Pure Love

Ah, the new year. January. For some, it is the turn of a new page to invite something fresh and rejuvenating into their lives. For others, it may be the repeat of the same old thing. No matter your take on the new year, we can all agree that sometimes a fresh new start is the best thing for us, which means your "new year" could be today! Or any day of the year. So let's get started making over the most important part of us - the heart. After all, it is the center, the core for everything else we say and do everyday. It determines how we feel, think and see the world around us.

A new heart is PURE LOVE. This means recognizing in yourself first, that you are doing a new thing! Something fresh and different and positive with your life. Watch how it springs up from inside you to the people around you, you will see it in yourself and they will see the change in you as well. It's like making a passage of fresh cool water through a hot desert wasteland. Renewing the mind, body and spirit can take an incredible effect on your heart, your way of thinking and your way of life. By making conscious efforts and profound steps to a better more effective YOU, also known as YOU 2.0 or YOU upgraded to the latest and best version of you, you now come from a place inside you that is of a "new heart" and a "rejuvenated spirit" is within you. The old heart of stone that was cold or hurtful is gone. And this new heart of love and understanding is alive and well. Be open to the GOOD in your life. Regardless of what the world says, you CAN have good things be given to you out of love and care. Not everything in life is hate, hurt and out to get you or take something from you. Believe in yourself and the Pure Spirit that lives within you and you will have hope.

A new heart is HOPE. Be aware of the choices you made that may have been holding you back before from really being where you want to be in your life. Make a list of them and identify them for what they are. Now, make the clear choice to remove this or these things from your life that may not be healthy or beneficial to you. This is, for some, the hardest part because we are human and we develop habits, addictions and patterns of behavior that become 'the norm'. This is because we are split in half, our heart is divided between the bad in our life and the good in our life. With a whole heart, undivided, you will spring forth a new spirit, like lighting a hot spark inside you that may have forgotten or never knew was there. Welcome to the new you! On fire for the whole heart, driven by hope. Now, you start noticing that your habits are changing, you are doing things that are healthy for you, good for you...hard, difficult, challenging, sometimes downright rough, yes. But good for you all the same. By doing good you are going good. Just like people say I'm doing bad, going bad. Flip it. Choose to bring something positive out of a negative situation and it is a springboard for fresh perspective to enter the picture. Now, you are storing up good things in your heart, not bad things. And our mouth will speak what your heart truly feels. The cure for the tongue is in the heart. 

A new heart is ALIVE AND FREE. If you can honestly say that right now, at this very moment, you have no vice, no addiction, no bad habit or poor life choice holding you back, then you can say you are truly alive and free! If you can't say that honestly and truthfully to yourself, then start now. Start removing the hurt from your path so the good can get in. Let the sun shine in, fill it with a grin, open up your heart and let the sun shine in. It's a silly children's song, but has so much meaning and power it's ridiculous! It's true. When you are truly delightful, full of pure desire, your heart literally reaps the benefits and feels 100% better! Imagine a day, a week, a month, a year - free from addiction, pain, heartache and struggle. Guard your heart. Whatever you feed it, the body will grow it. The goal here is to create a pure heart that is whole and filled with love - enough love that when life throws you curve balls and tries to bury you and make it hard for you that day, it may seem like that Friday night, but remember, you're alive and free, and Sunday's on the way. 

So to sum it up, you have to give yourself a heart EXAM. Sit down. Write the list of the bad and what needs to be done to turn it around. This will test you, examine your deepest thoughts about yourself, but BE HONEST. Then, start the application. Put the good to work immediately. If you need help, get help. If you need counseling, find it. Get it. Stick with it. If you need rehab, go for it. If you need a friend, a helping hand, a shoulder to lean on, be apologetic and grateful in your approach and ask for it. This will begin the rebuilding of the new heart within you. Once the construction is started, finish it and you will be protected by the shelter of its firm, thick walls of peace and it's ever-strong roof of love. Let the INFUSION begin. The old you will be washed away, and the new you will be solid and evident. 

"Culture and the Cost of Craziness"

Well by now I'm sure you have heard the popular song ripped from the Bible, "Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." You know the words, sing along! But what was the book of Ecclesiastes really saying and what message was this iconic singing group trying to drive home to the masses? That at the end of the day, Time is to be utilized as a tool that will work for us and not against us. 

No matter how long you live, believe it or not, you have all the time you "need" to accomplish your "true purpose" in life. This means from the moment you are born until the day you die, if you are truly doing what you were meant to do in life, you will not leave this earth until it is done. There's the old saying, "if the devil can't make you bad he'll make you busy." Well for good reason. He wants you to eat up all the time you have to do good things for self and others serving lower pointless purpose and accomplishing nothing! And come on, who in the "hell" wants to look back on their life and say, I did it my way and it was the wrong way? If you do, well so be it. But I, for one, have no interest in spending my one and only life doing bad, going bad, and being bad. It's a personal choice. As we mentioned in "New Heart" a moment ago.

You've heard about the "treasure in the jar of clay" well, guess what, simply put, UM-THAT'S YOU! You are the clay jar and your gifts, talents, skills and goodwill are among the treasures inside you. There will be times in your life when you will feel crushed, perplexed, and at the end of your rope, but because of the strength already inside you, you will not despair, you will not feel persecuted and abandoned, you will strike back and the obstacles will be overcome.

Be aware of the 4 points of brokenness: POWER or influence. CONTROL or stewardship. PERFECTIONISM or excellence. CODEPENDENCY or sacrificial love. Too much of this will suck you dry of your true power to make moves in your endeavors. Have you ever the saying, EGO stands for Edging God Out? Well that's true! Don't let your "ego" get in the way of being truly magnificent in your quest or challenge. There is no room for it and like the old saying goes, there's no "I" in team. Just a side bar that needed to be mentioned.

 Pace yourself. This huge mission to make a better you, apply new principles and ideas all while trying to probably juggle so many other responsibilities in your life including keeping your ego and attitude in check, will most likely result in you feeling you are going in fast forward! Remember, time for everything you need to get done has already been given to you. So stay focused on the true goal, remember the reason for mission to begin with and don't let the weight of the world bring you down. 

Keep going but at a healthy pace. You are NOT perfect. Too much pressure will hurt you, not help you. Concentrate the present and use the past as a guide for the future. You can do this and all things of good will by the strength of love that is in you.

"Renewing My Mind"

THE BIG PRINCIPLE: How I think will determine How I live. My thoughts determine: my actions, my attitudes, my ambitions and my anxiety.  Whether you have a faith base or not, you may have heard the ever popular verse Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. This is just one of the countless quotes that were ripped right out of the Bible and used in everyday conversation today in our modern world.

So what is the message really telling us today? Well, the same thing it was telling us 2000+ years ago. Your mind is the most precious part of your core: THINK-BELIEVE-DO. That's how humans are wired-whether we like it or not, what we think tells us what we believe and what we believe determines what we ultimately do with our lives. 

Have you ever asked yourself, "what was I thinking?!" Well let's just call it what it is, 8 times out of 10, it was our arrogance, pride and bad decision-making that got us caught up in the trouble we find ourselves in. We brag and boast about it, crave more of it and really believe that we will reap some sort of reward from being greedy, hurtful and outright selfish. And it never works. At the end of the day, we live in a world where everyone wants "self" to prosper but the world is in a universe that requires "others" to prosper. As long as we keep going against the Universe, our will; will never overcome Life's will. We will always lose as long as we are thinking the wrong thoughts.

 So what are you thinking about? Are your thoughts focused on things that make you worry and increase stress or are your thoughts focused on things that are healthy and encouraging? In other words, are they good thoughts or bad thoughts? If you want to be in line with the Universe and get on track with a healthy positive way of thinking, then be aware of your focus. Try to keep the signal clear of clutter, junk, garbage, filth and other unhealthy tracks of thought.

Remember as I mentioned in other articles on this site, let your thoughts drive your actions to doing something that will help you and others instead of hurt you or the people around you. Now don't beat yourself up over the little things...we all daydream, fantasize, let our mind wander and pander...but when you are focusing on something, just be mindful that is focus on something with a positive outcome.

There is a lot of sludge in the world. Clean it up. Be noble, truthful, pure and sincere in whatever you do. The result is much more than just admirable, it is foundation of excellence. So, how do I get there? Well, start by demolishing arguments and removing every pretension that goes against the knowledge of your Higher Thought Process. You know what is right-so do it. It will feel unnatural, uncomfortable and against the grain-do it anyway and reap the benefits.

Trust that in Absolute Truth there is Final Truth and that your Higher Thought Process will not lead you astray. You have to filter the noise; focus on the mission and remember to keep your eye on the prize. Be an advocate of thinking clearly, focused on good thoughts that promote a healthy belief system and drive you to healthy action. Start by affirming that at your core you are: peace-prosperity-purpose and perseverance. Change starts with you.

So, this is the new you. You are dressed to impress, you're ready for whatever life throws your way and your light from within shines brighter than it ever has before. You are in line with Love and Peace of the Universe and It is in line with you. That's right, no matter your belief or faith-base, it's nice to know that the Spirit of God is right here, right now in the real world and looking at you shine!

This is a good thing! When Life speaks, you listen and guess what, when you speak, Life listens! It's been called by so many names...self-checking, meditating, spending quiet time with yourself, centering, peace-talking and many others. But the most popular term among most cultures is prayer. Prayer is the oldest form of communication with our Higher Power known to mankind. It is also one of the greatest gifts we have. By continuously praying, it means you're keeping in touch on a regular and checking in with the Source of All your wonderful, plentiful, challenging, up/down life events. Not much different than talking to your BFF! And the most rewarding part about it? It is the ultimate way to "redeem your time."

John Ortberg once said, "the goal of prayer is to live all of my life and to speak all of my words in the joyful awareness of the presence of God."

Just like having a strong, supportive friend or family member, praying and keeping focus keeps you away from temptation. Temptation can come in many forms and disguises, longing to rob you of your time, accomplishments and good fortune you have worked so hard to reach. You see, temptation is the greatest time killer of them all! It is so true that if the devil can't make you bad, he will make you busy. This simply means, if you are not doing something productive with yourself then...what are you doing? What is your signature sin? What's the one thing that throws you off your "A" game every time? Well, whatever it is, acknowledge it and block it.

Self-exam. Take an inventory of your mind, body and spirit and clean out the closet. If it is not worthy of your time and does not elevate you, eliminate it. Throw it out. Just like that. We talked about this earlier in "Renew The Mind" and on other sections of this site, keep it clean; don't let anyone mess up the scene you set.

Clean Out The RAGS:

*Resentment - mismanaged anger and bitterness. 

*Anxiety - inability or refusal to trust God.

*Greed - mismanaged desire of all kinds. 

*Superiority - self-righteousness and contempt for others.



By keeping your closet clean, you transform daily by living and walking in prayer. By living and walking in prayer, you redeem your time. Sounds preachy, but anyone can apply this in their lives and reap the benefits.

Live your life as if it were your last because...well-it is. There is no reincarnation, no second time around, this is your one and only life. Make the most of it while you still can.

Now, the last part of Lesson 1 is the popular part of "The Me I Want to Be" Series called, Deepening My Relationships. Loving yourself and others from a deeper level means loving with all your heart, all your soul and with all your mind. This is how you deepen your relationships with not only yourself and the people around you, but this is how you deepen your relationship with God. When you pray, find a quiet place with no distractions, pray in sincerity, with faith and if what you ask is in line with what God's will is for your life, it will be given to you.

The Spirit testifies with our spirit that you are God's child. The Spirit will touch your spirit and confirm who you really are. You know each other like a loving parent knows an adored child: on a personal, intimate level.
Humans are meant to be in relationship with each other. We are meant to be in deeper connection with others who are encouraging and uplifting. If you owe someone, pay what you owe. We talked about this on this site in other sections, it is not good to be in debt to others, as it may weigh heavily on the love you have for each other and may sour the relationship.

It is not a coincidence that the #1 law or command of almost every ancient culture was to love each other first-and then apply all other laws after this. It's funny, if you think about it, if you act out of love and care for another person, you will be less likely to hurt them or hurt yourself or commit a wrongful injustice against them. The Beatles even wrote a song about it, "All You Need Is Love...Love Is All You Need." So how are you approaching the world you live in? Are you lashing out with callus rock in attack or sewing in rich soil with love?

RELATIONSHIP SURVEY

Okay, so we have hit some pretty heavy points here in Lesson 1, let's have a little fun with this and ask some really interesting questions about ourselves, ANSWER HONESTLY. There is no wrong answer.
1. When something goes wrong, do I have at least one friend I can easily talk to about it?
2. Is there someone that can accurately name my greatest fears and temptations?
3. Do I have one or more friends that I meet with regularly?
4. If I have good news I want to share, do I have a friend I would immediately call to tell?
5. Do I have a friend that I know well enough to trust their confidentiality?
6. Are you a "come as you are" friend?

This is just a quick way to jump start your thinking on where you are in your life with your current relationships. If you haven't already, now may be the time to make healthy relationships a top priority. Once you have this connection with someone, you will find that you are more transparent and may find it easier to accept one another, confess your hurts to each other and raise each other up when one of you is in need.

This is the power of a NEW HEART, PRODUCTIVE LIFESTYLE, HEALTHY USE OF TIME AND DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS. These are the tools of a powerful-YOU.

I'm DeMaster Thomas and this --- is Real Living