God gave us a wonderful home and we should cherish it


001With the Mayan Calendar countdown to zero pending in our minds and all the shows pushing doom and gloom there is a lot of people living in fear of the end. Fear not the end of the world it will come when it is destined to come, waste no time worrying about what can not be changed or avoided. When we get too involved with the fear of the end of our lives and the world we forget to enjoy the time we have been blessed with and to thank god for our blessings as well. Fear is a tool of the darkness to distract you from your relationship with god and away from walking in faith. If we spent as much time living in and for the glory of God as we do in fearing death or the end of the world just think how much better this world would be. Instead of embracing the fear we would be embracing God’s love and spreading his love to all human kind. If we spent more time fixing the problems of our world than we do worrying about the outcome of our mistakes we may be able to improve our world.

0992012 may be the end or the beginning of the end of the world but if that is so then there is not one thing we can do to change that fact. All we can do is focus on the here and now and live our life with love and in faith. We should take our role as stewards of this beautiful blue planet more serious than we do. Clean water, Clean Air, Woodland Preservation along with the preservation of all the living creatures including ourselves should be our main focus. God gave us a wonderful home and we should cherish it and try to preserve it for the future generations.

 

We should take our jobs as stewards of this planet serious and preserve this miracle planet for generations to come.
Ray Barbier

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution By license.

If you have learned from the mistakes and wrongs that you have committed


013Self Forgiveness is a big part of finding happiness and peace of mind. If you can not find forgiveness for the mistakes you have made in your past then you will never be able to live in the present. Your mind will be stuck in the past wondering what went wrong or what could you have done different. If you wronged a person you should seek forgiveness from them, even if they will not forgive you, you have done all you can to make amends. Then you should forgive yourself for the wrong you have done and pray that they one day will forgive you. If it was mistakes made or the person is no longer available to ask for forgiveness then forgive yourself and pray to be forgiven as well. The main thing is if you have learned from the mistakes and wrongs that you have committed in your past and to you have remorse as well. But after forgiving yourself the remorse should be left behind along with any wrong committed.

Self forgiveness and the forgiveness of others are the way of a kind heart and a compassionate mind.
Ray Barbier

Kindness, laughter and love are contagious


O_C_fo03bu The power of a hug, smile, laugh or just a few kind words can make someone’s bad day turn into a great day. You must be willing to be a bringer of goodwill and kindness if you desire to have kindness and goodwill returned. You reap what you sow and you get what you dish out to other people. You must be kind-hearted to yourself and let it grow outwardly towards everyone around you. It’s like a flame, it slowly spreads outward and eventually there is a fire and it keeps spreading. Kindness is just like that it grows and grows spreading everywhere. Yes there are some people who can repel kindness and others that will try to kill it with bitterness but as long as you keep sending it out it will not be extinguished.

Kindness, laughter and love are contagious, once they start to spread its almost impossible to stop them. Even the smallest spark of kindness can overcome the greatest anger just like a candle can rid a whole room of darkness. Plus it is far better to go through life choosing to be happy and spreading kindness than to be bitter and spread the seeds of sadness.

 

To be happy one must choose happiness, to be kind one only hast to try from the heart.
Ray Barbier

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Discipline of the mind will in turn help discipline the heart and soul.


English: Holistic health, body, mind, heart, soul

We can be slaves to our desires as well as the pleasures we seek. We also can be slaves to our emotions. We can be the master or the slave when it comes to desire, pleasure and emotion. If we choose to be the master over them they serve us and we are at peace and can find inner serenity. But if we choose to be a slave then we are at their mercy and have a very unstable life that usually is chaotic and full of woes. Even the so called positive emotions can be problematic if we allow them to be in control. They tend to cloud our judgment and create a illusionary feeling of happiness that eventually leads to disappointment in the end. Take the emotion love for instance, If you allow yourself to fall in love at the drop of a hat it either causes problems in your current relationship if your in one or it leaves you wanting every person you find remotely attractive, which will also create an uncertainty within you that only leads to loneliness in the end.

I have seen so many times where a guy or girl goes from one love to the next and as soon as they find a new one they are looking for or at another. That kind of life may have some appeal to it but in the end you wind up lonely and misjudged by people around you. Sometimes I think people like that come about from the misconception there is a perfect soul mate out there. A perfect soul mate is not something you find its something that is created after years of work between the partners. Sure there are soul mates, they will not be perfect but they will be what you need and want. They will be your best friend, lover, teacher, student and all around buddy. They will have flaws and will even be annoying at times. That is until you and the soul mate fully discover each other emotionally and spiritually. Then they morph into the perfect soul mate and you will be theirs.

But harmony between mates is hard to obtain if one or both of you are slaves to your emotions, desires or pleasures. You have to somewhat master those things in order to obtain a great life and great relationships. The body, mind and soul all crave balance and discipline, they thrive in that kind of environment. One of the obstacles in the way of being the master of your emotions and desires is the ego. If a persons ego is too big it hinders all positive progress of the mind and spirit which in turn will cause stress on the body. Self discipline is a very important key to ones spiritual, mental and physical health. The imbalance and lack of discipline in any of the three will affect the other two.The body, mind and spirit are always talked about like they are three separate things, they may be but they are like one for one always affect the other two They are all interconnected and because those three are like one is why we are the unique species we are.

For those who are in a relationship and still seek your soul mate just know the one your with more than likely is the one. You and your mate must work together and communicate with each other so that you can be the perfect soul mates for each other. Forgiveness, compromise and compassion is required in all relationships and most important is the need for unconditional love. Far as being the master or the slave of your emotions and desires, you know which path is the better of the two and you are the only one who can take control of them. Discipline of the mind will in turn help discipline the heart and soul, which will lead to the mastery of your emotions.

Love unconditionally but do not throw you love away on those who will never return it.
Have compassion for all living things and do not forget to have a little self compassion as well.

Raymond Barbier

God gave each of us the right to believe as we wish


Symbol of the three Abrahamic religions.

The world is in darkness,the world is trying to extinguish the spark of light in all of us. Those that promote hate, prejudice and intolerance are trying to keep us from finding the light we have in this world. In this world of darkness there is a light to be found.  God created a spark of light within us all and most of us are unaware or unable to feel its presence anymore. When we were children that light was bright and made life wondrous and beautiful. We allowed the world around us to cover the candle within us and we need to uncover it. Place that candle on a candle stick for all to see and so it can force the darkness away from us all. We can not allow the distractions and road blocks the darkness throws in our path to get in the way of being the beings of light god wants us to be. He wants us to be peaceful, loving, compassionate and full of hope. Things such as greed, lust and fear stand in the way of most of us and they keep us preoccupied and distracted from happiness and peace.

Three religions that were spawned by the one true God, yet those three religions still are distracted and preoccupied by their differences instead of being tolerant of each other. A house divided against itself surely will fall and that is the case with the three religions if they do not learn to co-operate or at least tolerate each other. We all serve the same God, even though we have differences in beliefs on some subjects that are sensitive we can learn to accept one another. We are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of God and we should love one another regardless of our different beliefs.  I am a firm believer in freewill and the fact God gave each of us the right to believe as we wish. Of course if we choose the wrong beliefs there will be a price to pay. This though is the price of freewill and is something each of us should consider when choosing our religious beliefs. I will not state which belief is the right one for only god knows the answer to that question and it isn’t my place as a mere human to answer. I believe as I do and respect the religious beliefs of all others in hopes they will do the same for me.

 We all have to live on this planet together, we can do it as brothers and sisters in peace or continue to go down this road of mistrust, hatred and of war. The choice is there for each one of us to choose and hopefully most of us will choose the path of peace and of love than the one of hate and war. Let us all be adults and civilized, let us live together as a great family and as the unique human species we are together in harmony.

Raymond Barbier

We should just be the best person we can be


bnf0422We make our lives far more complicated than they really are, we seem to put too many conditions on every choice we make and action we take. Things are either black, grey or white there is very little else they can be, either it is for our good or for our dismay. We allow our ego to get in the way of the happiness of others and even our own happiness in the end. Selfishness serves no purpose other than to deceive you into believing that possessions and wealth can make you happy. Yes money makes it easier to live in this world, but money is not a source of true happiness or love. Money is but paper or metal and it usually causes more problems than it solves. We tend to be addicted to temporary and instant gratifications which are good at distracting us from the good things in life like friends, family, love and communal fellowship. We need to be less about self and more about family, friends and community.

bnf0421 We need to learn to put our ego’s back in their place and live life with unconditional love, trust, compassion, hope and most of all faith. We need to put away the fear we have been taught and embrace the spirit of hope so that we can truly live our lives. We can no longer go through each day just trying to survive, we must live each day in the fullest as if there is no tomorrow. We should show our appreciation to those in our lives that we love and hold dear. We should be considerate, kind and compassionate to all those we meet, for none of us are perfect or without fault. We shouldn’t worry about what we don’t have for possessions are only temporary. We shouldn’t worry about who does or don’t like us for that is something we can not control in the end. We should just be the best person we can be and cherish those that we are blessed to have as friends and family.

The first step in changing one’s life is to change the way you look at life itself.
Raymond Barbier

Embrace that spirit of hope


p10329 We tend to look outwardly for our happiness, love and for acceptance. God gave us all the tools within us to be happy, love and be loved. Pretty much anything we need to be or do is within our own selves, God gave us everything within, it is only the matter of having the faith to utilize what we have been blessed with. We can not find happiness from an outside source if we can not even embrace the happiness god gave us within. It is hard to love anyone or anything if we can not embrace the love God gives us deep inside. Once we learn to have faith in and embrace the gifts god planted within our souls we then will not worry about acceptance because we know we belong to God. As long as we don’t allow the distractions on our modern lives to get in the way and we don’t fall to the spirit of fear we shall live a happy and successful life. We must embrace that spirit of hope and the sound mind God blessed us with. We can not allow those in this world who try to make us believe we are hopeless or condemned without salvation. They wish only to drag you down with them, we shouldn’t have hatred for those people for we should pray for their souls and show them the compassion we are taught by Christ‘s teachings.

Look within yourself for the blessings god blessed you with and do not fall for the traps of our modern world.
Raymond Barbier

For the glory of God and not for favor or for self satisfaction.


p10328We are like the moon and God’s love is like the sun, we reflect gods love for all to see. The love, compassion and forgiving nature we possess is but a reflection of God’s. Just like the moon we reflect the light of God into the darkness of this world so those in darkness can see the light. We must remember we too walk in this world of darkness and that we must be careful not to allow the darkness to dim the light we reflect. Just like the real moon we also have a dark side we must deal with, this is the nature of being human and of the flesh. The flesh craves all that stimulates and that can be coveted. Our carnal nature is one of the things we must try to resist for it is the product of our selfish nature not of our loving nature or of the spirit which god gave us. Being humble and full of compassion is the nature of our hearts and is the path to being true to the light we reflect. I believe we only reflect God’s light, love and compassion because it is his glory we do the works we do and his grace that gives us the forgiveness we need. The goodness within us sprung from the seed God planted in us therefore the goodness is God’s and we are just the gardeners.

Good Works may not get you into heaven but they are the result of the goodness God planted within us.
So Good  Works are done for the glory of God and not for favor or for self-satisfaction.

Just some thoughts on a Thursday morning.
Raymond Barbier

We must choose as well as Believe.


MP910221000The power to be happy is in our own hands, no outside force be it circumstances or another person can change how we feel unless we give it the power to do so. Too many times I have seen people who allowed the opinions of others and circumstances to effect their mood as well as negatively influence their self-image. God gave each of us a spirit of hope and not one of fear or negativity, the world is what brings fear and negativity into our lives. The good news is we can choose not to allow the negativity or fear to effect us and keep ourselves in a positive and happier mood. The words and actions of others have effected so many people negatively in life that they have no self-worth or confidence. The ability to achieve anything you desire is within us all, it is something we must choose as well as believe.

God gave us all the power to live a happy, productive and love filled life, we just have to realize that the power is within us and accept the gift as well as be thankful for it. That is what Jesus was trying to say when he was talking about the faith of a mustard seed. All things are possible in Christ and with faith, to choose to believe and have faith is the key. God wants all his children to be happy, confident and live in love with each other.

Just a few thoughts for all to ponder
Raymond Barbier.
003

I am greater than the sum of all my parts


Freewill concepts based upon Philosophy of Min...
Freewill concepts based upon Philosophy of Mind Causation Views. This document has been produced in the same format as this document (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What is the difference between what we label as the mind and what we refer to as the heart? Aren’t both just mental processes or biochemical occurrences in our brain? From the scientific view that is all we are, a big organic biochemical computer with no soul or spark of life. We only can act or react in the way we were programmed by the environment we live in and the experiences we have been through. We have no freewill because all we do is predestined by our life time of conditioning. If this is true then why can two individuals grow up in the same environment and are exposed to very similar experiences turn out so different. How can a man who has walked a very dark path all of a sudden change and walk a path of peace and love? I can not deny the influence on our psyche by the environment  we grew up in or the life experiences we may have through life but I do know we can choose to either let them be what defines us or we can choose to make our own path regardless of what hand life dealt us.

The thing about freewill is we can choose to use it or we can choose to be a victim of our environment and life experiences. Freewill is really nothing other than the ability to exert you own will and the ability to be more than the sum of your life experiences and the environmental influences of your life. The heart is your emotional self but it also the side of you that knows the difference between selfish and loving acts or thoughts. Could it be just logical processes or instinct or is it just a learned process from your parents? Is it a divine spark with our carnal mind? those questions are yours to explore and answer. All I will say is there is like two sides to ones personality, one that cares for itself and the other that cares for everyone and everything else.  To be honest if all I am is a biochemical computer programmed from experiences and by my environment then what is this lifetime I have been blessed with for? Well thank god I know that I am greater than the sum of all my parts and that I do have freewill . But I respect those who chose to believe otherwise and rather think that we are all victims of circumstance and experiences.

Just something to think on
Raymond Barbier