When will you get to where you want to be? When you realize that there is no journey and that you are there already?

When will you realize that the only thing you have to do is get out of your own way? Want to know how to arrive safe and sound and be fulfilled?

Be safe and always explore the possibilities! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

CHANGE YOUR CHANNEL

Here you are; an amalgam of all of your thoughts, ideas, feelings, beliefs, actions and behaviors. You are broadcasting all of whom and what you are into your environment and co-creating just what you are right now. Where are you? Do you trust in the still small voice of the Divine completely every day? Or are you trusting in that chaotic large voice of your ego steering you to be selfish, self-centered and rigid in your beliefs?

In the flexibility of spirit flows Divine truth and manifests every expression of life as thriving in Divine love. In the posturing of the ego you are treading water; surviving and not moving in a direction. You might think you are, but all positive fulfillment of your Divine purpose never comes from selfishness but in giving the very thing you desire the most to others lovingly.

Broadcast Divine love continually and align yourself with the blessings of Divine love being manifested in Divine order. Otherwise, you will always be a victim to the expression of natural order from the very vibration you are actively broadcasting. Change your broadcasting channel and live from faith and not from fear. You are worth it! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

GIVE YOURSELF A SPIRITUAL

I am sitting in the waiting room of the doctor’s office waiting to get a physical. Soon they will call my name, walk me to the exam room and start their battery of tests poking and prodding me, checking my fluids and raising my level of physical discomfort all in the hopes of ascertaining my current physical state.

Let’s see, temperature is 97.7, BP is 120 over 70 and heart rate is 60. Strip down to the drawers and put on a synthetic gown with a plastic stretch waste band and sit patiently until the doctor arrives. Rubber hammer, reflexes good; then talk about the lower back and hip pain. The drawer opens and here comes the latex gloves. I know what’s coming next and I begin to feel very uncomfortable.

Well, it was over before I knew it. I probably need another radiator flush and to drop a few more pounds. This experience beckons me to address a question. Why don’t we humans get spirituals? A fact check about our relationship with God?

Our temperature is like our attitude toward Divine guidance, our blood pressure is like our belief systems accepting or rejecting erroneous beliefs and our heart rate is like our meditation practice to release the stresses of life.

A ‘spiritual’ would be like a ‘physical’ because we would ‘strip down’ to our core values and take a good look at who we truly are. By asking good questions about our value we would determine how good our emotional reflexes are. We could then identify areas of pain and discomfort.

Now comes the rubber glove moment. The moment of truth where we disinfect our minds and check to see if our subconscious is discharging the waste, dross and sediment of ‘stinkin’ thinkin’. Just like the ‘physical’, the ‘spiritual’ is over before you know it.

We must remember to flush out negative thinking and erroneous beliefs, dropping the perceived weight of guilt and shame. If we all gave ourselves a ‘spiritual’ as often, or more often than a ‘physical’, we would come to find that the physical would out better each time. The mind affects the body just as the body affects the mind. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

EMOTIONAL VICTORS
OR VICTIMS ?

Our bodies are a complex network of physio-chemical interactions that trigger emotional states and vice versa. When a person feels victorious testosterone is generated and boosts the body with feelings of euphoria and confidence. It comes from the hormones under the classification of androgens. When a person feels depressed and uncomfortable estrone has been generated. It comes from the class of hormones known as estrogens.

Both men and women have androgens and estrogens in their systems; however, men usually have more androgens and women have more estrogens; however, this can change under consistent feelings of being stressed. When a person feels like they are losing or have lost something valuable to them the hormone cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands.

It is considered a catabolic hormone that breaks down tissue regeneration, modulates the immune response, raises glucose levels and stores fat in the body. It is often referred to as the ‘stress’ hormone that kicks in when we are under tremendous or sudden stress. Some studies have shown that it creates estrogen dominance. At the DNA level, it suppresses testosterone production and can create feelings of depression and anxiety.

Our bodies are psycho-physical units where thoughts and emotions affect our health, our feelings of wealth, prosperity and the recognition of abundance. Our emotional moods can dominate and paint an unrealistic view of reality, regardless of what our thoughts reveal.

When we listen to our bodies in deep meditation we slow down our systems enough for our internal chemistry to seek a balance much like water seeks its own level when agitation stops. The deeper we go, the more we align our bodies with the eddys and currents of Divine order. At our center is the Creator of the omniverse exuding Divine love if we would but make the time each and every day to experience that bliss. Nothing is more important in our lives than spending time with the Divine deep in meditation.

How can anyone hear the silent whispers of the Divine when they are immersed in the constant and incessant chaos of the external world of the perceived dualistic reality? Eliminate the noise and listen for the still small voice of the Divine guiding and directing you to peace, understanding, joy and the expression of Divine love. Balance out your bodily chemistry and come out from under the veil of being subject to your emotional responses and chemical states.

The Divine is in command but you must drink from the well to experience the beauty. Make the time for your Divine relationship and the healing of your body. When the spirit is accessed, the body is healed and the mind is free to explore more horizons. Be ye therefore perfect! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

AUTHORITY

Authority. We hear this term many times, but what does it actually mean? Authority is the power to determine a course of action through a shared perceived sense of proper judgment. Observers accept authority figures as a reliable source of information, advice and guidance to determine their own course of action. Anything on a screen, whether a computer or television is an electronic representation of authority. When our intellectual guard is down and our emotional reaction is up figures that appear on the ‘screen’ have a subconscious perception of being those with ‘authority’.

During college I decided to take a class in Symbolic Logic. The professor told our class that we would be using a part of our brain that we had never used before; and that it would hurt. He was right. He stated that most people don’t think; they emotionally react. Again, he was correct. Over the course of the class I struggled with critical thinking until I embraced it completely. I desired to be an accurate observer and not be emotionally swayed by those with ‘charisma’. It wasn’t easy deprogramming myself from the accepted wisdom of my family. After all, when I was 18 I voted for Nixon. Big mistake.

Later, I went to seminary school to learn more about my beliefs and the beliefs of others. Being fascinated with Deductive Logic, I decided to investigate Inductive Logic. The professor who taught this class was a Ph.D. whose knowledge was incredible. Our final assignment for the class was to view the pep rally at the college football stadium where President Reagan was giving a campaign speech. The professor obtained an advanced copy of the speech and we were to break down the language by the principles of Inductive Logic and compare ‘how’ the speech was delivered at the pep rally to determine exactly what President Reagan said.

Statements from him like, “What a great land, this country of ours!” drew massive cheers and arm jabbing. However, to my surprise, my analysis revealed he had said NOTHING! He was emotionally riling up people to ‘react’ to what he was saying instead of challenging what he was saying, He was a master communicator and knew which buttons to push on the average ‘reactive’ person. Another lady and myself were the only ones in the class to get A’s on this assignment. When I turned in the assignment I wasn’t sure that my analysis was accurate but soon learned that it was.

Years later, I watched a TV program with Rush Limbaugh and saw the same style of rhetoric against Bill Clinton. I tuned in every night and had a good laugh because he was actually FUNNY. After his TV show died a miserable death, he ventured back off again into radio. As the years went by he became more and more abrasive. He had mastered his baritone voice, the cadence of his word delivery and the descriptive terms that were just slightly above the understanding of his audience. Most magazines and successful talk show hosts target their words and speech to a 7th grade reading level because that’s where the average mass audiences’ level of comprehension exists.

Rush is a master at appealing to a non-discerning audience who don’t, and won’t, investigate what he says. He is an authority figure because his voice is heard in mechanic shops, offices and homes every day. He is hammered into your head as the ‘voice of reason’ when in fact he is the ‘voice of repetition’. He AND his advertisers know this and use it to sell products and services. If you advertise with Rush, advertisers know there will be millions listening. They know that while he lulls you into a state of acceptance because of his image of authority they can plant an association of the usefulness of their product or service deep in your subconscious. When you go to the store or shop on the Internet you are automatically drawn to that product or service and you don’t even know why.

Rush has been consistent over the years and advertisers loved him. Every day he brought attention to their products and services with sensationalism and authority until he went over the line. He insulted a woman who WASN’T a public figure. Not only has he opened himself up for a slander and defamation of character lawsuit, he has now drawn attention to the fact of his own MAJOR character defects. His ‘brand’ is now tainted and the backlash is enormous. He has attacked a single college woman who has a right to a private life, even though she testified before Congress about her personal situation. He called her a ‘slut’ because of what he ‘thought’ was her lifestyle. He placed himself as her judge, jury and executioner. He revealed his flaws and condescension because he allowed his anger to control his delivery. Just like Pat Robertson, the older he gets, the more he lets things ‘slip’ without thinking them through. Rush gave a half-hearted apology that the woman didn’t accept because she knew it wasn’t sincere. She used her discerning mind to pinpoint the maneuver he was trying to pull.

Why do you think Rick Santorum made the comment about people attending college? Is it because he doesn’t want them to have a discerning mind by learning critical thinking? His comment was aimed at a non-educated base to move them emotionally. Rick Santorum has a B.A., M.B.A. and a J.D. He went to school for many years and learned how to manipulate people by what he says and HOW he says it. He is another master communicator of partial facts designed to motivate people on an emotional level. In all fairness, so is Obama. He knows how to motivate people as well. The difference is that he spent years educating himself and helping his community realize the goals they sought.

In order to develop a discerning mind we need to learn how NOT to emotionally react to what people say. We need to analyze what they say based on the merits and not the technicalities. Don’t be swayed by those who are in positions of authority. They don’t live your life or walk your path. Use your mind to sift through the facts and allow your heart to feel whether or not they are telling the truth. Talk to others and understand their feelings but always come to your own conclusions based on the facts and NOT someone else’s opinion. Your survival and ability to thrive will depend on it. Not only yours, but every else’s as well. Choose wisely and make the guidance of the Spirit of God your true authority! ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.