A Beautiful Day Shrouded By Clouds

Today is a beautiful day, but my mind is clouded by bad thoughts. Do we all struggle with thoughts that don't have any purpose other than to tear down the moral fabric of the Self? The scriptures all across cultural bounds describe how there is an enemy to the Self. This is the Devil. But the nature of this enemy comes in two forms: he is both outside of your mind, as well as within. We all have a polar energy that fluctuates between good and evil. More often than not, I get so angry with myself for the thoughts I have, because never in my darkest nightmare would I ever want these thoughts to be a part of my positive psyche. Yet, there they are. What do we do with such intrusions? We simply use our swords to rebuke the Devil that gets into our minds undetected like smoke (The Book of Sedrach), and simultaneously rebuke our selves in the process, because when we have a bad thought, we are taking some part in the sin. For those that are in tune with their consciousness and their minds as a whole, they have come to know both the excellency of the good, and the poisonous nature of that bad reflection, which looks at you with eyes of hatred and disdain. We must understand that that portion of Self is only finite. Through all things, Love conquers all hate. Some say to rejoice when the Devil persecutes us. This may be true, but I know that when I have horrible thoughts, the resulting feeling is equally horrible, if not worse. Why do we have this evil in our Selves? Or rather, to address it to Self, why is this treacherousness in me? To the ones that are awake to themselves and the God within, we know this serpent very well. This facet of the Self resembles a virus, infecting the mind and consuming all the energy that the Self provides it. It consumes! But therein lies one of the methods of destroying this enemy: the energy you give it to feed upon. There is a Native American proverb that talks about a man who has two wolves inside of him, battling for dominion over the man. His son inquires. The old man tells him that there is an evil wolf, and a righteous wolf, warring against each other inside the soul of man. His son asks about the wolves: his father tells him that the evil wolf is full of hatred, anger, lies; the other wolf, the man continues to explain, is full of love, peace, patience, and kindness. The young boy is confused, and asks his father, "who will win this war?" And the father replies, "the one you feed!" This is true to our Selves: if we feed this manner of thought negative energy, it will flourish. But if you continously feed that which is noble within our minds and hearts, we will be beings of light, luminous beings that strive to elevate on a constant basis. The war of the worlds is not outside of you, it is held on the battlegrounds within, inside the mind and soul. The prophet Muhammad declared that the true Jihad was a Jihad of the Self. A revolution of the mind, heart, and soul, must begin with one thought. If the mind's eye is filled with the workings of negativity, your life will be full of these elements. So, strive to be like God, knowing that "he who is within me is greater than he who is in the world," and you will progress along the journey on the path of life. The stark reality of this journey is that we walk this path alone. Yet, there are guides along the way, who come in the form of friends and family, angels and prophets. So, be the God within, and think only what you can multiply in a beautiful and positive manner. Thus, you will be beautiful.

clean your thoughts, and your inner light will shine.

Dr. Stephen Strange

The Mental Prison

How does the world view religion? In most places that the foot can set, people have their own religious practices, and they adhere to these tenants as if they were oxygen and water, necessary for the survival of the clan. Major world religions have claimed continents, leaving no man or woman without some sort of religious label. Why do we undertake the study of one specific religion, but neglect to investigate how someone from another religion activates that spiritual mindedness? If you were to take one person from each country on the globe, they would have their own unique religious beliefs, and their own slant on how they perceive God in the religion that they view him/her through. There would be thousands of interpretations of what this God is like, how they should worship him/her, how to perceive the messages from this entity. What would happen if we stripped the idea of religion from people, and left them only with words to read, and not a religious idea to follow? In the song "Imagine" by John Lennon, he imagined a world without religion or borders or countries or, more specifically, division between men. What if his theory were correct? What would our world be like when you viewed the man or woman next to you without the chains of religion worn as a form of identifiable clothing? We would be a world of people, and not a world of classification. I synthesize religious teachings, or rather, spiritual teachings. We need not the label of "Christian" or "Muslim" or "Buddhist" or "Hindu" to bring us self worth. We need only our souls and the love for each other to bring forth understanding between each other. The books do not specifically state that one must adhere to a specific religion. Some propose the idea that Jesus went East and studied with the Hindu while he was here on Earth. Why not seek all of the wisdom that lay inside the teachings of most world religions, so that you can empathize with the mind state of your human brothers and sisters from other lands? I propose that we begin to study the ways of other men and women of the planet. Some astronomers have found tribes in Africa that knew long before modern astronomy of the existence of distant galaxies, of which they related to in their spiritual practices. The problem I see that exists with religion is that there are millions that feel they must push their religious agendas on others who don't share the same perspective. When Europeans sailed to this continent, they eventually decimated an indigenous people, and in the process they whitewashed the indigenous spiritual practices and replaced them with their own. The slave trade wiped the minds of millions of slaves clean by denying them their rightful names, their spoken language, and their African heritage. What was given them was the White Christian God, and a religion that convinced the slave traders that their atrocious deeds were justified by the Bible, even condoned. If we weren't so possessed by this greed for control, we might live as human brothers and sisters in the unison of our own shared beliefs, and live in peace. Yes, we squabble, but to wage war on foreign soil, to slay millions in the name of "your" God, is stupidity. Not many of us feel this way about religion. I may stand alone. But that does not diminish my resolve. I feel that if I can learn the ways of patience and meditation through a Buddhist teacher, then I feel I have learned something valuable to the soul. When you drop the boundaries and unify your soul with other human beings, AND learn about what defines them spiritually, then you have taken one step towards a larger mindset. Our spiritual stories are beautiful, one not greater than the other. To open your mind to your neighbor, is to open your mind to yourself, for we are all one.

to the synthesis of all positive thought....

Dr. Stephen Strange

The Gift of a Great Old Earth

I was just listening to Tupac's "Dear Mama", and I can remember when I first heard the song. It made me so proud to have a mother that provided the necessities that got me to the next meal, who loved me so much to go through nine months of tribulation, and go through the terrible pain and anguish just to bring me into the light of life. Tupac wrote a beautiful ballad to his mom, which reflects to all those men who are thankful for understanding and compassionate mothers. Even with the most eloquent words I couldn't describe the sensation of love that I have pounding in my chest for my mother. She's my Old Earth, cause she was here before I was. I don't remember what she went through to keep me clothed and fed when I was young, but I know she struggled and sacrificed just to raise me as a strong young man. We clashed when I was a teenager, but that's common. I didn't come into appreciation of my mom until I realized how she'd do anything in this wide world simply to make me smile. Through my storms, she was my sail. She was the magnetism of my compass, and always guided me back to her love when I went astray. How can you repay someone for so much love? It seems that she deprived herself those things that might make her happy just to provide for me, to make me happy. To this day, she's constantly helping me, or lending a helping hand. Her voice soothes me, and when I really think of the magnitude of the love from a mother, I glow inside a light so radiant that it blinds the Sun. I need to write a song for my own mother, but I would have to say that Tupac wrote the quintessential dedication to all mothers across the globe. We may be wild, but we love our moms.

So, give all your appreciation and love to your mother, cause she was the one who went through the travail of bringing you into this world. I love you mom.

Stephen Strange