What We're Really Here For

I was thinking recently that I've expended a lot of energy over the years worrying about what I'm here for and how to make it all happen.

Spirit brought to my consciousness that while it's wonderful that I have an awareness of my (perceived) destiny, and while it's wonderful that I'm taking action in that regard, reaching those goals and fulfilling those dreams is not the most important thing.
The gifts and talents, the dreams and desires are secondary.

The most important thing is the journey.
Who I am along the way, how I walk this walk.
The most important thing is being of service, demonstrating the qualities of Spirit.

One might say, "But the work I desire to do (or am doing) does just that" - that's wonderful. But service goes way beyond just what we want or the way we want it. There has to be a willingness and even a desire to serve in ways beyond what is enjoyable, familiar, comfortable or convenient.

This is what Jesus meant by "Keep seeking first the Kingdom"; keep seeking first to serve. Keep seeking fist to love, to give, to be an example, to forgive.
Keep seeking first the qualities of God, the qualities of the Kingdom.

This way of living takes away the stress that our society places on use to "succeed". This lifts the burden of feeling as though we must do "something meaningful". This way of walking in the world brings about more clarity and awareness of what is True about our selves and our lives.


And when we seek first the Kingdom, all the good and noble dreams and desires "will be added onto you.

Be powerful, be wonderful,
Be well
Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

The Stealth Virus

Whatever you believe creates energy. That energy resonates with like energies in the atmosphere. Thus begins the creation (manifestation) of what you are choosing to believe.

That's a simple explanation of how thoughts and beliefs become things. This Universal principle can work for you or against you. The great news is that you get to control it, (if you choose to do so).

If you've been reading this blog and studying similar teachings, you already know this. So let's go deeper: It's not just a matter of having a positive belief system about life, it's about completely eliminating thoughts about anything to the contrary.

Perhaps you are positive and optimistic and full of faith.
You may be practicing the principles to the best of your ability.
But if you still believe that lack is possible, then the energy remains in your life for lack to show up. The same is true for illness, misfortune, etc. You have to completely purge yourself of believing that those things are possible for your life.

Even if you have a belief in abundance that's ten times greater than your belief in lack, lack still carries it's own energy. It carries the energy of your past; when lack was a dominant part of your thinking. It carries the energy of others around you who are believing in lack.
You don't want this kind of energy anywhere near you. It's like a virus that no matter how healthy you feel can bring you to your knees.

Keep in mind that you probably still have strong associations, connections and feelings around these things that don't serve you any longer. So you cannot let them in the door by even entertaining the idea that they may possibly show up in your life. To give you another illustration: it's like an old boyfriend or girlfriend that you want nothing to do with anymore. . .but left alone in a room with "candlelight and wine" just might be dangerous.

You would do well to understand that these things are not "happening to" anyone else either. They are simply an out-picturing of the thoughts, actions and feelings of others. So when your friends or neighbors or even people in the news appear to be suffering, you cannot fall into the thinking that says "they are experiencing lack, they are experiencing illness" etc.

It takes tremendous faith to no longer accept thoughts of anything that does not serve you. But you have to take that power away from these ideas and "keep your eye single" on the Truth; Only that which exists in the mind of God.

Peace and richest blessings

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

THE POWER OF EXPECTANCY - Part 3

Expectancy is closely related to faith - I like to say it's like faith on steroids. Where faith is sometimes quiet, expectancy is often bold. And while we often apply faith to a single event or desire, expectancy goes much further in that it truly becomes a personality trait, an attitude. A way of thinking acting living moving breathing. Expectancy, truly becomes faith personified.

But most people go through life with little or no faith. They go through life mostly relying on themselves and on whatever they can touch, see, influence or control. But faith asks us to rely on that which we cannot see, touch or control. So for some people, this is a big challenge.
But if you develop a strong faith in your life, not only do the things you need, want and desire show up, but you also become free.

Freedom is one of our greatest assets. And even though we may not recognize it, it is also one of our greatest desires. Everything that troubles us in life boils down to fear: fear of loss, fear of lack, fear of pain. All of the things we label as problems are at their root, some form of fear. Freedom takes away the fear, and developing strong faith creates freedom. Freedom removes the fear and then the problem becomes just a minor inconvenience or obstacle. Try to imagine for a moment that you are able to live free of fear - all fears.

When it comes to universal principles; your word is law. In other words, you word is not just what you say, but also what you think, do, feel and believe. And your word has a direct impact on what shows up, and on how things happen in your life. The more you stay focused and harmonious with your word - the more power and energy it has. And the more of an effect it has on the universal flow of life.

If you're having trouble accepting this - look at it this way. We've all known people who are just plain negative. The things they say, think, believe and do are typically negative or out of fear. They lack faith and don't believe anything good can happen to them. As a result, they are unhappy, they struggle through life, they have one misfortune after another, often their health is not good and so on.

Now it's important not to get twisted around here. The backwards way of thinking says that this person is unhappy because of all the bad things in their life. This same backwards thinking also say's, "I'll be happy when. . . "(fill in the blank). But the enlightened person understands that you must embrace the joy first - then the goodness follows. Be thankful first, be in expectancy first. and then in your prayer, in your meditation, in your spiritual mind treatment, in your thoughts and affirmations, in your actions and reactions, in your walk and in your talk know that your word is law in the Universal flow of things.

In our final installment of this article, we will examine the true Power of Expectancy and how it can massively change your life.

Be Well

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 Jack Roberts

Greater Than. . .

Your belief in the invisible must be greater than your belief in "what appears to be".

The energy you give to your dreams and desires must be more powerful than
the energy you give to "challenges" and "difficulties" you can do nothing (more) about.

Your understanding that you are a magnificent, powerful, unique, purposeful being
must overshadow any past "mistakes" or "failures".

Your faith in the power, ability, abundance and love of God
must supersede any faith you place in man-made structures and "things of this world".

You must rise above your human-ness and become keenly aware of your godliness.



Peace and abundant blessings,

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

The Best Laid Plans.

There are some wonderful things being taught lately about manifestation, the law of attraction, affirmations, etc. New Thought principles teach us that we can manifest without lifting a finger, so to speak. That all we need is our faith, understanding and diligent practice of the principles. This is absolutely correct. The problem is, most people won't see the manifestation simply relying on the practice of these principles.

Why not?

Because most of us have been trained to think and believe that there has to be some work, some physical effort on our part. This seems to be the way things happen; we make them happen, (or so we think).

In fact, we can get so caught up in “making it happen” that we start slacking on “the practice of the principles”. If we start to believe that things can only be manifested by our efforts, we may lose faith in the Spiritual principles all together.

The truth:
We are participants in what happens in our world. We are co-creators. Even though at times it seems that something came about completely by your individual effort. For example: let's say you made a clay pot. You put all the effort into it and “created” it yourself. Even then, there are certain universal laws that you had to work in harmony with:

• The clay has to be of a certain composition in order to allow you to shape and mold it.

• You cannot make any shape you desire, it has to be one that works within the laws of physics and gravity.

• The atmosphere has to be right in order for it to dry. . . and so on.

My point being that there is nothing that we can truly do alone. Someone or something else always has a hand in some part of the creation. If nothing else, who made the clay to begin with?

The wonderful balance of practicing spiritual principles, while at the same time bringing your unique energy, outlook and effort is the most powerful way to manifest.

There is a co-operation in all things. And while you truly can manifest using only spiritual laws (prayer, faith, affirmations, law of attraction, etc) a solid plan and work ethic, goes a long way toward helping fulfill those desires.

Peace and richest blessings

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE

I live my life,

Relishing and radiating in Divine Presence.

A calm, serene Presence.

Quiet, yet bold and powerful.

A healing Presence,

Enlightening, guiding, clearing.

A refreshing Presence,

Joyful, satisfying, fulfilling.

A Presence filled with light, laughter and love.

I never walk alone,

The Divine Presence is right where I am,

Deeper than my heartbeat. . .

Keeping me uplifted, spirited.

Keeping me inspired,

Guiding me,

Whispering to me

In a still, small Voice

Reminding me always of Truth.

When I recognize the Divine,

I have no fear, no dread.

Sadness finds no dwelling place in me,

Joy and ecstasy abound.

In this Presence

I am embraced by love,

Inspired to creativity,
Fortified, strengthened, empowered.

I live in the Presence of the Divine,

and Divine Presence lives,

in me . . .

and as me.

Peace and be well

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007, Affirmative Power Publishing

What Is Your Intention?

What is your intention. . .

When you affirm,
When you meditate,
When you pray,
What is your intention?

Everyone has different reasons or answers to that question. And hopefully, it never has to do with any kind of purely selfish motive. And if you use these Spiritual Tools in times of fear or desperation only (or mostly), then they will not serve you in the best way possible either.

It's OK to use the Tools to help you manifest and move forward in your life, but there is an underlying Spiritual principle that should always be in place:

Your intention.

Let's look at these Spiritual Tools (I like to call them The Big Three), and see how intention comes into play in each of them.

AFFIRMATIONS

As I detail in my book, Affirmative Power, there are basically two uses for affirmations; for manifesting and for centering. In either case, your primary intention should be the same.

MEDITATION

People will often say they meditate to be still, to gain clarity, to work out problems, and so on. But there is an even higher priority to any of that.

PRAYER

We pray when we're in trouble, we pray when we're confused, we pray for help, guidance, solace, peace, thanks giving and even for stuff. But even still, there is a more important intention.

Our primary intention for any of that spiritual work, and our primary intention for our lives in general should be this one thing:

To come to a recognition of the presence of God.

What exactly does that mean, (you may ask).

When we recognize the presence of God, it's not like recognizing the presence of another person in the room. It is an understanding that whatever thought, desire, or trial we are having – God is right there. Even in our confusion, regret, pain (though such things are not of God), God is right there with answers, solutions, solace, clarity.

Recognizing the presence of God opens us up to a higher awareness of ourselves. Reminding us of who we really are and what we are capable of. Reminding us of our oneness with God.
Being in this state is also what it means to "pray without ceasing".

The wonderful thing is that you can get into this state and carry it with you all day while still caring for your human life. The ultimate, is to walk in this state all the time. There can be no-thing greater than a constant awareness of the presence, the power, the wisdom, the peace, the joy, the harmony, the magnificence and the love of God.

When this becomes your way of living, the things that concern you now will be of little or no concern. Your needs wants and desires continually show up to serve you. The answers, solace and clarity you seek is always at hand.

Life becomes the magnificent wonder that it was meant to be.

Stay constantly and consciously, aware of the presence of God, and all that you desire will thus be added onto you.

Be wonderfully well.

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright - 2007, Affirmative Power Publishing

FEAR – THE OTHER SIDE OF FAITH

FEAR is the most vicious of four letter words in our language.

Fear is at the root of all that destroys us, and the greatest destruction is not from an outside enemy, but from within.

Within ourselves we fall victim to:

doubt, worry, anxiety, selfishness,

lack of self worth, belief in scarcity,

jealousy, envy, hurtfulness, anger . . .

the list goes on and on. Anything that is harmful, that holds us back – is rooted in some kind of fear.

Here's the good news:

You have authority and dominion over all things – fear included.

You have the responsibility to banish fear, it has no place in your life.

Anything based in fear is not Truth. They are lies and part of the dream state that you are walking in.

It is time to wake up from the dream and recognize the Truth.

The Truth about who and what you really are.

Know that this is your Truth even thought it may not appear to be so.

If it is difficult to see the Truth about yourself, look through the eyes of God. God always has clarity and only wants the highest and the best for you.

The moment you banish fear there is an empty space. Since nature abhors a vacuum, that empty space will be filled for you if you don't fill it yourself. If it is filled for you, it will be filled with your dominant thoughts, you want to make sure you are in control of what you are being filled up with.

Do not let nature do it for you, take the initiative and be in intention. Fill that empty space with Truth. Fill it with “The Good Things of God”: the power, strength, love, joy and abundance of God. And know that these same “Good Things of God”, are the good things in you as well. One and the same.

Do this by “keeping your eye single” on these things. Let these “Good Things” be not only your dominant thoughts but the foundation from which you live.

This process creates a greater fortitude within you. So-called problems and difficulties have less power. You begin to move more swiftly in your enlightenment. The Reality of things, of Life, becomes more clear.

As clarity is attained, it becomes easier to develop and manifest your dreams and desires.

Be Well
Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 Affirmative Power Publishing

As You Believe

The manifestation of your affirmations is rooted in your faith.
Jesus told us “It is only done onto you as you believe.”

That's a very powerful statement.

In meditating on that it was revealed to me how deep those words actually go.

It is done onto you – as you believe,
In God's ability to bring it about.

It is done onto you – as you believe,
In the mission that you are here to fulfill.

It is done onto you – as you believe,
That you are worthy.

It is done onto you – as you believe,
That you are able.

It is done onto you – as you believe,
That what you desire is more than possible.

It is done onto you – as you believe
That everything you need is available to you

It is done onto you – as you believe,
That God has your back.

However you are choosing to believe, is the extent to which it is done onto you.
And so it is

Be Well
Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 Affirmative Power Publishing