are not free!!!

Have you ever noticed how some people , the perpetual victims, resent and  are not capable to forgve others for being better looking, more successful, for having more money, a bigger home, a better car, more talented children…etc.?   These are truly the poor people in spirit.

The tragedy of this attitude is they cannot understand that, as long as they are incapable of rejoicing for other people success and happiness, they cannot attract for themselves that which they envy and resent in others. They just cannot forgive the fact that those people who are doing well are the kind of people that work hard and hold a positive, constructive and faithful attitude. The victims can have the same things by walking-the-walk and doing the work necessary, but they rather hate and complain than correcting their own attitude, way of thinking and feeling process and are totally unable and unwilling to forgive themselves, others and life itself.

Forgiveness means to “Give- Forth”…. move on…. let go… walk away from those that are not of “like mind” and of “like principles”. Don’t hate, judge or condemn others. Just do your best to let go of any negativity in your life…walk…move forth…drop your rock… stop feeling sorry for yourself and forgive.

Above all you must forgive your own shortcomings, your own mistakes, your own human frailty and never live in guilt…..never!! Guilt is not of God as  only love and forgiveness are spiritual gifts.

Don’t ever beat  yourself on the chest  with the latin weapon of guilt  ”mea culpa….. mea maxima culpa……”   like some religious institutions teach you to do.   To sin means to miss the mark, so…. just move on and…. sin no more!

If you are focusing on  living your life in peace and love you will not find it hard at all to forgive yourself and others. But if you choose to live your life in regret, judgment and condemnation it is your choice and you have no one to blame but yourself.

Whatever you sow, so shall ye also reap.

So decide how you want your life to be! You are the creator of your own destiny. Choose then the right path, move on while ackowledging  the presence of God within you…. forgive  your self  along with  those that trespass against you!

“To err is human…….to forgive is divine”

Namaste’

Dioro

We build our fortune thought by thought for so the Universe was wrought. Thought is an other name for fate, choose then your destiny and wait for Love brings Love and hate brings hate.

– Henry Van Dyke 1852-1933

There are two basic forces that rule this polarized dual world of ours: LOVE and FEAR.

LOVE the root of all that is GOOD! Fear the root of all evil. Therefore where there is Love there cannot be fear; where there is fear there cannot be Love.

Have you noticed how fast and strongly people react to fear? 

They tell negative reports, like the media does, and the negativity spreads like an epidemic with plenty of followers and spreaders of gloom. Tell the Truth and very few are willing to listen and much less believe.

Why is that? Is it because we have been programmed for thousands of years to be fearful? Do you realize how much power some people have gained by keeping the masses in fear? (fear is nothing more than lack of knowledge)

Well, I think the rulers, the kings, dictators, the authorities and some religious organizations may be a very good  example of those trying to rule by fear.

When I speak of fear I am not referring to caution and common sense. Caution and common sense are innate instincts for self preservation.

I grew up in the old countries where questioning was not allowed by the authorities. We had no choice but to believe their lies. No questions were ever allowed and you only did what you were told to do and to believe thus we lived in deep ignorance and fear of God Himself. Guilt and fear were our modus vivendi.

Everyone was kept in deep ignorance by the hypnotic programming of the authorities. They didn’t want us to know the truth about God and His love for us. They created a god in their own image, a god of vengeance, punishment, judgment, prejudice … which was intended to keep the masses under their control.

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Science Of Mind Church once said:

“I daily thank the God that IS, that the god that man created does not exist”

Amen to that!

“The things I feared the most came upon me” said Job.

Of course! Our brain is a most complex computer and it can only give us what we program in. Love or fear, Good or evil.

What Are You Programming Yourself To Receive?

I remember the early days of computer when the phrase GI-GO was often used. Garbage In…..Garbage Out. That’s it!  We can only experience and receive that which we strongly program and believe in our consciousness. If we input good , the output is good. It’s that simple!

So why  people can’t do that? Why can’t we program this biological computer of ours with: GOOD in….GOOD out?  Only fears, false beliefs and lack of knowledge condition our consciousness and keep us from believing and expecting God’s goodness in our lives, and so in fact we actually perpetuate our own misery.

Always remember these three magic words:  Desire-Belief-Expectancy.

Desire, believe and expect good things to come to you and they will. This is the Universal Law of Attraction. The same is true of fear. If we fear, believe and expect negative things, sure enough they too come our way. The same Law applies because we are the creators of our lives, good or bad….that’s our choice.

If in the spring time you plant in your garden poison oak instead of roses, is the earth going to argue with you? Is it going to say” Oh….no…don’t plant poison oak it’s going to sting you? Of course not! The earth will take what we give to it, whatever we sow, and the Universal Law of Attraction can only bring forth the fruits of our labor, of our choices, of our consciousness. As within…..so without.  As above…..so below.

I always try to avoid any negative energy because negativity begets negative results.

“Whatever ye sow….so shall ye also reap”

If you are in a state of fear you are not in a state of faith, but if you have faith and love you will always overcome the human fear.

All of us humans have moments of fear and doubts. Of course! Even Jesus had moments of anger, fear and doubt.  The thing to do is not to dwell on fear because fear is what the devil is.  I do not walk the walk as well as I talk the talk because I’m only human and have not reached perfection yet. However,  when I catch myself being fearful I tell the devil “get ye behind me satan”. You are a liar so go to hell where you belong. And the devil is nothing other than the human doubt ad fear.

Focus On Fear Gives It Power

We all experience doubts, but let us not dwell on them. If you pick up a boiling tea kettle and it’s burning hot, why would you keep holding onto it? Let it go….drop the darn kettle before it scalds your hand. But so many of us humans seem to always and relentlessly hang onto our fears. The more we focus on them the more power they have over the quality of our lives.

One most efficient way I have learned when combating with fear, is to just stop right there and start remembering all the blessings in our life. You are still brathing…you are still moving…thinking…feeling….you are alive so start giving thanks for the gift of life itself! How many people who are in prisons, in hospitals or that are homeless would giive anything to be in your place? Remember how blessed you are. And the more grateful (great-full) you become, the more fear disappears and fades away. The devil cannot exist in the Light of God, but only in the darkness of man’s belief systems.

Hypnotic Tools Used To Control You

Fear and guilt, one of the same, are the two most powerful hypnotic tools and they have controlled the masses for thousands of years.

I cannot say that it’s easy to overcome the fears of the world. Life is not an easy journey, especially for those that have come here to grow and spiritually evolve. The higher the educational level, the more difficult the lessons. Yes…all of us, sooner or later, will experience moments of worry, dispair and doubt. It’s part of the human nature. No one who exists in a human form will ever have perfect faith. We humans stumble and fall, but we pull ourselves up and continue to follow the right path through constant effort and discipline.

The more we dwell on Love and Faith, the easier it is to overcome the fears of this world.

A young Rabbi once said to me:

“It’s not easy to be human Dioro. it would be so much easier to be totally divine”

Amen!

As long as we are in this physical body on this physical plane, we have to constantly chase the devil away which keeps tempting us to give into despair, sorrow, worry, fear.

My husband used to say: “Worrying is praying for the things we do not want” And he was right! The more we worry, the more we fear, the more we attract that which we fear the  most.

It’s Time To Awaken

It’s now time on Planet Earth to awaken and dissipate the darkness of ignorance by allowing the Light of God, the Light of Universal Truth to shine upon the Earth and in our lives. Unfortunately mankind has forgotten our true nature. We are the sons and daughters of the One and Only God, and God is nothing but Love and goodness. We need to just allow Him/Her/It to dwell within us and work through us.

If you block all the windows and glass doors in your house with plywood, the sun cannot shine through, but nevertheless the sun is still out there shining its brilliant light.

So let us open the doors and the windows of our souls so that we can clearly see the Light that always and constantly shines upon us and within us.

“Thou shall know the truth…and the truth shall set you free”

Love~Light~Peace

Dioro

Worry is praying for the things we do not want

Being that I was born and raised in the old countries, under the teachings and the rules of deep ignorance, especially those made by the religious leaders of the time, I grew up believing that worry was not only necessar

y, but ultimately it was the only way to show our love and caring for ourselves and others. It was a spiritual virtue according to the authorities of those days.

Worry-Guilt-Fear were our “modus vivendi”

Who are you if you don’t worry? What’s the matter with you…have you no feelings? You have to worry about your bills, financial affairs, the kids, the safety of your loved ones, the job, the political situations, the general economy, about what others think, the weather and on…and on…and on…

We humans live in the past or in the future, in memory of yesterday with regrets or in constant anticipation of tomorrow… worrying….wondering….. planning….. but never living in the now and “NOW” is the only time we have to live.

“Of course if you listen to the daily news you cannot help but worrying because fear is a  powerful epidemic and it spreads very fast.

Oh…….my…..God…..how I welcome the New Age!

It is now a very special time on Planet Earth as our collective Consciousness is shifting to a much higher level of knowing and understanding.
It is time to awaken from a long… deep… hypnotic state of dormancy and ignorance  to the realization of our true nature.
Man is now gradually and slowly becoming aware of his own potential, the Essence of his True  Being. We are finally beginning to remember Who and What we truly are… Hallelujah!!

This awareness of the Higher Self within us that we are finally, after thousands of years, beginning to discover and utilize, will revolutionize  the old belief systems and bring Light in our lives so we no longer have to live in the darkness of the past.
Worry is not a normal nor a healthy state of mind as some believe, but actually it is the most negative and destructive way of life.

“The things I feared the most came upon me” said Job.

The more we worry, the more we attract that which we worry about and fear the most. The Universal Law of Attraction will only bring to us that which we ask for. This is the unchangeable Law, totally impartial and it will always give us what we focus upon….good….or……bad. The choice is always and only our own.
Worry is a powerful trouble/problem magnet!
“Whatever the mind conceives and “believes” it will always achieve!”…..good….or….bad.

Of course, as long as we live inside this human body in this physical world, life will present to us many challenges. Life is a tough teacher and not always an easy journey especially for those of us who come here to learn, to grow, to evolve and emerge into our true Spiritual nature.

Even the great Masters had moments of fear, doubt, anger. But the thing is not to dwell on the negative emotions. When fear and worry creep into your consciousness… stop it….right there…..right now!!!  “Get ye behind me Satan”.

If you pick up a boiling tea cattle and it burns your hand…..drop the darn thing!! But many of us keep holding unto it while complaining and crying about getting burnt.

Discipline yourself to change the negative emotions and turn your thoughts to the truth of the God within you Who will never forsake you and always comes up with solutions to our problems…….if we just allow it to be so.

If you truly have faith in the power and the presence of God within you, then you shall not worry, but instead you will ask “believing” and the solution will always be shown to you.

“Never tell God how big your problem is, but rather tell your problem how Big God Is”.

We humans always seem to easily believe in the negativity of life. We fear it, we believe it, we expect it and, sure enough, we get it……every time.
Why can’t we focus on our goals, dreams and desires with faith, “believing” and always “expecting” the best to come? The Law of Attraction is impartial and it will always give us what we ask, believe and expect.

What happened after man discovered electricity?

Because of this newly discovered energy, which had been here and all around us from the beginning of time, the world has progressed more in the past century than it had in many thousands of years. Who ever would have thought in the past centuries that there would be instant global communication all over the Planet? And this is only because we discovered this invisible energy, so wonderful, so useful, so powerful and yet always available and extremely eager and willing to serve us.

This is the Era when many, actually more and more of us, are finally discovering the power within us, this highest form of Energy which is the Essence of our True Being, and shall learn to tune into it, channel it, utilize it  by paying attention to our inner feelings, our intuition, our Higher Self. We can then share this wonderful and newly discovered energy with the world, we will shed our Light (our knowledge) so that one day all of mankind will live in a world where nothing but Light will shine and all we have to do is just to plug into the electrical/spiritual outlet within us and turn the switch on.
Teach others about this Divine Truth, this wonderful power within us. Not by your words, but rather by your deeds.

” Let thy Light so shine before men that they may see your good works” Matthew 5:14/1

Our brain is a most sophisticated computer and will not judge good from bad, it just gives us what we program it to do and that is the truth that has been kept a secret from the masses for centuries after centuries……..

We always knew some of the Bible verses like: “Whatever ye sow…so shall ye also reap”  “As a man thinks in his heart….so is he”   In Texas we say: “What goes around…comes around”  but we never fully understood the meaning of these wise teachings of Universal Truth.

I stopped worrying a long time ago because in 75 years of my life I have learned that God is all there IS, He/She/It is the Essence and Substance of my being and of all life in every form.

I stopped worrying because I discovered that “The Kingdom of God is within me” as my most beloved brother Jesus told us.

I stopped worrying because He has always led me by the hand and shown me the road ahead of me and I have never got lost. So why should I continue to worry? If I learn to stay out of God’s way with full trust, He always works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

Someone once said: If we humans could live our lives with the same faith with which we go to sleep each night, we would always be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

Sleep and dreams are still a mystery to us.

Oh… yes…. we now have ways to measure the brain waves, we are aware of the different levels of brain activity and we have indeed progressed, but sleep and dreams are still an unknown to science.

Yet, after a day of work, we look forward to go to sleep. Often we take pills to induce sleep and it is such a wonderful feeling.

While we are in a total unconscious state of mind our lungs keep breathing, our hearts keep beating, the blood circulates, the planets keep rotating in perfect order around the sun and all is well and in perfect order.

However, as soon as we awaken, we give thanks to God for doing such a wonderful job during our hours of restful sleep, but once we step out of bed we get ready to take full charge of our lives. We don’t need God’s guidance, we are in total control so we start worrying, living in fear and making a mess of things all over again and attracting all that we fear the most.

Not to worry does not mean not to care. Oh…no…but rather, because we care, we must NOT worry!

Life is not always an easy journey for anyone of us, and we all go through the valley of the shadow at different times.

If a loved one is ill, if a friend loses his job, if our neighbors are going through difficulties with their children, when we lose a loved one and in many other occasions, of course we do care and have to deal with the difficult lessons  and situations that life presents to us.

Not to worry does not mean to be indifferent to the difficulties in our lives and the lives of others.

However worry is not going to bring the solution to the problem, whatever it may be. By worrying we attract more and more difficulties instead of finding the solutions.

Of course we all have moments of fear, concern, doubt and we shall continue to have those negative emotions as long as we are in a physical body. Even Jesus had moments of anger, doubt and fear. It’s part of being human.

The thing to do is not to dwell on those negative thoughts, but instead we need to be still and go within, (plug into the electrical outlet within us), visualizing, believing, expecting the healing and the final positive solution of whatever the situation is and trust that it shall be so. This is true prayer!

“Judge not from appearances but judge righteous judgment”.

God’s delays are not God’s denials and only too often His denials are blessings in disguise. But we realize this truth only in time as we look back and learn from our past experiences.

We live and move forward, but only learn when looking backwards.

Yes indeed……the physical appearances of life give us many reasons to be afraid and to worry, but we must rise above those appearances and see the Truth of God Who never forsakes us and never wants us to suffer as some people believe.

“All things are possible for those that trust in the Lord”

That is prayer….. worry is not of God.

Always trust the Higher Power within you and solutions will always appear.

Please stop worrying……. be at peace!

Desire-believe-expect the best to come and, in God’s perfect time, it always will.

Dioro

January 2010