Month: May 2008

Message from the Desk of God

Today’s Thought:

If your God tells you to harm others for your cause, you need a new God.

Child watching the fireAs I surf the web most days, it’s nearly impossible to avoid stories of angry human beings doing hateful and harmful things to their neighbors. Conflicts that are ethnic or religious in nature seem to be seeded with particular venom and a complete loss of wisdom and common sense.

Generation after generation of “us” kills generation after generation of “them” and vice versa. Anyone in either group daring to stop and ask why or show a shred of humanity to the other side is labeled a traitor.

Of course, the Middle East represents the longest lasting and perhaps the sorriest example of this behavior. However, it is endemic to many places in the world.

I got to thinking what would God say to these people, many of whom are convinced they are doing God’s will. No, I don’t have a God complex, but I thought it might be interesting to speak directly to these angry, hurting, misguided people who refuse to put down the rock or the gun.

To all people everywhere!


loving_godDo you think Me so small that I cannot handle being called different names by different people? Do you believe Me so arrogant that I cannot handle prayers in different forms and different languages? So selfish that I would choose the friendship of one of you over another? Whatever you call Me, I shall answer.

Your anger only eats you up and wastes your life. And when it boils over, it sends you out to kill, sometimes with weapons and sometimes with words. You rally around those who speak of violence and “solving our problems by eradicating ‘them’.”

You swirl around such words like sharks in a feeding frenzy and then you run off and do things in My name that I have explicitly asked you not to do. You commit suicide to kill others and think it brings you closer to me. Ridiculous! You dress in uniforms like it is a game and use machines – created with the very genius I granted you – to kill innocent people and call it righteous and justified. Outrageous!

When you kill and hate in My name you had better find the person – religious leader, politician, whoever taught you this – and tell them this IS NOT My teaching or My will. They have taken their hatred and prejudice and projected it off as God’s will. This is utter nonsense!

My children, you are never far from Me. Your “enemy” is never far from Me. I allow you all to rest your weary heads on My cloak. As you sleep, I see your dreams. THEY ARE THE SAME DREAMS! I weep because I know when you awake you will try again to steal the dream from each other. The dream is big enough for everyone. The world is big enough for everyone.

These are YOUR thoughts again. You are not closer to Me here than you are there. I AM THAT I AM and I AM EVERYWHERE.

Everywhere and every time I have ever communicated with humanity (in your scriptures, through another person, in your own heart and mind) I have taught you to love each other, to share with each other, to live in peace with each other. If that is not the message you received, you are NOT following a true teacher.

I have sent my teachers in whom I am well-pleased to teach you how to live together and you have twisted their words and used them as a means to tear yourselves apart.

You think you must send others to hell so you can go to heaven. Where do you get this stuff? Certainly, not from Me!

STOP IT!

You are all brothers and sisters, sharing a planet, sharing a common life experience. Your commonalities are vastly greater and more important than your differences. Yet, you seek out the differences and despise each other for them.

I see, now, that I made your desire to be right too strong. You would rather be right and think all others wrong than simply accept MY teaching to “Love thy neighbor as thyself”.

Your true potential will be forever hidden as long as you find only reason to hate. Follow your dreams rather than your hatred. Live together as brothers and sisters and give up all claims to the only truth, to your self-righteousness, and to Me.

I am big enough to accept all of you. You created the walls where none existed, now you must tear them down and live as ONE!


This is my word. Amen.

God

cc: all departments
cc: all human beings where ever they may be

Ray Davis is the Founder of The Affirmation Spot and focuses on empowering minds to think positively, achieve goals, and live dreams.

anunnaki_cover_full_colorRay’s 2015 speculative fiction novel, Anunnaki Awakening: Revelation, is turning heads. Where did humanity really come from and where is it going? This is Book 1 of a trilogy. The Awakening has begun!

Learn more about the trilogy and order your signed copy today at AATrilogy.com.

Memorial Day Brings A Double Responsibility – The Affirmation Spot for Monday May 26, 2008

 “You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation’s destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds. The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are war mongers.

On the contrary, the soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”

~ General Douglas MacArthur – Duty, Honor, Country speech

Memorial Day. In The United States, it is the day we set aside to honor those who lost their lives previous wars and to honor those risking their lives today. This is as it should be. When people are willing to put themselves on the line for the good of others – in military service or other endeavors – we have an obligation to respect that.

To all veterans, THANK YOU for your service!

I hope all Americans will spend a few moments today contemplating the very real sacrifices these people have made for all of us.

However, in a free country we have a second responsibility that is equally important and relevent on this day. Frankly, in the current conflicts we have failed in this responsibility.

We have a solemn duty and responsibility to ensure that there are fewer people to memorialize in the future. Peace, when possible, is always preferable to war.

MacArthur makes an important point here. He is speaking to West Point cadets. He reminds them that they must be ready when called to defend the country. However, he places a caveat on that. He declares that soldiers above all are not war mongers and pray for peace.

The first few lines to the preamble of the Constitution read:

“WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” 

WE THE PEOPLE and the Constitution are very important to the calculations of war and peace.

While there are times, when war is unfortunately unavoidable at the current level of human development, it is necessary far less often than it is proposed as “the only solution” by our leaders. The honest truth is that most wars can be avoided if WE THE PEOPLE hold leaders accountable to us and to the Constitution before, during, and after the decision to fight them.

The soldiers of the past that we remember and the soldiers of the present who we cannot forget rely on us – you and me – to make sure that when they are sent into battle it is truly to defend our country. You see, they are bound to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. They count on us to be a check and a balance to that person’s judgment that war is necessary. WE THE PEOPLE are responsible for holding our leaders in check FOR our troops.

Remember the President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces not WE THE PEOPLE. The President is our servant not our boss.

I’ve heard so many journalists, especially before the current war, say something to the effect that “We must support our Commander-in-Chief,” or “We have to go along because George W. Bush is our Commander in Chief.”

The Founding Fathers would have scoffed at such nonsense. They endowed WE THE PEOPLE and the people’s representatives in Congress with all kinds of tools to prevent this “Commander-in-Chief” syndrome from taking root or thriving.

Examples include Congressional Funding of wars, states raising troops, Congressional declaration of war, impeachment, regular elections. WE THE PEOPLE and the Congress, have unwisely and unconstitutionally ceded these powers to the Commander-in-Chief.

When this power rests in the hands of one person who may not be questioned we might as well call the president Caesar because that is a title worthy of such unwarranted power. 

War, it turns out, often benefits the elite who start them, but only rarely benefits the average citizen who must fight them. Leaders make a name for themselves by engaging in war.

Let’s do a little test. Grover Cleveland, Chester Arthur, or Howard Taft. How many Americans don’t even know the names? How many who do know the names could tell you anything about their presidencies?

Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower; most Americans readily recognize their names. They were either war presidents or came to prominence through their participation in a war.

War makes presidents historically noteworthy. They say the first thing lost in war is the truth. That’s because many wars are started by mistruths that play on the fears, greed, or prejudices of the population. WE THE PEOPLE must become more wise and less easily manipulated. WE THE PEOPLE must demand better evidence before our troops go into harm’s way.

For it is our sons, our daughters, our brothers, and fathers, and mothers who will be memorialized on future Memorial Days. Let us make sure that we only permit that sacrifice for the right reasons.

WE THE PEOPLE owe it to the troops in the field today, those who have sacrificed in the past, and those who will be asked to do so in the future to make our leaders accountable. Congress must re-establish its Constitutional authority in matters of war. The people must think logically and not allow themselves to become the victims of their own emotions.

Today politicians who currently hold high office and those seeking high office will offer solemn and respectful speeches for the fallen.

What WE THE PEOPLE need from George W. Bush, John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other leaders is not speeches in front of white crosses or banks of flags.

What WE THE PEOPLE need, indeed demand, from our leaders is more than feigned soberness about putting young men and women on the battlefield.

What WE THE PEOPLE need from our leaders is not heroic speeches one day a year, but a commitment to taking care of veterans when they come home.

What WE THE PEOPLE need from our leaders is not stirring rhetoric, but leadership that owns up to the government’s responsibility for soldiers exposed to Agent Orange, the still unknown causes of Gulf War Syndrome, and this war’s version depleted uranium.  Instead, we have been given 30+ years (starting with Agent Orange) of denial and calling the people who made these sacrifices the politicians give speeches about “crazy” for claiming that their exposure to a proven weapons grade pesticide might have impaired their bodies.

The unfortunate truth is that while politicians are giving speeches today, millions of veterans are forced to live with the memory of things they should never have seen at 19 or 20 years old and things they should never have done in places they should never have been.

An empowered WE THE PEOPLE must be prepared to question our leaders at every turn, demand answers at every opportunity, and punish leaders when they abuse their solemn duty to prevent war.

WE THE PEOPLE must not be cheerleaders for war, but guardians against its unwarranted use. War is a disease that humans have lived with throughout time. In fact, its longevity and it ubquitousness are used as excuses for not stopping it by many. You’ve heard it – the “We’ve always had war and we always will” mentality.

The suffering war causes the soldiers and the victims is horrific and inhumane in the most ideal of situations. WE THE PEOPLE should view war like a hideous plague among us. We worry about bird flu and other calamities that may never befall us and over which we have little control. While WE THE PEOPLE allow the scourge of war – something that is happening and over which we have ultimate control – to go on.

WE THE PEOPLE need to support and extoll the value of the peacemakers as well as the warriors.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Buddha added, “Few know that our purpose in this world is to live in harmony. Those who become aware of this cease their quarrels immediately.”

WE THE PEOPLE need to demand that our leaders be peacemakers first and warmakers a distant, distant second. 

WE THE PEOPLE may have to celebrate a day in memory of the fallen for some time to come, but if we live up to our other responsibility, we can at least do so with a clearer conscience that we did all we could to prevent and minimize the need for our solidiers and their families to sacrifice so much.

WE THE PEOPLE need to take General MacArthur’s words into accout and be the defenders of our troops just as they are our defenders. For today is not only a time for memory of the fallen, but of how WE THE PEOPLE have failed them.

Stay inspired!

Ray

Related Posts

Peace and the Global War Cult

Going Back to the Moon: Replacing the Global War Economy

10 Steps to World Peace

Changing Our Minds, Changing Our World

The Affirmation Spot Ezine #3 – TAS Partners with Feed The Children

 
The Affirmation Spot Ezine is available for free by e-mail. I am mirroring it on the blog to help introduce it to a wider audience. Subscription information is at the bottom.



This Month’s issue
 
* From Ray’s Desk…
* The Affirmation Spot Partners with Feed The Children
* Affirmations
* Tips



 
From Ray’s Desk…
 
Hello, TAS friends
 
The past month has witnessed two major natural disasters in Asia. It’s an odd conundrum that the worst events bring out the best in the human spirit. People and nations around the world are mobilizing to help the people of Myanmar and China.
 
I think the reason these tragic events stir us so and bring out our best is that they remind us that we really are all in this together. We may differ politically, religiously, or economically. On ordinary days, those issues seem to matter so much.
 
However, when faced with unimaginable destruction and suffering, we seem to instinctively pull together. Maybe, in those moments, we are jolted awake to the fact that behind all our egoic masks and facades we are all subject to the same unpredictable whims of existence.
 
Such events can drive us to depression and withdrawal or engagement and enlightenment. They can create the thought that life is short and meaningless or that life is short and oh so precious.
 
There are circumstances beyond our control, but our thoughts and actions are always within our control.  When we realize that simple fact we are empowered and energized to pick up and move on from tragedy in our lives and in the world.
 
Stay inspired!
 
Ray
 
 
 
The Affirmation Spot Partners with Feed The Children
 
 
There are so many children who suffer on this planet every day. Sometimes it is the result of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the recent typhoon in Myanmar, or the Chinese earthquake. In other places, it is due to war, poverty,and other political conditions.  
 
Founded in 1979, Feed The Children now has a presence in all 50 U.S. states and in more than 60 countries around the world. FTC delivers water and beverages, food, medicine, clothing, and much more – the necessities of life – to children and their families in distress.
 
The primary objective of The Affirmation Spot is to help people. The affirmations and other digital products we offer focus on improving the mental and spiritual aspects of our being. However, we cannot overlook the real, material needs of people.
 
That is why I am proud to announce a new special project in partnership with Feed The Children. I hope this pilot program will be the beginning of a long relationship with FTC.
 
Here is how it works.
 
May 15, 2008 – August 31, 2008
 
The Affirmation Spot will donate $.05 US for every $0.49 affirmation sold and $.10 US for every $0.79 or higher priced item sold to Feed The Children.
 
That means you can now help others as you are helping yourself. You get the affirmations and other positive thought products you want and you are helping Feed The Children too.
 
We will be providing monthly updates (on www.theaffirmationspot.com) on how much is donated through this program. Of course, the program is only as successful as we make it.
 
Together we can help children around the world.
 
 
Affirmations of the Month
These affirmations are available on the website or will be in the near future.
 
  1. Every event, every relationship, every circumstance in my life is working together for my benefit.
  2. I am committed to saving more of my income. Paycheck by paycheck my savings grows.
  3. My money earning abilities are recession-proof.
  4. Right here, right now is always the best time to begin anew.
  5. I am now experiencing a greater opening of my heart and mind.
  6. Living honestly in every situation keeps my life simple and improves my relationships.
  7. A great writer lives within me. Today that writer bursts onto the page.
Tips
 
The Tips section offers updated information on the website and helpful tips to using affirmations.
  • Newest Affirmations – The Affirmation Spot has a new link on the side menu called Newest Affirmations. This section provides links to the newest affirmations on the website and the dates they are posted.
  • Passive Listening – Listening to your affirmations passively is a great way to infuse them into your self-talk without your conscious mind interfering as much. Listen while you work or do other activities that require most of your attention. By the same process that helps you learn the words to a song you didn’t know you were listening to, you will find your affirmations coming to mind more easily.
I appreciate your comments and thoughts about the Ezine or the website. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions.
 
Stay inspired!
 
Ray
ray(at)theaffirmationspot.com



Subscription Information
 
Remember we will never share your information with any other entity – ever.
 
Subscribe – if you have friends who might like to receive The Affirmation Spot Ezine on a monthly basis, please have them send an e-mail to info@theaffirmationspot.com with the word “Subscribe” in the Subject Line.
 
If you want to change the e-mail address that receives this Ezine, please send a message to the same e-mail address with “Change E-mail” in the subject line. Indicate the new e-mail address and the old e-mail address.
 
Unsubscribe – If you would prefer to not receive future editions, please send an e-mail to info@theaffirmationspot.com with the word “Unsubscribe” in the Subject line.
 

 

Archuleta Wins Battle of Davids on American Idol – The Affirmation Spot

Thank you for visiting The Affirmation Spot. Your comments on the blog or this article are always welcome. Please click here to comment on today’s blog.



ray_launchpad.jpgYour Fifth Affirmation is Always Free at The Affirmation Spot

Whenever you download four affirmations at The Affirmation Spot your fifth affirmation is free. Simply type five in the coupon field at checkout to get your fifth affirmation free. (Offer valid only on a per order basis. Multiple single downloads do not receive this discount.)

Today’s affirmation is:

“Follow dreams…my dreams are the fuel that powers my life. Today I choose to follow them.” (four times)

“Follow dreams…your dreams are the fuel that powers your life. Today you choose to follow them.”
(four times)

Hear an audio mp3 version of this affirmation right now.

Simon wanted it all season. The judges did everything they could to coax America to vote for it last week. Finally, the David vs. David showdown was reality last night on American Idol. Two Davids, two dreams, but only one spot as the next American Idol.

With everything on the line, Kansas City native David Cook stepped to the microphone first. Tasked by legendary producer Clive Davis with singing U2’s classic “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, Cook succeeded in doing what he had done all year. He took a classic song and updated it for the new generation. Few singers can sing U2, but Cook flawlessly weaved the existing greatness of the song with his own dead-on musical instincts to deliver a strong first performance.

Suprisingly, the judges did not seem to find “what they were looking for” in the performance. In fact, all night the judges’ preference for Archuleta was apparent. They seemed to criticize Cook for the very originality they had praised all season.

Then it was time for the 17 year-old Archuleta to have his moment “in the sun”. Davis selected the Elton John classic “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me”. The talented young performer delivered a stunning vocal performance that brought the crowd to its feet and drew unqualified praise from Randy, Paula, and Simon.

As he did last week with the Billy Joel song “And So It Goes”, Archuleta proved he could take a classic song by an industry giant and produce vocals those stars could only dream about on their own songs.

Despite Cook’s amazing performance, Simon summed it up, “Round 1 to Archuleta.”


The second songs of the evening were selected by the contestents from the top 10 songs created specifically for the Idol finale. David Cook delivered a solid performance, but Archuleta’s song seemed a better fit and he sang it for all he was worth. Again, the judges gave the nod to David A.

For round 3, the Davids were allowed to pick their own song. It could be something they sang earlier in the season or something new. David Cook chose Collective Soul’s “The World I Know”. Again, Cook proved that performers in this genre of music will soon be making room for him on the charts. While the song did not deliver the climactic bang Simon was seeking, it showed that David Cook is an artist and an original who will be heard from after the Idol lights fade.

Finally, David Archuleta took the stage for the season’s final song. He selected John Lennon’s “Imagine”. Let’s face it, this is one of the greatest songs ever. However, it is usually performed in vocally uninteresting ways. The young prodigy from Utah closed the show with an unbelievable rendition. He uncovered shades and nuances of the song with his vocals that I’ve never heard. It was really amazing!

In the charged response that followed, Simon declared that young David had, “Scored a knockout”.

Of course, that determination is up to voters across the country. We will all find out tonight on the results show whether America concurs with the judges.

Yet, this much is clear. David Archuleta rose to the occasion last night when every dream the young singer must have was battling against the nerves he must have been experiencing. He challenged a very talented, more experienced singer who is also heading for superstardom and he won.

There will only be one American Idol crowned this evening, but both Davids will emerge with their dreams in tact. Both are winners beyond the obligatory compliment used to soothe the pain of defeat.

American Idol continues to roll along not because it is a singing competiton, but because it taps into our collective desire to see dreams come true. Seeing it reminds us all that ours are still possible too.

Stay Inspired!

Ray

Your Unique Contribution – The Affirmation Spot for Monday May 19, 2008

Thank you for visiting The Affirmation Spot. Your comments on the blog or this article are always welcome. What do you think? Please click here to comment on today’s blog.



ray_launchpad.jpgYour Fifth Affirmation is Always Free at The Affirmation Spot

Whenever you download four affirmations at The Affirmation Spot your fifth affirmation is free. Simply type five in the coupon field at checkout to get your fifth affirmation free. (Offer valid only on a per order basis. Multiple single downloads do not receive this discount.)

Today’s featured affirmation is:

“My golf swing is smooth, pure, and consistent.” (repeats 6 times)

“Your golf swing is smooth, pure, and consistent.” (repeats 6 times)

Hear an audio mp3 version of this affirmation right now.

Everything that happens, regardless of the immediate suffering or joy it creates, perfectly prepares you to fulfill your purpose and achieve your goals. Focus, therefore, always on your experience and the lessons it has to teach you.

For just as the sun knows when to rise and the rose knows when to bloom, so too will you know when it is your moment to step forward and shine. It will be obvious that circumstances call for the special gifts and personal abilities that are uniquely yours.

Remember no matter where life has led you or how much pain you have endured, you still have something wonderful within that you, and only you, can contribute to the universe. Never let anyone tell you that your contribution is umimportant.

I’d dare say that your contribution is so important that the natural unfolding of the universe is undermined when you or anyone else fails to make their contribution. Live as if you dwell in a blessed state of grace because you do. Act as if you are endowed with enormous power to make a difference because you are.

Each day is one small deposit in your larger contribution to all of existence. Do yourself and the rest of us a huge favor and don’t forget to make it.

Stay positive stay inspired!

Ray