~ Know Thyself ~©

- Socrates' guiding rule was, "Know Thyself." These words are of eternal significance. No better advice has ever been give to man or woman. When one begins to explore this dictate it leads to profound understandings about all of creation. It makes unhappiness, fear, sadness, doubt, and all the negative emotions meaningless.

- In the scripture Jesus said, "Love God first and your neighbor as your self." In doing this we have to come to the conclusion that we are made in the image and likeness of the Divine, therefore we are all sacred beings. If this premise is true then there is no room for those negative emotions. Ah, however we feel them strongly, why is that?

- Could it be that we are not recognizing the goodness, the god-within all of creation? When we do not recognize this goodness the dark side of our nature begins to find excuses for what is happening in our life. It is then that we begin to feel 'other than happiness' feelings. Happiness of course is our birthright.

- When we came into existence our soul was pure love. Our first relationships here in this new environment seem to have taught us to forget from whence we came and why we are here. We tried valiantly to let everyone see our virtue, our love, our innocence and this is proven by how many times people came to look at us and smile and say sweet things to us in our stroller or crib. But then what happened? Through our mother we had been hearing and feeling the negative emotions as well as the positive ones from the time of our conception. At birth the negative began to be reinforced over and over again until we became convinced that in order to survive we needed both positive and negative feelings. Our ego now had a directive, defend against those who would hurt us in some way. Do what it takes to live!

- As adults we are still functioning from that mistaken decision and as a result live a life that is insane. Our way out of this is to begin to re-do the mental programming in the subconscious. In A Course of Miracles it says that the special relationship is one that omits the presence to Heaven. In other words we are blind to the goodness in ourselves and in others. If we will begin to meditate on the goodness within we begin to do as Socrates prescribed, Know Thyself.

- First and foremost we begin to be thankful for the 'insight' and demand of our self that we only recognize that which is nurturing to our nature. In other words count our blessings and the love that others have given to us; keep reminding ourselves the good that others have shown to us. Step two is to let go of the old insane thoughts and pictures that have brought unhappiness. In their place it is imperative that we put in a positive picture and statement to replace the old worn out negative one. It helps to count all of the blessings associated with the relationship. When I say relationship I am referring to the relationship to self, to persons, to places and to things.

- For instance, if one is letting go of fear, put in its place the opposite picture and declare: "This ____ fear has no power over me. With the Divine all things are possible. I am one with the Divine." Remember that others are also one with the Divine even though they may not recognize it. This is where compassion and faith become great allies to your newfound way of living. You now begin to live in a sane world of your co-creation with the Divine, not the mistaken world that was presented to you at your birth.

- What I have suggested will take dedication, determination, discipline and above all a great deal of self-love. As Kermit says: "It isn't easy being green."

~ Happy Birthday! -

Dr. Anne