Love to Eat

Let’s face it, most of us love to eat. Do you live to eat or do you eat to live? There are thousands of books on cooking, diets, exotic foods, etc. For some people eating is a way of handling a broken heart, a failed career, or just plain boredom.
On a recent trip to Disney World, I started to note how many people I saw who were overweight. The results were outstanding! I would say that at least twenty percent of the people I saw could be classified as obese; another thirty percent were at least thirty to fifty pounds overweight and another forty percent could loose ten to fifteen pounds. That leaves only ten percent of all of the thousands of people I observed who you would classify as not overweight and this number included all the teenaged girls who were down right skinny. Now maybe this is just because it was Disney World or maybe it was a mindset of people who let themselves go once they have children. I noticed that these percentages kind of hold true at sporting events too.
How does overeating coincide with being successful or unsuccessful? Overeating is lack of control and it shows a strong desire to be pleased. We feel good when we eat and if there is nothing else in our lives to feel good about we simply do what pleases us and that is to eat more. Once you have a plan to succeed, then the need to overeat is replaced by the need to contribute to society.
Most people who are overweight blame it on genes, having big bones, or anything except for the hunger for love, respect, and happiness. Love, respect, and happiness must be given first before it is returned to us.

Today’s Exercise: The plan to stop overeating is to be loving, respectful, kind, and happy.
Today’s Affirmation: I am loved, because I love.
Points to Ponder: Love, respect, and happiness must be given first before it is returned to us.

Spiritual Love

The negative of spiritual love is fear and fear is the father of hate. It is fear and hate that spawn all Evil. The only weapon we have to defeat Evil is Love. Where there is Love, there is no fear. Where there is Love, hate cannot exist. Where there is love, Evil becomes what it really is, an illusion. True Love is simple recognition of our unity with God and with all forms of life. When we finally learn that our neighbors and we are one and the same and we truly love ourselves then it would be impossible to perform an act of unkindness to our neighbor. War would cease to exist. Hate would have no place; you could not hate yourself. All life and all matter in this universe are but a manifestation of our one immortal self, the Universal Superconscious Mind, God. God does not fight with itself, nor does God chastise itself. God does not destroy itself.
Anyone who takes up arms against another human takes up arms against the self. The universe cries: “One! One! One!” We are each a creation from one intelligence. We will all return to this one intelligence. There is but one immortal self to all creation and we are part of that one, separated from it in our physical bodies. We all seek to know this complete unity again, and it’s to this never ending emotional drive we call love.
Why do babies cry and ask for all things immediately? Could it be that babies remember where they recently came from, where there was no denial and every thing they needed was provided for them? Little by little, the child realizes that it is no longer the center of the universe and needs someone else to fulfill its needs. Parents then must give unconditional love through this period. If a child is aware of anger and malice, then with each denial, rejection and fear take root. We know fear is the father of hate and people fear that which they think may hurt them. Once they are hurt, they hate that which hurts them. Thus, a viscous cycle begins, as fear and hate are reactions to frustrated love. Our society is full of unwanted and unloved children. When they grow up how will they treat their children? Only one of two ways: either they will love their kids, or the sins of the father will be passed to the children. Everything we do affects someone and we must break this viscous cycle.

Today’s Exercise: Look at your children as the parents of your grandchildren. Nobody wants messed up grandchildren.
Today’s Affirmation: I am loved, because I love.
Points to Ponder: All life and all matter in this universe are but a manifestation of our one immortal self

Balance

In football, a team that has good balance between offense and defense is a team that usually makes it to the playoffs. In our daily lives, we need a good balance between the spiritual offense and physical defense. The spiritual always comes first because we are a spirit with a body. If we improve our spiritual outlook, we will automatically improve our physical world. The sense of spiritual contentment is one of the key factors for reaching the state of happiness and balance.
Happiness is determined by three factors: material wealth, good health, and true friends. We possess the power to control our physical world when we learn to use our spiritual powers. Our minds are God’s link to humanity. If we open our minds, have faith, and do all things with Love and kindness, we open up the channel that allows God’s power to flow through us. With God as your senior partner, you can attain the balance that you seek. This balance will put you ahead of eighty-seven percent of the world’s population and provide a stepping-stone for you to reach your true potential.
When your main focus is on material things, such as your property, home, car, and belongings, you develop a strong attachment to these things. You then become less content and remain in an agitated state of dissatisfaction, always wanting more. In a way, you then really become poor because the concept of poverty is the suffering of wanting something and not being content with what you already have. This feeling of discontentment leaves a void in your life. You start to sacrifice health, family, friends, and peace of mind to try to fill this void only to realize that when you get the material possessions, you’re not happy after all. You strike out on a new get rich scheme, only to find out that you can’t take the money with you. There are no pockets in our pants or drawers in our coffin.

Today’s Exercise: Strive for balance.
Today’s Affirmation: I am loved, because I love.
Points to Ponder: If you improve your spiritual outlook, you will automatically improve your physical world. The concept of poverty is the suffering of wanting something and not being content with what you all ready have.

Smile

The human brain and human compassion are by nature in some kind of balance. As we grow older, we have a tendency to neglect human affection and concentrate on the physical aspect of life, thus losing the balance. It is then that misfortune and undesirable things happen.
One of the most important features of the human face is the ability to smile. A kind and genuine smile is very important in our day-to-day lives. How you create that smile largely depends on your attitude. If you have a negative attitude or a poor outlook on life, it is almost impossible to smile.
It is illogical to expect smiles from others if you do not smile yourself. Thus, you create a negative and hostile environment and drive away those individuals who would otherwise be an important asset to the development of your well-being. This is an important development for long and short-term happiness.
The body is the best test of what’s good for us and what’s bad for us. If you’re allergic to seafood, your body will let you know in a hurry. Your intelligence may oppose your immediate short-term desire because it knows your long-term consequences. Thus, the role of intelligence is to determine the positive and negative potential of a factor that could have both positive and negative results. When you have a balance of spiritual and physical development, then you can help others reach the same level of balance, increasing your potential to live a happier and more successful life.

Today’s Exercise: Smile. Be happy; be kind!
Today’s Affirmation: I am loved, because I love.
Points to Ponder: One of the most important capabilities of the human’s face is the ability to smile.

Happiness

If you really want a happy life then it is imperative that you pursue happiness both internally and externally. One must pursue happiness with a mental development. A mental development is a spiritual development. It is not necessarily any kind of religious faith, but a development of good qualities. These are love, kindness, honesty, empathy, discipline, and order. These qualities, guided by a positive motivation will develop the happiness you seek. We are blessed because God gives each and everyone of us these qualities at our birth.
There are no bad seeds. Everyone is born equal; everyone is born a genius, and everyone is born with a connecting link to God. This link is your mind, spirit, or soul, whatever you want to call it. It works twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Happiness is a pre-determined mental state. Will Rogers, once said, “I’m as happy as I make up my mind to be.” If someone needs outside influences to make them happy, then they are at the mercy of their circumstances.
Human beings are the dominant creatures on this planet because they have the potential not only to create happy lives for themselves, but also to help others be happy. We are the part of God that can create and we either, create happiness in this world, or we create sadness. Once we realize our potential and develop self-confidence in our ability to create happiness, then we can build a better world. Happiness is the gift of life; it is our obligation to spread happiness to everyone we meet. Happiness is our birthright.

Today’s Exercise: Make up your mind to be happy one day at a time.
Today’s Affirmation: I am loved, because I love.
Points to Ponder: Happiness is the gift of life. It is our obligation to spread happiness to everyone we meet.