you are god! by: Jeremy McDonald

Have you ever wondered where all these crazy people came up with the concept of manifesting your own world? The very idea that you are in control, not some divine being that you have never seen before. Where'd they come up with that? It's true you know… you are responsible for yourself and for the outcome of your own life. No one else has the responsibility for your success or your failure.

It was interesting because few years ago I watched this movie called "What the Bleep do we know" and in it one of the speakers said this. "I am saying that you are God" I was lying on my couch and I sat up very quickly and thought, HUH?? But then I realized that what was said was correct. If you are a Christian, then think about what the bible says. It says we are made in God's image. This means that we are made in the image of God, not partially, but fully made in the image of God! Here is something else that will knock your socks off!!! My mother who is my partner in crime for all of the Lamplight messages, events, business etc sent me an email a few days ago that said "READ THIS". Of course being the person I am, I did not read it for a few days. Anyhow, it has a link to the online bible and quotes a verse in the bible that states the following: "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, I have said you are gods" (John 10:34). WHOA! How come the modern day Christian Church missed this??? They didn't think it was important to tell people this?? Lol! Now don't get me wrong, I know some of you are not Christian and that's okay, I'm only speaking from my experience. Maybe someone could help me with other beliefs and what they say.

Wow, so we are god! Let's ponder this for a little bit. Does this mean we are in total control of our own life, free to make our own decisions in life, whether they are good or bad? Umm Yup!

Let's go on just a little more shall we??? The Universalists believe that we are in total control of our lives, that Jesus did not die for our sins but was a great Spiritual Master. Powerful stuff! Not only does this give us the power to make our own decisions in life without some huge powerful being hanging over us, and judging us, but more importantly we have the power to make our life happen!! We don't have to be afraid! We don't have to constantly judge ourselves, and think that we are inadequate! We are in control!

But wait, there is more!!! Dr. Candace Pert says in her book, "The Molecules of Emotion", that our minds, based on chemistry, are hard wired for feelings of bliss and pleasure. So why would we want to create so much fear in our lives that we cannot feel the bliss and pleasure that we were meant to feel? Here is the thing, the god, goddess, universe or spirit what ever you want to call the prime creator or wants you to enjoy life.

Say it with me, THE CREATOR WANTS YOU TO ENJOY LIFE!!! I have said for years that Fear and Guilt are the only Useless emotions. I want to change that just slightly. If Fear and Guilt take you out of balance then they are WRONG in your life. It's like anything else, WE NEED BALANCE PEOPLE!J Yes, if we had no fear, then nothing would prevent us from going into a known bad neighborhood without some safety precautions. If we do something that hurts another individual then it is our guilt and conscience that pushes us to go make amends. However, if Guilt and Fear consume us and keep us from moving forward then it is wrong. Trust me, I have been there in life.

Anyhow, I just had to share such a powerful message, that we are God, we are a part of God and we are a part of the Universe. YOU are in control and you are the one that can make your life happen! You, and only you can make your life a priority. Only you can make yourself happy!

Blessed be!

Rev. Jeremy McDonald

www.lamplight-group.com

Intuitive Power by: Jeremy McDonald

It seems to me that we are taught to be too careful in life. What happened to relying on your instincts? What about trusting in your own internal guidance system?

Each one of us has intuition. If we pay attention to it, we would be guided in the right direction each and every time. Interestingly enough most people that have reached a level of success in their lives have greatly relied upon their intuition to guide them. A quote from Albert Einstein comes to mind, and it is: "The only real valuable thing is intuition."

Now we all know that Albert Einstein did great things in his life, things that the helped shape the modern world. Have you ever seen an interview with a famous person? When asked if ever at any point they wanted to give up and just throw in the towel, almost always, they say, "yes, there were days when I wanted to give in, but I knew I just could not do that, or I knew that I would make it." When asked how they knew they would be successful, the response is usually, "I just knew ". Where does this inner sense come from? Some people would say it comes from the heart, while others might call it a gut feeling. Others might say it was just pure determination! Still others might say it is destiny. I'd say that they are all right!

You see when someone has that kind of drive, it can't come from anywhere else but the heart. I truly believe when the drive is that strong, then that individual came into this life to accomplish exactly what they are doing. That person, in those circumstances, is definitely determined to succeed at what they are doing. What do you think?

The human mind we know is divided into the right side of the brain and the left side of the brain. At a basic level we know that the right side is intuitive and instinctive, and the left side is logical and orderly. So what keeps us from following our intuition? Is it fear? What makes some of us not have the same individual drive as Albert Einstiein or even Bill Gates? A very simple quote by Bill Gates he says: "Often you have to rely on intuition." quick and to the point but it pretty much sums it up. Often we do have to rely on our intuition. Have you ever experienced a thought so strongly that you could not stop thinking about it, but you were not able to explain why? Maybe it was a feeling that you needed to call someone who is close to you, and when you called, you found out that the person you had the feeling about was very much down because something tragic happened to them. In any case that person needed you right at that moment. That is your intuition. Follow your intuition and you cannot go wrong.

How do we break old habits and start following our intuition? First you have to start with being confident in yourself, so you can follow your heart. A quote from Allan Alda says this: "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." This is a very true statement. When we look inward, we then can start to discover who we are, and where we are going. We can find out what our innermost desires are. This is the hardest task you will ever undertake. This journey of self discovery is necessary, to discover what you really want out of life. Once you discover that and start to push forward, then you will see that you are creating your reality around you, with your thoughts and intentions. A reality that conforms to your own desires. Then you will start to see the endless possibilities of life instead of all of the limitations. The whole universe is before you, nothing is impossible to you! But first you must start with yourself. You must learn to love yourself, and believe in your own abilities. You must accept responsibility for your own life, and stop blaming others for the bad things in your life. You must accept that you are responsible for your own happiness. You have free will, and can choose your response to any given situation. Stop beating yourself up, forgive yourself and move on. You are the only one who is holding you back! This is a process, which may take some time. We must change our mindset completely. Holding in anger, either at yourself , or with others is damaging to you. Refusing to give this up is only hurting yourself, no one else. Forgiving another doesn't mean that anything they may have done to you is ok, it just means that you want to move on. You want to have a life filled with joy, and all of the things that you have dreamed of. It is possible. It depends on you!

Rev. Jeremy McDonald

www.lamplight-group.com

Universal Law of Reciprocity by: Jeremy McDonald

This is one Universal Law that it seems has been forgotten while the whole "The Secret" craze is out there. Don't get me wrong what that book teaches you has alot of valid points and the Law of Attraction is a very powerful tool. However, all Universals laws shoudl be practiced to bring balance into ones life. The Law of Reciprocity is the law that states what you give into the Universe is what you will get back. Think about this now if you go out and volunteer at a homeless shelter or you help a friend in need you will get that back 10 fold. Now WAIT! don't just go out and become a volunteer for everything because you want good things to come back to you. BALANCE!!! everyone don't forget about balance. Also if you do good things with just the intention of getting back then you have missed the whole point.

Also here is one more valuable lesson that this law teaches us. What you give out you must have a mutually rewarding exchange. Basically when you go to work everyday do you do it for free? Probably not otherwise you would be working somewhere else. Also, that mutual reward comes from both parties meaning EVEN exchange it cannot always be lopsided with one party giving it's all but not recieving in return. What will end up happening is that eventually the one party will feel neglected even if that was not the intention of the party not giving it's all.

Use this Law and it will improve your outlook on life it will bring more rewarding relationships in your life and will improve your current relationships and in some cases might end some relationships.

Blessed be!

Rev. Jeremy McDonald

www.lamplight-group.com

Yet another Law of Attraction positive

So last night I'm talking to a friend online that is studying graphic design and he showed me his new website that shows his portfolio. Anyhow, I've had it on the brain that I need to get a website designed and have thought about doing it myself but just keep on thinking i don't want to do it and don't really have the time to do it.
Anyhow, i jokingly asked him how much he would charge me and he said we could work it out in trade and we worked out the details online. He is very talented so I know it will look good. Also, check this out there is a site that will host it for free all I have to do is pay $ 9.95 for the domain name. Woot! woot!
See the universe brings us what we need when we need it.

what i have learned by: Jeremy McDonald

You can't find happiness until you know what will make you happy. you can't find happiness until you are happy with yourself. Once that happens you will know what direction to face and where you want to head. I teach people in my classes to journal and get into their heart to find out what will make them happy all the way down into their soul. I hear that I dont have enough time or i'm just to tired. My recommendation is this. Turn off that damn TV! i'm serious. Over the last year yes I have a few things I watch but pretty much that thing is a life sucker. It creates mindless drones of people that are not happy and live their lives through that thing. The shows that I do watch. Do I get upset when I miss them no not usually. I have to many other things that keep me busy that have to do with real live people not actors on a screne.

Abraham Maslow taught us about Self Actualization and how this is the highest state of existence. This is where we feel totally complete as a human being and have all our needs taken care of. Realize time is the most precious and most valuable thing you have start making the most of it now!

What I have learned is that you have to heal yourself before you can truly be happy and the only way you can do that is to face the things that hurt you head on. I've been going back to things that have heart me over my life time and fore giving that person and letting it go within my heart. The hardest challenge I am now working on and that's fore giving my ex for what he did to me. It's hard because ever time I do it sends a sharp pain into my heart. However, each day I work on this it makes my heart that much lighter so that one day I'll be able to trust again. I'm getting there slowly but surely. I'm that much closer to Self Actualization each day I work on myself inter personally.

As we should all spend that time to get that much closer.

Law of Attraction by Jeremy McDonald

This is a speech I gave at the People's Spiritualist Church in August of 2007

Currently the latest buzz word or book is called "The Secret" Let me just share with you that this is not that big of a secret since it has been around since the beginning of time. It was the Greek Philosopher Plato in 390 BC that said "Likes tend towards likes" (in other words likes attract) The Universal Law of Attraction is just that you attract and create your own reality based on your thoughts, emotions and intentions. In other words if you think everything is doom and gloom then that is exactly what will come into your life. However, if you think that things are always good and those things will grow and get better as you need them too then that will happen as well.

Buddha said: "What you have become is the result of what you have thought" in other words a positive mind set brings for a positive world and a negative mind set brings a negative world into your life. This is not ruled by your environment or by how much money you have etc. Purely on how you perceive things or what your paradigm of the world is.

So if your paradigm of the world is that everybody is always working against you and nothing you ever do will help you be successful. What do you do to change this? Most people would just say change your paradigm. However, changing our paradigm is most definitely a lot harder then just thinking positive instead of thinking negatively. Usually the negativity that is within us is caused by several years of hearing negative, being taught negative let's face it the world is full of cynics. Just once I would like to turn on the news and see something that is positive. How about telling that today at Tampa General Hospital there was 26 babies born today? Wouldn't that be a lot more refreshing then seeing the number of soldiers that were killed in Iraq since the war started. Am I saying to turn a blind eye to things of importance like a war? No I'm not saying that at all what I am saying is that the world is full of negativity so it is hard to escape it. It's hard to not think negative because we are bombarded with it everyday, every minute of everyday.

So… "The Secret" talk about the Universal Law of Attraction but it misses one very important Universal Law: The Universal Law of Action. Very few things in life fall into our lap as this movie/book suggests. What this message is really telling us is that our thoughts, emotions and intentions create our own reality. However, you can be as positive as you want about having a lot of money but if you don't go out and do the things necessary to get the money it will never come. They speak about the gentlemen that wrote the Chicken soup for the Soul books and how he took a dollar bill and wrote zero's at the end of it and manifested nearly $ 100,000.00 into his life. This is a true story and I have seen it many times just in a different setting with a different person. However, what they do not focus on very much in this story is this: He had to write the book first to get the money. You also have to work on the emotional aspects of your life to be able to think positively enough to create that positive world.

So what do we do first?

We start working on ourselves from within so we can see things with a clear mind. It's very hard to see things on that level if we can not have a control on our own emotions. When we are not in touch with our own emotions we are denying our truest self to show through. How do we look at ourselves and start to work on our selves. Well there are many ways actually and I strongly believe one of the strongest tools is to journal. This last year for me that's what I have done a lot of because it helps me get all the thoughts that are stored up there out on paper. Even if they never fall on human ears it has still been said and that is all that matters. Meditation and focusing on where you want to be and the goals you want to achieve are very important when you are working on becoming a more emotionally intelligent person. In some cases we might need outside help to help us to heal pains that we were not able to do on our own. A lot of the time the spirit is so broken by our past pain that it is almost impossible for us to do this on our own. Proverbs 17:22 states: " A joyful heart is a good medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones."

In a biblical sense this is further proof that our positive thoughts not only attract good things but they help us to heal and have a healthier life. Psalm 36:9 "In thy light, we see light" so in other words if you see things in a positive way you are going to see the positive in situations instead of always dwelling on the negative. Matthew 7:8 "For every one who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened." Basically, what we ask for we get.

Recap: So the Universal Law of Attraction and Action are very important tools that we can use to manifest a wonderful enriching world around us. Buddha would refer to the heightened state in life or the end of emotional pain and suffering "Enlightenment" a 20^th century psychologist named Abraham Maslow referred to this as Self Actualization. I am calling this level Synergy. This is the total state where you are at a level of emotional awareness that you are able to manifest a positive and enriching life for yourself but you are also able to maintain it.

This means not letting the simple things bother you and it means facing the hard emotional traumas in our life head on and not running from them. Each experience in our life is something that helps us grow as human beings. We are a constant evolving creatures and only with our experience can we grow and learn and have that heightened state of living.

The Divine in you by: Laurie McDonald

"Namaste": a Hindu greeting, translated literally it means, "The divine in me greets the divine in you," or, "The spirit in me meets the same spirit in you." This greeting recognizes the equality and sacredness of all living things. The Lakota Sioux have a prayer that states, "Mitkuye Oyasin," literally translated it means, "All my relations," it states that we share a common kinship with all living things, in the hoop of life. The Maya also have a saying, "In Lakech," translated, this means, "I am another yourself." So all living things are connected, related, but what connects us to each other? In the Christian Bible, John ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />14:20, quotes Jesus Christ as saying, "I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." God is in all of us. The Chinese believe that there are 5 realms of energy that manifest in energy and physical matter. Metal, plant, animal, humanity, and the divine. Metal has the lowest energetic vibration, the divine the highest. Each realm has a progressively higher vibration, each are connected to each other. Each drawing energy from the realm before.

So all living things are connected by energy, running through them, and sustaining them. Modern science confirms this when we look through a microscope at an atom. An atom is made up of molecules that are in constant motion, with energy in between the molecules. This is the energy we see in nuclear weapons when we split an atom. What does this really mean to us as human beings? We know that our Creator gave us all the ability to think and create, and free will, but how far can we go with this ability? The Toltecs believe that all of our conscious reality is a dream, a collective dream that all humans contribute to. They believe that humanity dreams while awake, thus creating their own reality. Modern quantum physics also states that we create our reality with our thoughts.

A Japanese scientist named Masaro Emoto ran some experiments in which he proved that words and intentions have a profound effect on water. Positive words and thoughts had a positive effect on the water, negative words and thoughts had a profoundly negative effect, almost making it sick! Dr. Emoto proved that our words, thoughts, and intentions have an effect on physical reality. The Toltec shamans taught that we should be careful with our Word, because it has power. It can heal or harm. John 1:1 in the Christian Bible says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God!" The Word was God! This is our power to create. In the Christian Bible there is a story about Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus. Matthew 14:25-31 says, "And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking upon the sea. When the disciples saw him, walking upon the sea, they cried out in fear, saying, it is a ghost! But Jesus spoke, saying, do not be afraid, it is I. Then Peter said, Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. Jesus said come. And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on water, toward Jesus! Then Peter saw the wind, and the waves, and he began to be afraid, and began to sink beneath the water. He cried out, Lord, save me! Then Jesus put forth his hand, and took hold of Peter, and pulled him out of the water. He said, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Now he was not asking Peter if he doubted God, or Jesus, he was asking Peter why he doubted himself! It is fairly obvious from the story that Peter believed in Jesus, and his ability to save him. Peter doubted himself! Think about modern times, and your own life. How many times have you not gone for something that you dream about because you doubt yourself? Peter was just an ordinary person, like you or me. He was a fisherman by trade. Yet he walked on water for a few steps, until he doubted himself! This is the power we all have! But we must believe in ourselves, and our ability to control our reality. Matthew 17:20 in the Bible quotes Jesus as saying, "For truly I say unto you. If you have faith as only a mustard seed, and you say to a mountain, move from here to there, it shall move. Nothing shall be impossible to you!"

This puts a whole new meaning on the idea of creating our own reality! We really can take control of our own lives! We don't have to live with the things in our lives that make us unhappy! But it also brings a new responsibility. We must take responsibility for our actions, more so than ever, when we realize the power that our very words have. The other lesson that this teaches us is that others only have power over us if we allow them to. What you believe is. Others cannot harm you if you refuse to believe in their power to harm you. Harsh words cannot harm, if you do not give them power. Constant self criticism, and negative beliefs about yourself, can do great harm, to yourself, and to your ability to believe in yourself. This causes you to doubt yourself, and then you cannot use your creative ability to bring yourself a reality that you want. This can also cause physical illnesses, as modern medicine has seen. Stress causes physical illness. This is a known fact. So my message to all of you is, be kind to yourself. Learn to love yourself, don't believe all of those negative things that others may have said to you, or that you imagine they are thinking. What you imagine is far harsher than what others are actually thinking. Changing this is a process. It will not be easy, but it must be changed, if you are to have the life that you truly want. It is a process worth going through. You will have to be patient, because it is not going to happen right away. You have an entire lifetime of building up all of the negative beliefs you have about yourself. You are going to have to change your entire way of thinking! So if you stumble, and slip back into your old way of thinking, and you will, many times, try again. Don't get angry or harsh with yourself, be patient, tell yourself that you don't have to live that way anymore, that you want a new life. Eventually you will change. Remember, the only person that you can change is yourself! Others must grow at their own pace, and we must allow them to.

Laurie McDonald